EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE

+----------------------------------------------------------------+| THE GROWTH OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD || By || || SIDNEY L. GULICK, M. A. || || Illustrated with Twenty-six Diagrams _12 mo, Cloth, $1. 50_ || || "Commends itself to thoughtful, earnest men of any nation as a || most valuable missionary paper. Mr. Gulick traces the || Christian religion through history and up to now. The survey || is calm, patient, thoroughly honest, and quietly assured. " || --_Evangelist_. || || FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY || || Publishers || |+----------------------------------------------------------------+

EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE

_SOCIAL AND PSYCHIC_

BY

SIDNEY L. GULICK, M. A. 

_Missionary of the American Board in Japan_

[Illustration]

NEW YORK CHICAGO TORONTO

Fleming H. Revell Company

LONDON AND EDINBURGH

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PREFACE

The present work is an attempt to interpret the characteristics ofmodern Japan in the light of social science. It also seeks to throwsome light on the vexed question as to the real character of so-calledrace-nature, and the processes by which that nature is transformed. Ifthe principles of social science here set forth are correct, theyapply as well to China and India as to Japan, and thus will beardirectly on the entire problem of Occidental and Oriental socialintercourse and mutual influence. 

The core of this work consists of addresses to American and Englishaudiences delivered by the writer during his recent furlough. Sincereturning to Japan, he has been able to give but fragments of time tothe completion of the outlines then sketched, and though he wouldgladly reserve the manuscript for further elaboration, he yields tothe urgency of friends who deem it wise that he delay no longer inlaying his thought before the wider public. 

To Japanese readers the writer wishes to say that although he has nothesitated to make statements painful to a lover of Japan, he has notdone it to condemn or needlessly to criticise, but simply to makeplain what seem to him to be the facts. If he has erred in his factsor if his interpretations reflect unjustly on the history or spirit ofJapan, no one will be more glad than he for corrections. Let theJapanese be assured that his ruling motive, both in writing aboutJapan and in spending his life in this land, is profound love for theJapanese people. The term "native" has been freely used because it isthe only natural correlative for "foreign. " It may be well to say thatneither the one nor the other has any derogatory implication, although anti-foreign natives, and anti-native foreigners, sometimesso use them. 

The indebtedness of the writer is too great to be acknowledged indetail. But whenever he has been conscious of drawing directly fromany author for ideas or suggestions, effort has been made to indicatethe source. 

Since the preparation of the larger part of this work severalimportant contributions to the literature on Japan have appeared whichwould have been of help to the writer, could he have referred to themduring the progress of his undertaking. Rev. J. C. C. Newton's "Japan:Country, Court, and People"; Rev. Otis Cary's "Japan and ItsRegeneration"; and Prof. J. Nitobe's "Bushido: The Soul of Japan, "call for special mention. All are excellent works, interesting, condensed, informative, and well-balanced. Had the last named come tohand much earlier it would have received frequent reference andquotation in the body of this volume, despite the fact that it setsforth an ideal rather than the actual state of Old Japan. 

Special acknowledgment should be made of the help rendered by mybrothers, Galen M. Fisher and Edward L. Gulick, and by my sister, Mrs. F. F. Jewett, in reading and revising the manuscript. Acknowledgmentshould also be made of the invaluable criticisms and suggestions inregard to the general theory of social evolution advocated in thesepages made by my uncle, Rev. John T. Gulick, well known to thescientific world for his contributions to the theory as well as to thefacts of biological evolution. 

S. L. G. 

MATSUYAMA, JAPAN. 

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 13

I. PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS

Occidental conceptions of the recent history of Japan--Japan seems tobe contradicting our theory of national evolution--Similarities ofancient and modern Japan--Japanese evolution is "natural"--The studyof Japanese social evolution is of unusual interest, because it hasexperienced such marked changes--Because it is now in a stage of rapidgrowth--And is taking place before our eyes--Also because here istaking place a unique union of Occidental and Orientalcivilizations--Comparison between India and Japan, 23

II. HISTORICAL SKETCH

Mythology and tradition--Authentic history--Old Japan--The transitionfrom Old to New Japan--New Japan--Compelled by foreign nations tocentralize--Ideals and material instruments supplied fromabroad--Exuberant Patriotism--"Ai-koku-shin, " 35

III. THE PROBLEM OF PROGRESS

Is Japan making progress?--Happiness as a criterion--The oppressiverule of militarism--The emptiness of the ordinary life--The conditionof woman--"The Greater Learning for Woman"--Divorce--Progressdefined--Deficiency of the hedonistic criterion of progress, 52

IV. THE METHOD OF PROGRESS

Progress a modern conception and ideal--How was the "cake of custom"broken?--"Government by discussion" an insufficient principle ofprogress--Two lines of progress, Ideal and Material--The significanceof Perry's coming to Japan--Effect on Japan of Occidental ideas--Thematerial element of progress--Mistaken praise of the simplicity of OldJapan, L. Hearn--The significance of the material element ofcivilization--Mastery of nature--The defect of Occidentalcivilization, 61

V. JAPANESE SENSITIVENESS TO ENVIRONMENT

Our main question--Illustrations--Japanese studentsabroad--Sensitiveness to ridicule--Advantages and disadvantages ofthis characteristic--National sensitiveness to foreigncriticism--Nudity--Formosa--Mental and physicalflexibility--Adjustability--Some apparent exceptions--Chineseideographs--How account for these characteristics, 72

VI. WAVES OF FEELING--ABDICATION

The Japanese are emotional--An illustration from politics--Thetendency to run to extremes--Danger of overemphasizing thistendency--Japanese silent dissent--Men of balance in publiclife--Abdication--Gubbins quoted--Is abdication an inherent trait? 82

VII. HEROES AND HERO-WORSHIP

Popular national heroes--The craving for modern heroes--TownsendHarris's insight into Oriental character--Hero-worship an obstacle tomissionary work--Capt. Jaynes--An experience in Kumamoto--"The sage ofOmi"--"The true hero"--Moral heroes in Japan--The advantage anddisadvantage of hero-worship--Modern moral heroes--Hero-worshipdepends on personality and idealism--The new social order is producingnew ideals and new heroes, 89

VIII. LOVE FOR CHILDREN

Japanese love for children--Children's festivals--Toys andtoy-stores--Do Japanese love children more than Americansdo?--Importance in Japan of maintaining the family line--The loosenessof the Japanese family tie--Early cessation of demonstrativeaffection--Infanticide, 96

IX. MARITAL LOVE

Affection between husband and wife--Occidental and Oriental estimateof woman contrasted--This a subject easily-misunderstood--Kissing asocial habit unknown in Japan--Demonstrative affection a social, not aracial characteristic--Some specific illustrations, Dr. Neesima--Apersonal experience--Illegitimate children--Fraudulentregistration--Adult adoption--Divorce--Monogamy, polygamy, andprostitution--Race character, social order, and affection--Position ofwomen--The social order and affection--The social order and thevaluation of man and woman--The new social order and the valuation ofman--The spread of Christian ideals and the re-organization of thefamily, 102

X. CHEERFULNESS--INDUSTRY--TRUTHFULNESS--SUSPICIOUSNESS

Japanese cheerfulness--Festivals--Pessimism existent, but easilyoverlooked--The ubiquity of children gives an appearance ofcheerfulness--Industry--Illustrations--Easy-going--Sociologicalinterpretation--Mutual confidence and trustfulness--Relation tocommunalistic feudalism--Changes in the social order and incharacter--The American Board's experience in trusting Japanesehonor--The Doshisha and its difficulties--Suspiciousness--Necessaryunder the old social order--The need of constant care in conversation, 115

XI. JEALOUSY--REVENGE--HUMANE FEELINGS

Jealousy particularly ascribed to women--How related to the socialorder--Is jealousy limited to women?--Revenge--Taught as a moralduty--Revenge and the new social order--Are the Japanese cruel?--Firstimpressions--Treatment of the insane--Of lepers--The cruelty andhardness of heart of Old Japan--Buddhistic teaching andpractice--Buddhist and Christian Orphan Asylums--Treatment ofhorses--Torture in Old Japan--Crucifixion and transfixion byspears--Hard-heartedness cultivated under feudalism--Cruelty and thehumane feelings in the Occident--Abolition of cruel customs in ancientand in Old Japan--Cruelty a sociological, not a biologicalcharacteristic--The rise of humane feelings--Doctors andhospitals--Philanthropy, 127

XII. AMBITION--CONCEIT

Ambition, both individual and national--The "KumamotoBand"--Self-confidence and conceit--Refined in nature--Illustrationsin the use of English--Readiness of young men to assume graveresponsibilities--A product of the social order--Assumptions ofinferiority by the common people--Obsequiousness--Modernself-confidence and assumptions not without ground--Self-confidenceand success--Self-confidence and physical size--Young men and therecent history of Japan--The self-confidence and conceit of Westernnations--The open-mindedness of most Japanese, 137

XIII. PATRIOTISM--APOTHEOSIS--COURAGE

"Yamato-Damashii": "The Soul of Japan"--Patriotism and the recent warwith China--Patriotism of Christian orphans--Mr. Ishii--Patriotism isfor a person, not for country--National patriotism ismodern--Passionate devotion to the Emperor--A gift of 20, 000, 000 yento the Emperor--The constitution derives its authority from theEmperor--A quotation from Prof. Yamaguchi--Japanese Imperialsuccession is of Oriental type--Concubines and children of thereigning Emperor--Apotheosis, Oriental and Occidental--Apotheosis andnational unity--The political conflict between Imperial and popularsovereignty--Japanese and Roman apotheosis--Prof. Nashquoted--Courage--Cultivated in ancient times--A peculiar feature ofJapanese courage--"Harakiri"--E. Griffis quoted--A boy hero--Relationof courage to social order--Japanese courage not only physical--moderninstance of moral courage, 144

XIV. FICKLENESS--STOLIDITY--STOICISM

Illustrations of fickleness--Prof. Chamberlain'sexplanation--Fickleness a modern trait--Continuity of purpose in spiteof changes of method--The youth of those on whom responsibilityrests--Fluctuation of interest in Christianity not a fairillustration--The period of fluctuation is passingaway--Impassiveness--"Putty faces"--Distinguish between stupidity andstoicism--Stupid stolidity among the farmers--Easily removed--Socialstolidity cultivated--Demanded by the old social order--The influenceof Buddhism in suppressing expression of emotion--An illustration ofsuppressed curiosity--Lack of emotional manifestations when theEmperor appears in public--Stolidity a social, not a racial trait--Apersonal experience--The increased vivacity of Christianwomen--Relations of emotional to intellectual development and to thesocial order, 159

XV. AESTHETIC CHARACTERISTICS

The wide development of the æsthetic sense in Japan--Japanese æstheticdevelopment is unbalanced--The sense of smell--Painting--Japanese artpays slight attention to the human form--Sociologicalinterpretation--The nude in Japanese art--Relation to the socialorder--Art and immorality--Caricature--Fondness for the abnormal innature--Abnormal stones--Tosa cocks--Æsthetics of speech--The æstheticsense and the use of personal pronouns--Deficiency of the æstheticdevelopment in regard to speech--Sociological explanations--Closerelation of æsthetics and conduct--Sociological explanation for thewide development of the æsthetic sense--The classes lived in closeproximity--The spirit of dependence and imitation--Universality ofculture more apparent than real--Defects of æsthetic taste--Defectiveetiquette--How accounted for--Old and new conditions--"Western tastedebasing Japanese art"--Illustration of aboriginal æstheticdefects--Colored photographs--Æsthetic defects of popular shrines--Theæsthetics of music--Experience of the Hawaiian people--Literaryæsthetic development--Aston quoted--Architectural æstheticdevelopment--Æsthetic development is sociological rather thanbiological, 170

XVI. MEMORY--IMITATION

Psychological unity of the East and the West--Brain size and socialevolution--The size of the Japanese brain--Memory--Learning Chinesecharacters--Social selection and mnemonic power--Japanese memory indaily life--Memory of uncivilized and semi-civilized peoples--Hindumemory--Max Müller quoted--Japanese acquisition of foreignlanguages--The argument from language for the social as against thebiological distinction of races--The faculty of imitation; is not tobe despised--Prof. Chamberlain's over-emphasis of Japaneseimitation--Originality in adopting Confucianism andBuddhism--"Shinshu"--"Nichirenshu"--Adoption of Chinesephilosophy--Dr. Knox's over-emphasis of servile adoption--Ourignorance of Japanese history of thought--A reason for Occidentalmisunderstanding--The incubus of governmental initiative--Relation ofimitation to the social order, 189

XVII. ORIGINALITY--INVENTIVENESS

Originality in art--Authoritative suppression of originality--TownsendHarris quoted--Suppression of Christianity and of heterodoxConfucianism--Modern suppression of historical research--Yet Japan isnot wholly lacking in originality--Recent discoveries andinventions--Originality in borrowing from the West--Quotations from anative paper, 203

XVIII. INDIRECTNESS--"NOMINALITY"

"Roundaboutness"--Some advantages of thischaracteristic--Illustrations--Study of English for direct andaccurate habits of thought--Rapid modern growth ofdirectness--"Nominality"--All Japanese history an illustration--TheImperial rule only nominal--The daimyo as a figure-head--"Nominality"in ordinary life--In family relations--Illustrations in Christianwork--A "nominal" express train--"Nominality" and the social order, 210

XIX. INTELLECTUALITY

Do Japanese lack the higher mental faculties?--Evidence ofinventions--Testimony of foreign teachers--Japanese students, at homeand abroad--Readiness in public speech--Powers of generalization inprimitive Japan--"Ri" and "Ki, " "In" and "Yo"--Japanese use of Chinesegeneralized philosophical terms--Generalization and the socialorder--Defective explanation of puerile Oriental science--Relation tothe mechanical memory method of education--High intellectualitydependent on social order, 218

XX. PHILOSOPHICAL ABILITY

Do Japanese lack philosophical ability?--Some opinions--Somedistinctions--Japanese interest in metaphysical problems--Buddhist andConfucian metaphysics--Metaphysics and ethics--Japanese students ofOccidental philosophy--A personal experience--"The littlephilosopher"--A Buddhist priest--Rarity of original philosophicalability and even interest--Philosophical ability and the social orderin the West, 225

XXI. IMAGINATION

Some criticisms of Japanese mental traits--Wide range of imaginativeactivity--Some salient points--Unbalanced imaginativedevelopment--Prosaic matter-of-factness--Visionariness--Impracticalidealism--Illustrations--An evangelist--A principal--Visionariness inChristian work--Visionariness in national ambition--Imagination andoptimism--Mr. Lowell's opinion criticised--Fancy andimagination--Caricature--Imagination and imitation--Sociologicalinterpretation of visionariness--And of prosaicmatter-of-factness--Communalism and the higher mentalpowers--Suppression of the constructive imagination--Racialintellectual characteristics are social rather than inherent, 233

XXII. MORAL IDEALS

Loyalty and filial piety as moral ideals--Quotations from an ancientmoralist, Muro Kyuso--On the heavenly origin of moral teaching--Onself-control--Knowledge comes through obedience--On the impurity ofancient literature--On the ideal of the samurai in relation totrade--Old Japan combined statute and ethical law--"The testament ofIyeyasu"--Ohashi's condemnation of Western learning for itsimpiety--Japanese moral ideals were communal--Truthfulnessundeveloped--Relations of samurai to tradesman--The business standardsare changing with the social order--Ancient Occidental contempt fortrade--Plato and Aristotle, 249

XXIII. MORAL IDEALS (_Continued_)

The social position of woman--Valuation of the individual--Confucianand Buddhistic teaching in regard to concubinage andpolygamy--Sociological interpretation--Japan not exceptional--Actualmorality of Old Japan--Modern growth of immorality--Note on the"Social Evil"--No ancient teaching in regard to masculinechastity--Mr. Hearn's mistaken contention--Filial obedience andprostitution--How could the social order produce two different moralideals?--The new Civil Code on marriage--Divorce--Statistics--Modernadvance of woman--Significance of the Imperial Silver Wedding--TheWedding of the Prince Imperial--Relation of Buddhism and Confucianismto moral ideals and practice--The new spirit of Buddhism--Christianinfluence on Shinto; Tenri Kyo--The ancient moralists confined theirattention to the rulers--The Imperial Edict in regard to MoralEducation, 258

XXIV. MORAL PRACTICE

The publicity of Japanese life--Public bathing--Personal experience ata hot-spring--Mr. Hearn on privacy--Individualism and variation fromthe moral standard--Standards advancing--Revenge--Modern liberty oftravel--Increase of wealth--Increasing luxury and vice--Increase ofconcubinage--Native discussions--Statistics--Business honesty--Anative paper quoted--Some experiences with Christians--Testimony of aJapanese consul--Difference of gifts to Buddhist and to Christianinstitutions--Christian condemnation of Doshishamismanagement--Misappropriation of trust funds in the West--Businesshonesty and the social order--Fitness of Christianity to the newsocial order--A summary--Communal virtues--Individual Vices--Theauthority of the moral ideal--Moral characteristics are not inherent, but social, in nature, 273

XXV. ARE THE JAPANESE RELIGIOUS?

Prof. Pfleiderer's view--Percival Lowell's definition ofreligion--Japanese appearance of irreligion due to manyfacts--Skeptical attitude of Confucius towards the gods--Readyacceptance of Western agnosticism--Prof. Chamberlain's assertion thatthe Japanese take their religion lightly--Statements concerningreligion by Messrs. Fukuzawa, Kato, and Ito--Statements of Japaneseirreligion are not to be lightly accepted--Incompetence of manycritics--We must study all the religiousphenomena--Pilgrimages--Statistics--Mr. Lowell's criticism of"peripatetic picnic parties"--Is religion necessarily gloomy?--God andBuddha shelves universal in Japan--Temples and shrines--Statistics, 286

XXVI. SOME RELIGIOUS PHENOMENA

Stoical training conceals religious emotions--The earnestness of manysuppliants--Buddhistic and Shinto practice of religious ecstasy--Therevolt from Buddhism a religious movement--Muro Kyu-soquoted--"Heaven's Way"--"God's omnipresence"--Pre-Christian teachersof Christian truth--Interpretation of modern irreligiousphenomena--Japanese apparent lack of reverence--Not an inherent racialcharacteristic--Sketch of Japanese religioushistory--Shinto--Buddhism--Confucianism--Christianity--RomanCatholicism--Protestantism--Religious characteristics are social, notessential or racial, 296

XXVII. SOME RELIGIOUS CONCEPTIONS

Japanese conceptions as to deity--The number and relation of the godsto the universe--Did the Japanese have the monotheisticconception?--Attractiveness of Christian monotheism--Confucian andBuddhist monism--Religious conception of man--Conception ofsin--Defective terminology--Relation of sin to salvation--"Holywater"--Holy towels and the spread of disease--The slight connectionbetween physical and moral pollution--W. E. Griffis quoted--Exaggeratedcleanliness of the Japanese--Public bathing houses--Consciousness ofsin in the sixteenth century--A recent experience--Doctrine of thefuture life--Salvation from fate--"Ingwa"--These are importantdoctrines--"Mei" (Heaven's decree)--Japan not unique--Sociologicalinterpretations of religious characteristics, 310

XXVIII. SOME RELIGIOUS PRACTICES

Loyalty and filial piety as religious phenomena--Gratitude as areligions trait--Hearn quoted--Unpleasant experiences ofingratitude--Modern suppression of phallicism--Brothels andprostitutes at popular shrines--The failure of higher ethnic faiths toantagonize the lower--Suppression of phallicism due to Westernopinion--The significance of this suppression to sociologicaltheory--Religious liberty--Some history--Inconsistent attitude of theEducational Department--Virtual establishment of compulsory statereligion--Review and summary--The Japanese ready learners of foreignreligions--The significance of this to sociology--Japanese futurereligion is to be Christianity, 322

XXIX. SOME PRINCIPLES OF NATIONAL EVOLUTION

Progress is from smaller to larger communities--Arrest ofdevelopment--The necessity of individualism--The relation of communalto individual development--A possible misunderstanding--The problem ofdistribution--Personality, 332

XXX. ARE THE JAPANESE IMPERSONAL?

Assertion of Oriental impersonality--Quotations from PercivalLowell--Defective and contradictory definitions--Arguments forimpersonality resting on mistaken interpretations--Children'sfestivals--Occidental and Oriental method of counting ages--Argumentfor impersonality from Japanese art--From the characteristics of theJapanese family--The bearing of divorce on this argument--Do Japanese"fall in love"?--Suicide and murder for love--Occidental approval andOriental condemnation of "falling in love"--Sociological significanceof divorce and of "falling in love, " 344

XXXI. THE JAPANESE NOT IMPERSONAL

The problem stated--Definitions--Remarks ondefinitions--Characteristics of a person--Impersonality defined--Apreliminary summary statement--Definitions of Communalism andIndividualism--The argument for "impersonality" from Japanesepoliteness--Some difficulties of this interpretation--The sociologicalinterpretation of politeness--The significance of Japanesesensitiveness--Altruism as a proof of impersonality--Japaneseselfishness and self-assertiveness--Distinction between communal andindividualistic altruism--Deficiency of personal pronouns as a proofof impersonality--A possible counter-argument--Substitutes forpersonal pronouns--Many personal words in Japanese--Origin ofpronouns, personal and others--The relation of the social order to theuse of personal pronouns--Japanese conceive Nationality only throughPersonality--"Strong" and "weak" personality--Strong personalities inJapan--Feudalism and strong personalities, 356

XXXII. IS BUDDHISM IMPERSONAL?

Self-suppression as a proof of impersonality--Self-suppression cannotbe ascribed to a primitive people--Esoteric Buddhism notpopular--Buddhism emphasized introspection and self-consciousness--Mr. Lowell on the teaching of Buddha--Consciousness of union with theAbsolute a developed, not a primitive, trait--Buddhistself-suppression proves a developed self--Buddhist self-salvation andChristian salvation by faith--Buddhism does not develop roundedpersonality--Buddhism attributes no worth to the self--Buddhist mercyrests on the doctrine of transmigration, not on the inherent worth ofman--Analysis of the diverse elements in the asserted "Impersonality"--Why Buddhism attributed no value to the self--The Infinite AbsoluteAbstraction--Buddhism not impersonal but abstract--Buddhist doctrineof illusion--Popular Buddhism not philosophical--Relation of "ingwa, "Fate, to the development of personality--Relation of belief in freedomto the fact of freedom--Sociological consequences of Buddhistdoctrine, 377

XXXIII. TRACES OF PERSONALITY IN SHINTOISM, BUDDHISM, AND CONFUCIANISM

Human illogicalness providential--Some devices for avoiding the evilsof logical conclusions--Buddhistic actual appeal to personalself-activity--Practical Confucianism an antidote to Buddhistpoison--Confucian ethics produced strong persons--The personalconception of deity is widespread--Shinto gods all persons--PopularBuddhist gods are personal--Confucian "Heaven" impliespersonality--The idea of personality not wholly wanting in theOrient--The idea of divine personality not difficult to impart to aJapanese--A conversation with a Buddhist priest--Sketch of thedevelopment of Japanese personality--Is personalityinherent?--Intrinsic and phenomenal personality--Note on the doctrineof the personality of God, 389

XXXIV. THE BUDDHIST WORLD-VIEW

Comparison of Buddhist, Greek, and Christian conceptions ofGod--Nirvana--The Buddhistic Ultimate Reality absolute vacuity--Greekaffirmation of intelligence in the Ultimate Reality--Christianaffirmation of Divine Personality--The Buddhist universe is partlyrational and ethical--The Greek universe is partly rational andethical--Corresponding views of sin, salvation, change, andhistory--Resulting pessimism and optimism--Consequences to therespective civilizations and their social orders, 398

XXXV. COMMUNAL AND INDIVIDUAL ELEMENTS IN THE EVOLUTION OF JAPANESERELIGIOUS LIFE

Japanese religious life has been predominantly communal--Shintoprovided the sanctions for the social order--Recent abdication ofShinto as a religion--Primitive Shinto world--view--Shinto and modernscience--Shinto sanctions for the modern social order--Buddhism isindividualistic--Lacks social ideals and sanctions--Hence it could notdisplace Shinto--Shinto and Buddhism are supplementary--Produced aperiod of prosperity--The defect of Buddhist individualism--Imperfectacceptance of Shinto--Effect of political history--Confucianismrestored the waning communal sanctions--The difference between Shintoand Confucian social ideals and sanctions--The difference betweenShinto and Confucian world-views--Rejection of the Confucian socialorder--An interpretation--The failure of Confucianism to become areligion--Western intercourse re-established Shinto sanctions--Japan'smodern religious problem--Difficulty of combining individual andcommunal religious elements--Christianity has accomplishedit--Individualism in and through communalism--A modern expansion ofcommunal religion--Shared by Japan--Some Japanese recognize the needof religion for Japan--Sociological function of individualisticreligion in the higher human evolution--Obstacle to evolution throughthe development of intellect--The Japanese mind is outgrowing its oldreligious conceptions--The dependence of religious phenomena on theideas dominating society--Note on National and Universalreligions--Buddhism not properly classified as Universal--Theclassification of religions, 404

XXXVI. WHAT ARE THE ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ORIENT

The conclusion reached in this work--Contrary to the opinion oftourists, residents, and many sociologists--Professor Le Bonquoted--Social psychic characteristics not inherent--Evolution andinvolution--Advocates of inherent Oriental traits should cataloguethose traits--An attempt by the London _Daily Mail_--Is the Eastinherently intuitive, and the West logical?--The difficulty ofbecoming mutually acquainted--The secret of genuine acquaintance--Isthe East inherently meditative and the West active?--Oriental unityand characteristics are social, not inherent--Isolated evolution isdivergent--Mutual influence of the East and the West--Summarystatement, 422

XXXVII. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS

Review of our course of thought--Purpose of this chapter--The problemstudied in this work--Interrelation of social and psychicphenomena--Heredity defined and analyzed--Evolution defined--Exactdefinition of our question, and our reply--What would be an adequatedisproof of our position--Reasons for limiting the discussion toadvanced races--Divergent evolution dependent onsegregation--Distinction between racial and social unity--Relation ofthe individual psychic character to the social order--"Race soul" aconvenient fiction--Psychic function produces psychic organism--Causesand nature of plasticity and fixity of society--Relation of incarnateideas to character and destiny--Valuelessness of "floating"ideas--Progress is at once communal and individual--Personality is itscause, aim, and criterion--Progress in personality isethico-religious--Japanese social and psychic evolution notexceptional, 438

INTRODUCTION

The tragedy enacted in China during the closing year of the nineteenthcentury marks an epoch in the history of China and of the world. Twoworld-views, two types of civilization met in deadly conflict, and theinherent weakness of isolated, belated, superstitious and corruptpaganism was revealed. Moreover, during this, China's crisis, Japanfor the first time stepped out upon the world's stage of political andmilitary activity. She was recognized as a civilized nation, worthy toshare with the great nations of the earth the responsibility of rulingthe lawless and backward races. 

The correctness of any interpretation as to the significance of thisconflict between the opposing civilizations turns, ultimately, on thequestion as to what is the real nature of man and of society. If it betrue, as maintained by Prof. Le Bon and his school, that the mentaland moral character of a people is as fixed as its physiologicalcharacteristics, then the conflict in China is at bottom a conflict ofraces, not of civilizations. 

The inadequacy of the physiological theory of national character maybe seen almost at a glance by a look at Japan. Were an Orientalnecessarily and unchangeably Oriental, it would have been impossiblefor Japan to have come into such close and sympathetic touch with theWest. 

The conflict of the East with the West, however, is not an inherentand unending conflict, because it is not racial, but civilizational. It is a conflict of world-views and systems of thought and life. It isa conflict of heathen and Christian civilizations. And the conflictwill come to an end as soon as, and in proportion as, China awakesfrom her blindness and begins to build her national temple on thebedrock of universal truth and righteousness. The conflict ispractically over in Japan because she has done this. In loyallyaccepting science, popular education, and the rights of everyindividual to equal protection by the government, Japan has acceptedthe fundamental conceptions of civilization held in the West, and hasthus become an integral part of Christendom, a fact of world-widesignificance. It proves that the most important differences nowseparating the great races of men are civilizational, notphysiological. It also proves that European, American, and Orientalpeoples may be possessed by the same great ideals of life andprinciples of action, enabling them to co-operate as nations in greatmovements to their mutual advantage. 

While even we of the West may be long in learning the fullsignificance of what has been and still is taking place in Japan andmore conspicuously just now, because more tragically, in China, onething is clear: steam and electricity have abolished forever the oldisolation of the nations. 

Separated branches of the human race that for thousands of years havebeen undergoing divergent evolution, producing radically differentlanguages, customs, civilizations, systems of thought and world-views, and have resulted even in marked physiological and psychologicaldifferences, are now being brought into close contact and inevitableconflict. But at bottom it is a conflict of ideas, not of races. Theage of isolation and divergent evolution is passing away, and that ofinternational association and convergent social evolution has begun. Those races and nations that refuse to recognize the new social order, and oppose the cosmic process and its forces, will surely be pushed tothe wall and cease to exist as independent nations, just as, inancient times, the tribes that refused to unite with neighboringtribes were finally subjugated by those that did so unite. 

Universal economic, political, intellectual, moral, and religiousintercourse is the characteristic of the new æon on which we areentering. What are to be the final consequences of this wideintercourse? Can a people change its character? Can a nation fullypossessed by one type of civilization reject it, and adopt oneradically different? Do races have "souls" which are fixed andincapable of radical transformations? What has taken place in Japan, aprofound, or only a superficial change in psychical character? Are thedestinies of the Oriental races already unalterably determined?

The answers to these questions have already been suggested in thepreceding paragraphs, in regard to what has already taken place inJapan. But we may add that that answer really turns on our conceptionas to the nature of the characteristics separating the East from theWest. In proportion as national character is reckoned to bebiological, will it be considered fixed and the national destinypredetermined. In proportion as it is reckoned to be sociological, will it be considered alterable and the national destiny subject tonew social forces. Now that the intercourse of widely different raceshas begun on a scale never before witnessed, it is highly importantfor us to know its probable consequences. For this we need to gain aclear idea of the nature both of the individual man and of society, ofthe relation of the social order to individual and to race character, and of the law regulating and the forces producing social evolution. Only thus can we forecast the probable course and consequences of thefree social intercourse of widely divergent races. 

It is the belief of the writer that few countries afford so clear anillustration of the principles involved in social evolution as Japan. Her development has been so rapid and so recent that some principleshave become manifest that otherwise might easily have escaped notice. The importance of understanding Japan, because of the light her recenttransformations throw on the subject of social evolution and ofnational character and also because of the conspicuous rôle to whichshe is destined as the natural leader of the Oriental races in theiradoption of Occidental modes of life and thought, justifies a carefulstudy of Japanese character. He who really understands Japan, hasgained the magic key for unlocking the social mysteries of China andthe entire East. But the Japanese people, with their institutions andtheir various characteristics, merit careful study also for their ownsakes. For the Japanese constitute an exceedingly interesting and evena unique branch of the human race. Japan is neither a purgatory, assome would have it, nor a paradise, as others maintain, but a landfull of individuals in an interesting stage of social evolution. 

Current opinions concerning Japan, however, are as curious as they arecontradictory. Sir Edwin Arnold says that the Japanese "Have thenature rather of birds or butterflies than of ordinary human beings. "Says Mr. A. M. Knapp: "Japan is the one country in the world which doesnot disappoint . .. It is unquestionably the unique nation of theglobe, the land of dream and enchantment, the land which could hardlydiffer more from our own, were it located in another planet, itspeople not of this world. " An "old resident, " however, calls it "theland of disappointments. " Few phenomena are more curious than thereadiness with which a tourist or professional journalist, after a fewdays or weeks of sight-seeing and interviewing, makes up his mind inregard to the character of the people, unless it be the way in whichcertain others, who have resided in this land for a number of years, continue to live in their own dreamland. These two classes of writershave been the chief contributors of material for the omnivorousreaders of the West. 

It appears to not a few who have lived many years in this Far Easternland, that the public has been fed with the dreams of poets or thesnap-judgments of tourists instead of with the facts of actualexperience. A recent editorial article in the _Japan Mail_, than whoseeditor few men have had a wider acquaintance with the Japanese peopleor language, contains the following paragraph:

 "In the case of such writers as Sir Edwin Arnold and Mr. Lafcadio Hearn it is quite apparent that the logical faculty is in abeyance. Imagination reigns supreme. As poetic nights or outbursts, the works of these authors on Japan are delightful reading. But no one who has studied the Japanese in a deeper manner, by more intimate daily intercourse with all classes of the people than either of these writers pretends to have had, can possibly regard a large part of their description as anything more than pleasing fancy. Both have given rein to the poetic fancy and thus have, from a purely literary point of view, scored a success granted to few. .. . But as exponents of Japanese life and thought they are unreliable. .. . They have given form and beauty to much that never existed except in vague outline or in undeveloped germs in the Japanese mind. In doing this they have unavoidably been guilty of misrepresentation. .. . The Japanese nation of Arnold and Hearn is not the nation we have known for a quarter of a century, but a purely ideal one manufactured out of the author's brains. It is high time that this was pointed out. For while such works please a certain section of the English public, they do a great deal of harm among a section of the Japanese public, as could be easily shown in detail, did space allow. "--_Japan Mail, May 7, 1898_. 

But even more harmful to the reading public of England and America arethe hastily formed yet, nevertheless, widely published opinions oftourists and newspaper correspondents. Could such writers realize theinevitable limitations under which they see and try to generalize, theworld would be spared many crudities and exaggerations, not to saypositive errors. The impression so common to-day that Japan's recentdevelopments are anomalous, even contrary to the laws of nationalgrowth, is chiefly due to the superficial writings of hasty observers. Few of those who have dilated ecstatically on her recent growth haveunderstood either the history or the genius of her people. 

 "To mention but one among many examples, " says Prof. Chamberlain, "the ingenious Traveling Commissioner of the _Pall Mall Gazette_, Mr. Henry Norman, in his lively letters on Japan published nine or ten years ago, tells the story of Japanese education under the fetching title of 'A Nation at School'; but the impression left is that they have been their own schoolmasters. In another letter on 'Japan in Arms, ' he discourses concerning 'The Japanese Military Re-organizers, ' 'The Yokosuka dockyard, ' and other matters, but omits to mention that the reorganizers were Frenchmen, and that the Yokosuka dockyard was also a French creation. Similarly, when treating of the development of the Japanese newspaper, he ignores the fact that it owed its origin to an Englishman, which surely, to a man whose object was reality, should have seemed an object worth recording. These letters, so full and apparently so frank, really so deceptive, are, as we have said, but one instance among many of the way in which popular writers on Japan travesty history by ignoring the part which foreigners have played. The reasons for this are not far to seek. A wonderful tale will please folks at a distance all the better if made more wonderful still. Japanese progress, traced to its causes and explained by references to the means employed, is not nearly such fascinating reading as when represented in the guise of a fairy creation, sprung from nothing, like Aladdin's palace. "--"_Things Japanese, " p. 116_. 

But inter-racial misunderstanding is not, after all, so very strange. Few things are more difficult than to accommodate one's self inspeech, in methods of life, and even in thought, to an alien people;so identifying one's deepest interest with theirs as really tounderstand them. The minds of most men are so possessed by notionsacquired in childhood and youth as to be unable to see even theplainest facts at variance with those notions. He who comes to Japanpossessed with the idea that it is a dreamland and that its old socialorder was free from defects, is blind to any important factsinvalidating that conception; while he who is persuaded that Japan, being Oriental, is necessarily pagan at heart, however civilized inform, cannot easily be persuaded that there is anything praiseworthyin her old civilization, in her moral or religious life, or in any ofher customs. 

If France fails in important respects to understand England; andEngland, Germany; and Germany, its neighbors; if even England andAmerica can so misunderstand one another as to be on the verge of warover the boundary dispute of an alien country, what hope is there thatthe Occident shall understand the Orient, or the Orient the Occident?

Though the difficulty seems insurmountable, I am persuaded that themost fruitful cause of racial misunderstandings and of defectivedescriptions both of the West by Orientals, and of the East byOccidentals, is a well-nigh universal misconception as to the natureof man, and of society, and consequently of the laws determining theirdevelopment. In the East this error arises from and rests upon itspolytheism, and the accompanying theories of special national creationand peculiar national sanctity. On these grounds alien races arepronounced necessarily inferior. China's scorn for foreigners is dueto these ideas. 

Although this pagan notion has been theoretically abandoned in theWest, it still dominates the thought not only of the multitudes, butalso of many who pride themselves on their high education and liberalsentiments. They bring to the support of their national or racialpride such modern sociological theories as lend themselves to thisview. Evolution and the survival of the fittest, degeneration and thearrest of development, are appealed to as justifying the arrogance anddomineering spirit of Western nations. 

But the most subtle and scholarly doctrine appealed to in support ofnational pride is the biological conception of society. Popularwriters assume that society is a biological organism and that the lawsof its evolution are therefore biological. This assumption is notstrange, for until recent times the most advanced professionalsociologists have been dominated by the same misconception. Spencer, for example, makes sociology a branch of biology. More recentsociological writers, however, such as Professors Giddings andFairbanks, have taken special pains to assert the essentially psychiccharacter of society; they reject the biological conception, asinadequate to express the real nature of society. The biologicalconception, they insist, is nothing more than a comparison, useful forbringing out certain features of the social life and structure, butharmful if understood as their full statement. The laws of psychicactivity and development differ as widely from those of biologicactivity and development as these latter do from those that hold inthe chemical world. If the laws which regulate psychic development andthe progress of civilization were understood by popular writers onJapan, and if the recent progress of Japan had been stated in theterms of these laws, there would not have been so much mystificationin the West in regard to this matter as there evidently has been. Japan would not have appeared to have "jumped out of her skin, " orsuddenly to have escaped from the heredity of her past millenniums ofdevelopment. This wide misunderstanding of Japan, then, is not simplydue to the fact that "Japanese progress, traced to its causes andexplained by reference to the means employed, is not nearly suchfascinating reading as when represented in the guise of a fairycreation, " but it is also due to the still current popular view thatthe social organism is biological, and subject therefore to the lawsof biological evolution. On this assumption, some hold that theprogress of Japan, however it may appear, is really superficial, whileothers represent it as somehow having evaded the laws regulating thedevelopment of other races. A nation's character and characteristicsare conceived to be the product of brain-structure; these can changeonly as brain structure changes. Brain is held to determinecivilization, rather than civilization brain. Hampered by thisdefective view, popular writers inevitably describe Japan to the Westin terms that necessarily misrepresent her, and that at the same timepander to Occidental pride and prejudice. 

But this misunderstanding of Japan reveals an equally profoundmisunderstanding in regard to ourselves. Occidental peoples aresupposed to be what they are in civilization and to have reached theirhigh attainments in theoretical and applied science, in philosophy andin practical politics, because of their unique brain-structures, brains secured through millenniums of biological evolution. Thefollowing statement may seem to be rank heresy to the averagesociologist, but my studies have led me to believe that the maindifferences between the great races of mankind to-day are not due tobiological, but to social conditions; they are notphysico-psychological differences, but only socio-psychologicaldifferences. The Anglo-Saxon is what he is because of his socialheredity, and the Chinaman is what he is because of his socialheredity. The profound difference between social and physiologicalheredity and evolution is unappreciated except by a few of the mostrecent sociological writers. The part that association, socialsegregation, and social heredity take in the maintenance, not only ofonce developed languages and civilizations, but even in their genesis, has been generally overlooked. 

But a still more important factor in the determination of social andpsychic evolution, generally unrecognized by sociologists, is thenature and function of personality. Although in recent years it hasbeen occasionally mentioned by several eminent writers, personality asa principle has not been made the core of any system of sociology. Inmy judgment, however, this is the distinctive characteristic of humanevolution and of human association, and it should accordingly be thefundamental principle of social science. Many writers on the East haveemphasized what they call its "impersonal" characteristics. Soimportant is this subject that I have considered it at length in thebody of this work. 

Sociological phenomena cannot be fully expressed by any combination ofexclusively physical, biological, and psychic terms, for thesignificant element of man and of society consists of something morethan these--namely, personality. It is this that differentiates humanfrom animal evolution. The unit of human sociology is aself-conscious, self-determinative being. The causative factor in thesocial evolution of man is his personality. The goal of that evolutionis developed personality. Personality is thus at once the cause andthe end of social progress. The conditions which affect or determineprogress are those which affect or determine personality. 

The biological evolution of man from the animal has been, it is true, frankly assumed in this work. No attempt is made to justify thisassumption. Let not the reader infer, however, that the writersimilarly assumes the adequacy of the so-called naturalistic orevolutionary origin of ethics, of religion, or even of socialprogress. It may be doubted whether Darwin, Wallace, Le Conte, or anyexponent of biological evolution has yet given a complete statement ofthe factors of the physiological evolution of man. It is certain, however, that ethical, religious, and social writers who have strivento account for the higher evolution of man, by appealing to factorsexclusively parallel to those which have produced the physiologicalevolution of man, have conspicuously failed. However much we may findto praise in the social interpretations of such eminent writers asComte, Spencer, Ward, Fiske, Giddings, Kidd, Southerland, or evenDrummond, there still remains the necessity of a fuller considerationof the moral and religious evolution of man. The higher evolution ofman cannot be adequately expressed or even understood in any termslower than those of personality. 

EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE

I

PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS

Said a well educated and widely read Englishman to the writer while inOxford, "Can you explain to me how it is that the Japanese havesucceeded in jumping out of their skins?" And an equally thoughtfulAmerican, speaking about the recent strides in civilization made byJapan, urged that this progress could not be real and genuine. "Howcan such a mushroom-growth, necessarily without deep roots in thepast, be real and strong and permanent? How can it escape beingchiefly superficial?" These two men are typical of much of the thoughtof the West in regard to Japan. 

Seldom, perhaps never, has the civilized world so suddenly andcompletely reversed an estimate of a nation as it has that withreference to Japan. Before the recent war, to the majority even offairly educated men, Japan was little more than a name for a few smallislands somewhere near China, whose people were peculiar andinteresting. To-day there is probably not a man, or woman, or childattending school in any part of the civilized world, who does not knowthe main facts about the recent war: how the small country and the menof small stature, sarcastically described by their foes as "Wojen, "pygmy, attacked the army and navy of a country ten times their size. 

Such a universal change of opinion regarding a nation, especiallyregarding one so remote from the centers of Western civilization asJapan, could not have taken place in any previous generation. Thetelegraph, the daily paper, the intelligent reporters and writers ofbooks and magazine articles, the rapid steam travel and the manytravelers--all these have made possible this sudden acquisition ofknowledge and startling reversal of opinion. 

There is reason, however, to think that much misapprehension and realignorance still exists about Japan and her leap into power andworld-wide prestige. Many seem to think that Japan has entered on hernew career through the abandonment of her old civilization and theadoption of one from the West--that the victories on sea and land, inKorea, at Port Arthur, and a Wei-hai-wei, and more recently atTientsin and Pekin, were solely due to her Westernized navy and army. Such persons freely admit that this process of Westernization had beengoing on for many years more rapidly than the world at large knew, andthat consequently the reputation of Japan before the war was not suchas corresponded with her actual attainments. But they assume thatthere was nothing of importance in the old civilization; that it waslittle superior to organized barbarism. 

These people conceive of the change which has taken place in Japanduring the past thirty years as a revolution, not as an evolution; asan abandonment of the old, and an adoption of the new, civilization. They conceive the old tree of civilization to have been cut down andcast into the fire, and a new tree to have been imported from the Westand planted in Japanese soil. New Japan is, from this view-point, thenew tree. 

Not many months ago I heard of a wealthy family in Kyoto which did nottake kindly to the so-called improvements imported from abroad, andwhich consequently persisted in using the instruments of the oldercivilization. Even such a convenience as the kerosene lamp, nowuniversally adopted throughout the land of the Rising Sun, this familyrefused to admit into its home, preferring the old-style andon withits vegetable oil, dim light, and flickering flame. Recently, however, an electric-light company was organized in that city, and thisbrilliant illuminant was introduced not only into the streets andstores, but into many private houses. Shortly after its introduction, the family was converted to the superiority of the new method ofillumination, and passed at one leap from the old-style lantern to thelatest product of the nineteenth century. This incident is consideredtypical of the transformations characteristic of modern Japan. It issupposed that New Japan is in no proper sense the legitimate productthrough evolution of Old Japan. 

In important ways, therefore, Japan seems to be contradicting ourtheories of national growth. We have thought that no "heathen" nationcould possibly gain, much less wield, unaided by Westerners, theforces of civilized Christendom. We have likewise held that nationalgrowth is a slow process, a gradual evolution, extending over scoresand centuries of years. In both respects our theories seem to be atfault. This "little nation of little people, " which we have been soready to condemn as "heathen" and "uncivilized, " and thus to despise, or to ignore, has in a single generation leaped into the forefront ofthe world's attention. 

Are our theories wrong? Is Japan an exception? Are our facts correct?We instinctively feel that something is at fault. We are not satisfiedwith the usual explanation of the recent history of Japan. We areperhaps ready to concede that "the rejection of the old and theadoption of Western civilization" is the best statement whereby toaccount for the new power of Japan and her new position among thenations, but when we stop to think, we ask whether we have thusexplained that for which we are seeking an explanation? Do not thequestions still remain--Why did the Japanese so suddenly abandonOriental for Occidental civilization? And what mental and other traitsenabled a people who, according to the supposition, were far fromcivilized, so suddenly to grasp and wield a civilization quite alienin character and superior to their own; a civilization ripened aftermillenniums of development of the Aryan race? And how far, as a matterof fact, has this assimilation gone? Not until these questions arereally answered has the explanation been found, So that, after all, the prime cause which we must seek is not to be found in the externalenvironment, but rather in the internal endowment. 

An effort to understand the ancient history of Japan encounters thesame problem as that raised by her modern history. What mentalcharacteristics led the Japanese a thousand years ago so to absorb theChinese civilization, philosophy, and language that their own suffereda permanent arrest? What religious traits led them so to take on areligion from China and India that their own native religion neverpassed beyond the most primitive development, either in doctrine, inethics, in ritual, or in organization? On the other hand, what mentalcharacteristics enabled them to preserve their national independenceand so to modify everything brought from abroad, from the words of thenew language to the philosophy of the new religions, that Japanesecivilization, language, and religion are markedly distinct from theChinese? Why is it that, though the Japanese so fell under the bondageof the Chinese language as permanently to enslave and dwarf their ownbeautiful tongue, expressing the dominant thought of every sentencewith characters (ideographs) borrowed from China, yet at the same timeso transformed what they borrowed that no Chinaman can read andunderstand a Japanese book or newspaper?

The same questions recur at this new period of Japan's national life. Why has she so easily turned from the customs of centuries? What arethe mental traits that have made her respond so differently from herneighbor to the environment of the nineteenth-century civilization ofthe West Why is it that Japan has sent thousands of her students tothese Western lands to see and study and bring back all that is goodin them, while China has remained in stolid self-satisfaction, seeingnothing good in the West and its ways? To affirm that the differenceis due to the environment alone is impossible, for the environmentseems to be essentially the same. This difference of attitude andaction must be traced, it would seem, to differences of mental andtemperamental characteristics. Those who seek to understand thesecret of Japan's newly won power and reputation by looking simply ather newly acquired forms of government, her reconstructed nationalsocial structure, her recently constructed roads and railroads, telegraphs, representative government, etc. , and especially at herarmy and navy organized on European models and armed with Europeanweapons, are not unlike those who would discover the secret of humanlife by the study of anatomy. 

This external view and this method of interpretation are, therefore, fundamentally erroneous. Never, perhaps, has the progress of a nationbeen so manifestly an evolution as distinguished from a revolution. Noforeign conquerors have come in with their armies, crushing down theold and building up a new civilization. No magician's wand has beenwaved over the land to make the people forget the traditions of athousand years and fall in with those of the new régime. No rite orincantation has been performed to charm the marvelous tree ofcivilization and cause it to take root and grow to such loftyproportions in an unprepared soil. 

In contrast to the defective views outlined above, one need nothesitate to believe that the actual process by which Old Japan hasbeen transformed into New Japan is perfectly natural and necessary. Ithas been a continuous growth; it is not the mere accumulation ofexternal additions; it does not consist alone of the acquisition ofthe machinery and the institutions of the Occident. It is rather adevelopment from within, based upon already existing ideas andinstitutions. New Japan is the consequence of her old endowment andher new environment. Her evolution has been in progress and can betraced for at least a millennium and a half, during which she has beenpreparing for this latest step. All that was necessary for itsaccomplishment was the new environment. The correctness of this viewand the reasons for it will appear as we proceed in our study ofJapanese characteristics. But we need to note at this point thedanger, into which many fall, of ascribing to Japan an attainment ofwestern civilization which the facts will not warrant. She hassecured much, but by no means all, that the West has to give. 

We may suggest our line of thought by asking what is the fundamentalelement of civilization? Does it consist in the manifold appliancesthat render life luxurious; the railroad, the telegraph, the postoffice, the manufactures, the infinite variety of mechanical and otherconveniences? Or is it not rather the social and intellectual andethical state of a people? Manifestly the latter. The tools indeed ofcivilization may be imported into a half-civilized, or barbarouscountry; such importation, however, does not render the countrycivilized, although it may assist greatly in the attainment of thatresult. Civilization being mental, social, and ethical, can arise onlythrough the growth of the mind and character of the vast multitudes ofa nation. Now has Japan imported only the tools of civilization? Inother words, is her new civilization only external, formal, nominal, unreal? That she has imported much is true. Yet that her attainmentsand progress rest on her social, intellectual, and ethical developmentwill become increasingly clear as we take up our successive chapters. Under the new environment of the past fifty years, this growth, particularly in intellectual, in industrial, and in political lines, has been exceedingly rapid as compared with the growths of otherpeoples. 

This conception of the rise of New Japan will doubtless approve itselfto every educated man who will allow his thought to rest upon thesubject. For all human progress, all organic evolution, proceeds bythe progressive modification of the old organs under new conditions. The modern locomotive did not spring complete from the mind of JamesWatt; it is the result of thousands of years of human experience andconsequent evolution, beginning first perhaps with a rolling log, becoming a rude cart, and being gradually transformed by successiveinventions until it has become one of the marvels of the nineteenthcentury. It is impossible for those who have attained the view-pointof modern science to conceive of discontinuous progress; ofcontinually rising types of being, of thought, or of moral life, inwhich the higher does not find its ground and root and thus animportant part of its explanation, in the lower. Such is the case notonly with reference: to biological evolution; it is especially true ofsocial evolution. He who would understand the Japan of to-day cannotrest with the bare statement that her adoption of the tools andmaterials of Western civilization has given her her present power andplace among the nations. The student with historical insight knowsthat it is impossible for one nation, off-hand, without preparation, to "adopt the civilization" of another. 

The study of the evolution of Japan is one of unusual interest; first, because of the fact that Japan has experienced such unique changes inher environment. Her history brings into clear light some principlesof evolution which the visual development of a people does not make soclear. 

In the second place, New Japan is in a state of rapid growth. She isin a critical period, resembling a youth, just coming to manhood, whenall the powers of growth are most vigorous. The latent qualities ofbody and mind and heart then burst forth with peculiar force. In thecourse of four or five short years the green boy develops into arefined and noble man; the thoughtless girl ripens into the fullmaturity of womanhood and of motherhood. These are the years ofspecial interest to those who would observe nature in her time of mostcritical activity. 

Not otherwise is it in the life of nations. There are times when theirgrowth is phenomenally rapid; when their latent qualities aredeveloped; when their growth can be watched with special ease anddelight, because so rapid. The Renaissance was such a period inEurope. Modern art, science, and philosophy took their start with theawakening of the mind of Europe at that eventful and epochal period ofher life. Such, I take it, is the condition of Japan to-day. She is"being born again"; undergoing her "renaissance. " Her intellect, hitherto largely dormant, is but now awaking. Her ambition is equaledonly by her self-reliance. Her self-confidence and amazingexpectations have not yet been sobered by hard experience. Neitherdoes she, nor do her critics, know how much she can or cannot do. Sheis in the first flush of her new-found powers; powers of mind andspirit, as well as of physical force. Her dreams are gorgeous with allthe colors of the rainbow. Her efforts are sure, to be noble inproportion as her ambitions are high. The growth of the pasthalf-century is only the beginning of what we may expect to see. 

Then again, this latest and greatest step in the evolution of Japanhas taken place at a time unparalleled for opportunities ofobservation, under the incandescent light of the nineteenth century, with its thousands of educated men to observe and record the facts, many of whom are active agents in the evolution in progress. Hundredsof papers and magazines, native and European, read by tens ofthousands of intelligent men and women, have kept the world aware ofthe daily and hourly events. Telegraphic dispatches and letters by themillion have passed between the far East and the West. It would seemas if the modernizing of Japan had been providentially delayed untilthe last half of the nineteenth century with its steam andelectricity, annihilators of space and time, in order that herevolution might be studied with a minuteness impossible in anyprevious age, or by any previous generation. It is almost as if onewere conducting an experiment in human evolution in his ownlaboratory, imposing the conditions and noting the results. 

For still another reason is the evolution of New Japan of specialinterest to all intelligent persons. To illustrate great things bysmall, and human by physical, no one who has visited Geneva has failedto see the beautiful mingling of the Arve and the Rhone. The latterflowing from the calm Geneva lake is of delicate blue, pure andlimpid. The former, running direct from the glaciers of Mont Blanc andthe roaring bed of Chamouni, bears along in its rushing waterspowdered rocks and loosened soil. These rivers, though joined in onebed, for hundreds of rods are quite distinct; the one, turbid; theother, clear as crystal; yet they press each against the other, now alittle of the Rhone's clear current forces its way into the Arve, soonto be carried off, absorbed and discolored by the mass of muddy wateraround it. Now a little of the turbid Arve forces its way into theclear blue Rhone, to lose there its identity in the surroundingwaters. The interchange goes on, increasing with the distance until, miles below, the two-rivers mingle as one. No longer is it the Arve orthe old Rhone, but the new Rhone. 

In Japan there is going on to-day a process unique in the history ofthe human race. Two streams of civilization, that of the far East andthat of the far West, are beginning to flow in a single channel. Thesestreams are exceedingly diverse, in social structure, in government, in moral ideals and standards, in religion, in psychological andmetaphysical conceptions. Can they live together? Or is one going todrive out and annihilate the other? If so, which will be victor? Or isthere to be modification of both? In other words, is there to be a newcivilization--a Japanese, an Occidento-Oriental civilization?

The answer is plain to him who has eyes with which to see. Can theEthiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? No more can Japanlose all trace of inherited customs of daily life, of habits ofthought and language, products of a thousand years of training inChinese literature, Buddhist doctrine, and Confucian ethics. That "theboy is father to the man" is true of a nation no less than of anindividual. What a youth has been at home in his habits of thought, inhis purpose and spirit and in their manifestation in action, willlargely determine his after-life. In like manner the mental and moralhistory of Japan has so stamped certain characteristics on herlanguage, on her thought, and above all on her temperament andcharacter, that, however she may strive to Westernize herself, it isimpossible for her to obliterate her Oriental features. She willinevitably and always remain Japanese. 

Japan has already produced an Occidento-Oriental civilization. Timewill serve progressively to Occidentalize it. But there is no reasonfor thinking that it will ever become wholly Occidentalized. AWesterner visiting Japan will always be impressed with its Orientalfeatures, while an Asiatic will be impressed with its Occidentalfeatures. This progressive Occidentalization of Japan will take placeaccording to the laws of social evolution, of which we must speaksomewhat more fully in a later chapter. 

An important question bearing on this problem is the precise nature ofthe characteristics differentiating the Occident and the Orient. Whatexactly do we mean when we say that the Japanese are Oriental and willalways bear the marks of the Orient in their civilization, howevermuch they may absorb from the West? The importance and difficulty ofthis question have led the writer to defer its consideration tilltoward the close of this work. 

If one would gain adequate conception of the process now going on, theillustration already used of the mingling of two rivers needs to besupplemented by another, corresponding to a separate class of facts. Instead of the mingling of rivers, let us watch the confluence of twoglaciers. What pressures! What grindings! What upheavals! Whatrendings! Such is the mingling of two civilizations. It is not smoothand Noiseless, but attended with pressure and pain. It is a collisionin more ways than one. The unfortunates on whom the pressures of bothcurrents are directed are often quite destroyed. 

Comparison is often made between Japan and India. In both countriesenormous social changes are taking place; in both, Eastern and Westerncivilizations are in contact and in conflict. The differences, however, are even more striking than the likenesses. Most conspicuousis the fact that whereas, in India, the changes in civilization aredue almost wholly to the force and rule of the conquering race, inJapan these changes are spontaneous, attributable entirely to thedesire and initiative of the native rulers. This difference isfundamental and vital. The evolution of society in India is to a largedegree compulsory; in a true sense it is an artificial evolution. InJapan, on the other hand, evolution is natural. There has not beenthe slightest physical compulsion laid on her from without. With tworare exceptions, Japan has never heard the boom of foreign cannoncarrying destruction to her people. During these years of change, there have been none but Japanese rulers, and such has been the casethroughout the entire period of Japanese history. Their native rulershave introduced changes such as foreign rulers would hardly haveventured upon. The adoption of the Chinese language, literature, andreligions from ten to twelve centuries ago, was not occasioned by amilitary occupancy of Japanese soil by invaders from China. It was dueabsolutely to the free choice of their versatile people, as free andvoluntary as was the adoption by Rome of Greek literature andstandards of learning. The modern choice of Western materialcivilization no doubt had elements of fear as motive power. Butimpulsion through a knowledge of conditions differs radically fromcompulsion exercised by a foreign military occupancy. Indiaillustrates the latter; Japan, the former. 

Japan and her people manifest amazing contrasts. Never, on the onehand, has a nation been so free from foreign military occupancythroughout a history covering more than fifteen centuries, and at thesame time, been so influenced by and even subject to foreign psychicalenvironment. What was the fact in ancient times is the fact to-day. The dominance of China and India has been largely displaced by that ofEurope. Western literature, language, and science, and even customs, are being welcomed by Japan, and are working their inevitable effects. But it is all perfectly natural, perfectly spontaneous. The presentchoice by Japan of modern science and education and methods andprinciples of government and nineteenth-century literature andlaw, --in a word, of Occidental civilization, --is not due to anyartificial pressure or military occupancy. But the choice and theconsequent evolution are wholly due to the free act of the people. Inthis, as in several other respects, Japan reminds us of ancientGreece. Dr. Menzies, in his "History of Religion, " says: "Greece wasnot conquered from the East, but stirred to new life by thecommunication of new ideas. " Free choice has made Japan reject Chineseastronomy, surgery, medicine, and jurisprudence. The early choice toadmit foreigners to Japan to trade may have been made entirely throughfear, but is now accepted and justified by reason and choice. 

The true explanation, therefore, of the recent and rapid rise of Japanto power and reputation, is to be found, not in the externals of hercivilization, not in the pressure of foreign governments, but ratherin the inherited mental and temperamental characteristics, reacting onthe new and stimulating environment, and working along the lines oftrue evolution. Japan has not "jumped out of her skin, " but a newvitality has given that skin a new color. 

II

HISTORICAL SKETCH

How many of the stories of the Kojiki (written in 712 A. D. ) andNihongi (720 A. D. ) are to be accepted is still a matter of disputeamong scholars. Certain it is, however, that Japanese early history isveiled in a mythology which seems to center about three prominentpoints: Kyushu, in the south; Yamato, in the east central, and Izumoin the west central region. This mythological history narrates thecircumstances of the victory of the southern descendants of the godsover the two central regions. And it has been conjectured that thesethree centers represent three waves of migration that brought theancestors of the present inhabitants of Japan to these shores. Thesupposition is that they came quite independently and began theirconflicts only after long periods of residence and multiplication. 

Though this early record is largely mythological, tradition shows usthe progenitors of the modern Japanese people as conquerors from thewest and south who drove the aborigines before them and gradually tookpossession of the entire land. That these conquerors were not all ofthe same stock is proved by the physical appearance of the Japaneseto-day, and by their language. Through these the student traces anearly mixture of races--the Malay, the Mongolian, and the Ural-Altaic. Whether the early crossing of these races bears vital relation to theplasticity of the Japanese is a question which tempts the scholar. 

Primitive, inter-tribal conflicts of which we have no reliable recordsresulted in increasing intercourse. Victory was followed byfederation. And through the development of a common language, ofcommon customs and common ideas, the tribes were unified socially andpsychically. Consciousness of this unity was emphasized by theage-long struggle against the Ainu, who were not completely conquereduntil the eighteenth century. 

With the dawn of authentic history (500-600 A. D. ) we find amalgamationof the conquering tribes, with, however, constantly recurringinter-clan and inter-family wars. Many of these continued for scoresand even hundreds of years--proving that, in the modern sense, of theword, the Japanese were not yet a nation, though, throughinter-marriage, through the adoption of important elements ofcivilization brought from China and India via Korea, through thenominal acceptance of the Emperor as the divinely appointed ruler ofthe land, they were, in race and in civilization, a fairly homogeneouspeople. 

The national governmental system was materially affected by the need, throughout many centuries, of systematic methods of defense againstthe Ainu. The rise of the Shogunate dates back to 883 A. D. , when thechief of the forces opposing the Ainu was appointed by the Emperor andbore the official title, "The Barbarian-expelling Generalissimo. " Thisoffice developed in power until, some centuries later, it usurped infact, if not in name, all the imperial prerogatives. 

It is probable that the Chinese written language, literature, andethical teachings of Confucius came to Japan from Korea after theChristian era. The oldest known Japanese writings (Japanese writtenwith Chinese characters) date from the eighth century. In this periodalso Buddhism first came to Japan. For over a hundred years it maderelatively little progress. But when at last in the ninth and tenthcenturies native Japanese Buddhists popularized its doctrines andadopted into its theogony the deities of the aboriginal religion, nowknown as Shinto, Buddhism became the religion of the people, andfilled the land with its great temples, praying priests, and gorgeousrituals. 

Even in those early centuries the contact of Japan with her Orientalneighbors revealed certain traits of her character which have beenconspicuous in recent times--great capacity for acquisition, andreadiness to adopt freely from foreign nations. Her contact withChina, at that time so far in advance of herself in every element ofcivilization, was in some respects disastrous to her original growth. Instead of working out the problems of thought and life for herself, she took what China and Korea had to give. The result was an arrest inthe development of everything distinctively native. The nativereligion was so absorbed by Buddhism that for a thousand years it lostall self-consciousness. Indeed the modern clear demarcation betweenthe native and the imported religions is a matter of only a fewdecades, due to the researches of native scholars during the latterpart of the last and the early part of this century. Even now, multitudes of the common people know no difference between the variouselements of the composite religion of which they are the heirs. 

Moreover, early contact with China and her enormous literature checkedthe development of the native language and the growth of the nativeliterature. The language suffered arrest because of the rapidintroduction of Chinese terms for all the growing needs of thought andcivilization. Modern Japanese is a compound of the original tongue andJaponicized Chinese. Native speculative thought likewise found littleencouragement or stimulus to independent activity in the presence ofthe elaborate and in many respects profound philosophies brought fromIndia and China. 

From earliest times the government of Japan was essentially feudal. Powerful families and clans disputed and fought for leadership, andthe political history of Japan revolves around the varying fortunes ofthese families. While the Imperial line is never lost to sight, itseldom rises to real power. 

When, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Japan's conquering armreached across the waters, to ravage the coast of China, to extend herinfluence as far south as Siam, and even to invade Korea with a largearmy in 1592, it looked as if she were well started on her career as aworld-power. But that was not yet to be. The hegemony of her clanspassed into the powerful and shrewd Tokugawa family, the policy ofwhich was peace and national self-sufficiency. 

The representatives of the Occidental nations (chiefly of Spain andPortugal) were banished. The Christian religion (Roman Catholic), which for over fifty years had enjoyed free access and had made greatprogress, was forbidden and stamped out, not without much bloodshed. Foreign travel and commerce were strictly interdicted. A particularschool of Confucian ethics was adopted and taught as the statereligion. Feudalism was systematically established and intentionallydeveloped. Each and every man had his assigned and recognized place inthe social fabric, and change was not easy. It is doubtful if anyEuropean country has ever given feudalism so long and thorough atrial. Never has feudalism attained so complete a development as itdid in Japan under the Tokugawa régime of over 250 years. 

During this period no influences came from other lands to disturb thenatural development. With the exception of three ships a year fromHolland, an occasional stray ship from other lands, and from fifteento twenty Dutchmen isolated in a little island in the harbor ofNagasaki, Japan had no communication with foreign lands or alienpeoples. 

Of this period, extending to the middle of the present century, theordinary visitor and even the resident have but a superficialknowledge. All the changes that have taken place in Japan, since thecoming of Perry in 1854, are attributed by the easy-going tourist tothe external pressure of foreign nations. But such travelers knownothing of the internal preparations that had been making forgenerations previous to the arrival of Perry. The tourist is quiteignorant of the line of Japanese scholars that had been underminingthe authority of the military rulers, "the Tokugawa, " in favor of theImperial line which they had practically supplanted. 

The casual student of Japan has been equally ignorant of the realmental and moral caliber of the Japanese. Dressed in clothing thatappeared to us fantastic, and armed with cumbersome armor andold-fashioned guns, it was easy to jump to the conclusion that thepeople were essentially uncivilized. We did not know the intellectualdiscipline demanded of one, whether native or foreign, who wouldmaster the native language or the native systems of thought. We forgotthat we appeared as grotesque and as barbarous to them as they to us, and that mental ability and moral worth are qualities that do not showon the surface of a nation's civilization. While they thought us to be"unclean, " "dogs, " "red-haired devils, " we perhaps thought them to beclever savages, or at best half-civilized heathen, without moralperceptions or intellectual ability. 

Of Old Japan little more needs to be said. Without external commerce, there was little need for internal trade; ships were small; roads werefootpaths; education was limited to the samurai, or military class, retainers of the daimyo, "feudal lords"; inter-clan travel was limitedand discouraged; Confucian ethics was the moral standard. From thebeginning of the seventeenth century Christianity was forbidden byedict, and was popularly known as the "evil way"; Japan was thought tobe especially sacred, and the coming of foreigners was supposed topollute the land and to be the cause of physical evils. Education, asin China, was limited to the Chinese classics. Mathematics, generalhistory, and science, in the modern sense, were of course whollyunknown. Guns and powder were brought from the West in the sixteenthcentury by Spaniards and Portuguese, but were never improved. Ship-building was the same in the middle of the nineteenth century asin the middle of the sixteenth, perhaps even less advanced. Architecture had received its great impulse from the introduction ofBuddhism in the ninth and tenth centuries and had made no materialimprovement thereafter. 

But while there was little progress in the external and mechanicalelements of civilization, there was progress in other respects. Duringthe "great peace, " first arose great scholars. Culture became moregeneral throughout the nation. Education was esteemed. The corruptlives of the priests were condemned and an effort was made to reformlife through the revival of a certain school of Confucian teachersknown as "Shin-Gaku"--"Heart-Knowledge. " Art also made progress, bothpictorial and manual. It would almost seem as if modern artificers andpainters had lost the skill of their forefathers of one or two hundredyears ago. 

Many reasons explain the continuance of the old political and socialorder: the lack of a foreign foe to compel abandonment of the tribalorganisation; the mountainous nature of the country with its slow, primitive means of intercommunication; the absence of all idea of acompletely centralized nation. Furthermore, the principle of completesubordination to superiors and ancestors had become so strong thatindividual innovations were practically impossible. Japan thus lackedthe indispensable key to further progress, the principle ofindividualism. The final step in the development of her nationalityhas been taken, therefore, only in our own time. 

Old Japan seemed absolutely committed to a thorough-going antagonismto everything foreign. New Japan seems committed to the oppositepolicy. What are the steps by which she has effected this apparentnational reversal of attitude?

We should first note that the absolutism of the Tokugawa Shogunateserved to arouse ever-growing opposition because of its sternrepression of individual opinion. It not only forbade the Christianreligion, but also all independent thought in religious philosophy andin politics. The particular form of Confucian moral philosophy whichit held was forced on all public teachers of Confucianism. Dissent wasnot only heretical, but treasonable. Although, by its militaryabsolutism, the Tokugawa rule secured the great blessing of peace, lasting over two hundred years, and although the curse of Japan forwell-nigh a thousand preceding years had been fierce inter-tribal andinter-family wars and feuds, yet it secured that peace at the expenseof individual liberty of thought and act. It thus gradually arousedagainst itself the opposition of many able minds. The enforced peacerendered it possible for these men to devote themselves to problems ofthought and of history. Indeed, they had no other outlet for theirenergies. As they studied the history of the past and compared theirresults with the facts of the present, it gradually dawned on theminds of the scholars of the eighteenth century, that the Tokugawafamily were exercising functions of government which had never beendelegated to them; and that the Emperor was a poverty-stricken puppetin the hands of a family that had seized the military power and hadgradually absorbed all the active functions of government, togetherwith its revenues. 

It is possible for us to see now that these early Japanese scholarsidealized their ancient history, and assigned to the Emperor a placein ancient times which in all probability he has seldom held. But, however that may be, they thought their view correct, and held thatthe Emperor was being deprived of his rightful rule by the Tokugawafamily. 

These ideas, first formulated in secret by scholars, graduallyfiltered down, still in secrecy, and were accepted by a large numberof the samurai, the military literati of the land. Their opposition tothe actual rulers of the land, aroused by the individual-crushingabsolutism of the Tokugawa rule, naturally allied itself to thereligious sentiment of loyalty to the Emperor. Few Westerners canappreciate the full significance of this fact. Throughout thecenturies loyalty to the Emperor has been considered a cardinalvirtue. With one exception, according to the popular histories, no oneever acknowledged himself opposed to the Emperor. Every rebellionagainst the powers in actual possession made it the first aim to gainpossession of the Emperor, and proclaim itself as fighting for him. When, therefore, the scholars announced that the existing governmentwas in reality a usurpation and that the Emperor was robbed of hisrightful powers, the latent antagonism to the Tokugawa rule began tofind both intellectual and moral justification. It could and didappeal to the religious patriotism of the people. It is perhaps nottoo much to say that the overthrow of the Tokugawa family and therestoration of the Imperial rule to the Imperial family would havetaken place even though there had been no interference of foreignnations, no extraneous influences. But equally certain is it thatthese antagonisms to the ruling family were crystallized, and thegreat internal changes hastened by the coming in of the aggressiveforeign nations. How this external influence operated must and can betold in a few words. 

When Admiral Perry negotiated his treaty with the Japanese, hesupposed he was dealing with responsible representatives of thegovernment. As was later learned, however, the Tokugawa rulers had notsecured the formal assent of the Emperor to the treaty. The Tokugawarulers and their counselors, quite as much as the clan-rulers, wishedto keep the foreigners out of the country, but they realized theirinability. The rulers of the clans, however, felt that the Tokugawarulers had betrayed the land; they were, accordingly, in activeopposition both to the foreigners and to the national rulers. When theforeigners requested the Japanese government, "the TokugawaShogunate, " to carry out the treaties, it was unable to comply withthe request because of the antagonism of the clan-rulers. When theclan-rulers demanded that the government annul the treaties and driveout the hated and much-feared foreigners, it found itself utterlyunable to do so, because of the formidable naval power of theforeigners. 

As a consequence of this state of affairs, a few serious collisionstook place between the foreigners and the two-sworded samurai, retainers of the clan-rulers. The Tokugawa rulers apparently did theirbest to protect the foreigners, and, when there was no possible methodof evasion, to execute the treaties they had made. But they could notcontrol the clans already rebellious. A few murders of foreigners, followed by severe reprisals, and two bombardments of native towns byforeign gunboats, began to reveal to the military class at large thatno individual or local action against the foreigners was at all to bethought of. The first step necessary was the unification of the Empireunder the Imperial rule. This, however, could be done only by theoverthrow of the Tokugawa Shogunate; which was effected in 1867-68after a short struggle, marked by great clemency. 

We thus realize that the overthrow of the Shogunate as also the finalabolishment of feudalism with its clans, lords, and hereditary rulers, and the establishment of those principles of political and personalcentralization which lie at the foundation of real national unity, notonly were hastened by, but in a marked degree dependent on, thestimulus and contribution of foreigners. They compelled a morecomplete Japanese unity than had existed before, for they demandeddirect relations with the national head. And when treaty negotiationsrevealed the lack of such a head, they undertook to show its necessityby themselves punishing those local rulers who did not recognize theTokugawa headship. 

With the establishment of the Emperor on the throne, began the modernera in Japanese history, known in Japan as "Meiji"--"EnlightenedRule. "

But not even yet was the purpose of the nation attained, namely, theexpulsion of the polluters of the sacred soil of Japan. As soon as thenew government was established and had turned its attention to foreignaffairs, it found itself in as great a dilemma as had itspredecessors, the Tokugawa rulers. For the foreign governmentsinsisted that the treaties negotiated with the old government shouldbe accepted in full by the new. It was soon as evident to the newrulers as it had been to the old that direct and forcible resistanceto the foreigners was futile. Not by might were they to be overcome. Westerners had, however, supplied the ideals whereby national, political unity was to be secured. Mill's famous work on"Representative Government" was early translated, and read by all thethinking men of the day. These ideas were also keenly studied in theiractual workings in the West. The consequence was that feudalism wasutterly rejected and the new ideas, more or less modified, werespeedily adopted, even down to the production of a constitution andthe establishment of local representative assemblies and a nationaldiet. In other words, the theories and practices of the West in regardto the political organization of the state supplied Japan with thosenew intellectual variations which were essential to the higherdevelopment of her own national unity. 

A further point of importance is the fact that at the very time thatthe West applied this pressure and supplied Japan with these politicalideals she also put within her reach the material instruments whichwould enable her to carry them into practice. I refer to steamlocomotion by land and sea, the postal and telegraphic systems ofcommunication, the steam printing press, the system of populareducation, and the modern organization of the army and the navy. Theseinstruments Japan made haste to acquire. But for these, the rapidtransformation of Old Japan into New Japan would have been anexceedingly long and difficult process. The adoption of these tools ofcivilization by the central authority at once gave it an immensesuperiority over any local force. For it could communicate speedilywith every part of the Empire, and enforce its decisions with acelerity and a decisiveness before unknown. It became once more theactual head of the nation. 

We have thus reached the explanation of one of the most astonishingchanges in national attitude that history has to record, and the newattitude seems such a contradiction of the old as to be inexplicable, and almost incredible. But a better knowledge of the facts and adeeper understanding of their significance will serve to remove thisfirst impression. 

What, then, did the new government do? It simply said, "For us todrive out these foreigners is impossible; but neither is it desirable. We need to know the secrets of their power. We must study theirlanguage, their science, their machinery, their steamboats, theirbattle-ships. We must learn all their secrets, and then we shall beable to turn them out without difficulty. Let us therefore restrictthem carefully to the treaty ports, but let us make all the use ofthem we can. "

This has virtually been the national policy of Japan ever since. Andthis policy gained the acceptance of the people as a whole withmarvelous readiness, for a reason which few foreigners can appreciate. Had this policy been formulated and urged by the Tokugawa rulers, there is no probability that it would have been accepted. But becauseit was, ostensibly at least, the declared will of the Emperor, loyaltyto him, which in Japan is both religion and patriotism, led to ahearty and complete acceptance which could hardly have been realizedin any other land. During the first year of his "enlightened" rule(1868), the Emperor gave his sanction to an Edict, the last twoclauses of which read as follows:

 "The old, uncivilized way shall be replaced by the eternal principles of the universe. 

 "The best knowledge shall be sought throughout the world, so as to promote the Imperial welfare. "

It is the wide acceptance of this policy, which, however, is in accordwith the real genius of the people, that has transformed Japan. It hassent hundreds of its young men to foreign lands to learn and bringback to Japan the secrets of Western power and wealth; it hasestablished roads and railways, postal and telegraphic facilities, apublic common-school system, colleges and a university in whichWestern science, history, and languages have been taught by foreignand foreign-trained instructors; daily, weekly, and monthly papers andmagazines; factories, docks, drydocks; local and foreign commerce;representative government--in a word, all the characteristic featuresof New Japan. The whole of New Japan is only the practical carryingout of the policy adopted at the beginning of the new era, when it wasfound impossible to cast out the foreigners by force. Brute forcebeing found to be out of the question, resort was thus made tointellectual force, and with real success. 

The practice since then has not been so much to retain the foreigneras to learn of him and then to eliminate him. Every branch of learningand industry has proved this to be the consistent Japanese policy. Noforeigner may hope to obtain a permanent position in Japanese employ, either in private firms or in the government. A foreigner is usefulnot for what he can do, but for what he can teach. When any Japanesecan do his work tolerably well, the foreigner is sure to be dropped. 

The purpose of this volume does not require of us a minute statisticalstatement of the present attainments of New Japan. Such informationmay be procured from Henry Norman's "Real Japan, " Ransome's "Japan inTransition, " and Newton's "Japan: Country, Court, and People. " It isenough for us to realize that Japan has wholly abandoned or profoundlymodified all the external features of her old, her distinctivelyOriental civilization and has replaced them by Occidental features. Ingovernment, she is no longer arbitrary, autocratic, and hereditary, but constitutional and representative. Town, provincial, and nationallegislative assemblies are established, and in fairly good workingorder, all over the land. The old feudal customs have been replaced bywell codified laws, which are on the whole faithfully administeredaccording to Occidental methods. Examination by torture has beenabolished. The perfect Occidentalization of the army, and the creationof an efficient navy, are facts fully demonstrated to the world. Thelimited education of the few--- and in exclusively Chineseclassics--has given place to popular education. Common schools numberover 30, 000, taught by about 100, 000 teachers (4278 being women), having over 4, 500, 000 pupils (over 1, 500, 000 being girls). The schoolaccommodation is insufficient; it is said that 30, 000 additionalteachers are needed at once. Middle and high schools throughout theland are rejecting nearly one-half of the student applicants for lackof accommodation. 

Feudal isolation, repression, and seclusion have given way to freetravel, free speech, and a free press. Newspapers, magazines, andbooks pour forth from the universal printing press in great profusion. Twenty dailies issue in the course of a year over a million copieseach, while two of them circulate 24, 000, 000 and 21, 000, 000 copies, respectively. 

Personal, political, and religious liberty has been practically securenow for over two decades, guaranteed by the constitution, and enforcedby the courts. 

Chinese medical practice has largely been replaced by that from theWest, although many of the ignorant classes still prefer the oldmethods. The government enforces Western hygienic principles in allpublic matters, with the result that the national health has improvedand the population is growing at an alarming rate. While in 1872 thepeople numbered 33, 000, 000, in 1898 they numbered 45, 000, 000. Thegeneral scale of living for the common people has also advancedconspicuously. Meat shops are now common throughout the land--a thingunknown in pre-Meiji times--and rice, which used to be the luxury ofthe wealthy few, has become the staple necessity of the many. 

Postal and telegraph facilities are quite complete. Macadamized roadsand well-built railroads have replaced the old footpaths, except inthe most mountainous districts. Factories of many kinds are appearingin every town and city. Business corporations, banks, etc. , whichnumbered only thirty-four so late as 1864 are now numbered by thethousand, and trade flourishes as in no previous period of Japanesehistory. Instead of being a country of farmers and soldiers, Japan isto-day a land of farmers and merchants. Wealth is growing apace. International commerce, too, has sprung up and expanded phenomenally. Japanese merchant steamers may now be seen in every part of the world. 

All these changes have taken place within about three decades, and soradical have they been, --so productive of new life in Japan, --thatsome have urged the re-writing of Japanese history, making the firstyear of Meiji (1868) the year one of Japan, instead of reckoning fromthe year in which Jimmu Tenno is said to have ascended the throne, 2560 years ago (B. C. 660). 

The way in which Japanese regard the transformations produced by the"restoration" of the present Emperor, upon the overthrow of the"Bakufu, " or "Curtain Government, " may be judged from the followinggraphic paragraph from _The Far East_:

 "The Restoration of Meiji was indeed the greatest of revolutions that this island empire ever underwent. Its magic wand left nothing untouched and unchanged. It was the Restoration that overthrew the Tokugawa Shogunate, which reigned supreme for over two centuries and a half. It was the Restoration that brought us face to face with the Occidentals. It was the Restoration that pulled the demigods of the Feudal lords down to the level of the commoners. It was the Restoration that deprived the samurai of their fiefs and reduced them to penury. It was the Restoration that taught the people to build their houses of bricks and stones and to construct ships and bridges of iron instead of wood. It was the Restoration that informed us that eclipses and comets are not to be feared, and that earthquakes are not caused by a huge cat-fish in the bottom of the earth. It was the Restoration that taught the people to use the "drum-backing" thunder as their messenger, and to make use of the railroad instead of the palanquin. It was the Restoration that set the earth in motion, and proved that there is no rabbit in the moon. It was the Restoration that bestowed on Socrates and Aristotle the chairs left vacant by Confucius and Mencius. It was the Restoration that let Shakspere and Goethe take the place of Bakin and Chikamatsu. It was the Restoration that deprived the people of the swords and topnots. In short, after the Restoration a great change took place in administration, in art, in science, in literature, in language spoken and written, in taste, in custom, in the mode of living, nay in everything" (p. 541). 

A natural outcome of the Restoration is the exuberant patriotism thatis so characteristic a feature of New Japan. The very term"ai-koku-shin" is a new creation, almost as new as the thing. Thisword is an incidental proof of the general correctness of thecontention of this chapter that true nationality is a recent productin Japan. The term, literally translated, is "love-country heart"; butthe point for us to notice particularly is the term for country, "koku"; this word has never before meant the country as a whole, butonly the territory of a clan. If I wish to ask a Japanese what partof Japan is his native home, I must use this word. And if a Japanesewishes to ask me which of the foreign lands I am a native of, he mustuse the same word. The truth is that Old Japan did not have any commonword corresponding to the English term, "My country. " In ancienttimes, this could only mean, "My clan-territory. " But with the passingaway of the clans the old word has taken on a new significance. Thenew word, "ai-koku-shin, " refers not to love of clan, but to love ofthe whole nation. The conception of national unity has at last seizedupon the national mind and heart, and is giving the people anenthusiasm for the nation, regardless of the parts, which they neverbefore knew. Japanese patriotism has only in this generation come toself-consciousness. This leads it to many a strange freak. It isvociferous and imperious, and often very impractical and Chauvinistic. It frequently takes the form of uncompromising disdain for theforeigner, and the most absolute loyalty to the Emperor of Japan; itdemands the utmost respect of expression in regard to him and the formof government he has graciously granted the nation. The slightest hintor indirect suggestion of defect or ignorance, or even of limitation, is most vehemently resented. 

A few illustrations of the above statements from recent experiencewill not be out of place. In August, 1891, the Minister of Education, Mr. Y. Osaki, criticising the tendency in Japan to pay undue respectto moneyed men, said, in the course of a long speech, "You Japaneseworship money even more reverently than the Americans do. If you had arepublic as they have, I believe you would nominate an Iwazaki or aMitsui to be president, whereas they don't think of nominating aVanderbilt or a Gould. " It was not long before a storm was ragingaround his head because of this reference to a republican form ofgovernment as a possibility in Japan. The storm became so fierce thathe was finally compelled to resign his post and retire, temporarily, from political life. 

In October, 1898, the High Council of Education was required toconsider various questions regarding the conduct of the educationaldepartment after the New Treaties should come into force. The mostimportant question was whether foreigners should be allowed to have apart in the education of Japanese youth. The general argument, andthat which prevailed, was that this should not be allowed lest thepatriotism of the children be weakened. So far as appears but onevoice was raised for a more liberal policy. Mr. Y. Kamada maintainedthat "patriotism in Japan was the outcome of foreign intercourse. Patriotism, that is to say, love of country--not merely of fief--andreadiness to sacrifice everything for its sake, was a product of theMeiji era. "

In 1891 a teacher in the Kumamoto Boys' School gave expression to thethought in a public address that, as all mankind are brothers, theschool should stand for the principle of universal brotherhood anduniversal goodwill to men. This expression of universalism was soobnoxious to the patriotic spirit of so large a number of the peopleof Kumamoto Ken, or Province, that the governor required the school todismiss that teacher. There is to-day a strong party in Japan whichmakes "Japanism" their cry; they denounce all expressions of universalgood-will as proofs of deficiency of patriotism. There are not wantingthose who see through the shallowness of such views and who vigorouslyoppose and condemn such narrow patriotism. Yet the fact that it existsto-day with such force must be noted and its natural explanation, too, must not be forgotten. It is an indication of self-consciousnationality. 

That this love of country, even this conception of country, is amodern thing will appear from two further facts. Until modern timesthere was no such thing as a national flag. The flaming Sun on a fieldof white came into existence as a national flag only in 1859. The useof the Sun as the symbol for the Emperor has been in vogue since 700A. D. , the custom having been adopted from China. "When in 1859 anational flag corresponding to those of Europe became necessary, theSun Banner naturally stepped into the vacant place. "[A]

The second fact is the recent origin of the festival known as"Kigensetsu. " It occurs on February 11 and celebrates the allegedaccession of Jimmu Tenno, the first Emperor of Japan, to the throne2560 years ago (660 B. C. ). The festival itself, however, wasinstituted by Imperial decree ten years ago (1890). 

The transformation which has come over Japan in a single generationrequires interpretation. Is the change real or superficial? Is the newsocial order "a borrowed trumpery garment, which will soon be rent byviolent revolutions, " according to the eminent student of racialpsychology, Professor Le Bon, or is it of "a solid nature" accordingto the firm belief of Mr. Stanford Ransome, one of the latest writerson Japan?

This is the problem that will engage our attention more or lessdirectly throughout this work. We shall give our chief thought to thenature and development of Japanese racial characteristics, believingthat this alone gives the light needed for the solution of theproblem. [B]

III

THE PROBLEM OF PROGRESS

What constitutes progress? And what is the true criterion for itsmeasurement? In adopting Western methods of life and thought, is Japanadvancing or receding? The simplicity of the life of the commonpeople, their freedom from fashions that fetter the Occidental, theirindependence of furniture in their homes, their few wants and fewernecessities--these, when contrasted with the endless needs and demandsof an Occidental, are accepted by some as evidences of a higher stageof civilization than prevails in the West. 

The hedonistic criterion of progress is the one most commonly adoptedin considering the question as to whether Japan is the gainer or theloser by her rapid abandonment of old ways and ideas and by herequally rapid adoption of Western ones in their place. Yet this appealto happiness seems to me a misleading because vague, if not altogetherfalse, standard of progress. Those who use it insist that the peopleof Japan are losing their former happiness under the stress of newconditions. Now there can be no doubt that during the "Kyu-han jidai, "the times before the coming in of Western waves of life, the farmerswere a simple, unsophisticated people; living from month to month withlittle thought or anxiety. They may be said to have been happy. Thesamurai who lived wholly on the bounty of the daimyo led of course atranquil life, at least so far as anxiety or toil for daily rice andfish was concerned. As the fathers had lived and fought and died, sodid the sons. To a large extent the community had all things incommon; for although the lord lived in relative luxury, yet in suchsmall communities there never was the great difference between classesthat we find in modern Europe and America. As a rule the people werefed, if there was food. The socialistic principle was practicallyuniversal. Especially was emphasis laid on kinship. As a result, saveamong the outcast classes, the extremes of poverty did not exist. 

Were we to rest our inquiries at this point, we might say that intruth the Japanese had attained the summit of progress; that nothingfurther could be asked. But pushing our way further, we find that thepeace and quiet of the ordinary classes of society were accompanied bymany undesirable features. 

Prominent among them was the domineering spirit of the military class. They alone laid claim to personal rights, and popular stories are fullof the free and furious ways in which they used their swords. Theslightest offense by one of the swordless men would be paid for by asummary act of the two-sworded swashbucklers, while beggars andfarmers were cut down without compunction, sometimes simply to test asword. In describing those times one man said to me, "They used to cutoff the heads of the common people as farmers cut off the head of thedaikon" (a variety of giant radish). I have frequently asked myJapanese friends and acquaintances, whether, in view of the increasingdifficulties of life under the new conditions, the country would notlike to return to ancient times and customs. But none have been readyto give me an affirmative reply. On detailed questioning I have alwaysfound that the surly, domineering methods, the absolutism of therulers, and the defenselessness of the people against unjust arbitrarysuperiors would not be submitted to by a people that has once tastedthe joy arising from individual rights and freedom and the manhoodthat comes from just laws for all. 

A striking feature of those Japanese who are unchanged by foreign waysis their obsequious manner toward superiors and officials. The lordlyand oftentimes ruthless manner of the rulers has naturally cowed thesubject. Whenever the higher nobility traveled, the common people werecommanded to fall on the ground in obeisance and homage. Failure to doso was punishable with instant death at the hands of the retainerswho accompanied the lord. During my first stay in Kumamoto I wassurprised that farmers, coming in from the country on horseback, meeting me as I walked, invariably got down from their horses, unfastened the handkerchiefs from their heads, and even took off theirspectacles if there were nothing else removable. These were signs ofrespect given to all in authority. Where my real status began to begenerally known, these signs of politeness gave place to rude staring. It is difficult for the foreigner to appreciate the extremes of thehigh-handed and the obsequious spirit which were developed by theancient form of government. Yet it is comparatively easy todistinguish between the evidently genuine humility of the non-militaryclasses and the studied deference of the dominant samurai. 

Another feature of the old order of things was the emptiness of thelives of the people. Education was rare. Limited to the samurai, whocomposed but a fraction of the population, it was by no meansuniversal even among them. And such education as they had was confinedto the Chinese classics. Although there were schools in connectionwith some of the temples, the people as a whole did not learn to reador write. These were accomplishments for the nobility and men ofleisure. The thoughts of the people were circumscribed by the narrowworld in which they lived, and this allowed but an occasionalglimpse of other clans through war or a chance traveler. For, in thosetimes, freedom of travel was not generally allowed. Each man, as arule, lived and labored and died where he was born. The militaryclasses had more freedom. But when we contrast the breadth of thoughtand outlook enjoyed by the nation to-day, through newspapers andmagazines, with the outlook and knowledge of even the most progressiveand learned of those of ancient times, how contracted do their livesappear!

A third feature of former times is the condition of women during thoseages. Eulogizers of Old Japan not only seem to forget that workingclasses existed then, but also that women, constituting half thepopulation, were essential to the existence of the nation. Thoughallowing more freedom than was given to women in other Orientalnations, Japan did not grant such liberty as is essential to the fulldevelopment of her powers. "Woman is a man's plaything" expresses aview still held in Japan. "Woman's sole duty is the bearing andrearing of children for her husband" is the dominant idea that hasdetermined her place in the family and in the state for hundreds ofyears. That she has any independent interest or value as a human beinghas not entered into national conception. "The way in which they aretreated by the men has hitherto been such as might cause a pang to anygenerous European heart. .. . A woman's lot is summed up in what istermed 'the three obediences, ' obedience, while yet unmarried, to afather; obedience, when married, to a husband; obedience, whenwidowed, to a son. At the present moment the greatest duchess ormarchioness in the land is still her husband's drudge. She fetches andcarries for him, bows down humbly in the hall when my lord salliesforth on his good pleasure. "[C] "The Greater Learning for Women, " byEkken Kaibara (1630-1714), an eminent Japanese moralist, is the nameof a treatise on woman's duties which sums up the ideas common inJapan upon this subject. For two hundred years or more it has beenused as a text-book in the training of girls. It enjoins such abjectsubmission of the wife to her husband, to her parents-in-law, and toher other kindred by marriage, as no self-respecting woman of Westernlands could for a moment endure. Let me prove this through a fewquotations. 

"A woman should look on her husband as if he were Heaven itself andnever weary of thinking how she may yield to her husband, and thusescape celestial castigation. " "Woman must form no friendships and nointimacy, except when ordered to do so by her parents or by themiddleman. Even at the peril of her life, must she harden her heartlike a rock or metal, and observe the rules of propriety. " "A womanhas no particular lord. She must look to her husband as her lord andmust serve him with all reverence and worship, not despising orthinking lightly of him. The great life-long duty of a woman isobedience. .. . When the husband issues his instructions, the wife mustnever disobey them. .. . Should her husband be roused to anger at anytime, she must obey him, with fear and trembling. " Not one word in allthese many and specific instructions hints at love and affection. Thatwhich to Western ears is the sweetest word in the English language, the foundation of happiness in the home, the only true bond betweenhusband and wife, parents and children--LOVE--does not once appear inthis the ideal instruction for Japanese women. 

Even to this day divorce is the common occurrence in Japan. Accordingto Confucius there are seven grounds of divorce: disobedience, barrenness, lewd conduct, jealousy, leprosy or any other foul orincurable disease, too much talking, and thievishness. "In plainEnglish, a man may send away his wife whenever he gets tired of her. "

Were the man's duties to the wife and to her parents as minutelydescribed and insisted on as are those of the wife to the husband andto his parents, this "Greater Learning for Women" would not seem sodeficient; but such is not the case. The woman's rights are few, yetshe bears her lot with marvelous patience. Indeed, she has acquired amost attractive and patient and modest behavior despite, or is itbecause of, centuries of well-nigh tyrannical treatment from the malesex. In some important respects the women of Japan are not to beexcelled by those of any other land. But that this lot has been ahappy one I cannot conceive it possible for a European, who knows themeaning of love or home, to contend. The single item of one divorcefor every three marriages tells a tale of sorrow and heartache that issad to contemplate. Nor does this include those separations wheretentative marriage takes place with a view to learning whether theparties can endure living together. I have known several such cases. Neither does this take account of the great number of concubines thatmay be found in the homes of the higher classes. A concubine oftenmakes formal divorce quite superfluous. 

I by no means contend that the women of Old Japan were all and alwaysmiserable. There was doubtless much happiness and even family joy;affection between husband and wife could assuredly have been found innumberless cases. But the hardness of life as a whole, the lowposition held by woman in her relations to man, her lack of legalrights, [D] and her menial position, justify the assertion that therewas much room for improvement. 

These three conspicuous features of the older life in Japan help us toreach a clear conception as to what constitutes progress. We may saythat true progress consists in that continuous, though slow, transformation of the structure of society which, while securing itsmore thorough organization, brings to each individual the opportunityof a larger, richer, and fuller life, a life which increasingly callsforth his latent powers and capacities. In other words, progress is agrowing organization of society, accompanied by a growing liberty ofthe individual resulting in richness and fullness of life. It is notprimarily a question of unreflecting happiness, but a question of thewide development of manhood and womanhood. Both men and women have asyet unmeasured latent capacities, which demand a certain liberty, accompanied by responsibilities and cares, in order for theirdevelopment. Intellectual education and a wide horizon are likewiseessential to the production of such manhood and womanhood. In the longrun this is seen to bring a deeper and a more lasting happiness thanwas possible to the undeveloped man or woman. 

The question of progress is confused and put on a wrong footing whenthe consciousness of happiness or unhappiness, is made the primarytest. The happiness of the child is quite apart from that of theadult. Regardless of distressing circumstances, the child is able tolaugh and play, and this because he is a child; a child in hisignorance of actual life, and in his inability to perceive the trueconditions in which he lives. Not otherwise, I take it, was thehappiness of the vast majority in Old Japan. Theirs was the happinessof ignorance and simple, undeveloped lives. Accustomed to tyranny, they did not think of rebellion against it. Familiar with brutalityand suffering, they felt nothing of its shame and inhumanity. Thesight of decapitated bodies, the torture of criminals, the despotismof husbands, the cringing obedience of the ruled, the haughtiness ofthe rulers, the life of hard toil and narrow outlook, were all sousual that no thought of escape from such an order of society eversuggested itself to those who endured it. 

From time to time wise and just rulers did indeed strive to introduceprinciples of righteousness into their methods of government; butthese men formed the exception, not the rule. They were individualsand not the system under which the people lived. It was always amatter of chance whether or not such men were at the head of affairs, for the people did not dream of the possibility of having any voice intheir selection. The structure of society was and always had beenabsolute militarism. Even under the most benevolent rulers the use ofcruel torture, not only on convicted criminals, but on all suspectedof crime, was customary. Those in authority might personally set agood example, but they did not modify the system. They owned not onlythe soil but practically the laborers also, for these could not leavetheir homes in search of others that were better. They were serfs, ifnot slaves, and the system did not tend to raise the standard of lifeor education, of manhood or womanhood among the people. The happinessof the people in such times was due in part to their essentialinhumanity of heart and lack of sympathy with suffering and sorrow. Each individual bore his own sorrow and pain alone. The community, assuch, did not distress itself over individuals who suffered. Sympathy, in its full meaning, was unknown in Old Japan. The barbarous custom ofcasting out the leper from the home, to wander a lonely exile, livingon the charity of strangers, is not unknown even to this day. We aretold that in past times the "people were governed by such strongaversion to the sight of sickness that travelers were often left todie by the roadside from thirst, hunger, or disease; and householderseven went the length of thrusting out of doors and abandoning to utterdestitution servants who suffered from chronic maladies. " So universalwas this heartlessness that the government at one time issuedproclamations against the practices it allowed. "Whenever an epidemicoccurred the number of deaths was enormous. " Seven men of the outcast, "the Eta, " class were authoritatively declared equal in value to onecommon man. Beggars were technically called "hi-nin, " "not men. "

Those who descant on the happiness of Old Japan commit the great errorof overlooking all these sad features of life, and of fixing theirattention exclusively on the one feature of the childlike, not to saychildish, lightness of heart of the common people. Such writers arethus led to pronounce the past better than the present time. They alsooverlook the profound happiness and widespread prosperity of thepresent era. Trade, commerce, manufactures, travel, the freest ofintercommunication, newspapers, and international relations, havebrought into life a richness and a fullness that were then unknown. But in addition, the people now enjoy a security of personalinterests, a possession of personal rights and property, and apersonal liberty, that make life far more worthy and profoundlyenjoyable, even while they bring responsibilities and duties and not afew anxieties. This explains the fact that no Japanese has expressedto me the slightest desire to abandon the present and return to thelife and conditions of Old Japan. 

Let me repeat, therefore, with all possible emphasis, that the problemof progress is not primarily one of increasing light-heartedness, pureand simple, nor yet a problem of racial unification or of politicalcentralization; it is rather a problem of so developing the structureof society that the individual may have the fullest opportunity fordevelopment. 

The measure of progress is not the degree of racial unification, ofpolitical centralization, or of unreflective happiness, but rather thedegree and the extent of individual personality. Racial unification, political centralization, and increasing happiness are in theattainment of progress, but they are not to be viewed as sufficientends. Personality, can alone be that end. The wide development ofpersonality, therefore, is at once the goal and the criterion ofprogress. 

IV

THE METHOD OF PROGRESS

Progress as an ideal is quite modern in its origin. For although theancients were progressing, they did it unconsciously, blindly, stumbling on it by chance, forced to it, as we have seen, by thestruggle for existence. True of the ancient civilizations of Europeand Western Asia and Africa, this is emphatically true of the Orient. Here, so far from seeking to progress, the avowed aim has been not toprogress; the set purpose has been to do as the fathers did; to followtheir example even in customs and rites whose meaning has been lost inthe obscurity of the past. This blind adherence was the boast of thosewho called themselves religious. They strove to fulfill their dutiesto their ancestors. 

Under such conditions how was progress possible? And how has it cometo pass that, ruled by this ideal until less than fifty years ago, Japan is now facing quite the other way? The passion of the nationto-day is to make the greatest possible progress in every direction. Here is an anomaly, a paradox; progress made in spite of itsrejection; and, recently, a total volte-face. How shall we explainthis paradox?

In our chapter on the Principles of National Evolution, [E] we see thatthe first step in progress was made through the development ofenlarging communities by means of extending boundaries and hardeningcustoms. We see that, on reaching this stage, the great problem was soto break the "cake of custom" as to give liberty to individualswhereby to secure the needful variations. We do not consider how thiswas to be accomplished. We merely show that, if further progress wasto be made, it could only be through the development of theindividualistic principle to which we give the more exact namecommuno-individualism. This problem as to how the "cake of custom" issuccessfully broken must now engage our attention. 

Mr. Bagehot contends that this process consisted, as a matter ofhistory, in the establishment of government by discussion. Matters ofprinciple came to be talked over; the desirability of this or thatmeasure was submitted to the people for their approval or disapproval. This method served to stimulate definite and practical thought on awide scale; it substituted the thinking of the many for the thinkingof the few; it stimulated independent thinking and consequentlyindependent action. This is, however, but another way of saying thatit stimulated variation. A government whose action was determinedafter wide discussion would be peculiarly fitted to take advantage ofall useful variations of ideas and practice. Experience shows, hecontinues, that the difficulty of developing a "cake of custom" is farmore easily surmounted than that of developing government bydiscussion; _i. E. _, that it is far less difficult to developcommunalism than communo-individualism. The family of arrestedcivilizations, of which China and India and Japan, until recent times, are examples, were caught in the net of what had once been the sourceof their progress. The tyranny of their laws and customs was such thatall individual variations were nipped in the bud. They failed toprogress because they failed to develop variations. And they failed inthis because they did not have government by discussion. 

No one will dispute the importance of Mr. Bagehot's, contribution tothis subject. But it may be doubted whether he has pointed out thefull reason for the difficulty of breaking the "cake of custom" ormanifested the real root of progress. To attain progress in the fullsense, not merely of an oligarchy or a caste, but of the whole people, there must not only be government by discussion, but theresponsibilities of the government must be snared more or less fullyby all the governed. 

History, however, shows that this cannot take place until aconception of intrinsic manhood and womanhood has arisen, a conceptionwhich emphasizes their infinite and inherent worth. This conception isnot produced by government by discussion, while government bydiscussion is the necessary consequence of the wide acceptance of thisconception. It is therefore the real root of progress. 

As I look over the history of the Orient, I find no tendency todiscover the inherent worth of man or to introduce the principle ofgovernment by discussion. Left to themselves, I see no probabilitythat any of these nations would ever have been able to break thethrall of their customs, and to reach that stage of development inwhich common individuals could be trusted with a large measure ofindividual liberty. Though I can conceive that Japan might havesecured a thorough-going political centralization under the old_régime_, I cannot see that that centralization would have beenaccompanied by growing liberty for the individual or by suchconstitutional rights for the common man as he enjoys to-day. Whateverprogress she might have made in the direction of nationality it wouldstill have been a despotism. The common man would have remained ahelpless and hopeless slave. Art might have prospered; the peoplemight have remained simple-minded and relatively contented. But theycould not have attained that freedom and richness of life, thatpersonality, which we saw in our last chapter to be the criterion andgoal of true progress. 

If the reader judges the above contention correct and agrees with thewriter that the conception of the inherent value of a human beingcould not arise spontaneously in Japan, he will conclude that theprogress of Japan depended on securing this important conception fromwithout. Exactly this has taken place. By her thorough-goingabandonment of the feudal social order and adoption of theconstitutional and representative government of Christendom, whethershe recognizes it or not, she has accepted the principles of theinherent worth of manhood and womanhood, as well as government bydiscussion. Japan has thus, by imitation rather than by origination, entered on the path of endless progress. 

So important, however, is the step recently taken that furtheranalysis of this method of progress is desirable for its fullcomprehension. We have already noted quite briefly[F] how Japan wassupplied by the West with the ideal of national unity and the materialinstruments essential to its attainment. In connection with the highdevelopment of the nation as a whole, these two elements of progress, the ideal and the material, need further consideration. 

We note in the first place that both begin with imitation, but ifprogress is to be real and lasting, both must grow to independence. 

The first and by far the most important is the psychical, theintroduction of new ideas. So long as the old, familiar ideas holdsway over the mind of a nation, there is little or no stimulus tocomparison and discussion. Stagnation is well-nigh complete. But letnew ideas be so introduced as to compel attention and comprehension, and the mind spontaneously awakes to wonderful activity. The oldstagnation is no longer possible. Discussion is started; and in theend something must take place, even if the new ideas are not acceptedwholly or even in part. But they will not gain attention if presentedsimply in the abstract, unconnected with real life. They must bringevidence that, if accepted and lived, they will be of practical use, that they will give added power to the nation. 

Exactly this took place in 1854 when Admiral Perry demanded entranceto Japan. The people suddenly awoke from their sleep of two and a halfcenturies to find that new nations had arisen since they closed theireyes, nations among which new sets of ideas had been at work, givingthem a power wholly unknown to the Orient and even mysterious to it. Those ideas were concerned, not alone with the making of guns, thebuilding of ships, the invention of machinery, the taming and using ofthe forces of nature, but also with methods of government and law, with strange notions, too, about religion and duty, about the familyand the individual, which the foreigners said were of inestimablevalue and importance. It needed but a few years of intercourse withWestern peoples to convince the most conservative that unless theJapanese themselves could gain the secret of their power, either byadopting their weapons or their civilization, they themselves mustfade away before the stronger nations. The need of self-preservationwas the first great stimulus that drove new thoughts into unwillingbrains. 

There can be no doubt that the Japanese were right in this analysis ofthe situation. Had they insisted on maintaining their old methods ofnational life and social order and ancient customs, there can be nodoubt as to the result. Africa and India in recent decades and Chinaand Korea in the most recent years tell the story all too clearly. Those who know the course of treaty conferences and armed collisions, as at Shimonoseki and Kagoshima between Japan and the foreign nations, have no doubt that Japan, divided into clans and persisting in herlove of feudalism, would long since have become the territory of someEuropean Power. She was saved by the possession of a remarkablecombination of national characteristics, --the powers of observation, of appreciation, and of imitation. In a word, her sensitiveness to herenvironment and her readiness to respond to it proved to be hersalvation. 

But the point on which I wish to lay special emphasis is that theprime element of the form in which the deliverance came was throughthe acquisition of numerous new ideas. These were presented by personswho thoroughly believed in them and who admittedly had a power notpossessed by the Japanese themselves. Though unable to originate theseideas, the Japanese yet proved themselves capable of understanding andappreciating them--in a measure at least. They were at first attractedto that which related chiefly to the externals of civilization, tothat which would contribute immediately to the complete politicalcentralization of the nation. With great rapidity they adopted Westernideas about warfare and weapons. They sent their young men abroad tostudy the civilization of the foreign nations. At great expense theyalso employed many foreigners to teach them in their own land thethings they wished to learn. Thus have the Japanese mastered sorapidly the details of those ideas which, less than fifty years ago, were not only strange but odious to them. 

Under their influence, the conditions which history shows to be themost conducive to the continuous growth of civilization have beendefinitely accepted and adopted by the people, namely, popular rights, the liberty of individuals to differ from the past so far as this doesnot interfere with national unity, and the direct responsibility andrelation of each individual to the nation without any mediating group. These rights and liberties are secured to the individual by aconstitution and by laws enacted by representative legislatures. Government by discussion has been fairly inaugurated. 

During these years of change the effort has been to leave the oldsocial order as undisturbed as possible. For example, it was hopedthat the reorganization of the military and naval forces of the Empirewould be sufficient without disturbing the feudal order and withoutabolishing the feudal states. But this was soon found ineffectual. Fora time it was likewise thought that the adoption of Western methods ofgovernment might be made without disturbing the old religious ideasand without removing the edicts against Christianity. But experiencesoon showed that the old civilization was a unit. No part could bevitally modified without affecting the whole structure. Having knockedover one block in the long row that made up their feudal social order, it was found that each successive block was touched and fell, untilnothing was left standing as before. It was found also that the oldideas of education, of travel, of jurisprudence, of torture andpunishment, of social ranks, of the relation of the individual to thestate, of the state to the family, and of religion to the family, weremore or less defective and unsuited to the new civilization. Beforethis new movement all obstructive ideas, however, sanctioned byantiquity, have had to give way. The Japanese of to-day look, as itwere, upon a new earth and a new heaven. Those of forty years agowould be amazed, not only at the enormous changes in the externals, life and government, but also at the transformation which hasovertaken every element of the older civilization. Putting it ratherstrongly, it is now not the son who obeys the father, but the fatherthe son. The rulers no longer command the people, but the peoplecommand the rulers. The people do not now toil to support the state;but the state toils to protect the people. 

Whether the incoming of these new ideas and practices be thought toconstitute progress or not will depend on one's view of the aim oflife. If this be as maintained in the previous chapter, then surelythe transformation of Japan must be counted progress. That, however, to which I call attention is the fact that the essential requisite ofprogress is the attainment of new ideas, whatever be their source. Japan has not only taken up a great host of these, but in doing so shehas adopted a social structure to stimulate the continuous productionof new ideas, through the development of individuality. She is thus inthe true line of continuously progressive evolution. Imitating thestronger nations, she has introduced into her system the life-givingblood of free discussion, popular education, and universal individualrights and liberty. In a word, she has begun to be an individualisticnation. She has introduced a social order fitted to a wide developmentof personality. 

The importance of the second line of progress, the physical, wouldseem to be too obvious to call for any detailed consideration. But somuch has been said by both graceful and able writers on Japan as tothe advantages she enjoys from her simple non-mechanical civilization, and the mistake she is making in adopting the mechanical civilizationof the West, that it may not be amiss to dwell for a few moments uponit. I wish to show that the second element of progress consists in the_increasing use of mechanisms_. 

The enthusiastic admirer of Japan hardly finds words wherewithsufficiently to praise the simplicity of her pre-Meiji civilization. No furniture brings confusion to the room; no machinery distresses theear with its groanings or the eye with its unsightliness. No factoriesblacken the sky with smoke. No trains screeching through the towns andcities disturb sleepers and frighten babies. The simple bed on thefloor, the straw sandal on the foot, wooden chopsticks in place ofknives and forks, the small variety of foods and of cooking utensils, the simple, homespun cotton clothing, the fascinating homes, so smalland neat and clean--in truth all that pertains to Old Japan findsfavor in the eyes of the enthusiastic admirer from the Occident. Onesuch writer, in an elaborate paper intended to set forth thesuperiority of the original Japanese to the Occidental civilization, uses the following language: "Ability to live without furniture, without impedimenta, with the least possible amount of neat clothing, shows more than the advantage held by the Japanese race in thestruggle of life; it shows also the real character of some of theweaknesses in our own civilization. It forces reflection upon theuseless multiplicity of our daily wants. We must have meat and breadand butter; glass windows and fire; hats, white shirts, and woolenunderwear; boots and shoes; trunks, bags, and boxes; bedsteads, mattresses, sheets, and blankets; all of which a Japanese can dowithout, and is really better off without. "[G] Surely one finds muchof truth in this, and there is no denying the charm of the simplercivilization, but the closing phrase of the quotation is theassumption without discussion of the disputed point. Are the Japanesereally better off without these implements of Western civilization?Evidently they themselves do not think so. For, in glancing throughthe list as given by the writer quoted, one realizes the extent ofJapanese adoption of these Western devices. Hardly an article but isused in Japan, and certainly with the supposition of the purchaserthat it adds either to his health or his comfort. In witness are thehundreds of thousands of straw hats, the glass windows everywhere, and the meat-shops in each town and city of the Empire. The charm of aforeign fashion is not sufficient explanation for the rapidlyspreading use of foreign inventions. 

That there are no useless or even evil features in our Westerncivilization is not for a moment contended. The stiff starched shirtmay certainly be asked to give an account of itself and justify itscontinued existence, if it can. But I think the proposition is capableof defense that the vast majority of the implements of our Occidentalcivilization have their definite place and value, either incontributing directly to the comfort and happiness of their possessor, or in increasing his health and strength and general mental andphysical power. What is it that makes the Occidental longer-lived thanthe Japanese? Why is he healthier? Why is he more intelligent? Why ishe a more developed personality? Why are his children more energetic?Or, reversing the questions, why has the population of Japan beenincreasing with leaps and bounds since the introduction of Westerncivilization and medical science? Why is the rising generation so freefrom pockmarks? Why is the number of the blind steadily diminishing?Why are mechanisms multiplying so rapidly--the jinrikisha, therailroads, the roads, the waterworks and sewers, the chairs, thetables, the hats and umbrellas, lamps, clocks, glass windows andshoes? A hundred similar questions might be asked, to which nodefinite answers are needful. 

Further discussion of details seems unnecessary. Yet the fullsignificance of this point can hardly be appreciated without aperception of the great principle that underlies it. The only way inwhich man has become and continues to be increasingly superior toanimals is in his use of mechanisms. The animal does by brute forcewhat man accomplishes by various devices. The inventiveness ofdifferent races differs vastly. But everywhere, the most advanced arethe most powerful. Take the individual man of the more developed raceand separate him from his tools and machines, and it is doubtlesstrue that he cannot in some selected points compete with an individualof a less developed race. But let ten thousand men of the higherdevelopment compete with ten thousand of the lower, each using themechanisms under his control, and can there be any doubt as to whichis the superior?

In other words, the method of human progress consists, in no smalldegree, in the progressive mastery of nature, first throughunderstanding her and then through the use of her immense forces bymeans of suitable mechanisms. All the machines and furniture, andtools and clothing, and houses and canned foods, and shoes and boots, and railroads and telegraph lines, and typewriters and watches, andthe ten thousand other so-called "impedimenta" of the Occidentalcivilization are but devices whereby Western man has sought toincrease his health, his wealth, his knowledge, his comfort, hisindependence, his capacity of travel--in a word, his well-being. Through these mechanisms he masters nature. He extracts a rich livingfrom nature; he annihilates time and space; he defies the storms; hetunnels the mountains; he extracts precious ores and metals from therock-ribbed hills; with a magic touch he loosens the grip of theelements and makes them surrender their gold, their silver, and, moreprecious still, their iron; with these he builds his spacious citiesand parks, his railroads and ocean steamers; he travels the wholeworld around, fearing neither beast nor alien man; all are subject tohis command and will. He investigates and knows the constitution ofstellar worlds no less than that of the world in which he lives. Byhis instruments he explores the infinite depths of heaven and the noless infinite depths of the microscopic world. All these reviled"impedimenta" thus bring to the race that has them a wealth of lifeboth physical and psychical, practical and ideal, that is otherwiseunattainable. By them he gains and gives external expression to thereality of his inner nature, his freedom, his personality. True, instead of bringing health and long life, knowledge and deepenjoyment, they may become the means of bitterest curses. But thelesson to learn from this fact is how to use these powers aright, nothow to forbid their use altogether. They are not to be branded ashindrances to progress. 

The defect of Occidental civilization to-day is hot its multiplicityof machinery, but the defective view that still blinds the eyes of themultitude as to the true nature and the legitimate goal of progress. Individual, selfish happiness is still the ideal of too many men andwomen to permit of the ideal which carries the Golden Rule into themarkets and factories, into the politics of parties and nations, whichis essential to the attainment of the highest progress. But no one whocasts his eyes over the centuries of struggle and effort through whichman has been slowly working his way upward from the rank of a beast tothat of a man, can doubt that progress has been made. The worth ofcharacter has been increasingly seen and its possession desired. Thetrue end of effort and development was never more clear than it is atthe close of the nineteenth century. Never before were the conditionsof progress so bright, not only for the favored few in one or twolands, but for the multitudes the world over. Isolation and separationhave passed from this world forever. Free social intercourse betweenthe nations permits wide dissemination of ideas and their applicationto practical life in the form of social organization and mechanicalinvention. This makes it possible for nations more or less backward insocial and civilizational development to gain in a relatively shorttime the advantages won by advanced nations through ages of toil andunder favoring circumstances. Nation thus stimulates nation, eachfurnishing the other with important variations in ideas, customs, institutions, and mechanisms resulting from long-continued divergentevolution. The advantages slowly gained by advanced peoples speedilyaccrues through social heredity to any backward race really desiringto enter the social heritage. 

Thus does the paradox of Japan's recent progress become thoroughlyintelligible. 

V

JAPANESE SENSITIVENESS TO ENVIRONMENT

With this chapter we begin a more detailed study of Japanese socialand psychic evolution. We shall take up the various characteristics ofthe race and seek to account for them, showing their origin in thepeculiar nature of the social order which so long prevailed in Japan. This is a study of Japanese psychogenesis. The question to which weshall continually return is whether or not the characteristic underconsideration is inherent and congenital and therefore inevitable. Notonly our interpretation of Japanese evolution, past, present, andfuture, but also our understanding of the essential nature of socialevolution in general, depends upon the answer to this question. 

We naturally begin with that characteristic of Japanese nature whichwould seem to be more truly congenital than any other to be mentionedlater. I refer to their sensitiveness to environment. More quicklythan most races do the Japanese seem to perceive and adapt themselvesto changed conditions. 

The history of the past thirty years is a prolonged illustration ofthis characteristic. The desire to imitate foreign nations was not areal reason for the overthrow of feudalism, but there was, rather, amore or less conscious feeling, rapidly pervading the whole people, that the feudal system would be unable to maintain the nationalintegrity. As intimated, the matter was not so much reasoned out asfelt. But such a vast illustration is more difficult to appreciatethan some individual instances, of which I have noted several. 

During a conversation with Drs. Forsythe and Dale, of Cambridge, England, I asked particularly as to their experience with the Japanesestudents who had been there to study. They both remarked on the factthat all Japanese students were easily influenced by those with whomthey customarily associated; so much so that, within a short time, they acquired not only the cut of coats and trousers, but also themanner and accent, of those with whom they lived. It was amusing, theysaid, to see what transformations were wrought in those who went tothe Continent for their long vacations. From France they returned withmarked French manners and tones and clothes, while from Germany theybrought the distinctive marks of German stiffness in manner andgeneral bearing. It was noted as still more curious that the samestudent would illustrate both variations, provided he spent one summerin Germany and another in France. 

Japanese sensitiveness is manifested in many unexpected ways. Anobservant missionary lady once remarked that she had often wonderedhow such unruly, self-willed children as grow up under Japanesetraining, or its lack, finally become such respectable members ofsociety. She concluded that instead of being punished out of theirmisbehaviors they were laughed out of them. The children areconstantly told that if they do so and so they will be laughed at--aterrible thing. 

The fear of ridicule has thus an important sociological function inmaintaining ethical standards. Its power may be judged by the factthat in ancient times when a samurai gave his note to return aborrowed sum, the only guarantee affixed was the permission to belaughed at in public in case of failure. The Japanese young man who ismaking a typewritten copy of these pages for me says that, when stillyoung, he heard an address to children which he still remembers. Thespeaker asked what the most fearful thing in the world was. Manyreplies were given by the children--"snakes, " "wild beasts, ""fathers, " "gods, " "ghosts, " "demons, " "Satan, " "hell, " etc. Thesewere admitted to be fearful, but the speaker told the children thatone other thing was to be more feared than all else, namely, "to belaughed at. " This speech, with its vivid illustrations, made a lastingimpression on the mind of the boy, and on reading what I had writtenhe realized how powerful a motive fear of ridicule had been in his ownlife; also how large a part it plays in the moral education of theyoung in Japan. 

Naturally enough this fear of being laughed at leads to careful andminute observation of the clothing, manners, and speech of one'sassociates, and prompt conformity to them, through imitation. Thesensitiveness of Japanese students to each new environment is thuseasily understood. And this sensitiveness to environment has itsadvantages as well as its disadvantages. I have already referred tothe help it gives to the establishment of individual conformity toethical standards. The phenomenal success of many reforms in Japan mayeasily be traced to the national sensitiveness to foreign criticism. Many instances of this will be given in the course of this work, buttwo may well be mentioned at this point. According to the oldercustoms there was great, if not perfect, freedom as to the use ofclothing by the people. The apparent indifference shown by them in thematter of nudity led foreigners to call the nation uncivilized. Thiscriticism has always been a galling one, and not without reason. Inmany respects their civilization has been fully the equal of that ofany other nation; yet in this respect it is true that they resembledand still do resemble semi-civilized peoples. In response to thisforeign criticism, however, a law was passed, early in the Meiji era, prohibiting nudity in cities. The requirement that public bathinghouses be divided into two separate compartments, one for men and onefor women, was likewise due to foreign opinion. That this is the casemay be fairly inferred from the fact that the enforcement of theselaws has largely taken places where foreigners abound, whereas, in theinterior towns and villages they receive much less attention. It mustbe acknowledged, however, that now at last, twenty-five years aftertheir passage, they are almost everywhere beginning to be enforced bythe authorities. 

My other illustration of sensitiveness to foreign opinion is thepresent state of Japanese thought about the management of Formosa. Thegovernment has been severely criticised by many leading papers for itsblunders there. But the curious feature is the constant reference tothe contempt into which such mismanagement will bring Japan in thesight of the world--as if the opinion of other nations were the mostimportant issue involved, and not the righteousness and probity of thegovernment itself. It is interesting to notice how frequently theopinion of other nations with regard to Japan is a leading thought inthe mind of the people. 

In this connection the following extract finds its natural place:

 In a very large number of schools throughout the country special instructions have been given to the pupils as to their behavior towards foreigners. From various sources we have culled the following orders bearing on special points, which we state as briefly as possible. 

 (1) Never call after foreigners passing along the streets or roads. 

 (2) When foreigners make inquiries, answer them politely. If unable to make them understand, inform the police of the fact. 

 (3) Never accept a present from a foreigner when there is no reason for his giving it, and never charge him anything above what is proper. 

 (4) Do not crowd around a shop when a foreigner is making purchases, thereby causing him much annoyance. The continuance of this practice disgraces us as a nation. 

 (5) Since all human beings are brothers and sisters, there is no reason for fearing foreigners. Treat them as equals and act uprightly in all your dealings with them. Be neither servile nor arrogant. 

 (6) Beware of combining against the foreigner and disliking him because he is a foreigner; men are to be judged by their conduct and not by their nationality. 

 (7) As intercourse with foreigners becomes closer and extends over a series of years, there is danger that many Japanese may become enamored of their ways and customs and forsake the good old customs of their forefathers. Against this danger you must be on your guard. 

 (8) Taking off your hat is the proper way to salute a foreigner. The bending of the body low is not be commended. 

 (9) When you see a foreigner be sure and cover up naked parts of the body. 

 (10) Hold in high regard the worship of ancestors and treat your relations with warm cordiality, but do not regard a person as your enemy because he or she is a Christian. 

 (11) In going through the world you will often find a knowledge of a foreign tongue absolutely essential. 

 (12) Beware of selling your souls to foreigners and becoming their slaves. Sell them no houses or lands. 

 (13) Aim at not being beaten in your competition with foreigners. Remember that loyalty and filial piety are our most precious national treasures and do nothing to violate them. 

 Many of the above rules are excellent in tone. Number 7, however, which hails from Osaka, is somewhat narrow and prejudiced. The injunction not to sell houses to foreigners is, as the _Jiji Shimpo_ points out, absurd and mischievous. [H]

The sensitiveness of the people also works to the advantage of thenation in the social unity which it helps to secure. Indeed I cannotescape the conviction that the striking unity of the Japanese islargely due to this characteristic. It tends to make their mental andemotional activities synchronous. It retards reform for a season, tobe sure, but later it accelerates it. It makes it difficult forindividuals to break away from their surroundings and start out on newlines. It leads to a general progress while it tends to hinderindividual progress. It tends to draw back into the general current ofnational life those individuals who, under exceptional conditions, mayhave succeeded in breaking away from it for a season. This, I think, is one of the factors of no little power at work among the Christianchurches in Japan. It is one, too, that the Japanese themselves littleperceive; so far as I have observed, foreigners likewise fail torealize its force. 

Closely connected with this sensitiveness to environment are otherqualities which make it effective. They are: great flexibility, adjustability, agility (both mental and physical), and the powers ofkeen attention to details and of exact imitation. 

As opposed to all this is the Chinese lack of flexibility. Contrast aChinaman and a Japanese after each has been in America a year. The oneto all appearances is an American; his hat, his clothing, his manner, seem so like those of an American that were it not for his small size, Mongolian type of face, and defective English, he could easily bemistaken for one. How different is it with the Chinaman! He retainshis curious cue with a tenacity that is as intense as it ischaracteristic. His hat is the conventional one adopted by all Chineseimmigrants. His clothing likewise, though far from Chinese, isnevertheless entirely un-American. He makes no effort to conform tohis surroundings. He seems to glory in his separateness. 

The Japanese desire to conform to the customs and appearances of thoseabout him is due to what I have called sensitiveness; his success isdue to the flexibility of his mental constitution. 

But this characteristic is seen in multitudes of little ways. The newfashion of wearing the hair according to the Western styles; ofwearing Western hats, and Western clothing, now universal in the army, among policemen, and common among officials and educated men; the useof chairs and tables, lamps, windows, and other Western things is duein no small measure to that flexibility of mind which readily adoptsnew ideas and new ways; is ready to try new things and new words, andafter trial, if it finds them convenient or useful or even amusing, toretain them permanently, and this flexibility is, in part, the reasonwhy the Japanese are accounted a fickle people. They accept new waysso easily that those who do not have this faculty have no explanationfor it but that of fickleness. A frequent surprise to a missionary inJapan is that of meeting a fine-looking, accomplished gentleman whomhe knew a few years before as a crude, ungainly youth. I am convincedthat it is the possession of this set of characteristics that hasenabled Japan so quickly to assimilate many elements of an aliencivilization. 

Yet this flexibility of mind and sensitiveness to changed conditionsfind some apparently striking exceptions. Notable among these are themany customs and appliances of foreign nations which, though adoptedby the people, have not been completely modified to suit their ownneeds. In illustration is the Chinese ideograph, for the learning ofwhich even in the modern common-school reader, there is no arrangementof the characters in the order of their complexity. The possibility ofsimplifying the colossal task of memorizing these uncorrelatedideographs does not seem to have occurred to the Japanese; though itis now being attempted by the foreigner. Perhaps a partial explanationof this apparent exception to the usual flexibility of the people inmeeting conditions may be found in their relative lack of originality. Still I am inclined to refer it to a greater sensitiveness of theJapanese to the personal and human, than to the impersonal andphysical environment. 

The customary explanation of the group of characteristics consideredin this chapter is that they are innate, due to brain and nervestructure, and acquired by each generation through biologicalheredity. If closely examined, however, this is seen to be noexplanation at all. Accepting the characteristics as empiricalinexplicable facts, the real problem is evaded, pushed intoprehistoric times, that convenient dumping ground of biological, anthropological, and sociological difficulties. 

Japanese flexibility, imitativeness, and sensitiveness to environmentare to be accounted for by a careful consideration of the nationalenvironment and social order. Modern psychology has called attentionto the astonishing part played by imitation, conscious andunconscious, in the evolution of the human race, and in theunification of the social group. Prof. Le Tarde goes so far as to makethis the fundamental principle of human evolution. He has shown thatit is ever at work in the life of every human being, modifying all histhoughts, acts, and feelings. In the evolution of civilization therare man thinks, the millions imitate. 

A slight consideration of the way in which Occidental lands havedeveloped their civilization will convince anyone that imitation hastaken the leading part. Japan, therefore, is not unique in thisrespect. Her periods of wholesale imitation have indeed called specialnotice to the trait. But the rapidity of the movement has been due tothe peculiarities of her environment. For long periods she has been incomplete isolation, and when brought into contact with foreignnations, she has found them so far in advance of herself in manyimportant respects that rapid imitation was the only course left herby the inexorable laws of nature. Had she not imitated China inancient times and the Occident in modern times, her independence, ifnot her existence, could hardly have been maintained. 

Imitation of admittedly superior civilizations has therefore been anintegral, conscious element of Japan's social order, and to a degreeperhaps not equaled by the social order of any other race. 

The difference between Japanese imitation and that of other nationslies in the fact that whereas the latter, as a rule, despise foreignraces, and do not admit the superiority of alien civilizations as awhole, imitating only a detail here and there, often withoutacknowledgment and sometimes even without knowledge, the Japanese, onthe other hand, have repeatedly been placed in such circumstances asto see the superiority of foreign civilizations as a whole, and todesire their general adoption. This has produced a spirit of imitationamong all the individuals of the race. It has become a part of theirsocial inheritance. This explanation largely accounts for the strikingdifference between Japanese and Chinese in the Occident. The Japanesego to the West in order to acquire all the West can give. The Chinamangoes steeled against its influences. The spirit of the Japaneserenders him quickly susceptible to every change in his surroundings. He is ever noting details and adapting himself to his circumstances. The spirit of the Chinaman, on the contrary, renders him quiteoblivious to his environment. His mind is closed. Under specialcircumstances, when a Chinaman has been liberated from theprepossession of his social inheritance, he has shown himself ascapable of Occidentalization in clothing, speech, manner, and thoughtas a Japanese. Such cases, however, are rare. 

But a still more effective factor in the development of thecharacteristics under consideration is the nature of Japanesefeudalism. Its emphasis on the complete subordination of the inferiorto the superior was one of its conspicuous features. This was a factoralways and everywhere at work in Japan. No individual was beyond itspotent influence. Attention to details, absolute obedience, constant, conscious imitation, secretiveness, suspiciousness, were all highlydeveloped by this social system. Each of these traits is a specialform of sensitiveness to environment. From the most ancient times theinitiative of superiors was essential to the wide adoption by thepeople of any new idea or custom. Christianity found ready acceptancein the sixteenth century and Buddhism in the eighth, because they hadbeen espoused by exalted persons. The superiority of the civilizationof China in early times, and of the West in modern times, was firstacknowledged and adopted by a few nobles and the Emperor. Havinggained this prestige they promptly became acceptable to the rank andfile of people who vied with each other in their adoption. Apeculiarity of the Japanese is the readiness with which the ideas andaims of the rulers are accepted by the people. This is due to thenature of Japanese feudalism. It has made the body of the nationconspicuously subject to the ruling brain and has conferred on Japanher unique sensitiveness to environment. 

Susceptibility to slight changes in the feelings of lords and mastersand corresponding flexibility were important social traits, necessaryproducts of the old social order. Those deficient in these regardswould inevitably lose in the struggle for social precedence, if not inthe actual struggle for existence. These characteristics would, accordingly, be highly developed. 

Bearing in mind, therefore, the character of the factors that haveever been acting on the Japanese psychic nature, we see clearly thatthe characteristics under consideration are not to be attributed toher inherent race nature, but may be sufficiently accounted for byreference to the social order and social environment. 

VI

WAVES OF FEELING--ABDICATION

It has long been recognized that the Japanese are emotional, but thefull significance of this element of their nature is far fromrealized. It underlies their entire life; it determines the mentalactivities in a way and to a degree that Occidentals can hardlyappreciate. Waves of feeling have swept through the country, carryingeverything before them in a manner that has oftentimes amazed us offoreign lands. An illustration from the recent political life of thenation comes to mind in this connection. For months previous to theoutbreak of the recent war with China, there had been a prolongedstruggle between the Cabinet and the political parties who were unitedin their opposition to the government, though in little else. Theparties insisted that the Cabinet should be responsible to the partyin power in the Lower House, as is the case in England, that thus theymight stand and fall together. The Cabinet, on the other hand, contended that, according to the constitution, it was responsible tothe Emperor alone, and that consequently there was no need of a changein the Cabinet with every change of party leadership. The nation waxedhot over the discussion. Successive Diets were dissolved and new Dietselected, in none of which, however, could the supporters of theCabinet secure a majority; the Cabinet was, therefore, incapable ofcarrying out any of its distinctive measures. Several times theopposition went so far as to decline to pass the budget proposed bythe Cabinet, unless so reduced as to cripple the government, thereason constantly urged being that the Cabinet was not competent toadminister the expenditure of such large sums of money. There were nodirect charges of fraud, but simply of incompetence. More than oncethe Cabinet was compelled to carry on the government during the yearunder the budget of the previous year, as provided by theconstitution. So intense was the feeling that the capital was full of"soshi, "--political ruffians, --and fear was entertained as to thepersonal safety of the members of the Cabinet. The whole country wasintensely excited over the matter. The newspapers were not loath tocharge the government with extravagance, and a great explosion seemedinevitable, when, suddenly, a breeze from a new quarter arose andabsolutely changed the face of the nation. 

War with China was whispered, and then noised around. Events movedrapidly. One or two successful encounters with the Chinese stirred thewarlike passion that lurked in every breast. At once the feud with theCabinet was forgotten. When, on short notice, an extra session of theDiet was called to vote funds for a war, not a word was breathed aboutlack of confidence in the Cabinet or its incompetence to manage theordinary expenditures of the government; on the contrary, within fiveminutes from the introduction of the government bill asking a warappropriation of 150, 000, 000 yen, the bill was unanimously passed. 

Such an absolute change could hardly have taken place in England orAmerica, or any land less subject to waves of emotion. So far as Icould learn, the nation was a unit in regard to the war. There was notthe slightest sign of a "peace party. " Of all the Japanese with whom Italked only one ever expressed the slightest opposition to the war, and he on religious grounds, being a Quaker. 

The strength of the emotional element tends to make the Japaneseextremists. If liberals, they are extremely liberal; if conservative, they are extremely conservative. The craze for foreign goods andcustoms which prevailed for several years in the early eighties wasreplaced by an almost equally strong aversion to anything foreign. 

This tendency to swing to extremes has cropped out not infrequently inthe theological thinking of Japanese Christians. Men who for yearshad done effective work in upbuilding the Church, men who had liftedhundreds of their fellow-countrymen out of moral and religiousdarkness into light and life, have suddenly, as it has appeared, lostall appreciation of the truths they had been teaching and have swungoff to the limits of a radical rationalism, losing with theirevangelical faith their power of helping their fellow-men, and in somefew cases, going over into lives of open sin. The intellectual reasonsgiven by them to account for their changes have seemed insufficient;it will be found that the real explanation of these changes is to besought not in their intellectual, but in their emotional natures. 

Care must be taken, however, not to over-emphasize this extremisttendency. In some respects, I am convinced that it is more apparentthan real. The appearance is due to the silent passivity even of thosewho are really opposed to the new departure. It is natural that theadvocates of some new policy should be enthusiastic and noisy. To givethe impression to an outsider that the new enthusiasm is universal, those who do not share it have simply to keep quiet. This takes placeto some degree in every land, but particularly so in Japan. Thesilence of their dissent is one of the striking characteristics of theJapanese. It seems to be connected with an abdication of personalresponsibility. How often in the experience of the missionary it hashappened that his first knowledge of friction in a church, whollyindependent and self-supporting and having its own native pastor, isthe silent withdrawal of certain members from their customary placesof worship. On inquiry it is learned that certain things are beingdone or said which do not suit them and, instead of seeking to havethese matters righted, they simply wash their hands of the wholeaffair by silent withdrawal. 

The Kumi-ai church, in Kumamoto, from being large and prosperous, fellto an actual active membership of less than a dozen, solely because, as each member became dissatisfied with the high-handed and radicalpastor, he simply withdrew. Had each one stood by the church, realizing that he had a responsibility toward it which duty forbadehim to shirk, the conservative and substantial members of the churchwould soon have been united in their opposition to the radical pastorand, being in the majority, could have set matters right. In the caseof perversion of trust funds by the trustees of the Kumamoto School, many Japanese felt that injustice was being done to the American Boardand a stain was being inflicted on Japan's fair name, but they didnothing either to express their opinions or to modify the results. Sosilent were they that we were tempted to think them either ignorant ofwhat was taking place, or else indifferent to it. We now know, however, that many felt deeply on the matter, but were simply silentaccording to the Japanese custom. 

But silent dissent does not necessarily last indefinitely, though itmay continue for years. As soon as some check has been put upon therising tide of feeling, and a reaction is evident, those who beforehad been silent begin to voice their reactionary feeling, while thosewho shortly before had been in the ascendant begin to take their turnof silent dissent. Thus the waves are accentuated, both in their riseand in their relapse, by the abdicating proclivity of the people. 

Yet, in spite of the tendency of the nation to be swept from oneextreme to another by alternate waves of feeling, there are manywell-balanced men who are not carried with the tide. The steadyprogress made by the nation during the past generation, in spite ofemotional actions and reactions, must be largely attributed to thepresence in its midst of these more stable natures. These are the menwho have borne the responsibilities of government. So far as we areable to see, they have not been led by their feelings, but rather bytheir judgments. When the nation was wild with indignation overEurope's interference with the treaty which brought the China-Japanesewar to a close, the men at the helm saw too clearly the futility of anattempt to fight Russia to allow themselves to be carried away bysentimental notions of patriotism. Theirs was a deeper and truerpatriotism than that of the great mass of the nation, who, flushedwith recent victories by land and by sea, were eager to give Russiathe thrashing which they felt quite able to administer. 

Abdication is such an important element in Japanese life, serving tothrow responsibility on the young, and thus helping to emphasize theemotional characteristics of the people, that we may well give itfurther attention at this point. In describing it, I can do no betterthan quote from J. H. Gubbins' valuable introduction to his translationof the New Civil Code of Japan. [I]

 "Japanese scholars who have investigated the subject agree in tracing the origin of the present custom to the abdication of Japanese sovereigns, instances of which occur at an early period of Japanese history. These earlier abdications were independent of religious influences, but with the advent of Buddhism abdication entered upon a new phase. In imitation, it would seem, of the retirement for the purpose of religious contemplation of the Head Priests of Buddhist monasteries, abdicating sovereigns shaved their heads and entered the priesthood, and when subsequently the custom came to be employed for political purposes, the cloak of religion was retained. From the throne the custom spread to Regents and high officers of state, and so universal had its observance amongst officials of the high ranks become in the twelfth century that, as Professor Shigeno states, it was almost the rule for such persons to retire from the world at the age of forty or fifty, and nominally enter the priesthood, both the act and the person performing it being termed 'niu do. ' In the course of time, the custom of abdication ceased to be confined to officials, and extended to feudal nobility and the military class generally, whence it spread through the nation, and at this stage of its transition its connection with the phase it finally assumed becomes clear. But with its extension beyond the circle of official dignitaries, and its consequent severance from tradition and religious associations, whether real or nominal abdication changed its name. It was no longer termed 'niu do, ' but 'in kio, ' the old word being retained only in its strict religious meaning, and 'inkyo' is the term in use to-day. 

 "In spite of the religious origin of abdication, its connection with religion has long since vanished, and it may be said without fear of contradiction that the Japanese of to-day, when he or she abdicates, is in no way actuated by the feeling which impelled European monarchs in past times to end their days in the seclusion of the cloister, and which finds expression to-day in the Irish phrase, 'To make one's soul. ' Apart from the influence of traditional convention, which counts for something and also explains the great hold on the nation which the custom has acquired, the motive seems to be somewhat akin to that which leads people in some Western countries to retire from active life at an age when bodily infirmity cannot be adduced as the reason. But with this great difference, that in the one case, that of Western countries, it is the business or profession, the active work of life, which is relinquished, the position of the individual vis-à-vis the family being unaffected; in the other case, it is the position of head of the family which is relinquished, with the result of the complete effacement of the individual so far as the family is concerned. Moreover, although abdication usually implies the abandonment of the business, or profession, of the person who abdicates, this does not necessarily follow, abdication being in no way incompatible with the continuation of the active pursuits in which the person-in question is engaged. And if an excuse be needed in either case, there would seem to be more for the Japanese head of family, who, in addition to the duties and responsibilities incumbent upon his position, has to bear the brunt of the tedious ceremonies and observances which characterize family life in Japan, and are a severe tax upon time and energies, while at the same time he is fettered by the restrictions upon individual freedom of action imposed by the family system. That in many cases the reason for abdication lies in the wish to escape from the tyrannical calls of family life, rather than in mere desire for idleness and ease, is shown by the fact that just as in past times the abdication of an Emperor, a Regent, or a state dignitary, was often the signal for renewed activity on his part, so in modern Japanese life the period of a person's greatest activity not infrequently dates from the time of his withdrawal from the headship of his family. "

The abdicating proclivities of the nation in pre-Meiji times are wellshown by the official list of daimyos published by the Shogunate in1862. To a list of 268 ruling daimyos is added a list of 104 "inkyo. "

In addition to what we may call political and family abdication, described above, is personal abdication, referred to on a previouspage. 

Are the traits of Japanese character considered in this chapterinherent and necessary? Already our description has conclusively shownthem to be due to the nature of the social order. This was manifestlythe case in regard to political and family abdication. The like originof personal abdication is manifest to him who learns how little therewas in the ancient training tending to give each man a "feeling ofindependent responsibility to his own conscience in the sight ofHeaven. " He was taught devotion to a person rather than to aprinciple. The duty of a retainer was not to think and decide, but todo. He might in silence disapprove and as far as possible he shouldthen keep out of his lord's way; should he venture to think and to actcontrary to his lord's commands, he must expect and plan to commit"harakiri" in the near future. Personal abdication and silentdisapproval, therefore, were direct results of the social order. 

VII

HEROES AND HERO-WORSHIP

If a clew to the character of a nation is gained by a study of thenature of the gods it worships, no less valuable an insight is gainedby a study of its heroes. Such a study confirms the impression thatthe emotional life is fundamental in the Japanese temperament. Japanis a nation of hero-worshipers. This is no exaggeration. Not only isthe primitive religion, Shintoism, systematic hero-worship, but everyhero known to history is deified, and has a shrine or temple. Theseheroes, too, are all men of conspicuous valor or strength, famed formighty deeds of daring. They are men of passion. The most popularstory in Japanese literature is that of "The Forty-seven Ronin, " whoavenged the death of their liege-lord after years of waiting andplotting. This revenge administered, they committed harakiri inaccordance with the etiquette of the ethical code of feudal Japan. Their tombs are to this day among the most frequented shrines in thecapital of the land, and one of the most popular dramas presented inthe theaters is based on this same heroic tragedy. 

The prominence of the emotional element may be seen in the populardescription of national heroes. The picture of an ideal Japanese herois to our eyes a caricature. His face is distorted by a fierce frenzyof passion, his eyeballs glaring, his hair flying, and his hands holdwith a mighty grip the two-handed sword wherewith he is hewing topieces an enemy. I am often amazed at the difference between thepictures of Japanese heroes and the living Japanese I see. Thisdifference is manifestly due to the idealizing process; for they loveto see their heroes in their passionate moods and tenses. 

The craving for heroes, even on the part of those who are familiarwith Western thought and customs, is a feature of great interest. Welldo I remember the enthusiasm with which educated, Christian young menawaited the coming to Japan of an eminent American scholar, from whoselectures impossible things were expected. So long as he was in Americaand only his books were known, he was a hero. But when he appeared inperson, carrying himself like any courteous gentleman, he lost hisexalted position. 

Townsend Harris showed his insight into Oriental thought never moreclearly than by maintaining his dignity according to Japanesestandards and methods. On his first entry into Tokyo he states, in hisjournal, that although he would have preferred to ride on horseback, in order that he might see the city and the people, yet as the highestdignitaries never did so, but always rode in entirely closed"norimono" (a species of sedan chair carried by twenty or thirtybearers), he too would do the same; to have ridden into the limits ofthe city on horseback would have been construed by the Japanese as anadmission that he held a far lower official rank than that of aplenipotentiary of a great nation. 

It is not difficult to understand how these ideals of heroes arose. They are the same in every land where militarism, and especiallyfeudalism, is the foundation on which the social order rests. 

Some of the difficulties met by foreign missionaries in trying to dotheir work arise from the fact that they are not easily regarded asheroes by their followers. The people are accustomed to commit theirguidance to officials or to teachers or advisers whom they can regardas heroes. Since missionaries are not officials and do not have themanners of heroes, it is not to be expected that the Japanese willaccept their leadership. 

A few foreigners have, however, become heroes in Japanese eyes. President Clark and Rev. S. R. Brown had great influence on groups ofyoung men in the early years of Meiji, while giving them seculareducation combined with Christian instruction. The conditions, however, were then extraordinarily exceptional, and it is a noticeablefact that neither man remained long in Japan at that time. Anotherforeigner who was exalted to the skies by a devoted band of studentswas a man well suited to be a hero--for he had the samurai spirit tothe full. Indeed, in absolute fearlessness and assumption ofsuperiority, he out-samuraied the samurai. He was a man of impressiveand imperious personality. Yet it is a significant fact that when hewas brought back to Japan by his former pupils, after an absence ofabout eighteen years, during which they had continued to extol hismerits and revere his memory, it was not long before they discoveredthat he was not the man their imagination had created. Not many monthswere needed to remove him from his pedestal. It would hardly be a fairstatement of the whole case to leave the matter here. So far as Iknow, President Clark and Rev. S. R. Brown have always retained theirhold on the imagination of the Japanese. The foreigner who of allothers has perhaps done the most for Japan, and whose services havebeen most heartily acknowledged by the nation and government, was Dr. Guido F. Verbeck, who began his missionary work in 1859; he was theteacher of large numbers of the young men who became leaders in thetransformation of Japan; he alone of foreigners was made a citizen andwas given a free and general pass for travel; and his funeral in 1898was attended by the nobility of the land, and the Emperor himself madea contribution toward the expenses. Dr. Verbeck is destined to be oneof Japan's few foreign heroes. 

Among the signs of Japanese craving for heroes may be mentioned theconstant experience of missionaries when search is being made for aman to fill a particular place. The descriptions of the kind of mandesired are such that no one can expect to meet him. The Christianboys' school in Kumamoto, and the church with it, went for a wholeyear without principal and pastor because they could not secure a manof national reputation. They wanted a hero-principal, who would cut agreat figure in local politics and also be a hero-leader for theChristian work in the whole island of Kyushu, causing the school toshine not only in Kumamoto, but to send forth its light and its famethroughout the Empire and even to foreign lands. The unpretentious, unprepossessing-looking man who was chosen temporarily, though endowedwith common sense and rather unusual ability to harmonize the variouselements in the school, was not deemed satisfactory. He was too muchlike Socrates. At last they found a man after their own heart. He hadtraveled and studied long abroad; was a dashing, brilliant fellow;would surely make things hum; so at least said those who recommendedhim (and he did). But he was still a poor student in Scotland; hispassage money must be raised by the school if he was to be secured. And raised it was. Four hundred and seventy-five dollars those onehundred and fifty poor boys and girls, who lived on two dollars amonth, scantily clothed and insufficiently warmed, secured from theirparents and sent across the seas to bring back him who was to be theirhero-principal and pastor. The rest of the story I need not tell indetail, but I may whisper that he was more of a slashing hero thanthey planned for; in three months the boys' school was split in twainand in less than three years both fragments of the school had not onlylost all their Christian character, but were dead and gone forever. And the grounds on which the buildings stood were turned into mulberryfields. 

Talking not long since to a native friend, concerning thehero-worshiping tendency of the Japanese, I had my attention called tothe fact that, while what has been said above is substantially correctas concerns a large proportion of the people, especially the youngmen, there is nevertheless a class whose ideal heroes are notmilitary, but moral. Their power arises not through self-assertion, but rather through humility; their influence is due entirely tolearning coupled with insight into the great moral issues of life. Such has been the character of not a few of the "moral" teachers. Ihave recently read a Japanese novel based upon the life of one suchhero. Omi Seijin, or the "Sage of Omi, " is a name well known amongthe people of Japan; and his fame rests rather on his character thanon his learning. If tradition is correct, his influence on the peopleof his region was powerful enough to transform the character of theplace, producing a paradise on earth whence lust and crime werebanished. Whatever the actual facts of his life may have been, this iscertainly the representation of his character now held up for honorand imitation. There are also indications that the ideal military herois not, for all the people, the self-assertive type that I havedescribed above, though this is doubtless the prevalent one. Not longsince I heard the following couplet as to the nature of a true hero:

 "Makoto no Ei-yu;Sono yo, aizen to shite shumpu no gotoshi;Sono shin, kizen to shite kinseki no gotoshi. 

 "The true Hero;In appearance, charming like the spring breeze. In heart, firm as a rock. "

Another phrase that I have run across relating to the ideal man is, "Iatte takakarazu, " which means in plain English, "having authority, butnot puffed up. " In the presence of these facts, it will not do tothink that the ideal hero of all the Japanese is, or even in oldentimes was, only a military hero full of swagger and bluster; in amilitary age such would, of necessity, be a popular ideal; but just inproportion as men rose to higher forms of learning, and character, sowould their ideals be raised. 

It is not to be lightly assumed that the spirit of hero-worship iswholly an evil or a necessarily harmful thing. It has its advantagesand rewards as well as its dangers and evils. The existence ofhero-worship in any land reveals a nature in the people that iscapable of heroic actions. Men appreciate and admire that which in ameasure at least they are, and more that which they aspire to become. The recent war revealed how the capacity for heroism of a warlikenature lies latent in every Japanese breast and not in the descendantsof the old military class alone. But it is more encouraging to notethat popular appreciation of moral heroes is growing. 

Education and religion are bringing forth modern moral heroes. Thelate Dr. Neesima, the founder of the Doshisha, is a hero to many evenoutside the Church. Mr. Ishii, the father of Orphan Asylums in Japan, promises to be another. A people that can rear and admire men of thischaracter has in it the material of a truly great nation. 

The hero-worshiping characteristic of the Japanese depends on twoother traits of their nature. The first is the reality of strongpersonalities among them capable of becoming heroes; the second is thepossession of a strong idealizing tendency. Prof. G. T. Ladd has calledthem a "sentimental" people, in the sense that they are powerfullymoved by sentiment. This is a conspicuous trait of their characterappearing in numberless ways in their daily life. The passion forgroup-photographs is largely due to this. Sentimentalism, in the sensegiven it by Prof. Ladd, is the emotional aspect of idealism. 

The new order of society is reacting on the older ideal of a hero andis materially modifying it. The old-fashioned samurai, girded with twoswords, ready to kill a personal foe at sight, is now only the idealof romance. In actual life he would soon find himself deprived of hisliberty and under the condemnation not only of the law, but also ofpublic opinion. The new ideal with which I have come into mostfrequent contact is far different. Many, possibly the majority, of theyoung men and boys with whom I have talked as to their aim in life, have said that they desired to secure first of all a thorougheducation, in order that finally they might become great "statesmen"and might guide the nation into paths of prosperity and internationalpower. The modern hero is one who gratifies the patriotic passion bybringing some marked success to the nation. He must be a gentleman, educated in science, in history, and in foreign languages; but aboveall, he must be versed in political economy and law. This new ideal ofa national hero has been brought in by the order of society, and inproportion as this order continues, and emphasis continues to be laidon mental and moral power, rather than on rank or official position, on the intrinsic rather than on the accidental, will the old idealfade away and the new ideal take its place. Among an idealizing andemotional people, such as the Japanese, various ideals will naturallyfind extreme expression. As society grows complex also and its variouselements become increasingly differentiated, so will the ideals passthrough the same transformations. A study of ideals, therefore, servesseveral ends; it reveals the present character of those whose idealsthey are; it shows the degree of development of the social organism inwhich they live; it makes known, likewise, the degree of thedifferentiation that has taken place between the various elements ofthe nation. 

VIII

LOVE FOR CHILDREN

An aspect of Japanese life widely remarked and praised by foreignwriters is the love for children. Children's holidays, as the thirdday of the third moon and the fifth day of the fifth moon, are generalcelebrations for boys and girls respectively, and are observed withmuch gayety all over the land. At these times the universal aim is toplease the children; the girls have dolls and the exhibition ofancestral dolls; while the boys have toy paraphernalia of all theancient and modern forms of warfare, and enormous wind-inflated paperfish, symbols of prosperity and success, fly from tall bamboos in thefront yard. Contrary to the prevailing opinion among foreigners, thesefestivals have nothing whatever to do with birthday celebrations. Inaddition to special festivals, the children figure conspicuously inall holidays and merry-makings. To the famous flower-festivalcelebrations, families go in groups and make an all-day picnic of thejoyous occasion. 

The Japanese fondness for children is seen not only at festival times. Parents seem always ready to provide their children with toys. As aconsequence toy stores flourish. There is hardly a street without itsstore. 

A still further reason for the impression that the Japanese areespecially fond of their children is the slight amount of punishmentand reprimand which they administer. The children seem to have nearlyeverything their own way. Playing on the streets, they are always inevidence and are given the right of way. 

That Japanese show much affection for their children is clear. Thequestion of importance, however, is whether they have it in a markeddegree, more, for instance, than Americans? And if so, is this due totheir nature, or may it be attributed to their family life as moldedby the social order? It is my impression that, on the whole, theJapanese do not show more affection for their children thanOccidentals, although they may at first sight appear to do so. Amongthe laboring classes of the %est, the father, as a rule, is away fromhome all through the hours of the day, working in shop or factory. Heseldom sees his children except upon the Sabbath. Of course, thefather has then very little to do with their care or education, andlittle opportunity for the manifestation of affection. In Japan, however, the industrial organization of society is still such that thefather is at home a large part of the time. The factories are few asyet; the store is usually not separate from the home, but a part ofit, the front room of the house. Family life is, therefore, much lessbroken in upon by the industrial necessities of civilization, andthere are accordingly more opportunities for the manifestation of thefather's affection for the children. Furthermore, the laboring-peoplein Japan live much on the street, and it is a common thing to see thefather caring for children. While I have seldom seen a father with aninfant tied to his back, I have frequently seen them with their infantsons tucked into their bosoms, an interesting sight. This custom givesa vivid impression of parental affection. But, comparing the middleclasses of Japan and the West, it is safe to say that, as a whole, theWestern father has more to do by far in the care and education of thechildren than the Japanese father, and that there is no less offondling and playing with children. If we may judge the degree ofaffection by the signs of its demonstrations, we must pronounce theOccidental, with his habits of kissing and embracing, as far and awaymore affectionate than his Oriental cousin. While the Occidental maynot make so much of an occasion of the advent of a son as does theOriental, he continues to remember the birthdays of all his childrenwith joy and celebrations, as the Oriental does not. Although theJapanese invariably say, when asked about it, that they celebratetheir children's birthdays, the uniform experience of the foreigneris that birthday celebrations play a very insignificant part in thejoys and the social life of the home. 

It is not difficult to understand why, apart from the question ofaffection, the Japanese should manifest special joy on the advent ofsons, and particularly of a first son. The Oriental system ofancestral worship, with the consequent need, both religious andpolitical, of maintaining the family line, is quite enough to accountfor all the congratulatory ceremonies customary on the birth of sons. The fact that special joy is felt and manifested on the birth of sons, and less on the birth of daughters, clearly shows that the dominantconceptions of the social order have an important place in determiningeven so fundamental a trait as affection for offspring. 

Affection for children is, however, not limited to the day of theirbirth or the period of their infancy. In judging of the relativepossession by different races of affection for children, we must askhow the children are treated during all their succeeding years. Itmust be confessed that the advantage is then entirely on the side ofthe Occidental. Not only does this appear in the demonstrations ofaffection which are continued throughout childhood, often eventhroughout life, but more especially in the active parental solicitudefor the children's welfare, striving to fit them for life's duties andwatching carefully over their mental and moral education. In theserespects the average Occidental is far in advance of the averageOriental. 

I have been told that, since the coming in of the new civilization andthe rise of the new ideas about woman, marriage, and home, there isclearly observable to the Japanese themselves a change in the way inwhich children are being treated. But, even still, the elder son takesthe more prominent place in the affection of the family, and sonsprecede daughters. 

A fair statement of the case, therefore, is somewhat as follows: Thelower and laboring classes of Japan seem to have more visibleaffection for their children than the same classes in the Occident. Among the middle and upper classes, however, the balance is in favorof the West. In the East, while, without doubt, there always has beenand is now a pure and natural affection, it is also true that thisnatural affection has been more mixed with utilitarian considerationsthan in the West. Christian Japanese, however, differ little fromChristian Americans in this respect. The differences between the Eastand the West are largely due to the differing industrial and familyconditions induced by the social order. 

The correctness of this general statement will perhaps be betterappreciated if we consider in detail some of the facts of Japanesefamily life. Let us notice first the very loose ties, as they seem tous, holding the Japanese family together. It is one of the constantwonders to us Westerners how families can break up into fragments, asthey constantly do. One third of the marriages end in divorce; and incase of divorce, the children all stay with the father's family. Itwould seem as if the love of the mother for her children could not bevery strong where divorce under such a condition is so common. Or, perhaps, it would be truer to say that divorce would be far morefrequent than it is but for the mother's love for her children. For Iam assured that many a mother endures most distressing conditionsrather than leave her children. Furthermore, the way in which parentsallow their children to leave the home and then fail to write orcommunicate with them, for months or even years at a time, isincomprehensible if the parental love were really strong. And stillfurther, the way in which concubines are brought into the home, causing confusion and discord, is a very striking evidence of the lackof a deep love on the part of the father for the mother of hischildren and even for his own legitimate children. One would expect afather who really loved his children to desire and plan for theirlegitimacy; but the children by his concubines are not "ipso facto"recognized as legal. One more evidence in this direction is thefrequency of adoption and of separation. Adoption in Japan is largely, though by no means exclusively, the adoption of an adult; the caseswhere a child is adopted by a childless couple from love of childrenare rare, as compared with similar cases in the United States, so far, at least, as my observation goes. I recently heard of a conversationon personal financial matters between a number of Christianevangelists. After mutual comparisons they agreed that one of theirnumber was more fortunate than the rest in that he did not have tosupport his mother. On inquiring into the matter, the missionarylearned that this evangelist, on becoming a Buddhist priest many yearsbefore, had secured from the government, according to the laws of theland, exemption from this duty. When he became a Christian it did notseem to occur to him that it was his duty and his privilege to supporthis indigent mother. I may add that this idea has since occurred tohim and he is acting upon it. 

Infanticide throws a rather lurid light on Japanese affection. First, in regard to the facts: Mr. Ishii's attention was called to the needof an orphan asylum by hearing how a child, both of whose parents haddied of cholera, was on the point of being buried alive with its deadmother by heartless neighbors when it was rescued by a fisherman. Certain parts of Japan have been notorious from of old for thispractice. In Tosa the evil was so rampant that a society for itsprevention has been in existence for many years. It helps supportchildren of poor parents who might be tempted to dispose of themcriminally. In that province from January to March, 1898, I was toldthat "only" four cases of conviction for this crime were reported. Theregistered annual birth rate of certain villages has increased from40-50 to 75-80, and this without any immigration from outside. Thereason assigned is the diminution of infanticide. 

In speaking of infanticide in Japan, let us not forget that every raceand nation has been guilty of the same crime, and has continued to beguilty of it until delivered by Christianity. 

Widespread infanticide proves a wide lack of natural affection. Poverty is, of course, the common plea. Yet infanticide has beenpracticed not so much by the desperately poor as by smallland-holders. The amount of farming land possessed by each family wasstrictly limited and could feed only a given number of mouths. Shouldthe family exceed that number, all would be involved in poverty, forthe members beyond that limit did not have the liberty to travel insearch of new occupation. Infanticide, therefore, bore direct relationto the rigid economic nature of the old social order. 

Whatever, therefore, be the point of view from which we study thequestion of Japanese affection for children, we see that it wasintimately connected with the nature of the social order. Whether wejudge such affection or its lack to be a characteristic trait ofJapanese nature, we must still maintain that it is not an inherenttrait of the race nature, but only a characteristic depending for itsgreater or less development on the nature of the social order. 

IX

MARITAL LOVE

If the Japanese are a conspicuously emotional race, as is commonlybelieved, we should naturally expect this characteristic to manifestitself in a marked degree in the relation of the sexes. Curiouslyenough, however, such does not seem to be the case. So slight a placedoes the emotion of sexual love have in Japanese family life that somehave gone to the extreme of denying it altogether. In his brilliantbut fallacious volume, entitled "The Soul of the Far East, " Mr. Percival Lowell states that the Japanese do not "fall in love. " Thecorrectness of this statement we shall consider in connection with theargument for Japanese impersonality. That "falling in love" is not arecognized part of the family system, and that marriage is arrangedregardless not only of love, but even of mutual acquaintance, areindisputable facts. 

Let us confine our attention here to Japanese post-marital emotionalcharacteristics. Do Japanese husbands love their wives and wives theirhusbands? We have already seen that in the text-book for Japanesewomen, the "Onna Daigaku, " not one word is said about love. It may bestated at once that love between husband and wife is almost asconspicuously lacking in practice as in precept. In no regard, perhaps, is the contrast between the East and the West more strikingthan the respective ideas concerning woman and marriage. The onecounts woman the equal, if not the superior of man; the other looksdown upon her as man's inferior in every respect; the one considersprofound love as the only true condition of marriage; the other thinksof love as essentially impure, beneath the dignity of a true man, andnot to be taken into consideration when marriage is contemplated; inthe one, the two persons most interested have most to say in thematter; in the other, they have the least to say; in the one, a longand intimate previous acquaintance is deemed important; in the other, the need for such an acquaintance does not receive a second thought;in the one, the wife at once takes her place as the queen of the home;in the other, she enters as the domestic for her husband and hisparents; in the one, the children are hers as well as his; in theother, they are his rather than hers, and remain with him in case ofdivorce; in the one, divorce is rare and condemned; in the other, itis common in the extreme; in the one, it is as often the woman as theman who seeks the divorce; in the other, until most recent times, itis the man alone who divorces the wife; in the one, the reasons fordivorce are grave; in the other, they are often trivial; in the one, the wife is the "helpmate"; in the other, she is the man's"plaything"; or, at most, the means for continuing the family lineage;in the one, the man is the "husband"; in the other, he is the "dannasan" or "teishu" (the lord or master); in the ideal home of the one, the wife is the object of the husband's constant affection andsolicitous care; in the ideal home of the other, she ever waits uponher lord, serves his food for him, and faithfully sits up for him atnight, however late his return may be; in the one, the wife isjustified in resenting any unfaithfulness or immorality on the part ofher husband; in the other, she is commanded to accept with patiencewhatever he may do, however many concubines he may have in his home orelsewhere; and however immoral he may be, she must not be jealous. Thefollowing characterization of the women of Japan is presumably by onewho would do them no injustice, having himself married a Japanese wife(the editor of the _Japan Mail_). 

 "The woman of Japan is a charming personage in many ways--gracious, refined, womanly before everything, sweet-tempered, unselfish, virtuous, a splendid mother, and an ideal wife from the point of view of the master. But she is virtually excluded from the whole intellectual life of the nation. Politics, art, literature, science, are closed books to her. She cannot think logically about any of these subjects, express herself clearly with reference to them, or take an intellectual part in conversations relating to them. She is, in fact, totally disqualified to be her husband's intellectual companion, and the inevitable result is that he despises her. "[J]

In face of all these facts, it is evident that the emotional elementof character which plays so large a part in the relation of the sexesin the West has little, if any, counterpart in the Far East. Where theemotional element does come in, it is under social condemnation. Thereare doubtless many happy marriages in Japan, if the wife is faithfulin her place and fills it well; and if the master is honorableaccording to the accepted standards, steady in his business, not givento wine or women. But even then the affection must be different fromthat which prevails in the West. No Japanese wife ever dreams ofreceiving the loving care from her husband which is freely accordedher Western sister by her husband. [K]

I wish, however, to add at once that this is a topic about which it isdangerous to dogmatize, for the customs of Japan demand that allexpressions of affection between husband and wife shall be sedulouslyconcealed from the outer world. I can easily believe that there is nolittle true affection existing between husband and wife. A Japanesefriend with whom I have talked on this subject expresses his beliefthat the statement made above, to the effect that no Japanese wifedreams of receiving the loving care which is expected by her Westernsister, is doubtless true of Old Japan, but that there has been agreat change in this respect in recent decades; and especially amongthe Christian community. That Christians excel the others with whom Ihave come in contact, has been evident to me. But that even they arestill very different from Occidentals in this respect, is also clear. Whatever be the affection lavished on the wife in the privacy of thehome, she does not receive in public the constant evidence of specialregard and high esteem which the Western wife expects as her right. 

How much affection can be expressed by low formal bows? The fact isthat Japanese civilization has striven to crush out all signs ofemotion; this stoicism is exemplified to a large degree even in thehome, and under circumstances when we should think it impossible. Kissing was an unknown art in Japan, and it is still unknown, exceptby name, to the great majority of the people. Even mothers seldom kisstheir infant children, and when they do, it is only while the childrenare very young. 

The question, however, which particularly interests us, is as to theexplanation for these facts. Is the lack of demonstrative affectionbetween husband and wife due to the inherent nature of the Japanese, or is it not due rather to the prevailing social order? If a Japanesegoes to America or. England, for a few years, does he maintain hiscold attitude toward all women, and never show the slightest tendencyto fall in love, or exhibit demonstrative affection? These questionsalmost answer themselves, and with them the main question for whosesolution we are seeking. 

A few concrete instances may help to illustrate the generalizationthat these are not fixed because racial characteristics, but variableones dependent on the social order. Many years ago when the late Dr. Neesima, the founder, with Dr. Davis, of the Doshisha, was on thepoint of departure for the United States on account of his health, hemade an address to the students. In the course of his remarks hestated that there were three principal considerations that made himregret the necessity for his departure at that time; the first wasthat the Doshisha was in a most critical position; it was butstarting on its larger work, and he felt that all its friends shouldbe on hand to help on the great undertaking. The second was that hewas compelled to leave his aged parents, whom he might not find livingon his return to Japan. The third was his sorrow at leaving hisbeloved wife. This public reference to his wife, and especially to hislove for her, was so extraordinary that it created no little comment, not to say scandal; especially obnoxious was it to many, because hementioned her after having mentioned his parents. In the reports ofthis speech given by his friends to the public press no reference wasmade to this expression of love for his wife. And a few months afterhis death, when Dr. Davis prepared a short biography of Dr. Neesima, he was severely criticised by some of the Japanese for reproducing thespeech as Dr. Neesima gave it. 

Shortly after my first arrival in Japan, I was walking home fromchurch one day with an English-speaking Japanese, who had had a gooddeal to do with foreigners. Suddenly, without any introduction, heremarked that he did not comprehend how the men of the West couldendure such tyranny as was exercised over them by their wives. I, ofcourse, asked what he meant. He then said that he had seen mebuttoning my wife's shoes. I should explain that on calling on theJapanese, in their homes, it is necessary that we leave our shoes atthe door, as the Japanese invariably do; this is, of course, awkwardfor foreigners who wear shoes; especially so is the necessity ofputting them on again. The difficulty is materially increased by theinvariably high step at the front door. It is hard enough for a man tokneel down on the step and reach for his shoes and then put them on;much more so is it for a woman. And after the shoes are on, there isno suitable place on which to rest the foot for buttoning and tying. Iused, therefore, very gladly to help my wife with hers. Yet, socontrary to Japanese precedent was this act of mine that thiswell-educated gentleman and Christian, who had had much intercoursewith foreigners, could not see in it anything except the imperiouscommand of the wife and the slavish obedience of the husband. Hisconception of the relation between the Occidental husband and wife isbest described as tyranny on the part of the wife. 

One of the early shocks I received on this general subject was due tothe discovery that whenever my wife took my arm as we walked thestreet to and from church, or elsewhere, the people looked at us insurprised displeasure. Such public manifestation of intimacy was to beexpected from libertines alone, and from these only when they weremore or less under the influence of drink. Whenever a Japanese manwalks out with his wife, which, by the way, is seldom, he invariablysteps on ahead, leaving her to follow, carrying the parcels, if thereare any. A child, especially a son, may walk at his side, but not hiswife. 

Let me give a few more illustrations to show how the present familylife of the Japanese checks the full and free development of theaffections. In one of our out-stations I but recently found a youngwoman in a distressing condition. Her parents had no sons, andconsequently, according to the custom of the land, they had adopted ason, who became the husband of their eldest daughter; the man proved arascal, and the family was glad when he decided that he did not careto be their son any longer. Shortly after his departure a child wasborn to the daughter; but, according to the law, she had no husband, and consequently the child must either be registered as illegitimate, or be fraudulently registered as the child of the mother's father. There is much fraudulent registration, the children of concubines arenot recognized as legitimate; yet it is common to register suchchildren as those of the regular wife, especially if she has few ornone of her own. 

An evangelist who worked long in Kyushu was always in great financialtrouble because of the fact that he had to support two mothers, besides giving aid to his father, who had married a third wife. Thefirst was his own mother, who had been divorced, but, as she had nohome, the son took her to his. When the father divorced his secondwife, the son was induced to take care of her also. Anotherevangelist, with whom I had much to do, was the adopted son of ascheming old man; it seems that in the earlier part of the present erathe eldest son of a family was exempt from military draft. It oftenhappened, therefore, that families who had no sons could obtain largesums of money from those who had younger sons whom they wished to haveadopted for the purpose of escaping the draft. This evangelist, whilestill a boy, was adopted into such a family, and a certain sum wasfixed upon to be paid at some time in the future. But the adopted sonproved so pleasing to the adopting father that he did not ask for themoney; by some piece of legerdemain, however, he succeeded in adoptinga second son, who paid him the desired money. After some years thefirst adopted son became a Christian, and then an evangelist, bothsteps being taken against the wishes of the adopting father. Thefather finally said that he would forego all relations to the son, andgive him back his original name, provided the son would pay theoriginal sum that had been agreed on, plus the interest, whichaltogether would, at that time, amount to several hundred yen. Thiswas, of course, impossible. The negotiations dragged on for three orfour years. Meanwhile, the young man fell in love with a young girl, whom he finally married; as he was still the son of his adoptingfather, he could not have his wife registered as his wife, for the oldman had another girl in view for him and would not consent to thisarrangement. And so the matter dragged for several months more. Unlessthe matter could be arranged, any children born to them must beregistered as illegitimate. At this point I was consulted and, for thefirst time, learned the details of the case. Further consultationsresulted in an agreement as to the sum to be paid; the adopted son wasreleased, and re-registered under his newly acquired name and for thefirst time his marriage became legal. The confusion and sufferingbrought into the family by this practice of adoption and of separationare almost endless. 

The number of cases in which beautiful and accomplished young womenhave been divorced by brutal and licentious husbands is appalling. Iknow several such. What wonder that Christians and others areconstantly laying emphasis, in public lectures and sermons and privatetalks, on the crying need of reform in marriage and in the home?

Throughout the land the newspapers are discussing the pros and cons ofmonogamy and polygamy. In January of 1898 the _Jiji Shimpo_, one ofthe leading daily papers of Tokyo, had a series of articles on thesubject from the pen of one of the most illustrious educators of NewJapan, Mr. Fukuzawa. His school, the "Keio Gijiku, " has educated morethousands of young men than any other, notwithstanding the fact thatit is a private institution. Though not a Christian himself, normaking any professions of advocating Christianity, yet Mr. Fukuzawahas come out strongly in favor of monogamy. His description of theexisting social and family life is striking, not to say sickening. IfI mistake not, it is he who tells of a certain noble lady who shedtears at the news of the promotion of her husband in official rank;and when questioned on the matter she confessed that, with addedsalary, he would add to the number of his concubines and to thefrequency of his intercourse with famous dancing and singing girls. 

The distressing state of family life may also be gathered from thelarge numbers of public and secret prostitutes that are to be found inall the large cities, and the singing girls of nearly every town. According to popular opinion, their number is rapidly increasing. Though this general subject trenches on morality rather than on thetopic immediately before us, yet it throws a lurid light on thisquestion also. It lets us see, perhaps, more clearly than we could inany other way, how deficient is the average home life of the people. Aprofessing Christian, a man of wide experience and social standing, not long since seriously argued at a meeting of a Young Men'sChristian Association that dancing and singing girls are a necessarypart of Japanese civilization to-day. He argued that they supply themen with that female element in social life which the ordinary womancannot provide; were the average wives and daughters sufficientlyaccomplished to share in the social life of the men as they are in theWest, dancing and singing girls, being needless, would soon cease tobe. 

One further question in this connection merits our attention. How arewe to account for an order of society that allows so little scope forthe natural affections of the heart, unless by saying that that orderis the true expression of their nature? Must we not say that theelement of affection in the present social order is deficient becausethe Japanese themselves are naturally deficient? The question seemsmore difficult than it really is. 

In the first place, the affectionate relation existing betweenhusbands and wives and between parents and children, in Western lands, is a product of relatively recent times. In his exhaustive work on"The History of Human Marriage, " Westermarck makes this very plain. Wherever the woman is counted a slave, is bought and sold, isconsidered as merely a means of bearing children to the family, or inany essential way is looked down upon, there high forms of affectionare by the nature of the case impossible, though some affectiondoubtless exists; it necessarily attains only a rudimentarydevelopment. Now it is conspicuous that the conception of the natureand purpose of woman, as held in the Orient, has always been debasingto her. Though individual women might rise above their assignedposition the whole social order, as established by the leaders ofthought, was against her. The statement that there was a primitivecondition of society in Japan in which the affectionate relationsbetween husband and wife now known in the West prevailed, is, I think, a mistake. 

We must remember, in the second place, what careful students of humanevolution have pointed out, that those tribes and races in which thefamily was most completely consolidated, that is to say, those inwhich the power of the father was absolute, were the ones to gain thevictory over their competitors. The reason for this is too obvious torequire even a statement. Every conquering race has accordinglydeveloped the "patria potestas" to a greater or less degree. Now onegeneral peculiarity of the Orient is that that stage of developmenthas remained to this day; it has not experienced those modificationsand restrictions which have arisen in the West. The nationalgovernment dealt with families and clans, not with individuals, as thefinal social unit. In the West, however, the individual has become thecivil unit; the "patria potestas" has thus been all but lost. This, added to religious and ethical considerations, has given women andchildren an ever higher place both in society and in the home. Hadthis loss of authority by the father been accompanied with a weakeningof the nation, it would have been an injury; but, in the West, hisauthority has been transferred to the nation. These considerationsserve to render more intelligible and convincing the main propositionof these chapters, that the distinctive emotional characteristics ofthe Japanese are not inherent; they are the results of the social andindustrial order; as this order changes, they too will surely change. The entire civilization of a land takes its leading, if not itsdominant, color from the estimate set by the people as a whole on thevalue of human life. The relatively late development of the tenderaffections, even in the West, is due doubtless to the extreme slownesswith which the idea of the inherent value of a human being, as such, has taken root, even though it was clearly taught by Christ. But theleaven of His teaching has been at work for these hundreds of years, and now at last we are beginning to see its real meaning and its vitalrelation to the entire progress of man. It may be questioned whetherChrist gave any more important impetus to the development ofcivilization than by His teaching in regard to the inestimable worthof man, grounding it, as He did, on man's divine sonship. Thosenations which insist on valuing human life only by the utilitarianstandard, and which consequently keep woman in a degraded place, insisting on concubinage and all that it implies, are sure to wanebefore those nations which loyally adopt and practice the higherideals of human worth. The weakness of heathen lands arises in noslight degree from their cheap estimate of human life. 

In Japan, until the Meiji era, human life was cheap. For criminals ofthe military classes, suicide was the honorable method of leaving thisworld; the lower orders of society suffered loss of life at the handsof the military class without redress. The whole nation accepted thelow standards of human value; woman was valued chiefly, if notentirely, on a utilitarian basis, that, namely, of bearing children, doing house and farm work, and giving men pleasure. So far as I know, not among all the teachings of Confucius or Buddha was the supremevalue of human life, as such, once suggested, much less any adequateconception of the worth and nature of woman. The entire social orderwas constructed without these two important truths. 

By a great effort, however, Japan has introduced a new social order, with unprecedented rapidity. By one revolution it has established aset of laws in which the equality of all men before the law isrecognized at least; for the first time in Oriental history, woman isgiven the right to seek divorce. The experiment is now being made on agreat scale as to whether the new social order adopted by the rulerscan induce those ideas among the people at large which will insure itsperformance. Can the mere legal enactments which embody the principlesof human equality and the value of human life, regardless of sex, beget those fundamental conceptions on which alone a steady andlasting government can rest? Can Japan really step into the circle ofWestern nations, without abandoning her pagan religions and pushingonward into Christian monotheism with all its corollaries as to therelations and mutual duties of man? All earnest men are crying out fora strengthening of the moral life of the nation through the reform ofthe family and are proclaiming the necessity of monogamy; but, asidefrom the Christians, none appear to see how this is to be done. EvenMr. Fukuzawa says that the first step in the reform of the family andthe establishment of monogamy is to develop public sentiment againstprostitution and plural or illegal marriage; and the way to do thisis first to make evil practices secret. This, he says, is moreimportant than to give women a higher education. He does not see thatChristianity with its conceptions of immediate responsibility of theindividual to God, the loving Heavenly Father, and of the infinitevalue of each human soul, thus doing away with the utilitarian scalefor measuring both men and women, together with its conceptions of therelations of the sexes and of man to man, can alone supply thatfoundation for all the elements of the new social order, intellectualand emotional, which will make it workable and permanent, and of whichmonogamy is but one element. [L] He does not see that representativegovernment and popular rights cannot stand for any length of time onany other foundation. 

X

CHEERFULNESS--INDUSTRY--TRUTHFULNESS--SUSPICIOUSNESS

Many writers have dwelt with delight on the cheerful disposition thatseems so common in Japan. Lightness of heart, freedom from all anxietyfor the future, living chiefly in the present, these and kindredfeatures are pictured in glowing terms. And, on the whole, thesepictures are true to life. The many flower festivals are madeoccasions for family picnics when all care seems thrown to the wind. There is a simplicity and a freshness and a freedom from worry that isdelightful to see. But it is also remarked that a change in thisregard is beginning to be observed. The coming in of Westernmachinery, methods of government, of trade and of education, isintroducing customs and cares, ambitions and activities, that militateagainst the older ways. Doubtless, this too is true. If so, it butserves to establish the general proposition of these pages that themore outstanding national characteristics are largely the result ofspecial social conditions, rather than of inherent national character. 

The cheerful disposition, so often seen and admired by the Westerner, is the cheerfulness of children. In many respects the Japanese arerelatively undeveloped. This is due to the nature of their socialorder during the past. The government has been largely paternal inform and fully so in theory. Little has been left to individualinitiative or responsibility. Wherever such a system has been dominantand the perfectly accepted order, the inevitable result is just such astate of simple, childish cheerfulness as we find in Japan. Itconstitutes that golden age sung by the poets of every land. But beingthe cheerfulness of children, the happiness of immaturity, it isbound to change with growth, to be lost with coming maturity. 

Yet the Japanese are by no means given up to a cheerful view of life. Many an individual is morose and dejected in the extreme. Thisdisposition is ever stimulated by the religious teachings of Buddhism. Its great message has been the evanescent character of the presentlife. Life is not worth living, it urges; though life may have somepleasures, the total result is disappointment and sorrow. Buddhism hasfound a warm welcome in the hearts of many Japanese. For more than athousand years it has been exercising a potent influence on theirthoughts and lives. Yet how is this consistent with the cheerfuldisposition which seems so characteristic of Japan? The answer is notfar to seek. Pessimism is by its very nature separative, isolating, silent. Those oppressed by it do not enter into public joys. They hidethemselves in monasteries, or in the home. The result is that by itsvery nature the actual pessimism of Japan is not a conspicuous featureof national character. The judgment that all Japanese are cheerfulrests on shallow grounds. Because, forsooth, millions on holidays bearthat appearance, and because on ordinary occasions the average man andwoman seem cheerful and happy, the conclusion is reached that all areso. No effort is made to learn of those whose lives are spent insadness and isolation. I am convinced that the Japan of old, for allits apparent cheer, had likewise its side of deep tragedy. Conditionsof life that struck down countless individuals, and mental conditionswhich made Buddhism so popular, both point to this conclusion. 

Again I wish to call attention to the fact that the prominence ofchildren and young people is in part the cause of the appearance ofgeneral happiness. The Japanese live on the street as no Westernpeople do. The stores and workshops are the homes; when these areopen, the homes are open. When the children go out of the house toplay they use the streets, for they seldom have yards. Here theygather in great numbers and play most enthusiastically, utterlyregardless of the passers-by, for these latter are all on foot or injinrikishas, and, consequently, never cause the children any alarm. 

The Japanese give the double impression of being industrious anddiligent on the one hand, and, on the other, of being lazy and utterlyindifferent to the lapse of time. The long hours during which theykeep at work is a constant wonder to the Occidental. I have often beenamazed in Fukuoka to find stores and workshops open, apparently inoperation, after ten and sometimes even until eleven o'clock at night, while blacksmiths and carpenters and wheelwrights would be workingaway as if it were morning. Many of the factories recently startedkeep very long hours. Indeed most of the cotton mills run day andnight, having two sets of workers, who shift their times of laborevery week. Those who work during the night hours one week take theday hours the following week. In at least one such factory, with whichI am acquainted, the fifteen hundred girls who work from six o'clockSaturday evening until six o'clock Sunday morning, are then supposedto have twenty-four hours of rest before they begin their day's workMonday morning; but, as a matter of fact, they must spend three orfour and sometimes five hours on Sunday morning cleaning up thefactory. 

In a small silk-weaving factory that I know the customary hours forwork were from five in the morning until nine at night, seven days inthe week. The wife, however, of the owner became a Christian. Throughher intervention time for rest was secured on Sunday long enough for aBible class, which the evangelist of the place was invited to teach. After several months of instruction a number of the hands becameChristian, and all were sufficiently interested to ask that the wholeof the Sabbath be granted to them for rest; but in order that themaster might not lose thereby, they agreed to begin work at four eachmorning and to work on until ten at night. With such hours one wouldhave expected them to fall at once into their beds when the work ofthe day was over. But for many months, at ten o'clock in the evening, my wife and I heard them singing a hymn or two in their familyworship before retiring for the night. 

In certain weaving factories I have been told that the girls arerequired to work sixteen hours a day; and that on Sundays they areallowed to have some rest, being then required to work but ten hours!The diligence of mail deliverers, who always run when on duty, thehours of consecutive running frequently performed by jin-irikisha men(several have told me that they have made over sixty miles in a singleday), the long hours of persistent study by students in the higherschools, and many kindred facts, certainly indicate a surprisingcapacity for work. 

But there are equally striking illustrations of an opposite nature. The farmers and mechanics and carpenters, among regular laborers, andthe entire life of the common people in their homes, give animpression of indifference to the flight of time, if not of absolutelaziness. The workers seem ready to sit down for a smoke and a chat atany hour of the day. In the home and in ordinary social life, the lossof time seems to be a matter of no consequence whatever. Politepalaver takes unstinted hours, and the sauntering of the peoplethrough the street emphasizes the impression that no business callsoppress them. 

In my opinion these characteristics, also, are due to the conditionsof society, past and present, rather than to the inherent nature ofthe people. The old civilization was easy-going; it had no clocks; ithardly knew the time of day; it never hastened. The hour was estimatedand was twice as long as the modern hour. The structure of societydemanded the constant observance of the forms of etiquette; this, withits numberless genuflections and strikings of the head on the floor, always demanded time. Furthermore, the very character of the footgearcompelled and still compels a shuffling, ambling gait when walking thestreets. The clog is a well-named hindrance to civilization in thewaste of time it compels. The slow-going, time-ignoringcharacteristics of New Japan are social inheritances from feudaltimes, characteristics which are still hampering its development. Theindustrious spirit that is to be found in so many quarters to-day islargely the gift of the new civilization. Shoes are taking the placeof clogs. The army and all the police, on ordinary duty, wear shoes. Even the industry of the students is largely due to the new conditionsof student life. The way in which the Japanese are working to-day, andthe feverish haste that some of them evince in their work, shows thatthey are as capable as Occidentals of acquiring the rush ofcivilization. 

The home life of the people gives an impression of listlessness thatis in marked contrast to that of the West. This is partly due to thefact that the house work is relatively light, there being no furnitureto speak of, the rooms small, and the cooking arrangements quitesimple. Housewives go about their work with restful deliberation, which is trying, however, to one in haste. It is the experience of thehousekeepers from the West that one Japanese domestic is able toaccomplish from a third to a half of what is done by a girl inAmerica. This is not wholly due to slowness of movement, however, butalso to smallness of stature and corresponding lack of strength. Onthe other hand, the long hours of work required of women in themajority of Japanese homes is something appalling. The wife isexpected to be up before the husband, to prepare his meals, and towait patiently till his return at night, however late that may be. Inall except the higher ranks of society she takes entire care of thechildren, except for the help which her older children may give her. During much of the time she goes about her work with an infant tied toher back. Though she does not work hard at any one time (and is it tobe wondered at?) yet she works long. Especially hard is the life ofthe waiting girls in the hotels. I have learned that, as a rule, theyare required to be up before daylight and to remain on duty untilafter midnight. In some hotels they are allowed but four or five hoursout of the twenty-four. The result is, they are often overcome andfall asleep while at service. Sitting on the floor and waiting toserve the rice, with nothing to distract their thoughts or hold theirattention, they easily lose themselves for a few moments. 

Two other strongly contrasted traits are found in the Japanesecharacter, absolute confidence and trustfulness on the one hand, andsuspicion on the other. It is the universal testimony that the formercharacteristic is rapidly passing away; in the cities it is well-nighgone. But in the country places it is still common. The idea of makinga bargain when two persons entered upon some particular piece of work, the one as employer, the other as employed, was entirely repugnant tothe older generation, since it was assumed that their relations asinferior and superior should determine their financial relations; thesuperior would do what was right, and the inferior should accept whatthe superior might give without a question or a murmur. Among thesamurai, where the arrangement is between equals, bargaining or makingfixed and fast terms which will hold to the end, and which may becarried to the courts in case of differences, was a thing practicallyunknown in the older civilization. Everything of a business nature wasleft to honor, and was carried on in mutual confidence. 

A few illustrations of this spirit of confidence from my ownexperience may not be without interest. On first coming to Japan, Ifound it usual for a Japanese who wished to take a jinrikisha to callthe runner and take the ride without making any bargain, giving him atthe end what seemed right. And the men generally accepted the paymentwithout question. I have found that recently, unless there is somedefinite understanding arrived at before the ride, there is apt to besome disagreement, the runner presuming on the hold he has, by virtueof work done, to get more than is customary. This is especially truein case the rider is a foreigner. Another set of examples in whichastonishing simplicity and confidence were manifested was in theemployment of evangelists. I have known several instances in which afull correspondence with an evangelist with regard to his employmentwas carried on, and the settlement finally concluded, and the man setto work without a word said about money matters. It need hardly besaid that no foreigner took part in that correspondence. 

The simple, childlike trustfulness of the country people is seen inmultiplied ways; yet on the whole I cannot escape the conviction thatit is a trustfulness which is shown toward each other as equals. Certain farmers whom I have employed to care for a cow and tocultivate the garden, while showing a trustful disposition towards me, have not had the same feelings toward their fellows apparently. 

This confidence and trustfulness were the product of a civilizationresting on communalistic feudalism; the people were kept as childrenin dependence on their feudal lord; they had to accept what he saidand did; they were accustomed to that order of things from thebeginning and had no other thought; on the whole too, without doubt, they received regular and kindly treatment. Furthermore, there was noredress for the peasant in case of harshness; it was always the wisepolicy, therefore, for him to accept whatever was given without eventhe appearance of dissatisfaction. This spirit was connected with thedominance of the military class. Simple trustfulness was, therefore, chiefly that of the non-military classes. The trustfulness of thesamurai sprang from their distinctive training. As already mentioned, when drawing up a bond in feudal times, in place of any tangiblesecurity, the document would read, "If I fail to do so and so, you maylaugh at me in public. "

Since the overthrow of communal feudalism and the establishment of anindividualistic social order, necessitating personal ownership ofproperty, and the universal use of money, trustful confidence israpidly passing away. Everything is being more and more accuratelyreduced to a money basis. The old samurai scorn for money seems to bewholly gone, an astonishing transformation of character. Since thedisestablishment of the samurai class many of them have gone intobusiness. Not a few have made tremendous failures for lack of businessinstinct, being easily fleeced by more cunning and less honorablefellows who have played the "confidence" game most successfully;others have made equally great successes because of their superiormental ability and education. The government of Japan is to-day chieflyin the hands of the descendants of the samurai class. They have theirfixed salaries and everything is done on a financial basis, paymentbeing made for work only. The lazy and the incapable are being pushedto the wall. Many of the poorest and most pitiable people of the landto-day are the proud sons of the former aristocracy, who glory in thehistory of their ancestors, but are not able or willing to changetheir old habits of thought and manner of life. 

The American Board has had a very curious, not to say disastrous, experience with the spirit of trustful confidence that was theprevailing business characteristic of the older civilization. According to the treaties which Japan had made with foreign nations, no foreigner was allowed to buy land outside the treaty ports. As, however, mission work was freely allowed by the government andwelcomed by many of the people in all parts of the land, and as itbecame desirable to have continuous missionary work in several of theinterior towns, it seemed wise to locate missionaries in those placesand to provide suitable houses for them. In order to do this, land wasbought and the needed houses erected, and the title was necessarilyheld in the names of apparently trustworthy native Christians. Thegovernment was, of course, fully aware of what was being done andoffered no objection. It was well understood that the property was notfor the private ownership of the individual missionary, but was to beheld by the Christians for the use of the mission to which themissionary belonged. For many years no questions were raised and allmoved along smoothly. The arrangement between the missionaries and theChristian or Christians in whose names the property might be held wasentirely verbal, no document being of any legal value, to say nothingof the fact that in those early days the mention of documentaryrelationships would have greatly hurt the tender feelings of honorwhich were so prominent a part of samurai character. The financialrelations were purely those of honor and trust. 

Under this general method, large sums of money were expended by theAmerican Board for homes for its missionaries in various parts ofJapan, and especially in Kyoto. Here was the Doshisha, which grew froma small English school and Evangelists' training class to a prosperousuniversity with fine buildings. Tens of thousands of dollars were putinto this institution, besides the funds needful for the land and thehouses for nine foreign families. An endowment was also raised, partlyin Japan, but chiefly in America. In a single bequest, Mr. Harris ofNew London gave over one hundred thousand dollars for a School ofScience. It has been estimated that, altogether, the American Boardand its constituency have put into the Doshisha, including thesalaries of the missionary teachers, toward a million dollars. 

In the early nineties the political skies were suddenly darkened. Thequestion of treaty revision loomed up black in the heavens. Thepoliticians of the land clamored for the absolute refusal of all rightof property ownership by foreigners. In their political furore theysoon began to attack the Japanese Christians who were holding theproperty used by the various missions. They accused them of beingtraitors to the country. A proposed law was drafted and presented inthe National Diet, confiscating all such property. The Japaneseholders naturally became nervous and desirous of severing therelationships with the foreigners as soon as possible. In the case ofcorporate ownership the trustees began to make assumptions of absoluteownership, regardless of the moral claims of the donors of the funds. In the earlier days of the trouble frequent conferences on thequestion were held by the missionaries of the American Board with theleading Christians of the Empire, and their constant statement was, "Do not worry; trust us; we are samurai and will do nothing that isnot perfectly honorable. " So often were these sentiments reiterated, and yet so steadily did the whole management of the Doshisha movefurther and further away from the honorable course, that finally the"financial honor of the samurai" came to have an odor far frompleasant. A deputation of four gentlemen, as representatives of theAmerican Board, came from America especially to confer with thetrustees as to the Christian principles of the institution, and themoral claims of the Board, but wholly in vain. The administration ofthe Doshisha became so distinctly non-Christian, to use no strongerterm, that the mission felt it impossible to co-operate longer withthe Doshisha trustees; the missionary members of the facultyaccordingly resigned. In order to secure exemption from the draft forits students the trustees of the Doshisha abrogated certain clauses ofthe constitution relating to the Christian character of theinstitution, in spite of the fact that these clauses belonged to the"unchangeable" part of the constitution which the trustees, on takingoffice, had individually sworn to maintain. Again the Board sent out aman, now a lawyer vested with full power to press matters to a finalissue. After months of negotiations with the trustees in regard to therestoration of the substance of the abrogated clauses, without result, he was on the point of carrying the case into the courts, when thetrustees decided to resign in a body. A new board of trustees has beenformed, who bid fair to carry on the institution in accord with thewishes of its founders and benefactors, as expressed in the originalconstitution. At one stage of the proceedings the trustees votedmagnanimously, as they appeared to think, to allow the missionaries ofthe Board to live for fifteen years, rent free, in the foreign housesconnected with the Doshisha; this, because of the many favors it hadreceived from the Board! By this vote they maintained that they hadmore than fulfilled every requirement of honor. That they wereconsciously betraying the trust that had been reposed in them is notfor a moment to be supposed. 

It would not be fair not to add that this experience in Kyoto does notexemplify the universal Japanese character. There are many Japanesewho deeply deplore and condemn the whole proceeding. Some of theDoshisha alumni have exerted themselves strenuously to haverighteousness done. 

Passing now from the character of trustful confidence, we take up itsopposite, suspiciousness. The development of this quality is a naturalresult of a military feudalism such as ruled Japan for hundreds ofyears. Intrigue was in constant use when actual war was not beingwaged. In an age when conflicts were always hand to hand, and the manwho could best deceive his enemy as to his next blow was the one tocarry off his head, the development of suspicion, strategy, and deceitwas inevitable. The most suspicious men, other things being equal, would be the victors; they, with their families, would survive andthus determine the nature of the social order. The more than twohundred and fifty clans and "kuni, " "clan territory, " into which theland was divided, kept up perpetual training in the arts of intrigueand subtlety which are inevitably accompanied by suspicion. 

Modern manifestations of this characteristic are frequent. Not acabinet is formed, but the question of its make-up is discussed fromthe clannish standpoint. Even though it is now thirty years since thecentralizing policy was entered upon and clan distinctions wereeffectually broken down, yet clan suspicion and jealousy is not dead. 

The foreigner is impressed by the constant need of care inconversation, lest he be thought to mean something more or other thanhe says. When we have occasion to criticise anything in the Japanese, we have found by experience that much more is inferred than is said. Shortly after my arrival in Japan I was advised by one who had been inthe land many years to be careful in correcting a domestic or anyother person sustaining any relation to myself, to say not more thanone-tenth of what I meant, for the other nine-tenths would beinferred. Direct and perfectly frank criticism and suggestion, such asprevail among Anglo-Americans at least, seem to be rare among theJapanese. 

In closing, it is in order to note once again that the emotionalcharacteristics considered in this chapter, although customarilythought to be deep-seated traits of race nature, are, nevertheless, shown to be dependent on the character of the social order. Change theorder, and in due season corresponding changes occur in the nationalcharacter, a fact which would be impossible were that characterinherent and essential, passed on from generation to generation by thesingle fact of biological heredity. 

XI

JEALOUSY--REVENGE--HUMANE FEELINGS

According to the teachings of Confucius, jealousy is one of the sevenjust grounds on which a woman may be divorced. In the "GreaterLearning for Women, "[M] occur the following words: "Let her never evendream of jealousy. If her husband be dissolute, she must expostulatewith him, but never either render her countenance frightful or heraccents repulsive, which can only result in completely alienating herhusband from her, and making her intolerable in his eyes. " "The fiveworst maladies that afflict the female mind are indocility, discontent, slander, jealousy, and silliness. Without any doubt, thesefive maladies infest seven or eight out of every ten women, and it isfrom these that arises the inferiority of women to men . .. Neitherwhen she blames and accuses and curses innocent persons, nor when inher jealousy of others she thinks to set herself up alone, does shesee that she is her own enemy, estranging others and incurring theirhatred. "

The humiliating conditions to which women have been subjected in thepast and present social order, and to which full reference has beenmade in previous chapters, give sufficient explanation of the jealousywhich is recognized as a marked, and, as might appear, inevitablecharacteristic of Japanese women. Especially does this seem inevitablewhen it is remembered how slight is their hold on their husbands, onwhose faithfulness their happiness so largely depends. Only as thisorder changes and the wife secures a more certain place in the home, free from the competition of concubines and harlots and dancing girls, can we expect the characteristic to disappear. That it will do sounder such conditions, there is no reason to question. Already thereare evidences that in homes where the husband and the wife are bothearnest Christians, and where each is confident of the loyalty of theother, jealousy is as rare as it is in Christian lands. 

But is jealousy a characteristic limited to women? or is it not also acharacteristic of men? I am assured from many quarters that men alsosuffer from it. The jealousy of a woman is aroused by the fear thatsome other woman may supplant her in the eyes of her husband; that ofa man by the fear that some man may supplant him in rank or influence. Marital jealousy of men seems to be rare. Yet I heard not long sinceof a man who was so afraid lest some man might steal his wife'saffections that he could not attend to his business, and finally, after three months of married wretchedness, he divorced her. A yearlater he married her again, but the old trouble reappeared, and so hedivorced her a second time. If marital jealousy is less common amongmen than among women, the explanation is at hand in the lax moralstandard for man. The feudal order of society, furthermore, wasexactly the soil in which to develop masculine jealousy. In such asociety ambition and jealousy go hand in hand. Wherever a man's risein popularity and influence depends on the overthrow of someonealready in possession, jealousy is natural. Connected with the spiritof jealousy is that of revenge. Had we known Japan only during herfeudal days, we should have pronounced the Japanese exceedinglyrevengeful. Revenge was not only the custom, it was also the law ofthe land and the teaching of moralists. One of the proverbs handeddown from the hoary past is: "Kumpu no ada to tomo ni ten weitadakazu. " "With the enemy of country, or father, one cannot liveunder the same heaven. " The tales of heroic Japan abound in stories ofrevenge. Once when Confucius was asked about the doctrine of Lao-Tsethat one should return good for evil, he replied, "With what thenshould one reward good? The true doctrine is to return good for good, and evil with justice. " This saying of Confucius has nullified fortwenty-four hundred years that pearl of truth enunciated by Lao-Tse, and has caused it to remain an undiscovered diamond amid the rubbishof Taoism. By this judgment Confucius sanctified the rough methods ofjustice adopted in a primitive order of society. His dictum peculiarlyharmonized with the militarism of Japan. Being, then, a recognizedduty for many hundred years, it would be strange indeed were notrevengefulness to appear among the modern traits of the Japanese. 

But the whole order of society has been transformed. Revenge is nowunder the ban of the state, which has made itself responsible for theinfliction of corporal punishment on individual transgressors. As aresult conspicuous manifestations of the revengeful spirit havedisappeared, and, may we not rightly say, even the spirit itself? Thenew order of society leaves no room for its ordinary activity; itfurnishes legal methods of redress. The rapid change in regard to thischaracteristic gives reason for thinking that if the industrial andsocial order could be suitably adjusted, and the conditions ofindividual thought and life regulated, this, and many other eviltraits of human character, might become radically changed in a shorttime. Intelligent Christian Socialism is based on this theory andseems to have no little support for its position. 

Are Japanese cruel or humane? The general impression of the casualtourist doubtless is that they are humane. They are kind to childrenon the streets, to a marked degree; the jinrikisha runners turn outnot only for men, women, and children, but even for dogs. Thepatience, too, of the ordinary Japanese under trying circumstances ismarked; they show amazing tolerance for one another's failings anddefects, and their mutual helpfulness in seasons of distress is oftenstriking. To one traveling through New Japan there is usually littlethat will strike the eye as cruel. 

But the longer one lives in the country, the more is he impressed withcertain aspects of life which seem to evince an essentiallyunsympathetic and inhumane disposition. I well remember the shock Ireceived when I discovered, not far from my home in Kumamoto, aninsane man kept in a cage. He was given only a slight amount ofclothing, even though heavy frost fell each night. Food was given himonce or twice a day. He was treated like a wild animal, not even beingprovided with bedding. This is not an exceptional instance, as might, perhaps, at first be supposed. The editor of the _Japan Mail_, who haslived in Japan many years, and knows the people well, says: "Everyforeigner traveling or residing in Japan must have been shocked fromtime to time by the method of treating lunatics. Only a few months agoan imbecile might have been seen at Hakone confined in what wasvirtually a cage, where, from year's end to year's end, he receivedneither medical assistance nor loving tendance, but was simply fedlike a wild beast in a menagerie. We have witnessed many such sightswith horror and pity. Yet humane Japanese do not seem to think ofestablishing asylums where these unhappy sufferers can find refuge. There is only one lunatic asylum in Tokyo. It is controlled by themunicipality, its accommodation is limited, and its terms place itbeyond the reach of the poor. " And the amazing part is that suchsights do not seem to arouse the sentiment of pity in the Japanese. 

The treatment accorded to lepers is another significant indication ofthe lack of sympathetic and humane sentiments among the people atlarge. For ages they have been turned from home and house andcompelled to wander outcasts, living in the outskirt of the villagesin rude booths of their own construction, and dependent on their dailybegging, until a wretched death gives them relief from a more wretchedlife. So far as I have been able to learn, the opening of hospitalsfor lepers did not take place until begun by Christians in recenttimes. This casting out of leper kindred was not done by the pooralone, but by the wealthy also, although I do hot affirm or supposethat the practice was universal. I am personally acquainted with themanagement of the Christian Leper Hospital in Kumamoto, and the sadaccounts I have heard of the way in which lepers are treated by theirkindred would seem incredible, were they not supported by thecharacter of my informants, and by many other facts of a kindrednature. 

A history of Japan was prepared by Japanese scholars under appointmentfrom the government and sent to the Columbian Exposition in 1893; itmakes the following statement, already referred to on a previous page:"Despite the issue of several proclamations . .. People were governedby such strong aversion to the sight of sickness that travelers wereoften left to die by the roadside from thirst, hunger, or disease, andhouseholders even went to the length of thrusting out of doors andabandoning to utter destitution servants who suffered from chronicmaladies. .. . Whenever an epidemic occurred, the number of deaths thatresulted was enormous. "[N] This was the condition of things afterBuddhism, with its civilizing and humanizing influences, had been atwork in the land for about four hundred years, and Old Japan was atthe height of her glory, whether considered from the standpoint of hergovernment, her literature, her religious development, or her art. 

Of a period some two hundred years earlier, it is stated that, by theassistance of the Sovereign, Buddhism established a charity hospitalin Nara, "where the poor received medical treatment and drugs gratis, and an asylum was founded for the support of the destitute. Measureswere also taken to rescue foundlings, and, in general, to relievepoverty and distress" (p. 92). The good beginning made at that timedoes not seem to have been followed up. As nearly as I can make out, relying on the investigations of Rev. J. H. Pettee and Mr. Ishii, thereare to-day in Japan fifty orphan asylums, of which eleven are ofnon-Christian, and thirty-nine of Christian origin, support, andcontrol. Of the non-Christian, five are in Osaka, two in Tokyo, fourin Kyoto, and one each in Nagoya, Kumamoto, and Matsuye. Presumablythe majority of these are in the hands of Buddhists. Of the Christianasylums twenty are Roman Catholic and nineteen are Protestant. It is anoteworthy fact that in this form of philanthropy and religiousactivity, as in so many others, Christians are the pioneers andBuddhists are the imitators. In a land where Buddhism has been soeffective as to modify the diet of the nation, leading them inobedience to the doctrines of Buddha, as has been stated, to give upeating animal food, it is exceedingly strange that the peopleapparently have no regard for the pain of living animals. Says theeditor of the _Mail_ in the article already quoted: "They will notinterfere to save a horse from the brutality of its driver, and theywill sit calmly in a jinrikisha while its drawer, with throbbing heartand straining muscles, toils up a steep hill. " How often have I seenthis sight! How the rider can endure it, I cannot understand, exceptit be that revolt at cruelty and sympathy with suffering do not stirwithin his heart. Of course, heartless individuals are not rare in theWest also. I am speaking here, however, not of single individuals, butof general characteristics. 

But a still more conspicuous evidence of Japanese deficiency ofsympathy is the use, until recently, of public torture. It was thetheory of Japanese jurisprudence that no man should be punished, eventhough proved guilty by sufficient evidence, until he himselfconfessed his guilt; consequently, on the flimsiest evidence, and evenon bare suspicion, he was tortured until the desired confession wasextracted. The cruelty of the methods employed, we of the nineteenthcentury cannot appreciate. Some foreigner tells how the sight oftorture which he witnessed caused him to weep, while the Japanesespectators stood by unmoved. The methods of execution were alsorefined devices of torture. Townsend Harris says that crucifixion wasperformed as follows: "The criminal is tied to a cross with his armsand legs stretched apart as wide as possible; then a spear is thrustthrough the body, entering just under the bottom of the shoulder bladeon the left side, and coming out on the right side, just by thearmpit. Another is then thrust through in a similar manner from theright to the left side. The executioner endeavors to avoid the heartin this operation. The spears are thrust through in this manner untilthe criminal expires, but his sufferings are prolonged as much aspossible. Shinano told me that a few years ago a very strong man liveduntil the eleventh spear had been thrust through him. "

From these considerations, which might be supported by a multitude ofillustrations, we conclude that in the past there has certainly been agreat amount of cruelty exhibited in Japan, and that even to this daythere is in this country far less sympathy for suffering, whetheranimal or human, than is felt in the West. 

But we must not be too quick to jump to the conclusion that in thisregard we have discovered an essential characteristic of the Japanesenature. With reference to the reported savagery displayed by Japanesetroops at Port Arthur, it has been said and repeated that you haveonly to scratch the Japanese skin to find the Tartar, as if the recentdevelopment of human feelings were superficial, and his real characterwere exhibited in his most cruel moments. To get a true view of thecase let us look for a few moments at some other parts of the world, and ask ourselves a few questions. 

How long is it since the Inquisition was enforced in Europe? Who canread of the tortures there inflicted without shuddering with horror?It is not necessary to go back to the times of the Romans with theiramphitheaters and gladiators, and with their throwing of Christians towild animals, or to Nero using Christians as torches in his garden. How long is it since witches were burned, not only in Europe by thethousand, but in enlightened and Christian New England? although it istrue that the numbers there burned were relatively few and the reignof terror brief. How long is it since slaves were feeling the lashthroughout the Southern States of our "land of freedom"? How long isit since fiendish mobs have burned or lynched the objects of theirrage? How long is it since societies for preventing cruelty to animalsand to children were established in England and America? Is it not asuggestive fact that it was needful to establish them and that it isstill needful to maintain them? The fact is that the highly developedhumane sense which is now felt so strongly by the great majority ofpeople in the West is a late development, and is not yet universal. Itis not for us to boast, or even to feel superior to the Japanese, whose opportunities for developing this sentiment have been limited. 

Furthermore, in regard to Japan, we must not overlook certain factswhich show that Japan has made gradual progress in the development ofthe humane feelings and in the legal suppression of cruelty. The NihonShoki records that, on the death of Yamato Hiko no Mikoto, hisimmediate retainers were buried alive in a standing position aroundthe grave, presumably with the heads alone projecting above thesurface of the ground. The Emperor Suijin Tenno, on hearing thecontinuous wailing day after day of the slowly dying retainers, wastouched with pity and said that it was a dreadful custom to bury withthe master those who had been most faithful to him when alive. And headded that an evil custom, even though ancient, should not befollowed, and ordered it to be abandoned. A later record informs usthat from this time arose the custom of burying images in the place ofservants. According to the ordinary Japanese chronology, this tookplace in the year corresponding to 1 B. C. The laws of Ieyasu (1610A. D. ) likewise condemn this custom as unreasonable, together with thecustom in accordance with which the retainers committed suicide uponthe master's death. These same laws also refer to the proverb onrevenge, given in the third paragraph of this chapter, and add thatwhoever undertakes thus to avenge himself or his father or mother orlord or elder brother must first give notice to the proper office ofthe fact and of the time within which he will carry out his intention;without such a notice, the avenger will be considered a commonmurderer. This provision was clearly a limitation of the law ofrevenge. These laws of Ieyasu also describe the old methods ofpunishing criminals, and then add: "Criminals are to be punished bybranding, or beating, or tying up, and, in capital cases, by spearingor decapitation; but the old punishments of tearing to pieces andboiling to death are not to be used. " Torture was finally legallyabolished in Japan only as late as 1877. 

It has already become quite clear that the prevalence of cruelty or ofhumanity depends largely upon the social order that prevails. It isnot at all strange that cruelty, or, at least, lack of sympathy forsuffering in man or beast, should be characteristic of an order basedon constant hand-to-hand conflict. Still more may we expect to find agreat indifference to human suffering wherever the value of man as manis slighted. Not until the idea of the brotherhood of man has takenfull possession of one's heart and thought does true sympathy springup; then, for the first time, comes the power of putting one's self ina brother's place. The apparently cruel customs of primitive times, intheir treatment of the sick, and particularly of those suffering fromcontagious diseases, is the natural, not to say necessary, result ofsuperstitious ignorance. Furthermore, it was often the only readymeans to prevent the spread of contagious or epidemic diseases. 

In the treatment of the sick, the first prerequisite for thedevelopment of tenderness is the introduction of correct ideas as tothe nature of disease and its proper treatment. As soon as this hasbeen effectually done, a great proportion of the apparent indifferenceto human suffering passes away. The cruelty which is to-day souniversal in Africa needs but a changed social and industrial order todisappear. The needed change has come to Japan. Physicians trained inmodern methods of medical practice are found all over the land. In1894 there were 597 hospitals, 42, 551 physicians, 33, 921 nurses andmidwives, 2869 pharmacists, and 16, 106 druggists, besides excellentschools of pharmacy and medicine. [O]

It is safe to say that nearly all forms of active cruelty havedisappeared from Japan; some amount of active sympathy has beendeveloped, though, as compared to that of other civilized lands, it isstill small. But there can be no doubt that the rapid change which hascome over the people during the past thirty years is not a change inessential innate character, but only in the social order. As soon asthe idea takes root that every man has a mission of mercy, and thatthe more cruel are not at liberty to vent their barbarous feelings onhelpless creatures, whether man or beast, a strong uprising of humaneactivity will take place which will demand the formation of societiesfor the prevention of cruelty and for carrying active relief to thedistressed and wretched. Lepers will no longer need to eke out aprecarious living by exhibiting their revolting misery in public;lunatics will no longer be kept in filthy cages and left withinsufficient care or clothing. The stream of philanthropy will risehigh, to be at once a blessing and a glory to a race that already hasshown itself in many ways capable of the highest ideals of the West. 

XII

AMBITION--CONCEIT

Ambition is a conspicuous characteristic of New Japan. I have alreadyspoken of the common desire of her young men to become statesmen. Thestories of Neesima and other young Japanese who, in spite ofopposition and without money, worked their way to eminence andusefulness, have fired the imagination of thousands of youths. Theythink that all they need is to get to America, when their difficultieswill be at an end. They fancy that they have but to look around tofind some man who will support them while they study. 

Not only individuals, but the people as a whole, have great ambitions. Three hundred years ago the Taiko, Hideyoshi, the Napoleon of Japan, and the virtual ruler of the Empire, planned, after subjugating Korea, to conquer China and make himself the Emperor of the East. He thoughthe could accomplish this in two years. During the recent war, it wasthe desire of many to march on to Pekin. Frequent expression was givento the idea that it is the duty of Japan to rouse China from her longsleep, as America roused Japan in 1854. It is frequently argued, ineditorial articles and public speeches, that the Japanese arepeculiarly fitted to lead China along the path of progress, not onlyindirectly by example, as they have been doing, but directly byteaching, as foreigners have led Japan. "The Mission of Japan to theOrient" is a frequent theme of public discourse. But nationalambitions do not rest here. It is not seldom asserted that in Japan amingling of the Occidental and Oriental civilizations is taking placeunder such favorable conditions that, for the first time in history, the better elements of both are being selected; and that before longthe world will sit to learn at her feet. The lofty ambition of a groupof radical Christians is to discover or create a new religion whichshall unite the best features of Oriental and Occidental religiousthought and experience. The religion of the future will be, notChristianity, nor Buddhism, but something better than either, moreconsistent, more profound, more universal; and this religion, firstdeveloped in Japan, will spread to other lands and become the finalreligion of the world. 

A single curious illustration of the high-flying thoughts of thepeople may well find mention here. When the Kumamoto Boys' Schooldivided over the arbitrary, tyrannical methods of their newly secured, brilliant principal, already referred to in a previous chapter, themajority of the trustees withdrew and at once established a new schoolfor boys. For some time they struggled for a name which should setforth the principles for which the school stood, and finally theyfixed on that of "To-A Gakko. " Translated into unpretentious English, this means "Eastern Asia School"; the idea was that the school stoodfor no narrow methods of education, and that its influence was toextend beyond the confines of Japan. This interpretation is not aninference, but was publicly stated oil various occasions. The schoolbegan with twenty-five boys, if my memory is correct, and neverreached as many as fifty. In less than three years it died an untimelydeath through lack of patronage. 

The young men of the island of Kyushu, especially of Kumamoto andKagoshima provinces, are noted for their ambitious projects. The oncefamous "Kumamoto Band" consisted entirely of Kyushu boys. Under themasterful influence of Captain Jaynes those high-spirited sons ofsamurai, who had come to learn foreign languages and science, in aschool founded to combat Christianity and to upbuild Buddhism, becameimpressed with the immense superiority of foreign lands, whichsuperiority they were led to attribute to Christianity. Theyaccordingly espoused the Christian cause with great ardor, and, intheir compact with one another, agreed to work for the reform ofJapan. I have listened to many addresses by the Kumamoto schoolboys, and I have been uniformly impressed with the political and nationaltendencies of their thought. 

Accompanying ambition is a group of less admirable qualities, such asself-sufficiency and self-conceit. They are seldom manifested withthat coarseness which in the West we associate with them, for theJapanese is usually too polished to be offensively obtrusive. Heseldom indulges in bluster or direct assertion, but is contentedrather with the silent assumption of superiority. 

I heard recently of a slight, though capital, illustration of mypoint. Two foreign gentlemen were walking through the town of Tadotsusome years since and observed a sign in English which read"Stemboots. " Wondering what the sign could mean they inquired thebusiness of the place, and learning that it was a steamboat office, they gave the clerk the reason for their inquiry, and at his requestmade the necessary correction. A few days later, however, on theirreturn, they noticed that the sign had been re-corrected to"Stem-boats, " an assumption of superior knowledge on the part of sometyro in English. The multitude of signboards in astonishing English, in places frequented by English-speaking people, is one of the amusingfeatures of Japan. It would seem as if the shopkeepers would at leasttake the pains to have the signs correctly worded and spelled, byasking the help of some foreigner or competent Japanese. Yet theyassume that they know all that is needful. 

Indications of perfect self-confidence crop out in multitudes of waysfar too numerous to mention. The aspiring ambition spoken of in theimmediately preceding pages is one indication of this characteristic. Another is the readiness of fledglings to undertake responsibilitiesfar beyond them. Young men having a smattering of English, yet whollyunable to converse, set up as teachers. Youths in school notinfrequently undertake to instruct their teachers as to what coursesof study and what treatment they should receive. Still moreconspicuous is the cool assumption of superiority evinced by so manyJapanese in discussing intellectual and philosophical problems. Themanner assumed is that of one who is complete master of the subject. The silent contempt often poured on foreigners who attempt to discussthese problems is at once amusing and illustrative of thecharacteristic of which I am speaking. [P]

We turn next to inquire for the explanation of these characteristics. Are they inherent traits of the race? Or are they the product of thetimes? Doubtless the latter is the true explanation. It will be foundthat those individuals in whom these characteristics appear aredescendants of the samurai. A small class of men freed from heavyphysical toil, given to literature and culture, ever depending on theassumption of superiority for the maintenance of their place insociety and defending their assumption by the sword--such a class, insuch a social order, would develop the characteristics in question toa high degree. Should we expect an immediate change of character whenthe social order has been suddenly changed?

In marked contrast to the lofty assumptions of superiority whichcharacterized the samurai of Old Japan, was the equally markedassumption of inferiority which characterized the rest of the people, or nineteen-twentieths of the nation. I have already sufficientlydwelt on this aspect of national character. I here recur to it merelyto enforce the truth that self-arrogation and self-abnegation, haughtiness and humility, proud, high-handed, magisterial manners, andcringing, obsequious obedience, are all elements of character thatdepend on the nature of the social order. They are passed on fromgeneration to generation more by social than by biological heredity. Both of these sets of contrasted characteristics are induced by afull-fledged feudal system, and must remain for a time as a socialinheritance after that system has been overthrown, particularly if itsoverthrow is sudden. In proportion as the principles of personalrights and individual worth on the basis of manhood become realizedby the people and incorporated into the government and customs of theland, will abnegating obsequiousness, as well as haughty lordliness, be replaced by a straightforward manliness, in which men of whatevergrade of society will frankly face each other, eye to eye. 

But what shall we say in regard to the assumption made by young Japanin its attitude to foreigners? Are the assumptions wholly groundless?Is the self-confidence unjustified? Far from it. When we study laterthe intellectual elements of Japanese character, we shall see somereasons for their feeling of self-reliance. The progress which thenation has made in many lines within thirty years shows that it hascertain kinds of power and, consequently, some ground forself-reliance. Furthermore, self-reliance, if fairly supported byability and zeal, is essential in the attainment of any end whatever. Faint heart never won fair lady. Confidence in self is one form offaith. No less of peoples than individuals is it true, that withoutfaith in themselves they cannot attain their goal. The impression ofundue self-confidence made by the Japanese may be owing partly totheir shortness of stature. It is a new experience for the West to seea race of little people with large brains and large plans. Especiallydoes it seem strange and conceited for a people whose own civilizationis so belated to assume a rôle of such importance in the affairs ofthe world. Yet we must learn to dissociate physical size from mentalor spiritual capacity. The future alone will disclose what Japaneseself-reliance and energy can produce. 

The present prominence of this characteristic in Japan is stillfurther to be accounted for by her actual recent history. Theoverthrow of the Shogunate was primarily the work of young men; theintroduction of almost all the sweeping reforms which have transformedJapan has been the work of young men who, though but partly equippedfor their work, approached it with energy and perfect confidence, notknowing enough perhaps to realize the difficulties they wereundertaking. They had to set aside the customs of centuries; to dothis required startling assumptions of superiority to their ancestorsand their immediate parents. The young men undertook to dispute anddoubt everything that stood in the way of national re-organization. Inwhat nation has there ever been such a setting aside of parentalteaching and ancestral authority? These heroic measures securedresults in which the nation glories. Is it strange, then, that thesame spirit should show itself in every branch of life, even in theattitude of the people to the Westerners who have brought them the newways and ideas?

The Japanese, however, is not the only conceited nation. Indeed, itwould be near the truth to say that there is no people without thisquality. Certainly the American and English, French and German nationscannot presume to criticise others. The reason why we think Japanunique in this respect is that in the case of these Western nations weknow more of the grounds for national self-satisfaction than in thecase of Japan. Yet Western lands are, in many respects, trulyprovincial to this very day, in spite of their advantages andprogress; the difficulty with most of them is that they do notperceive it. The lack of culture that prevails among our workingclasses is in some respects great. The narrow horizon still boundingthe vision of the average American or Briton is very conspicuous toone who has had opportunities to live and travel in many lands. Eachcountry, and even each section of a country, is much inclined to thinkthat it has more nearly reached perfection than any other. 

This phase of national and local feeling is interesting, especiallyafter one has lived in Japan a number of years and has hadopportunities to mingle freely with her people. For they, althoughself-reliant and self-conceited, are at the same time surprisinglyready to acknowledge that they are far behind the times. Theiropen-mindedness is truly amazing. In describing the methods of landtenure, of house-building, of farming, of local government, ofeducation, of moral instruction, of family life, indeed, of almostanything in the West that has some advantageous feature, the remarkwill be dropped incidentally that these facts show how uncivilizedJapan still is. In their own public addresses, if any custom isattacked, the severest indictment that can be brought against it isthat it is uncivilized. In spite, therefore, of her self-conceit, Japan is in a fairer way of making progress than many a Westernnation, because she is also so conscious of defects. A large sectionof the nation has a passion for progress. It wishes to learn of thegood that foreign lands have attained, and to apply the knowledge insuch wise as shall fit most advantageously into the national life. Although Japan is conceited, her conceit is not without reason, nor isit to be attributed to her inherent race nature. It is manifestly dueto her history and social order past and present. 

XIII

PATRIOTISM--APOTHEOSIS--COURAGE

No word is so dear to the patriotic Japanese as the one that leaps tohis lips when his country is assailed or maligned, "Yamato-Damashii. "In prosaic English this means "Japan Soul. " But the native word has aflavor and a host of associations that render it the most pleasing histongue can utter. "Yamato" is the classic name for that part of Japanwhere the divinely honored Emperor, Jimmu Tenno, the founder of thedynasty and the Empire, first established his court and throne. "Damashii" refers to the soul, and especially to the noble qualitiesof the soul, which, in Japan of yore, were synonymous with bravery, the characteristic of the samurai. If, therefore, you wish to stir inthe native breast the deepest feelings of patriotism and courage, youneed but to call upon his "Yamato-Damashii. "

There has been a revival in the use of this word during the lastdecade. The old Japan-Spirit has been appealed to, and the watchwordof the anti-foreign reaction has been "Japan for the Japanese. " AmongEnglish-speaking and English-reading Japanese there has been atendency to give this term a meaning deeper and broader than thehistoric usage, or even than the current usage, will bear. OneJapanese writer, for instance, defines the term as meaning, "a spiritof loyalty to country, conscience, and ideal. " An American writercomes more nearly to the current usage in the definition of it as "theaggressive and invincible spirit of Japan. " That there is such aspirit no one can doubt who has the slightest acquaintance with herpast or present history. 

Concerning the recent rise of patriotism I have spoken elsewhere, perhaps at sufficient length. Nor is it needful to present extensiveevidence for the statement that the Japanese have this feeling ofpatriotism in a marked degree. One or two rather interesting itemsmay, however, find their place here. 

The recent war with China was the occasion of focusing patriotism andfanning it into flame. Almost every town street, and house, throughoutthe Empire, was brilliantly decked with lanterns and flags, not on asingle occasion only, but continuously. Each reported victory, howeversmall, sent a thrill of delight throughout the nation. Month aftermonth this was kept up. In traveling through the land one would nothave fancied that war was in progress, but rather, that along-continued festival was being observed. 

An incident connected with sending troops to Korea made a deepimpression on the nation. The Okayama Orphan Asylum under theefficient management of its founder, Mr. Ishii, had organized theolder boys into a band, securing for them various kinds of musicalinstruments. These they learned to use with much success. When thetroops were on the point of leaving, Mr. Ishii went with his band tothe port of Hiroshima, erected a booth, prepared places for heatingwater, and as often as the regiments passed by, his little orphanssallied forth with their teapots of hot tea for the refreshment of thesoldiers. Each regiment was also properly saluted, and if opportunityoffered, the little fellows played the national anthem, "Kimi-ga yo, "which has been thus translated: "May Our Gracious Sovereign reign athousand years, reign till the little stone grow into a mighty rock, thick velveted with ancient moss. " And finally the orphans would raisetheir shrill voices with the rhythmical national shout, "Tei-kokuBan-zai, Tei-koku Ban-zai"; "Imperial-land, a myriad years, Imperial-land, a myriad years. " This thoughtful farewell wasmaintained for the four or five days during which the troops wereembarking for the seat of war, well knowing that some would neverreturn, and that their children would be left fatherless even as werethese who saluted them. So deep was the impression made upon thesoldiers that many of them wept and many a bronzed face bowed inloving recognition of the patriotism of these Christian boys. It issaid that the commander-in-chief of the forces himself gave the littlefellows the highest military salute in returning theirs. 

Throughout the history of Japan, the aim of every rebellious clan orgeneral was first to get possession of the Emperor. Having done this, the possession of the Imperial authority was unquestioned. Whoever wasopposed to the Emperor was technically called "Cho-teki, " the enemy ofthe throne, a crime as heinous as treason in the West. The existenceof this sentiment throughout the Empire is an interesting fact. For, at the very same time, there was the most intense loyalty to the locallord or "daimyo. " This is a fine instance of a certain characteristicof the Japanese of which I must speak more fully in anotherconnection, but which, for convenience, I term "nominality. " Itaccepts and, apparently at least, is satisfied with a nominal state ofaffairs, which may be quite different from the real. The theoreticalaspect of a question is accepted without reference to the actualfacts. The real power may be in the hands of the general or of thedaimyo, but if authority nominally proceeds from the throne, thetheoretical demands are satisfied. The Japanese themselves describethis state as "yumei-mujitsu. " In a sense, throughout the centuriesthere has been a genuine loyalty to the throne, but it has been of the"yumei-mujitsu" type, apparently satisfied with the name only. Inrecent times, however, there has been growing dissatisfaction withthis state of affairs. Some decades before Admiral Perry appearedthere were patriots secretly working against the Tokugawa Shogunate. Called in Japanese "Kinnoka, " they may be properly termed in English"Imperialists. " Their aim was to overthrow the Shogunate and restorefull and direct authority to the Emperor. Not a few lost their livesbecause of their views, but these are now honored by the nation aspatriots. 

There is a tendency among scholars to-day to magnify the patriotismand loyalty of preceding ages, also to emphasize the dignity andImperial authority of the Emperor. The patriotic spirit is now sostrong that it blinds their eyes to many of the salient facts oftheir history. Their patriotism is more truly a passion than an idea. It is an emotion rather than a conception. It demands certain methodsof treatment for their ancient history that Western scholarship cannotaccept. It forbids any really critical research into the history ofthe past, since it might cast doubt on the divine descent of theImperial line. It sums itself up in passionate admiration, not to sayadoration, of the Emperor. In him all virtues and wisdom abound. Nofault or lack in character can be attributed to him. I question if anyrulers have ever been more truly apotheosized by any nation than theEmperors of Japan. The essence of patriotism to-day is devotion to theperson of the Emperor. It seems impossible for the people todistinguish between the country and its ruler. He is the fountain ofauthority. Lower ranks gain their right and their power from himalone. Power belongs to the people only because, and in proportion as, he has conferred it upon them. Even the Constitution has its authorityonly because he has so determined. Should he at any time see fit tochange or withdraw it, it is exceedingly doubtful whether one word ofcriticism or complaint would be publicly uttered, and as for forcibleopposition, of such a thing no one would dream. 

Japanese patriotism has had some unique and interesting features. Insome marked respects it is different from that of lands in whichdemocratic thought has held sway. For 1500 years, under the militarysocial order, loyalty has consisted of personal attachment to thelord. It has ever striven to idealize that lord. The "yumei-mujitsu"characteristic has helped much in this idealizing process, by bridgingthe chasm between the prosaic fact and the ideal. Now that the oldform of feudalism has been abruptly abolished, with its local lordsand loyalty, the old sentiment of loyalty naturally fixes itself onthe Emperor. Patriotism has perhaps gained intensity in proportion asit has become focalized. The Emperor is reported to be a man ofcommanding ability and good sense. It is at least true that he hasshown wisdom in selecting his councilors. There is general agreementthat he is not a mere puppet in the hands of his advisers, but that heexercises a real and direct influence on the government of the day. During the late war with China it was currently reported that fromearly morning until late at night, week after week and month aftermonth, he worked upon the various matters of business that demandedhis attention. No important move or decision was made without hiscareful consideration and final approval. These and other noblequalities of the present Emperor have, without doubt, done much towardtransferring the loyalty of the people from the local daimyo to thenational throne. 

An event in the political world has recently occurred whichillustrates pointedly the statements just made in regard to theenthusiastic loyalty of the people toward the Emperor. In spite of thefact that the national finances are in a distressing state ofconfusion, and notwithstanding the struggle which has been going onbetween successive cabinets and political parties, the formerinsisting on, and the latter refusing, any increase in the land tax, no sooner was it suggested by a small political party, to make athank-offering to the Emperor of 20, 000, 000 yen out of the finalpayment of the war indemnity lately received, than the proposal wastaken up with zeal by both of the great and utterly hostile politicalparties, and immediately by both houses of the Diet. The two reasonsassigned were, "First, that the victory over China would never havebeen won, nor the indemnity obtained, had not the Emperor been thevictorious, sagacious Sovereign that he is, and that, therefore, it isonly right that a portion of the indemnity should be offered to him;secondly, that His Majesty is in need of money, the allowance grantedby the state for the maintenance of the Imperial Household beinginsufficient, in view of the greatly enhanced prices of commoditiesand the large donations constantly made by His Majesty for charitablepurposes. "[Q] This act of the Diet appeals to the sentiment of thepeople as the prosaic, business-like method of the Occident would notdo. The significance of the appropriation made by the Diet will bebetter realized if it is borne in mind that the post-bellum programmefor naval and military expansion which was adopted in view of thelarge indemnity (being, by the way, 50, 000, 000 yen), already calls foran expenditure in excess of the indemnity. Either the grand programmemust be reduced, or new funds be raised, yet the leading politicalparties have been absolutely opposed to any substantial increase ofthe land tax, which seems to be the only available source of increaseeven to meet the current expenses of the government, to say nothing ofthe post-bellum programme. So has a burst of sentiment buried allprudential considerations. This is a species of loyalty thatWesterners find hard to appreciate. To them it would seem that thefirst manifestation of loyalty would be to provide the Emperor'sCabinet and executive officers with the necessary funds for currentexpenses; that the second would be to give the Emperor an allowancesufficient to meet his actual needs, and the third, --if the funds heldout, --to make him a magnificent gift. This sentimental method ofloyalty to the Emperor, however, is matched by many details of commonlife. A sentimental parting gift or speech will often be counted asmore friendly than thoroughly business-like relations. The prosaicOccidental discounts all sentiment that has not first satisfied thedemands of business and justice. Such a standard, however, seems to berepugnant to the average Japanese mind. 

The theory that all authority resides in the Emperor is also enforcedby recent history. For the constitution was not wrung from anunwilling ruler by an ambitious people, but was conferred by theEmperor of his own free will, under the advice of his enlightened andprogressive councilors. 

As an illustration of some of the preceding statements let me quotefrom a recent article by Mr. Yamaguchi, Professor of History in thePeeresses' School and Lecturer in the Imperial Military College. Afterspeaking of the abolition of feudalism and the establishment of aconstitutional monarchy, he goes on to say: "But we must not supposethat the sovereign power of the state has been transferred to theImperial Diet. On the contrary, it is still in the hands of theEmperor as before. .. . The functions of the government are retained inthe Emperor's own hands, who merely delegates them to the Diet, theGovernment (Cabinet), and the Judiciary, to exercise the same in hisname. The present form of government is the result of the history of acountry which has enjoyed an existence of many centuries. Each countryhas its own peculiar characteristics which differentiate it fromothers. Japan, too, has her history, different from that of othercountries. Therefore we ought not to draw comparisons between Japanand other countries, as if the same principles applied to allindiscriminately. The Empire of Japan has a history of 3000 [!] years, which fact distinctly marks out our nationality as unique. Themonarch, in the eyes of the people, is not merely on a par with anaristocratic oligarchy which rules over the inferior masses, or a fewnobles who equally divide the sovereignty among themselves. Accordingto our ideas, the monarch reigns over and governs the country in hisown right, and not by virtue of rights conferred by theconstitution. .. . Our Emperor possesses real sovereignty and alsoexercises it. He is quite different from other rulers who possess buta partial sovereignty. .. . He has inherited the rights of sovereigntyfrom his ancestors. Thus it is quite legitimate to think that therights of sovereignty exist in the Emperor himself. .. . The Empire ofJapan shall be reigned over and governed by a line of Emperorsunbroken for ages eternal. (Constitution, Art. LXXIII. ) . .. Thesovereign power of the state cannot be dissociated from the ImperialThrone. It lasts forever, along with the Imperial line of succession, unbroken for ages eternal. If the Imperial house cease to exist, theEmpire falls. "

In a land where adopted sons are practically equivalent to linealdescendants (another instance of the "yumei-mujitsu" type of thought), and where marriage is essentially polygamous, and where the"yumei-mujitsu" spirit has allowed the sovereignty to be usurped infact, though it may not be in name, it is not at all wonderful thatthe nation can boast of a longer line of Emperors than any other land. But when monogamy becomes the rule in Japan, as it doubtless will someday, and if lineal descent should be considered essential toinheritance, as in the Occident, it is not at all likely that theImperial line will maintain itself unbroken from father to sonindefinitely. Although the present Emperor has at least fiveconcubines besides his wife, the Empress, and has had, prior to 1896, no less than thirteen children by them, only two of these are stillliving, both of them the offspring of his concubines; one of these isa son born in 1879, proclaimed the heir in 1887, elected Crown Princein 1889, and married in 1900; he is said to be in delicate health; thesecond child is a daughter born in 1890. Since 1896 several childrenhave been born to the Emperor and two or three have died, so that atpresent writing there are but four living children. These are alloffspring of concubines. [R]

In speaking, however, of the Japanese apotheosis of their Emperor, wemust not forget how the "divine right of kings" has been a populardoctrine, even in enlightened England, until the eighteenth century, and is not wholly unknown in other lands at the present day. Only inrecent times has the real source of sovereignty been discovered byhistorical and political students. That the Japanese are not able topass at one leap from the old to the new conception in regard to thisfundamental element of national authority is not at all strange. Pasthistory, together with that which is recent, furnishes a satisfactoryexplanation for the peculiar nature of Japanese patriotism. This isclearly due to the nature of the social order. 

A further fact in this connection is that, in a very real sense, theexistence of Japan as a unified nation has depended on apotheosis. Itis the method that all ancient nations have adopted at one stage oftheir social development for expressing their sense of national unityand the authority of national law. In that stage of social developmentwhen the common individual counts for nothing, the only possibleconception of the authority of law is that it proceeds from a superiorbeing--the highest ruler. And in order to secure the full advantage ofauthority, the supreme ruler must be raised to the highest possiblepinnacle, must be apotheosized. That national laws should be theproduct of the unvalued units which compose the nation was unthinkablein an age when the worth of the individual was utterly unrecognized. The apotheosis of the Emperor was neither an unintelligible nor anunreasonable practice. But now that an individualistic, democraticorganization of society has been introduced resting on a principlediametrically opposed to that of apotheosis, a struggle of mostprofound importance has been inaugurated. Does moral or even nationalauthority really reside in the Emperor? The school-teachers arefinding great difficulty in teaching morality as based exclusively onthe Imperial Edict. The politicians of Japan are not content withleaving all political and state authority to the Emperor. Not long ago(June, 1898), for the first time in Japan, a Cabinet acknowledgingresponsibility to a political party took the place of oneacknowledging responsibility only, to the Emperor. For this end thepoliticians have been working since the first meeting of the nationalDiet. Which principle is to succeed, apotheosis and absolute Imperialsovereignty, or individualism with democratic sovereignty? The twocannot permanently live together. The struggle is sure to be intense, for the question of authority, both political and moral, is inevitablyinvolved. 

The parallel between Japanese and Roman apotheosis is interesting. Ican present it no better than by quoting from that valuablecontribution to social and moral problems, "The Genesis of the SocialConscience, " by Prof. H. S. Nash: "Yet Rome with all her greatnesscould not outgrow the tribal principle. .. . We find something thatreveals a fundamental fault in the whole system. It is the apotheosisof the Emperors. The process of apotheosis was something far deeperthan servility in the subject conspiring with vanity in the ruler. Itwas a necessity of the state. There was no means of insuring theexistence of the state except religion. In the worship of the Cæsarsthe Empire reverenced its own law. There was no other way in whichpagan Rome could guarantee the gains she had made for civilization. Yet the very thing that was necessary to her was in logic herundoing. .. . The worship of the Emperor undid the definition ofequality the logic of the Empire demanded. Again apotheosis violatedthe divine unity of humanity upon which alone the Empire couldsecurely build. "[S]

That the final issue of Japan's experience will be like that of Rome Ido not believe. For her environment is totally different. But the samestruggle of the two conflicting principles is already on. Few, evenamong the educated classes, realize its nature or profundity. Thethinkers who adhere to the principle of apotheosis do so admittedlybecause they see no other way in which to secure authority for law, whether political or moral. Here we see the importance of thoseconceptions of God, of law, of man, which Christianity alone can give. 

From patriotism we naturally pass to the consideration of courage. Nothing was more prized and praised in Old Japan. In those days it wasthe deliberate effort of parents and educators to develop courage inchildren. Many were their devices for training the young in bravery. Not content with mere precept, they were sent alone on dark stormynights to cemeteries, to houses reputed to be haunted, to dangerousmountain peaks, and to execution grounds. Many deeds were required ofthe young whose sole aim was the development of courage and daring. The worst name you could give to a samurai was "koshinuke" (coward). Many a feud leading to a fatal end has resulted from the mere use ofthis most hated of all opprobrious epithets. The history of Japan isfull of heroic deeds. I well remember a conversation with a son of theold samurai type, who told me, with the blood tingling in his veins, of bloody deeds of old and the courage they demanded. He remarkedincidentally that, until one had slain his first foe, he was everinclined to tremble. But once the deed had been done, and his swordhad tasted the life blood of a man, fear was no more. He also told mehow for the sake of becoming inured to ghastly sights undernerve-testing circumstances, the sons of samurai were sent at night tothe execution grounds, there, by faint moonlight to see, stuck onpoles, the heads of men who had been recently beheaded. 

The Japanese emotion of courage is in some respects peculiar. At leastit appears to differ from that of the Anglo-Saxon. A Japanese seems tolose all self-control when the supreme moment comes; he throws himselfinto the fray with a frenzied passion and a fearless madness allied toinsanity. Such is the impression I have gathered from the descriptionsI have heard and the pictures I have seen. Even the pictures of thelate war with China give evidence of this. 

But their courage is not limited to fearlessness in the face of death;it extends to complete indifference to pain. The honorable method bywhich a samurai who had transgressed some law or failed in some pointof etiquette, might leave this world is well known to all, the"seppuku, " the elegant name for the vulgar term "hara-kiri" or"belly-cutting. " To one who is sensitive to tales of blood, unexpurgated Japanese history must be a dreadful thing. The vastnessof the multitudes who died by their own hands would be incredible, were there not ample evidence of the most convincing nature. It may besaid with truth that suicide became apotheosized, a condition that Isuppose cannot be said to have prevailed in any other land. 

In thus describing the Japanese sentiment in regard to "seppuku, "there is, however, some danger of misrepresenting it. "Seppuku" itselfwas not honored, for in the vast majority of cases those who performedit were guilty of some crime or breach of etiquette. And notinfrequently those who were condemned to commit "seppuku" weredeficient in physical courage; in such cases, some friend took hold ofthe victim's hand and forced him to cut himself. Such cowards werealways despised. To be condemned to commit "seppuku" was a disgrace, but it was much less of a disgrace than to be beheaded as a commonman, for it permitted the samurai to show of what stuff he was made. It should be stated further that in the case of "seppuku, " as soon asthe act of cutting the abdomen had been completed, always by a singlerapid stroke, someone from behind would, with a single blow, beheadthe victim. The physical agony of "seppuku" was, therefore, verybrief, lasting but a few seconds. 

I can do no better than quote in this connection a paragraph from the"Religions of Japan" by W. E. Griffis:

 "From the prehistoric days when the custom of 'Junshi, ' or dying with the master, required the interment of living retainers with their dead lord, down through all the ages to the Revolution of 1868, when at Sendai and Aidzu scores of men and boys opened their bowels, and mothers slew their infant sons and cut their own throats, there has been flowing a river of suicides' blood having its springs in devotion of retainers to masters, and of soldiers to a lost cause. .. . Not only a thousand, but thousands of thousands of soldiers hated their parents, wife, child, friend, in order to be disciples to the supreme loyalty. They sealed their creed by emptying their own veins. .. . The common Japanese novels read like records of slaughter-houses. No Molech or Shivas won more victims to his shrine than has this idea of Japanese loyalty, which is so beautiful in theory but so hideous in practice . .. Could the statistics of the suicides during this long period be collected, their publication would excite in Christendom the utmost incredulity. "[T]

I well remember the pride, which almost amounted to glee, with which ayoung blood gave me the account of a mere boy, perhaps ten or twelveyears old, who cut his bowels in such a way that the deed was notquite complete, and then tying his "obi" or girdle over it, walkedinto the presence of his mother, explained the circumstances whichmade it a point of honor that he should commit "seppuku, " andforthwith untied his "obi" and died in her presence. 

These are the ideals of courage and loyalty that have been held upbefore Japanese youth for centuries. Little comment is needful. Fromthe evolutionary standpoint, it is relatively easy to understand therise of these ideas and practices. It is clear that they dependentirely on the social order. With the coming in of the Western socialorder, feudal lords and local loyalty and the carrying of swords wereabolished. Are the Japanese any less courageous now than they werethirty years ago? The social order has changed and the ways of showingcourage have likewise changed. That is all that need be said. 

Are we to say that the Japanese are more courageous than otherpeoples? Although no other people have manifested such phenomena asthe Japanese in regard to suicide for loyalty, yet any trueappreciation of Western peoples will at once dispel the idea that theylack courage. Manifestations of courage differ according to the natureof the social order, but no nation could long maintain itself, to saynothing of coming into existence, without a high degree of thisendowment. 

But Japanese courage is not entirely of the physical order, althoughthat is the form in which it has chiefly shown itself thus far. Thecourage of having and holding one's own convictions is known in Japanas elsewhere. There has been a long line of martyrs. During thedecades after the introduction of Buddhism, there was such oppositionthat it required much courage for converts to hold to their beliefs. So, too, at the time of the rise of the new Buddhist sects, there wasconsiderable persecution, especially with the rise of the NichirenShu. And when the testing time of Christianity came, under the edictof the Tokugawas by which it was suppressed, tens of thousands werefound who preferred death to the surrender of their faith. In recenttimes, too, much courage has been shown by the native Christians. 

As an illustration is the following: When an eminent American teacherof Japanese youth returned to Japan after a long absence, his formerpupils gathered around him with warm admiration. They had in theinterval of his absence become leaders among the trustees and facultyof the most prosperous Christian college in Japan. He was accordinglyinvited to deliver a course of lectures in the Chapel. It wasgenerally known that he was no longer the earnest Christian that hehad once been, when, as teacher in an interior town, he had inspired aband of young men who became Christians under his teaching and a powerfor good throughout the land. But no one was prepared to hear suchextreme denunciations of Christianity and Christian missions andmissionaries as constituted the substance of his lectures. At firstthe matter was passed over in silence. But, by the end of the secondlecture, the missionaries entered a protest, urging that the ChristianChapel should not again be used for such lectures. The faculty, however, were not ready to criticise their beloved teacher. The thirdlecture proved as abusive as the others; the speaker seemed to have nosense of propriety. A glimpse of his thought, and method of expressionmay be gained from a single sentence: "I have been commissioned, gentlemen, by Jesus Christ, to tell you that there is no such thing asa soul or a future life. " Although the missionary members of thefaculty urged it, the Japanese members, most of whom were his formerpupils, were unwilling to take any steps whatever to prevent thecontinuation of the blasphemous lectures. The students of theinstitution accordingly held a mass-meeting, in which the matter wasdiscussed, and it was decided to inform the speaker that the studentsdid not care to hear any more such lectures. The question then aroseas to who would deliver the resolution. There was general hesitancy, and anyone who has seen or known the lecturer, and has heard himspeak, can easily understand this feeling; for he is a large man witha most impressive and imperious manner. The young man, however, whohad perhaps been most active in agitating the matter, and who hadpresented the resolution to the meeting, volunteered to go. He isslight and rather small, even for a Japanese. Going to the home of thelecturer, he delivered calmly the resolution of the students. To thedemand as to who had drawn up and presented the resolution to themeeting, the reply was: "I, sir. " That ended the conversation, but notthe matter. From that day the idolized teacher was gradually loweredfrom his pedestal. But the moral courage of the young man who couldsay in his enraged presence, "I, sir, " has not been forgotten. Neitherhas that of the young man who had acted as interpreter for the firstlecture; not only did he decline to act in that capacity any longer, but, taking the first public opportunity, at the chapel service thefollowing day, which proved to be Sunday, he went to the platform andasked forgiveness of God and of men that he had uttered such languageas he had been compelled to use in his translating. Here, too, wasmoral courage of no mean order. 

XIV

FICKLENESS--STOLIDITY--STOICISM

A frequent criticism of the Japanese is that they are fickle; thatthey run from one fad to another, from one idea to another, quicklytiring of each in turn. They are said to lack persistence in theiramusements no less than in the most serious matters of life. 

None will deny the element of truth in this charge. In fact, theJapanese themselves recognize that of late their progress has been by"waves, " and not a few lament it. A careful study of school attendancewill show that it has been subject to alternate waves of popularityand disfavor. Private schools glorying in their hundreds of pupilshave in a short time lost all but a few score. In 1873 there was apassion for rabbits, certain varieties of which were then for thefirst time introduced into Japan. For a few months these broughtfabulous prices, and became a subject of the wildest speculation. In1874-75 cock-fighting was all the rage. Foreign waltzing and giganticfunerals were the fashion one year, while wrestling was the fad atanother time, even the then prime minister, Count Kuroda, taking thelead. But the point of our special interest is as to whetherfickleness is an essential element of Japanese character, and sodominant that wherever the people may be and whatever theirsurroundings, they will always be fickle; or whether this trait is dueto the conditions of their recent history. Let us see. 

Prof. Basil H. Chamberlain says, "Japan stood still so long that shehas to move quickly and often now to make up for lost time. " Thisstates the case pretty well. Had we known Japan only through herTokugawa period, the idea of fickleness would not have occurred to us;on the contrary, the dominant impression would have been that of thepermanence and fixity of her life and customs. This quality orappearance of fickleness is, then, a modern trait, due to theextraordinary circumstances in which Japan finds herself. Theoccurrence of wave after wave of fresh fashions and fads is neitherstrange nor indicative of an essentially fickle disposition. Glancingbelow the surface for a moment, we shall see that there is anearnestness of purpose which is the reverse of fickle. 

What nation, for example, ever voluntarily set itself to learn theways and thoughts and languages of foreign nations as persistently asJapan? That there has been fluctuation of intensity is not sosurprising as that, through a period of thirty years, she has keptsteadily at it. Tens of thousands of her young men are now, able toread the English language with some facility; thousands are also ableto read German and French. Foreign languages are compulsory in all theadvanced schools. A regulation going into force in September, 1900, requires the study of two foreign languages. This has been done at acost of many hundred thousands of dollars. There has been a fairlypermanent desire and effort to learn all that the West has to teach. The element of fickleness is to be found chiefly in connection withthe methods rather than in connection with the ends to be secured. From the moment when Japan discovered that the West had sources ofpower unknown to herself, and indispensable if she expected to holdher own with the nations of the world, the aim and end of all herefforts has been to master the secrets of that power. She has seenthat education is one important means. That she should stumble in theadoption of educational methods is not strange. The necessaryexperience is being secured. But for a lesson of this sort, more thanone generation of experience is required of a nation. For some time tocome Japan is sure to give signs of unsteadiness, of lack of perfectbalance. 

A pitiful sight in Japan is that of boys not more than five or sixyears of age pushing or pulling with all their might at heavily loadedhand-carts drawn by their parents. Yet this is typical of one aspectof Japanese civilization. The work is largely done by young peopleunder thirty, and vast multitudes of the workers are under twentyyears of age. This is true not only of menial labor, but also inregard to labor involving more or less responsibility. In the postoffices, for instance, the great majority of the clerks are mere boys. In the stores one rarely sees a man past middle age conducting thebusiness or acting as clerk. Why are the young so prominent? Partlybecause of the custom of "abdication. " As "family abdication" isfrequent, it has a perceptible effect on the general character of thenation, and accounts in part for rash business ventures and othersigns of impetuosity and unbalanced judgment. Furthermore, under thenew civilization, the older men have become unfitted to do therequired work. The younger and more flexible members of the risinggeneration can quickly adjust themselves to the new conditions, as inthe schools, where the older men, who had received only the regulartraining in Chinese classics, were utterly incompetent as teachers ofscience. Naturally, therefore, except for instruction in theseclassics, the common-school teachers, during the earlier decades, werealmost wholly young boys. The extreme youthfulness of school-teachershas constantly surprised me. In the various branches of governmentthis same phenomenon is equally common. Young men have been pushedforward into positions with a rapidity and in numbers unknown in theWest, and perhaps unknown in any previous age in Japan. 

The rise and decline of the Christian Church in Japan has beeninstanced as a sign of the fickleness of the people. It is a mistakeninstance, for there are many other causes quite sufficient to accountfor the phenomenon in question. Let me illustrate by the experience ofan elderly Christian. He had been brought to Christ through theteachings of a young man of great brilliancy, whose zeal was nottempered with full knowledge--which, however, was not strange, in viewof his limited opportunities for learning. His instruction wastherefore narrow, not to say bigoted. Still the elderly gentlemanfound the teachings of the young man sufficiently strong and clearthoroughly to upset all his old ideas of religion, his polytheism, hisbelief in charms, his worship of ancestors, and all kindred ideas. Heaccepted the New Testament in simple unquestioning faith. But, aftersix or eight years, the young instructor began to lose his ownprimitive and simple faith. He at once proceeded to attack that whichbefore he had been defending and expounding. Soon his wholetheological position was changed. Higher criticism and religiousphilosophy were now the center of his preaching and writing. Theresult was that this old gentleman was again in danger of being upsetin his religious thinking. He felt that his new faith had beenreceived in bulk, so to speak, and if a part of it were false, as hisyoung teacher now asserted, how could he know that any of it was true?Yet his heart's experience told him that he had secured something inthis faith that was real; he was loath to lose it; consequently, forsome years now, he has systematically stayed away from churchservices, and refrained from reading magazines in which these new anddestructive views have been discussed; he has preferred to read theBible quietly at home, and to have direct communion with God, eventhough, in many matters of Biblical or theoretical science, he mighthold his mistaken opinions. A surface view of this man's conduct mightlead one to think of him as fickle; but a deeper consideration willlead to the opposite conclusion. 

The fluctuating condition of the Christian churches is not cause forastonishment, nor is it to be wholly, if at all, attributed to thefickleness of the national character, but rather, in a large degree, to the peculiar conditions of Japanese life. The early Christians hadmuch to learn. They knew, experimentally, but little of Christiantruth. The whole course of Christian thought, the historicaldevelopment of theology, with the various heresies, the recentdiscussions resting on the so-called "higher criticism" of the Bible, together with the still more recent investigations into the historyand philosophy of religion in general, were of course wholly unknownto them. This was inevitable, and they were blameless. All could notbe learned at once. 

Nor is there any blame attached to the missionaries. It was asimpossible for them to impart to young and inexperienced Christians afull knowledge of these matters as it was for the latter to receivesuch information. The primary interest of the missionaries was in thepractical and everyday duties of the Christian life, in the greatproblem of getting men and women to put away the superstitions andnarrowness and sins springing from polytheism or practical atheism, and getting them started in ways of godliness. The training schoolsfor evangelists were designed to raise up practical workers ratherthan speculative theologians. Missionaries considered it their duty(and they were beyond question right) to teach religion rather thanthe science and philosophy of religion. When, therefore, theevangelists discovered that they had not been taught these advancedbranches of knowledge, it is not strange that some should rush afterthem, and, in their zeal for that which they supposed to be important, hasten to criticise their former teachers. As a result, theyundermined both their own faith and that of many who had becomeChristians through their teaching. 

The dullness of the church life, so conspicuous at present in many ofthe churches, is only partly due to the fact that the Christians aretired of the services. It is true that these services no longer affordthem that mental and spiritual stimulus which they found at the first, and that, lacking this, they find little inducement to attend. Butthis is only a partial explanation. Looking over the experience of thepast twenty-five years, we now see that the intense zeal of the firstfew years was a natural result of a certain narrowness of view. It isan interesting fact that, during one of the early revivals in theDoshisha, the young men were so intense and excited that themissionaries were compelled to restrain them. These young Christiansfelt and said that the missionaries were not filled with the HolySpirit; they accordingly considered it their duty to exhort theirforeign leaders, even to chide them for their lack of faith. Theextraordinary expectations entertained by the young Japanese workersof those days and shared by the missionaries, that Japan was tobecome a Christian nation before the end of the century, was due inlarge measure to an ignorance alike of Christianity, of human nature, and of heathenism, but, under the peculiar conditions of life, thiswas well-nigh inevitable. And that great and sudden changes in feelingand thought have come over the infant churches, in consequence of therapid acquisition of new light and new experience, is equallyinevitable. These changes are not primarily attributable to ficklenessof nature, but to the extraordinary additions to their knowledge. 

There is good reason to think, however, that the period of these rapidfluctuations is passing away. All the various fads, fancies, andfollies, together with the sciences, philosophies, ologies, and ismsof the Western world, have already come to Japan, and are fairly wellknown. No essentially new and sudden experiences lie before thepeople. 

Furthermore, the young men are year by year growing older. Experienceand age together are giving a soberness and a steadiness otherwiseunattainable. In the schools, in the government, in politics, and inthe judiciary, and in the churches, men of years and of training inthe new order are becoming relatively numerous, and erelong they willbe in the majority. We may expect to see Japan gradually settling downto a steadiness and a regularity that have been lacking during thepast few decades. The newcomer to Japan is much impressed with theexpressionless character of so many Japanese faces. They appear likethe images of Buddha, who is supposed to be so absorbed in profoundmeditation that the events of the passing world make no impressionupon him. I have sometimes heard the expression "putty face" used todescribe the appearance of the common Japanese face. This immobilityof the Oriental is more conspicuous to a newcomer than to one who hasseen much of the people and who has learned its significance. Butthough the "putty" effect wears off, there remains an impression ofstoicism that never fades away. These two features, stolidity andstoicism, are so closely allied in appearance that they are easilymistaken, yet they are really distinct. The one arises fromstupidity, from dullness of mind. The other is the product ofelaborate education and patient drill. Yet it is often difficult todetermine where the one ends and the other begins. 

The stolidity of stupidity is, of course, commonest among the peasantclass. For centuries they have been in closest contact with the soil;nothing has served to awaken their intellectual faculties. Reading andwriting have remained to them profound mysteries. Their lives havebeen narrow in the extreme. But the Japanese peasant is not peculiarin this respect. Similar conditions in other lands produce similarresults, as in France, according to Millet's famous painting, "The Manwith the Hoe. "

It is an interesting fact, however, that this stolidity of stupiditycan be easily removed. I have often heard comments on the markedchange in the facial expression of those adults who learn to read theBible. Their minds are awakened; a new light is seen in their eyes asnew ideas are started in their minds. 

The impression of stolidity made on the foreigner is, due less, however, to stupidity than to a stoical education. For centuries thepeople have been taught to repress all expression of their emotions. It has been required of the inferior to listen quietly to his superiorand to obey implicitly. The relations of superior and inferior havebeen drilled into the people for ages. The code of a military camp hasbeen taught and enforced in all the homes. Talking in the presence ofa superior, or laughter, or curious questions, or expressions ofsurprise, anything revealing the slightest emotion on the part of theinferior was considered a discourtesy. 

Education in these matters was not confined to oral instruction;infringements were punished with great rigor. Whenever a daimyotraveled to Yedo, the capital, he was treated almost as a god by thepeople. They were required to fall on their knees and bow their facesto the ground, and the death penalty was freely awarded to those whofailed to make such expressions of respect. 

One source, then, of the systematic repression of emotional expressionis the character of the feudal order of society that so longprevailed. The warrior who had best control of his facial expression, who could least expose to his foe or even to his ordinary friends thereal state of his feelings, other things being equal, would come offthe victor. In further explanation of this repression is the religionof Buddha. For 1200 years it has helped to mold the middle and thelower classes of the people. According to its doctrine, desire is thegreat evil; from it all other evils spring. For this reason, the aimof the religious life is to suppress all desire, and the most naturalway to accomplish this is to suppress the manifestation of desire; tomaintain passive features under all circumstances. The images ofBuddha and of Buddhist saints are utterly devoid of expression. Theyindicate as nearly as possible the attainment of their desire, namely, freedom from all desire. This is the ambition of every earnestBuddhist. Being the ideal and the actual effort of life, it doesaffect the faces of the people. Lack of expression, however, does notprove absence of desire. 

Every foreigner has had amusing proof of this. A common experience isthe passing of a group of Japanese who, apparently, give no heed tothe stranger. Neither by the turn of the head nor by the movement of asingle facial muscle do they betray any curiosity, yet their eyes takein each detail, and involuntarily follow the receding form of thetraveler. In the interior, where foreigners are still objects ofcuriosity, young men have often run up from behind, gone to a distanceahead of me, then turned abruptly, as though remembering something, and walked slowly back again, giving me, apparently, not the slightestattention. The motive was the desire to get a better look at theforeigner. They hoped to conceal it by a ruse, for there must be nomanifestation of curiosity. 

Phenomena which a foreigner may attribute to a lack of emotion of, atleast, to its repression, may be due to some very different cause. Fewthings, for instance, are more astonishing to the Occidental than thesilence on the part of the multitude when the Emperor, whom they alladmire and love, appears on the street. Under circumstances whichwould call forth the most enthusiastic cheers from Western crowds, aJapanese crowd will maintain absolute silence. Is this from lack ofemotion? By no means. Reverence dominates every breast. They would nomore think of making noisy demonstrations of joy in the presence ofthe Emperor than a congregation of devout Christians would think ofdoing the same during a religious service. This idea of reverence forsuperiors has pervaded the social order--the intensity of thereverence varying with the rank of the superior. But a change hasalready begun. Silence is no longer enforced; no profound bowings tothe ground are now demanded before the nobility; on at least oneoccasion during the recent China-Japan war the enthusiasm of thepopulace found audible expression when the Emperor made a publicappearance. Even the stoical appearance of the people is passing awayunder the influence of the new order of society, with its new, dominant ideas. Education is bringing the nation into a large andthrobbing life. Naturalness is taking the place of forced repression. A sense of the essential equality of man is springing up, especiallyamong the young men, and is helping to create a new atmosphere in thisland, where, for centuries, one chief effort has been to repress allnatural expression of emotion. 

While touring in Kyushu several years ago, I had an experience whichshowed me that the stolidity, or vivacity, of a people is largelydependent on the prevailing social order rather than on inherentnature. Those who have much to do with the Japanese have noted theextreme quiet and reserve of the women. It is a trait that has beenlauded by both native and foreign writers. Because of thischaracteristic it is difficult for a stranger, to carry onconversation with them. They usually reply in monosyllables and in lowtones. The very expression of their faces indicates a reticence, acalm stolidity, and a lack of response to the stimulus of socialintercourse that is striking and oppressive to an Occidental. I havealways found it a matter of no little difficulty to become acquaintedwith the women, and especially with the young women, in the churchwith which I have been connected. With the older women this reticenceis not so marked. Now for my story:

One day I called on a family, expecting to meet the mother, with whomI was well acquainted. She proved to be out; but a daughter of whom Ihad not before heard was at home, and I began to talk with her. Contrary to all my previous experience, this young girl of less thantwenty years looked me straight in the face with perfect composure, replied to my questions with clear voice and complete sentences, andasked questions in her turn without the slightest embarrassment. I wasamazed. Here was a Japanese girl acting and talking with the freedomof an American. How was this to be explained? Difficult though itappeared, the problem was easily solved. The young lady had been inAmerica, having spent several years in Radcliffe College. There it wasthat her Japanese demureness was dropped and the American franknessand vivacity of manner acquired. It was a matter simply of theprevailing social customs, and not of her inherent nature as aJapanese. 

And this conclusion is enforced by the further fact that there is amarked increase in vivacity in those who become Christian. Therepressive social restraints of the old social order are somewhatremoved. A freedom is allowed to individuals of the Christiancommunity, in social life, in conversation between men and women, inthe holding of private opinions, which the non-Christian order ofsociety did not permit. Sociability between the sexes was not allowed. The new freedom naturally results in greater vivacity and a far freerplay of facial expression than the older order could produce. Thevivacity and sociability of the geisha (dancing and singing girls), whose business it is to have social relations with the men, freelyconversing with them, still further substantiates the view that thestolid, irrepressive features of the usual Japanese woman are social, not essential, characteristics. The very same girls exhibitalternately stolidity and vivacity according as they are acting asgeisha or as respectable members of society. 

This completes our direct study of the various elements characterizingthe emotional nature of the Japanese. It is universally admitted thatthe people are conspicuously emotional. We have shown, however, thattheir feelings are subject to certain remarkable suppressions. 

It remains to be asked why the Japanese are more emotional than otherraces? One reason doubtless is that the social conditions were such asto stimulate their emotional rather than their intellectual powers. The military system upon which the social structure rested kept thenation in its mental infancy. Twenty-eight millions of farmers and amillion and a half of soldiers was the proportion during the middle ofthe nineteenth century. Education was limited to the soldiers. Butalthough they cultivated their minds somewhat, their very occupationas soldiers required them to obey rather than to think; theirhand-to-hand conflicts served mightily to stimulate the emotions. Theentire feudal order likewise was calculated to have the same effect. The intellectual life being low, its inhibitions were correspondinglyweak. When, in the future, the entire population shall have becomefairly educated, and taught to think independently; and whengovernment by the people shall have become much more universal, throwing responsibility on the people as never before, and stimulatingdiscussion of the general principles of life, of government, and oflaw, then must the emotional features of the nation become lessconspicuous. 

It is a question of relative development. As children run to extremesof thought and action on the slightest occasion, simply because theirintellects have not come into full activity, weeping at one moment andlaughing at the next, so it is with national life. Where the generalintellectual development of a people is retarded, the emotionalmanifestations are of necessity correspondingly conspicuous. 

Even so fundamental a racial trait, then, as the emotional, is seen tobe profoundly influenced by the prevailing social order. The emotionalcharacteristics which distinguish the Japanese from other races aredue, in the last analysis, to the nature of their social order ratherthan to their inherent nature or brain structure. 

XV

AESTHETIC CHARACTERISTICS

In certain directions, the Japanese reveal a development of æsthetictaste which no other nation has reached. The general appreciation oflandscape-views well illustrates this point. The home and garden ofthe average workman are far superior artistically to those of the sameclass in the West. There is hardly a home without at least adiminutive garden laid out in artistic style with miniature lake andhills and winding walks. And this garden exists solely for the delightof the eye. 

The general taste displayed in many little ways is a constant delightto the Western "barbarian" when he first comes to Japan. Nor does thisdelight vanish with time and familiarity, though it is tempered by alater perception of certain other features. Indeed, the more one knowsof the details of their artistic taste, the more does he appreciateit. The "toko-no-ma, " for example, is a variety of alcove usuallyoccupying half of one side of a room. It indicates the place of honor, and guests are always urged to sit in front of it. The floor of the"toko-no-ma" is raised four or five inches above the level of the roomand should never be stepped upon. In this "toko-no-ma" is usuallyplaced some work of art, or a vase with flowers, and on the wall ishung a picture or a few Chinese characters, written by some famouscalligraphist, which are changed with the seasons. The woodwork andthe coloring of this part of the room is of the choicest. The"toko-no-ma" of the main room of the house is always restful to theeye; this "honorable spot" is found in at least one room in everyhouse; and if the owner has moderate means, there are two or threesuch rooms. Only the homes of the poorest of the poor are without thisornament. 

The Japanese show a refined taste in the coloring and decoration ofrooms; natural woods, painted and polished, are common; every post andboard standing erect must stand in the position in which it grew. AJapanese knows at once whether a board or post is upside down, thoughit would often puzzle a Westerner to decide the matter. The naturalwood ceilings and the soft yellows and blues of the walls are all thatthe best trained Occidental eye could ask. Dainty decorations calledthe "ramma, " over the neat "fusuma, " consist of delicate shapes andquaint designs cut in thin boards, and serve at once as picture andventilator. The drawings, too, on the "fusuma" (solid thick papersliding doors separating adjacent rooms or shutting off the closet)are simple and neat, as is all Japanese pictorial art. 

Japanese love for flowers reveals a high æsthetic development. Notonly are there various flower festivals at which times the peopleflock to suburban gardens and parks, but sprays, budding branches, andeven large boughs are invariably arranged in the homes and publichalls. Every church has an immense vase for the purpose. The properarrangement of flowers and of flowering sprays and boughs is a highlydeveloped art. It is often one of the required studies in girls'schools. I have known two or three men who made their entire living byteaching this art. Miniature flowering trees are reared withconsummate skill. An acquaintance of mine glories in 230 varieties ofthe plum tree, all in pots, some of them between two and three hundredyears old. Shinto and Buddhist temples also reveal artistic qualitiesmost pleasing to the eye. 

But the main point of our interest lies in the explanation of thischaracteristic. Is the æsthetic sense more highly developed in Japanthan in the West? Is it more general? Is it a matter of inherentnature, or of civilization?

In trying to meet these problems, I note, first of all, that thedevelopment of the Japanese æsthetic taste is one-sided; thoughadvanced in certain respects it is belated in others. In illustrationis the sense of smell. It will not do to say that "the Japanese haveno use for the nose, " and that the love of sweet smells is unknown. Sir Rutherford Alcock's off-quoted sentence that "in one of the mostbeautiful and fertile countries in the whole world the flowers have noscent, the birds no song, and the fruit and vegetables no flavor, " isquite misleading, for it has only enough truth to make it the moredeceptive. It is true that the cherry blossom has little or no odor, and that its beauty lies in its exquisite coloring and aboundingluxuriance, but most of the native flowers are praised and prized bythe Japanese for their odors, as well as for their colors, as theplum, the chrysanthemum, the lotus, and the rose. The fragrance offlowers is a frequent theme in Japanese poetry. Japanese ladies, likethose of every land, are fond of delicate scents. Cologne and kindredwares find wide sale in Japan, and I am told that expensive musk isnot infrequently packed away with the clothing of the wealthy. 

But in contrast to this appreciation is a remarkable indifference tocertain foul odors. It is amazing what horrid smells the cultivatedJapanese will endure in his home. What we conceal in the rear and outof the way, he very commonly places in the front yard; though this is, of course, more true of the country than of large towns or cities. Itwould seem as if a high æsthetic development should long ago havebanished such sights and smells. As a matter of fact, however, theæsthetics of the subject does not seem to have entered the nationalmind, any more than have the hygienics of the same subject. 

In explanation of these facts, may it not be that the Japanese methodof agriculture has been a potent hindrance to the æsthetic developmentof the sense of smell? In primitive times, when wealth was small, theonly easy method which the people had of preserving the fertilizingproperties of that which is removed from our cities by thesewer-system was such as we still find in use in Japan to-day. Perhapsthe necessities of the case have toughened the mental, if not thephysical, sense of the people. Perhaps the unæsthetic character of thesights and smells has been submerged in the great value of fertilizingmaterials. Then, too, with the Occidental, the thought is common thatsuch odors are indications of seriously unhealthful conditions. We areaccordingly offended not simply by the odor itself, but also by theassociations of sickness and death which it suggests. Not so theunsophisticated Oriental. Such a correlation of ideas is only nowarising in Japan, and changes are beginning to be made, as aconsequence. 

I cannot leave this point without drawing attention to the fact thatthe development of the sense of smell in these directions isrelatively recent, even in the West. Of all the non-European nationsand races, I have no doubt Japan is most free from horrid smells andputrid odors. And in view of our own recent emancipation it is not forus to marvel that others have made little progress. Rather is itmarvelous that we should so easily forget the hole from which we havebeen so recently digged. 

In turning to study certain features of Japanese pictorial art, wenotice that a leading characteristic is that of simplicity. Thegreatest results are secured with the fewest possible strokes. Thisgeneral feature is in part due to the character of the instrumentused, the "fude, " "brush. " This same brush answers for writing. Itadmits of strong, bold outlines; and a large brush allows theexhibition of no slight degree of skill. As a result, "writing" is afine art in Japan. Hardly a family that makes any pretense at culturebut owns one or more framed specimens of writing. In Japan these rankas pictures do or mottoes in the West, and are prized not merely forthe sentiment expressed, but also for the skill displayed in the useof the brush. Skillful writers become famous, often receiving largesums for small "pictures" which consist of but two or three Chinesecharacters. 

No doubt the higher development of appreciation for natural sceneryamong the people in general is largely due to the character of thescenery itself. Steep hills and narrow valleys adjoin nearly everycity in the land. Seas, bays, lakes, and rivers are numerous;reflected mountain scenes are common; the colors are varied andmarked. Flowering trees of striking beauty are abundant. Any peopleliving under these physical conditions, and sufficiently advanced incivilization to have leisure and culture, can hardly fail to beimpressed with such wealth of beauty in the scenery itself. 

In the artistic reproduction of this scenery, however, Japaneseartists are generally supposed to be inferior to those of the West. 

As often remarked, Japanese art has directed its chief endeavor toanimals and to nature, thus failing to give to man his share ofattention. This curious one-sidedness shows itself particularly inpainting and in sculpture. In the former, when human beings are thesubject, the aim has apparently been to extol certain characteristics;in warriors, the military or heroic spirit; in wise men, their wisdom;in monks and priests, their mastery over the passions and completeattainment of peace; in a god, the moral character which he issupposed to represent. Art has consequently been directed to bringinginto prominence certain ideal features which must be over-accentuatedin order to secure recognition; caricatures, rather than lifelikeforms, are the frequent results. The images of multitudes of gods arefrightful to behold; the aim being to show the character of theemotion of the god in the presence of evil. These idols are easilymisunderstood, for we argue that the more frightful he is, the morevicious must be the god in his real character; not so the Oriental. Tohim the more frightful the image, the more noble the character. Reallyevil gods, such as demons, are always represented, I think, asdeformed creatures, partly human and partly beast. It is to beremembered, in this connection, that idols are an imported feature ofJapanese religion; Shinto to this day has no "graven image. " All idolsare Buddhistic. Moreover, they are but copies of the hideous idols ofIndia; the Japanese artistic genius has added nothing to theirgrotesque appearance. But the point of interest for us is that theæsthetic taste which can revel in flowers and natural scenery hasnever delivered Japanese art from truly unæsthetic representations ofhuman beings and of gods. 

Standing recently before a toy store and looking at the numberlessdolls offered for sale, I was impressed afresh with the lack of tastedisplayed, both in coloring and in form; their conventionality wasexceedingly tiresome; their one attractive feature was theirabsurdity. But the moment I turned away from the imitations of humanbeings to look at the imitations of nature, the whole impression waschanged. I was pleased with the artistic taste displayed in theperfectly imitated, delicately colored flowers. They were beautifulindeed. 

Why has Japanese art made so little of man as man? Is it due to the"impersonality" of the Orient, as urged by some? This suggests, butdoes not give, the correct interpretation of the phenomenon inquestion. The reason lies in the nature of the ruling ideas ofOriental civilization. Man, as man, has not been honored or highlyesteemed. As a warrior he has been honored; consequently, whenpictured or sculptured as a warrior, he has worn his armor; his face, if visible, is not the natural face of a man, but rather that of apassionate victor, slaying his foe or planning for the same. And sowith the priests and the teachers, the emperors and the generals; allhave been depicted, not for what they are in themselves, but for therank which they have attained; they are accordingly represented withtheir accouterments and robes and the characteristic attitudes oftheir rank. The effort to preserve their actual appearance isrelatively rare. Manhood and womanhood, apart from social rank, havehardly been recognized, much less extolled by art. This feature, then, corresponds to the nature of the Japanese social order. The art of aland necessarily reveals the ruling ideals of its civilization. AsJapan failed to discover the inherent nature and value of manhood andwomanhood, estimating them only on a utilitarian basis, so has her artreflected this failure. 

Apparently it has never attempted to depict the nude human form. Thisis partly explained, perhaps, by the fact that the development of aperfect physical form through exercise and training has not been apart of Oriental thought. Labor of every sort has been regarded asdegrading. Training for military skill and prowess has indeed beencommon among the military classes; but the skill and strengththemselves have been the objects of thought, rather than the beauty ofthe muscular development which they produce. When we recall theprominent place which the games of Greece took in her civilizationprevious to her development of art, and the stress then laid onperfect bodily form, we shall better understand why there should besuch difference in the development of the art of these two lands. Ihave never seen a Japanese man or youth bare his arm to show withpride the development of his biceps; and so far as I have observed, the pride which students in the United States feel over well-developedcalves has no counterpart in Japan--this, despite the fact that theaverage Japanese has calves which would turn the American youth greenwith envy. 

From the absence of the nude in Japanese art it has been urged thatJapan herself is far more morally pure than the West. Did the morallife of the people correspond to their art in this respect, theargument would have force. Unfortunately, such does not seem to be thecase. It is further suggested as a reason that the bodily form ofOriental peoples is essentially unæsthetic; that the men are eithertoo fat or too lean, and the women too plump when in the bloom ofyouth and too wrinkled and flabby when the first bloom is over. Theabsurdity of this suggestion raises a smile, and a query as to theexperience which its author must have had. For any person who haslived in Japan must have seen individuals of both sexes, whom the mostfastidious painter or sculptor would rejoice to secure as models. 

It might be thought that a truly artistic people, who are alsosomewhat immoral, would have developed much skill in the portrayal ofthe nude female form. But such an attempt does not seem to have beenmade until recent times, and in imitation of Western art. At leastsuch attempts have not been recognized as art nor have they beenpreserved as such. I have never seen either statue or picture of anude Japanese woman. Even the pictures of famous prostitutes arealways faultlessly attired. The number and size of the conventionalhairpins, and the gaudy coloring of the clothing, alone indicate theimmoral character of the woman represented. 

It is not to be inferred, however, that immoral pictures have beenunknown in Japan, for the reverse is true. Until forcibly suppressedby the government under the incentive of Western criticism, there wasperfect freedom to produce and sell licentious and lasciviouspictures. The older foreign residents in Japan testify to thefrequency with which immoral scenes were depicted and exposed forsale. Here I merely say that these were not considered works of art;they were reproduced not in the interests of the æsthetic sense, butwholly to stimulate the taste for immoral things. 

The absence of the nude from Japanese art is due to the same causesthat led to the relative absence of all distinctively human naturefrom art. Manhood and womanhood, as such, were not the themes theystrove to depict. 

A curious feature of the artistic taste of the people is the markedfondness for caricature. It revels in absurd accentuations of specialfeatures. Children with protruding foreheads; enormously fat littlemen; grotesque dwarf figures in laughable positions; these are a fewcommon examples. Nearly all of the small drawings and sculpturings ofhuman figures are intentionally grotesque. But the Japanese love ofthe grotesque is not confined to its manifestation in art. It alsoreveals itself in other surprising ways. It is difficult to realizethat a people who revel in the beauties of nature can also delight indeformed nature; yet such is the case. Stunted and dwarfed trees, trees whose branches have been distorted into shapes and proportionsthat nature would scorn--these are sights that the Japanese seem toenjoy, as well as "natural" nature. Throughout the land, in thegardens of the middle and higher classes, may be found specimens ofdwarfed and stunted trees which have required decades to raise. Thebranches, too, of most garden shrubs and trees are trimmed infantastic shapes. What is the charm in these distortions? First, perhaps, the universal human interest in anything requiring skill. Think of the patience and persistence and experimentation necessaryto rear a dwarf pear tree twelve or fifteen inches high, growing itsfull number of years and bearing full-size fruit in its season! Andsecond is the no less universal human interest in the strange andabnormal. All primitive people have this interest. It shows itself intheir religions. Abnormal stones are often objects of religiousdevotion. Although I cannot affirm that such objects are worshiped inJapan to-day, yet I can say that they are frequently set up in templegrounds and dedicated with suitable inscriptions. Where nature can bemade to produce the abnormal, there the interest is still greater. Itis a living miracle. Witness the cocks of Tosa, distinguished by theirtwo or three tail feathers reaching the extraordinary length of ten oreven fifteen feet, the product of ages of special breeding. 

According to the ordinary use of the term, æsthetics has to do withart alone. Yet it also has intimate relations with both speech andconduct. Poetry depends for its very existence on æstheticconsiderations. Although little conscious regard is paid to æstheticclaims in ordinary conversation, yet people of culture do, as a matterof fact, pay it much unconscious attention. In conduct too, æstheticideas are often more dominant than we suppose. The objection of thecultured to the ways of the boorish rests on æsthetic grounds. This istrue in every land. In the matter of conduct it is sometimes hard todraw the line between æsthetics and ethics, for they shadeimperceptibly into one another; so much so that they are seen to becomplementary rather than contradictory. Though it is doubtless truethat conduct æsthetically defective may not be defective ethically, still is it not quite as true that conduct bad from the ethical is badalso from the æsthetical standpoint?

In no land have æsthetic considerations had more force in molding bothspeech and conduct than in Japan. Not a sentence is uttered by aJapanese but has the characteristic marks of æstheticism woven intoits very structure. By means of "honorifics" it is seldom necessaryfor a speaker to be so pointedly vulgar as even to mention self. Thereare few points in the language so difficult for a foreigner tomaster, whether in speaking himself, or in listening to others, as theuse of these honorific words. The most delicate shades of courtesy anddiscourtesy may be expressed by them. Some writers have attributed therelative absence of the personal pronouns from the language to thedominating force of impersonal pantheism. I am unable to take thisview for reasons stated in the later chapters on personality. 

Though the honorific characteristics of the language seem to indicatea high degree of æsthetic development, a certain lack of delicacy inreferring to subjects that are ruled out of conversation by cultivatedpeople in the West make the contrary impression upon the uninitiated. Such language in Japan cannot be counted impure, for no such ideaaccompanies the words. They must be described simply as æstheticallydefective. Far be it from me to imply that there is no impureconversation in Japan. I only say that the particular usages to whichI refer are not necessarily a proof of moral tendency. A realisticbaldness prevails that makes no effort to conceal even that which isin its nature unpleasant and unæsthetic. A spade is called a spadewithout the slightest hesitation. Of course specific illustrations ofsuch a point as this are out of place. Æsthetic considerations forbid. 

And how explain these unæsthetic phenomena? By the fact that Japan haslong remained in a state of primitive development. Speech is but theverbal expression of life. Every primitive society is characterized bya bald literalism shocking to the æsthetic sense of societies whichrepresent a higher stage of culture. In Japan, until recently, littleeffort has been made to keep out of sight objects and acts which we ofthe West have considered disagreeable and repulsive. Language altersmore slowly than acts. Laws are making changes in the latter, and theyin time will take effect in the former. But many decades willdoubtless pass before the cultivated classes of Japan will reach, inthis respect, the standard of the corresponding classes of the West. 

As for the æsthetics of conduct in Japan, enough is indicated by whathas been said already concerning the æsthetics of speech. Speech andconduct are but diverse expressions of the same inner life. Japaneseetiquette has been fashioned on the feudalistic theory of society, with its numberless gradations of inferior and superior. Assertiveindividualism, while allowed a certain range among the samurai, alwayshad its well-marked limits. The mass of the people were compelled towalk a narrow line of respectful obedience and deference both in formand speech. The constant aim of the inferior was to please thesuperior. That individuals of an inferior rank had any inherentrights, as opposed to those of a superior rank, seldom occurred tothem. Furthermore, this whole feudal system, with its characteristicetiquette of conduct and speech, was authoritatively taught bymoralists and religious leaders, and devoutly believed by the noblestof the land. Ethical considerations, therefore, combined powerfullywith those that were social and æsthetic to produce "the most politerace on the face of the globe. " Recent developments of rudeness anddiscourtesy among themselves and toward foreigners have emphasized mygeneral contention that these characteristics are not due to inherentrace nature, but rather to the social order. 

How are we to account for the wide æsthetic development of all classesof the Japanese? As already suggested, the beautiful scenery explainsmuch. But I pass at once to the significant fact that although theclasses of Japanese society were widely differentiated in social rank, yet they lived in close proximity to each other. There was no spatialgulf of separation preventing the lower from knowing fully and freelythe thoughts, ideals, and customs of the upper classes. Thetransmission of culture was thus an easy matter, in spite of socialgradations. 

Moreover, the character of the building materials, and the methods ofconstruction used by the more prosperous among the people, were easilyimitated in kind, if not in costliness, by the less prosperous. Take, for example, the structure of the room; it is always of certain fixedproportions, that the uniform mats may be easily fitted to it. Themats themselves are always made of a straw "toko, " "bed, " and an"omote, " "surface, " of woven straw; they vary greatly in value, but, of whatever grade, may always be kept neat and fresh at comparativelysmall cost. The walls of the average houses are made of mud wattles. The outer layers of plaster consist of selected earth and tinted lime. Whether put up at large or small expense, these walls may be neat andattractive. So, too, with other parts of the house. 

The utter lack of independent thinking throughout the middle and lowerclasses, and the constant desire of the inferior to imitate thesuperior, have also helped to make the culture of the classes thepossession of the masses. This subserviency and spirit of imitationhas been further stimulated by the enforced courtesy and deference andobedience of the common people. 

In this connection it should be noted, however, that the universalityof culture in Japan is more apparent than real. The appearance is duein part to the lack of furniture in the homes. Without chairs ortables, bedsteads or washstands, and the multitude of other thingsinvariably found in the home of the Occidental, it is easy for theJapanese housewife to keep her home in perfect order. No specialculture is needful for this. 

How it came about that the Japanese people adopted their own method ofsitting on the feet, I cannot say; neither have I heard any plausibleexplanation of the practice. Yet this habit has relieved them of allnecessity for heavy furniture. Given the custom of sitting on thefeet, and a large part of the furniture of the house will be useless. Already is the introduction of furniture after Western patternsproducing changes in the homes of the people; and it will beinteresting to see whether the æsthetic sense of the Japanese will beable to assimilate and harmonize with itself these useful, but bulkyand unæsthetic, elements of Occidental civilization. 

That no part of the fine taste of the Japanese is due to the generalcivilization, rather than to the individual possession of the æstheticfaculty, may be inferred from many little signs. In spite of the factthat, following the long-established social fashions, the womenusually display good taste in the choice of colors for their clothing, it sometimes happens that they also manifest not the slightest senseof the harmony of colors. Daughters of wealthy families will arraythemselves in brilliant discordant hues, yet apparently withoutcausing the wearers or their friends the slightest æstheticdiscomfort. Little children are arrayed in clothing that woulddoubtless put Joseph's coat of many colors quite out of countenance. Combinations and brilliancy that to the Western eye of culture seemcrude and gaudy, typical of barbaric splendor, are in constant use, and are apparently thought to be fine. The Japanese display both tasteand its lack in the choice of colors for clothing; this contradictionis the more striking in view of the taste manifest in the decorationsof the homes of all classes of the people. Few sights are moreludicrously unæsthetic than the red, yellow, and blue worstedcrocheted caps and shawls for infants, which shock all our ideas ofæsthetic harmony. 

In connection with Western ways or articles of clothing, the nativeæsthetic faculty often seems to take its flight. In a foreign housemany a Japanese seems to lose his sense of fitness. I have hadschoolboys, and even gentlemen, enter my home with hobnailed muddiedboots, without wiping their feet on the conspicuous door mat, which isthe more remarkable since, in their own homes, they invariably takeoff their shoes on entering. I have frequently noticed that in railwaycars the first comers monopolize the seats, and the later ones receivenot the slightest notice, being often compelled to stand for an hourat a time, although, with a little moving, there would be abundantroom for all. I have noticed this so often that I cannot think it anexceptional occurrence. I do not believe it to be intentionalrudeness, but to be due simply to a lack of real heart politeness. Yeta true and deep æsthetic development, so far at least as relates toconduct, to say nothing of the spirit of altruism, would not permitsuch indifference to another's discomfort. 

My explanation for this, and for all similar defects in etiquette, issomewhat as follows. Etiquette is popularly conceived as consisting ofrules of conduct, rather than as the outward expression of the stateof the heart. From time immemorial rules for the ordinary affairs oflife have been formulated by superiors and have been taught thepeople. In all usual and conventional relations, therefore, theaverage farmer and peasant know how to express perfect courtesy. Butin certain situations, as in foreign houses and the railroad car, where there are no precedents to follow, or rules to obey, allevidence of politeness takes its flight. The old rules do not fit thenew conditions. Not being grounded on the inner principles ofetiquette, the people are not able to formulate new rules for newconditions. To the Westerner, on the other hand, these seem to followfrom the simplest principles of common sense and kindliness. Thegeneral collapse of etiquette in Japan, which native writers note anddeplore, is due, therefore, not only to the withdrawal of feudalpressure, but also to introduction of strange circumstances for whichthe people have no rules, and to the fact that the people have notbeen taught those underlying principles of high courtesy which areapplicable on all occasions. 

An impression seems to have gained currency in the United States thatthe unæsthetic features seen in Japan to-day are due to the debasinginfluences of Western art and Occidental intercourse. There can be nodoubt that a certain type of tourist, ignorant of Japanese art, bygreedily buying strange, gaudy things at high prices, has stimulated amorbid production of truly unæsthetic pseudo-Japanese art. But thisaccounts for only a small part of the grossly inartistic features ofJapan. The instances given of hideous worsted bibs for babes andcollars for dogs, combining in the closest proximity the mostuncomplementary and mutually repellent colors, has nothing whatever todo with foreign art or foreign intercourse. What foreigner everdecorated a little lapdog with a red-green-yellow-blue-and purplecrocheted collar, four or five inches wide?

Westerners have been charmed with the exquisite colored photographsproduced in Japan. It is strange, yet true, that the same artistichand that produces these beautiful effects will also, by a slightchange of tints, produce the most unnatural and spectral views. Yetthe strangest thing is, not that he produces them, but that he doesnot seem conscious of the defect, for he will put them on sale in hisown shop or send them to purchasers in America, without the slightestapparent hesitation. The constant care of the purchaser in selectionand his insistence on having only truly artistic work are what keepthe Japanese artist up to the standard. 

If other evidence is needed of æsthetic defect in the stillunoccidentalized Japanese taste let the doubter go to any popularsecond-grade Shinto shrine or Buddhist temple. Here unæsthetic objectsand sights abound. Hideous idols, painted and unpainted, big andlittle, often decorated with soiled bibs; decaying to-rii; ruinedsub-shrines; conglomerate piles of cast-off paraphernalia, consistingof broken idols, old lanterns, stones, etc. , filthy towels at theholy-water basins, piously offered to the gods and piously used byhundreds of dusty pilgrims; equally filthy bell-ropes hung in front ofthe main shrines, pulled by ten thousand hands to call the attentionof the deity; travel-stained hands, each of which has left its mark onthe once beautiful enormous tasselated cord; ex-voto tufts of humanhair; scores of pictures, where the few may be counted works of artwhile the rest are hideous beyond belief; frightful faces of tengu, with their long noses and menacing teeth, decorated with scores ofspit-balls or even with mud-balls; these are some of the moreconspicuous unæsthetic features of multitudes of popular shrines andtemples. And none of these can be attributed to the debasing influenceof Western art. And these inartistic features will be foundaccompanying scrupulous neatness in well-swept walks, new sub-shrines, floral decorations, and much that pleases the eye--a strange compoundof the beautiful and the ugly. Truly the æsthetic development of theJapanese is curiously one-sided. 

A survey of Japanese musical history leads to the conclusion thatwhile the people are fairly developed in certain aspects of theæsthetics of music, such as rhythm, they are certainly undeveloped inother directions--in melody, for example, and in harmony. Theirinstrumental music is primitive and meager. They have no system ofmusical notation. The love of music, such as it is, is well-nighuniversal. Their solo-vocal music, a semi-chanting in minors, hasimpressive elements; but these are due to the passionate outbursts andplaintive wails, rather than to the musically æsthetic character ofthe melodies. The universal twanging samisen, a species of guitar, accompanied by the shrill, hard voices of the geisha (singing girls), marks at once the universality of the love of music and theundeveloped quality of the musical taste, both vocal and instrumental. But in comparing the musical development of Japan with that of theWest, we must not forget how recent is that of the former. 

The conditions which have served to develop musical taste in the Westhave but recently come to Japan. Sufficient time has not yet elapsedfor the nation to make much visible progress in the lines ofOccidental music. But it has already done something. The popularity ofbrass bands, the wide introduction of organs, their manufacture inthis land, their use in all public schools, the exclusive use ofOccidental music in Christian churches, the ability of trainedindividuals in foreign vocal and instrumental music--all these factsgo to show that in time we may expect great musical evolution inJapan. Those who doubt this on the ground of inherent race nature maybe reminded of the evolution which has taken place among the Hawaiiansduring the past two generations. From being a race manifesting markeddeficiency in music they have developed astonishing musical taste andability. During a recent visit to these islands after an absence oftwenty-seven years, I attended a Sunday-school exhibition, which waslargely a musical contest; the voices were sweet and rich; and thedifficulty of the part songs, easily carried through by children andadults, revealed a musical sense that surpasses any ordinary Sundayschool of the United States or England with which I am acquainted. 

The development of Japanese literature likewise conspicuouslyreflects the ruling ideas of the social order, and reveals thedependence of literary taste on the order. As in other aspects inJapanese æsthetic development, so in this do we see marked lack ofbalance. "It is wonderful what felicity of phrase, melody ofversification, and true sentiment can be compressed within the narrowlimits (of the Tanka). In their way nothing can be more perfect thansome of these little poems. "[U] The deficiencies of Japanese poetryhave been remarked by the foreigners most competent to judge. Thefollowing general characterization from the volume just quoted meritsattention. 

 "Narrow in its scope and resources, it is chiefly remarkable for its limitations--for what it has not, rather than what it has. In the first place there are no long poems. There is nothing which even remotely resembles an epic--no Iliad or Divina Commedia--not even a Nibelungen Lied or Chevy Chase. Indeed, narrative poems of any kind are short and very few, the only ones which I have met with being two or three ballads of a sentimental cast. Didactic, philosophical, political, and satirical poems are also conspicuously absent. The Japanese muse does not meddle with such subjects, and it is doubtful whether, if it did, the native Pegasus possesses sufficient staying power for them to be dealt with adequately. For dramatic poetry we have to wait until the fourteenth century. Even then there are no complete dramatic poems, but only dramas containing a certain poetical element. 

 "Japanese poetry is, in short, confined to lyrics, and what, for want of a better word, may be called epigrams. It is primarily an expression of emotion. We have amatory verse poems of longing for home and absent dear ones, praise of love and wine, elegies on the dead, laments over the uncertainty of life. A chief place is given to the seasons, the sound of purling streams, the snow of Mount Fuji, waves breaking on the beach, seaweed drifting to the shore, the song of birds, the hum of insects, even the croaking of frogs, the leaping of trout in a mountain stream, the young shoots of fern in spring, the belling of deer in autumn, the red tints of the maple, the moon, flowers, rain, wind, mist; these are among the favorite subjects which the Japanese poets delight to dwell upon. If we add some courtly and patriotic effusions, a vast number of conceits more or less pretty, and a very few poems of a religious cast, the enumeration is tolerably complete. But, as Mr. Chamberlain has observed, there are curious omissions. War songs--strange to say--are almost wholly absent. Fighting and bloodshed are apparently not considered fit themes for poetry. "[V]

The drama and the novel have both achieved considerable development, yet judged from Occidental standards, they are comparatively weak andinsipid. They, of course, conspicuously reflect the characteristics ofthe social order to which they belong. Critics call repeated attentionto the lack of sublimity in Japanese literature, and ascribe it totheir inherent race nature. While the lack of sublimity in Japanesescenery may in fact account for the characteristic in question, stilla more conclusive explanation would seem to be that in the oldersocial order man, as such, was not known. The hidden glories of thesoul, its temptations and struggles, its defects and victories, couldnot be the themes of a literature arising in a completely communalsocial order, even though it possessed individualism of the Buddhistictype. [W] These are the themes that give Western literature--poetic, dramatic, and narrative--its opportunity for sustained power andsublimity. They portray the inner life of the spirit. 

The poverty of poetic form is another point of Western criticism. Mr. Aston has shown how this poverty is directly due to the phoneticcharacteristics of the language. Diversities of both rhyme and rhythmare practically excluded from Japanese poetry by the nature of thelanguage. And this in turn has led to the "preference of the nationalgenius for short poems. " But language is manifestly the combinedproduct of linguistic heredity and the social order, and can in nosense be ascribed to inherent race nature. Thus directly are socialheredity and social order determinative of the literarycharacteristics and æsthetic tastes of a nation. 

Even more manifestly may Japanese architectural development be tracedto the social heredity derived from China and India. The needs of thedeveloping internal civilization have determined its externalmanifestation. So far as Japanese differs from Chinese architecture, it may be attributed to Japan's isolation, to the different demands ofher social order, to the difference of accessible building materials, and to the different social heredity handed down from prehistorictimes. That the distinguishing characteristics of Japanesearchitecture are due to the inherent race nature cannot for a momentbe admitted. 

We conclude that the Japanese are not possessed of a unique andinherent æsthetic taste. In some respects they are as certainly aheadof the Occidental as they are behind him in other respects. But this, too, is a matter of social development and social heredity, ratherthan of inherent race character, of brain structure. If æstheticnature were a matter of inherited brain structure, it would beimpossible to account for rapid fluctuations in æsthetic judgment, forthe great inequality of æsthetic development in the differentdepartments of life, or for the ease of acquiring the æstheticdevelopment of alien races. [X]

XVI

MEMORY--IMITATION

The differences which separate the Oriental from the Occidental mindare infinitesimal as compared with the likenesses which unite them. This is a fact that needs to be emphasized, for many writers on Japanseem to ignore it. They marvel at the differences. The real marvel isthat the differences are so few and so superficial. The Japanese are arace whose ancestors were separated from their early home nearly threethousand years ago; during this period they have been absolutelyprevented from intermarriage with the parent stock. Furthermore, thatoriginal stock was not the Indo-European race. And no one has venturedto suggest how long before the migration of the ancestors of theJapanese to Japan their ancestors parted from those who finally becamethe progenitors of modern Occidental peoples. For thousands of years, certainly, the Japanese and Anglo-Saxon races have had no ancestry incommon. Yet so similar is the entire structure and working of theirminds that the psychological textbooks of the Anglo-Saxon are adoptedand perfectly understood by competent psychological students among theJapanese. I once asked a professor of psychology in the MatsuyamaNormal School if he had no difficulty in teaching his classes thepsychological system of Anglo-Saxon thinkers, if there were notpeculiarities of the Anglo-Saxon mind which a Japanese could notunderstand, and if there were not psychological phenomena of theJapanese mind which were ignored in Anglo-Saxon psychologicaltext-books. The very questions surprised him; to each he gave anegative reply. The mental differences that characterize races sodissimilar as the Japanese and the Anglo-Saxon, I venture to repeat, are insignificant as compared with their resemblances. 

Our discussions shall have reference, not to those generalpsychological characteristics which all races have in common, but onlyto those which may seem to stamp the Japanese people as peculiar. Wewish to understand the distinguishing features of the Japanese mind. We wish to know whether they are due to brain structure, to inherentrace nature, or whether they are simply the result of education, ofsocial heredity. This is our ever-recurring question. 

First, in regard to Japanese brain development. Travelers have oftenbeen impressed with the unusual size of the Japanese head. It hassometimes been thought, however, that the size is more apparent thanreal, and the appearance has been attributed to the relatively shortlimbs of the people and to the unusual proportion of round heads whichone sees everywhere. It may also be due to the shape of the head. But, after all has been said, it remains true that the Japanese head, asrelated to his body, is unexpectedly large. 

Prof. Marsh of Yale University is reported to have said that, on thebasis of brain size, the Japanese is the race best fitted to survivein the struggle for existence, or at least in the struggle forpre-eminence. 

Statements have been widely circulated to the effect that not onlyrelatively to the body, but even absolutely, the Japanese possesslarger brains than the European, but craniological statistics do notverify the assertion. The matter has been somewhat discussed inJapanese magazines of late, to which, through the assistance of aJapanese friend, I am indebted for the following figures. They aregiven in Japanese measurements, but are, on this account, however, none the less satisfactory for comparative purposes. 

According to Dr. Davis, the average European male brain weighs 36, 498momme, and the Australian, 22, 413, while the Japanese, according toDr. Taguchi weighs 36, 205. Taking the extremes, the largest Englishmale brain weighs 38, 100 momme and the smallest 35, 377, whereas thecorresponding figures for Japan are 43, 919 and 30, 304, respectively, showing an astonishing range between extremes. According to Dr. E. Baelz of the Imperial University of Tokyo, the lower classes of Japanhave a larger skull circumference than either the middle or upperclasses (1. 8414, 1. 7905, and 1. 8051 feet, respectively), and the Ainu(1. 8579) exceed the Japanese. From these facts it might almost appearthat brain size and civilizational development are in inverse ratio. Were the Japanese brain larger, then, than that of the European, itmight plausibly be argued that they are therefore inferior in brainpower. This would be in accord with certain of De Quatrefages'sinvestigations. He has shown that negroes born in America have smallerbrains, but are intellectually superior to their African brothers. "With them, therefore, intelligence increases, while the cranialcapacity diminishes. "[Y]

Those who trace racial and civilizational nature to brain developmentcannot gain much consolation from a comparative statistical study ofrace brains. De Quatrefages's conclusion is repeatedly forced home:"We must confess that there can be no real relation between thedimension of the cranial capacity and social development. "[Z] "Thedevelopment of the intellectual faculties of man is, to a greatextent, independent of the capacity of the cranium and the volume ofthe brain. "[AA]

We may conclude at once, then, that Japanese intellectualpeculiarities are in no way due to the size of their brains, butdepend rather on their social evolution. Yet it will not be amiss tostudy in detail the various mental peculiarities of the race, real andsupposed, and to note their relation to the social order. 

In becoming acquainted with the Japanese and Chinese peoples, anOccidental is much impressed with their powers of memory, and thisespecially in connection with the written language, the far-famed"Chinese Character, " or ideograph. My Chinese dictionary contains over50, 000 different characters. The task of learning them is appalling. How the Japanese or Chinese do it is to us a constant wonder. Weassume at once their possession of astonishing memories. We arguethat, for hundreds of years, each generation has been developingpowers of memory through efforts to conquer this cumbersomecontrivance for writing, and that, as a consequence for the nationsusing this system, there is now prodigious ability to remember. 

It is my impression, however, that we greatly overrate these powers. In the first place, few Japanese claim any acquaintance with theentire 50, 000 characters; only the educated make any pretense ofknowing more than a few hundred, and a vast majority even of learnedmen do not know more than 10, 000 characters. Some Japanese newspapershave undertaken to limit themselves in the use of the ideograph. It issaid that between four and five thousand characters suffice for allthe ordinary purposes of communication. These are, without doubt, fairly well known to the educated classes. But for the masses, thereis need that the pronunciation be placed beside each printedcharacter, before it can be read. Furthermore, we must remember that aJapanese youth gives the best years of his life to the bare memorizingof these symbols. [AB]

Were European or American youth to devote to the study of Chinese thesame number of hours each day for the same number of years, I doubt ifthere would be any conspicuous difference in the results. We shouldnot forget also that some Occidentals manifest astonishing facility inmemorizing Chinese characters. 

In this connection is the important fact that the social order servesto sift out individuals of marked mnemonic powers and bring them intoprominence, while those who are relatively deficient are relegated tothe background. The educated class is necessarily composed of thosewho have good powers of memory. All others fail and are rejected. Wesee and admire those who succeed; of those who fail we know nothingand we even forget that there are such. 

In response to my questions Japanese friends have uniformly assured methat they are not accustomed to think of the Japanese as possessed ofbetter memories than the people of the West. They appear surprisedthat the question should be raised, and are specially surprised at ourhigh estimate of Japanese ability in this direction. 

If, however, we inquire about their powers of memory in connectionwith daily duties and the ordinary acquisition of knowledge and itsretention, my own experience of twelve years, chiefly with the middleand lower classes of society, has left the impression that, while somelearn easily and remember well, a large number are exceedingly slow. On the whole, I am inclined to believe that, although the Japanese maybe said to have good memories, yet it can hardly be maintained thatthey conspicuously exceed Occidentals in this respect. 

In comparing the Occidental with the Oriental, it is to be rememberedthat there is not among Occidental nations that attention to barememorizing which is so conspicuous among the less civilized nations. The astonishing feats performed by the transmitters of ancient poemsand religious teachings seem to us incredible. Professor Max Müllersays that the voluminous Vedas have been handed down for centuries, unchanged, simply from mouth to mouth by the priesthood. Everyprogressive race, until it has attained a high development of the artof writing, has manifested similar power of memory. Such power is not, however, inherent; that is to say, it is not due to the innatepeculiarity of brain structure, but rather to the nature of the socialorder which demands such expenditure of time and strength for themaintenance of its own higher life. Through the art of writingOccidental peoples have found a cheaper way of retaining their historyand of preserving the products of their poets and religious teachers. Even for the transactions of daily life we have resorted to theconstant use of pen and notebook and typewriter, by these devicessaving time and strength for other things. As a result, our memoriesare developed in directions different from those of semi-civilized orprimitive man. The differences of memory characterizing differentraces, then, are for the most part due to differences in the socialorder and to the nature of the civilization, rather than to theintrinsic and inherited structure of the brain itself. 

Since memory is the foundation of all mental operations, we have givento it the first place in the present discussion. And that the Japanesehave a fair degree of memory argues well for the prospect of highattainment in other directions. With this in mind, we naturally askwhether they show any unusual proficiency or deficiency in theacquisition of foreign languages? In view of her protracted separationfrom the languages of other peoples, should we not expect markeddeficiency in this respect? On the contrary, however, we find thattens of thousands of Japanese students have acquired a fairly goodreading knowledge of English, French, and German. Those few who havehad good and sufficient teaching, or who have been abroad and lived inOccidental lands, have in addition secured ready conversational use ofthe various languages. Indeed, some have contended that since theJapanese learn foreign languages more easily than foreigners learnJapanese, they have greater linguistic powers than the foreigner. Itshould be borne in mind, however, that in such a comparison, not onlyare the time required and the proficiency; attained to be considered, but also the inherent difficulty of the language studied and thelinguistic helps provided the student. 

I have come gradually to the conclusion that the Japanese are neitherparticularly gifted nor particularly deficient in powers of languageacquisition. They rank with Occidental peoples in this respect. 

To my mind language affords one of the best possible proofs of thegeneral contention of this volume that the characteristics whichdistinguish the races are social rather than biological. The reasonwhy the languages of the different races differ is not because thebrain-types of the races are different, but only because of theisolated social evolution which the races have experienced. Had itbeen possible for Japan to maintain throughout the ages perfect andcontinuous social intercourse with the ancestors of the Anglo-Saxonrace, while still maintaining biological isolation, _i. E. _, perfectfreedom from intermarriage, there is no reason to think that twodistinct languages so different as English and Japanese would havearisen. The fact that Japanese children can accurately acquireEnglish, and that English or American children can accurately acquireJapanese, proves conclusively that diversities of language do not reston brain differences and brain heredity, but exclusively on socialdifferences and social heredity. 

If this is true, then the argument can easily be extended to all thefeatures that differentiate the civilizations of different races; forthe language of any race is, in a sense, the epitome of thecivilization of that race. All its ideas, customs, theologies, philosophies, sciences, mythologies; all its characteristic thoughts, conceptions, ideals; all its distinguishing social features, arerepresented in its language. Indeed, they enter into it as determiningfactors, and by means of it are transmitted from age to age. Thisargument is capable of much extension and illustration. 

The charge that the Japanese are a nation of imitators has beenrepeated so often as to become trite, and the words are usually spokenwith disdain. Yet, if the truth were fully told, it would be foundthat, from many points of view, this quality gives reason rather forcongratulation. Surely that nation which can best discriminate andimitate has advantage over nations that are so fixed in theirself-sufficiency as to be able neither to see that which isadvantageous nor to imitate it. In referring to the imitative powersof the Japanese, then, I do not speak in terms of reproach, but ratherin those of commendation. "Monkeyism" is not the sort of imitationthat has transformed primitive Japan into the Japan of the early orlater feudal ages, nor into the Japan of the twentieth century. Bareimitation, without thought, has been relatively slight in Japan. If ithas been known at times, those times have been of short duration. 

In his introduction to "The Classic Poetry of the Japanese" ProfessorChamberlain has so stated the case for the imitative quality of thepeople that I quote the following:

 "The current impression that the Japanese are a nation of imitators is in the main correct. As they copy us to-day, so did they copy the Chinese and Koreans a millennium and a half ago. Religion, philosophy, laws, administration, written characters, all arts but the very simplest, all science, or at least what then went by that name, everything was imported from the neighboring continent; so much so that of all that we are accustomed to term 'Old Japan' scarce one trait in a hundred is really and properly Japanese. Not only are their silk and lacquer not theirs by right of invention, nor their painting (albeit so often praised by European critics for its originality), nor their porcelain, nor their music, but even the larger part of their language consists of mispronounced Chinese; and from the Chinese they have drawn new names for already existing places, and new titles for their ancient Gods. "

While the above cannot be disputed in its direct statements, yet I canbut feel that it makes, on the whole, a false impression. Were thesesame tests applied to any European people, what would be the result?Of what European nation may it be said that its art, or method ofwriting, or architecture, or science, or language even, is "its own byright of invention"? And when we stop to examine the details of theancient Japanese civilization which is supposed to have been so, slavishly copied from China and India, we shall find that, though thebeginnings were indeed imitated, there were also later developments ofpurely Japanese creation. In some instances the changes were vital. 

In examining the practical arts, while we acknowledge that thebeginnings of nearly all came from Korea or China, we must alsoacknowledge that in many important respects. Japan has developed alongher own lines. The art of sword-making, for instance, was undoubtedlyimported; but who does not know of the superior quality and beauty ofJapanese swords, the Damascus blades of the East? So distinct is thisJapanese production that it cannot be mistaken for that of any othernation. It has received the impress of the Japanese social order. Itsvery shape is due to the habit of carrying the sheath in the "obi" orbelt. 

If we study the home of the laborer, or the instruments in common use, we shall find proof that much more than imitation has been involved. 

Were the Japanese mere imitators, how could we explain theirarchitecture, so different from that of China and Korea? How explainthe multiplied original ways in which bamboo and straw are used?

For a still closer view of the matter, let us consider the importedethical and religious codes of the country. In China the emphasis ofConfucianism is laid on the duty of filial piety. In Japan the primaryemphasis is on loyalty. This single change transformed the entiresystem and made the so-called Confucianism of Japan distinct from thatof China. In Buddhism, imported from India, we find greater changesthan Occidental nations have imposed on their religion imported fromPalestine. Indeed, so distinct has Japanese Buddhism become that it issometimes difficult to trace its connections in China and India. Andthe Buddhistic sects that have sprung up in Japan are more radicallydiverse and antagonistic to each other and to primitive Buddhism thanthe denominations of Christianity are to each other and to primitiveChristianity. 

In illustration is the most popular of all the Buddhist sects to-day, Shinshu. This has sometimes been called by foreigners "Reformed"Buddhism; and so similar are many of its doctrines to those ofChristianity that some have supposed them to have been derived fromit, but without the slightest evidence. All its main doctrines andpractices were clearly formulated by its founder, Shinrah, six hundredyears ago. The regular doctrines of Buddhism that salvation comes onlythrough self-effort and self-victory are rejected, and salvationthrough the merits of another is taught. "Ta-riki, " "another's power, "not "Ji-riki, " "self-power, " is with them the orthodox doctrine. Priests may marry and eat meat, practices utterly abhorrent to theolder and more primitive Buddhism. The sacred books are printed in thevernacular, in marked contrast to the customs of the other sects. Women, too, are given a very different place in the social andreligious scale and are allowed hopes of attaining salvation that aredenied by all the older sects. "Penance, fasting, prescribed diet, pilgrimages, isolation from society, whether as hermits or in thecloister, and generally amulets and charms, are all tabooed by thissect. Monasteries imposing life vows are unknown within its pale. Family life takes the place of monkish seclusion. Devout prayer, purity, earnestness of life, and trust in Buddha himself as the onlyworker of perfect righteousness, are insisted on. Morality is taughtas more important than orthodoxy. "[AC] It is amazing how far the Shinsect has broken away from regular Buddhistic doctrine and practice. Who can say that no originality was required to develop such a system, so opposed at vital points to the prevalent Buddhism of the day?

Another sect of purely Japanese origin deserving notice is the "Hokke"or "Nicheren. " Its founder, known by the name of Nichiren, was a manof extraordinary independence and religious fervor. Wholly by hisoriginal questions and doubts as to the prevailing doctrines andcustoms of the then dominant sects, he was led to make independentexamination into the history and meaning of Buddhistic literature andto arrive at conclusions quite different from those of hiscontemporaries. Of the truth and importance of his views he was sopersuaded that he braved not only fierce denunciations, but prolongedopposition and persecution. He was rejected and cast out by his ownpeople and sect; he was twice banished by the ruling military powers. But he persevered to the end, finally winning thousands of converts tohis views. The virulence of the attacks made upon him was due to thevirulence with which he attacked what seemed to him the errors andcorruption of the prevailing sects. Surely his was no case of servileimitation. His early followers had also to endure opposition andsevere persecution. 

Glancing at the philosophical ideas brought from China, we find heretoo a suggestion of the same tendency toward originality. It is truethat Dr. Geo. Wm. Knox, in his valuable monograph on "A JapanesePhilosopher, " makes the statement that, "In acceptance and rejectionalike no native originality emerges, nothing beyond a vigorous powerof adoption and assimilation. No improvements of the new philosophywere even attempted. Wherein it was defective and indistinct, defective and indistinct it remained. The system was not thought outto its end and independently adopted. Polemics, ontology, ethics, theology, marvels, heroes--all were enthusiastically adopted on faith. It is to be added that the new system was superior to the old, and somuch of discrimination was shown. "[AD] And somewhat earlier helikewise asserts that "There is not an original and valuablecommentary by a Japanese writer. They have been content to brood overthe imported works and to accept unquestioningly politics, ethics, andmetaphysics. " After some examination of these native philosophers, Ifeel that, although not without some truth, these assertions cannot bestrictly maintained. It is doubtless true that no powerful thinker andwriter has appeared in Japan that may be compared to the two greatphilosophers of China, Shushi and Oyomei. The works and the system ofthe former dominated Japan, for the simple reason that governmentalauthority forbade the public teaching or advocacy of the other. Nevertheless, not a few Japanese thinkers rejected the teachings andphilosophy of Shushi, regardless of consequences. Notable among thoserejecters was Kaibara Yekken, whose book "The Great Doubt" was notpublished until after his death. In it he rejects in emphatic termsthe philosophical and metaphysical ideas of Shushi. An article[AE] byDr. Tetsujiro Inouye, Professor of Philosophy in the ImperialUniversity in Tokyo, on the "Development of Philosophical Ideas inJapan, " concludes with these words:

 "From this short sketch the reader can clearly see that philosophical considerations began in our country with the study of Shushi and Oyomei. But many of our thinkers did not long remain faithful to that tradition; they soon formed for themselves new conceptions of life and of the world, which, as a rule, are not only more practical, but also more advanced than those of the Chinese. "

An important reason for our Western thought, that the Japanese havehad no independence in philosophy, is our ignorance of the larger partof Japanese and Chinese literature. Oriental speculation was moving ina direction so diverse from that of the West that we are impressedmore with the general similarity that prevails throughout it than withthe evidences of individual differences. Greater knowledge wouldreveal these differences. In our generalized knowledge, we see theuniformity so strongly that we fail to discover the originality. 

As a traveler from the West, on reaching some Eastern land, finds itdifficult at first to distinguish between the faces of differentindividuals, his mind being focused on the likeness pervading themall, so the Occidental student of Oriental thought is impressed withthe remarkable similarity that pervades the entire Orientalcivilization, modes of thought, and philosophy, finding it difficultto discover the differences which distinguish the various Orientalraces. In like manner, a beginner in the study of Japanese philosophyhardly gives the Japanese credit for the modifications of Chinesephilosophy which they have originated. 

In this connection it is well to remember that, more than anyWesterner can realize, the Japanese people have been dependent ongovernmental initiative from time immemorial. They have never had anythought but that of implicit obedience, and this characteristic of thesocial order has produced its necessary consequences in the presentcharacteristics of the people. Individual initiative and independencehave been frowned upon, if not always forcibly repressed, and thus thehabit of imitation has been stimulated. The people have beendeliberately trained to imitation by their social system. Theforeigner is amazed at the sudden transformations that have swept thenation. When the early contact with China opened the eyes of theruling classes to the fact that China had a system of government thatwas in many respects better than their own, it was an easy thing toadopt it and make it the basis for their own government. Thisconstituted the epoch-making period in Japanese history known as theTaikwa Reform. It occurred in the seventh century, and consisted of acentralizing policy; under which, probably for the first time inJapanese history, the country was really unified. Critics ascribe itto an imitation of the Chinese system. Imitation it doubtless was; butits significant feature was its imposition by the few rulers on thepeople; hence its wide prevalence and general acceptance. 

Similarly, in our own times, the Occidentalized order now dominant inJapan was adopted, not by the people, but by the rulers, and imposedby them on the people; these had no idea of resisting the new order, but accepted it loyally as the decision of their Emperor, and thisspirit of unquestioning obedience to the powers that be is, I ampersuaded, one of the causes of the prevalent opinion respectingJapanese imitativeness as well as of the fact itself. 

The reputation for imitativeness, together with the quality itself, is due in no small degree, therefore, to the long-continued dominanceof the feudal order of society. In a land where the dependence of theinferior on the superior is absolute, the wife on the husband, thechildren on the parents, the followers on their lord, the will of thesuperior being ever supreme, individual initiative must be rare, andthe quality of imitation must be powerfully stimulated. 

XVII

ORIGINALITY--INVENTIVENESS

Originality is the obverse side of imitation. In combating the notionthat Japan is a nation of unreflective imitators, I have givennumerous examples of originality. Further extensive illustration ofthis characteristic is, accordingly, unnecessary. One other may becited, however. 

The excellence of Japanese art is admitted by all. Japanese templesand palaces are adorned with mural paintings and pieces of sculpturethat command the admiration of Occidental experts. The only questionis as to their authors. Are these, properly speaking, Japanese worksof art--or Korean or Chinese? That Japan received her artisticstimulus, and much of her artistic ideas and technique, from China isbeyond dispute. But did she develop nothing new and independent? Thisis a question of fact. Japanese art, though Oriental, has adistinctive quality. A magnificent work entitled "Solicited Relics ofJapanese Art" is issuing from the press, in which there is a largenumber of chromo-xylographic and collotype reproductions of the bestspecimens of ancient Japanese art. Reviewing this work, the _JapanMail_ remarks:

 "But why should the only great sculptors that China or Korea ever produced have come to Japan and bequeathed to this country the unique results of their genius? That is the question we have to answer before we accept the doctrine that the noblest masterpieces of ancient Japan were from foreign lands. When anything comparable is found in China or Korea, there will be less difficulty in applying this doctrine of over-sea-influence to the genius that enriched the temples of antique Japan. "[AF]

Under the early influence of Buddhism (900-1200 A. D. ) Japan fairlybloomed. Those were the days of her glory in architecture, literature, and art. But a blight fell upon her from which she is only nowrecovering. The causes of this blight will receive attention in asubsequent chapter. Let us note here only one aspect of it, namely, official repression of originality. 

Townsend Harris, in his journal, remarks on the way in which theJapanese government has interfered with the originality of the people. "The genius of their government seems to forbid any exercise ofingenuity in producing articles for the gratification of wealth andluxury. Sumptuary laws rigidly enforce the forms, colors, material, and time of changing the dress of all. As to luxury of furniture, thething is unknown in Japan. .. . It would be an endless task to attemptto put down all the acts of a Japanese that are regulated byauthority. "

The Tokugawa rule forbade the building of large ships; so that, by themiddle of the nineteenth century, the art of ship-building was farbehind what it had been two centuries earlier. Government authorityexterminated Christianity in the early part of the seventeenth centuryand freedom of religious belief was forbidden. The same power that putthe ban on Christianity forbade the spread of certain condemnedsystems of Confucianism. Even in the study of Chinese literature andphilosophy, therefore, such originality as the classic modelsstimulated was discouraged by the all-powerful Tokugawa government. The avowed aim and end of the ruling powers of Japan was to keep thenation in its _status quo_. Originality was heresy and treason;progress was impiety. The teaching of Confucius likewise lent itssupport to this policy. To do exactly as the fathers did is to honorthem; to do, or even to think, otherwise is to dishonor them. Therehave not been wanting men of originality and independence in bothChina and Japan; but they were not great enough to break over, orbreak down, the incrusted system in which they lived--the system ofblind devotion to the past. This system, that deliberately opposed allinvention and originality, has been the great incubus to nationalprogress, in that it has rejected and repressed every tendency tovariation. What results might not the country have secured, hadChristianity been allowed to do its work in stimulating individualdevelopment and in creating the sense of personal responsibilitytowards God and man!

A curious anomaly still remains in Japan on the subject of liberty instudy and belief. Though perfect liberty is the rule, one topic iseven yet under official embargo. No one may express public dissentfrom the authorized version of primitive Japanese history. A few yearsago a professor in the Imperial University made an attempt tointerpret ancient Japanese myths. His constructions were supposed tothreaten the divine descent of the Imperial line, and he was summarilydismissed. 

Dr. E. Inouye, Professor of Buddhist Philosophy in the ImperialUniversity, addressing a Teachers' Association of Sendai, delivered aconservative, indirectly anti-foreign speech. He insisted, as reportedby a local English correspondent, that the Japanese people "weredescended from the gods. In all other countries the sovereign orEmperor was derived from the people, but here the people had the honorof being derived from the Emperor. Other countries had filial pietyand loyalty, but no such filial piety and loyalty as exist in Japan. The moral attainments of the people were altogether unique. Heinformed his audience that though they might adopt foreign ways ofdoing things, their minds needed no renovating; they were good enoughas they were. "[AG]

As a result of this position, scholarship and credulity are curiouslycombined in modern historical production. Implicit confidence seems tobe placed in the myths of the primitive era. Tales of the gods arecited as historical events whose date, even, can be fixed with somedegree of accuracy. Although writing was unknown in Japan until earlyin the Christian era, the chronology of the previous six or eighthundred years is accepted on the authority of a single statement inthe Kojiki, written 712 years A. D. This statement was reproduced fromthe memory of a single man, who remembered miraculously the contentsof a book written shortly before, but accidentally destroyed by fire. In the authoritative history of Japan, prepared and translated intoEnglish at the command of the government for the Columbian Exposition, we find such statements as these:

"From the time that Amaterasu-Omikami made Ninigi-no-mikoto to descendfrom the heavens and subject to his administrative swayOkini-nushi-no-mikoto and other offspring of the deities in the land, descendants of the divine beings have sat upon the throne, generationafter generation in succession. "[AH] "Descended in a direct line fromthe heavenly deities, the Emperor has stood unshaken in his high placethrough all generations, his prestige and dignity immutable from timeimmemorial and independent of all the vicissitudes of the world abouthim. "[AI] "Never has there been found a single subject of the realmwho sought to impair the Imperial prestige. "[AJ] It is true that in asingle passage the traditions of the "age of the Deities" aredescribed as "strange and incredible legends, " but it is added that, however singular they are, in order to understand the history of theEmpire's beginnings, they must be studied. Then follows, without aword of criticism or dissent, the account of the doings of theheavenly deities, in creating Japan and its people, as well as themyriads of gods. There is no break between the age of the gods and thehistory of men. The first inventions and discoveries, such as those offire, of mining, and of weaving are ascribed to Amate rasu-Omikami(the Sun Goddess). According to these traditions and the modernhistories built upon them, the Japanese race came into existencewholly independently of all other races of men. Such is theauthoritative teaching in the schools to-day. 

Occidental scholars do not accept these statements or dates. That theJapanese will evince historical and critical ability in the study oftheir own early history, as soon as the social order will allow it, can hardly be doubted. Those few who even now entertain advanced ideasdo not dare to avow them. And this fact throws an interesting light onthe way in which the social order, or a despotic government, maythwart for a time the natural course of development. The presentapparent credulity of Japanese historical scholarship is due neitherto race character nor to superstitions lodged in the inherited racebrain, but simply to the social system, which, as yet, demands theinviolability of the Imperial line. 

Now that the Japanese have been so largely relieved from the incubusof the older social order, the question rises whether they are showingpowers of originality. The answer is not doubtful, for they havealready made several important discoveries and inventions. The Muratarifle, with which the army is equipped, is the invention of aJapanese. In 1897 Colonel Arisaka invented several improvements inthis same rifle, increasing the velocity and accuracy, and lesseningthe weight. Still more recently he has invented a rapid-firefield-piece to superintend whose manufacture he has been sent toEurope. Mr. Shimose has invented a smokeless powder, which thegovernment is manufacturing for its own use. Not infrequently thereappear in the papers notices of new inventions. I have recently notedthe invention of important improvements in the hand loom universallyused in Japan, also a "smoke-consumer" which not only abolishes thesmoke, but reduces the amount of coal used and consequently theexpense. These are but a few of the ever-increasing number of Japaneseinventions. 

In the, field of original scientific research is the famousbacteriologist, Dr. Kitazato. Less widely known perhaps, but none theless truly original explorers in the field of science, are Messrs. Hirase and Ikeno, whose discoveries of spermatozoids in Ginko andCycas have no little value for botanists, especially in thedevelopment of the theory of certain forms of fertilization. Theseinstances show that the faculty of original thought is not entirelylacking among the Japanese. Under favorable conditions, such as nowprevail, there is good reason for holding that the Japanese will taketheir place among the peoples of the world, not only as skillfulimitators and adapters, but also as original contributors to theprogress of civilization and of science. 

Originality may be shown in imitation as well as in production, andthis type of originality the Japanese have displayed in a marked way. They have copied the institutions of no single country. It might evenbe difficult to say which Western land has had the greatest influencein molding the new social order of Japan. In view of the fact that itis the English language which has been most in favor during the pastthirty years, it might be assumed that England and America are thefavored models. But no such hasty conclusion can be drawn. TheJapanese have certainly taken ideas and teachers from many differentsources; and they have changed them frequently, but not thoughtlessly. A writer in _The Far East_ brings this points out clearly:

 "While Japan remained secluded from other countries, she had no necessity for and scarcely any war vessels, but after the country was opened to the free intercourse of foreign powers--immediately she felt the urgent necessity of naval defense and employed a Dutch officer to construct her navy. In 1871 the Japanese government employed a number of English officers, and almost wholly reconstructed her navy according to the English system. But in the matter of naval education our rulers found the English system altogether unsatisfactory, and adopted the American system for the model of our naval academy. So, in discipline, our naval officers found the German principle much superior to the English, and adopted that in point of discipline. Thus the Japanese navy is not wholly after the English system, or the American, or the French, or the German system. But it has been so constructed as to include the best portions of all the different systems. In the case of the army, we had a system of our own before we began to utilize gunpowder and foreign methods of discipline. Shortly before the present era we reorganized our army by adopting the Dutch system, then the English, then the French, and after the Franco-Prussian war, made an improvement by adopting the German system. But on every occasion of reorganization we retained the most advantageous parts of the old systems and harmonized them with the new one. The result has been the creation of an entirely new system, different from any of those models we have adopted. So in the case of our civil code, we consulted most carefully the laws of many civilized nations, and gathered the cream of all the different codes before we formulated our own suited to the customs of our people. In the revision of our monetary system, our government appointed a number of prominent economists to investigate the characteristics of foreign systems, as to their merits and faults, and also the different circumstances under which various systems present their strength and weakness. The investigation lasted more than two years, which finally culminated in our adoption of the gold in the place of the old silver standard. "

This quotation gives an idea of the selective method that has beenfollowed. There has been no slavish or unconscious imitation. On thecontrary, there has been a constant conscious effort to follow thebest model that the civilized world afforded. Of course, it may bedoubted whether in fact they have always chosen the best; but that isa different matter. The Japanese think they have; and what foreignercan say that, under the circumstances and in view of the conditions ofthe people, they have not? One point is clear, that on the whole thenation has made great progress in recent decades, and that the conductof the government cannot fail to command the admiration of everyimpartial student of Oriental lands. This is far from saying that allis perfection. Even the Japanese make no such claim. Nor is thisequivalent to an assertion of Japan's equality with the leading landsof the West, although many Japanese are ready to assert this. But Imerely say that the leaders of New Japan have revealed a high order ofjudicious originality in their imitation of foreign nations. 

XVIII

INDIRECTNESS--"NOMINALITY"

The Japanese have two words in frequent use which aptly describecertain striking aspects of their civilization. They are "tomawashini, " "yumei-mujitsu, " the first translated literally signifying"roundabout" or "indirect, " the second meaning "having the name, butnot the reality. " Both these aspects of Japanese character are forcedon the attention of any who live long in Japan. 

Some years ago I had a cow that I wished to sell. Being an American, my natural impulse was to ask a dairyman directly if he did not wishto buy; but that would not be the most Japanese method. I accordinglyresorted to the help of a "go-between. " This individual, who has aregular name in Japanese, "nakadachi, " is indispensable for manypurposes. When land was being bought for missionary residences inKumamoto, there were at times three or even four agents acting betweenthe purchaser and the seller and each received his "orei, " "honorablepoliteness, " or, in plain English, commission. In the purchase of twoor three acres of land, dealings were carried on with some fifteen ormore separate landowners. Three different go-betweens dealt directlywith the purchaser, and each of these had his go-between, and in somecases these latter had theirs, before the landowner was reached. Adomestic desiring to leave my employ conferred with a go-between, whoconferred with his go-between, who conferred with me! In everyimportant consultation a go-between seems essential in Japan. Thatvexatious delays and misunderstandings are frequent may be assumed. 

The system, however, has its advantages. In case of disagreeablematters the go-between can say the disagreeable things in the thirdperson, reducing the unpleasant utterances to a minimum. 

I recall the case of two evangelists in the employ of the Kumamotostation. Each secured the other to act as go-between in presenting hisown difficulties to me. To an American the natural course would havebeen for each man to state his own grievances and desires, and securean immediate settlement. 

The characteristic of "roundaboutness" is not, however, confined toJapanese methods of action, but also characterizes their methods ofspeech. In later chapters on the alleged Japanese impersonality weshall consider the remarkable deficiency of personal pronouns in thelanguage, and the wide use of "honorifics. " This substitution of thepersonal pronouns by honorifics makes possible an indefiniteness ofspeech that is exceedingly difficult for an Anglo-Saxon to appreciate. Fancy the amount of implication in the statement, "Ikenai koto-weshimashita" which, strictly translated, means "Can't go thing havedone. " Who has done? you? or he? or I? This can only be inferred, forit is not stated. If a speaker wishes to make his personal allusionblind, he can always do so with the greatest ease and without theslightest degree of grammatical incorrectness. "Caught cold, " "betterask, " "honorably sorry, " "feel hungry, " and all the common sentencesof daily life are entirely free from that personal definiteness whichan Occidental language necessitates. We shall see later that theabsence of the personal element from the wording of the sentence doesnot imply, or prove, its absence from the thought of either thespeaker or hearer. The Japanese language abounds in roundabout methodsof expression. This is specially true in phrases of courtesy. Insteadof saying, "I am glad to see you, " the Japanese say, "Well, honorablyhave come"; instead of, "I am sorry to have troubled you, " they say, "Honorable hindrance have done"; instead of "Thank you, " the correctexpression is, "It is difficult. "

In a conversation once with a leading educator, I was maintaining thata wide study of English was not needful for the Japanese youth; thatthe majority of the boys would never learn enough English to make itof practical use to them in after-life, and that it would be wiser forthem to spend the same amount of time on more immediately practicalsubjects. The reply was that the boys needed to have the drill inEnglish in order to gain clear methods of thought: that the sharpdistinctness of the English sentence, with its personal pronouns andtense and number, affords a mental drill which the Japanese can get inno other way; and that even if the boys should never make theslightest after-use of English in reading or conversation, theadvantage gained was well worth the time expended. I have sincenoticed that those men who have spent some time in the study of aforeign language speak very much more clearly in Japanese than thosewho have not had this training. In the former case, the enunciation isapt to be more distinct, and the sentences rounded into more definiteperiods. The conversation of the average Japanese tends to ramble onin a never-ending sentence. But a marked change has come over vastnumbers of the people during the last three decades. Theroundaboutness of to-day is as nothing to that which existed under theold order of society. For the new order rests on radically differentideas; directness of speech and not its opposite is being cultivated, and in absolute contrast to the methods of the feudal era, directnessof governmental procedure is well-nigh universal to-day. In trade, too, there has come a straightforwardness that is promising, thoughnot yet triumphant. It is safe to assume that in all respectablestores the normal price is charged; for the custom of fixed prices hasbeen widely adopted. If individuals are known to have the "beatingdown" habit, special prices are added for their sakes. 

A personal experience illustrates the point. My wife and I had pricedseveral lamps, had made note of the most satisfactory, and had gonehome without buying. The next day a domestic was sent to secure theone which pleased us best. He was charged more than we had been, andin surprise mentioned the sum which we had authorized him to pay. Theshopkeeper explained by saying that he always told us the true pricein the beginning, because we never tried to beat him down. In truth, modern industrial conditions have pretty well banished the old-timecustom of haggling. A premium is set on straightforwardness inbusiness unknown to the old social order. 

Roundaboutness is, however, closely connected with "yumei-mujitsu, "the other characteristic mentioned at the beginning of this chapter. This, for the sake of simplicity, I venture to call "nominality. "Japanese history is a prolonged illustration of this characteristic. For over a thousand years "yumei-mujitsu" has been a leading featurein governmental life. Although the Emperor has ostensibly been seatedon the throne, clothed with absolute power, still he has often reignedonly in name. [AK] Even so early as 130 A. D. , the two families of Oomiand Omuraji began to exercise despotic authority in the centralgovernment, and the feudal system, as thus early established, continued with but few breaks to the middle of the present century. There were also the great families which could alone furnish wives tothe Imperial line. These early took possession of the person of theEmperor, and the fathers of the wives often exercised Imperial power. The country was frequently and long disturbed by intense civil warsbetween these rival families. In turn the Fujiwaras, the Minamotos, and the Tairas held the leading place in the control of the Emperor;they determined the succession and secured frequent abdication infavor of their infant sons, but within these families, in turn, thereappeared the influence of the "yumei-mujitsu" characteristic. Lessermen, the retainers of these families, manipulated the family leaders, who were often merely figureheads of the contending families andclans. Emperors were made and unmade at the will of these men behindthe scenes, most of whom are quite unknown to fame. The creation ofinfant Emperors, allowed to bear the Imperial name in their infancyand youth, but compelled to abdicate on reaching manhood, was a commondevice for maintaining nominal Imperialism with actual impotence. 

When military clans began to monopolize Imperial power, the peopledistinctly recognized the nature of their methods and gave it the nameof "Bakufu" or "curtain government, " a roundabout expression formilitary government. There has been a succession of these "curtaingovernments, " the last and most successful being that of the Tokugawa, whose fall in 1867-68 brought the entire system to an end and placedthe true Emperor on the throne. 

But this "yumei-mujitsu" characteristic of Japanese life has been byno means limited to the national government. Every daimyate was moreor less blighted by it; the daimyo, or "Great Name, " was in too manycases but a puppet in the hands of his "kerai, " or family retainers. These men, who were entirely out of sight, were, in very many cases, the real holders of the power which was supposed to be exercised bythe daimyo. The lord was often a "great name" and nothing more. Thatthis state of affairs was always attended with evil results is by nomeans the contention of these pages. Not infrequently the people weresaved by it from the incompetence and ignorance and selfishness ofhereditary rulers. Indeed, this system of "yumei-mujitsu" governmentwas one of the devices whereby the inherent evils of hereditary rulerswere more or less obviated. It may be questioned, however, whether thedevice did not in the long run cost more than it gained. Did it notserve to maintain, if not actually to produce, a system ofdissimulation and deception which could but injure the nationalcharacter? It certainly could not stimulate the straightforwardfrankness and outspoken directness and honesty so essential to thewell-being of the human race. 

Although "yumei-mujitsu" government is now practically extinct inJapan, yet in the social structure it still survives. 

The Japanese family is a maze of "nominality. " Full-grown young menand women are adopted as sons and daughters, in order to maintain thefamily line and name. 

A son is not a legal son unless he is so registered, while anillegitimate child is recognized as a true son if so registered. A manmay be the legal son of his grandmother, or of his sister, if soregistered. Although a family may have no children, it does not dieout unless there has been a failure to adopt a son or daughter, and anextinct family may be revived by the legal appointment of someone totake the family name and worship at the family shrine. The familypedigree, therefore, does not describe the actual ancestry, but onlythe nominal, the fictitious. There is no deception in this. It is awell-recognized custom of Old Japan. Its origin, moreover, is notdifficult to explain. Nor is this kind of family peculiar to Japan. Itis none the less a capital illustration of the "yumei-mujitsu"characteristic permeating the feudal civilization, and still exertinga powerful influence. Even Christians are not free from "nominalism, "as we have frequently found in our missionary work. 

A case in mind is of an evangelist employed by our mission station. Hewas to receive a definite proportion of his salary from the church forwhich he worked and the rest from the station. On inquiry I learnedthat he was receiving only that provided by the station, and onquestioning him further he said that probably the sum promised by thechurch was being kept as his monthly contribution to the expenses ofthe church! Instances of this kind are not infrequent. While in KyushuI more than once discovered that a body of Christians, whoseevangelists we were helping to support proportionately, were actuallyraising not a cent of their proportion. On inquiry, I would be toldthat the evangelists themselves contributed out of their salary thesums needed, and that, therefore, the Christians did not need to raiseit. 

The mission, at one time, adopted the plan of throwing upon the localchurches the responsibility of deciding as to the fitness of young menfor mission aid in securing a theological education. It was agreed byrepresentatives of the churches and the mission that each candidateshould secure the approval of the deacons of the church of which hewas a member, and that the church should pay a certain proportion ofthe candidate's school expenses. It was thought that by this methodthe leading Christians of the young man's acquaintance would becomehis sponsors, and that they would be unwilling to take thisresponsibility except for men in whom they had personal confidence, and for whom they would be willing to make personal contributions. Incourse of time the mission discovered that the plan was not working asexpected. The young men could secure the approval of the deacons oftheir church without any difficulty; and as for the financial aid fromthe church, that could be very easily arranged for by the student'smaking a monthly contribution to the church of the sum which thechurch should contribute toward his expenses. Although this methodseems to the average Occidental decidedly deceptive, it seemed to theJapanese perfectly proper. The arrangement, it is needless to state, was not long continued. I am persuaded that the correct explanation ofthese cases is "yumei-mujitsu. "

Not long since express trains were put on between Kobe and Tokyo. Onemorning at Osaka I planned to take the early express to Kyoto, distantabout thirty miles. These are the second and third cities of Japan, and the travel between them is heavy. On applying for a ticket I wasrefused and told there was no train for Kyoto. But as multitudes werebuying tickets, and going out upon the platform, I asked an officialwhat the trouble was, and received the explanation that for thisexpress train no tickets could be sold for less than forty miles; butif I would buy a ticket for the next station beyond Kyoto, it would beall right; I could get off at Kyoto. I was assured that I would beallowed to land and leave the station at Kyoto. This I did then, andhave repeatedly done since. The same absurd rule is applied, I amtold, between Yokohama and Tokyo. 

But our interest in these illustrations is the light they shed onJapanese character. They indicate the intellectual angle from whichthe people have looked out on life. What is the origin of thecharacteristic? Is it due to deep-lying race nature, to the quality ofthe race brain? Even more clearly than in the case of"roundaboutness, " it seems to me that "nominality" is due to thenature of the old social order. Feudalism has always exhibited more orless of these same features. To Anglo-Saxons, reared in a land blessedby direct government of the people, by the people, and for the people, such methods were not only needless but obnoxious. Nominalresponsibility without real power has been seen to breed numberlessevils. We have learned to hate all nominalism, all fiction ingovernment, in business and, above all, in personal character. Butthis is due to the Anglo-Saxon social order, the product in largemeasure of centuries of Christian instruction. 

Through contact with Westerners and the ideas they stand for, directness and reality are being assimilated and developed by theJapanese. This would be impossible were the characteristic in questiondue to inherent race nature necessarily bequeathed from generation togeneration by intrinsic heredity. 

XIX

INTELLECTUALITY

Some writers hold that the Japanese are inherently deficient in thehigher mental faculties. They consider mediocre mentality to be aninborn characteristic of Japan and assert that it lies at the root ofthe civilizational differences distinguishing the East from the West. The puerility of Oriental science in all its departments, theprevalence of superstition even among the cultivated, the lack ofhistorical insight and interpretation of history are adduced asconclusive evidences of this view. 

Foreign teachers in Japanese employ have told me that Japanesestudents, as compared with those of the West, manifest deficientpowers of analysis and of generalization. Some even assert that theJapanese have no generalizing ability whatever, their progress incivilization being entirely due to their remarkable power of cleverimitation. Mr. W. G. Aston, in ascribing the characteristic features ofJapanese literature to the fundamental nature of the race, says theyare "hardly capable of high intellectual achievement. "[AL]

While we may admit that the Japanese do not seem to have at presentthe same power of scientific generalization as Occidentals, wenaturally ask ourselves whether the difference is due to nataldeficiency, or whether it may not be due to difference in earlytraining. We must not forget that the youth who come under theobservation of foreign teachers in Japanese schools are alreadyproducts of the Japanese system of education, home and school, andnecessarily are as defective as it is. 

In a previous chapter a few instances of recent invention andimportant scientific discovery were given. 

These could not have been made without genuine powers of analysis andgeneralization. We need not linger to elaborate this point. 

Another set of facts throwing light on our problem is the success ofso many Japanese students, at home and in foreign lands, in masteringmodern thought. Great numbers have come back from Europe and Americawith diplomas and titles; not a few have taken high rank in theirclasses. The Japanese student abroad is usually a hard worker, likehis brother at home. I doubt if any students in the new or the oldworld study more hours in a year than do these of Japan. It has oftenamazed me to learn how much they are required to do. This is one fairsign of intellectuality. The ease too with which young Japan, educatedin Occidental schools and introduced to Occidental systems of thought, acquires abstruse speculations, searching analyses, and generalizedabstractions proves conclusively Japanese possession of the highermental faculties, in spite of the long survival in their civilizationof primitive puerility and superstitions and the lack of science, properly so called. 

Japanese youths, furthermore, have a fluency in public speechdecidedly above anything I have met with in the United States. Youngmen of eighteen or twenty years of age deliver long discourses onreligion or history or politics, with an apparent ease that theiruncouth appearance would not lead one to expect. In the little schoolof less than 150 boys in Kumamoto there were more individuals whocould talk intelligibly and forcefully on important themes of nationalpolicy, the relation of religion and politics, the relation of Japanto the Occident and the Orient, than could be found in either of thetwo colleges in the United States with which I was connected. I do notsay that they could bring forth original ideas on these topics. Butthey could at least remember what they had heard and read and couldreproduce the ideas with amazing fluency. 

A recent public meeting in Tokyo in which Christian students of theUniversity spoke to fellow-students on the great problems of religion, revealed a power of no mean order in handling the peculiardifficulties encountered by educated young men. A competent listener, recently graduated from an American university and widely acquaintedwith American students, declared that those Japanese speakers revealedgreater powers of mind and speech than would be found under similarcircumstances in the United States. 

The fluency with which timid girls pray in public has often surprisedme. Once started, they never seem to hesitate for ideas or words. Thesame girls would hardly be able to utter an intelligible sentence inreply to questions put to them by the pastor or the missionary, sofaint would be their voices and so hesitating their manner. 

The question as to whether the Japanese have powers of generalizationreceives some light from a study of the language of the people. Anexamination of primitive Japanese proves that the race, prior toreceiving even the slightest influence from China, had developedhighly generalized terms. It is worth while to call attention here toa simple fact which most writers seem to ignore, namely, that alllanguage denotes and indeed rests on generalization. Consider the word"uma, " "horse"; this is a name for a whole class of objects, and istherefore the product of a mind that can generalize and express itsgeneralization in a concept which no act of the imagination canpicture; the imagination can represent only individuals; the mind thathas concepts of classes of things, as, for instance, of horses, houses, men, women, trees, has already a genuine power ofgeneralization. Let me also call attention to such words as "wake, ""reason"; "mono, " "thing"; "koto, " "fact"; "aru, " "is"; "oro, ""lives"; "aru koto, " "is fact, " or "existence"; "ugoku koto, ""movement"; "omoi, " "thought"; this list might be indefinitelyextended. Let the reader consider whether these words are not highlygeneralized; yet these are all pure Japanese words, and reveal thedevelopment of the Japanese mind before it was in the least influencedby Chinese thought. Evidently it will not do to assert the entire lackof the power of generalization to the Japanese mind. 

Still further evidence proving Japanese possession of the highermental faculties may be found in the wide prevalence and use of themost highly generalized philosophical terms. Consider for instance, "Ri" and "Ki, " "In" and "Yo. " No complete translation can be found forthem in English; "Ri" and "Ki" may be best translated as the rationaland the formative principles in the universe, while "In" and "Yo"signify the active and the passive, the male and the female, the lightand the darkness; in a word, the poles of a positive and negative. Itis true that these terms are of Chinese origin as well as the thoughtsthemselves, but they are to-day in universal use in Japan. Similarabstract terms of Buddhistic origin are the possession of the commonpeople. 

Of course the possession of these Chinese terms is not offered asevidence of independent generalizing ability. But wide use provesconclusively the possession of the higher mental faculties, for, without such faculties, the above terms would be incomprehensible tothe people and would find no place in common speech. We must becareful not to give too much weight to the foreign origin of theseterms. Chinese is to Japanese what Latin and Greek are to modernEuropean languages. The fact that a term is of Chinese origin provesnothing as to the nature of the modern Japanese mind. The developingJapanese civilization demanded new terms for her new instruments andincreasing concepts. These for over fifteen centuries have beenborrowed from, or constructed out of, Chinese in the same way that allour modern scientific terms are constructed out of Latin and Greek. Itis doubtful if any of the Chinese terms, even those borrowed bodily, have in Japan the same significance as in China. If this is true, thenthe originating feature of Japanese power of generalization becomesmanifest. 

Indeed from this standpoint, the fact that the Japanese have made suchextensive use of the Chinese language shows the degree to which theJapanese mind has outgrown its primitive development, demanding newterms for the expression of its expanding life. But mental growthimplies energy of acquisition. The adoption of Chinese terms is not apassive but an active process. 

Acquisition of generalized terms can only take place with thedevelopment of a generalizing mind. Foreign terms may help, but theydo not cause that development. 

In a study of the question whether or not the Japanese possessindependent powers of analysis and generalization, we must everremember the unique character of the social environment to which theyhave been subjected. Always more or less of an isolated nation, theyhave been twice or thrice suddenly confronted with a civilization muchsuperior to that which they in their isolation had developed. Undersuch circumstances, adoption and modification of ideas and language aswell as of methods and machinery were the most rational and naturalcourses. 

The explanation usually given for the puerilities of Oriental science, history, and religion has been short and simple, namely, the inherentnature of the Oriental races, as if this were the final fact, needingand admitting no further explanation. That the Orient has notdeveloped history or science is doubtless true, but the correctexplanation of this fact is, in my opinion, that the educationalmethod of the entire Orient has rested on mechanical memorization;during the formative period of the mind the exclusive effort ofeducation has been to develop a memory which acts by arbitrary orfanciful connections and relations. A Japanese boy of Old Japan, forinstance, began his education at from seven to eight years of age andspent three or four years in memorizing the thousands of Chinesehieroglyphic characters contained in the Shisho and Gokyo, nine of theChinese classics. This completed, his teacher would begin to explainto him the meaning of the characters and sentences. The entireeducational effort was to develop the powers of observing andmemorizing accidental, superficial, or even purely artificialrelations. This double faculty of observing trifling and irrelevantdetails, and of remembering them, became phenomenally and abnormallydeveloped. 

Recent works on the psychology of education, however, have made plainhow an excessive development of a child's lower mental faculties mayarrest its later growth in all the higher departments of itsintellectual nature; the development of a mechanical memory is wellknown as a serious obstacle to the higher activities of reason. NowJapanese education for centuries, like Chinese, has developed suchmemory. It trained the lower and ignored the higher. Much of theJapanese education of to-day, although it includes mathematics, science, and history, is based on the mechanical memory method. TheOrient is thus a mammoth illustration of the effects ofover-development of the mechanical memory, and the consequent arrestof the development of the remaining powers of the mind. 

Encumbered by this educational ideal and system, how could the ancientChinese and Japanese men of education make a critical study ofhistory, or develop any science worthy of the name? The childishphysics and astronomy, the brutal therapeutics and the magical andsuperstitious religions of the Orient, are a necessary consequence ofits educational system, not of its inherent lack of the higher mentalpowers. 

If Japanese children brought up from infancy in American homes, andsent to American schools from kindergarten days onward, should stillmanifest marked deficiencies in powers of analysis and generalization, as compared with American children, we should then be compelled toconclude that this difference is due to diverse natal psychicendowment. Generalizations as to the inherent intellectualdeficiencies of the Oriental are based on observations of individualsalready developed in the Oriental civilization, whose psychic defectsthey accordingly necessarily inherit through the laws of socialheredity. Such observations have no relevancy to our main problem. Wefreely admit that Oriental civilization manifests strikingdeficiencies of development of the higher mental faculties, althoughit is not nearly so great as many assert; but we contend that thesedeficiencies are due to something else than the inherent psychicnature of the Oriental individual. Innumerable causes have combined toproduce the Oriental social order and to determine its slowdevelopment. These cannot be stated in a sentence, nor in a paragraph. 

In the final analysis, however, the causes which produce thecharacteristic features of Japanese social order are the real sourcesof the differentiating intellectual traits now characterizing theJapanese. Introduce a new social heredity, --a new system ofeducation, --one which relegates a mechanical memory to thebackground, --one which exalts powers of rational observation of theprofound causal relations of the phenomena of nature, and which sets apremium on such observation, analysis, and generalization, and theresults will show the inherent psychic nature of the Oriental to benot different from that of the Occidental. 

XX

PHILOSOPHICAL ABILITY

We are now prepared to consider whether or not the Japanese havephilosophical ability. The average educated Japanese believe such tobe the case. The rapidity and ease with which the upper classes haveabandoned their superstitious faiths is commonly attributed bythemselves to the philosophical nature of their minds. Similarly therapid spread of so-called rationalism and Unitarian thought and HigherCriticism among once earnest Christians, during the past decade, theythemselves ascribe to their interest in philosophical questions, andto their ability in handling philosophical problems. 

Foreigners, on the other hand, usually deny them the possession ofphilosophical ability. 

Dr. Peery, in his volume entitled "The Gist of Japan, " says: "Bynature, I think, they are more inclined to be practical thanspeculative. Abstract theological ideas have little charm for them. There is a large element in Japan that simulates a taste forphilosophical study. Philosophy and metaphysics are regarded by themas the profoundest of all branches of learning, and in order to bethought learned they profess great interest in these studies. Not onlyare the highly metaphysical philosophies of the East studied, but thevarious systems of the West are looked into likewise. Many of thepeople are capable of appreciating these philosophies, too; but theydo it for a purpose. " Other writers make the same general charge ofphilosophical incompetence. One or two quotations from Dr. Knox'swritings were given on this subject, under the head of Imitation. [AM]

What, then, are the facts? Do the Japanese excel in philosophy, orare they conspicuously deficient? In either case, is thecharacteristic due to essential race nature or to some other cause?

We must first distinguish between interest in philosophical problemsand ability in constructing original philosophical systems. In thisdistinction is to be found the reconciliation of many conflictingviews. Many who argue for Japanese philosophical ability are impressedwith the interest they show in metaphysical problems, while those whodeny them this ability are impressed with the dependence of Japaneseon Chinese philosophy. 

The discussions of the previous chapter as to the nature of Japaneseeducation and its tendency to develop the lower at the expense of thehigher mental faculties, have prepared us not to expect anyparticularly brilliant history of Japanese philosophy. Such is indeedthe case. Primitive Japanese cosmology does not differ in anyimportant respect from the primitive cosmology of other races. Thenumber of those in Old Japan who took a living interest in distinctlymetaphysical problems is indisputably small. While we admit them tohave manifested some independence and even originality, as ProfessorInouye urges, [AN] yet it can hardly be maintained that they struck outany conspicuously original philosophical systems. There is nodistinctively Japanese philosophy. 

These facts, however, should not blind us to the distinction betweenlatent ability in philosophical thought and the manifestation of thatability. The old social order, with its defective education, its habitof servile intellectual dependence on ancestors, and its social andlegal condemnation of independent originality, particularly in therealm of thought, was a mighty incubus on speculative philosophy. Furthermore, crude science and distorted history could not provide therequisite material from which to construct a philosophicalinterpretation of the universe that would appeal to the modernOccidental. 

In spite, however, of social and educational hindrances, the Japanesehave given ample evidence of interest in metaphysical problems and ofmore or less ability in their solution. Religious constructions of thefuture life, conceptions as to the relations of gods and men and theuniverse, are in fact results of the metaphysical operations of themind. Primitive Japan was not without these. As she developed incivilization and came in contact with Chinese and Hindu metaphysicalthought, she acquired their characteristic systems. Buddhist first, and later Confucian, metaphysics dominated the thought of her educatedmen. In view of the highly metaphysical character of Buddhistdoctrines and the interest they have produced at least among thebetter trained priests, the assertion that the Japanese have noability in metaphysics cannot be maintained. 

At one period in the history of Buddhism in Japan, prolonged publicdiscussions were all the fashion. Priests traveled from temple totemple to engage in public debate. The ablest debater was the abbot, and he had to be ready to face any opponent who might appear. If astranger won, the abbot yielded his place and his living to thevictor. Many an interesting story is told of those times, and of thecrowds that would gather to hear the debates. But our point is thatthis incident in the national life shows the appreciation of thepeople for philosophical questions. And although that particularfashion has long since passed away, the national interest indiscussions and arguments still exists. No monks of the West everenjoyed hair-splitting arguments more than do many of the Japanese. They are as adept at mental refinements and logical juggling as anypeople of the West, though possibly the Hindus excel them. 

If it be said that Confucianism was not only non-metaphysical, butuniquely practical, and for this reason found wide acceptance inJapan, the reply must be first that, professing to benon-metaphysical, it nevertheless had a real metaphysical system ofthought in the background to which it ever appealed for authority, asystem, be it noted, more in accord with modern science and philosophythan Buddhist metaphysics; and secondly, although Confucianism becamethe bulwark of the state and the accepted faith of the samurai, itwas limited to them. The vast majority of the nation clung to theirprimitive Buddhistic cosmology. That Confucianism rested on a clearlyimplied and more or less clearly expressed metaphysical foundation maybe seen in the quotations from the writings of Muro Kyuso which aregiven in chapter xxiv. We should note that the revolt of the educatedclasses of Japan from Buddhism three hundred years ago, and theirgeneral adoption of Confucian doctrine, was partly in the interests ofreligion and partly in the interests of metaphysics. In both respectsthe progressive part of the nation had become dissatisfied withBuddhism. The revolt proves not lack of religious or metaphysicalinterest and insight, but rather the reverse. 

Not a little of the teaching of Shushi (1130-1200 A. D. ) and of Oyomei(1472-1528 A. D. ), Chinese philosophical expounders of Confucianism, ismetaphysical. The doctrine of the former was widely studied and wasthe orthodox doctrine in Japan for more than two centuries, all otherdoctrine and philosophy being forbidden by the state. It is true thatthe central interest in this philosophical instruction was theethical. It was felt that the entire ethical system rested on theacceptance of a particular metaphysical system. But so far fromdetracting from our argument this statement rather adds. For in whatland has not the prime interest in metaphysics been ethical? A studyof the history of philosophy shows clearly that philosophy andmetaphysics arose out of religious and ethical problems, and have evermaintained their hold on thinking men, because of their mutually vitalrelations. In Japan it has not been otherwise. If anyone doubts thishe should read the Japanese philosophers--in the original, ifpossible; if not, then in such translations and extracts as Dr. Knoxhas given us in his "A Japanese Philosopher, " and Mr. Aston in his"Japanese Literature. " The ethical interest is primary, and themetaphysical interest is secondary, [AO] to be sure, but not to bedenied. 

Occidental philosophy has found many earnest and capable Japanesestudents. The Imperial University has a strong corps of philosophicalinstructors. Occidental metaphysical thought, both materialistic andidealistic, has found many congenial minds. Indeed, it is not rash tosay that in the thought of New Japan the distinguishing Orientalmetaphysical conceptions of the universe have been entirely displacedby those of the West. Christians, in particular, have entirelyabandoned the old polytheistic, pantheistic, and fatalisticmetaphysics and have adopted thoroughgoing monotheism. 

Ability to understand and sufficient interest to study throughphilosophical and metaphysical systems of foreign lands indicate amental development of no slight order, whatever may be the ability, orlack of it, in making original contributions to the subject. Thateducated Japanese have shown real ability in the former sense canhardly be doubted by those who have read the writings of such men asGoro Takahashi, ex-president Hiroyuki Kato, Prof. Yujiro Motora, Prof. Rikizo Nakashima, or Dr. Tetsujiro Inouye. The philosophicalbrightness of many of Japan's foreign as well as home-trained scholarsargues well for the philosophical ability of the nation. 

A recent conversation with a young Japanese gives point to what hasjust been said. The young man suddenly appeared at my study door, and, with unusually brief salutations, said that he wished me to talk tohim about religion. In answer to questions he explained that he hadbeen one of my pupils ten years ago in the Kumamoto Boys' School; thathe had been baptized as a Christian at that time, but had become coldand filled with doubts; that he had been studying ever since, havingat one time given considerable attention to the Zen sect of Buddhism;but that he had found no satisfaction there. He accordingly wished tostudy Christianity more carefully. For three hours we talked, heasking questions about the Christian conception of God, of theuniverse, of man, of sin, of evolution, of Christ, of salvation, ofthe object of life, of God's purpose in creation, of the origin andnature of the Bible. Toward the latter part of our conversation, referring to one idea expressed, he said, "That is about what Hegelheld, is it not?" As he spoke he opened his knapsack, which I then sawto be full of books, and drew out an English translation of Hegel's"Philosophy of History"; he had evidently read it carefully, makinghis notes in Japanese on the margin. I asked him if he had read itthrough. "Yes, " he replied, "three times. " He also incidentallyinformed me that he had thought of entering our mission theologicaltraining class during the previous winter, but that he was then in themidst of the study of the philosophy of Kant, and had accordinglydecided to defer entering until the autumn. How thoroughly he hadmastered these, the most profound and abstruse metaphysicians that theWest can boast, I cannot state. But this at least is clear; hisinterest in them was real and lasting. And in his conversation heshowed keen appreciation of philosophical problems. It is to be notedalso that he was a self-taught philosopher--for he had attended noschool since he studied elementary English, ten years before, while alad of less than twenty. 

As a sample of the kind of men I not infrequently meet, let me citethe case of a young business man who once called on me in the hotel atImabari, popularly called "the little philosopher. " He wished to talkabout the problem of the future life and to ask my personal belief inthe matter. He said that he believed in God and in Jesus as His uniqueson and revealer, but that he found great difficulty in believing inthe continued life of the soul after death. His difficulty arose fromthe problems of the nature of future thinking; shall we continue tothink in terms of sense perception, such as time, space, form, color, pleasure, and pain? If not, how can we think at all? And can we thenremember our present life? If we do, then the future life will not beessentially different from this, _i. E. _, we must still have physicalsenses, and continue to live in an essentially physical world. Herewas a set of objections to the doctrine of the future life that Ihave never heard as much as mentioned by any Occidental youth. Thoughwithout doubt not original with him, yet he must have had in somedegree both philosophical ability and interest in order to appreciatetheir force and to seek their solution. 

In conversation not long since with a Buddhist priest of the Tendaisect, after responding to his request for a criticism of Buddhism, Iasked him for a similarly frank criticism of Christianity. To mysurprise, he said that while Christianity was far ahead of Buddhism inits practical parts and in its power to mold character, it wasdeficient in philosophical insight and interest. This led to aprolonged conversation on Buddhistic philosophy, in which he explainedthe doctrines of the "Ku-ge-chu, " and the "Usa and Musa. " Withoutattempting to explain them here, I may say that the first is amazinglylike Hegel's "absolute nothing, " with its thesis, antithesis, andsynthesis, and the second a psychological distinction betweenvolitional and spontaneous emotions. 

In discussing Japanese philosophical ability, a point often forgottenis the rarity of philosophical ability or even interest in the West. But a small proportion of college students have the slightest interestin philosophical or metaphysical problems. The majority do notunderstand what the distinctive metaphysical problems are. In myexperience it is easier to enter into a conversation with an educatedman in Japan on a philosophical question than with an American. Ifinterest in philosophical and metaphysical questions in the West israre, original ability in their investigation is still rarer. 

We conclude, then, that in regard to philosophical ability theJapanese have no marked racial characteristic differentiating themfrom other races. Although they have not developed a distinctivenational philosophy, this is not due to inherent philosophicalincompetence. Nor, on the other hand, is the relatively wide interestnow manifest in philosophical problems attributable to the inherentphilosophical ability of the race. So far as Japan is either behind orin advance of other races, in this respect, it is due to her socialorder and social inheritance, and particularly to the nature, methods, and aims of the educational system, but not to her intrinsic psychicinheritance. 

XXI

IMAGINATION

In no respect, perhaps, have the Japanese been more sweepinglycriticised by foreigners than in regard to their powers of imaginationand idealism. Unqualified generalizations not only assert the entirelack of these powers, but they consider this lack to be thedistinguishing inherent mental characteristic of the race. TheJapanese are called "prosaic, " "matter-of-fact, " "practical, ""unimaginative. "

Mr. Walter Dening, describing Japanese mental characteristics, says:

 "Neither their past history nor their prevailing tastes show any tendency to idealism. They are lovers of the practical and the real; neither the fancies of Goethe nor the reveries of Hegel are to their liking. Our poetry and our philosophy and the mind that appreciates them are alike the results of a network of subtle influences to which the Japanese are comparative strangers. It is maintained by some, and we think justly, that the lack of idealism in the Japanese mind renders the life of even the most cultivated a mechanical, humdrum affair when compared with that of Westerners. The Japanese cannot understand why our controversialists should wax so fervent over psychological, ethical, religious, and philosophical questions, failing to perceive that this fervency is the result of the intense interest taken in such subjects. The charms that the cultured Western mind finds in the world of fancy and romance, in questions themselves, irrespective of their practical bearings, is for the most part unintelligible to the Japanese. "[AP]

Mr. Percival Lowell expends an entire chapter in his "Soul of the FarEast, " in showing how important imagination is as a factor in art, religion, science, and civilization generally, and how strikinglydeficient Japanese are in this faculty. "The Far Orientals, " heargues, "ought to be a particularly unimaginative set of people. Suchis precisely what they are. Their lack of imagination is awell-recognized fact. "[AQ]

Mr. Aston, characterizing Japanese literature, says:

 "A feature which strikingly distinguishes the Japanese poetic muse from that of Western nations is a certain lack of imaginative power. The Japanese are slow to endow inanimate objects with life. Shelley's 'Cloud, ' for example, contains enough matter of this kind for many volumes of Japanese verse. Such lines as:

 'From my wings are shaken The dews that waken The sweet buds every one, When rocked to rest On their mother's breast As she dances about the sun, '

 would appear to them ridiculously overcharged with metaphor, if not absolutely unintelligible. "[AR]

On the other hand, some writers have called attention to the contraryelement of Japanese mental nature. Prof. Ladd, for instance, maintainsthat the characteristic mental trait of the Japanese is theirsentimentality. He has shown how their lives are permeated with andregulated by sentiment. Ancestral worship, patriotism, Imperialapotheosis, friendship, are fashioned by idealizing sentiment. In ourchapters on the emotional elements of Japanese character we haveconsidered how widespread and powerful these ideals and sentimentshave been and still are. 

Writers who compare the Chinese with the Japanese remark the practicalbusiness nature of the former and the impractical, visionary nature ofthe latter. 

For a proper estimate of our problem we should clearly distinguishbetween the various forms of imagination. It reveals itself not merelyin art and literature, in fantastic conception, in personification andmetaphor, but in every important department of human life. It is thetap-root of progress, as Mr. Lowell well points out. It pictures anideal life in advance of the actual, which ideal becomes the object ofeffort. The forms of imagination may, therefore, be classifiedaccording to the sphere of life in which it appears. In addition tothe poetic fancy and the idealism of art and literature generally, wemust distinguish the work of imagination in the æsthetic, in themoral, in the religious, in the scientific, and in the political life. The manifestation of the imaginative faculty in art and in literatureis only one part of the æsthetic imagination. 

In studying Japanese æsthetic characteristics, we noted how unbalancedwas the development of their æsthetic sense. This proposition ofunbalanced development applies with equal force to the imaginativefaculty as a whole. Conspicuously lacking in certain directions, it isas conspicuously prominent in others. Rules of etiquette are theproducts of the æsthetic imagination, and in what land has etiquettebeen more developed than in feudal Japan? Japanese imagination hasbeen particularly active in the political world. The passionateloyalty of retainers to their lord, of samurai to their daimyo, of allto their "kuni, " or clan, in ancient times, and now, of the people totheir Emperor, are the results of a vivid political idealizingimagination. Imperial apotheosis is a combination of the political andreligious imagination. And in what land has the apotheosizingimagination been more active than in Japan? Ambition and self-conceitare likewise dependent on an active imaginative faculty. 

There can be no doubt the writers quoted above have drawn attention tosome salient features of Japanese art. In the literature of the past, the people have not manifested that high literary imagination that wediscover in the best literature of many other nations. 

This fact, however, will not justify the sweeping generalizationsbased upon it. Judging from the pre-Elizabethan literature, who wouldhave expected the brilliancy of the Elizabethan period? Similarly inregard to the Victorian period of English literature. Because theJapanese have failed in the past to produce literature equal to thebest of Western lands, we are not justified in asserting that shenever will and that she is inherently deficient in literaryimagination. In regard to certain forms of light fancy, all admit thatJapanese poems are unsurpassed by those of other lands. Japaneseamative poetry is noted for its delicate fancies and plays on wordsexceedingly difficult, if not impossible, of translation, or even ofexpression, to one unacquainted with the language. 

The deficiencies of Japanese literature, therefore, are not such as towarrant the conclusion that they both mark and make a fundamentaldifference in the race mind. For such differences as exist are capableof a sociological explanation. 

The prosaic matter-of-factness of the Japanese mind has been so widelyemphasized that we need not dwell upon it here. There is, however, serious danger of over-emphasis, a danger into which all writers fallwho make it the ground for sweeping condemnatory criticism. 

They are right in ascribing to the average Japanese a large amount ofunimaginative matter-of-factness, but they are equally wrong inunqualified dogmatic generalizations. They base their inductions oninsufficient facts, a habit to which foreigners are peculiarly liable, through ignorance of the language and also of the inner thoughts andlife of the people. 

The prosaic nature of the Japanese has not impressed me so much as thevisionary tendency of the people, and their idealism. The Japanesethemselves count this idealism a national characteristic. They saythat they are theorizers, and numberless experiences confirm thisview. 

They project great undertakings; they scheme; they discusscontingencies; they make enormous plans; all with an air ofseriousness and yet with a nonchalance which shows a semi-conscioussense of the unreality of their proposals. In regard to Korea andChina and Formosa, they have hatched political and business schemesinnumerable. The kaleidoscopic character of Japanese politics is inpart due to the rapid succession of visionary schemes. One idea reignsfor a season, only to be displaced by another, causing constantreadjustment of political parties. Frequent attacks on governmentforeign policy depend for their force on lordly ideas as to the partJapan should play in international relations. Writing about the recentdiscussions in the public press over the question of introducingforeign capital into Japan, one contributor to the _Far East_ remarksthat "It has been treated more from a theoretical than from apractical standpoint. .. . This seems to me to arise from a peculiartrait of Japanese mind which is prone to dwell solely on thetheoretical side until the march of events compels a sudden leaptoward the practical. " This visionary faculty of the Japanese isespecially conspicuous in the daily press. Editorials on foreignaffairs and on the relations of Japan to the world are full of it. 

I venture to jot down a few illustrations of impractical idealism outof my personal knowledge. An evangelist in the employ of the Kumamotostation exemplified this visionary trait in a marked degree. Nervousin the extreme, he was constantly having new ideas. For some reasonhis attention was turned to the subject of opium and the evils Chinawas suffering from the drug, forced on her by England. Forthwith hecame to me for books on the subject; he wished to become fullyinformed, and then he proposed to go to China and preach on thesubject. For a few weeks he was full of his enterprise. It seemed tohim that if he were only allowed the opportunity he could convince theChinese of their error, and the English of their crime. One of hisplans was to go to England and expostulate with them on theirun-Christian dealings with China. A few weeks later his attention wasturned to the wrongs inflicted on the poor on account of theirignorance about law and their inability to get legal assistance. Thisidea held him longer than the previous. 

He desired to study law and become a public pleader in order todefend the poor against unjust men of wealth. In his theological ideashe was likewise extreme and changeable; swinging from positive andmost emphatic belief to extreme doubt, and later back again. In hisperiods of triumphant faith it seemed to him that he could teach theworld; and his expositions of truth were extremely interesting. Heproposed to formulate a new theology that would dissolve forever thedifficulties of the old theology. In his doubts, too, he was no lessinteresting and assertive. His hold on practical matters wasexceedingly slender. His salary, though considerably larger than thatof most of the evangelists, was never sufficient. He would spendlavishly at the beginning of the month so long as he had the money, and then would pinch himself or else fall into debt. 

Mr. ----, the head of the Kumamoto Boys' School during the period ofits fierce struggles and final collapse, whom I have already referredto as the Hero-Principal, [AS] is another example of this impracticalhigh-strung visionariness. No sooner had he reached Kumamoto, thanthere opened before our enchanted eyes the vision of this littleinsignificant school blooming out into a great university. True, therehad been some of this bombast before his arrival; but it took on newand gorgeous form under his master hand. The airs that he put on, displaying his (fraudulent) Ph. D. , and talking about his schemes, aresimply amusing to contemplate from this distance. His studies in thephilosophy of religion had so clarified his mind that he was going toreform both Christianity and Buddhism. His sermons of florid eloquenceand vociferous power, never less than an hour in length, were asmarked in ambitious thoughts as in pulpit mannerisms. He threw a spellover all who came in contact with him. He overawed them by hisvehemence and tremendous earnestness and insistence on perfectobedience to his masterful will. In one of his climactic sermons, after charging missionaries with teaching dangerous errors, he saidthat while some were urging that the need of the times was to "hisback to Luther, " and others were saying, that we must "his back toChrist" (these English words being brought into his Japanese sermon), they were both wrong; we must "hie back to God"; and he prophesied areformation in religion, beginning there in Kumamoto, in that school, which would be far and away more important in the history of the worldthan was the Lutheran Reformation. 

The recent history of Christianity in Japan supplies many strikinginstances of visionary plans and visionary enthusiasts. The confidentexpectation entertained during the eighties of Christianizing thenation before the close of the century was such a vision. Another, arising a few years later, was the importance of returning all foreignmissionaries to their native lands and of intrusting the entireevangelistic work to native Christians, and committing to them theadministration of the immense sums thus set free. For it was assumedby these brilliant Utopians that the amount of money expended insupporting missionaries would be available for aggressive work shouldthe missionaries be withdrawn, and that the Christians in foreignlands would continue to pour in their contributions for theevangelization of Japan. 

Still another instance of utopian idealism is the vision that Japanwill give birth to that perfect religion, meeting the demands of bothheart and head, for which the world waits. In January, 1900, Prof. T. Inouye, of the Imperial University, after showing quite at length, andto his own satisfaction, the inadequacy of all existing religions tomeet the ethical and religious situation in Japan, maintained thisambitious view. 

Some Japanese Christians are declaring the need of JaponicizedChristianity. "Did not the Greeks transform Christianity before theyaccepted it? And did not the Romans, and finally the Germans, do thesame? Before Japan will or can accept the religion of Christ, it mustbe Japonicized. " So they argue; "and who so fit to do it as we?" liesin the background of their thought. 

Many a Christian pastor and evangelist, although not sharing theambition of Prof. Inouye, nevertheless glows with the confidentexpectation that Japonicized Christianity will be its most perfecttype. "No one need wonder if Japan should be destined to present tothe world the best type of Christianity that has yet appeared inhistory, " writes an exponent of this view, at one time a Christianpastor. In this connection the reader may recall what was said inchapter xiv. On Japanese Ambition and Conceit, qualities depending onthe power of seeing visions. We note, in passing, the optimisticspirit of New Japan. This is in part due, no doubt, to ignorance ofthe problems that lie athwart their future progress, but it is alsodue to the vivid imaginative faculty which pictures for them theglories of the coming decades when they shall lead not only theOrient, but also the Occident, in every line of civilization, materialand spiritual, moral and religious. A dull, unimaginative, prosaicnature cannot be exuberantly optimistic. It is evident that writerswho proclaim the unimaginative matter-of-factness of the Japanese asuniversal and absolute, have failed to see a large side of Japaneseinner life. 

Mr. Percival Lowell states that the root of all the peculiarities ofOriental peoples is their marked lack of imagination. This is thefaculty that "may in a certain sense be said to be the creator of theworld. " The lack of this faculty, according to Mr. Lowell, is the rootof the Japanese lack of originality and invention; it gives the wholeOriental civilization its characteristic features. He cites a fewwords to prove the essentially prosaic character of the Japanese mind, such as "up-down" for "pass" (which word, by the way, is his owninvention, and reveals his ignorance of the language), "the being (so)is difficult, " in place of "thank you. " "A lack of any fancifulideas, " he says, "is one of the most salient traits of all Far Easternpeoples, if indeed a sad dearth can properly be called salient. Indirectly, their want of imagination betrays itself in their everydaysayings and doings, and more directly in every branch of thought. " Inote, in passing, that Mr. Lowell does not distinguish between fancyand imagination. Though allied faculties, they are distinct. Mr. Lowell's extreme estimate of the prosaic nature of the Japanese mind Icannot share. Many letters received from Japanese friends refute thisview by their fanciful expressions. The Japanese language, too, hasmany fanciful terms. Why "pass" is any more imaginative than"up-down, " to accept Mr. Lowell's etymology, or "the being (so) isdifficult" than "thank you, " I do not see. To me the reverseproposition would seem the truer. And are not "breaking-horns" for "onpurpose, " and "breaking-bones" for "with great difficulty, " distinctlyimaginative terms, more imaginative than the English? In the place ofour English term "sun, " the Japanese have several alternative terms incommon use, such as "_hi_, " "day, " "_Nichirin_, " "day-ball, " "_Ten-toSama_, " "the god of heaven's light;" and for "moon, " it has "_tsuki_, ""month, " "_getsu-rin_, " "month ball. " The names given to hermen-of-war also indicate a fanciful nature. The torpedo destroyers arenamed "Dragon-fly, " "Full Moon, " "The Moon in the Cloud, " "Seabeach, ""Dawn of Day, " "Clustering Clouds, " "Break of Day, " "Ripples, ""Evening Mist, " "Dragon's Lamp, " "Falcon, " "Magpie, " "White-napedCrane, " and "White Hawk. " Surely, it cannot be maintained that theJapanese are utterly lacking in fancy. 

Distinguishing between fancy as "the power of forming pleasing, graceful, whimsical, or odd mental images, or of combining them withlittle regard to rational processes of construction, " and imagination, in its more philosophical use, as "the act of constructive intellectin grouping the materials of knowledge or thought into new, original, and rational systems, " we assert without fear of successfulcontradiction, that the Japanese race is not without either of theseimportant mental faculties. 

In addition to the preceding illustrations of visionary and fancifultraits, let the reader reflect on the significance of the comic and ofcaricature in art. Japanese _Netsuke_ (tiny carvings of exquisiteskill representing comical men, women, and children) are famous theworld over. Surely, the fancy is the most conspicuous mentalcharacteristic revealed in this branch of Japanese art. In Japanesepoetry "a vast number of conceits, more or less pretty, " are to befound, likewise manifesting the fancy of both the authors who wroteand the people who were pleased with and preserved their writings. [AT]The so-called "impersonal habit of the Japanese mind, " with acorresponding "lack of personification of abstract qualities, "doubtless prevents Japanese literature from rising to the poeticheights attained by Western nations. But this lack does not prove theJapanese mind incapable of such flights. As describing the actualcharacteristics of the literature of the past the assertion of "a lackof imaginative power" is doubtless fairly correct. But the inherentnature of the Japanese mind cannot be inferred from the deficienciesof its past literature, without first examining the relation betweenits characteristic features and the nature of the social order and thesocial inheritance. 

Are the Japanese conspicuously deficient in imagination, in the senseof the definition given above? The constructive imagination is thecreator of civilization. Not only art and literature, but, as alreadynoted, science, philosophy, politics, and even the practical arts andprosaic farming are impossible without it. It is the tap-root ofinvention, of discovery, of originality. 

It is needless to repeat what has been said in previous chapters[AU]on Japanese imitation, invention, discovery, and originality. Yet, inconsideration of the facts there given, are we justified in countingthe Japanese so conspicuously deficient in constructive, imaginationas to warrant the assertion that such a lack is the fundamentalcharacteristic of the race psychic nature?

As an extreme case, look for a moment at their imitativeness. Althoughimitation is considered a proof of deficient originality, and thus ofimagination, yet reflection shows that this depends on the nature ofthe imitation. Japanese imitation has not been, except possibly forshort periods, of that slavish nature which excludes the work of theimagination. Indeed, the impulse to imitation rests on theimagination. But for this faculty picturing the state of bliss orpower secured in consequence of adopting this or that feature of analien civilization, the desire to imitate could not arise. In view, moreover, of the selective nature of Japanese imitation, we arefurther warranted in ascribing to the people no insignificantdevelopment of the imagination. 

In illustration, consider Japan's educational system. Established nodoubt on Occidental models, it is nevertheless a distinctly Japaneseinstitution. Its buildings are as characteristically JaponicizedOccidental school buildings as are its methods of instruction. Japanese railroads and steamers, likewise constructed in Japan, aresimilarly Japonicized--adapted to the needs and conditions of thepeople. To our eyes this of course signifies no improvement, butassuredly, without such modification, our Western railroads andsteamers would be white elephants on their hands, expensive anddifficult of operation. 

What now is the sociological interpretation of the foregoing facts?How are the fanciful, visionary, and idealistic characteristics, onthe one hand, and, on the other, the prosaic, matter-of-fact, andrelatively unimaginative characteristics, related to the social order?

It is not difficult to account for the presence of accentuatedvisionariness in Japan. Indeed, this quality is conspicuous among thedescendants of the military and literary classes; and this factfurnishes us the clew. "From time immemorial, " to use a phrase commonon the lips of Japanese historians, up to the present era, the samuraias a class were quite separated from the practical world; they werecomfortably supported by their liege lords; entirely relieved from thenecessity of toiling for their daily bread, they busied themselves notonly with war and physical training, but with literary accomplishments, that required no less strenuous mental exertions. 

Furthermore, in a class thus freed from daily toil, there was sure toarise a refined system of etiquette and of rank distinctions. Even afew centuries of life would, under such conditions, develop highlynervous individuals in large numbers, hypersensitive in manydirections. These men, by the very development of their nervousconstitutions, would become the social if not the practical leaders oftheir class; high-spirited, and with domineering ideas and schemingambitions, they would set the fashion to all their less nervouslydeveloped fellows. Freed from the exacting conditions of a practicallife, they would inevitably fly off on tangents more or lessimpractical, visionary. 

If, therefore, this trait is more marked in Japanese character than inthat of many other nations, it may be easily traced to the socialorder that has ruled this land "from time immemorial. " More than anyother of her mental characteristics, impractical visionariness may betraced to the development of the nervous organization at the expenseof the muscular. This characteristic accordingly may be said to bemore inherently a race characteristic than many others that have beenmentioned. Yet we should remember that the samurai constitute but asmall proportion of the people. According to recent statistics (1895)the entire class to-day numbers but 2, 050, 000, while the common peoplenumber over 40, 000, 000. It is, furthermore, to be remembered that notall the descendants of the samurai are thus nervously organized. Largenumbers have a splendid physical endowment, with no trace of abnormalnervous development. While the old feudal order, with its constantcarrying of swords, and the giving of honor to the most impetuous, naturally tended to push the most high-strung individuals into theforefront and to set them up as models for the imitation of the young, the social order now regnant in Japan faces in the other direction. Such visionary men are increasingly relegated to the rear. Theirapproach to insanity is recognized and condemned. Even this trait ofcharacter, therefore, which seems to be rooted in brain and nervestructure is, nevertheless, more subject to the prevailing socialorder than would at first seem possible. 

Its rise we have seen was due to that order, and the setting aside ofthese characteristics as ideals at least, and thus the bringing intoprominence of more normal and healthy ideals, is due to the coming inof a new order. 

Japanese prosaic matter-of-factness may similarly be shown to haveintimate relations to the nature of the social order. Oppressivemilitary feudalism, keeping the vast majority of the people inpractical bondage, physical, intellectual, and spiritual, wouldnecessarily render their lives and thoughts narrow in range andspiritless in nature. Such a system crushes out hope. From sunrise tosunset, "_nembyaku nenju_, " "for a hundred years and through all theyear, " the humdrum duties of daily life were the only psychic stimuliof the absolutely uneducated masses. Without ambition, withoutself-respect, without education or any stimulus for the higher mentallife, what possible manifestation of the higher powers of the mindcould be expected? Should some "sport" appear by chance, it could notlong escape the sword of domineering samurai. Even though originallypossessing some degree of imagination, cringing fear of militarymasters, with the continuous elimination by ruthless slaughter of themore idealizing, less submissive, and more self-assertive individualsof the non-military classes, would finally produce a dull, imitative, unimaginative, and matter-of-fact class such as we find in thehereditary laboring and merchant classes. 

Furthermore, Japanese civilization, like that of the entire Orient, with its highly communalized social order, is an expression of passivesubmission to superior authority. Although an incompletecharacterization, there is still much truth in saying that the Orientis an expression of Fate, the Occident of Freedom. We have seen that abetter contrasted characterization is found in the terms communal andindividual. The Orient has known nothing of individualism. It has notvalued the individual nor sought his elevation and freedom. In everyway, on the contrary, it has repressed and opposed him. The highdevelopment of the individual culminating in powerful personality hasbeen an exceptional occurrence, due to special circumstances. Acommunal social order, often repressing and invariably failing toevoke the higher human faculties, must express its real nature in thelanguage, literature, and customs of the people. Thus in our chapteron the Æsthetic Characteristics of the Japanese[AV] we saw how thehigher forms of literature were dependent on the development ofmanhood and on a realization of his nature. A communal social orderdespising, or at least ignoring the individual, cannot produce thehighest forms of literature or art, because it does not possess thehighest forms of psychic development. Take from Western life all thatrests on or springs from the principles of individual worth, freedom, and immortality, and how much of value or sublimity will remain? Theabsence from Japanese literature and language of the higher forms offancy, metaphor, and personification on the one hand, and, on theother, the presence of widespread prosaic matter-of-factness, are thusintimately related to the communal nature of Japan's long dominantsocial order. 

Similarly, in regard to the constructive imagination, whoseconspicuous lack in Japan is universally asserted by foreign critics, we reply first that the assertion is an exaggeration, and secondly, that so far as it is fact, it is intimately related to the socialorder. In our discussions concerning Japanese Intellectuality andPhilosophical Ability, [AW] we saw how intimate a relation existsbetween the social order, particularly as expressed in its educationalsystem, and the development of the higher mental faculties. Now amoment's reflection will show how the constructive imagination, belonging as it does to the higher faculties, was suppressed by thesystem of mechanical and superficial education required by the socialorder. Religion apotheosized ancestral knowledge and customs, thuseffectively condemning all conscious use of this faculty. So far as itwas used, it was under the guise of reviving old knowledge or ofexpounding it more completely. 

This, however, has been the experience of every race in certainstages of its development. Such periods have been conspicuouslydeficient in powerful literature, progressive science, penetratingphilosophy, or developing political life. When a nation has onceentered such a social order it becomes stagnant, its furtherdevelopment is arrested. The activity of the higher faculties of themind are in abeyance, but not destroyed. It needs the electric shockof contact and conflict with foreign races to startle the race out ofits fatal repose and start it on new lines of progress by demanding, on pain of death, or at least of racial subordination, theintroduction of new elements into its social order by a renewedexercise of the constructive imagination. For without such action ofthe constructive imagination a radical and voluntary modification ofthe dominant social order is impossible. 

Old Japan experienced this electric shock and New Japan is the result. She is thus a living witness to the inaccuracy of those sweepinggeneralizations as to her inherent deficiency of constructiveimagination. 

It is by no means our contention that Japanese imagination is now aswidely and profoundly exercised as that of the leading Westernnations. We merely contend that the exercise of this mental faculty isintimately related to the nature of the whole social order; that undercertain circumstances this important faculty may be so suppressed asto give the impression to superficial observers of entire absence, andthat with a new environment necessitating a new social order, thisfaculty may again be brought into activity. 

The inevitable conclusion of the above line of thought is that theactivity and the manifestation of the higher faculties is sointimately related to the nature of the social order as to prevent ourattributing any particular mental characteristics to a race as itsinherent and unchangeable nature. The psychic characteristics of arace at any given time are the product of the inherited social order. To transform those characteristics changes in the social order, introduced either from without, or through individuals within therace, are alone needful. This completes our specific study of theintellectual characteristics of the Japanese. It may seem, as itundoubtedly is, quite fragmentary. But we have purposely omitted allreference to those characteristics which the Japanese admittedly havein common with other races. We have attempted the consideration ofonly the more outstanding characteristics by which they seem to bedifferentiated from other races. We have attempted to show that in sofar as they are different, the difference is due not to inherentpsychic nature transmitted by organic heredity, but to the nature ofthe social order, transmitted by social heredity. 

XXII

MORAL IDEALS

Even a slight study of Japanese history suffices to show that thefaculty of moral discrimination was highly developed in certaindirections. In what land have the ideal and practice of loyalty beenhigher? The heroes most lauded by the Japanese to-day are those whohave proved their loyalty by the sacrifice of their lives. WhenMasashige Kusunoki waged a hopeless war on behalf of one branch of thethen divided dynasty, and finally preferred to die by his own handrather than endure the sight of a victorious rebel, he is consideredto have exhibited the highest possible evidence of devoted loyalty. One often hears his name in the sermons of Christian preachers as amodel worthy of all honor. The patriots of the period immediatelypreceding the Meiji era, known as the "Kinnoka, " some of whom losttheir lives because of their devotion to the cause of their thenimpotent Emperor, are accorded the highest honor the nation can give. 

The teachings of the Japanese concerning the relations that shouldexist between parents, and children, and, in multitudes of instances, their actual conduct also, can hardly be excelled. We can assert thatthey have a keen moral faculty, however further study may compel us topronounce its development and manifestations to be unbalanced. 

Better, however, than generalizations as to the ethical ideals ofJapan, past and present, are actual quotations from her moralteachers. The following passages are taken from "A JapanesePhilosopher, " by Dr. Geo. W. Knox, the larger part of the volumeconsisting of a translation of one of the works of Muro Kyuso--wholived from 1658 to 1734. It was during his life that the famousforty-seven ronin performed their exploit, and Kyu-so gave them thename by which they are still remembered, Gi-shi, the "RighteousSamurai. " The purpose of the work is the defense of the Confucianfaith and practice, as interpreted by Tei-shu, the philosopher ofChina whom Japan delighted to honor. It discusses among other thingsthe fundamental principles of ethics, politics, and religion. Dr. Knoxhas done all earnest Western students of Japanese ethical andreligious ideas an inestimable service in the production of this workin English. 

 "The 'Way' of Heaven and Earth is the 'Way' of Gyo and Shun [semi-mythical rulers of ancient China idealized by Confucius]; the 'Way' of Gyo and Shun is the 'Way' of Confucius and Mencius, and the 'Way' of Confucius and Mencius is the 'Way' of Tei-Shu. Forsaking Tei-Shu, we cannot find Confucius and Mencius; forsaking Confucius and Mencius, we cannot find Gyo and Shun; and forsaking Gyo and Shun, we cannot find the 'Way' of Heaven and Earth. Do not trust implicitly an aged scholar; but this I know, and therefore I speak. If I say that which is false, may I be instantly punished by Heaven and Earth. "[AX]

 "Recently I was astounded at the words of a philosopher: 'The "Way" comes not from Heaven, ' he said, 'it was invented by the sages. Nor is it in accord with nature; it is a mere matter of æsthetics and ornament. Of the five relations, only the conjugal is natural, while loyalty, filial obedience, and the rest were invented by the sages, and have been maintained by their authority ever since. ' Surely, among all heresies from ancient days until now, none has been so monstrous as this. "[AY]

 "Kujuro, a lad of fifteen years, quarreled with a neighbor's son over a game of _go_, lost his self-control, and before he could be seized, drew his sword and cut the boy down. While the wounded boy was under the surgeon's care, Kujuro was in custody, but he showed no fear, and his words and acts were calm beyond his years. After some days the boy died, and Kujuro was condemned to hara-kiri. The officers in charge gave him a farewell feast the night before he died. He calmly wrote to his mother, took ceremonious farewell of his keeper and all in the house, and then said to the guests: 'I regret to leave you all, and should like to stay and talk till daybreak; but I must not be sleepy when I commit hara-kiri to-morrow, so I'll go to bed at once. Do you stay at your ease and drink the wine. ' So he went to his room and fell asleep, all being filled with admiration as they heard him snore. On the morrow he rose early, bathed and dressed himself with care, made all his preparations with perfect calmness, and then, quiet and composed, killed himself. No old, trained, self-possessed samurai could have excelled him. No one who saw it could speak of it for years without tears. .. . I have told you this that Kujuro may be remembered. It would be shameful were it to be forgotten that so young a boy performed such a deed. "[AZ]

 "We are not to cease obeying for the sake of study, nor must we establish the laws before we begin to obey. In obedience we are to establish its Tightness and wrongness. "[BA]

 "We learn loyalty and obedience as we are loyal and obedient. To-day I know yesterday's short-comings, and to-morrow I shall know to-day's. .. . In our occupations we learn whether conduct conforms to right and so advance in the truth by practice. "[BB]

 "Besides a few works on history, like the Sankyo Ega Monogatari, which record facts, there are no books worth reading in our literature. For the most part they are sweet stories of the Buddhas, of which one soon wearies. But the evil is traditional, long-continued, and beyond remedy. And other books are full of lust, not even to be mentioned, like the Genji Monogatari, which should never be shown to a woman or a young man. Such books lead to vice. Our nobles call the Genji Monogatari a national treasure, why, I do not know, unless it is that they are intoxicated with its style. That is like plucking the spring blossom unmindful of the autumn's fruit. The book is full of adulteries from beginning to end. Seeing the right, ourselves should become good, seeing the wrong, we should reprove ourselves. The Genji Monogatari, Chokonka, and Seishoki are of a class, vile, mean, comparable to the books of the sages as charcoal to ice, as the stench of decay to the perfume of flowers. "[BC]

 "To the samurai, first of all is righteousness; next life, then silver and gold. These last are of value, but some put them in the place of righteousness. But to the samurai even life is as dirt compared to righteousness. Until the middle part of the middle ages customs were comparatively pure, though not really righteous. Corruption has come only during this period of government by the samurai. A maid servant in China was made ill with astonishment when she saw her mistress, soroban (abacus) in hand, arguing prices and values. So was it once with the samurai. They knew nothing of trade, were economical and content. "[BD]

 "Even in the days of my youth, young folks never mentioned the price of anything; and their faces reddened if the talk was of women. Their joy was in talk of battles and plans for war. And they studied how parents and lords should be obeyed, and the duty of samurai. But nowadays the young men talk of loss and gain, of dancing girls and harlots and gross pleasures. It is a complete change from fifty or sixty years ago. .. . Said Aochi to his son: 'There is such a thing as trade. See that you know nothing of it. In trade the profit should always go to the other side. .. . To be proud of buying high-priced articles cheap is the good fortune of merchants, but should be unknown to samurai. Let it not be even so much as mentioned. .. . Samurai must have a care of their words, and are not to speak of avarice, cowardice, or lust. '"[BE]

A point of considerable interest to the student of Japanese ethicalideals is the fact that the laws of Old Japan combined legal and moralmaxims. Loyalty and morality were conceived as inseparable. Ieyasu(abdicated in 1605, and died in 1616), the founder of the TokugawaShogunate, left a body of laws to his successors as his last will, inaccordance with which they should rule the land. These laws were notmade public, but were kept strictly for the guidance of the rulers. They are known as the Testament or "Honorable Will" of Ieyasu, andconsist of one hundred rules. It will serve our purpose here to quotesome of those that refer to the moral ideal. 

 "No one is to act simply for the gratification of his own desires, but he is to strive to do what may be opposed to his desires, _i. E_. , to exercise self-control, in order that everyone may be ready for whatever he may be called upon by his superiors to do. "

 "The aged, whether widowers or widows, and orphans, and persons without relations, every one should assist with kindness and liberality; for justice to these four is the root of good government. "

 "Respect the gods [or God], keep the heart pure, and be diligent in business during the whole life. "

 "When I was young I determined to fight and punish all my own and my ancestors' enemies, and I did punish them; but afterwards, by deep consideration, I found that the way of heaven was to help the people, and not to punish them. Let my successors follow out this policy, or they are not of my line. In this lies the strength of the nation. "

 "To insure the Empire peace, the foundation must be laid in the ways of holiness and religion, and if men think they can be educated, and will not remember this, it is as if a man were to go to a forest to catch fish, or thought he could draw water out of fire. They must follow the ways of holiness. "

 "Japan is the country of the gods [or God--'Shinkoku']. Therefore, we have among us Confucianism, Buddhism, and Shintoism, and other sects. If we leave our gods [or God] it is like refusing the wages of our master and taking them from another. "

 "In regard to dancing women, prostitutes, brothels, night work, and all other improper employments, all these are like caterpillars or locusts in the country. Good men and writers in all times have written against them. "

 "It is said that the Mikado, looking down on his people, loves them as a mother does her children. The same may be said of me and my government. This benevolence of mind is called Jin. This Jin may be said to consist of five parts; these are humanity, integrity, courtesy, wisdom, and truth. My mode of government is according to the way of heaven. This I have done to show that I am impartial, and am not assisting my own relatives and friends only. "[BF]

These quotations are perhaps sufficient, though one more from a recentwriter has a peculiar interest of its own, from the fact that thepurpose of the book from which the quotation is taken was thedestruction of the tendencies toward approval of Western thought. Itwas published in 1857. The writer, Junzo Ohashi, felt himself to be awitness for truth and righteousness, and, in the spirit of thedoctrine he professed, sealed his faith with a martyr's suffering anddeath, dying (in August, 1868) from the effect of repeated examinationby torture for a supposed crime, innocence of which he maintained tothe end. It is interesting to note that two of his granddaughters, "with the physics and astronomy of the West, have accepted itsreligion. "

 "The West knows not the 'Ri'[BG] of the virtues of the heart which are in all men unchangeably the same. Nor does it know that the body is the organ of the virtues, however careful its analysis of the body may be. The adherents of the Western Philosophy indeed study carefully the outward appearances, but they have no right to steal the honored name of natural philosophy. As when 'Ki' is destroyed, 'Ri' too disappears, so, with their analysis of 'Ki, ' they destroy 'Ri, ' and thus this learning brings benevolence and righteousness and loyalty and truth to naught. Among the Westerners who from of old have studied details minutely, I have not heard of one who was zealous for the Great Way, for benevolence, righteousness, loyalty, and truth, and who opposed the absurdities of the Lord of Heaven [God]. '[BH] 'Let then the child make its parent, Heaven; the retainer, his lord; the wife, her husband; and let each give up life for righteousness. Thus will each serve Heaven. But if we exalt Heaven above parent or lord, we shall come to think that we can serve it though they be disobeyed, and like wolf or tiger shall rejoice to kill them. To such fearful end does the Western learning lead. "[BI]

The foregoing quotations reveal the exalted nature of the ideals heldby at least some of the leaders of ethical thought in Japan. Taken asa whole, the moral ideals characterizing the Japanese during theirentire historical period have been conspicuously communal. The feudalstructure of society has determined the peculiar character of themoral ideal. Loyalty took first rank in the moral scale; thesubordination of the inferior to the superior has come next, includingunquestioning obedience of children to parents, and of wife tohusband. The virtues of a military people have been praised and oftengloriously exemplified. The possession of these various ideals andtheir attainment in such high degree have given the nation itscohesiveness. They make the people a unit. The feudal training underlocal daimyos was fitting the people for the larger life among thenations of the world on which they are now entering. Especially istheir sense of loyalty, as exhibited toward the Emperor, serving themwell in this period of transition from Oriental to Occidental socialideals. 

Let us now examine some defective moral standards and observe theirorigin in the social order. Take, for instance, the ideal oftruthfulness. Every Occidental remarks on the untruthfulness of theJapanese. Lies are told without the slightest apparent compunction;and when confronted with the charge of lying, the culprit often seemsto feel little sense of guilt. This trait of character was notedrepeatedly by the early negotiators with Japan. Townsend Harris andSir Rutherford Alcock made frequent mention of it. When we inquire asto the moral ideal and actual instruction concerning truthfulness, weare amazed to find how inadequate it was. The inadequacy of theteaching, however, was not the primal cause of the characteristic. There is a far deeper explanation, yet very simple, namely, the natureof the social order. The old social order was feudal, and notindustrial or commercial. History shows that industrial and commercialnations develop the virtue of truthfulness far in advance of militarynations. For these virtues are essential to them; without them theycould not long continue to prosper. 

So in regard to all the aspects of business morality, it must beadmitted that, from the Occidental standpoint, Old Japan was verydeficient. But it must also be stated that new ideals are rapidlyforming. Buying and selling with a view to making profit, though notunknown in Old Japan, was carried on by a despised section of thecommunity. Compared with the present, the commercial community offeudal times was mean and small. Let us note somewhat in detail theattitude of the samurai toward the trader in olden times, and theideals they reveal. 

The pursuit of business was considered necessarily degrading, for hewho handled money was supposed to be covetous. The taking of profitwas thought to be ignoble, if not deceitful. They who condescended tosuch an occupation were accordingly despised and condemned to thelowest place in the social scale. These ideas doubtless helped to makebusiness degrading; traders were doubtless sordid and covetous anddeceitful. In the presence of the samurai they were required to takethe most abject postures. In addressing him, they must never stand, but must touch the ground with their foreheads; while talking with himthey must remain with their hands on the ground. Even the children ofsamurai always assumed the lordly attitude toward tradesmen. The sonsof tradesmen might not venture into a quarrel with the sons ofsamurai, for the armed children of the samurai were at liberty to cutdown and kill the children of the despicable merchant, should theyinsult or even oppose them. 

All this, however, has passed away. Commerce is now honored; trade andmanufacture are recognized not only as laudable, but as the only hopeof Japan for the future. The new social order is industrial andcommercial. The entire body of the former samurai, now no longermaintaining their distinctive name, are engaged in some form ofbusiness. Japan is to-day a nation of traders and farmers. Accompanying the changes in the social order, new standards as tohonesty and business integrity are being formulated and enforced. [BJ]

XXIII

MORAL IDEALS

(_Continued_)

An Occidental is invariably filled with astonishment on learning thata human being, as such, had no value in Old Japan. The explanationlies chiefly in the fact that the social order did not rest on theinherent worth of the individual. As in all primitive lands and times, the individual was as nothing compared to the family and the tribe. Astime went on, this principle took the form of the supreme worth of thehigher classes in society. Hence arose the liberty allowed the samuraiof cutting down, in cold blood, a beggar, a merchant, or a farmer onthe slightest provocation, or simply for the purpose of testing hissword. 

Japanese social and religious philosophy had not yet discovered thatthe individual is of infinite worth in himself, apart from allconsiderations of his rank in society. As we have seen, the absence ofthis idea from Japanese civilization resulted in various momentousconsequences, of which the frequency of murder and suicide is but one. 

Another, and this constitutes one of the most striking differencesbetween the moral ideals of the East and the West, is the low estimateput upon the inherent nature and value of woman, by which wasdetermined her social position and the moral relations of the sexes. Japan seems to have suffered somewhat in this respect from heracceptance of Hindu philosophy. For there seems to be considerableunanimity among historians that in primitive times in Japan thereprevailed a much larger liberty, and consequently a much higherregard, for woman than in later ages after Buddhism became powerful. With regard, however, to that earlier period of over a thousand yearsago, it is of little use to speculate. I cannot escape the feeling, however, that the condition of woman then has been unconsciouslyidealized, in order to make a better showing in comparison with thecustoms of Western lands. Be that as it may, the notions and idealspresented by Buddhism in regard to woman are clear, and clearlydegrading. She is the source of temptation and sin; she is essentiallyinferior to man in every respect. Before she may hope to enter Nirvanashe must be born again as man. How widely these extreme views of womanhave found acceptance in Japan, I am not in a position to state. It ismy impression, however, that they never received as full acceptancehere as in India. Nevertheless, as has already been shown, [BK] theideals of what a woman should do and be make it clear that her socialposition for centuries has been relatively low; as wife she is adomestic rather than a helpmeet. The "three obediences, " to parents, to husband, to son, set forth the ideal, although, without doubt, thestrict application of the third, obedience to one's son after hebecomes the head of the household, is relatively rare. 

What especially strikes the notice of the Occidental is the slightamount of social intercourse that prevails to-day between men andwomen. Whenever women enter into the social pleasures of men, they doso as professional singers and dancers, they being mere girls andunmarried young women; this social intercourse is all but invariablyaccompanied with wine-drinking, even if it does not proceed to furtherlicentiousness. The statement that woman is man's plaything has beenoften heard in Japan. Confucian no less than Buddhistic ethics mustbear the responsibility for putting and keeping woman on so low alevel. Concubinage, possibly introduced from China, was certainlysanctioned by the Chinese classics. 

The Lei-ki allows an Emperor to have in addition to the Empress threeconsorts, nine maids of high rank, and twenty-seven maids of lowerrank, all of whom rank as wives, and, beside these, eighty-one otherfemales called concubines. Concubinage and polygamy, being thussanctioned by the classics, became an established custom in Japan. 

The explanation for this ideal and practice is not far to seek. Itrests in the communal character of the social order. The family wasthe social unit of Japan. No individual member was of worth except thelegal head and representative, the father. A striking proof of thecorrectness of this explanation is the fact that even the son isobeyed by the father in case he has become "in kio, "[BL] that is, hasabdicated; the son then becomes the authoritative head. The idealsregarding woman then were not unique; they were part of the socialorder, and were determined by the principle of "communalism"unregulated by the principle of "individualism. " Ideals respecting manand woman were equally affected. So long as man is not valued as ahuman being, but solely according to his accidental position insociety, woman must be regarded in the same way. She is valued firstas a begetter of offspring, second as a domestic. And when suchconceptions prevail as to her nature and function in society, defective ideals as to morality in the narrower sense of this term, leading to and justifying concubinage, easy divorce, and general loosemorality are necessary consequences. 

But this moral or immoral ideal is by no means peculiar to Japan. Thepeculiarity of Japan and the entire Orient is that the social orderthat fostered it lasted so long, before forces arose to modify it. But, as will be shown later, [BM] the great problem of human evolution, after securing the advantages of "communalism, " and the solidificationof the nation, is that of introducing the principle of individualisminto the social order. In the Orient the principle of communalismgained such headway as effectually to prevent the introduction of thisnew principle. There is, in my opinion, no probability that Japan, while maintaining her isolation, would ever have succeeded in makingany radical change in her social order; her communalism was tooabsolute. She needed the introduction of a new stimulus from without. It was providential that this stimulus came from the Anglo-Saxon race, with its pronounced principle of "individualism" wrought out socompletely in social order, in literature, and in government. HadRussia or Turkey been the leading influences in starting Japan on hernew career, it is more than doubtful whether she would have securedthe principles needful for her healthful moral development. 

Justice to the actual ideals and life of Old Japan forbids me toleave, without further remark, what was said above regarding theideals of morality in the narrower significance of this word. Injunctions that women should be absolutely chaste were frequent andstringent. Nothing more could be asked in the line of explicitteaching on this theme. And, furthermore, I am persuaded, afterconsiderable inquiry, that in Old Japan in the interior towns andvillages, away from the center of luxury and out of the beaten coursesof travel, there was purity of moral life that has hardly beenexcelled anywhere. I have repeatedly been assured that if a youth ofeither sex were known to have transgressed the law of chastity, he orshe would at once be ostracised; and that such transgressions were, consequently, exceedingly rare. It is certainly a fact that in thevast majority of the interior towns there have never, until recenttimes, been licensed houses of prostitution. Of late there has been amarked increase of dancing and singing girls, of whom it is commonlysaid that they are but "secret prostitutes. " These may to-day be foundin almost every town and village, wherever indeed there is a hotel. Public as well as secret prostitution has enormously increased duringthe last thirty or forty years. [BN]

Thanks to Mr. Murphy's consecrated energy, the appalling legalizedand hopeless slavery under which these two classes of girls exist isat last coming to light. He has shown, by several test cases, thatalthough the national laws are good to look at they are powerlessbecause set aside by local police regulations over which the courtsare powerless! In September, 1900, however, in large part due no doubtto the facts made public by him, and backed up by the public press, and such leaders of Japan's progressive elements as Shimada Sabur, thepolice regulations were modified, and with amazing results. Whereas, previous to that date, the average monthly suicides throughout theland among the public prostitutes were between forty and fifty, duringthe two months of September and October there were none! In that sameperiod, out of about five thousand prostitutes in the city of Tokyo, 492 had fled from their brothels and declared their intentions ofabandoning the "shameful business, " as the Japanese laws call it, andin consequence a prominent brothel had been compelled to stop thebusiness! We are only in the first flush of this new reform as theselines are written, so cannot tell what end the whole movement willreach. But the conscience of the nation is beginning to waken on thismatter and we are confident it will never tolerate the old slavery ofthe past, enforced as it was by local laws, local courts, so thatgirls were always kept in debt, and when they fled were seized andforced back to the brothels in order to pay their debts!

But in contrast to the undoubted ideal of Old Japan in regard to thechastity of women, must be set the equally undoubted fact that thesages have very little to say on the subject of chastity for men. Indeed there is no word in the Japanese language corresponding to ourterm "chastity" which may be applied equally to men and women. In hisvolume entitled "Kokoro, " Mr. Hearn charges the missionaries with theassertion that there is no word for chastity in Japanese. "This, " hesays, "is true in the same sense only that we might say that there isno word for chastity in the English language, because such words ashonor, virtue, purity, chastity have been adopted into English fromother languages. "[BO] I doubt if any missionary has made such astatement. His further assertion, that "the word most commonly usedapplies to both sexes, " would have more force, if Mr. Hearn had statedwhat the word is. His English definition of the term has not enabledme to find the Japanese equivalent, although I have discussed thisquestion with several Japanese. It is their uniform confession thatthe Japanese language is defective in its terminology on this topic, the word with which one may exhort a woman to be chaste beinginapplicable to a man. The assertion of the missionaries has nothingwhatever to do with the question as to whether the terms used are pureJapanese or imported Chino-Japanese; nor has it any reference to thefact that the actual language is deficient in abstract terms. It issimply that the term applicable to a woman is not applicable to a man. And this in turn proves sharp contrasts between the ideals regardingthe moral duties of men and of women. 

An interesting point in the Japanese moral ideal is the fact that theprinciple of filial obedience was carried to such extremes that evenprostitution of virtue at the command of the parents, or for thesupport of the parents, was not only permitted but, under specialconditions, was highly praised. Modern prostitution is renderedpossible chiefly through the action of this perverted principle. Although the sale of daughters for immoral purposes is theoreticallyillegal, yet, in fact, it is of frequent occurrence. 

Although concubinage was not directly taught by Confucius, yet it wasnever forbidden by him, and the leaders and rulers of the land havelent the custom the authority and justification of their example. Aswe have already seen, the now ruling Emperor has several concubines, and all of his children are the offspring of these concubines. In OldJapan, therefore, there were two separate ideals of morality for thetwo sexes. 

The question may be raised how a social order which required suchfidelity on the part of the woman could permit such looseness on thepart of the man, whether married or not. How could the same socialorder produce two moral ideals? The answer is to be found in severalfacts. First, there is the inherent desire of each husband to be thesole possessor of his wife's affections. As the stronger of the two, he would bring destruction on an unfaithful wife and also on any whodared invade his home. Although the woman doubtless has the samedesire to be the sole possessor of her husband's affection, she hasnot the same power, either to injure a rival or to punish herfaithless husband. Furthermore, licentiousness in women has a muchmore visibly disastrous effect on her procreative functions than equallicentiousness in man. This, too, would serve to beget and maintaindifferent ethical standards for the two sexes. Finally, and perhaps noless effective than the two preceding, is the fact that the generalsocial consciousness held different conceptions in regard to thesocial positions of man and woman. The one was the owner of thefamily, the lord and master; to him belonged the freedom to do as hechose. The other was a variety of property, not free in any sense toplease herself, but to do only as her lord and master required. 

An illustration of the first reason given above came to my knowledgenot long since. Rev. John T. Gulick saw in Kanagawa, in 1862, a mangoing through the streets carrying the bloody heads of a man and awoman which he declared to be those of his wife and her seducer, whomhe had caught and killed in the act of adultery. This act of thehusband's was in perfect accord with the practices and ideals of thetime, and not seldom figures in the romances of Old Japan. 

The new Civil Code adopted in 1898 furnishes an authoritativestatement of many of the moral ideals of New Japan. For the followingsummary I am indebted to the _Japan Mail_. [BP] In regard to marriageit is noteworthy that the "prohibited degrees of relationship are thesame as those in England"--including the deceased wife's sister. "Theminimum age for legal marriage is seventeen in the case of a man andfifteen in the case of a woman, and marriage takes effect onnotification to the registrar, being thus a purely civil contract. Asto divorce, it is provided that the husband and wife may effect it bymutual consent, and its legal recognition takes the form of an entryby the registrar, no reference being necessary to the judicialauthorities. Where mutual consent is not obtained, however, an actionfor divorce must be brought, and here it appears that the rights ofthe woman do not receive the same recognition as those of the man. Thus, although adultery committed by the wife constitutes a validground of divorce, we do not find that adultery on the husband's partfurnishes a plea to the wife. Ill-treatment or gross insult, such asrenders living together impracticable, or desertion, constitutes areason for divorce from the wife's point of view. " The Englishreviewer here adds that "since no treatment can be worse nor anyinsult grosser than open inconstancy on the part of a husband, it isconceivable that a judge might consider that such conduct rendersliving together impracticable. But in the presence of an explicitprovision with regard to the wife's adultery and in the absence of anysuch provision with regard to the husband's, we doubt whether anycourt of law would exercise discretion in favor of the woman. " Thegross "insult of inconstancy" on the part of the husband is a pleathat has never yet been recognized by Japanese society. The reviewergoes on to say: "One cannot help wishing that the peculiar code ofmorality observed by husbands in this country had received somecondemnation at the hands of the framers of the new Code. It isfurther laid down that a 'person who is judicially divorced orpunished because of adultery cannot contract a marriage with the otherparty to the adultery. ' If that extended to the husband it would be anexcellent provision, well calculated to correct one of the worstsocial abuses of this country. Unfortunately, as we have seen, itapplies apparently to the case of the wife only. " The provision fordivorce by "mutual consent" is striking and ominous. It makes divorcea matter of entirely private arrangement, unless one of the partiesobjects. In a land where women are so docile, is it likely that thewife would refuse to consent to divorce when her lord and masterrequests or commands her to leave his home? "There are not many womenin Japan who could refuse to become a party to the 'mutual consent'arrangement if they were convinced that they had lost their husband'saffection and that he could not live comfortably with them. " It wouldappear that nothing whatever is said by the Code with reference toconcubinage, either allowing or forbidding it. Presumably a man mayhave but one legitimate wife, and children by concubines must beregistered as illegitimate. Nothing, however, on this point seems tobe stated, although provision is made for the public acknowledgment ofillegitimate children. "Thus, a father can acknowledge a naturalchild, making what is called a 'shoshi, ' and if, subsequent toacknowledgment, the father and mother marry, the 'shoshi, ' acquiresthe status of a legitimate child, such status reckoning back, apparently to the time of birth. " Evidently, this provision rests onthe implication that the mother is an unmarried woman--presumably aconcubine. 

Recent statistics throw a rather lurid light on these provisions ofthe Code. The Imperial Cabinet for some years past has published inFrench and Japanese a résumé of national statistics. Those bearing onmarriage and divorce, in the volume published in 1897, may well begiven at this point. 

 MARRIAGES DIVORCES LEGITIMATE BIRTHS ILLEGITIMATE 1890 325, 141 109, 088 1, 079, 121 66, 253 1891 325, 651 112, 411 1, 033, 653 64, 122 1892 349, 489 133, 498 1, 134, 665 72, 369 1893 358, 398 116, 775 1, 105, 119 73, 677 1894 361, 319 114, 436 1, 132, 897 76, 407 1895 365, 633 110, 838 1, 166, 254 80, 168 1897 395, 207 124, 075 1, 335, 125 89, 996[BQ]

These authoritative statistics show how divorce is a regular part ofthe Japanese family system, one out of three marriages provingabortive. 

Morally Japan's weak spot is the relation of the sexes, both beforeand after marriage. Strict monogamy, with the equality of duties ofhusband and wife, is the remedy for the disease. 

This slight sketch of the provision of the new Code as it bears on thepurity of the home, and on the development of noble manhood andwomanhood, shows that the Code is very defective. It practicallyrecognizes and legalizes the present corrupt practices of society, andmakes no effort to establish higher ideals. Whether anything moreshould be expected of a Code drawn up under the present circumstancesis, of course, an open question. But the Code reveals theastonishingly low condition of the moral standards for the home, oneof the vital weaknesses of New Japan. The defectiveness of the newCode in regard to the matters just considered must be argued, however, not from the failure to embody Occidental moral standards, but ratherfrom the failure to recognize the actual nature of the social order ofNew Japan. While the Code recognizes the principle of individualismand individual rights and worth in all other matters, in regard to thehome, the most important social unit in the body politic, the Codelegalizes and perpetuates the old pre-Meiji standards. Individualismin the general social order demands its consistent recognition inevery part. 

We cannot conclude our discussion of Japanese ideas as to woman, andthe consequent results to morality, without referring to the greatchanges which are to-day taking place. Although the new Civil Code hasnot done all that we could ask, we would not ignore what it hassecured. Says Prof. Gubbins in the excellent introduction to histranslation of the Codes:

"In no respect has modern progress in Japan made greater strides thanin the improvement of the position of woman. Though she still laborsunder certain disabilities, a woman can now become a head of a family, and exercise authority as such; she can inherit and own property andmanage it herself; she can exercise parental authority; if single, ora widow, she can adopt; she is one of the parties to adoption effectedby her husband, and her consent, in addition to that of her husband, is necessary to the adoption of her child by another person; she canact as guardian, or curator, and she has a voice in family councils. "In all these points the Code marks a great advance, and reveals bycontrast the legally helpless condition of woman prior to 1898. But incertain respects practice is preceding theory. We would call specialattention to the exalted position and honor publicly accorded to theEmpress. On more than one historic occasion she has appeared at theEmperor's side, a thing unknown in Old Japan. The Imperial SilverWedding (1892) was a great event, unprecedented in the annals of theOrient. Commemorative postage stamps were struck off which were firstused on the auspicious day. 

The wedding of the Prince Imperial (in May, 1900) was also an event ofunique importance in Japanese social and moral history. Never before, in the 2600 years claimed by her historians, has an heir to the thronebeen honored by a public wedding. The ceremony was prepared _de novo_for the occasion and the pledges were mutual. In the reception thatfollowed, the Imperial bride stood beside her Imperial husband. Onthis occasion, too, commemorative postage stamps were issued and firstused on the auspicious day; the entire land was brilliantly decoratedwith flags and lanterns. Countless congratulatory meetings were heldthroughout the country and thousands of gifts, letters, andtelegraphic messages expressed the joy and good will of the people. 

But the chief significance of these events is the new and exaltedposition accorded to woman and to marriage by the highest personagesof the land. It is said by some that the ruling Emperor will be thelast to have concubines. However that may be, woman has alreadyattained a rank and marriage an honor unknown in any former age inJapan, and still quite unknown in any Oriental land save Japan. 

A serious study of Japanese morality should not fail to notice therespective parts taken by Buddhism and Confucianism. The contrast isso marked. While Confucianism devoted its energies to the inculcationof proper conduct, to morality as contrasted to religion, Buddhismdevoted its energies to the development of a cultus, paying littleattention to morality. A recent Japanese critic of Buddhism remarksthat "though Buddhism has a name in the world for the excellence ofits ethical system, yet there exists no treatise in Japanese whichsets forth the distinctive features of Buddhist ethics. " Buddhistliterature is chiefly occupied with mythology, metaphysics, andeschatology, ethical precepts being interwoven incidentally. Thecritic just quoted states that the pressing need of the times is thatBuddhist ethics should be disentangled from Buddhist mythology. Thegreat moralists of Japan have been Confucianists. DistinctivelyJapanese morality has derived its impulse from Confucian classics. Anew spirit, however, is abroad among the Buddhist priesthood. Theirpreaching is increasingly ethical. The common people are saying thatthe sermons heard in certain temples are identical with those ofChristians. How widely this imitation of Christian preaching hasspread I cannot say; but that Christianity has in any degree beenimitated is significant, both ethically and sociologically. 

Buddhism is not alone, however, in imitating Christianity. A few yearsago Dr. D. C. Greene attended the preaching services of a modern Shintosect, the "Ten-Ri-Kyo, " the Heaven-Reason-Teaching, and was surprisedto hear almost literal quotations from the "Sermon on the Mount"; thesource of the sentiment and doctrine was not stated and very likelywas not known to the speaker. Dr. Greene, who has given this sectconsiderable study, is satisfied that the insistence of its teacherson moral conduct is general and genuine. When I visited theirheadquarters, not far from Nara, in 1895, and inquired of one of thepriests as to the chief points of importance in their teaching, I wastold that the necessity of leading an honorable and correct life wasmost emphasized. There are reasons for thinking that the Kurozumi sectof Shintoism, with its emphasis on morality, is considerably indebtedto Christianity both for its origin and its doctrine. 

It is evident that Christianity is having an influence in Japan, farbeyond the ranks of its professed believers. It is proving a stimulusto the older faiths, stirring them up to an earnestness in moralteaching that they never knew in the olden times. It is interesting tonote that this widespread emphasis on ethical truth comes at a timewhen morality is suffering a wide collapse. 

An important point for the sociological student of Japanese moralideals is the fact that her moralists have directed their attentionchiefly to the conduct of the rulers. The ideal of conduct as statedby them is for a samurai. If any action is praised, it is said that itbecomes a samurai; if condemned, it is on the ground that it is notbecoming to a samurai. Anything wrong or vulgar is said to be what youmight expect of the common man. All the terms of the higher morality, such as righteousness, duty, benevolence, are expounded from thestandpoint of a samurai, that is, from the standpoint of loyalty. Theforty-seven ronin were pronounced "righteous samurai" because theyavenged the death of their lord, even though in doing so theycommitted deeds that, by themselves, would have been condemned. Japanese history and literature proclaim the same ideal. They areexclusively concerned with the deeds of the higher class, the courtand the samurai. The actual condition of the common people in ancienttimes is a matter not easily determined. The morality of the commonpeople was more a matter of unreasoning custom than of theory andinstruction. But these facts are susceptible of interpretation if weremember that the interest of the historian and the moralist was notin humanity, as such, but in the external features of the socialorder. Their gaze was on the favored few, on the nobility, the court, and the samurai. 

In closing our discussion of Japanese moral ideals it may not be amissto append the Imperial Edict concerning the moral education of theyouth of Japan, issued by the Emperor November 31, 1890. This issupposed to be the distilled essence of Shinto and Confucian teaching. It is to-day the only authoritative teaching on morality given in thepublic schools. It is read with more reverence than is accorded to theBible in England or America. It is considered both holy and inspired. 

 IMPERIAL EDICT ON MORAL EDUCATION

 "We consider that the Founder of Our Empire and the ancestors of Our Imperial House placed the foundation of the country on a grand and permanent basis, and established their authority on the principles of profound humanity and benevolence. 

 "That Our subjects have throughout ages deserved well of the state by their loyalty and piety, and by their harmonious co-operation, is in accordance with the essential character of Our nation; and on these very same principles Our education has been founded. 

 "You, Our subjects, be therefore filial to your parents; be affectionate to your brothers; be harmonious as husbands and wives; and be faithful to your friends; conduct yourselves with propriety and carefulness; extend generosity and benevolence toward your neighbors; attend to your studies and follow your pursuits; cultivate your intellects and elevate your morals; advance public benefits and promote social interests; be always found in the good observance of the laws and constitution of the land; display your personal courage and public spirit for the sake of the country whenever required; and thus support the Imperial prerogative, which is coexistent with the Heavens and the Earth. 

 "Such conduct on your part will not only strengthen the character of Our good and loyal subjects, but conduce also to the maintenance of the fame of your worthy forefathers. 

 "This is the instruction bequeathed by Our ancestors and to be followed by Our subjects; for it is the truth which has guided and guides them in their own affairs and their dealings toward aliens. 

 "We hope, therefore, that We and Our subjects will regard these sacred precepts with one and the same heart in order to attain the same ends. "

XXIV

MORAL PRACTICE

One noticeable characteristic of the Japanese is the publicity of thelife of the individual. He seems to feel no need for privacy. Housesare so constructed that privacy is practically impossible. The slightpaper shoji and fusuma between the small rooms serve only partially toshut out peering eyes; they afford no protection from listening ears. Moreover, these homes of the middle and lower classes open upon publicstreets, and a passer-by may see much of what is done within. Even thedesire for privacy seems lacking. The publicity of the private (?)baths and sanitary conveniences which the Occidental puts entirely outof sight has already been noted. 

I once passed through a village and was not a little amazed to see twoor three bathtubs on the public road, each occupied by one or morepersons; nor were the occupants children alone, but men and womenalso. Calling at the home of a gentleman in Kyushu with whom I hadsome business, and gaining no notice at the front entrance, I wentaround to the side of the house only to discover the lady of the placetaking her bath with her children, in a tub quite out of doors, whilea manservant chopped wood but a few paces distant. 

The natural indifference of the Japanese to the exposure of theunclothed body is an interesting fact. In the West such indifferenceis rightly considered immodest. In Japan, however, immodesty consistsentirely in the intention of the heart and does not arise from theaccident of the moment or the need of the occasion. With a fellowmissionary, I went some years since to some famous hot springs at thefoot of Mount Ase, the smoking crater of Kyushu. The spot itself ismost charming, situated in the center of an old crater, said to be thelargest in the world. Wearied with a long walk, we were glad to findthat one of the public bath tubs or tanks, some fifteen by thirty feetin size, in a bath house separate from other houses, was quiteunoccupied; and on inquiry we were told that bathers were few at thathour of the day, so that we might go in without fear of disturbance. It seems that in such places the tiers of boxes for the clothing oneither side of the door, are reserved for men and women respectively. Ignorant of this custom, we deposited our clothing in the boxes on theleft hand, and as quickly as we could accommodate ourselves to theheat of the water, we got into the great tank. We were scarcely in, when a company of six or eight men and women entered the bath house;they at once perceived our blunder, but without the slightesthesitation, the women as well as the men went over to the men's sideand proceeded to undress and get into the tank with us, betraying noconsciousness that aught was amiss. So far as I could see there wasnot the slightest self-consciousness in the entire proceeding. In thetank, too, though it is customary for women to occupy the left side, on this occasion they mingled freely with the men. I suppose it isimpossible in England or America to conceive of such a state ofunconsciousness. Yet it seems to be universal in Japan. It isdoubtless explained by the custom, practiced from infancy, not only ofpublic bathing, but also of living together so unreservedly. The heatof the summer and the nature of Japanese clothing, so easily thrownoff, has accustomed them to the greater or less exposure of theperson. All these customs have prevented the development of a sense ofmodesty corresponding to that which has developed in the West. Whetherthis familiarity of the sexes is conducive to purity of life or not, is a totally different question, on which I do not here enter. 

In this connection I can do no better than quote from a popular, andin many respects deservedly popular, writer on Japan. Says Mr. Hearn, "There is little privacy of any sort in Japan. Among the people, indeed, what we term privacy in the Occident does not exist. There areonly walls of paper dividing the lives of men; there are only slidingscreens instead of doors; there are neither locks nor bolts to be usedby day; and whenever the weather permits, the fronts and perhaps eventhe sides of the houses are literally removed, and its interior widelyopened to the air, the light, and the public gaze. Within a hotel oreven a common dwelling house, nobody knocks before entering your room;there is nothing to knock at except a shoji or a fusuma, which cannotbe knocked at without being broken. And in this world of paper wallsand sunshine, nobody is afraid or ashamed of fellow-man orfellow-woman. Whatever is done is done after a fashion in public. Yourpersonal habits, your idiosyncrasies (if you have any), your foibles, your likes and dislikes, your loves and your hates must be known toeverybody. Neither vices nor virtues can be hidden; there isabsolutely nowhere to hide them. .. . There has never been, for thecommon millions at least, even the idea of living unobserved. " TheJapanese language has no term for "privacy, " nor is it easy to conveythe idea to one who does not know the English word. They lack the termand the clear idea because they lack the practice. 

These facts prove conclusively that the Japanese individual is still agregarious being, and this fact throws light on the moral life of thepeople. It follows of necessity that the individual will conformsomewhat more closely to the moral standards of the community, than aman living in a strong segregarious community. 

The converse of this principle is that in a community whoseindividuals are largely segregarious, enjoying privacy, and thusliberty of action, variations from the moral standards will befrequent and positive transgressions not uncommon. In the one case, where "communalism" reigns, moral action is, so to speak, automatic;it requires no particular assertion of the individual will to doright; conformity to the standard is spontaneous. In the latter case, however, where "individualism" is the leading characteristic of thecommunity, the acceptance of the moral standards usually requires adefinite act of the individual will. 

The history of Japan is a capital illustration of this principle. Therecent increase of immorality and crime is universally admitted. Theusual explanation is that in olden times every slight offense waspunished with death; the criminal class was thus continuouslyexterminated. Nowadays a robber can ply his trade continuously, thoughinterrupted by frequent intervals of imprisonment. In former times, once caught, he never could steal again, except in the land of theshades. While this explanation has some force, it does not cover theground. A better explanation for the modern increase of lawlessness isthe change in the social order itself. The new order gives each manwider liberty of individual action. He is free to choose his trade andhis home. Formerly these were determined for him by the accident ofhis birth. His freedom is greater and so, too, are his temptations. 

Furthermore, the standards of conduct themselves have been changing. Certain acts which would have brought praise and honor if committedfifty years ago, such, for instance, as "kataki uchi, " revenge, wouldto-day soon land one behind prison doors. In a word, "individualism"is beginning to work powerfully on conduct; it has not yet gained theascendancy attained in the West; it is nevertheless abroad in theland. The young are especially influenced by it. Taking advantage ofthe liberty it grants, many forms of immorality seem to be on theincrease. So far as I can gather by inquiry, there has been a greatcollapse not only in honesty, but also in the matter of sexualmorality. It will hardly do to say dogmatically that the nationalstandards of morality have been lowered, but it is beyond questionthat the power of the community to enforce those standards hassuddenly come to naught by reason of the changing social order. Western thought and practice as to the structure of society and thefreedom of the individual have been emphasized; Spencer and Mill andHuxley have been widely read by the educated classes. [BR]

Furthermore, freedom and ease of travel, and liberty to change one'sresidence at will, and thus the ability to escape unpleasantrestraints, have not a little to do with this collapse in morality. Tens of thousands of students in the higher schools are away fromtheir homes and are entirely without the steadying support that homegives. Then, too, there is a wealth among the common people that was, never known in earlier times. Formerly the possession of means waslimited to a relatively small number of families. To-day we seegeneral prosperity, and a consequent tendency to luxury that wasunknown in any former period. 

To be specific, let us note that in feudal times there were some 270daimyo living in the utmost luxury. About 1, 500, 000 samurai weredependent on them as retainers, while 30, 000, 000 people supportedthese sons of luxury. In 1863 the farmers of Japan raised 30, 000, 000koku of rice, and paid 22, 000, 000 of it to the government as taxes. Taxed at the same rate to-day the farmers would have to pay280, 000, 000 yen, whereas the actual payment made by them is only38, 000, 000 yen. "The farmer's manner of life has radically changed. Heis now prosperous and comfortable, wearing silk where formerly hecould scarcely afford cotton, and eating rice almost daily, whereasformerly he scarcely knew its taste. "[BS]

It is stated by the _Japan Mail_ that whereas but "one person out often was able thirty years ago to afford rice, the nine being contentto live from year's end to year's end on barley alone or barley mixedwith a modicum of rice, six persons to-day out of ten count it ahardship if they cannot sit down to a square meal of rice daily. .. . Rice is no longer a luxury to the mass of the people, but has become anecessity. "

Financially, then, the farming and middle classes are incomparablybetter off to-day than in olden times. The amount of ready money whicha man can earn has not a little to do with his morality. If hisuprightness depends entirely or chiefly on his lack of opportunity todo wrong, he will be a moral man so long as he is desperately poor orunder strict control. But give him the chance to earn ready cash, together with the freedom to live where he chooses, and to spend hisincome as he pleases, and he is sure to develop various forms ofimmorality. 

I have made a large number of inquiries in regard to the increase ordecrease of concubinage during the present era. Statistics on thissubject are not to be had, for concubines are not registered as suchnor yet as wives. If a concubine lives in the home of the man, she isregistered as a domestic, and her children should be registered ashers, although I am told that they are very often illegally registeredas his. If she lives in her own home, the concubine still retains thename and registry of her own parents. The government takes no noticeof concubinage, and publishes no statistics in regard to it. Thechildren of concubines who live with their own parents are, I am told, usually registered as the children of the mother's father; otherwisethey are registered as illegitimate; statistics, therefore, furnish noclew as to the increase or decrease or amount of concubinage andillegitimacy, most important questions in Japanese sociology. But myinformants are unanimous in the assertion that there has been a markedincrease of concubinage during recent years. The simple and uniformexplanation given is that multitudes of merchants and officials, andeven of farmers, can afford to maintain them to-day who formerly wereunable to do so. The older ideals on this subject were such as toallow of concubinage to the extent of one's financial ability. 

During the year 1898 the newspapers and leading writers of Japancarried on a vigorous discussion concerning concubinage. The _YorozuChoho_ published an inventory of 493 men maintaining separateestablishments for their concubines, giving not only the names andthe business of the men, but also the character of the women chosen tobe concubines. Of these 493 men, 9 are ministers of state andex-ministers; 15 are peers or members of House of Peers; 7 arebarristers; 3 are learned doctors; the rest are nearly all businessmen. The women were, previous to concubinage, Dancing girls, 183;Servants, 69; Prostitutes, 17; "Ordinary young girls, " 91; Adopteddaughters, 15; Widows, 7; Performers, 7; Miscellaneous, 104. In thisdiscussion it has been generally admitted that concubinage hasincreased in modern times, and the cause attributed is "generallooseness of morals. " Some of the leading writers maintain that theconcubinage of former times was largely confined to those who tookconcubines to insure the maintenance of the family line; and also thatthe taking of dancing girls was unknown in olden times. 

It is interesting to note in this connection that some of those whodefend the practice of concubinage appeal to the example of the OldTestament, saying that what was good enough for the race that gave toChristians the greater part of their Bible is good enough for theJapanese. Another point in the discussion interesting to theOccidental is the repeated assertion that there is no real differencebetween the East and the West in point of practice; the onlydifference is that whereas in the East all is open and above board, inthe West extra-marital relations are condemned by popular opinion, andare therefore concealed. [BT] A few writers publicly defendconcubinage; most, however, condemn it vigorously, even though makingno profession of Christian faith. Of the latter class is Mr. Fukuzawa, one of Japan's leaders of public opinion. In his most trenchantattack, he asserts that if Japan is to progress in civilization shemust abandon her system of concubinage. That new standards in regardto marital relations are arising in Japan is clear; but they have asyet little force; there is no consensus of opinion to give themforce. He who transgresses them is still recognized as in goodstanding in the community. 

Similarly, with respect to business honesty, it is the opinion of allwith whom I have conversed on the subject that there has been a greatdecline in the honesty of the common people. In feudal days thefts andpetty dishonesty were practically unknown. To-day these areexceedingly common. Foreign merchants complain that it is impossibleto trust Japanese to carry out verbal or written promises, when theconditions of the market change to their disadvantage. It isaccordingly charged that the Japanese have no sense of honor inbusiness matters. 

The _Kokumin Shinbun_ (People's News) has recently discussed thequestion of Japanese commercial morality, with the following results:It says, first, that goods delivered are not up to sample; secondly, that engagements as to time are not kept; thirdly, that business menhave no adequate appreciation of the permanent interests of business;fourthly, that they are without ability to work in common; andfifthly, that they do not get to know either their customers orthemselves. [BU]

"The Japanese consul at Tientsin recently reported to the Governmentthat the Chinese have begun to regard Japanese manufactures withserious distrust. Merchandise received from Japan, they allege, doesnot correspond with samples, and packing is, in almost all cases, miserably unsubstantial. The consul expresses the deepest regret thatJapanese merchants are disposed to break their faith without regard tohonor. "[BV]

In this connection it may not be amiss to revert to illustrations thathave come within my own experience. I have already cited instances ofthe apparent duplicity to which deacons and candidates for theministry stoop. I do not believe that either the deacons or thecandidates had the slightest thought that they were doing anythingdishonorable. Nor do I for a moment suppose that the President and theTrustees of the Doshisha at all realized the gravity of the moralaspect of the course they took in diverting the Doshisha from itsoriginal purposes. They seemed to think that money, once given to theDoshisha, might be used without regard to the wishes of the donors. Icannot help wondering how much of their thought on this subject is dueto the custom prevalent in Japan ever since the establishment ofBuddhist temples and monasteries, of considering property once givenas irrevocable, so that the individuals who gave it or their heirs, have no further interest or right in the property. Large donations inJapan have, from time immemorial, been given thus absolutely; thegiver assumed that the receiver would use it aright; specificdirections were not added as to the purposes of the gift. Americanbenefactors of the Doshisha have given under the standards prevailingin the West. The receivers in Japan have accepted these gifts underthe standards prevailing in the East. Is not this in part the cause ofthe friction that has arisen in recent years over the administrationof funds and lands and houses held by Japanese for mission purposes?

In this connection, however, I should not fail to refer to the factthat the Christians of the Kumiai churches, [BW] in their annualmeeting (1898), took strong grounds as to the mismanagement of theDoshisha by the trustees. The action of the latter in repealing theclause of the constitution which declared the six articles of theconstitution forever unchangeable, and then of striking out the word"Christian" in regard to the nature of the moral education to be givenin all departments of the institution, was characterized as "fu-ho, "that is to say, unlawful, unrighteous, or immoral. Resolutions werealso passed demanding that the trustees should either restore theexpunged words or else resign and give place to men who would restorethem and carry out the will of the donors. This act on the part of alarge majority of the delegates of the churches shows that a standardof business morality is arising in Japan that promises well for thefuture. 

Before leaving this question, it is important for us to consider howwidely in lands which have long been both Christian and commercial, the standards of truthfulness and business morality are transgressed. I for one do not feel disposed to condemn Japanese failure veryseverely, when I think of the failure in Western lands. Then, again, when we stop to think of it, is it not a pretty fine line that we drawbetween legitimate and illegitimate profits? What a relativedistinction this is! Even the Westerner finds difficulty indiscovering and observing it, especially so when the man with whom heis dealing happens to be ignorant of the real value of the goods inquestion. Let us not be too severe, then, in condemning the Japanese, even though we must judge them to be deficient in ideals and conduct. The explanation for the present state of Japan in regard to businessmorality is neither far to seek nor hard to find. It has nothingwhatever to do with brain structure or inherent race character, but iswholly a matter of changing social order. Feudal communalism has givenway to individualistic commercialism. The results are inevitable. Japan has suddenly entered upon that social order where theindividuals of the nation are thrown upon their own choice forcharacter and life as they have been at no previous time. Old men, aswell as young, are thrown off their feet by the new temptations intowhich they fall. 

One of the strongest arguments in my mind for the necessity of a rapidintroduction into Japan of the Gospel of Christ, is to be built onthis fact. An individualistic social order demands an individualizingreligion. So far as I know, the older religions, with the lofty moralteachings which one may freely admit them to have, make no determinedor even distinct effort to secure the activity of the individual willin the adoption of moral ideals. The place both of "conversion" and ofthe public avowal of one's "faith" in the establishment of individualcharacter, and the peculiar fitness of a religion having suchcharacteristics to a social order in which "individualism" is thedominant principle, have not yet been widely recognized by writers onsociology. These practices of the Protestant churches are, nevertheless, of inestimable value in the upbuilding both of theindividual and of society. And Japan needs these elements at theearliest possible date in order to supplement the new order of societywhich is being established. Without them it is a question whether inthe long run this new order may not prove a step downward rather thanupward. 

This completes our detailed study of Japanese moral characteristics asrevealed alike in their ideals and their practices. Let us now seekfor some general statement of the facts and conclusions thus farreached. It has become clear that Japanese moralists have placed theemphasis of their ethical thinking on loyalty; subordinated to thishas been filial piety. These two principles have been the pivotalpoints of Japanese ethics. All other virtues flowed out of them, andwere intimately dependent upon them. These virtues are especiallyfitted to upbuild and to maintain the feudal order of society. Theyare essentially communal virtues. The first group, depending on andgrowing out of loyalty, was concerned with the maintenance of thelarger communal unity, formerly the tribe, and now the nation. Thevirtues connected with the second principle--filial piety--wereconcerned with the maintenance of the smaller unit of society--- thefamily. Righteousness and duty, of which much was made by Japanesemoralists, consisted in the observance of these two ideals. 

The morality of individualism was largely wanting. From this lacksprang the main defects of the moral ideal and of the actual practice. The chief sins of Old Japan--and, as a matter of fact, of all theheathen world, as graphically depicted by Mr. Dennis in his great workon "Christian Missions and Social Progress"--were sins of omission andcommission against the individual. The rights of inferiors practicallyreceived no consideration at the hands of the moralists. In theJapanese conception of righteousness and duty, the rights and value ofthe individual, as such, whatever his social standing or sex, were notincluded. 

One class of defects in the Japanese moral ideal arose out of thefeudal order itself, namely, its scorn of trade. Trade had no vitalrelation to the communal unity; hence it found and developed no moralsanctions for its guidance. The West conceives of business deceit asconcerned not only with the integrity of the community, but also withthe rights of the individual. The moral ideals and sanctions forbusiness honesty are therefore doubly strong with us. The old order ofJapan was in no way dependent for its integrity on business honor andhonesty, and, as we have seen, individuals, as such, were not thoughtto have inherent rights. Under such conditions, it is difficult toconceive how universal moral ideals and sanctions for businessrelations could be developed and maintained. 

One further point demands attention. We naturally ask what the groundswere on which the ethical ideals were commonly supposed to haveauthority. So far as my knowledge goes, this question received almostno consideration by the ordinary person, and but little from themoralist. Old Japan was not accustomed to ask "Why?" It acceptedeverything on the authority of the teacher, as children do, and as allprimitive peoples do. There was little or no thought as to the sourceof the moral ideals or as to the nature or the function of the socialsanctions. If, as in a few instances, the questions were raised as totheir authority, the reply ordinarily would be that they had derivedtheir teachings from ancient times. And, if the matter were pressed, it would be argued that the most ancient times were nearer thebeginning of men, and, therefore, nearer to Heaven, which decreed thatall the duties and customs of men; in the final resort, therefore, authority would be attributed to Heaven. But such a questioner wasrare. Moral law was unhesitatingly accepted on the authority of theteacher, and no uncomfortable questions were asked. It is easy to seethat both of the pivotal moral ideals, _i. E. _, loyalty and filialpiety, would support this unquestioning habit of mind, for to askquestions as to authority is the beginning both of disloyalty to themaster and of irreverence to the parents and ancestors. 

The whole social order, being one of authority, unquestioned andabsolute, moral standards were accepted on the ipse dixit of greatteachers. 

In closing, we revert to our ever-recurring question: Are the moralcharacteristics wherein the Japanese differ from other races inherentand necessary, as are their physiological characteristics, or are theyincidental and transient, liable to transformation? Light has beenthrown on this problem by every illustration adduced. We have seen indetail that every characteristically Japanese moral trait is due tothe nature of her past social order, and is changing With that order. Racial moral traits, therefore, are not due to inherent nature, toessential character, to brain structure, nor are they transmitted fromfather to son by the mere fact of physical generation. On thecontrary, the distinguishing ethical characteristics of races, as seenin their ethical ideals and their moral conduct, are determined by thedominant social order, and vary with it. Ethical characteristics aretransmitted by association, transmission is therefore not limited tothe relation of parents and children. The bearing of this fact on theproblem of the moral transformation of races could be easily shown. 

XXV

ARE THE JAPANESE RELIGIOUS?

Said Prof. Pfleiderer to the writer in the winter of 1897: "I am sorryto know that the Japanese are deficient in religious nature. " In anelaborate article entitled, "Wanted, a Religion, " a missionarydescribes the three so-called religions of Japan, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Shintoism, and shows to his satisfaction that noneof these has the essential characteristics of religion. 

Mr. Percival Lowell has said that "Sense may not be vital to religion, but incense is. "[BX] In my judgment, this is the essence of nonsense, and is fitted to incense a man's sense. 

The impression that the Japanese people are not religious is due tovarious facts. The first is that for about three hundred years theintelligence of the nation has been dominated by Confucian thought, which rejects active belief in supra-human beings. When asked by hispupils as to the gods, Confucius is reported to have said that menshould respect them, but should have nothing to do with them. Thetendency of Confucian ethics, accordingly, is to leave the godsseverely alone, although their existence is not absolutely denied. When Confucianism became popular in Japan, the educated part of thenation broke away from Buddhism, which, for nearly a thousand years, had been universally dominant. To them Buddhism seemed superstitiousin the extreme. It was not uncommon for them to criticise it severely. Muro Kyu-so, [BY] speaking of the immorality that was so common in thenative literature, says: "Long has Buddhism made Japan to think ofnothing as important except the worship of Buddha. 

So it is that evil customs prevail, and there is no one who does notfind pleasure in lust. .. . Take out the lust and Buddhism from thatbook, and the scenery and emotions are well described. .. . Had helearned in the 'Way' of the sages, he had not fallen intoBuddhism. "[BZ] The tendency of all persons trained in Confucianclassics was toward thoroughgoing skepticism as to divine beings andtheir relation to this world. For this reason, beyond doubt, hasWestern agnosticism found so easy an entrance into Japan. This readyacceptance of Western agnosticism is a second fact that has tended togive the West the impression referred to above. Complete indifferenceto religion is characteristic of the educated classes of to-day. Japanese and foreigners, Christians and non-Christians, alike, unitein this opinion. The impression usually conveyed by this statement, however, is that agnosticism is a new thing in Japan. In point offact, the old agnosticism is merely re-enforced by the support itreceives from the agnosticism of the West. 

The Occidental impression of Japanese irreligious race nature isfurther strengthened by the frequent assertion of it by writers, someof whom at least are neither partial nor ignorant. Prof. Basil H. Chamberlain, for instance, repeatedly makes the assertion ornecessitates the inference. Speaking of pilgrimages, he remarks thatthe Japanese "take their religion lightly. " Discussing the generalquestion of religion, he speaks of the Japanese as "essentiallyundevotional, " but he guards against the inference that they aretherefore specially immoral. Yet, in the same paragraph, he adds, "Though they pray little and make light of supernatural dogma, thereligion of the family binds them down in truly social bonds. "Percival Lowell also, as we have seen, makes light of Japanesereligion. 

This conclusion of foreigner observers is rendered the more convincingto the average reader when he learns that such an influential man asMr. Fukuzawa declares that "religion is like tea, " it serves a socialend, and nothing more; and that Mr. Hiroyuki Kato, until recentlypresident of the Imperial University, and later Minister of Education, states that "Religion depends on fear. " Marquis Ito, Japan's mostillustrious statesman, is reported to have said: "I regard religionitself as quite unnecessary for a nation's life; science is far abovesuperstition, and what is religion--Buddhism or Christianity--butsuperstition, and therefore a possible source of weakness to a nation?I do not regret the tendency to free thought and atheism, which isalmost universal in Japan, because I do not regard it as a source ofdanger to the community. "[CA]

If leaders of national thought have such conceptions as to the natureand origin of religion, is it strange that the rank and file ofeducated people should have little regard for it, or that foreignersgenerally should believe the Japanese race to be essentiallynon-religious?

But before we accept this conclusion, various considerations demandour notice. Although the conception of religion held by the eminentJapanese gentlemen just quoted is not accepted by the writer ascorrect, yet, even on their own definitions, a study of Japanesesuperstitions and religious ceremonies would easily prove the peopleas a whole to be exceedingly religious. Never had a nation so manygods. It has been indeed "the country of the gods. " Their temples andshrines have been innumerable. Priests have abounded and worshipersswarmed. For worship, however indiscriminate and thoughtless, isevidence of religious nature. 

Furthermore, utterances like those quoted above in regard to thenature and function of religion, are frequently on the lips ofWesterners also, multitudes of whom have exceedingly shallowconceptions of the real nature of religion or the part it plays in thedevelopment of society and of the individual. But we do not pronouncethe West irreligious because of such utterances. We must not judge thereligious many by the irreligious few. 

Again, are they competent judges who say the Japanese arenon-religious? Can a man who scorns religion himself, who at leastreveals no appreciation of its real nature by his own heartexperience, judge fairly of the religious nature of the people? Stillfurther, the religious phenomena of a people may change from age toage. In asking, then, whether a people is religious by nature, we muststudy its entire religious history, and not merely a single period ofit. The life of modern Japan has been rudely shocked by the suddenaccession of much new intellectual light. The contents of religiondepends on the intellect; sudden and widespread accession of knowledgealways discredits the older forms of religious expression. Anundeveloped religion, still bound up with polytheistic symbolism, withits charms and mementoes, inevitably suffers severely at the hands ofexact modern science. For the educated minority, especially, theinevitable reaction is to complete skepticism, to apparent irreligion. For the time being, religion itself may appear to have beendiscredited. In an advancing age, prophets of religious dissolutionare abundant. Such prophecies, with reference to Christianity, havebeen frequent, and are not unheard even now. Particular beliefs andpractices of religion have indeed changed and passed away, even inChristianity. But the essentially religious nature of man hasre-asserted itself in every case, and the outward expressions of thatnature have thereby only become freer from elements of error andsuperstition. Exactly this is taking place in Japan to-day. Theapparent irreligion of to-day is the groundwork of the purer religionof to-morrow. 

If the Japanese are emotional and sentimental, we should expect themto be, perhaps more than most peoples, religious. This expectation isnot disappointed by a study of their history. However imperfect as areligion we must pronounce original Shinto to have been, consisting oflittle more than a cultus and a theogony, yet even with this alone theJapanese should be pronounced a religious people. The universality ofthe respect and adoration, not to say love, bestowed throughout theages of history on the "Kami" (the multitudinous Gods of Shintoism), is a standing witness to the depth of the religious feeling in theJapanese heart. True, it is associated with the sentiments of love ofancestors and country, with filial piety and loyalty; but these, sofar from lowering the religion, make it more truly religious?

Unending lines of pilgrims, visiting noted Shinto temples and climbingsacred mountain peaks, arrest the attention of every thoughtfulstudent of Japan. These pilgrims are numbered by the hundreds ofthousands every year. The visitors to the great shrine at Kizuki ofIzumo number about 250, 000 annually. "The more prosperous the season, the larger the number of pilgrims. It rarely falls below two hundredthousand. " In his "Occult Japan, " Mr. Lowell has given us aninteresting account of the "pilgrim clubs, " The largest known to himnumbered about twelve thousand men, but he thinks they average fromone hundred to about five hundred persons each. The number of yearlyvisitors to the Shinto shrines at Ise is estimated at half a million, and ten thousand pilgrims climb Mt. Fuji every summer. The number ofpilgrims to Kompira, in Shikoku, is incredibly large; according to thecount taken during the first half of 1898, the first ever taken, theaverage for six months was 2500 each day; at this rate the number forthe year is nearly 900, 000. The highest for a single day was over12, 000. These figures were given me by the chief official of thisdistrict. The highest mountain in Shikoku, Ishidzuchi San, some sixthousand feet in height, is said to be ascended by ten thousandpilgrims each summer. These pilgrims eat little or nothing at hotels, depending rather on what they carry until they return from theirarduous three days' climb; nor do they take any prolonged rest untilthey are on the homeward way. The reason for this is that the climb issupposed to be a test of the heart; if the pilgrim fail to reach thesummit, the inference is that he is at fault, and that the god doesnot favor him. They who offer their prayers from the summit aresupposed to be assured of having them answered. 

But beside these greater pilgranages to mountain summits and nationalshrines, innumerable lesser ones are made. Each district has a more orless extended circuit of its own. In Shikoku there is a round known asthe "Hachi-Ju-hakka sho mairi, " or "The Pilgrimage to the 88 Places, "supposed to be the round once made by Kobo Daishi (A. D. 774-834), thefounder of the Shinton sect of Buddhism. The number of pilgrims whomake this round is exceedingly large, since it is a favorite circuitfor the people not only of Shikoku, but also of central and westernJapan. Many of the pilgrims wear on the back, just below the neck, apair of curious miniature "waraji" or straw sandals, because KoboDaishi carried a real pair along with him on his journey. I never goto Ishite Temple (just out of Matsuyama), one of the eighty-eightplaces of the circuit, without seeing some of these pilgrims. But thismust suffice. The pilgrim habit of the Japanese is a strong proof ofwidespread religious enthusiasm, and throws much light on thereligious nature of the people. There seems to be reason for thinkingthat the custom existed in Japan even before the introduction ofBuddhism. If this is correct, it bears powerful testimony to theinherently religious nature of the Japanese race. 

The charge has been made that these pilgrimages are mere pleasureexcursions. Mr. Lowell says, facetiously, that "They are peripateticpicnic parties, faintly flavored with piety; just a sufficientsuspicion of it to render them acceptable to the easy-going gods. "Beneath this light alliterative style, which delights the literaryreader, do we find the truth? To me it seems like a slur on thepilgrims, evidently due to Mr. Lowell's idea that a genuine religiousfeeling must be gloomy and solemn. Joy may seem to him incompatiblewith heartfelt religion and aspiration. That these pilgrims lack thereligious aspiration characteristic of highly developed Christians ofthe West, is, of course, true; but that they have a certain type ofreligious aspiration is equally indisputable. They have definite andstrong ideas as to the advantage of prayer at the various shrines;they confidently believe that their welfare, both in this world andthe next, will be vitally affected by such pilgrimages and such afaithful worship. It is customary for pilgrims, who make extendedjourneys, to carry what may be called a passbook, in which seals areplaced by the officials of each shrine. This is evidence to friendsand to the pilgrim himself, in after years, of the reality of his longand tedious pilgrimage. Beggars before these shrines are apt todisplay these passbooks as an evidence of their worthiness and need. For many a pilgrim supports himself, during his pilgrimage, entirelyby begging. 

Pilgrims also buy from each shrine of note some charm, "o mamori, ""honorable preserver, " and "o fuda, " "honorable ticket, " which to themare exceedingly precious. There is hardly a house in Japan but hassome, often many, of these charms, either nailed on the front door orplaced on the god-shelf. I have seen a score nailed one above another. In some cases the year-names are still legible, and show considerableage. The sale of charms is a source of no little revenue to thetemples, in some cases amounting to thousands of yen annually. We maysmile at the ignorance and superstition which these facts reveal, but, as I already remarked, these are external features, the materialexpression or clothing, so to speak, of the inner life. Theirparticular form is due to deficient intellectual development. I do notdefend them; I merely maintain that their existence shows conclusivelythe possession by the people at large of a real religious emotion andpurpose. If so, they, are not to be sneered at, although the mood ofthe average pilgrim may be cheerful, and the ordinary pilgrimage mayhave the aspect of a "peripatetic picnic, faintly flavored withpiety. " The outside observer, such as the foreigner of necessity is, is quick to detect the picnic quality, but he cannot so easily discernthe religious significance or the inner thoughts and emotions of thepilgrims. The former is discernible at a glance, without knowledge ofthe Japanese language or sympathy with the religious heart; the lattercan be discovered only by him who intimately understands the people, their language and their religion. 

If religion were necessarily gloomy, festivals and merry-making wouldbe valid proof of Japanese religious deficiency. But such is not thecase. Primitive religions, like primitive people, are artless andsimple in religious joy as in all the aspects of their life. Developedraces increasingly discover the seriousness of living, and becomecorrespondingly reflective, if not positively gloomy. Religion sharesthis transformation. But those religions in which salvation is aprominent idea, and whose nature is such as to satisfy at once thehead and the heart, restore joyousness as a necessary consequence. While certain aspects of Christianity certainly have a gloomylook, --which its critics are much disposed to exaggerate, and then tocondemn, --yet Christianity at heart is a religion of profound joy, andthis feature shows itself in such universal festivals as Christmas andEaster. Even though the Japanese popular religious life showed itselfexclusively in festivals and on occasions of joy, therefore, thatwould not prove them to be inherently lacking in religious nature. 

But there is another set of phenomena, even more impressive to thecandid and sympathetic student. It is the presence in every home ofthe "Butsu-dan, " or Buddha shelf, and the "Kami-dana, " or God shelf. The former is Buddhist, and the latter Shinto. Exclusive Shintoists, who are rare, have the latter alone. Where both are found, the"I-hai, " ancestral memorial tablets, are placed on the "Butsu-dan";otherwise they are placed on the "Kami-dana. " The Kami-dana are alwaysquite simple, as are all Shinto charms and utensils. The Butsu-dan areusually elaborate and beautiful, and sometimes large and costly. Theuniversality of these tokens of family religion, and the constant andloving care bestowed upon them, are striking testimony to theuniversality of the religion in Japan. The pathos of life is oftenrevealed by the faithful devotion of the mother to these silentrepresentatives of divine beings and departed ancestors or children. Ihave no hesitation in saying that, so far as external appearances go, the average home in Japan is far more religious than the average homein enlightened England or America, especially when compared with suchas have no family worship. There may be a genuine religious life inthese Western homes, but it does not appear to the casual visitor. Yetno casual visitor can enter a Japanese home, without seeing at oncethe evidences of some sort, at least, of religious life. 

It is impossible for me to believe, as many assert, that all is merecustom and hollow form, without any kernel of meaning or sincerity. Customs may outlast beliefs for a time, and this is particularly thecase with religious customs; for the form is so often taken to involvethe very essence of the reality. But customs which have lost allsignificance, and all belief, inevitably dwindle and fade away, evenif not suddenly rejected; they remain them; they leave their traceindeed, but so faintly that only the student of primitive customs candetect them and recognize their original nature and purpose. TheButsu-dan and Kami-dana do not belong to this order of beliefs. Theaverage home of Japan would feel itself desecrated were these to beforcibly removed. The piety of the home centers, in large measure, about these expressions of the religious heart. Their practicaluniversality is a significant witness to the possession by the peopleat large of a religious nature. 

If it is fair to argue that the Christian religion has a vital hold onthe Western peoples because of the cathedrals and churches to be foundthroughout the length and breadth of Christendom, a similar argumentapplies to Japan and the hold of the religions of this land upon itspeople. For over a thousand years the external manifestations ofreligion in architecture have been elaborate. Temples of enormoussize, comparing not unfavorably with the cathedrals of Europe asregards the cost of erection, are to be found in all parts of theland. Immense temple bells of bronze, colossal statues of Buddha, andlesser ones of saints and worthies innumerable, bear witness to thelavish use of wealth in the expression of religious devotion. It issometimes said that Buddhism is moribund in Japan. It is seriouslyasserted that its temples are falling into decay. This is no more trueof the temples of Buddhism in Japan, than of the cathedrals OfChristendom. Local causes greatly affect the prosperity of the varioustemples. Some are falling into decay, but others are being repaired, and new ones are being built. No one can have visited any shrine ofnote without observing the large number of signboards along eitherside of the main approach, on which are written the sums contributedfor the building or repairing of the temple. These gifts are oftenmunificent, single gifts sometimes reaching the sum of a thousand yen;I have noticed a few exceeding this amount. The total number of thesetemples and shrines throughout the country is amazing. According togovernment statistics, in 1894 the Buddhist temples numbered 71, 831;and the Shinto temples and shrines which have received officialregistration reached the vast number of 190, 803. The largest temple inJapan, costing several million dollars, the Nishihongwanji in Kyoto, has been built during the past decade. Considering the general povertyof the nation, the proportion of gifts made for the erection andmaintenance of these temples and shrines is a striking testimony tothe reality of some sort of religious zeal. That it rests entirely onform and meaningless rites, is incredible. 

XXVI

SOME RELIGIOUS PHENOMENA

Without doubt, many traits are attributed to the Japanese by thecasual observer or captious critic, through lack of ability to readbetween the lines. We have already seen how the stoical element ofJapanese character serves to conceal from the sociologist theemotional nature of the people. If a Japanese conceals his ordinaryemotions, much more does he refrain from public exhibition of hisdeeper religious aspirations. Although he may feel profoundly, hisface and manner seldom reveal it. When torn with grief over the lossof a parent or son, he will tell you of his loss with smiles, if notwith actual laughter. "The Japanese smile" has betrayed the solemnforeigner into many an error of individual and racial characterinterpretation. Particularly frequent have been such errors in mattersof religion. 

Although the light and joyous, "smiling" aspect of Japanese religiouslife is prominent, the careful observer will come incidentally andunexpectedly on many signs of an opposite nature, if he mingleintimately with the people. Japan has its sorrows and its tragedies, no less than other lands. These have their part in determiningreligious phenomena. 

The student who takes his stand at a popular shrine and watches theworshipers come and go will be rewarded by the growing convictionthat, although many are manifestly ceremonialists, others are clearlysubjects of profound feeling. See that mother leading her toddlingchild to the image of Binzuru, the god of healing, and teaching it torub the eyes and face of the god and then its own eyes and face. Seethat pilgrim before a bare shrine repeating in rapt devotion theprayer he has known from his childhood, and in virtue of which he hasalready received numberless blessings. Behold that leper pleading withmerciful Kwannon of the thousand hands to heal his disease. Hear thatpitiful wail of a score of fox-possessed victims for deliverance fromtheir oppressor. Watch that tearful maiden performing the hundredcircuits of the temple while she prays for a specific blessing forherself or some loved one. Observe that merchant solemnly worshipingthe god of the sea, with offering of rice and wine. Count thosehundreds of votive pictures, thanksgiving remembrances of the sick whohave been healed, in answer, as they firmly believe, to their prayersto the god of this particular shrine. These are not imaginary cases. The writer has seen these and scores more like them. Here is a seriousside to Japanese religious life easily overlooked by a casual orunsympathetic observer. 

In addition to these simpler religious phenomena, we find in Japan, asin other lands, the practice of ecstatic union with the deity. InShinto it is called "Kami-oroshi, " the bringing down of the gods. Itis doubtless some form of hypnotic trance, yet the popularinterpretation of the phenomenon is that of divine possession. 

Among Buddhists, the practice of ecstasy takes a different form. Theaim is to attain absolute vacuity of mind and thus complete union withthe Absolute. When attained, the soul becomes conscious of blissfulsuperiority to all the concerns of this mundane life, a foretaste ofthe Nirvana awaiting those who shall attain to Buddhahood. The actualattainment of this experience is practically limited to thepriesthood, who alone have the time and freedom from the cares of theworld needful for its practice. For it is induced only by long andprofound "meditation. " Especially is this experience the desire of theZen sect, which makes it a leading aim, taking its name "zen" (to sit)from this practice. To sit in religious abstraction is the height ofreligious bliss. 

The practical business man of the West may perhaps find somedifficulty in seeing anything particularly religious in ecstasy ormental vacuity. But if I mistake not, this religious phenomenon of theOrient does not differ in essence from the mystical religiousexperience so common in the middle and subsequent ages in Europe, andrepresented to-day by mystical Christians. Indeed, some of the finestreligious souls of Western lands have been mystics. MysticChristianity finds ready acceptance with certain of the Japanese. 

The critical reader may perhaps admit, in view of the facts thus farpresented, that the ignorant millions have some degree of religiousfeeling and yet, in view of the apparently irreligious life of theeducated, he may still feel that the religious nature of the race isessentially shallow. He may feel that as soon as a Japanese is liftedout of the superstitious beliefs of the past, he is freed from allreligious ideas and aspirations. I admit at once that there seems tobe some ground for such an assertion. Yet as I study the character ofthe samurai of the Tokugawa period, who alone may be called theirreligious of the olden times, I see good reasons for holding that, though rejecting Buddhism, they were religious at heart. Theydeveloped little or no religious ceremonial to replace that ofBuddhism, yet there were indications that the religious life stillremained. Intellectual and moral growth rendered it impossible forearnest and honest men to accept the old religious expressions. Theyrevolted from religious forms, rather than from religion, and therevolt resulted not in deeper superstitions and a poorer life, but ina life richer in thought and noble endeavor. Muro Kyu-so, the"Japanese Philosopher" to whom we have referred more than once, rejected Buddhism, as we have already seen. The high quality of hismoral teachings we have also noticed. Yet he had no idea that he was"religious. " Those who reject Buddhism often use the term"Shukyo-kusai, " "stinking religion. " For them religion is synonymouswith corrupt and superstitious Buddhism. To have told Muro that he wasreligious would doubtless have offended him, but a few quotationsshould satisfy anyone that at heart he was religious in the best senseof the term. 

"Consider all of you. Whence is fortune? From Heaven. Even the worldsays, Fortune is in Heaven. So then there is no resource save prayerto Heaven. Let us then ask: what does Heaven hate, and what doesHeaven love? It loves benevolence and hates malevolence. It lovestruth and hates untruth. .. . That which in Heaven begets all things, inman is called love. So doubt not that Heaven loves benevolence andhates its opposite. So too is it with truth. For countless ages sunand moon and stars constantly revolve and we make calendars withoutmistake. Nothing is more certain. It is the very truth of theuniverse. .. . I have noticed prayers for good luck, brought year byyear from famous temples and hills, decorating the entrances to thehomes of famous samurai. But none the less they have been killed orpunished, or their line has been destroyed and house extinguished. Orat least to many, shame and disgrace have come. They have not learnedfortune, but foolishly depend on prayers and charms. Confucius said:'When punished by Heaven there is no place for prayer. ' Women ofcourse follow the temples and trust in charms, but not so should men. Alas! Now all are astray, those who should be teachers, the samuraiand those higher still" (pp. 63-5). "Sin is the source of pain andrighteousness of happiness. This is the settled law. The teaching ofthe sages and the conduct of superior men is determined by principlesand the result is left to Heaven. Still, we do not obey in the hope ofhappiness, nor do we forbear to sin from fear. Not with this meaningdid Confucius and Mencius teach that happiness is in virtue and painin sin. But the 'way' is the law of man. It is said, 'The way ofHeaven blesses virtue and curses sin. ' That is intended for theignorant multitude. Yet it is not like the Buddhist 'hoben' (piousdevice), for it is the determined truth" (p. 66). "Heaven is foreverand is not to be understood at once, like the promises of men. Shortsighted men consider its ways and decide that there is no rewardfor virtue or vice. So they doubt when the good are virtuous and fearnot when the wicked sin. They do not know that there is no victoryagainst Heaven when it decrees" (p. 67). "Reason comes from Heaven, and is in men. .. . The philosopher knows the truth as the drinker knowsthe taste of _saké_ and the abstainer the taste of sweets. How shallhe forget it? How shall he fall into error? Lying down, getting up, moving, resting, all is well. In peace, in trouble, in death, in joy, in sorrow, all is well. Never for a moment will he leave this 'way. 'This is to know it in ourselves" (p. 71). 

One day, five or six students remained after the lecture to ask Kyu-soabout his view as to the gods, stating their own dissatisfaction withthe fantastic interpretations given to the term "Shinto" by the nativescholars. Making some quotations from the Chinese classics, he went onto say for himself:

"I cannot accept that which is popularly called Shinto. .. . I do notprofess to understand the profound reason of the deities, but inoutline this is my idea: The Doctrine of the Mean speaks of the'virtue of the Gods' and Shu-shi explains this word 'virtue' to meanthe 'heart and its revelation. ' Its meaning is thus stated in theSaden: 'God is pure intelligence and justice. ' Now all know that Godis just, but do not know that he is intelligent. But there is no suchintelligence elsewhere as God's. Man hears by the ear and where theear is not he hears not . .. ; man sees with his eyes, and where theyare not he sees not . .. ; with his heart man thinks and the swiftestthought takes time. But God uses neither ear nor eye, nor does he passover in thought. Directly he feels, and directly does he respond. .. . Is not this the divinity of Heaven and Earth? So the Doctrine of theMean says: 'Looked for it cannot be seen, listened to it cannot beheard. It enters into all things. There is nothing without it. ' . .. 'Everywhere, everywhere, on the right and on the left. ' This is therevealing of God, the truth not to be concealed. Think not that God isdistant, but seek him in the heart, for the heart is the House of God. Where there is no obstacle of lust, there is communion of one spiritwith the God of Heaven and Earth. .. . And now for the application. Examine yourselves, make the truth of the heart the foundation, increase in learning and at last you will attain. Then will you knowthe truth of what I speak" (pp. 50-52). 

In the above passage Dr. Knox has translated the term "Shin, " theChinese ideograph for the Japanese word "Kami, " by the Englishsingular, God. This lends to the passage a fullness of monotheisticexpression which the original hardly, if at all, justifies. Theoriginals are indefinite as to number and might with equal truth betranslated "gods, " as Dr. Knox suggests himself in a footnote. 

These and similar passages are of great interest to the student ofJapanese religious development. They should be made much of byChristian preachers and missionaries. Such writers and thinkers asMuro evidently was might not improperly be called the pre-ChristianChristians of Japan. They prepared the way for the coming of morelight on these subjects. Japanese Christian apologists should collectsuch utterances from her wise men of old, and by them lead the nationto an appreciation of the truths which they suggest and for which theyso fitly prepare the way. Scattered as they now are, and seldom readby the people, they lie as precious gems imbedded in the hills, or asseed safely stored. They can bear no harvest till they are sown in thesoil and allowed to spring up and grow. 

The more I have pondered the implications of these and similarpassages, the more clear has it become that their authors wereessentially religious men. Their revolt from "religion" did not springfrom an irreligious motive, but from a deeper religious insight thanwas prevalent among Buddhist believers. The irrational and oftenimmoral nature of many of the current religious expressions andceremonials and beliefs became obnoxious to the thinking classes, andwere accordingly rejected. The essence of religion, however, was notrejected. They tore off the accumulated husks of externalism, but keptintact the real kernel of religion. 

The case for the religious nature of modern, educated Japan is not sosimple. Irreligious it certainly appears. Yet it, too, is not soirreligious as perhaps the Occidental thinks. Though immoral, aJapanese may still be a filial son and a loyal subject, characteristics which have religious value in Japan, Old and New. Itwould not be difficult to prove that many a modern Japanese writer whoproclaims his rejection of religion--calling all religion butsuperstition and ceremony--is nevertheless a religious man at heart. The religions he knows are too superstitious and senseless to satisfythe demands of his intellectually developed religious nature. He doesnot recognize that his rejection of what he calls "religion" is a realmanifestation of his religious nature rather than the reverse. 

The widespread irreligious phenomena of New Japan are, therefore, notdifficult of explanation, when viewed in the light of two thousandyears of Japanese religious history. They cannot be attributed to adeficient racial endowment of religious nature. They are a part ofnineteenth-century life by no means limited to Japan. If theAnglo-Saxon race is not to be pronounced inherently irreligious, despite the fact that irreligious phenomena and individuals are inconstant evidence the world over, neither can New Japan be pronouncedirreligious for the same reason. The irreligion now so rampant is arecent phenomenon in Japan. It may not immediately pass away, but itmust eventually. Religion freed from superstition and ceremonialism, resting in reality, identifying moral and scientific with religioustruth, is already finding hearty support from many of Japan's educatedmen. If appeal is made under the right conditions, the Japanesemanifest no lack of a genuine religious nature. That they seem to bedeficient in the sense of reverence is held by some to be proofpresumptive of a deficient religious nature. A few illustrations willmake clear what the critic means and will guide us to aninterpretation of the phenomena. Occidentals are accustomed toconsider a religious service as a time of solemn quiet, for we feelourselves in a special sense in the presence of God; His majesty andglory are realities to the believing worshiper. But much occurs duringa Christian service in Japanese churches which would seem to indicatea lack of this feeling. It is by no means uncommon for little childrento run about without restraint during the service, for mothers tonurse their infants, and for adults to converse with each other in anundertone, though not so low but that the sound of the conversationmay be heard by all. I know a deacon occupying a front mat in churchwho spends a large part of service time during the first two sabbathsof each month in making out the receipts of the monthly contributionsand distributing them among the members. His apparent supposition isthat he disturbs no one (and it is amazing how undisturbed the rest ofthe congregation is), but also that he is in no way interfering withthe solemnity or value of the service. The freedom, too, with whichindividuals come and go during the service is in marked contrast toour custom. From our standpoint, there is lack of reverence. 

I recently attended a young men's meeting at which the places for eachwere assigned by written quotations, from the Bible, one-half of whichwas given to the individual and the other half placed at the seat. Onequotation so used was the text, "The birds of the air have nests, butthe Son of Man hath not where to lay his head. " It would hardly seemas if earnest Christians could have made such use of this text. Somemonths ago at a social gathering held in connection with the annualmeeting of the churches of Shikoku, one of the comic performancesconsisted in the effort on the part of three old men to sing throughto the end without a break-down the song which to us is so sacred, "Rock of Ages, cleft for me. " Only one man succeeded, the others goingthrough a course of quavers and breaks which was exceedinglylaughable, but absolutely irreverent. The lack of reverence which hassometimes characterized the social side of the Christmas services inJapan has been the source of frequent regret to the missionaries. In asocial gathering of earnest young Christians recently, a gamedemanding forfeits was played; these consisted of the recitation offamiliar texts from the Bible. There certainly seems to be a lack ofthe sense of the fitness of things. 

But the question is, are these practices due to an inherentdeficiency of reverence, arising from the character of the Japanesenature, or are they due rather to the religious history of the pastand the conditions of the present? That the latter seems to me thecorrect view I need hardly state. The fact that the Japanese are anemotional people renders it probable, a priori, that under suitableconditions they would be especially subject to the emotion ofreverence. And when we look at their history, and observe the actualreverence paid by the multitudes to the rulers, and by thesuperstitious worshipers to the "Kami" and "Hotoke, " it becomesevident that the apparent irreverence in the Christian churches mustbe due to peculiar conditions. Reverence is a subtle feeling; itdepends on the nature of the ideas that possess the mind and heart. From the very nature of the case, Japanese Christians cannot have thesame set of associations clustering around the church, the service, the Bible, or any of the Christian institutions, as the Occidental whohas been reared from childhood among them, and who has derived hisspiritual nourishment from them. All the wealth of nineteen centuriesof experience has tended to give our services and our churches specialreligious value in our eyes. The average Christian in Japan and in anyheathen land cannot have this fringe of ideas and subtle feelings soessential to a profound feeling of reverence. But as the significanceof the Christian conception of God, endowed with glory and honor, majesty and might, is increasingly realized, and as it is found thatthe spirit of reverence is one that needs cultivation in worship, andespecially as it is found that the spirit of reverence is important tohigh spiritual life and vitalizing spiritual power, more and more willthat spirit be manifested by Japanese Christians. But its possessionor its lack is due not to the inherent character of the people, butrather to the character of the ideas which possess them. In taking nowa brief glance at the nature and history of the three religions ofJapan it seems desirable to quote freely from the writings ofrecognized authorities on the subject. 

 "_Shinto_, which means literally 'the way of the Gods, ' is the name given to the mythology and vague ancestor-and nature-worship which preceded the introduction of Buddhism into Japan--Shinto, so often spoken of as a religion, is hardly entitled to that name. It has no set of dogmas, no sacred book, no moral code. The absence of a moral code is accounted for in the writings of modern native commentators by the innate perfection of Japanese humanity, which obviates the necessity for such outward props. .. . It is necessary, however, to distinguish three periods in the existence of Shinto. During the first of these--roughly speaking, down to A. D. 550--the Japanese had no notion of religion as a separate institution. To pay homage to the gods, that is, to the departed ancestors of the Imperial family, and to the names of other great men, was a usage springing from the same soil as that which produced passive obedience to, and worship of, the living Mikado. Besides this, there were prayers to the wind-gods, to the god of fire, to the god of pestilence, to the goddess of food, and to deities presiding over the sauce-pan, the caldron, the gate, and the kitchen. There were also purifications for wrongdoing. .. . But there was not even a shadowy idea of any code of morals, or any systematization of the simple notions of the people concerning things unseen. There was neither heaven nor hell--only a kind of neutral-tinted Hades. Some of the gods were good and some were bad; nor was the line between men and gods at all clearly drawn. "

The second period of Shinto began with the introduction of Buddhisminto Japan, in which period Shinto became absorbed into Buddhismthrough the doctrine that the Shinto deities were ancient incarnationsof Buddhas. In this period Shinto retained no distinctive feature. "Only at court and at a few great shrines, such as those of Ise andIdzumo, was a knowledge of Shinto in its native simplicity kept up;and it is doubtful whether changes did not creep in with the lapse ofages. Most Shinto temples throughout the country were served byBuddhist priests, who introduced the architectural ornaments and theceremonial of their own religion. Thus was formed the Ryobu Shinto--amixed religion founded on a compromise between the old creed and thenew, and hence the tolerant ideas on theological subjects of most ofthe middle-lower classes, who worship indifferently at the shrines ofeither faith. "

The third period began about 1700. It was introduced by the scholarlystudy of history. "Soon the movement became religious andpolitical--above all, patriotic. .. . The Shogunate was frowned on, because it had supplanted the autocracy of the heaven-descendedMikados. Buddhism and Confucianism were sneered at because of theirforeign origin. The great scholars Mabuchi (1697-1769), Motoori(1730-1801), and Hirata (1776-1843) devoted themselves to a religiouspropaganda--if that can be called a religion which sets out from theprinciple that the only two things needful are to follow one's naturalimpulses and to obey the Mikado. This order triumphed for a moment inthe revolution of 1868. " It became for a few months the statereligion, but soon lost its status. [CB]

_Buddhism_ came to Japan from Korea _via_ China in 552 A. D. It wasalready a thousand years old and had, before it reached Japan, brokenup into numerous sects and subsects differing widely from each otherand from the original teaching of Sakya Muni. After two centuries ofpropagandism it conquered the land and absorbed the religious life ofthe people, though Shinto was never entirely suppressed. "Alleducation was for centuries in Buddhist hands; Buddhism introducedart, and medicine, molded the folklore of the country, created itsdramatic poetry, deeply influenced politics and every sphere of socialand intellectual activity. In a word, Buddhism was the teacher underwhose instruction the Japanese nation grew up. As a nation they arenow grossly forgetful of this fact. Ask an educated Japanese aquestion about Buddhism, and ten to one he will smile in your face. Ahundred to one that he knows nothing about the subject and glories inhis nescience. " "The complicated metaphysics of Buddhism have awakenedno interest in the Japanese nation. Another fact, curious but true, isthat these people have never been at the trouble to translate theBuddhist canon into their own language. The priests use a Chineseversion, and the laity no version at all, though . .. They would seemto have been given to searching the Scriptures a few hundred yearsago. The Buddhist religion was disestablished and disendowed duringthe years 1871-74, a step taken in consequence of the temporaryascendency of Shinto. " Although Confucianism took a strong hold on thepeople in the early part of the seventeenth century, yet its influencewas limited to the educated and ruling classes. The vast multitudestill remained Shinto-Buddhists. 

As for doctrine, philosophic Buddhism with its dogmas of salvationthrough intellectual enlightenment, by means of self-perfecting, withits goal of absorption into Nirvana, has doubtless been the belief andaim of the few. But such Buddhism was too deep for the multitudes. "Bythe aid of hoben, or pious devices, the priesthood has played into thehands of popular superstition. Here, as elsewhere, there have beenevolved charms, amulets, pilgrimages, and gorgeous temple services, inwhich the people worship not only the Buddha, who was himself anagnostic, but his disciple, and even such abstractions as Amida, whichare mistaken for actual divine personages. "[CC] The deities of Shintohave been more or less confused with those of popular Buddhism; insome cases, inextricably so. 

_Confucianism_, as known in Japan, was the elaborated doctrine ofConfucius. "He confined himself to practical details of morals andgovernment, and took submission to parents and political rulers as thecorner stone of his system. The result is a set of moral truths--somewould say truisms--of a very narrow scope, and of dry ceremonialobservances, political rather than personal. " "Originally introducedinto Japan early in the Christian era, along with other products ofChinese civilization, the Confucian philosophy lay dormant during themiddle ages, the period of the supremacy of Buddhism. It awoke with astart in the early part of the seventeenth century when Iccasu, thegreat warrior, ruler, and patron of learning, caused the Confucianclassics to be printed in Japan for the first time. During the twohundred and fifty years that followed, the intellect of the countrywas molded by Confucian ideas. Confucius himself had, it is true, labored for the establishment of a centralized monarchy. But his maindoctrine of unquestioning submission to rulers and parents fitted inperfectly with the feudal ideas of Old Japan; and the conviction ofthe paramount importance of such subordination lingers on, an elementof stability, in spite of the recent social cataclysm which hasinvolved Japanese Confucianism, properly so-called, in the ruin of allother Japanese institutions. "[CD]

_Christianity_ was first brought to Japan by Francis Xavier, wholanded in Kagoshima in 1549. His zeal knew no bounds and his resultswere amazing. "The converts were drawn from all classes alike. Noblemen, Buddhist priests, men of learning, embraced the faith withthe same alacrity as did the poor and ignorant. .. . One hundred andthirty-eight European missionaries" were then on the field. "Until thebreaking out of the persecution of 1596 the work of evangelizationproceeded apace. The converts numbered ten thousand yearly, though allwere fully aware of the risk to which they exposed themselves byembracing the Catholic faith. " "At the beginning of the seventeenthcentury, the Japanese Christians numbered about one million, the fruitof half a century of apostolic labor accomplished in the midst ofcomparative peace. Another half-century of persecution was about toruin this flourishing church, to cut off its pastors, more than twohundred of whom suffered martyrdom, and to leave its laity without theoffices of religion. .. . The edicts ordering these measures remained inforce for over two centuries. " Tens of thousands of Christianspreferred death to perjury. It was supposed that Christianity wasentirely exterminated by the fearful and prolonged persecutions. Yetin the vicinity of Nagasaki over four thousand Christians werediscovered in 1867, who were again subject to persecution until thepressure of foreign lands secured religious toleration in Japan. 

Protestant Christianity came to Japan with the beginning of the newera, and has been preached with much zeal and moderate success. For atime it seemed destined to sweep the land even more astonishingly thandid Romanism in the sixteenth century. But in 1888 an anti-foreignreaction began in every department of Japanese life and thought whichhas put a decided check on the progress of Christian missions. 

This must suffice for our historical review of the religious life ofthe Japanese. Were we to forget Japan's long and repeated isolations, and also to ignore fluctuations of belief and of other religiousphenomena in other lands, we might say, as many do, that the Japanesehave inherently shallow and changeable religious convictions. Butremembering these facts, and recalling the persecutions of Buddhistsby each other, of Christianity by the state, and knowing to-day manyearnest, self-sacrificing and persistent Christians, I am convincedthat such a judgment is mistaken. There are other and sufficientreasons to account for this appearance of changeableness in religion. 

I close this chapter with a single observation on the religioushistory just outlined. Bearing in mind the great changes that havecome over Japanese religious thinking and forms of religion I ask ifreligious phenomena are the expressions of the race nature, as somemaintain, and if this nature is inherent and unchangeable, how aresuch profound changes to be accounted for? If the religious characterof the Japanese people is inherent, how is it conceivable that theyshould so easily adopt foreign religions, even to the exclusion oftheir own native religion, as did those who became Buddhist orConfucian or Christian? I conclude from these facts, and they areparalleled in the history of many other peoples, that even religiouscharacteristics are not dependent on biological, but are whollydependent on social evolution. It seems to me capable of the clearestproof that the religious phenomena of any age are dependent on thegeneral development of the intellect, on the ruling ideas, and on theentire conditions of the civilization of the age rather than on brainstructure or essential race nature. 

XXVII

SOME RELIGIOUS CONCEPTIONS

The conceptions of the common people in regard to deity are chaotic. They believe in local spirits who are to be worshiped; some of theseare of human origin, and some antedate all human life. The gods of theShinto pantheon are "yaoyorodzu" in number, eight thousand myriads;yet in their "norito, " or prayer rituals, reference is made not onlyto the "yaoyorodzu" who live in the air, but also to the "yaoyorodzu"who live on earth, and even to the "yaoyorodzu" who live beneath theearth. If we add these together there must be at least twenty-fourthousand myriads of gods. These of course include sun, moon, stars, and all the forces of nature, as well as the spirits of men. PopularBuddhism accepts the gods of Shinto and brings in many more, worshiping not only the Buddha and his immediate "rakan, " disciples, five hundred in number, but numberless abstractions of idealqualities, such as the varieties of Kwannon (Avelokitesvara, gods andgoddesses of mercy), Amida (Amitabha, the ideal of boundless light), Jizo (Kshitigarbha, the helper of those in trouble, lost children, andpregnant women), Emma O (Yama-raja, ruler of Buddhist hells), Fudo(Achala, the "immovable, " "unchangeable"), and many others. PopularBuddhism also worships every man dead or living who has become a"hotoke, " that is, has attained Buddhahood and has entered Nirvana. The gods of Japan are innumerable in theory and multitudinous inpractice. Not only are there gods of goodness but also gods of lustand of evil, to whom robbers and harlots may pray for success andblessing. 

In the Japanese pantheon there is no supreme god, such, for instance, as the Roman Jupiter, or the Greek Chronos, nor is there athoroughgoing divine hierarchy. 

According to the common view (although there is no definite thoughtabout it), the idea seems to be that the universe with its laws andnature were already existent before the gods appeared on the scene;they created specific places, such as Japan, out of already existingmaterial. Neither in Shinto nor in popular Buddhism is the conceptionformed of a primal fount of all being with its nature and laws. Inthis respect Japanese thought is like all primitive religious thought. There is no word in the Japanese language corresponding to the Englishterm "God. " The nearest approach to it are the Confucian terms"Jo-tei, " "Supreme Emperor, " "Ten, " "Heaven, " and "Ten-tei, " "HeavenlyEmperor"; but all of these terms are Chinese, they are therefore oflate appearance in Japan, and represent rather conceptions of educatedand Confucian classes than the ideas of the masses. These termsapproach closely to the idea of monotheism; but though the doctrinemay be discovered lying implicit in these words and ideas it was neverdeveloped. Whether "Heaven" was to be conceived as a person, or merelyas fate, was not clearly thought out; some expressions point in onedirection while others point in the other. 

I may here call attention to a significant fact in the history ofrecent Christian work in Japan. Although the serious-minded Japaneseis first attracted to Christianity by the character of its ethicalthought--so much resembling, also so much surpassing that ofConfucius, it is none the less true that monotheism is anotherpowerful source of attraction. I have been repeatedly told byChristians that the first religious satisfaction they ever experiencedwas upon their discovery of monotheism. How it affected Dr. Neesima, readers of his life cannot have overlooked. He is a type ofmultitudes. In the earlier days of Christian work many felt that theyhad become Christians upon rejection of polytheism and acceptance ofmonotheism. And in truth they were so far forth Christian, althoughthey knew little of Christ, and felt little need of His help as apersonal Saviour. The weakness of the Church in recent years is due inpart, I doubt not, to the acceptance into its membership of numberswho were, properly speaking, monotheistic, but not in the completesense of the term Christian. Their discovery later that more wasneeded than the intellectual acceptance of monotheism ere they couldbe considered, or even be, truly "Christian, " has led many such"believers" to abandon their relations with the Church. This, while onmany accounts to be regretted, was nevertheless inevitable. The bareacceptance of the monotheistic idea does not secure thattransformation of heart and produce that warmth of living faith whichare essential elements in the altruistic life demanded of theChristian. 

Nor is it difficult to understand why monotheism has proved such anattraction to the Japanese when we consider that through it they firstrecognized a unity in the universe and even in their own lives. Nature, and human nature took on an intelligibility which they neverhad had under the older philosophy. History likewise was seen to havea meaning and an order, to say nothing of a purpose, which thenon-Christian faiths did not themselves see and could not give totheir devotees. Furthermore the monotheistic idea furnished asatisfactory background and explanation for the exact sciences. Ifthere is but one God, who is the fount and cause of all being, it iseasy to see why the truths of science should be universal andabsolute, rather than local and diverse, as they would be were theysubject to the jurisdiction of various local deities. The universalityof nature's laws was inconceivable under polytheism. Monotheism thusfound a ready access to many minds. Polytheism pure and simple is thebelief of no educated Japanese to-day. He is a monist of some kind orother. Philosophic Buddhism always was monistic, but not monotheistic. Thinking Confucianists were also monistic. But neither philosophicBuddhism nor Confucianism emphasized their monistic elements; they didnot realize the importance to popular thought of monistic conceptions. But possessing these ideas, and being now in contact with aggressiveChristian monotheism, they are beginning to emphasize this truth. 

As Japan has had no adequate conception of God, her conception of manhas been of necessity defective. Indeed, the cause of her inadequateconception of God is due in large measure to her inadequate conceptionof man, which we have seen to be a necessary consequence of theprimitive communal order. Since, however, we have already givenconsiderable attention to Japan's inadequate conception of man, weneed do no more than refer to it in this connection. 

Corresponding to her imperfect doctrines of God and of man is herdoctrine of sin. That the Japanese sense of sin is slight is a factgenerally admitted. This is the universal experience of themissionary. Many Japanese with whom I have conversed seem to have noconsciousness of it whatever. Indeed, it is a difficult matter tospeak of to the Japanese, not only because of the etiquette involved, but for the deeper reason of the deficiency of the language. Thereexists no term in Japanese which corresponds to the Christian word"sin. " To tell a man he is a sinner without stopping to explain whatone means would be an insult, for he is not conscious of having brokenany of the laws of the land. Yet too much stress must not be laid onthis argument from the language, for the Buddhistic vocabularyfurnishes a number of terms which refer to the crime of transgressingnot the laws of the land, but those of Buddha. 

In Shinto, sin is little, if anything, more than physical impurity. Although Buddhism brought a higher conception of religion for theinitiated few, it gave no help to the ignorant multitudes, rather itriveted their superstitions upon them. It spoke of law indeed, andlust and sin; and of dreadful punishments for sin; but when itexplained sin it made its nature too shallow, being merely the resultof mental confusion; salvation, then, became simply intellectualenlightenment; it also made the consequences of sin too remote and theescape from them too easy. The doctrine of "Don, " suddenness ofsalvation, the many external and entirely formal rites, shortpilgrimages to famous shrines, the visiting of some neighboring templehaving miniature models of all the other efficacious shrinesthroughout the land, the wearing of charms, the buying of "o fuda, "and even the single utterance of certain magic prayers, were taughtto be quite enough for the salvation of the common man from the worstof sins. Where release is so easily obtained, the estimate of theheinousness of sin is correspondingly slight. How different was theconsciousness of sin and the conception of its nature developed by theJewish worship with its system of sin offerings! Life for life. Whatever we may think of the efficacy of offering an animal as anexpiation for sin, it certainly contributed far more toward deepeningthe sense of sin than the rites in common practice among theBuddhists. So far as I know, human or animal sacrifice has never beenknown in Japan. 

In response to the not unlikely criticism that sacrifice is the resultof profound sense of sin and not its cause, I reply that it is both. The profound sense is the experience of the few at the beginning; thepractice educates the multitudes and begets that feeling in thenation. 

Ceremonial purification is an old rite in Japan. In this connection wenaturally think of the "Chozu-bachi" which may be found before everyShinto shrine, containing the "holy water" with which to rinse themouth and wash the hands. Pilgrims and worshipers invariably make useof this water, wiping their hands on the towels provided for thepurpose by the faithful. To our eyes, few customs in Japan are moreconducive to the spread of impurity and infectious disease than thisrite of ceremonial purification. No better means could be devised forthe wide dissemination of the skin diseases which are so common. Thereformed religion of New Japan--whether Buddhist, Shinto, orChristian--could do few better services for the people at large thanby entering on a crusade against this religious rite. It could andshould preach the doctrine that sin and defilement of the hearts arenot removed by such an easy method as the rite implies and the massesbelieve. If retained as a symbol, the purification rite should atleast be reformed as a practice. 

Whether the use of purificatory water is to be traced to the sense ofmoral or spiritual sin is doubtful to my mind; in view of the generalnature of primitive Shinto. The interpretation given the system byW. E. Griffis, in his volume on the "Religions of Japan, " issuggestive, but in view of all the facts does not seem conclusive. "One of the most remarkable features of Shinto" he writes, "was theemphasis laid on cleanliness. Pollution was calamity, defilement wassin, and physical purity at least was holiness. Everything that couldin any way soil the body or clothing was looked upon with abhorrenceand detestation. "[CE] The number of specifications given in thisconnection is worthy of careful perusal. But it is a strange nemesisof history that the sense of physical pollution should develop areligious rite fitted to become the very means for the disseminationof physical pollution and disease. 

Japanese personal cleanliness is often connected in the descriptionsof foreigners with ceremonial purification, but the facts are muchexaggerated. In contrast to nearly if not quite all non-Christianpeoples, the Japanese are certainly astonishingly cleanly in theirhabits. But it is wholly unnecessary to exaggerate the facts. The"tatami, " or straw-mats, an inch or more in thickness, give to theroom an appearance of cleanliness which usually belies the truth. Themultitudes of fleas that infest the normal Japanese home areconvincing proof of the real state of the "tatami. " There are thosewho declare that a Japanese crowd has the least offensive odor of anypeople in the world. One writer goes so far as to state that not onlyis there no unpleasant odor whatever, but that there is even apleasant intimation of lavender about their exhalations. This exactlycontradicts my experience. Not to mention the offensive oil with whichall women anoint their hair to give it luster and stiffness, theJapanese habit of wearing heavy cotton wadded clothing, with little orno underwear, produces the inevitable result in the atmosphere of anyclosed room. In cold weather I always find it necessary to throw openall the doors and windows of my study or parlor, after Bible classesof students or even after the visits of cultured and well-to-doguests. That the Japanese bathe so frequently is certainly aninteresting fact and a valuable feature of their civilization; itindicates no little degree of cleanliness; but for that, theirclothing would become even more disagreeable than it is, and the evileffect upon themselves of wearing soiled garments would be muchgreater. In point of fact, their frequent baths do not wholly removethe need of change in clothing. To a Japanese the size of the weeklywash of a foreigner seems extravagant. 

As to the frequent bathing, its cleanliness is exaggerated by Westernthought, for instead of supplying fresh water for each person, theJapanese public baths consist usually of a large tank used bymultitudes in common. Clean water is allowed for the face, but themain tank is supplied with clean hot water only once each day. InKumamoto, schoolgirls living with us invariably asked permission to goto the bath early in the day that they might have the first use of thewater. They said that by night it was so foul they could not bear touse it. Each hotel has its own private bath for guests; this isusually heated in the afternoon, and the guests take their baths fromfour o'clock on until midnight, the waiting girls of the hotel usingit last. My only experience with public baths has been mentionedalready. At first glance the conditions were reassuring, for a largestream of hot water was running in constantly, and the water in thetank itself was quite transparent. But on entering I was surprised, not to say horrified, to see floating along the margin of the tank andon the bottom of it suggestive proofs of previous bathers. On inquiryI learned that the tank was never washed out, nor the water entirelydischarged at a single time; the natural overflow along the edge ofthe tank being considered sufficient. In the interest of accuracy itis desirable to add that New Japan is making progress in the matter ofpublic baths. In some of the larger cities, I am told, provision issometimes made for entirely fresh water for each bather in separatebathrooms. 

In view of these facts--as unpleasant to mention as they are essentialto a faithful description of the habits of the people--it is clearthat the "horror of physical impurity" has not been, and is not now, so great as some would have us believe. Whatever may have been thecondition in ancient times, it would be difficult to believe that therite of ceremonial purification could arise out of the presentpractices and habits of thought. One may venture the inquiry whetherthe custom of using the "purificatory water" may not have beenintroduced from abroad. 

But whatever be the present thought of the people, on the generalsubject of sin, it may be shown to be due to the prevailing system ofideas, moral and religious, rather than to the inherent racialcharacter. In an interesting article by Mr. G. Takahashi on the "Past, Present, and Future of Christianity in Japan" I find the statementthat the preaching of the monks who came to Japan in the sixteenthcentury was of such a nature as to produce a very deep consciousnessof sin among the converts. "The Christians or martyrs repeatedly criedout 'we miserable sinners, ' 'Christ died for us, ' etc. , as theirletters abundantly prove. It was because of this that theirconsciences were aroused by the burning words of Christ, and keptawake by means of contrition and confession. " Among modern Christiansthe sense of sin is much more clear and pronounced than among theunconverted. Individual instances of extreme consciousness of sin arenot unknown, especially under the earlier Protestant preaching. If theChristians of the last decade have less sense of sin, it is due to thechanged character of recent preaching, in consequence of the changedconception of Christianity widely accepted in Protestant lands. Whowill undertake to say that Christians in New England of the nineteenthcentury have the same oppressive sense of sin that was customary inthe sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries? The sense of sinis due more to the character of the dominant religious ideas of theage than to brain structure or to race nature. I cannot agree with Mr. Takahashi that "To be religious one needs a Semitic tinge of mind. " Itis not a question of mind, of race nature, but of dominant ideas. 

In this connection I may refer to an incident that came under mynotice some years ago. A young man applied for membership in theKumamoto Church, who at one time had been a student in one of my Bibleclasses. I had not known that he had received any special help fromhis study with me, until I heard his statement as to how he haddiscovered his need of a Saviour, and had found that need satisfied inChrist. In his statement before the examining committee of the church, he said that when he first read the thirteenth chapter of 1Corinthians, he was so impressed with its beauty as a poem that hewrote it out entire on one of the fusuma (light paper doors) of hisroom, and each morning, as he arose, he read it. This practicecontinued several weeks. Then, as we continued our study of the Bible, we took up the third chapter of John, and when he came to thesixteenth verse, he was so impressed with its statement that he wrotethat beside the poem from Corinthians, and read them together. Gradually this daily reading, together with the occasional sermons andother Christian addresses which he heard at the Boys' School, led himto desire to secure for himself the love described by Paul, and toknow more vitally the love of God described by John. It occurred tohim, that, to secure these ends, he should pray. Upon doing so he saidthat, for the first time in his life, his unworthiness and his reallysinful nature overwhelmed him. This was, of course, but the beginningof his Christian life. He began then to search the Scriptures inearnest, and with increasing delight. It was not long before he wishedto make public confession of his faith, and thus identify himself withthe Christian community. This brief account of the way in which thisyoung man was brought to Christ illustrates a good many points, butthat for which I have cited it is the testimony it bears to the factthat under similar circumstances the human heart undergoes very muchthe same religious experience, whatever be the race or nationality ofthe individual. 

In regard to the future life, Shinto has little specific doctrine. Itcertainly implies the continued existence of the soul after death, asits ancestral worship shows, but its conception as to the future stateis left vague in the extreme. Confucius purposely declined to teachanything on this point, and, in part, for this reason, it has beenmaintained that Confucianism cannot properly be called a religion. Buddhism brought to Japan an elaborate system of eschatological ideas, and so far as the common people of Japan have any conception of thefuture life, it may be attributed to Buddhistic teachings. Into theirnature I need not inquire at any length. According to popularBuddhism, the future world, or more properly speaking, worlds (forthere are ten of them, into any one of which a soul may be born eitherimmediately or in the course of its future transmigrations), does notdiffer in any vital way from the present world. It is a world ofmaterial blessings or woes; the successive stages or worlds are gradedone above the other in fantastic ways. Salvation consists in passingto higher grades of life, the final or perfect stage being paradise, which, once attained, can never be lost. Transmigration is universal, the period of life in each world being determined by the merits anddemerits of the individual soul. 

Here we must consider two widely used terms "ingwa" and "mei. " Thefirst of these is Buddhistic and the other Confucianistic; thoughdiffering much in origin and meaning, yet in the end they amount tomuch the same thing. "Ingwa" is the law of cause and effect. Accordingto the Buddhistic teaching, however, the "in, " or cause, is in oneworld, while the "gwa, " or effect, is in the other. The suffering, forinstance, or any misfortune that overtakes one in this present life, is the "gwa" or effect of what was done in the previous, and is thusinevitable. The individual is working off in this life the "gwa" ofhis last life, and he is also working up the "in" of the next He isthus in a kind of vise. His present is absolutely determined for himby his past, and in turn is irrevocably fixing his future. Such is theBuddhistic "wheel of the law. " The common explanation of misfortune, sickness, or disease, or any calamity, is that it is the result of"ingwa, " and that there is, therefore, no help for it. The paralyzingnature of this conception on the development of character, or onactivity of any kind, is apparent not only theoretically but actually. As an escape from the inexorable fatality of this scheme of thought, the Buddhist faith of the common people has resorted to magic. Magicprayers, consisting of a few mystic syllables of whose meaning theworshiper may be quite ignorant, are the means for overcoming theinexorableness of "ingwa, " both for this life and the next. "NamuAmida Butsu, " "Namu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo, " "Namu Hen Jo Kongo, " are themost common of such magic formulæ. These prayers are heard on the lipsof tens of thousands of pious pilgrims, not only at the temples, butas they pass along the highways. It is believed that each repetitionsecures its reward. Popular Buddhism's appeal to magic was not onlywinked at by philosophical Buddhism, but it was encouraged. Magic wasjustified by religious philosophy, and many a "hoben, " "pious device, "for saving the ignorant was invented by the priesthood. It will beapparent that while Buddhism has in certain respects a vigorous systemof punishment for sin, yet its method of relief is such that thecommon people can gain only the most shallow and superficial views ofsalvation. Buddhism has not served to deepen the sense ofresponsibility, nor helped to build up character. That the moreserious-minded thinkers of the nation have, as a rule, rejectedBuddhism is not strange. 

One point of great interest for us is the fact that thiseschatological and soteriological system was imported, and is not thespontaneous product of Japan. The wide range of national religiouscharacteristics thus clearly traceable to Buddhistic influence showsbeyond doubt how large a part of a nation's character is due to thesystem of thought that for one reason or another prevails, rather thanto the essential race character. 

The other term mentioned above, "mei, " literally means "command" or"decree"; but while the English terms definitely imply a real beingwho decides, decrees, and commands, the term "mei" is indeterminate onthis point. It is frequently joined to the word "Ten, " or Heaven;"Ten-mei, " Heaven's decree, seeming to imply a personality in thebackground of the thought. Yet, as I have already pointed out, it isonly implied; in actual usage it means the fate decreed by Heaven;that is, fated fate, or absolute fate. The Chinese and the Japanesealike failed to inquire minutely as to the implication of the deepestconceptions of their philosophy. But "mei" is commonly used entirelyunconnected with "Ten, " and in this case its best translation intoEnglish is probably "fate. " In this sense it is often used. UnlikeBuddhism, however, Confucianism provided no way of escape from "mei"except moral conduct. One of its important points of superiority wasits freedom from appeal to magic in any form, and its reliance onsincerity of heart and correctness of conduct. 

Few foreigners have failed to comment on the universal use by theJapanese of the phrase "Shikataga nai, " "it can't be helped. " Theready resignation to "fate, " as they deem it, even in little thingsabout the home and in the daily life, is astonishing to Occidentals. Where we hold ourselves and each other to sharp personalresponsibility, the sense of subjection to fate often leads them tocondone mistakes with the phrase "Shikataga nai. "

But this characteristic is not peculiar to Japan. China and India arelikewise marked by it. During the famines in India, it was frequentlyremarked how the Hindus would settle down to starve in their huts insubmission to fate, where Westerners would have been doing somethingby force, fighting even the decrees of heaven, if needful. But it isimportant to note that this characteristic in Japan is undergoingrapid change. The spirit of absolute submission, so characteristic ofthe common people of Old Japan, is passing away and self-assertion istaking its place. Education and developing intelligence are drivingout the fear of fate. Had our estimate of the Japanese race characterbeen based wholly on the history of Old Japan, it might have been easyto conclude that the spirit of submission to rulers and to fate was anational characteristic due to racial nature; but every added year ofNew Japan shows how erroneous that view would have been. Thus we seeagain that the characteristics of Japan, Old and New, are not due torace nature, but to the prevailing civilization in the broadest senseof the term. The religious characteristics of a people dependprimarily on the dominant religious ideas, not on the inherentreligious nature. 

XXVIII

SOME RELIGIOUS PRACTICES

Among the truly religious sentiments of the Japanese are those ofloyalty and filial piety. Having already given them considerableattention, we need not delay long upon them here. The point to beemphasized is that these two principles are exalted into powerfulreligious sentiments, which have permeated and dominated the entirelife of the nation. Not only were they at the root of courage, offidelity, of obedience, and of all the special virtues of Old Japan, but they were also at the root of the larger part of her religion. These emotions, sentiments, and beliefs have built 190, 000 Shintoshrines. Loyalty to the daimyo was the vital part of the religion ofthe past, as loyalty to the Emperor is the vital part of the popularreligion of to-day. Next to loyalty came filial piety; it not onlybuilt the cemeteries, but also maintained god-shelves and familyancestral worship throughout the centuries. One of the first questionswhich many an inquirer about Christianity has put to me is as to theway we treat our parents living and dead, and the tombs and memoriesof our ancestors. These two religious sentiments of loyalty and filialpiety were essential elements of primitive Shinto. The importedreligions, particularly Confucianism and Christianity, served tostrengthen them. In view of the indubitable religious nature of thesetwo sentiments it is difficult to see how anyone can deny the name ofreligion to the religions that inculcate them, Shinto andConfucianism. It shows how defective is the current conception of thereal nature of religion. 

Despite the reality of these religious, sentiments, however, manythings are done in Japan quite opposed to them. Of course this is so. These violations spring from irreligion, and irreligion is found inevery land. Furthermore, many things done in the name of loyalty andpiety seem to us Westerners exceedingly whimsical and illogical. Deedswhich to us seem disloyal and unfilial receive no rebuke. Filial pietyoften seems to us more active toward the dead than toward the living. 

Closely connected with loyalty and filial piety, and in part theirexpression, is one further religious sentiment, namely, gratitude. Inhis chapter in "Kokoro" "About Ancestor-Worship, " Mr. Hearn makes somepertinent remarks as to the nature of Shinto. "Foremost among themoral sentiments of Shinto is that of loving gratitude to the past. "This he attributes to the fact that "To Japanese thought the dead arenot less real than the living. They take part in the daily life of thepeople, sharing the humblest sorrows and the humblest joys . .. Andthey are universally thought of as finding pleasure in the offeringsmade to them or the honors conferred upon them. " There is much truthin these statements, though I by no means share the opinion that inconnection with the Japanese belief in the dead there "have beenevolved moral sentiments wholly unknown to Western civilization, " orthat their "loving gratitude to the past" is "a sentiment having noreal correspondence in our own emotional life. " Mr. Hearn may bepresumed to be speaking for himself in these matters; but he certainlydoes not correctly represent the thought or the feelings of the circleof life known to me. The feeling of gratitude of Western peoples is asreal and as strong as that of the Japanese, though it does not findexpression in the worship of the dead. That the Japanese are profusein their expressions of gratitude to the past and to the powers thatbe is beyond dispute. It crops out in sermons and public speeches, aswell as in the numberless temples to national heroes. 

But it is a matter of surprise to note how often there is apparentingratitude toward living benefactors. Some years ago I heard aconversation between some young men who had enjoyed specialopportunities of travel and of study abroad by the liberality ofAmerican gentlemen. 

It appeared that the young men considered that instead of receivingany special favors, they were conferring them on their benefactors byallowing the latter to help such brilliant youth as they, whosesubsequent careers in Japan would preserve to posterity the names oftheir benefactors. I have had some experience in the line of givingassistance to aspiring students, in certain cases helping them foryears; a few have given evidence of real gratitude; but a largeproportion have seemed singularly deficient in this grace. It is myimpression that relatively few of the scores of students who havereceived a large proportion of their expenses from the mission, whilepursuing their studies, have felt that they were thereby under anyspecial debt of gratitude. An experience that a missionary had with aclass to which he had been teaching the Bible in English for about ayear is illustrative. At the close of the school year they invited himto a dinner where they made some very pleasant speeches, and bade eachother farewell for the summer. The teacher was much gratified with theresult of the year's work, feeling naturally that these boys were hisfirm friends. But the following September when he returned, not onlydid the class not care to resume their studies with him, but theyappeared to desire to have nothing whatever to do with him. On thestreet many of them would not even recognize him. Other similar casescome to mind, and it should be remembered that missionaries give suchinstruction freely and always at the request of the recipient. In thecase cited the teacher came to the conclusion that the elaboratedinner and fine farewell speeches were considered by the young men asa full discharge of all debts of gratitude and a full compensation forservices. This, however, is to be said: the city itself was at thattime the seat of a determined antagonism to Christianity and, ofcourse, to the Christian missionary; and this fact may in part, butnot wholly, account for the appearance of ingratitude. 

The Japanese pride themselves on their gratitude. It is, however, limited in its scope. It is vigorous toward the dead and toward theEmperor, but as a grace of daily life it is not conspicuous. 

Few achievements of the Japanese have been more remarkable than thesuppression of certain religious phenomena. Any complete statement ofthe religious characteristics of the Japanese fifty years ago wouldhave included most revolting and immoral practices under the guise ofreligion. Until suppressed by the government in the early years ofMeiji there were in many parts of Japan phallic shrines ofconsiderable popularity, at which, on festivals at least, sexualimmorality seemed to be an essential part of the worship. At Uji, notfar from Kyoto, the capital of the Empire, for a thousand years andmore, and the center of Buddhism, there was a shrine of great reputeand popularity. Thither resorted the multitudes for bacchanalianpurposes. Under the auspices of the Goddess Hashihime and the GodSumiyoshi, free rein was given to lust. Since the beginning of the newrégime such revels have been forbidden and apparently stopped; thephallic symbols themselves are no longer visible, although it isasserted by the keeper of the shrine that they are still there, concealed in the boxes on the pedestals formerly occupied by thesymbols. When I visited the place some years since with a fellowmissionary we were told that multitudes still come there to pray tothe deities; those seeking divorce pray to the female deity, whilethose seeking a favorable marriage pray to the male deity; on askingas to the proportion of the worshipers, we were told that there areabout ten of the former to one of the latter, a significant indicationof the unhappiness of many a home. Prof. Edmund Buckley has made aspecial study of the subject of phallic worship in Japan; in histhesis on the topic he gives a list of thirteen places where thesesymbols of phallic worship might be seen a few years since. It issignificant that at Uji, not a stone's throw from the phallic shrine, is a temple to the God Agata, whose special function is the cure ofvenereal diseases. 

But though phallic worship and its accompanying immorality have beenextirpated, immorality in connection with religion is still rampant incertain quarters. Not far from the great temples at Ise, the center ofShintoism and the goal for half a million pilgrims yearly, are largeand prosperous brothels patronized by and existing for the sake ofthe pilgrims. A still more popular resort for pilgrims is that atKompira, whither, as we have seen, some 900, 000 come each year; herethe best hotels, and presumably the others also, are provided withprostitutes who also serve as waiting girls; on the arrival of a guesthe is customarily asked whether or not the use of a prostitute shallbe included in his hotel bill. It seems strange, indeed, that thegovernment should take such pains to suppress phallicism, and allowsuch immorality to go on under the eaves of the greatest nationalshrines; for these shrines are not private affairs; the governmenttakes possession of the gifts, and pays the regular salaries of theattending priests. It would appear from its success in theextermination of distinctly phallic worship that the government couldput a stop to all public prostitution in connection with religion ifit cared to do so. 

One point of interest in connection with the above facts is that theold religions, however much of force, beauty, and truth we may concedeto them, have never made warfare against these obscene forms ofworship, nor against the notorious immorality of their devotees. Whatever may be said of the profound philosophy of life involved inphallic worship, for many hundreds of years it has been a source ofoutrageous immorality. Nevertheless, there has never been anycontinued and effective effort on the part of the higher types ofreligion to exterminate the lower. But Japan is not peculiar in thisrespect. India is even now amazingly immoral in certain forms of herworship. 

Another point of interest in this connection is that the change of thenation in its attitude to this form of religion was due largely, probably wholly, to contact with the nations of the West. Theuprooting of phallic worship was due, not to a moral reformation, butto a political ambition. It was carried out, not in deference topublic opinion, but wholly by government command, though without doubtthe nobler opinion of the land approved of the government action. Buteven this nobler public sentiment was aroused by the Occidentalstimulus. The success of the effort must be attributed not a little tothe age-long national custom of submitting absolutely to governmentalinitiative and command. 

Another point of interest is that, in consequence of officialpressure, the religious character of a large number of the peopleseems to have undergone a radical change. The ordinary traveler inJapan would not suspect that phallicism had ever been a prominentfeature of Japanese religious life. Only an inquisitive seeker can nowfind the slightest evidences of this once popular cult. Here we havean apparent change in the character of a people sudden and complete, induced almost wholly by external causes. It shows that the previouscharacteristic was not so deeply rooted in the physical or spiritualnature of the race as many would have us believe. Can we escape theconclusion that national characteristics are due much more to thecircle of dominant ideas and actual practices, than to the inherentrace nature?

The way in which phallicism has been suppressed during the present eraraises the general question of religious liberty in Japan. In thisrespect, no less than in many others, a change has taken place sogreat as to amount to a revolution. During two hundred and fifty yearsChristianity was strictly forbidden on pain of extreme penalties. In1872 the edict against Christianity was removed, free preaching wasallowed, and for a time it seemed as if the whole nation would becomeChristian in a few decades; even non-Christians urged thatChristianity be made the state religion. What an amazing volte-face!Religious liberty is now guaranteed by the constitution promulgated in1888. There are those who assert that until Christianity invadedJapan, religious freedom was perfect; persecutions were unknown. Thisis a mistake. When Buddhism came to Japan, admission was first soughtfrom the authorities, and for a time was refused. When various sectsarose, persecutions were severe. We have seen how belief inChristianity was forbidden under pain of death for more than twohundred and fifty years. Under this edict, many thousand JapaneseChristians and over two hundred European missionaries were put todeath. Yet, on the whole, it may be said that Old Japan enjoyed nolittle religious freedom. Indeed, the same man might worship freelyat all the shrines and temples in the land. To this day multitudeshave never asked themselves whether they are Shinto or Buddhist orConfucianist. The reason for this religious eclecticism was thefractional character of the old religions; they supplemented eachother. There was no collision between them in doctrine or in morals. The religious freedom was, therefore, not one of principle but ofindifference. As Rome was tolerant of all religions which made noexclusive claims, but fiercely persecuted Christianity, so Japan wastolerant of the two religions that found their way into her territorybecause they made no claims of exclusiveness. But a religion thatdemanded the giving up of rivals was feared and forbidden. 

New Japan, however, following Anglo-Saxon example, has definitelyadopted religious freedom as a principle. First tacitly allowed afterthe abolition of the edict against Christianity in 1872, it was laterpublicly guaranteed by the constitution promulgated in 1888. Sincethat date there has been perfect religious liberty for the individual. 

Yet this statement must be carefully guarded. If we may judge fromsome recent decrees of the Educational Department, it would appearthat a large and powerful section of the nation is still ignorant ofthe real nature and significance of "religious liberty. " Under theplea of maintaining secular education, the Educational Department hasforbidden informal and private Christian teaching, even in privateschools. An adequate statement of the present struggle for completereligious liberty would occupy many pages. We note but one importantpoint. 

In the very act of forbidding religious instruction in all schools theEducational Department is virtually establishing a brand-new religionfor Japan, a religion based on the Imperial Educational Edict. [CF] Theessentially religious nature of the attitude taken by the governmenttoward this Edict has become increasingly clear in late years. In thesummer of 1898 one who has had special opportunities of informationtold me that Mr. Kinoshita, a high official in the EducationalDepartment, suggested the ceremonial worship of the Emperor's pictureand edict by all the schools, for the reason that he saw the need ofcultivating the religious spirit of reverence together with the needfor having religious sanctions for the moral law. He felt convincedthat a national school system without any such sanctions would behelpless in teaching morality to the pupils. His suggestion wasadopted by the Educational Department and has been enforced. 

In this attitude toward the religious character of entirely privateschools, the government is materially abridging the religious libertyof the people. It is abridging their liberty of carrying belief intoaction in one important respect, that, namely, of giving a Christianeducation. It virtually insists on the acceptance of that form ofreligion which apotheosizes the Emperor, and finds the sanctions formorality in his edict; it excludes from the schools every other formof religion. It should, of course, be said that this attitude ismaintained not only toward Christian schools, but theoretically alsotoward all religious schools. It, however, operates more severely onChristian schools than upon others, because Christians are the onlyones who establish high-grade schools for secular education underreligious influences. 

It is evident, therefore, that in the matter of religious liberty thepresent attitude of the government is paradoxical, granting in onebreath, what, in an important respect, it denies in the next. Butthroughout all these changes and by means of them we see more and moreclearly that even religious tolerance is a matter of the prevailingsocial ideas and of the dominant social order, rather than of inherentrace character. By a single transformation of the social order, Japanpassed from a state of perfect religious intolerance to one just thereverse, so far as individual belief was concerned. 

Taking a comprehensive review of our study thus far, we see that theforms of Japanese religious life have been determined by the history, rather than by any inherent racial character of the people. Althoughthey had a religion prior to the coming of any external influence, yet they have proved ready disciples of the religions of other lands. The religion of India, its esoteric, and especially its exotericforms, has found wide acceptance and long-continued popularity. Thehigher life of the nation readily took on in later times the religiouscharacteristics of the Chinese, predominantly ethical, it is true, andonly slightly religious as to forms of worship. When Roman CatholicChristianity came to Japan in the sixteenth century, it, too, foundready acceptance. It is true that it presented a view of the nature ofreligion not very different from that held by Buddhism in manyrespects, yet in others there was a marked divergence, as forinstance, in the doctrine of God, of individual sin, and of the natureand method of salvation. The Japanese have thus shown themselves readyassimilators of all these diverse systems of religious expression. Just at present a new presentation of Christianity is being made tothe Japanese; some are urging upon them the acceptance of the RomanCatholic form of it; others are urging the Greek; and still others arepresenting the Protestant point of view. Each of these groups ofmissionaries seems to be reaping good harvests. Speaking from my ownexperience, I may say, that many of the Japanese show as great anappreciation of the essence of the religious life, and find the ideasand ideals, doctrines and ceremonies, of Christianity as fitted totheir heart's deepest needs, as do any in the most enlightened partsof Christendom. It is true that the Christian system is so opposed tothe Buddhistic and Shinto, and in some respects to the Confucian, thatit is an exceedingly difficult matter at the beginning to give theBuddhist or Shintoist any idea of what Christianity is. Yet thedifficulty arises not from the structure of the brain, nor from theinherent race character, but solely from the diversity of hithertoprevailing systems of thought. When once the passage from the onesystem of thought to the other has been effected, and the significanceof the Christian system and life has been appreciated, --in otherwords, when the Japanese Buddhist or Shintoist or Confucianist hasbecome a Christian, --he is as truly a Christian and as faithful as isthe Englishman or American. 

Of course I do not mean to say that he looks at every doctrine and atevery ceremony in exactly the same way as an Englishman or American. But I do say that the different point of view is due to the differingsocial and religious history of the past and the differingsurroundings of the present, rather than to inherent racial characteror brain structure. The Japanese are human beings before they areJapanese. 

For these reasons have I absolute confidence in the final acceptanceof Christianity by the Japanese. There is no race characteristic intrue Christianity that bars the way. Furthermore, the very growth ofthe Japanese in recent years, intellectually and in the reorganizationof the social order, points to their final acceptance of Christianityand renders it necessary. The old religious forms are not satisfyingthe religious needs of to-day. And if history proves anything, itproves that only the religion of Jesus can do this permanently. Religion is a matter of humanity, not of nationality. It is for thisreason that the world over, religions, though of so many forms, arestill so much alike. And it is because the religion of Jesus ispre-eminently the religion of humanity and has not a trace ofexclusive nationality about it, that it is the true religion, and isfitted to satisfy the deepest religious wants of the most highlydeveloped as well as the least developed man of any and every race andnation. In proportion as man develops, he grows out of his narrowsurroundings, both physical and mental and even moral; he enters alarger and larger world. The religious expressions of his nature inthe local provincial and even national stages of his life cannotsatisfy his larger potential life. Only the religion of humanity cando this. And this is the religion of Jesus. The white light ofreligion, no less than that of scientific truth, has no local ornational coloring. Perfect truth is universal, eternal, unchangeable. Occidental or Oriental colorations are in reality defects, discolorations. 

XXIX

SOME PRINCIPLES OF NATIONAL EVOLUTION

And now, having studied somewhat in detail various distinctiveJapanese characteristics, it is important that we gain an insight intothe general principles which govern the development of unified, national life. These principles render Japanese history luminous. 

Let us first fix our attention on the fact that every step in theprogress of mankind has been from smaller to larger communities. Inother words, human progress has been through the increasing extensionof the communal principle. The primitive segregative man, if thereever really was such a being, hardly deserves to be called man. Socialqualities he had very slight, if at all; his altruistic actions andemotions were of the lowest and feeblest type. His life was soself-centered--we may not call it selfish, for he was not conscious ofhis self-centeredness--that he was quite sufficient to himself exceptfor short periods of time. It was a matter of relative indifference tohim whether his kinsmen survived or perished. His life was in only theslightest degree involved in theirs. The first step of progress forhim depended on the development of some form of communal life. Theprimary problem of the social evolution of man was that of taking thewild, self-centered, self-sufficient man, and of teaching him to movein line with his fellow-men. And this problem confronted not onlymankind at the beginning, but it has also been the great problem ofeach successive stage. After the individual has been taught to livewith, to work with and for, and to love, his immediate kinsmen (inother words to merge his individual interests in those of the family, and to count the family interests of more importance than his own), the next step was to induce the family to look beyond its littleworld and be willing to work with and for neighboring families. When, after ages of conflict, this step was in a measure secured and thefamily-tribe was fairly formed, this group in turn must be taught totake into its view a still larger group, the tribal nation. Throughoutthe ages the constant problem has been the development of larger andlarger communal groups. This general process has been very aptlycalled by Mr. Bagehot the taming process. The selfward thoughts andambitions of the individual man have been thus far driven more andmore into the background of fact, if not of consciousness. Theindividual has been brought into vital and organic relations withever-increasing multitudes of his fellow-men. It is, therefore, pre-eminently a process of social or associational development. It notonly develops social relations in an ever-increasing scale, but alsosocial qualities and ideals and desires. 

Now this taming, this socializing process, has been successful becauseit has had back of it, always enforcing it, the law of the survival ofthe strongest. What countless millions of men must have perished inthe first step! They consisted of the less fit; of those who wouldnot, or did not, learn soon enough the secret of existence throughpermanent family union. And what countless millions of families musthave perished because they did not discover the way, or were tooindependent, to unite with kindred families in order to fight a commonfoe or develop a common food supply. And still later, what countlesstribes must have perished before the secret of tribal federation waswidely accepted! In each case the problem has been to secure thesubordination of the interests of the smaller and local community tothose of the larger community. Death to self and life to the largerinterest was often the condition of existence at all. How slow menalways have been and still are to learn this great lesson of history!

The method whereby this taming process has been carried on has beenthrough the formation of increasingly comprehensive and rigid customsand ideas. Through the development and continued existence of a commonlanguage, series of common customs, and sets of common ideas, unitywas secured for the community; these, indeed, are the means whereby agroup is transformed into a community. As the smaller community gaveway to the larger, so the local languages, customs, and ideas had tobreak up and become so far modified as to form a new bond of unity. Until this unity was secured the new community was necessarily weak;the group easily broke up into its old constituent elements. We heregain a glimpse into one reason why the development of large compositecommunities, uniting and for the most part doing away with smallerones, was so difficult and slow. 

The process of absorption of smaller groups and their unification intolarger ones, when carried out completely in any land, tends to arrestall further growth, not simply because there is no further room forexpansion by the absorption of other divergent tribes, but alsobecause the "cake of custom" is apt to become so hard, the uniformityenforced on all the individuals is liable to become so binding, thatfruitful variation from within is effectually cut off. The evolutionof relatively isolated or segregated groups necessarily producesvariety; and the process whereby these divergent types of life andthought and organization are gradually brought together into one largecommunity provides wide elements of variation, in the selection andgeneral adoption of which the evolution of the whole community may besecured. But let the divergent elements of the lesser groups once beentirely absorbed by the composite community and let the "cake ofcustom" become so rigid that every individual who varies from it isbranded as a heretic and a traitor, and the progressive evolution ofthat community must cease. 

The great problem, therefore, which then confronts man and seems tothreaten all further progress is, how to break the bondage of customso as to secure local or individual variations. This can be done onlythrough some form of individualism. The individual must be free tothink and act as experience or fancy may suggest, without fear ofbeing branded as a traitor, or at least he must have the courage to doso in spite of such fears. And to produce an effect on the communityhe must also be more or less protected in his idiosyncrasies bypopular toleration. 

He must be allowed to live and work out his theories, proving whetherthey are valuable or not. But since individualism is just what allprevious communal development has been most assiduous in crushing out, how is the rise of individualism possible, or even desirable? If thefirst and continued development of man depended on the attainment andthe maintenance of the communal principle, we may be sure that hisfurther progress will not consist in the reversal of that principle. If, therfore, individualism must be developed, it must manifestly beof a variety which does not conflict with or abrogate communalism. Only as the individualistic includes the communal principle will it bea source of strength; otherwise it can only be a source of weakness tothe community. But is not this an impossible condition to satisfy?Certainly, before the event, it would seem to be so. The rarity withwhich this step in human evolution has been taken would seem to showthat it is far more difficult to accomplish than any of the previoussteps. To give it a name we may call it communo-individualism. Whatthis variety of individualism is, how this forward step was firstactually taken, and how it is maintained and extended to-day, we shallconsider in a later chapter. In the present place its importance forus is twofold. First we must realize the logical difficulty of thestep--its apparently self-contradictory nature. And secondly we needto see that fully developed and continuously progressive national lifeis impossible without it. The development of a nation under thecommunal principle may advance far, even to the attainment of arelatively high grade of civilization. But the fully centralized andcompletely self-conscious nation cannot come into existence except onthe basis of this last step of communo-individualism. The growth ofnationalism proper, and the high development of civilization throughthe rise of the sciences and the arts based upon individualism, allawait the dawn of the era of which communo-individualism is theleading, though at first unrecognized, characteristic. 

This individualistic development of the communal principle is itsintensive development; it is the focalizing and centralizing of theconsciousness of the national unity in each individual member. Theextensive process of communal enlargement must ever be accompanied bythe intensive establishment in the individual of the communal ideal, the objective by the subjective, the physical by the psychical, if theaccidental association for individual profit is to develop into thepermanent association for the national as well as the individual life. The intensive or subjective development of the communal principledoes, as a matter of fact, take place in all growing communities, butit is largely unconscious. Not until the final stages of nationaldevelopment does it become a self-conscious process, deserving thedistinctive name I have given it here, communo-individualism. [CG]

The point just made is, however, only one aspect of a more generalfact, too, of cardinal importance for the sociologist and the studentof human evolution. It is that, throughout the entire period of theexpansion of the community, there has been an equally profound, although wholly unconscious, development of the individual. This factseems to have largely escaped the notice of all but the most recentthinkers and writers on the general topic of human and socialevolution. The fact and the importance of the communal life have beenso manifest that, in important senses, the individual has been almost, if not wholly, dropped out of sight. The individual has beenconceived to have been from the very beginning of social evolutionfully endowed with mind, ideas, and brains, and to be perfectlyregardless of all other human beings. The development of the communityhas accordingly been conceived to be a progressive taming and subduingof this wild, self-centered, primitive man; a process of eliminatinghis individualistic instincts. So far as the individual is concerned, it has been conceived to be chiefly a negative process; a process ofdestroying his individual desires and plans and passions. Man'snatural state has been supposed to be that of absolute selfishness. Only the hard necessity of natural law succeeded in forcing him tocurb his natural selfish desires and to unite with his fellows. Onlyon these terms could he maintain even an existence. Those who have notaccepted these terms have been exterminated. Communal life in all itsforms, from the family upward to the most unified and developednation, is thus conceived as a continued limiting of the individual--anecessity, indeed, to his existence, but none the less a limitation. 

I am unable to take this view, which at best is a one-sided statement. It appears to me capable of demonstration, that communal andindividual development proceed pari passu; that every gain in thecommunal life is a gain to the individual and vice versa. They arecomplementary, not contradictory processes. Neither can exist, in anyproper sense, apart from the other; and the degree of the developmentof the one is a sure index of the degree of the development of theother. So important is this matter that we must pause to give itfurther consideration. 

Consider, first, man in his earliest stage of development. Arelatively segregarious animal; with a few ideas about the nuts andfruits and roots on which he lives; with a little knowledge as towhere to find them; the subject of constant fear lest a stronger manmay suddenly appear to seize and carry off his wife and food;possessing possibly a few articulate sounds answering to words; suchprobably was primitive man. He must have been little removed from theape. His "self, " his mind, was so small and so empty of content thatwe could hardly recognize him as a man, should we stumble on him inthe forest. 

Look next upon him after he has become a family-man. Living in thegroup, his life enlarges; his existence broadens; his ideas multiply;his vocabulary increases with his ideas and experiences; he begins toshare the life and thinking and interests and joys and sorrows ofothers; their ideas and experiences become his, to his enormousadvantage. What he now is throws into the shade of night what he usedto be. So far from being the loser by his acceptance of even thislimited communal life, he is a gainer in every way. He begins to knowwhat love is, and hate; what joy is, and sorrow; what kindness is, andcruelty; what altruism is, and selfishness. Thus, not only in ideasand language, in industry and property, but also in emotions, incharacter, in morality, in religion, in the knowledge of self, andeven in opportunity for selfishness, he is the gainer. In just thedegree that communal life is developed is the life of the individualsthat compose it extended both subjectively and objectively. Humanpsychogenesis takes place in the communal stage of his life. Humanassociation is its chief external cause. 

It matters not at what successive stage of man's developing life wemay choose to look at him, the depth and height and breadth, in aword, the fullness and vigor and character of the inner and privatelife of the individual, will depend directly on the nature anddevelopment of the communal life. As the community expands, taking innew families or tribes or nations, reaching out to new regions, learning new industries, developing new ideas of man, of nature, ofthe gods, of duty, inventing new industries, discovering new truths, and developing a new language, all these fresh acquirements of thecommunity become the possession of its individual members. In thegrowing complexity of society the individual unit, it is true, isincreasingly lost among the millions of his fellow-units, yet allthese successive steps serve to render his life the larger and richer. His horizon is no longer the little family group in which he was born;he now looks out over large and populous regions and feels the thrillof his growing life as he realizes the unity and community of hislife and interests with those of his fellow-countrymen. His languageis increasingly enriched; it serves to shape all his thinking and thuseven the structure of his mind. His knowledge reaches far beyond hisown experience; it includes not only that of the few persons whom heknows directly, but also that of unnumbered millions, remote in timeand space. He increasingly discovers, though he never has analyzed, and is perhaps wholly unable to analyze, the discovery that he is nota thing among things; his life has a universal aspect. He lives moreand more the universal life, subjecting the demands of the oncedomineering present to decisions of a cool judgment that looks backinto the past and carefully weighs the interests of the future, temporal and eternal. Every advance made by the community is thusstored up to the credit of its individual members. So far, then, fromthe development of the communal principle consisting of and comingabout through a limitation of the individual, it is exactly thereverse. Only as the individual develops are communal unity andprogress possible. And on the other hand, only where the communalprinciple has reached its highest development, both extensively andintensively, do we find the most highly developed personality. The oneis a necessary condition of the other. The deepest, blackestselfishness, even, can only come into existence where the communalprinciple has reached its highest development. 

The preceding statement, however, is not equivalent to saying thatwhen communalism and individualism arose in human consciousness theywere both accepted as equally important. The reverse seems always tohave been the case. As soon as the two principles are distinguished inthought, the communal is at once ranked as the higher, and theindividual principle is scorned if not actually rejected. And thereason for this is manifest. From earliest times the constant foewhich the community has had to fight and exterminate has been thewanton, selfish individual. Individualism of this type was thespontaneous contrast to the communal life, and was ever manifestingitself. No age or race has been without it, nor ignorant of it. Assoon as the two principles became clearly contrasted in thought, therefore, because of his actual experience, man could conceive ofindividualism only as the antithesis to communalism; it was felt thatthe two were mutually destructive. It inevitably followed thatcommunalism as a principle was accepted and individualism condemned. In their minds not only social order, but existence itself, was atstake. And they were right. Egoistic individualism is necessarilyatomistic. No society can long maintain its life as a unified andpeaceful society, when such a principle has been widely accepted byits members. The social ills of this and of every age largely arisefrom the presence of this type of men, who hold this principle oflife. 

If, therefore, after a fair degree of national unity has beenattained, the higher stages of national evolution depend on the higherdevelopment of individualism, and if the only kind of individualism ofwhich men can conceive is the egoistic, it becomes evident thatfurther progress must cease. Stagnation, or degeneration, must follow. This is what has happened to nearly all the great nations and races ofthe world. They progressed well up to a certain point. Then theyhalted or fell back. The only possible condition under which a newlease of progressive life could be secured by them was a new varietyof individualism, which would unite the opposite and apparentlycontradictory poles of communalism and egoism, namely, communo-individualism. Inconceivable though it be to those men andnations who have not experienced this type of life, it is neverthelessa fact, and a mighty factor in human and in national evolution. In itslight we are able to see that the communal life itself has not reachedits fullest development until the individualistic principle has beennot only recognized in thought, but exalted, both in theory and infact, to its true and coordinate position beside the communalprinciple. Only then does the nation become fully and completelyorganized. Only then does the national organism contain within itselfthe means for an endless, because a self-sustained, life. 

It is important to guard against a misunderstanding of the principlesjust enunciated which may easily arise. In saying that thedevelopment of the individual has proceeded pari passu with that ofthe community, that every gain by the community has contributeddirectly to the development of the individual, I do not say that thecommunal profits are at once distributed among all the members of thegroup, or that the distribution is at all equal. Indeed, such is farfrom the case. Some few individuals seem to appropriate a large andunfair proportion of the communal bank account. So far as a peoplelive a simple and relatively undifferentiated life, all sharing inmuch the same kind of pursuits, and enjoying much the same grade oflife, --such as prevailed in a large measure in the earlier times, anddecreasingly as society has become industrial, --and so far also as thenew acquirements of thought are transformed into practical life andcommon language, all the members of the community share theseacquirements in fairly equal measure. So far, however, as the communalprofits consist of more or less abstract ideas, embodied in religiousand philosophic thought, and stored away in books and literatureaccessible only to scholars, they are distributed very unequally. Themore highly developed and consequently differentiated the society, themore difficult does distribution become. The very structure of thehighly differentiated communal organism forbids the equal distributionof these goods. The literary and ruling minority have exclusive accessto the treasures. The industrial majority are more and more rigidlyexcluded from them. Thus, although it is strictly true that everyadvance in the communal principle accrues to the benefit of theindividual, it is not true that such advance necessarily accrues tothe benefit of every individual, or equally to all individuals. In itslowest stages, developing communalism lifts all its individual membersto about the same level of mental and moral acquirement. In its middlestages it develops all individuals to a certain degree, and certainindividuals to a high degree. In its highest stages it develops amongall its members a uniformly high grade of personal worth andacquirement. 

Now the great problem on whose solution depends the possibility ofcontinued communal evolution is, from this view-point, the problem ofdistributing the gains of the community to all its members more andmore equally. It is the problem of giving to each human unit all thebest and truest thought and character, all the highest and noblestideals and motives, which the most advanced individuals have secured. If we stop to inquire minutely and analytically just what is thenature of the greatest attainments made by the community, we discoverthat it is not the possession of wealth in land or gold, it is not theaccident of social rank, it is not any incident of temporal happinessor physical ease of life. It consists, on the contrary, in thediscovery of the real nature of man. He is no mere animal, living inthe realm of things and pleasures, limited by the now and the here. Heis a person, a rational being. His thoughts and desires can only beexpressed in terms of infinity. Nothing short of the infinite cansatisfy either his reason or his heart Though living in nature anddependent on it, he is above it, and may and should understand it andrule it. His thoughts embrace all time and all being. In a very realsense he lives an infinite and eternal life, even here in this passingworld. 

The discovery of this set of facts, slowly emerging intoconsciousness, is the culmination of all past history, and thebeginning of all man's higher life. It is the turning point in thehistory of the human race. Every onward step in man's preceding life, whereby he has united to form higher and higher groups, has beenleading onward and upward to the development of strong personality, tothe development of individuals competent to make this great discovery. But this is not enough. 

The next step is to discover the fact, _and to believe it_, that thisinfinite life is the potential possession of every member of thecommunity; that the bank account which the community has been storingup for ages is for the use not only of a favored few, but also of themasses. That since every man is a man, he has an infinite and aneternal life and value, which no accident of birth, or poverty, canannul. Each man needs to discover himself. The great problem, then, which confronts progressive communal evolution is to take thisenlarged definition of the individual and scatter it broadcast overthe land, persuading all men to accept and believe it both forthemselves and for others. This definition must be carried in fullconfidence to the lowest, meanest, most ignorant man that lives in thecommunity, and by its help this down-most man must be shown hisbirthright, and in the light of it he must be raised to actualmanhood. He must "come to himself"; only so can he qualify for hisheritage. 

After a nation, therefore, has secured a large degree of unity, of theconfederated tribal type, the step which must be taken, before it canproceed to more complete nationalization even, is, first, thediscovery of personality as the real and essential characteristic ofmen, and secondly the discovery that high-grade personality may andcan and must be developed in all the members of the community. Inproportion as the members of the community become conscious persons, fully self-conscious and self-regulating, fully imbued with the ideaand the spirit of true personality, of communo-individualism, in thatproportion will the community be unified and centralized, as well ascapable of the most complex and differentiated internal structure. Thestrength of such a nation will be indefinitely greater than that ofany other less personalized and so less communalized nation. 

XXX

ARE THE JAPANESE IMPERSONAL?

Few phases of the Japanese character have proved so fascinating to thephilosophical writer on Japan as that of the personality of this FarEastern people. From the writings of Sir Rutherford Alcock, the firstresident English minister in Japan, down to the last publication thathas come under my eye, all have something to say on this topic. Onewriter, Mr. Percival Lowell, has devoted an entire volume to it underthe title of "The Soul of the Far East, " in which he endeavors toestablish the position that the entire civilization of the Orient, inits institutions, such as the family and the state, in the structureof its language, in its conceptions of nature, in its art, in itsreligion, and finally in its inherent mental nature, is essentially_impersonal_. One of the prominent and long resident missionaries inJapan once delivered a course of lectures on the influence ofpantheism in the Orient, in which he contended, among other things, that the lack of personal pronouns and other phenomena of Japaneselife and religion are due to the presence and power in this land ofpantheistic philosophy preventing the development of personality. 

The more I have examined these writings and their fundamentalassumptions, the more manifest have ambiguities and contradictions inthe use of terms become. I have become also increasingly impressedwith the failure of advocates of Japanese "impersonality" toappreciate the real nature of the phenomena they seek to explain. Theyhave not comprehended the nature or the course of social evolution, nor have they discovered the mutual relation existing between thesocial order and personality. The arguments advanced for the"impersonal" view are more or less plausible, and this method ofinterpreting the Orient appeals for authority to respectablephilosophical writers. No less a philosopher than Hegel is committedto this interpretation. The importance of this subject, not only for acorrect understanding of Japan, but also of the relation existingbetween individual, social, and religious evolution, requires us togive it careful attention. We shall make our way most easily into thisdifficult discussion by considering some prevalent misconceptions anddefective arguments. I may here express my indebtedness to the authorof "The Soul of the Far East" for the stimulus received from hisbrilliant volume, differ though I do from his main thesis. We beginthis study with a few quotations from Mr. Lowell's now classic work. 

"Capability to evolve anything is not one of the markedcharacteristics of the Far East. Indeed, the tendency to spontaneousvariation, Nature's mode of making experiments, would seem there tohave been an enterprising faculty that was early exhausted. Sleepy, nodoubt, from having got up betimes with the dawn, these inhabitants ofthe land of the morning began to look upon their day as already farspent before they had reached its noon. They grew old young, and haveremained much the same age ever since. What they were centuries ago, that at bottom they are to-day. Take away the European influences ofthe past twenty years, and each man might almost be his owngreat-grandfather. In race character, he is yet essentially the same. The traits that distinguished these peoples in the past have beengradually extinguishing them ever since. Of these traits, stagnatinginfluences upon their career, perhaps the most important is the greatquality of "impersonality. "[CGa] "The peoples inhabiting it [thenorthern hemisphere] grow steadily more personal as we go West. Sounmistakable is this gradation that we are almost tempted to ascribeit to cosmical rather than to human causes. .. . The sense of self growsmore intense as we follow the wake of the setting sun, and fadessteadily as we advance into the dawn. America, Europe, the Levant, India, Japan, each is less personal than the one before. We stand atthe nearer end of the scale, the Far Orientals at the other. If withus the 'I' seems to be the very essence of the soul, then the soul ofthe Far East may be said to be 'Impersonality. '"[CH]

Following the argument through the volume we see that individualphysical force and aggressiveness, deficiency of politeness, andselfishness are, according to this line of thought, essential elementsof personality. The opposite set of qualities constitutes the essenceof impersonality. "The average Far Oriental, indeed, talks as much tono purpose as his Western cousin, only in his chit-chat politenesstakes the place of personalities. With him, self is suppressed, and anever-present regard for others is substituted in its stead. A lack ofpersonality is, as we have seen, the occasion of this courtesy; it isalso its cause. .. . Considered a priori, the connection between the twois not far to seek. Impersonality, by lessening the interest in one'sself, induces one to take an interest in others. Introspection tendsto make a man a solitary animal, the absence of it a social one. Themore impersonal the people, the more will the community supplant theindividual in the popular estimation. .. . Then, as the social desiresdevelop, politeness, being the means of their enjoyment, developsalso. "[CI]

Let us take a look at some definitions:

"Individuality, personality, and the sense of self, are only threeaspects of the same thing. They are so many various views of the soul, according as we regard it from an intrinsic, an altruistic, or anegoistic standpoint. .. . By individuality we mean that bundle of ideas, thoughts, and day-dreams which constitute our separate identity, andby virtue of which we feel each one of us at home within himself. .. . Consciousness is the necessary attribute of mental action. Not only isit the sole way we have of knowing mind; without it there would be nomind to know. Not to be conscious of one's self is, mentallyspeaking, not to be. This complex entity, this little cosmos of aworld, the 'I, ' has for its very law of existence, self-consciousness, while personality is the effect it produces upon the consciousness ofothers. "[CJ]

The more we study the above definitions, the more baffling theybecome. Try as I may, I have not been able to fit them, not only tothe facts of my own experience, which may not be strange, but I cannotreconcile them even to each other. There seem to me inherentambiguities and self-contradictions lurking beneath their scientificsplendor. Individuality is stated to be "that bundle of ideas, thoughts, and day-dreams which constitute our separate identity. " Thisseems plain and straightforward, but is it really so? Consciousness isstated to be not only "the necessary attribute of mental action" (towhich exception might be taken on the ground of abundant proof ofunconscious mental action), but it is also considered to be the verycause of mind itself. Not only by consciousness do we know mind, butthe consciousness itself constitutes the mind; "without it there wouldbe no mind to know. " "Not to be conscious of one's self is not to be. "Do we then cease to be, when we sleep? or when absorbed in thought oraction? And do we become new-created when we awake? What is the bondof connection that binds into one the successive consciousnesses ofthe successive days? Does not that "bundle of ideas" become brokeninto as many wholly independent fragments as there are intervalsbetween our sleepings? Or rather is not each fragment a whole initself, and is not the idea of self-continuity from day to day andfrom week to week a self-delusion? How can it be otherwise ifconsciousness constitutes existence? For after the consciousness hasceased and "the bundle of ideas, " which constitutes the individualityof that day, has therefore gone absolutely out of existence, it isimpossible that the old bundle shall be resurrected by a newconsciousness. Only a new bundle can be the product of a newconsciousness. Evidently there is trouble somewhere. But let us passon. 

"The 'I' has for its very law of existence self-consciousness. " Isnot "self-consciousness" here identified with "consciousness" in thepreceding sentence? The very existence of the mind, the "I, " isascribed to each in turn. Is there, then, no difference betweenconsciousness and self-consciousness? Finally, personality is statedto be "the effect it [the "I"] produces on the self-consciousness ofothers. " I confess I gain no clear idea from this statement. Butwhatever else it may mean, this is clear, that personality is not aquality or characteristic of the "I, " but only some effect which the"I" produces on the consciousness of another. Is it a quality, then, of the other person? And does impersonality mean the lack of such aneffect? But does not this introduce us to new confusion? When a humanbeing is wholly absorbed in an altruistic act, for instance, whollyforgetful of self, he is, according to a preceding paragraph, quiteimpersonal; yet, according to the definition before us, he cannot beimpersonal, for he is producing most lively effects on theconsciousness of the poor human being he is befriending; in hisaltruistic deed he is strongly personal, yet not he, for personalitydoes not belong to the person acting, but somehow to the personaffected. How strange that the personality of a person is not his owncharacteristic but another's!

But still more confusing is the definition when we recall that if thebenevolent man is wholly unconscious of self, and is thinking only ofthe one whom he is helping, then he himself is no longer existing. Butin that case how can he help the poor man or even continue to think ofhim? Perfect altruism is self-annihilation! Knowledge of itself by themind is that which constitutes it! But enough. It has become clearthat these terms have not been used consistently, nor are thedefinitions such as to command the assent of any careful psychologistor philosopher. What the writer means to say is, I judge, that themeasure of a man's personality is the amount of impression he makes onhis fellows. For the whole drift of his argument is that both thephysical and mental aggressiveness of the Occidental is far greaterthan that of the Oriental; this characteristic, he asserts, is due tothe deficient development of personality in the Orient, and thisdeficient development he calls "impersonality. " If those writers whodescribe the Orient as "impersonal" fail in their definition of theterm "personal, " their failure to define "impersonal" is even morestriking. They use the term as if it were so well known as to need nodefinition; yet their usage ascribes to it contrary conceptions. As arule they conceive of "impersonality" as a deficiency of development;yet, when they attempt to describe its nature, they speak of it asself-suppression. A clear statement of this latter point may be foundin a passage already quoted: "Politeness takes the place ofpersonalities. With him [the Oriental], self is suppressed, and anever-present regard for others is substituted. " "Impersonality, bylessening the interest in one's self, induces one to take interest inothers. " In this statement it will be noted the "_self issuppressed_. " Does "impersonality" then follow personality, as amatter of historical development? It would so appear from this andkindred passages. But if this is true, then Japan is _more_ instead ofless developed than the Occident. Yet this is exactly the reverse ofthat for which this school of thought contends. 

Let us now examine some concrete illustrations adduced by those whoadvocate Japanese impersonality. They may be arranged in two classes:those that are due wholly to invention, and those that are doubtlessfacts, but that may be better accounted for by some other theory thanthat of "impersonality. "

Mr. Lowell makes amusing material out of the two children's festivals, known by the Japanese as "Sekku, " occurring on March 3 and June 5 (oldcalendar). Because the first of these is exclusively for the girls andthe second is exclusively for the boys, Mr. Lowell concludes that theyare general birthdays, in spite of the fact which he seems to knowthat the ages are not reckoned from these days. He calls them "thegreat impersonal birthdays"; for, according to his supposition, allthe girls celebrate their birthdays on the third day of the third moonand all the boys celebrate theirs on the fifth day of the fifth moon, regardless of the actual days on which they may have been born. Withregard to this understanding of the significance of the festival, Ihave asked a large number of Japanese, not one of whom had ever heardof such an idea. Each one has insisted that individual birthdays arecelebrated regardless of these general festivals; the ages of childrenare never computed from these festivals; they have nothing whatever todo with the ages of the children. [CK]

The report of the discussions of the Japanese Society of ComparativeReligion contains quite a minute statement of all the facts known asto these festivals, much too long in this connection, but among themthere is not the slightest reference to the birthday featureattributed to them by Mr. Lowell. [CL]

Mr. Lowell likewise invents another fact in support of his theory byhis interpretation of the Japanese method of computing ages. Speakingof the advent of an infant into the home he says, that "from themoment he makes his appearance he is spoken of as a year old, and thissame age he continues to be considered in most simple cases ofcalculation, till the beginning of the next calendar year. When thatepoch of general rejoicing arrives, he is credited with another yearhimself. So is everybody else. New Year's day is a common birthday forthe community, a sort of impersonal anniversary for his whole world. "Now this is a very entertaining conceit, but it will hardly passmuster as a serious argument with one who has any real understandingof Japanese ideas on the subject. The simple fact is that the Japanesedoes not ordinarily tell you how old the child is, but only in howmany year periods he has lived. Though born December 31, on January 1he has undoubtedly lived in two different year periods. This method ofcounting, however, is not confined to the counting of ages, but itcharacterizes all their counting. If you ask a man how many daysbefore a certain festival near at hand he will say ten where we wouldsay but nine. In other words, in counting periods the Japanese countall, including both the first and the last, whereas we omit the first. This as a custom is an interesting psychological problem, but it hasnot the remotest connection with "personality" or "impersonality. "Furthermore, the Japanese have another method of signifying the age ofa child which corresponds exactly to ours. You have but to ask what isthe "full" age of a child to receive a statement which satisfies ourideas of the problem. The idea of calling New Year's day a great"impersonal" birthday because forsooth all the members of thecommunity and the nation then enter on a new year period, and of usingthat as an argument for the "impersonality" of the whole race, is asinteresting as it is inconclusive. 

Much is made of the fact that Japanese art has paid its chiefattention to nature and to animals, and but little to man. Thisproves, it is argued, that the Japanese artist and people are"impersonal"--that they are not self-conscious, for their gaze isdirected outward, toward "impersonal" nature; had they been anaggressive personal people, a people conscious of self, their artwould have depicted man. The cogency of this logic seems questionableto me. Art is necessarily objective, whether it depicts nature or man;the gaze is always and necessarily outward, even when it is depictingthe human form. In our consideration of the æsthetic elements ofJapanese character[CM] we gave reasons for the Japanese love ofnatural beauty and for their relatively slight attention to the humanform. If the reasons there given were correct, the fact that Japaneseart is concerned chiefly with nature has nothing whatever to do withthe "impersonality" of the people. If "impersonality" is essentiallyaltruistic, if it consists of self-suppression and interest in others, then it is difficult to see how art that depicts the form even ofhuman beings can escape the charge of being "impersonal" except whenthe artist is depicting himself. If, again, supreme interest inobjective "impersonal" nature proves the lack of "personality, " shouldwe not argue that the West is supremely "impersonal" because of itsextraordinary interest in nature and in the natural and physicalsciences? Are naturalists and scientists "impersonal, " and arephilosophers and psychologists "personal" in nature? If it be arguedthat art which depicts the human emotions is properly speakingsubjective, and therefore a proof of developed personality, will it bemaintained that Japan is devoid of such art? How about the picturesand the statues of warriors? How about the passionate features of theNi-o, the placid faces of the Buddhas and other religious imagery? Arethere not here the most powerful representations possible of humanemotions, both active and passive? But even so, is not the gaze of theartist still _outward_ on others, _i. E. _, is he not altruistic; and, therefore, "impersonal, " according to this method of thought and useof terms? Are European artists who revel in landscape and animalscenes deficient in "personal" development, and are those who devotetheir lives to painting nude women particularly developed in"personality"? Truly, a defective terminology and a distortedconception of what "personality" is, land one in most contradictorypositions. 

Those who urge the "impersonality" of the Orient make much of theJapanese idea of the "family, " with the attendant customs. The factthat marriage is arranged for by the parents, and that the twoindividuals most concerned have practically no voice in the matter, proves conclusively, they argue, that the latter have little"personality. " Here again all turns on the definition of thisimportant word. If by "personality" is meant consciousness of one'sself as an independent individual, then I do not see what relation thetwo subjects have. If, however, it means the willingness of thesubjects of marriage to forego their own desires and choices; becauseindeed they do not have any of their own, then the facts will not bearout the argument. These writers skillfully choose certain facts out ofthe family customs whereby to illustrate and enforce this theory, butthey entirely omit others having a significant bearing upon it. Take, for instance, the fact that one-third of the marriages end in divorce. What does this show? It shows that one-third of the individuals ineach marriage are so dissatisfied with the arrangements made by theparents that they reject them and assert their own choice anddecision. According to the argument for "impersonality" in marriage, these recalcitrant, unsubmissive individuals have a great amount of"personality, " that is, consciousness of self; and this consciousnessof self produces a great effect on the other party to the marriage;and the effect on the other party (in the vast majority of the caseswomen), that is to say, the effect of the divorce on the consciousnessof the women, constitutes the personality of the men! The marriagecustoms cited, therefore, do not prove the point, for no account istaken of the multitudinous cases in which one party or the otherutterly refuses to carry out the arrangements of the parents. Many agirl declines from the beginning the proposals of the parents. Thesecases are by no means few. Only a few days before writing the presentlines a waiting girl in a hotel requested me to find her a place ofservice in some foreign family. On inquiry she told me how her parentswished her to marry into a certain family; but that she could notendure the thought and had run away from home. One of the facts whichstrike a missionary, as he becomes acquainted with the people, is thefrequency of the cases of running away from home. Girls run away, probably not as frequently as boys, yet very often. Are we to believethat these are individuals who have an excessive amount of"personality"? If so, then the development of "personality" in Japanis far more than the advocates of its "impersonality" recognize orwould allow us to believe. Mr. Lowell devotes three pages to abeautiful and truthful description of the experience known in the Westas "falling in love. " Turning his attention to the Orient, because ofthe fact that marriages are arranged for by the families concerned, heargues that: "No such blissful infatuation falls to the lot of the FarOriental. He never is the dupe of his own desire, the willing victimof his self-delusion. He is never tempted to reveal himself, and bythus revealing, realize. .. . For she is not his love; she is only hiswife; and what is left of a romance when the romance is left out?"Although there is an element of truth in this, yet it is useless as asupport for the theory of Japanese "impersonality. " For it is not afact that the Japanese do not fall in love; it is a well-knownexperience to them. It is inconceivable how anyone at all acquaintedwith either Japanese life or literature could make such an assertion. The passionate love of a man and a woman for each other, so strongthat in multitudes of cases the two prefer a common death to a lifeapart, is a not uncommon event in Japan. Frequently we read in thedaily papers of a case of mutual suicide for love. This issufficiently common to have received a specific name "joshi. "[CN]

So far as the argument for "impersonality" is concerned thisillustration from the asserted lack of love is useless, for it is oneof those manufactured for the occasion by imaginative and resourcefuladvocates of "impersonality. "

But I do not mean to say that "falling in love" plays the sameimportant part in the life and development of the youth in Japan thatit does in the West. It is usually utterly ignored, so far as parentalplanning for marriage is concerned. Love is not recognized as a properbasis for the contraction of marriage, and is accordingly frownedupon. It is deemed a sign of mental and moral weakness for a man tofall in love. Under these conditions it is not at all strange that"falling in love" is not so common an experience as in the West. Furthermore, this profound experience is not utilized as it is in theWest as a refining and elevating influence in the life of a young manor woman. In a land where "falling in love" is regarded as an immoralthing, a breaking out of uncontrollable animal passion, it is notstrange that it should not be glorified by moralists or sanctified byreligion. There are few experiences in the West so ennobling as thelove that a young man and a young woman bear to each other during thedays of their engagement and lasting onward throughout the years oftheir lengthening married life. The West has found the secret ofmaking use of this period in the lives of the young to elevate andpurify them of which the East knows little. 

But there are still other and sadder consequences following from theattitude of the Japanese to the question of "falling in love. " It canhardly be doubted that the vast number of divorces is due to thedefective method of betrothal, a method which disregards the freechoice of the parties most concerned. The system of divorce is, we maysay, the device of society for remedying the inherent defects of thebetrothal system. It treats both the man and the woman as though theywere not persons but unfeeling machines. Personality, for a whilesubmissive, soon asserts its liberty, in case the married partiesprove uncongenial, and demands the right of divorce. Divorce is thusthe device of thwarted personality. But in addition to this evil, there is that of concubinage or virtual polygamy, which is often theresult of "falling in love. " And then, there is the resort ofhopelessly thwarted personality known in the West as well as in theEast, murder and suicide, and oftentimes even double suicide, referredto above. The marriage customs of the Orient are such that hopelesslove, though mutual, is far more frequent than in the West, and thedeath of lovers in each other's arms, after having together taken thefatal draught, is not rare. The number of suicides due to hopelesslove in 1894 was 407, and the number of murders for the same cause was94. Here is a total of over five hundred deaths in a single year, verylargely due to the defective marriage system. Do not these phenomenarefute assertions to the effect that the Japanese are so impersonal asnot to know what it is to "fall in love"? If the question of thepersonality of the Japanese is to be settled by the phenomena offamily life and the strength of the sexual emotion, would we not haveto pronounce them possessed of strongly developed personality?

XXXI

THE JAPANESE NOT IMPERSONAL

We must now face the far more difficult task of presenting a positivestatement in regard to the problem of personality in the Orient. Weneed to discover just what is or should be meant by the terms"personality" and "impersonality. " We must also analyze this Orientalcivilization and discover its elementary factors, in order that we maysee what it is that has given the impression to so many students thatthe Orient is "impersonal. " In doing this, although our aim isconstructive, we shall attain our end with greater ease if we rise topositive results through further criticism of defective views. Wenaturally begin with definitions. 

"Individuality" is defined by the Standard Dictionary as "the state orquality of being individual; separate or distinct existence. ""Individual" is defined as "Anything that cannot be divided orseparated into parts without losing identity. .. . A single person, animal, or thing. " "Personality" is defined as "That which constitutesa person; conscious, separate existence as an intelligent andvoluntary being. " "Person" is defined as "Any being having life, intelligence, will, and separate individual existence. " On thesevarious definitions the following observations seem pertinent. 

"Individuality" has reference only to the distinctions existingbetween different objects, persons, or things. The term drawsattention to the fact of distinctness and difference and not to thequalities which make the difference, and least of all to theconsciousness of identity by virtue of which "we feel each one of usat home within himself. "

"Personality" properly has reference only to that which constitutes aperson. As contrasted with an animal a person has not only life, butalso a highly developed and self-conscious intelligence, feeling, andwill; these involve moral relations toward other persons and religiousrelations toward God. 

Consciousness is not attendant on every act of the person, much lessis self-consciousness, although both are always potential and more orless implicit. A person is often so absorbed in thought or act as tobe wholly unconscious of his thinking or acting; the consciousness is, so to speak, submerged for the time being. Self-consciousness impliesconsiderable progress in reflection on one's own states of mind, andin the attainment of the consciousness of one's own individuality. Itis the result of introspection. Self-consciousness, however, does notconstitute one's identity; it merely recognizes it. 

The foundation for a correct conception of the term "personality"rests on the conception of the term "soul" or "spirit. " In myjudgment, each human being is to be conceived as being a separate"soul, " endowed by its very nature with definite capacities orqualities or attributes which we describe as mental, emotional, andvolitional, having powers of consciousness more or less developedaccording to the social evolution of the race, the age of theindividual, his individual environment, and depending also on theamount of education he may have received. The possession of a soulendowed with these qualities constitutes a person; their possession inmarked measure constitutes developed personality, and in defectivemeasure, undeveloped personality. 

The unique character of a "person" is that he combines perfectseparateness with the possibility and more or less of the actuality ofperfect universality. A "person" is in a true sense a universal, aninfinite being. He is thus through the constitution of his psychicnature a thinking, feeling, and willing being. Through his intellectand in proportion to his knowledge he becomes united with the wholeobjective universe; through his feelings he may become united insympathy and love with all sentient creation, and even with Godhimself, the center and source of all being; through his active willhe is increasingly creator of his environment. Man is thus in a truesense creating the conditions which make him to be what he is. Thusin no figurative sense, but literally and actually, man is in theprocess of creating himself. He is realizing the latent and hithertounsuspected potentialities of his nature. He is creating a world inwhich to express himself; and this he does by expressing himself. Inproportion as man advances, making explicit what is implicit in hisinner nature, is he said to grow in personality. A man thus bothpossesses personality and grows in personality. He could not grow init did he not already actually possess it. In such growth bothelements of his being, the individual and the universal, developsimultaneously. A person of inferior personal development is at onceless individual and less universal. This is a matter, however, not ofendowment but of development. We thus distinguish between the originalpersonal endowment, which we may call intrinsic or inherentpersonality, and the various forms in which this personality hasmanifested and expressed itself, which we may call extrinsic oracquired personality. Inherent personality is that whichdifferentiates man from animal. It constitutes the original involutionwhich explains and even necessitates man's entire evolution. There maybe, nay, must be, varying degrees of expression of the inherentpersonality, just as there may be and must be varying degrees ofconsciousness of personality. These depend on the degree of evolutionattained by the race and by the individuals of the race. 

It is no part of our plan to justify this conception of the nature ofpersonality, or to defend these brief summary statements as to itsinherent nature. It is enough if we have gained a clear idea of thisconception on which the present chapter, and indeed this entire work, rests. In discussing the question as to personality in the Orient, itis important for us ever to bear in mind the distinctions between theinherent endowment that constitutes personal beings, the explicit andexternal expression of that endowment, and the possession of theconsciousness of that endowment. For these are three things quitedistinct, though intimately related. 

The term "impersonality" demands special attention, being the mostmisused and abused term of all. The first and natural signification ofthe word is the mere negation of personality; as a stone, forinstance, is strictly "impersonal. " This is the meaning given by thedictionaries. But in this sense, of course, it is inapplicable tohuman beings. What, then, is the meaning when applied to them? WhenMr. Lowell says, "If with us [of the West] the 'I' seems to be of thevery essence of the soul, then the soul of the Far East may be said tobe 'impersonal, '" what does he mean? He certainly does not mean thatthe Chinese and Japanese and Hindus have no emotional or volitionalcharacteristics, that they are strictly "impersonal"; nor does he meanthat the Oriental has less development of powers of thinking, willing, feeling, or of introspective meditation. The whole argument shows thathe means that _their sense of the individuality or separateness of theEgo is so slight that it is practically ignored; and this not by theircivilization alone, but by each individual himself_. The supremeconsciousness of the individual is not of himself, but of his familyor race; or if he is an intensely religious man, his consciousness isconcerned with his essential identity with the Absolute and UltimateBeing, rather than with his own separate self. In other words, theterm "impersonal" is made to do duty for the non-existent negative of"individual. " "Impersonal" is thus equivalent to "universal" andpersonal to "individual. " To change the phraseology, the term"impersonal" is used to signify a state of mind in which theseparateness or individuality of the individual ego is not fullyrecognized or appreciated even by the individual himself. Theprominent element of the individual's consciousness is the unity orthe universalism, rather than the multiplicity or individualism. 

Mr. Lowell in effect says this in his closing chapter entitled"Imagination. " His thesis seems to be that the universal mind, ofwhich, each individual receives a fragment, becomes increasinglydifferentiated as the race mind evolves. In proportion as theevolution has progressed does the individual realize hisindividuality--his separateness; this individualization, thisdifferentiation of the individual mind is, in his view, the measure aswell as the cause of the higher civilization. The lack of suchindividualization he calls "impersonality"; in such a mind thedominant thought is not of the separateness between, but of the unitythat binds together, himself and the universal mind. 

If the above is a correct statement of the conception of those whoemphasize the "impersonality" of the Orient, then there are two thingsconcerning it which may be said at once. First, the idea is aperfectly clear and intelligible one, the proposition is definite andtangible. But why do they not so express it? The terms "personality"and "individuality" are used synonymously; while "impersonal" isconsidered the equivalent of the negative of individual, un-individual--a word which has not yet been and probably never willbe used. But the negation of individual is universal; "impersonal, "therefore, according to the usage of these writers, becomes equivalentto universal. 

But, secondly, even after the use of terms has become thus understood, and we are no longer confused over the words, having arrived at theidea they are intended to convey, the idea itself is fundamentallyerroneous. I freely admit that there is an interesting truth of whichthese writers have got a glimpse and to which they are striving togive expression, but apparently they have not understood the realnature of this truth and consequently they are fundamentally wrong incalling the Far East "impersonal, " even in their sense of the word. They are furthermore in error, in ascribing this "impersonal"characteristic of the Japanese to their inherent race nature, If theyare right, the problem is fundamentally one of biological evolution. 

In contrast to this view, it is here contended, first, that thefeature they are describing is not such as they describe it; second, that it is not properly called "impersonality"; third, that it is nota matter of inherent race nature, of brain structure, or of minddifferentiation, but wholly a matter of social evolution; and, fourth, that if there is such a trait as they describe, it is not due to adeficiently developed but on the contrary to a superlatively developedpersonality, which might better be called super-personality. To statethe position here advocated in a nutshell, it is maintained that theasserted "impersonality" of the Japanese is the result of thecommunalistic nature of the social order which has prevailed down tothe most recent times; it has put its stamp on every feature of thenational and individual life, not omitting the language, thephilosophy, the religion, or even the inmost thoughts of the people. This dominance of the communalistic type of social order has doubtlesshad an effect on the physical and psychic, including the brain, development of the people. These physical and psychical developments, however, are not the cause, but the product, of the social order. Theyare, furthermore, of no superlative import, since they offer noinsuperable obstacle to the introduction of a social order radicallydifferent from that of past millenniums. 

Before proceeding to elaborate and illustrate this general position, it seems desirable to introduce two further definitions. 

Communalism and individualism are the two terms used throughout thiswork to describe two contrasted types of social order. 

By communalism I mean that order of society, whether family, tribal, or national, in which the idea and the importance of the community aremore or less clearly recognized, and in which this idea has become theconstructive principle of the social order, and where at the same timethe individual is practically ignored and crushed. 

By individualism I mean that later order of society in which the worthof the individual has been recognized and emphasized, to the extent ofradically modifying the communalism, securing a liberty for individualact and thought and initiative, of which the old order had noconception, and which it would have considered both dangerous andimmoral. Individualism is not that atomic social order in which theidea of the communal unity has been rejected, and each separate humanbeing regarded as the only unit. Such a society could hardly be calledan order, even by courtesy. Individualism is that developed stage ofcommunalism, wherein the advantages of close communal unity have beenretained, and wherein, at the same time, the idea and practice of theworth of the individual and the importance of giving him liberty ofthought and action have been added. Great changes in the internalstructure, of society follow, but the communial unity or idea isneither lost nor injured. In taking up our various illustrationsregarding personality in Japan, three points demand our attention;what are the facts? are they due to, and do they prove, the asserted"impersonality" of the people? and are the facts sufficientlyaccounted for by the communal theory of the Japanese social order?

Let us begin, then, with the illustration of which advocates of"impersonality" make so much, Japanese politeness. As to the realityof the fact, it is hardly necessary that I present extended proof. Japanese politeness is proverbial. It is carried into the minutestacts of daily life; the holding of the hands, the method of entering aroom, the sucking in of the breath on specific occasions, thearrangement of the hair, the relative places of honor in asitting-room, the method of handing guests refreshments, the exchangeof friendly gifts--every detail of social life is rigidly dominated byetiquette. Not only acts, but the language of personal address aswell, is governed by ideas of politeness which have fundamentallyaffected the structure of the language, by preventing the developmentof personal pronouns. 

Now what is the cause of this characteristic of the Japanese? It iscommonly attributed by writers of the impersonal school to the"impersonality" of the Oriental mind. "Impersonality" is not only theoccasion, it is the cause of the politeness of the Japanese people. "Self is suppressed, and an ever-present regard for others issubstituted in its stead. " "Impersonality, by lessening the interestin one's self, induces one to take interest in others. "[CO] Politenessis, in these passages, attributed to the impersonal nature of theJapanese mind. The following quotations show that this characteristicis conceived of as inherent in race and mind structure, not in thesocial order, as is here maintained. "The nation grew up to man'sestate, keeping the mind of its childhood. "[CP] "In racecharacteristics, he is yet essentially the same. .. . Of these traits. .. Perhaps the most important is the great quality ofimpersonality. "[CQ] "The peoples inhabiting it [the earth's temperatezone] grow steadily more personal as we go West. So unmistakable isthis gradation that one is almost tempted to ascribe it to cosmicalrather than human causes. .. . The essence of the soul of the Far Eastmay be said to be impersonality. "[CR]

In his chapter on "Imagination, " Mr. Lowell seeks to explain the causeof the "impersonality" of the Orient. He attributes it to their markedlack of the faculty of "imagination"--the faculty of forming new andoriginal ideas. Lacking this faculty, there has been relatively littlestimulus to growth, and hence no possibility of differentiation andthus of individualization. 

If politeness were due to the "impersonal" nature of the race mind, itwould be impossible to account for the rise and decline of Japaneseetiquette, for it should have existed from the beginning, andcontinued through all time, nor could we account for the grossimpoliteness that is often met with in recent years. The Japanesethemselves deplore the changes that have taken place. They testifythat the older forms of politeness were an integral element of thefeudal system and were too often a thin veneer of manner by no meansexpressive of heart interest. None can be so absolutely rude as theywho are masters of the forms of politeness, but have not the kindlyheart. The theory of "impersonality" does not satisfactorily accountfor the old-time politeness of Japan. 

The explanation here offered for the development and decline ofpoliteness is that they are due to the nature of the social order. Thoroughgoing feudalism long maintained, with its social ranks andfree use of the sword, of necessity develops minute unwritten rules ofetiquette; without the universal observance of these customs, lifewould be unbearable and precarious, and society itself would beimpossible. Minute etiquette is the lubricant of a feudal socialorder. The rise and fall of Japan's phenomenal system of feudaletiquette is synchronous with that of her feudal system, to which itis due rather than to the asserted "impersonality" of the race mind. 

The impersonal theory is amazingly blind to adverse phenomena. Such aone is the marked sensitiveness of the middle and upper classes to theleast slight or insult. The gradations of social rank are scrupulouslyobserved, not only on formal occasions, but also in the homes atinformal and social gatherings. Failure to show the proper attention, or the use of language having an insufficient number of honorificparticles and forms, would be instantly interpreted as a personalslight, if not an insult. [CS]

Now if profuse courtesy is a proof of "impersonality, " as itsadvocates argue, what does morbid sensitiveness prove but highlydeveloped personality? But then arises the difficulty of understandinghow the same individuals can be both profusely polite and morbidlysensitive at one and the same time? Instead of inferring"impersonality" from the fact of politeness, from the two facts ofsensitiveness and politeness we may more logically infer aconsiderable degree of personality. Yet I would not lay much stress onthis argument, for oftentimes (or is it always true?) the weaker andmore insignificant the person, the greater the sensitiveness. Extremesensitiveness is as natural and necessary a product of a highlydeveloped feudalism as is politeness, and neither is particularly dueto the high or the low development of personality. 

Similarly with respect to the question of altruism, which ispractically identified with politeness by expounders of Oriental"impersonality. " They make this term (altruism) the virtualequivalent of "impersonality"--interest in others rather than in self, an interest due, according to their view, to a lack of differentiationof the individual minds; the individuals, though separate, stillretain the universalism of the original mind-stuff. This use of theterm altruism makes it a very different thing from the quality orcharacteristic which in the West is described by this term. 

But granting that this word is used with a legitimate meaning, we ask, is altruism in this sense an inherent quality of the Japanese race?Let the reader glance back to our discussion of the possession by theJapanese of sympathy, and the humane feelings. [CT] We saw there markedproofs of their lack. The cruelty of the old social order was such aswe can hardly realize. Altruism that expresses itself only in politeforms, and does not strive to alleviate the suffering of fellow-men, can have very little of that sense, which this theory requires. Somuch as to the fact. Then as to the theory. If this alleged altruismwere inherent in the mental structure, it ought to be a universalcharacteristic of the Japanese; it should be all-pervasive andpermanent. It should show itself toward the foreigner as well astoward the native. But such is far from the case. Few foreigners havereceived a hearty welcome from the people at large. They are suspectedand hated; as little room as possible is made for them. The less oftheir presence and advice, the better. So far as there is any interestin them, it is on the ground of utility, and not of inherent good willbecause of a feeling of aboriginal unity. Of course there are manyexceptions to these statements, especially among the Christians. Butsuch is the attitude of the people as a whole, especially of themiddle and upper classes toward the foreigners. 

If we turn our attention to the opposite phase of Japanese character, namely their selfishness, their self-assertiveness, and theiraggressiveness, whether as a nation or as individuals, and consider atthe same time the recent rise of this spirit, we are again impressedboth with the narrow range of facts to which the advocates of"impersonality" call our attention, and also with the utterinsufficiency of their theory to account for the facts they overlook. According to the theory of altruism and "impersonality, " these arecharacteristics of undeveloped races and individuals, while thereverse characteristics, those of selfishness and self-assertiveness, are the products of a later and higher development, marks of strongpersonality. But neither selfishness nor individual aggressiveness isa necessary element of developed "personality. " If it were, childrenwho have never been trained by cultivated mothers, but have beenallowed to have their own way regardless of the rights or desires ofothers, are more highly developed in "personality" than the adult whohas, through a long life of self-discipline and religious devotion, become regardless of his selfish interests and solicitous only for thewelfare of others. If the high development of altruism is equivalentto the development of "impersonality, " then those in the West who arerenowned for humanity and benevolence are "impersonal, " while robbersand murderers and all who are regardless of the welfare of others arepossessed of the most highly developed "personality. " And it alsofollows that highly developed altruistic benefactors of mankind aresuch, after all, because they are _undeveloped_, --their minds arerelatively undifferentiated, --hence their fellow-feeling and kindlyacts. There is a story of some learned wit who met a half-drunkenboor; the latter plunged ahead, remarking, "I never get out of the wayof a fool"; to which the quick reply came, "I always do. " According tothis argument based on self-assertive aggressiveness, the boor was theman possessed of a strong personality, while the gentleman wasrelatively "impersonal. " If pure selfishness and aggressiveness arethe measure of personality, then are not many of the carnivorousanimals endowed with a very high degree of "personality"?

The truth is, a comprehensive and at the same time correct contrastbetween the East and the West cannot be stated in terms of personalityand impersonality. They fail not only to take in all the facts, butthey fail to explain even the facts they take in. Such a contrast ofthe East and the West can be stated only in the terms of communalismand individualism. As we have already seen, [CU] every nation has topass through the communal stage, in order to become a nation at all. The families and tribes of which it is composed need to becomeconsolidated in order to survive in the struggle for existence withsurrounding families, tribes, and nations. In this stage theindividual is of necessity sunk out of sight in the demands of thecommunity. This secures indeed a species of altruism, but of arelatively low order. It is communal altruism which nature compels onpain of extermination. This, however, is very different from thealtruism of a high religious experience and conscious ethicaldevotion. This latter is volitional, the product of character. Thisaltruism can arise chiefly in a social order where individualism to alarge extent has gained sway. It is this variety of altruism thatcharacterizes the West, so far as the West is altruistic. But on theother hand, in a social order in which individualism has full swing, the extreme of egoistic selfishness can also find opportunity fordevelopment. It is accordingly in the West that extreme selfishness, the most odious of sins, is seen at its best, or rather its worst. 

So again we see that selfish aggressiveness and an exaltedconsciousness of one's individuality or separateness are not necessarymarks of developed personality, nor their opposite the marks ofundeveloped personality--so-called "impersonality. " On the contrary, the reverse statement would probably come nearer the truth. He who isintensely conscious of the great unities of nature and of humannature, of the oneness that unites individuals to the nation and tothe race, and who lives a corresponding life of goodness and kindness, is by far the more developed personality. But the manifestations ofpersonality will vary much with the nature of the social order. Thismay change with astonishing rapidity. Such a change has come over thesocial order of the Japanese nation during the past thirty years, radically modifying its so-called impersonal features. Their primitivedocility, their politeness, their marriage customs, their universaladoption of Chinese thoughts, language, and literature, and now, inrecent times, their rejection of the Chinese philosophy and science, their assertiveness in Korea and China and their aggressive attitudetoward the whole world--all these multitudinous changes and completereversals of ideals and customs, point to the fact that the formercharacteristics of their civilization were not "impersonal, " butcommunal, and that they rested on social development rather than oninherent nature or on deficient mental differentiation. 

A common illustration of Japanese "impersonality, " depending for itsforce wholly on invention, is the deficiency of the Japanese languagein personal pronouns and its surplus of honorifics. At first thoughtthis argument strikes one as very strong, as absolutely invincibleindeed. Surely, if there is a real lack of personal pronouns, is notthat proof positive that the people using the language, nay, theauthors of the language, must of necessity be deficient in the senseof personality? And if the verbs in large numbers are impersonal, doesnot that clinch the matter? But further consideration of the argumentand its illustrations gradually shows its weakness. At present I mustconfess that the argument seems to me utterly fallacious, and for thesufficient reason that the personal element is introduced, if notalways explicitly yet at least implicitly, in almost every sentenceuttered. The method of its expression, it is true, is quite differentfrom that adopted by Western languages, but it is none the less there. It is usually accomplished by means of the titles, "honorific"particles, and honorific verbs and nouns. "Honorable shoes" can't byany stretch of the imagination mean shoes that belong to me; everyJapanese would at once think "your shoes"; his attention is notdistracted by the term "honorable" as is that of the foreigner; thehonor is largely overlooked by the native in the personal elementimplied. The greater the familiarity with the language the more clearit becomes that the impressions of "impersonality" are due to theignorance of the foreigner rather than to the real "impersonal"character of the Japanese thought or mind. In the Japanese methods oflinguistic expression, politeness and personality are indeed, inextricably interwoven; but they are not at all confused. Thedistinctions of person and the consciousness of self in the Japanese_thought_ are as clear and distinct as they are in the Englishthought. In the Japanese _sentence_, however, the politeness and thepersonality cannot be clearly separated. On that account, however, there is no more reason for denying one element than the other. 

So far from the deficiency of personal pronouns being a proof ofJapanese "impersonality, " _i. E. _, of lack of consciousness of self, this very deficiency may, with even more plausibility, be used toestablish the opposite view. Child psychology has established the factthat an early phenomenon of child mental development is the emphasislaid on "meum" and "tuum, " mine and yours. The child is athoroughgoing individualist in feelings, conceptions, and language. The first personal pronoun is ever on his lips and in his thought. Only as culture arises and he is trained to see how disagreeable inothers is excessive emphasis on the first person, does he learn tomoderate his own excessive egoistic tendency. Is it not a fact thatthe studied evasion of first personal pronouns by cultured people inthe West is due to their developed consciousness of self? Is itpossible for one who has no consciousness of self to conceive asimpolite the excessive use of egoistic forms of speech? From thispoint of view we might argue that, because of the deficiency of herpersonal pronouns, the Japanese nation has advanced far beyond anyother nation in the process of self-consciousness. But this too wouldbe an error. Nevertheless, so far from saying that the lack ofpersonal pronouns is a proof of the "impersonality" of the Japanese, Ithink we may fairly use it as a disproof of the proposition. 

The argument for the inherent impersonality of the Japanese mindbecause of the relative lack of personal pronouns is still furtherundermined by the discovery, not only of many substitutes, but also ofseveral words bearing the strong impress of the conception of self. There are said to be three hundred words which may be used as personalpronouns--"Boku, " "servant, " is a common term for "I, " and "kimi, ""Lord, " for "you"; these words are freely used by the student class. Officials often use "Konata, " "here, " and "Anata, " "there, " for thefirst and second persons. "Omaye, " "honorably in front, " is used bothcondescendingly and honorifically; "you whom I condescend to allow inmy presence, " and "you who confer on me the honor of entering yourpresence. " The derivation of the most common word for I, "Watakushi, "is unknown, but, in addition to its pronominal use, it has the meaningof "private. " It has become a true personal pronoun and is freely usedby all classes. 

In addition to the three hundred words which may be used as personalpronouns the Japanese language possesses an indefinite number of waysfor delicately suggesting the personal element without its expressutterance. This is done either by subtle praise, which can then onlyrefer to the person addressed or by more or less baldself-depreciation, which can then only refer to the first person. "Gokanai, " "honorable within the house, " can only mean, according toJapanese etiquette, "your wife, " or "your family, " while "gu-sai, ""foolish wife, " can only mean "my wife. " "Gufu, " "foolish father, ""tonji, " "swinish child, " and numberless other depreciatory terms suchas "somatsu na mono, " "coarse thing, " and "tsumaranu mono, " "worthlessthing, " according to the genius of the language can only refer to thefirst person, while all appreciative and polite terms can only referto the person addressed. The terms, "foolish, " "swinish, " etc. , havelost their literal sense and mean now no more than "my, " while thepolite forms mean "yours. " To translate these terms, "my foolishwife, " "my swinish son, " is incorrect, because it twice translates thesame word. In such cases the Japanese _thought_ is best expressed byusing the possessive pronoun and omitting the derogative adjectivealtogether. Japanese indirect methods for the expression of thepersonal relation are thus numberless and subtile. May it not beplausibly argued since the European has only a few blunt pronounswherewith to state this idea while the Japanese has both numberlesspronouns and many other delicate ways of conveying the same idea, thatthe latter is far in advance of the European in the development ofpersonality? I do not use this argument, but as an argument it seemsto me much more plausible than that which infers from the paucity oftrue pronouns the absence, or at least the deficiency, of personality. 

Furthermore, Japanese possesses several words for self. "Onore, ""one's self, " and "Ware, " "I or myself, " are pure Japanese, while "Ji"(the Chinese pronunciation for "onore"), "ga, " "self, " and "shi" (theChinese pronunciation of "watakushi, " meaning private) areSinico-Japanese words, that is, Chinese derived words. TheseSinico-Japanese terms are in universal use in compound words, and areas truly Japanese as many Latin, Greek and Norman-derived words arereal English. "Ji-bun, " "one's self"; "jiman, " "self-satisfaction";"ji-fu, " "self-assertion"; "jinin, " "self-responsibility"; "ji-boji-ki, " "self-destruction, self-abandonment"; "ji-go ji-toku, ""self-act, self-reward"--always in a bad sense; "ga-yoku, " "selfishdesire"; "ga-shin, " "selfish heart"; "ga we oru, " "self-mastery";"muga, " "unselfish"; "shi-shin shi-yoku, " "private or self-heart, private or self-desire, " that is, selfishness"; "shi-ai shi-shin, ""private-or self-love, private-or-self heart, " _i. E. _, selfishness--these and countless other compound words involving theconception of self, can hardly be explained by the "impersonal, ""altruistic" theory of Japanese race mind and language. In truth, ifthis theory is unable to explain the facts it recognizes, much lesscan it account for those it ignores. 

To interpret correctly the phenomena we are considering, we must askourselves how personal pronouns have arisen in other languages. Didthe primitive Occidental man produce them outright from the momentthat he discovered himself? Far from it. There are abundant reasonsfor believing that every personal pronoun is a degenerate or, if youprefer, a developed noun. Pronouns are among the latest products oflanguage, and, in the sphere of language, are akin to algebraicsymbols in the sphere of mathematics or to a machine in the sphere oflabor. A pronoun, whether personal, demonstrative, or relative, is awonderful linguistic invention, enabling the speaker to carry on longtrains of unbroken thought. Its invention was no more connected withthe sense of self, than was the invention of any labor-saving device. The Japanese language is even more defective for lack of relativepronouns than it is for lack of personal pronouns. Shall we argue fromthis that the Japanese people have no sense of relation? Of coursepersonal pronouns could not arise without or before the sense of self, but the problem is whether the sense of self could arise without orexist before that particular linguistic device, the personal pronoun?On this problem the Japanese language and civilization throwconclusive light. 

The fact is that the ancestors of the Anglo-Saxon and Japanese peoplesparted company so long ago that in the course of their respectivelinguistic evolutions, not only have all common terms been completelyeliminated, but even common methods of expression. The so-calledIndo-European races hit upon one method of sentence structure, amethod in which pronouns took an important part and the personalpronoun was needed to express the personal element, while the Japanesehit upon another method which required little use of pronouns andwhich was able to express the personal element wholly without thepersonal pronoun. The sentence structure of the two languages is thusradically different. 

Now the long prevalent feudal social order has left its stamp on theJapanese language no less than on every other feature of Japanesecivilization. Many of the quasi personal pronouns are manifestly offeudal parentage. Under the new civilization and in contact withforeign peoples who can hardly utter a sentence without a personalpronoun, the majority of the old quasi personal pronouns are droppingout of use, while those in continued use are fast rising to theposition of full-fledged personal pronouns. This, however, is not dueto the development of self-consciousness on the part of the people, but only to the development of the language in the direction ofcomplete and concise expression of thought. It would be rash to saythat the feudal social order accounts for the lack of pronouns, personal or others, from the Japanese language, but it is safe tomaintain that the feudal order, with its many gradations of socialrank, minute etiquette, and refined and highly developed personalsensitiveness would adopt and foster an impersonal and honorificmethod of personal allusion. Even though we may not be able to explainthe rise of the non-pronominal method of sentence structure, it isenough if we see that this is a problem in the evolution of language, and that Japanese pronominal deficiency is not to be attributed tolack of consciousness of self, much less to the inherent"impersonality" of the Japanese mind. 

An interesting fact ignored by advocates of the "impersonal" theory isthe Japanese inability of conceiving nationality apart frompersonality. Not only is the Emperor conceived as the living symbol ofJapanese nationality, but he is its embodiment and substance. TheJapanese race is popularly represented to be the offspring of theroyal house. Sovereignty resides completely and absolutely in him. Authority to-day is acknowledged only in those who have it from him. Popular rights are granted the people by him, and exist because of hiswill alone. A single act of his could in theory abrogate theconstitution promulgated in 1889 and all the popular rights enjoyedto-day by the nation. The Emperor of Japan could appropriate, withoutin the least shocking the most patriotic Japanese, the long-famoussaying of Louis XIV. , "L'état, c'est moi. " Mr. H. Kato, ex-presidentof the Imperial University, in a recent work entitled the "Evolutionof Morality and Law" says this in just so many words: "Patriotism inthis country means loyalty to the throne. To the Japanese, the Emperorand the country are the same. The Emperor of Japan, without theslightest exaggeration, can say, 'L'état, c'est moi. ' The Japanesebelieve that all their happiness is bound up with the Imperial lineand have no respect for any system of morality or law that fails totake cognizance of this fact. "

Mr. Yamaguchi, professor of history in the Peeresses' School andlecturer in the Imperial Military College, thus writes in the _FarEast_: "The sovereign power of the State cannot be dissociated fromthe Imperial Throne. It lasts forever along with the Imperial line ofsuccession, unbroken for ages eternal. If the Imperial House cease toexist, the Empire falls. " "According to our ideas the monarch reignsover and governs the country in his own right. .. . Our Emperorpossesses real sovereignty and also exercises it. He is quitedifferent from other rulers, who possess but a partial sovereignty. "This is to-day the universally accepted belief in Japan. It showsclearly that national unity and sovereignty are not conceived in Japanapart from personality. 

One more point demands our attention before bringing this chapter to aclose. If "impersonality" were an inherent characteristic of Japaneserace nature, would it be possible for strong personalities to arise?

Mr. Lowell has described in telling way a very common experience. "About certain people, " he says, "there exists a subtle somethingwhich leaves its impress indelibly upon the consciousness of all whocome in contact with them. This something is a power, but a power ofso indefinable a description that we beg definition by calling itsimply the personality of the man. .. . On the other hand, there arepeople who have no effect upon us whatever. They come and they go witha like indifference. .. . And we say that the difference is due to thepersonality or the want of personality of the man. "[CV] The firstthing to which I would call attention is the fact that "personality"is here used in its true sense. It has no exclusive reference toconsciousness of self, nor does it signify the effect ofself-consciousness on the consciousness of another. It here hasreference to those inherent qualities of thinking and feeling andwilling which we have seen to be the essence of personality. Thesequalities, possessed in a marked way or degree, make strongpersonalities. Their relative lack constitutes weak personality. Bareconsciousness of self is a minor evidence of personality and may bedeveloped to a morbid degree in a person who has a weak personality. 

In the second place this distinction between weak and strongpersonalities is as true of the Japanese as of the Occidental. Therehave been many commanding persons in Japanese history; they have beenthe heroes of the land. There are such to-day. The most commandingpersonality of recent times was, I suppose, Takamori Saigo, whose veryname is an inspiration to tens of thousands of the choicest youth ofthe nation. Joseph Neesima was such a personality. The transparency ofhis purpose, the simplicity of his personal aim, his unflinchingcourage, fixedness of belief, lofty plans, and far-reaching ambitionsfor his people, impressed all who came into contact with him. No onemingles much with the Japanese, freely speaking with them in their ownlanguage, but perceives here and there men of "strong personality" inthe sense of the above-quoted passage. Now it seems to me that if"impersonality" in the corresponding sense were a race characteristic, due to the nature of their psychic being, then the occurrence of somany commanding personalities in Japan would be inexplicable. Heroesand widespread hero-worship[CW] could hardly arise were there nocommanding personalities. The feudal order lent itself without doubtto the development of such a spirit. But the feudal order could hardlyhave arisen or even maintained itself for centuries without commandingpersonalities, much less could it have created them. The whole feudalorder was built on an exalted oligarchy. It was an order whichemphasized persons, not principles; the law of the land was not thewill of the multitudes, but of a few select persons. While, therefore, it is beyond dispute that the old social order was communal in type, and so did not give freedom to the individual, nor tend to developstrong personality among the masses, it is also true that it diddevelop men of commanding personality among the rulers. Those who fromyouth were in the hereditary line of rule, sons of Shoguns, daimyos, and samurai, were forced by the very communalism of the social orderto an exceptional personal development. They shot far ahead of thecommon man. Feudalism is favorable to the development of personalityin the favored few, while it represses that of the masses. Individualism, on the contrary, giving liberty of thought and act, with all that these imply, is favorable to the development of thepersonality of all. 

In view of the discussions of this chapter, is it not evident thatadvocates of the "impersonal" theory of Japanese mind and civilizationnot only ignore many important elements of the civilization theyattempt to interpret, but also base their interpretation on a mistakenconception of personality? We may not, however, leave the discussionat this point, for important considerations still demand our attentionif we would probe this problem of personality to its core. 

XXXII

IS BUDDHISM IMPERSONAL?

Advocates of Japanese "impersonality" call attention to the phenomenaof self-suppression in religion. It seems strange, however, that theywho present this argument fail to see how "self-suppression"undermines their main contention. If "self-suppression" be actuallyattained, it can only be by a people advanced so far as to have passedthrough and beyond the "personal" stage of existence. "Self-suppression" cannot be a characteristic of a primitive people, apeople that has not yet reached the stage of consciousness of self. Ifthe alleged "impersonality" of the Orient is that of a primitivepeople that has not yet reached the stage of self-consciousness, thenit cannot have the characteristic of "self-suppression. " If, on theother hand, it is the "impersonality" of "self-suppression, " then itis radically different from that of a primitive people. Advocates of"impersonality" present both conceptions, quite unconscious apparentlythat they are mutually exclusive. If either conception is true, theother is false. 

Furthermore, if self-suppression is a marked characteristic ofJapanese politeness and altruism (as it undoubtedly is when thesequalities are real expressions of the heart and of the generalcharacter), it is a still more characteristic feature of the higherreligious life of the people, which certainly does not tend to"impersonality. " The ascription of esoteric Buddhism to the commonpeople by advocates of the "impersonal" theory is quite a mistake, andthe argument for the "impersonality" of the race on this ground iswithout foundation, for the masses of the people are grosslypolytheistic, wholly unable to understand Buddhistic metaphysics, orto conceive of the nebulous, impersonal Absolute of Buddhism. Now ifconsciousness of the unity of nature, and especially of the unity ofthe individual soul with the Absolute, were a characteristic ofundeveloped, that is, of undifferentiated mind, then all primitivepeoples should display it in a superlative degree. It should showitself in every phase of their life. The more primitive the people, the more divine their life--because the less differentiated from theoriginal divine mind! Such are the requirements of this theory. Butwhat are the facts? The primitive undeveloped mind is relativelyunconscious of self; it is wholly objective; it is childlike; it doesnot even know that there is self to suppress. Primitive religion ispurely objective. Implicit, in primitive religion without doubt, isthe fact of a unity between God and man, but the primitive man has notdiscovered this implication of his religious thinking. This is thestate of mind of a large majority of Japanese. 

Yet this is by no means true of all. No nation, with such a continuoushistory as Japan has had, would fail to develop a class capable ofconsiderable introspection. In Japan introspection received early andpowerful impetus from the religion of Buddha. It came with aphilosophy of life based on prolonged and profound introspection. Itcommanded each man who would know more than the symbols, who desired, like Buddha, to attain the great enlightenment and thus become aTathagata, a Blessed one, a Buddha, an Enlightened one, to know andconquer himself. The emphasis laid by thoughtful Buddhism on the needof self-knowledge, in order to self-suppression, is well recognized byall careful students. Advocates of Oriental "impersonality" are notone whit behind others in recognizing it. In this connection we canhardly do better than quote a few of Mr. Lowell's happy descriptionsof the teaching of philosophic Buddhism. 

"This life, it says, is but a chain of sorrows. .. . These desires thaturge us on are really causes of all our woe. We think they areourselves. We are mistaken. They are all illusion. .. . Thispersonality, this sense of self, is a cruel deception. .. . Realize oncethe true soul behind it, devoid of attributes . .. An invisible part ofthe great impersonal soul of nature, then . .. Will you have foundhappiness in the blissful quiescence of Nirvana" [p. 186]. "In desirealone lies all the ill. Quench the desire, and the deeds [sins of theflesh] will die of inanition. Get rid, then, said Buddha, of thesepassions, these strivings, for the sake of self. As a man becomesconscious that he himself is something distinct from his body, so ifhe reflect and ponder, he will come to see that in like manner, hisappetites, ambitions, hopes, are really extrinsic to the spiritproper. .. . Behind desire, behind even the will, lies the soul, thesame for all men, one with the soul of the universe. When he has oncerealized this eternal truth, the man has entered Nirvana. .. . It[Nirvana] is simply the recognition of the eternal oneness of the two[the individual and the universal soul]" [p. 189]. 

Accepting this description of philosophic Buddhism as fairly accurate, it is plain that the attainment of this consciousness of the unity ofthe individual self with the universal is the result, according toBuddha, and also according to the advocates of "impersonality, " of ahighly developed consciousness of self. It is not a simple state ofundifferentiated mind, but a complex and derivative one--absolutelyincomprehensible to a primitive people. The means for this suppressionof self _depends entirely on the development of the consciousness ofself_. The self is the means for casting out the self, and it is doneby that introspection which ultimately leads to the realization of theunity. If, then, Japanese Buddhism seeks to suppress the self, thisvery effort is the most conclusive proof we could demand of thepossession by this people of a highly developed consciousness of self. 

It is one of the boasts of Buddhism that a man's saviour is himself;no other helper, human or divine, can do aught for him. Those whoreject Christianity in Christian lands are quite apt to praiseBuddhism for this rejection of all external help. They urge that bythe very nature of the case salvation is no external thing; each onemust work out his own salvation. It cannot be given by another. Salvation through an external Christ who lived 1900 years ago is animpossibility. Such a criticism of Christianity shows realmisunderstanding of the Christian doctrine and method of salvation. Yet the point to which attention is here directed is not thecorrectness or incorrectness of these characterizations ofChristianity, but rather to the fact that "ji-riki, " salvation throughself-exertion, which is the boast of Buddhism, is but another proof ofthe essentially self-conscious character of Buddhism. It aims atNirvana, it is true, at self-suppression, but it depends on theattainment of clear self-consciousness in the first place, and then onprolonged self-exertion for the attainment of that end. In proportionas Buddhism is esoteric is it self-conscious. 

Such being the nature of Buddhism, we naturally ask whether or not itis calculated to develop strongly personalized men and women. Ifconsciousness of self is the main element of personality, we mustpronounce Buddhism a highly personal rather than impersonal religion, as is commonly stated. But a religion of the Buddhistic type, whichcasts contempt on the self, and seeks its annihilation as the onlymeans of salvation, has ever tended to destroy personality; it hasmade men hermits and pessimists; it has drawn them out of the greatcurrent of active life, and thus has severed them from theirfellow-men. But a prime condition of developed personalities islargeness and intensity of life, and constant intercourse withmankind. Personality is developed in the society of persons, not inthe company of trees and stones. Buddhism, which runs either to grossand superstitious polytheism on its popular side or to pessimisticintrospection on its philosophical side, may possibly, by a stretch ofthe term, be called "impersonal" in the sense that it does not help inthe production of strong, rounded personality among its votaries, butnot in the sense that it does not produce self-consciousness. Buddhism, therefore, cannot be accurately described in terms ofpersonality or impersonality. 

We would do well in this connection to ponder the fact that althoughBuddhism in its higher forms does certainly develop consciousness ofself, it does not attribute to that self any worth. In consequence ofthis, it never has modified, and however long it might be allowed torun its course, never could modify, the general social order in thedirection of individualism. This is one reason why the whole Orienthas maintained to modern times its communal nature, in spite of itshigh development in so many ways, even in introspection andself-consciousness. 

This failure of Buddhism is all the more striking when we stop toconsider how easy and, to us, natural an inference it would have beento pass from the perception of the essential unity between theseparate self and the universal soul, to the assertion of the supremeworth of that separate soul because of the fact of that unity. ButBuddhism never seems to have made that inference. Its compassion onanimals and even insects depended on its doctrine of thetransmigration of souls, not on its doctrine of universal soul unity. Its mercy was shown to animals in certain whimsical ways, but theuniversal lack of sympathy for suffering man, man who could suffer themost exquisite pains, exposed the shallowness of its solicitude aboutdestroying life. The whole influence of Buddhism on the social orderwas not conducive to the development of personality in the Orient. Theso-called impersonal influence of Buddhism upon the Eastern peoples, then, is not due to its failure to recognize the separateness of thehuman self, on the one hand, nor to its emphasis on the universalunity subsisting between the separate finite self and the infinitesoul, on the other; but only on its failure to see the infinite worthof the individual; and in consequence of this failure, its inabilityto modify the general social order by the introduction ofindividualism. 

The asserted "impersonal" characteristic of Buddhism and of theOrient, therefore, I am not willing to call "impersonality"; for it isa very defective description, a real misnomer. I think no single termcan truly describe the characteristic under consideration. As regardsthe general social order, the so-called impersonal characteristic isits communal nature; as regards the popular religious thought, whetherof Shintoism or Buddhism, its so-called impersonality is its simple, artless objectivity; as regards philosophic Buddhism its so-calledimpersonality is its morbid introspective self-consciousness, leadingto the desire and effort to annihilate the separateness of the self. These are different characteristics and cannot be described by anysingle term. So far as there are in Japan genuine altruism, realsuppression of selfish desires, and real possession of kindly feelingsfor others and desires to help them, and so far as these qualitiesarise through a sense of the essential unity of the human race and ofthe unity of the human with the divine soul, this is not"impersonality"--but a form of highly developed personality--notinfra-personality, but true personality. 

We have noted that although esoteric Buddhism developed a highlyaccentuated consciousness of self, it attributed no value to thatself. This failure will not appear strange if we consider thehistorical reasons for it. Indeed, the failure was inevitable. Neitherthe social order nor the method of introspective thought suggested it. Both served, on the contrary, absolutely to preclude the idea. 

When introspective thought began in India the social order was alreadyfar beyond the undifferentiated communal life of the tribal stage. Castes were universal and fixed. The warp and woof of daily life andof thought were filled with the distinctions of castes and ranks. Man's worth was conceived to be not in himself, but in his rank orcaste. The actual life of the people, therefore, did not furnish tospeculative thought the slightest suggestion of the worth of man asman. It was a positive hindrance to the rise of such an idea. 

Equally opposed to the rise of this idea was the method of thatintrospective thought which discovered the fact of the self. It was amethod of abstraction; it denied as part of the real self everythingthat could be thought of as separate; every changing phase orexpression of the self could not be the real self, it was argued, because, if a part of the real self, how could it sometimes be andagain not be? Feeling cannot be a part of the real self, for sometimesI feel and sometimes I do not. Any particular desire cannot be a partof my real self, for sometimes I have it and sometimes I do not. Asimilar argument was applied to every objective thing. In the famous"Questions of King Melinda, " the argument as to the real chariot isexpanded at length; the wheels are not the chariot; the spokes are notthe chariot; the seat is not the chariot; the tongue is not thechariot; the axle is not the chariot; and so, taking up eachindividual part of the chariot, the assertion is made that it is notthe chariot. But if the chariot is not in any of its parts, then theyare not essential parts of the chariot. So of the soul--the self; itdoes not consist of its various qualities or attributes or powers;hence they are not essential elements of the self. The real selfexists apart from them. 

Now is it not evident that such a method of introspection deprives theconception of self of all possible value? It is nothing but a bareintellectual abstraction. To say that this self is a part of theuniversal self is no relief, --brings no possible worth to the separateself, --for the conception of the universal soul has been arrived at bya similar process of thought. It, too, is nothing but a bareabstraction, deprived of all qualities and attributes and powers. Ican see no distinction between the absolute universal soul ofBrahmanism and Buddhism, and the Absolute Nothing of Hegel. [CX]

Both are the farthest possible abstraction that the mind can make. TheAbsolute Soul of Buddhism, the Atman of Brahmanism, and Hegel'sNothing are the farthest possible remove from the Christian'sconception of God. The former is the utter emptiness of being; thelatter the perfect fullness of being and completeness of quality. Thefinite emptiness receives and can receive no richness of life orincrease in value by its consciousness of unity with the infiniteemptiness; whereas the finite limited soul receives in the Christianview an infinite wealth and value by reason of the consciousness ofits unity with the divine infinite fullness. The usual method ofstating the difference between the Christian conception of God and theHindu conception of the root of all being is that the one is personaland the other impersonal. But these terms are inadequate. Rather saythe one is perfectly personal and the other perfectly abstract. Impersonality, even in its strictest meaning, _i. E. _, without"conscious separate existence as an intelligent and voluntary being, "only partially expresses the conception of Buddhism. The fullconception rejects not only personality, but also every other quality;the ultimate and the absolute of Buddhism--we may not even call itbeing--is the absolutely abstract. 

With regard, then, to the conception of the separate self and of thesupreme self, the Buddhistic view may be called "impersonal, " not inthe sense that it lacks the consciousness of a separate self; not inthe sense that it emphasizes the universal unity--nay, the identity ofall the separate abstract selves and the infinite abstract self; butin the sense that all the qualities and characteristics of humanbeings, such as consciousness, thought, emotion, volition, and evenbeing itself, are rejected as unreal. The view is certainly"impersonal, " but it is much more. My objection to the description ofBuddhism as "impersonal, " then, is not because the word is too strong, but because it is too weak; it does not sufficiently characterize itsreal nature. It is as much below materialism, as materialism is belowmonotheism. Such a scheme of thought concerning the universenecessarily reacts on those whom it possesses, to destroy what sensethey may have of the value of human personality; that which we hold tobe man's glory is broken into fragments and thrown away. 

But this does not constitute the whole of the difficulty. This methodof introspective thought necessarily resulted in the doctrine ofIllusion. Nothing is what it seems to be. The reality of the chariotis other than it appears. So too with the self and everything we seeor think. The ignoant are perfectly under the spell of the illusionand cannot escape it. The deluded mind creates for itself the world ofbeing, with all its woes and evils. The great enlightenment is thediscovery of this fact and the power it gives to escape the illusionand to see that the world is nothing but illusion. To see that theillusion is an illusion destroys it as such. It is then no longer anillusion, but only a passing shadow. We cannot now stop to see howpessimism, the doctrine of self-salvation, and the nature of thatsalvation through contemplation and asceticism and withdrawal fromactive life, all inevitably follow from such a course of thought. Thatwhich here needs emphasis is that all this thinking renders it stillmore impossible to think of the self as having any intrinsic worth. On-the contrary, the self is the source of evil, of illusion. Thegreat aim of Buddhism is necessarily to get rid of the self, with allits illusions and pains and disappointments. 

Is it now clear why Buddhism failed to reach the idea of the worth ofthe individual self? It was due to the nature of the social order, andthe nature of its introspective and speculative thinking. Lacking, therefore, the conception of individual worth, we see clearly why itfailed, even after centuries of opportunity, to secure individualismin the social order and a general development of personality either asan idea or as a fact among any of the peoples to which it has gone. Itis not only a fact of history, but we have seen that it could not havebeen otherwise. The very nature of its conception of self and, inconsequence, the nature of its conception of salvation absolutelyprohibited it. [CY]

We have thus far confined our view entirely to philosophic Buddhism. It is important, therefore, to state again that very few of theJapanese people outside of the priesthood have any such ideas withregard to the abstract nature of the individual, of the absolute self, and of their mutual relations as I have just described. These ideasare a part of esoteric Buddhism, the secret truth, which is anessential part of the great enlightenment, but far too profound forthe vulgar multitudes. The vast majority, even of the priesthood, I amtold, do not get far enough to be taught these views. The sweep ofsuch conceptions, therefore, is very limited. That they are held, however, by the leaders, that they are the views of the most learnedexpounders and the most advanced students of Buddhism serves toexplain why Buddhism has never been, and can never become, a power inreorganizing society in the direction of individualism. 

Popular Buddhism contains many elements alien to philosophic Buddhism. For a full study of the subject of this chapter we need to ask whetherpopular Buddhism tended to produce "impersonality, " and if so, in whatsense. The doctrine of "ingwa, "[CZ] with its consequences oncharacter, demands fresh attention at this point. According to thisdoctrine every event of this life, even the minutest, is the result ofone's conduct in a previous life, and is unalterably fixed byinflexible law. "Ingwa" is the crude idea of fate held by allprimitive peoples, stated in somewhat philosophic and scientific form. It became a central element in the thought of Oriental peoples. Eachman is born into his caste and class by a law over which neither henor his parents have any control, and for which they are withoutresponsibility. The misfortunes of life, and the good fortunes aswell, come by the same impartial, inflexible laws. By this system ofthought moral responsibility is practically removed from theindividual's shoulders. This doctrine is held in Japan far more widelythan the philosophic doctrine of the self, and is correspondinglybaleful. 

This system of thought, when applied to the details of life, meansthat individual choice and will, and their effect in determining bothexternal life and internal character have been practically lost sightof. As a sociological fact the origin of this conception is notdifficult to understand. The primitive freedom of the individual inthe early communal order of the tribe became increasingly restrictedwith the multiplication and development of the Hindu peoples; eachclass of society became increasingly specialized. Finally theindividual had no choice whatever left him, because of the extremerigidity of the communal order. As a matter of fact, the individualchoice and will was allowed no play whatever in any important matter. Good sense saw that where no freedom is, there moral responsibilitycannot be. All one's life is predetermined by the powers that be. Thuswe again see how vital a relation the social order bears to theinnermost thinking and belief of a people. 

Still further. Once let the idea be firmly grounded in an individualthat he has no freedom of belief, of choice, or of act, and in thevast majority of cases, as a matter of fact, he will have none. "As aman thinketh in his heart, so is he. " "According to your faith be itunto you. " This doctrine of individual freedom is one of those thatcannot be forced on a man who does not choose to believe it. In a truesense, it is my belief that I am free that makes me free. As Prof. James well says, the doctrine of the freedom of the will cannot berammed down any man's intellectual throat, for that very act wouldabridge his real freedom. Man's real freedom is proved by his freedomto reject even the doctrine of his freedom. But so long as he rejectsit, his freedom is only potential. Because of his belief in hisbondage he is in bondage. Now this doctrine of fate has been the warpand woof of the thinking of the bulk of the Japanese people in theirefforts to explain all the vicissitudes of life. Not only, therefore, has it failed to stimulate the volitional element of the psychicnature, but in the psychology of the Orient little if any attentionhas been given to this faculty. Oriental psychology practically knowsnothing of personality because it has failed to note one of itscentral elements, the freedom of the will. The individual, therefore, has not been appealed to to exercise his free moral choice, one ofthe highest prerogatives of his nature. Moral responsibility has notbeen laid on his individual shoulders. A method of moral appeal fittedto develop the deepest element of his personality has thus beenprecluded. 

It thus resulted that although philosophic Buddhism developed a highdegree of self-consciousness, yet because it failed to discoverpersonal freedom it did not deliver popular Buddhism from its grindingdoctrine of fate, rather it fastened this incubus of social progressmore firmly upon it. Philosophic and popular Buddhism alike thus threwathwart the course of human and social evolution the tremendousobstacle of fatalism, which the Orient has never discovered a wayeither to surmount or evade. Buddhism teaches the impotence of theindividual will; it destroys the sense of moral responsibility; itthus fails to understand the real nature of man, his glory and powerand even his divinity, which the West sums up in the term personality. In this sense, then, the influence of Buddhism and the condition ofthe Orient may be called "impersonal, " but it is the impersonality ofa defective religious psychology, and of communalism in the socialorder. Whether it is right to call this feature of Japan"impersonality, " I leave with the reader to judge. 

We draw this chapter to a close with a renewed conception of theinadequacy of the "impersonal" theory to explain Japanese religiousand social phenomena. Further considerations, however, still meritattention ere we leave this subject. 

XXXIII

TRACES OF PERSONALITY IN SHINTOISM, BUDDHISM, AND CONFUCIANISM

Regret as we sometimes must the illogicalness of the human mind, yetit is a providential characteristic of our as yet defective nature;for thanks to it few men or nations carry out to their completelogical results erroneous opinions and metaphysical speculations. Common sense in Japan has served more or less as an antidote forBuddhistic poison. The blighting curse of logical Buddhism has beenconsiderably relieved by various circumstances. Let us now considersome of the ways in which the personality-destroying characteristicsof Buddhism have been lessened by other ideas and influences. 

First of all there is the distinction, so often noted, betweenesoteric and popular Buddhism. Esoteric Buddhism was content to allowpopular Buddhism a place and even to invent ways for the salvation ofthe ignorant multitudes who could not see the real nature of the self. Resort was had to the use of magic prayers and symbols and idols. These were bad enough, but they did not bear so hard on thedevelopment of personality as did esoteric Buddhism. 

The doctrine of the transmigration of the soul was likewise a relieffrom the pressure of philosophic Buddhism, for, according to thisdoctrine, the individual soul continues to live its separate life, tomaintain its independent identity through infinite ages, while passingthrough the ten worlds of existence, from nethermost hell to highestheaven; and the particular world into which it is born after eachdeath is determined by the moral character of its life in theimmediately preceding stage. By this doctrine, then, a practicalappeal is made to the common man to exert his will, to assert hispersonality, and so far forth it was calculated to undo a part of themischief done by the paralyzing doctrine of fate and illusion. 

But a more important relief from the blight of Buddhistic doctrine wasafforded by its own practice. At the very time that it declared theworthlessness of the self and the impotence of the will, it declaredthat salvation can come only from the self, by the most determinedexercise of the will. What more convincing evidence of powerful, though distorted, wills could be asked than that furnished by Orientalasceticism? Nothing in the West exceeds it. As an _idea_, then, Buddhism interfered with the development of the conception ofpersonality; but by its _practice_ it helped powerfully to develop itas a fact in certain phases of activity. The stoicism of the Japaneseis one phase of developed personality. It shows the presence of apowerful, disciplined will keeping the body in control, so that itgives no sign of the thoughts and emotions going on in the mind, however fierce they may be. 

That in Japan, however, which has interfered most powerfully with thespread and dominance of Buddhism has been the practical and prosaicConfucian ethics. Apparently, Confucius never speculated. Metaphysicsand introspection alike had no charm for him. He was concerned withconduct. His developed doctrine demanded of all men obedience to thelaw of the five relations. In spite, therefore, of the fact that hesaid nothing about individuality and personality, his system laid realemphasis on personality and demanded its continuous activity. In allof his teachings the idea of personality in the full and proper senseof this word is always implicit, and sometimes is quite distinct. 

The many strong and noble characters which glorify the feudal era arethe product of Japonicized Confucianism, "Bushido, " and bear powerfulwitness to its practical emphasis on personality. The loyalty, filialpiety, courage, rectitude, honor, self-control, and suicide which ittaught, defective though we must pronounce them from certain points ofview, were yet very lofty and noble, and depended for theirrealization on the development of personality. 

Advocates of the "impersonal" interpretation of the Orient have muchto say about pantheism. They assert the difficulty of conveying to theOriental mind the idea of the personality of the Supreme Being. Although some form of pantheism is doubtless the belief of thelearned, the evidence that a personal conception of deity iswidespread among the people seems so manifest that I need hardly domore than call attention to it. This belief has helped to neutralizethe paralyzing tendency of Buddhist fatalistic pantheism. 

Shinto is personal from first to last. Every one of its myriads ofgods is a personal being, many of them deified men. 

The most popular are the souls of men who became famous for someparticularly noble, brave, or admirable deed. Hero-worship is nothingif not personal. Furthermore, in its doctrine of "San-shin-ittai, ""three gods, one body, " it curiously suggests the doctrine of theTrinity. 

Popular Buddhism holds an equally personal conception of deity. Theobjects of its worship are personifications of various qualities. "Kwannon, " the goddess of mercy; "Jizo, " the guardian of travelers andchildren; "Emma O, " "King of Hell, " who punishes sinners; "Fudo Sama, ""The Immovable One, " are all personifications of the variousattributes of deity and are worshiped as separate gods, each beingrepresented by a uniform type of idol. It is a curious fact thatBuddhism, which started out with such a lofty rejection of deity, finally fell to the worship of idols, whereas Shinto, which ispeculiarly the worship of personality, has never stooped to itsrepresentation in wood or stone. 

Confucianism, however, surpasses all in its intimations of thepersonality of the Supreme Being. Although it never formulated thisdoctrine in a single term, nor definitely stated it as a tenet ofreligion, yet the entire ethical and religious thinking of theclassically educated Japanese is shot through with the idea. Considerthe Chinese expression "Jo-Tei, " which the Christians of Japan freelyuse for God; it means literally "Supreme Emperor, " and refers to thesupreme ruler of the universe; he is here conceived in the form of ahuman ruler having of course human, that is to say, personal, attributes. A phrase often heard on the lips of the Japanese is:

"Aoide Ten ni hajizu; fushite Chi ni hajizu. "

"Without self-reproach, whether looking up to Heaven, or down toEarth. "

This phrase has reference to the consciousness of one's life andconduct, such that he is neither ashamed to look up in the face ofHeaven nor to look about him in the presence of man. Paul expressedthis same idea when he wrote "having a conscience void of offense toGod and to man. " Or take another phrase:

"Ten-mo kwaikwai so ni shite morasazu. "

"Heaven's net is broad as earth; and though its meshes are large, nonecan escape it. " This is constantly used to illustrate the certaintythat Heaven punishes the wicked. 

"Ten ni kuchi ari; kabe ni mimi ari. "

"Heaven has a mouth and even the wall has ears, " signifies that allone does is known to the ruler of heaven and earth. Another still morestriking saying ascribing knowledge to Heaven is the "Yoshin noShichi, " "the four knowings of Yoshin. " This sage was a Chinaman ofthe second century A. D. Approached with a large bribe and urged toaccept it with the assurance that no one would know it, he replied, "Heaven knows it; Earth knows it; you know it; and I know it. How sayyou that none will know it?" This famous saying condemning bribery iswell known in Japan. The references to "Heaven" as knowing, seeing, doing, sympathizing, willing, and always identifying the activity of"Heaven" with the noblest and loftiest ideals of man, are frequent inChinese and Japanese literature. The personality of God is thus adoctrine clearly foreshadowed in the Orient. It is one of those greattruths of religion which the Orient has already received, but which ina large measure lies dormant because of its incomplete expression. Theadvent of the fully expressed teaching of this truth, freed from allvagueness and ambiguity, is a capital illustration of the way in whichChristianity comes to Japan to fulfill rather than to destroy; itbrings that fructifying element that stirs the older and more or lessimperfectly expressed truths into new life, and gives them adequatemodes of expression. But the point to which I am here callingattention is the fact that the idea of the personality of the SupremeBeing is not so utterly alien to Oriental thought as some would haveus think. Even though there is no single word with which convenientlyto translate the term, the idea is perfectly distinct to any Japaneseto whom its meaning is explained. 

The statement is widely made that because the Japanese language has noterm for "personality" the people are lacking in the idea; thatconsequently they have difficulty in grasping it even when presentedto them, and that as a further consequence they are not to becriticised for their hesitancy in accepting the doctrine of the"Personality of God. " It must be admitted that if "personality" is tobe defined in the various ambiguous and contradictory ways in which wehave seen it defined by advocates of Oriental "impersonality" much canbe said in defense of their hesitancy. Indeed, no thinking Christianof the Occident for a moment accepts it. But if "personality" isdefined in the way here presented, which I judge to be the usage ofthoughtful Christendom, then their hesitancy cannot be so defended. Itis doubtless true that there is in Japanese no single wordcorresponding to our term "personality. " But that is likewise true ofmultitudes of other terms. The only significance of this fact is thatOriental philosophy has not followed in exactly the same lines as theOccidental. As a matter of fact I have not found the idea ofpersonality to be a difficult one to convey to the Japanese, if cleardefinitions are used. The Japanese language has, as we have seen, manywords referring to the individuality, to the self of manhood; itmerely lacks the general abstract term, "personality. " This is, however, in keeping with the general characteristics of the language. Abstract terms are, compared with English, relatively rare. Yet withthe new civilization they are being coined and introduced. Furthermore, the English term "personality" is readily used by thegreat majority of educated Christians just as they use such words as"life, " "power, " "success, " "patriotism, " and "Christianity. "

In the summer of 1898, with the Rev. C. A. Clark I was invited to speakon the "Outlines of Christianity" in a school for Buddhist priests. Atthe close of our thirty-minute addresses, a young man arose and spokefor fifty minutes, outlining the Buddhist system of thought; hisaddress consisted of an exposition of the law of cause and effect; healso stated some of the reasons why the Christian conception of Godand the universe seemed to him utterly unsatisfactory; the objectionsraised were those now current in Japan--such, for example, as that ifGod really were the creator of the universe, why are some men rich andsome poor, some high-born and some low-born. He also asked thequestion who made God? In a two-minute reply I stated that hisobjections showed that he did not understand the Christian's position;and I asked in turn what was the origin of the law of cause andeffect. The following day the chief priest, the head of the school andits most highly educated instructor, dined with us. We of coursetalked of the various aspects of Christian and Buddhist doctrine. Finally he asked me how I would answer the question as to who createdGod, and as to the origin of the law of cause and effect. I explainedas clearly as I could the Christian view of God, in his personalityand as being the original and only source of all existence, whether ofphysical or of human nature. He seemed to drink it all in andexpressed his satisfaction at the close in the words, "Taihen ni manzoku shimashita, " "That is exceedingly satisfactory"; these words herepeated several times. This is not my first personal proof of thefact that the idea of personality is not alien or incomprehensible tothe Orient, nor even to a Buddhist priest, steeped in Buddhistspeculation, provided the idea is clearly stated. 

Before bringing to a close this discussion of the problem ofpersonality in Japan, it would seem desirable to trace the history ofthe development of Japanese personality. In view of all that has nowbeen said, and not forgetting what was said as to the principles ofNational Evolution, [DA] this may be done in a paragraph. 

The amalgamation of tribes, the development of large clans, andfinally the establishment of the nation, with world-wide relations, has reacted on the individual members of the people, giving themlarger and richer lives. This constitutes one important element ofpersonal development. The subordination of individual will to that ofthe group, the desire and effort to live for the advantage, not of theindividual self, but of the group, whether family, tribe, clan, nation, or the world, is not a limitation of personality. On thecontrary, it is its expansion and development. Shinto and JaponicizedConfucianism contributed powerful motives to this subordination, andthus to this personal development. These were attended, however, byserious limitations in that they confined their attention to the upperand ruling classes. The development of personality was thus extremelylimited. Buddhism contributed to the development of Japanesepersonality in so far as it taught Japanese the marvels revealed byintrospection and self-victory. Its contribution, however, wasseriously hampered by defects already sufficiently emphasized. Japanhas developed personality to a high degree in a few and to arelatively low degree in the many. The problem confronting New Japanis the development of a high degree of personality among the masses. This is to be accomplished by the introduction of an individualisticsocial order. 

One further topic demands our attention in closing. What is the natureof personal heredity? Is it biological and inherent, or, like all thecharacteristics of the Japanese people thus far studied, ispersonality transmitted by social heredity? Distinguishing betweenintrinsic or inherent personality, [DB] which constitutes the originalendowment differentiating man from animal, and extrinsic or acquiredpersonality, which consists of the various forms in which the inherentpersonality has manifested itself in the different races of men andthe different ages of "history, it is safe to say that the latter istransmitted according to the laws of association or social heredity. Intrinsic personality can be inherited only by lineal offspring, passing from father to son. Extrinsic personality may fail to beinherited by lineal descendants and may be inherited by others thanlineal descendants. It is transmitted and determined by socialinheritance. Yet it is through personality that the individual maybreak away from the dominant currents of the social order, and becomethus the means for the transformation of that order. The secret ofsocial progress lies in personality. In proportion as the social orderis fitted, accordingly, widely to develop high-grade personality, [DC]is its own progress rapid and safe. 

Does acquired personality react on intrinsic personality? This is theproblem of "the inheritance of acquired characteristics. " Into thisproblem I do not enter further than to note that in so far as newlydeveloped personal traits produce transformations of body and braintransmittable from parent to offspring by the bare fact of parentage, in that degree does acquired pass over into intrinsic personality andthereby become intrinsic. In regard to the degree in which acquiredhas passed over into intrinsic personality, thus differentiating theleading races of mankind, we contend that it is practicallynon-existent. The phenomena of personality characterizing the chiefraces of men are due, not to intrinsic, but to acquired personality;in other words they are the products of the respective social ordersand are transmitted from generation to generation by social ratherthan by biological heredity. 

XXXIV

THE BUDDHIST WORLD-VIEW

Fully to comprehend the genius and history of Japan and her socialorder, we need to gain a still more thorough insight into the variousconceptions of the universe that have influenced the people. What havebeen their views as to the nature of the ultimate reality lying behindall phenomena? What as to the relation of mankind to that UltimateReality? And what has been the relation of these world-views to thesocial order? To prepare the way for our final answer to thesequestions, we confine ourselves in this chapter to a study of theinner nature of the Buddhist world-view. 

Since the Buddhist conception of the Ultimate Reality and of theuniverse is one of the three important types of world-views dominatingthe human mind, a type too that is hardly known in Western lands, inorder to set it forth in terms intelligible to the Occidental and theChristian, it will be necessary in expounding it to contrast it withthe two remaining types; namely, the Greek and the Christian. Asalready pointed out, according to the Buddhistic conception, theUltimate is a thoroughgoing Abstraction. All the elements ofpersonality are denied. It is perfectly passionless, perfectlythoughtless, and perfectly motionless. It has neither feeling, idea, nor will. As a consequence, the phenomena of the universe are whollyunrelated to it; all that is, is only illusion; it has no reality ofbeing. Human beings who think the world real, and who think eventhemselves real, are under the spell. This illusion is the greatmisery and source of pain. Salvation is the discovery of the illusion;and this discovery is the victory over it; for no one fears the lion'sskin, however much he may fear the lion. This discovery secures thedropping back from the little, limited, individual self-line, intothe infinite passionless, thoughtless, and motionless existence of theabsolute being, Nirvana. 

The Ancient Greek and not a little modern thought, conceived of theUltimate as a thorough-going intellectualism. One aspect ofpersonality was perceived and emphasized. God was conceived as athinker, as one who contemplates the universe. He does not creatematter, nor force, nor does he rule them. They are eternal and real, and subject to fate. God simply observes. He is absolute reason. TheGreek view is thus essentially dualistic. Sin, from the Greek point ofview, is merely ignorance, and salvation the attainment of knowledge. 

In vital and vitalizing contrast to both the Buddhist and Greekconceptions is the Judæo-Christian. To the Christian the Ultimate is athoroughgoing personality. To him the central element in God is will, guided by reason and controlled by love and righteousness. God createsand rules everything. There is nothing that is not wholly subject tohim. There is no dualism for the Christian, nor any illusion. Sin isan act of human will, not an illusion nor a failure of intellect. Salvation is the correction of the will, which comes about through a"new birth. "

The elemental difference, then, between these three conceptions of theUltimate is that in Buddhism the effort to rationalize and ethicizethe universe of experience is abandoned as a hopeless task; the worldentirely and completely resists the rational and ethical process. Theuniverse is pronounced completely irrational and non-moral. Change isbranded as illusion. There is no room for progress in philosophic, thoroughgoing Buddhism. 

In the Greek view the universe is subject in part to the rationalizingprocess; but only in part. The effort at ethicization is entirelyfutile. The Greek view, equally with the Buddhistic, is at a loss tounderstand change. It does not brand it as unreal, but change producedby man is branded as a departure from nature. Greeks and Hindus alikehave no philosophy of history. In the Christian view the universe iscompletely subject to the rational and ethical process. God is creatorof all that is and it is necessarily good. God is an active will andHe is, therefore, still in the process of creating; hence change, evolution, is justified and understood. History is rational and has aphilosophy. Evolution and revelation have their place at the veryheart of the universe. Hence it is that science, philosophy, andhistory, in a word a high-grade civilization, finds its intellectualjustification, its foundation, its primary postulates, itspossibility, only in a land permeated with the Christian idea of God. 

In the Buddhistic conception God is an abstract vacuity; in the Greek, a static intellect; in the Christian, a dynamic will. As is theconception of God, so is the conception and character of man. The twoare so intimately interdependent that it is useless at this time todiscuss which is the cause and which the result. They are doubtlessthe two aspects of the same movement of thought. The followingdifferences are necessary characteristics of the three religions:

The Buddhist seeks salvation through the attainment ofvacuity--Nirvana--in order to escape from the world in which he saysthere is no reason and no morality. The Greek seeks salvation throughthe activity of the intellect; all that is needful to salvation isknowledge of the truth. The Christian seeks salvation through theactivity of the will; this is secured through the new birth. TheBuddhist leaves each man to save himself from his illusion by thediscovery that it is an illusion. The Greek relies on intellectualeducation, on philosophy--the Christian recreates the will. TheBuddhist and Greek gods make no effort to help the lost man. TheChristian God is dominated by love; He is therefore a missionary God, sending even His only begotten Son to reconcile and win the world ofsinning, willful children back to Himself. 

In Buddhism salvation is won only by the few and after ages of toiland ceaseless re-births. In the Greek plan only the philosopher whocomes to full understanding can attain salvation. In the Christianplan salvation is for all, for all are sons of God, in fact, and maythrough Christ become so in consciousness. In the Buddhistic plan thehopeless masses resort to magic and keep on with their idolatry andcountless gross superstitions. In the Greek plan the hopeless resortto the "mysteries" for the attainment of salvation. In the Christianplan there are no hopeless masses, for all may gain the regeneratedwill and become conscious sons of God. 

The Buddhist mind gave up all effort to grasp or even to understandreality. The Greek mind thought it could arrive at reality through theintellect. But two thousand years of philosophic study and evolutiondrove philosophy into the absurd positions of absolute subjectiveidealism on the one hand and sensationalism and absolute materialismon the other. The Christian mind lays emphasis on the will andaccordingly is alone able to reach reality, a reality justifiablealike to the reason and to the heart. For will is the creative facultyin man as well as in God. As God through His will creates reality, soman through his will first comes to know reality. Mere intellect cannever pass over from thought to being. Being can be known as a realityonly through the will. 

In consequence of the above-stated methods of thought, the Buddhistwas of necessity a pessimist; the Greek only less so; while the Jewand the Christian could alone be thoroughgoing optimists. The Buddhistever asserts the is-not; the Greek, the is; while the Jew andChristian demand the ought-to be, as the supreme thing. Hence flowsthe perennial life of the Christian civilization. 

Those races and civilizations whose highest and deepest conception ofthe ultimate is that of mere reason, no less than those races andcivilizations whose highest and deepest conception of reality is thatof an abstract emptiness, must be landed in an unreal world, mustarrive at irrational results, for they have not taken into account themost vital element of thought and life. Such races and civilizationscannot rise to the highest levels of which man is capable; they mustof necessity give way to those races and that civilization which buildon larger and more complete foundations, which worship Will, Human andDivine, and seek for its larger development both in self and in allmankind. 

But I must not pause to trace the contrasts further. Enough has beensaid to show the source of Occidental belief in the infinite worth ofman. In almost diametrical contrast to the Buddhist conception, according to the Christian view, man is a real being, living in a realworld, involved in a real intellectual problem, fighting a realbattle, on whose issue hang momentous, nay, infinite results. So greatis man's value, not only to himself, but also to God, his Father, thatthe Father himself suffers with him in his sin, and for him, to savehim from his sin. The question will be asked how widely the Buddhisticinterpretation of the universe has spread in Japan. The doctrine ofillusion became pretty general. We may doubt, however, whether therationale of the philosophy was very generally understood. One Sutra, read by all Japanese sects, is taught to all who would becomeacquainted with the essentials of Buddhist doctrine. It is so shortthat I give it in full. [DD]

THE SMALLER-PRAGNA-PARAMITA-HRIDYA-SUTRA

 "Adoration to the Omniscient. The venerable Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara performing his study in the deep Pragna-paramita [perfection of Wisdom] thought thus: There are the five Skandhas, and these he considered as by their nature empty [phenomenal]. O Sariputra, he said, form here is emptiness, and emptiness indeed is form. Emptiness is not different from form, and form is not different from emptiness. What is form that is emptiness, what is emptiness that is form. The same applies to perception, name, conception, and knowledge. 

 "Here, O Sariputra, all things have the character of emptiness; they have no beginning, no end, they are faultless and not faultless, they are not imperfect and not perfect. Therefore, O Sariputra, in this emptiness there is no form, no perception, no name, no concepts, no knowledge. No eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind. No form, sound, smell, taste, touch, objects. .. . There is no knowledge, no ignorance, no destruction of knowledge, no destruction of ignorance, etc. , there is no decay and death, no destruction of decay and death; there are not the four truths, viz. , that there is pain, the origin of pain, stopping of pain, and the path to it. There is no knowledge, no obtaining of Nirvana. 

 "A man who has approached the Pragna-paramita of the Bodhisattva dwells enveloped in consciousness. But when the envelop of consciousness has been annihilated, then he becomes free of all fear, beyond the reach of change, enjoying final Nirvana. All Buddhas of the past, present, and future, after approaching the Pragna-paramita, have awakened to the highest perfect knowledge. 

 "Therefore one ought to know the great verse of the Pragna-paramita, the verse of the great wisdom, the unsurpassed verse, the peerless verse, which appeases all pain; it is truth because it is not false; the verse proclaimed in the Pragna-paramita: 'O wisdom, gone, gone, gone, to the other shore, landed at the other shore, Shava. '

 "Thus ends the heart of the Pragna-paramita. "

A study of this condensed and widely read Buddhist Sutra will convinceanyone that the ultimate conceptions of the universe and of the finalreality, are as described above. However popular Buddhism might differfrom this, it would be the belief of the thoughtless masses, to whomthe rational and ethical problems are of no significance or concern, and who contribute nothing to the development of thought or of thesocial order. Those nobler and more earnestly inquiring souls whoseenergy and spiritual longing might have been used for the benefit ofthe masses, were shunted off on a side track that led only into thedesert of atomistic individualism, abandonment of society, ecstaticcontemplation, and absolute pessimism. The Buddhist theory of theuniverse and method of thought denied all intelligible reality, andnecessitated the conclusion that the universe of experience is neitherrational nor ethical. The common beliefs of the unreflective anduninitiated masses in the ultimate rationality and morality of theuniverse were felt to have no foundation either in religion orphilosophy and were accordingly pronounced mere illusions. 

XXXV

COMMUNAL AND INDIVIDUAL ELEMENTS IN THE EVOLUTION OF JAPANESERELIGIOUS LIFE

Our study of Japanese religion and religious life thus far has beenalmost, if not exclusively, from the individualistic standpoint. Anadequate statement, however, cannot be made from this standpointalone, for religion through its mighty sanctions exerts a powerfulinfluence on the entire communal life. Indeed, the leadingcharacteristic of primitive religions is their communal nature. Thescience of religion shows how late in human history is the rise ofindividualistic religions. 

In the present chapter we propose to study Japanese religious historyfrom the communal standpoint. This will lead us to study her presentreligious problem and the nature of the religion required to solve it. 

The real nature of the religious life of Japan has been and still ispredominantly communal. Individualism has had a place, but, as we haverepeatedly seen, only a minor place in forming the nation. From thecommuno-individualistic standpoint, in the study of Japan's religiousand social evolution, not only can we see clearly that the threereligions of Japan are real religions, but we can also understand thenature of the relations of these three religions to each other and thereasons why they have had such relations. Japanese religious historyand its main phenomena become luminous in the light ofcommuno-individualistic social principles. 

Shinto, the primitive religion of Japan, corresponded well with theneeds of primitive times, when the development of strong communal lifewas the prime problem and necessity. It furnished the religioussanctions for the social order in its customs of worshiping not onlythe gods, but also the Emperor and ancestors. It gave the highestpossible justification of the national social order in its deificationof the supreme ruler. Shinto was so completely communal in its naturethat the individual aspect of religion was utterly ignored. Itdeveloped no specific moral code, no eschatological and soteriologicalsystems, no comprehensive view of nature or of the gods. Thesedeficiencies, however, are no proofs that it was not a religion in theproper sense of the term. The real question is, did it furnish anysupra-mundane, supra-legal, supra-communal sanctions both for theconduct of the individual in his social relations and for the fact andthe right of the social order. Of this there can be no doubt. Thosewho deny it the name of a religion do so because they judge religiononly from the point of view of a highly developed individualisticreligion. 

In view of this undoubted fact, it is a strange commentary on thefailure of Shinto leaders to realize the real function of the faiththey profess that they have sought and obtained from the governmentthe right to be considered and classified no longer as a religion, butonly as a society for preserving the memories and shrines of theancestors of the race. Thus has modern Shinto, so far as it isorganized and has a mouth with which to speak, following theabdicating proclivities of the ancient social order, excommunicateditself from its religious heritage, aspiring to be nothing more than agate-keeper of cemeteries. 

The sources of the power of the Shinto sanctions lies in the nature ofits conception of the universe. Although it attempted nointerpretation of the universe as a whole, it conceived of the originof the country and people of Japan as due to the direct creativeenergy of the gods. Japan was accordingly conceived as a divine landand the people a divine people. The Emperor was thought to havedescended in direct line from the gods and thus to be a visiblerepresentative of the gods to the people, and to possess divine powerand authority with which to rule the people. Whenever Japanese cameinto contact with foreign peoples, it was natural to consider themoutside of the divine providence, aliens, whose presence in thedivine land was more or less of a pollution. This world-view was wellcalculated to develop a spirit of submissive obedience and loyaladherence to the hereditary rulers of the land, and of fierceantagonism to foreigners. This view constituted the moral foundationfor the social order, the intellectual framework within which thestate developed. Paternal feudalism was the natural, if not thenecessary, accompaniment of this world-view. Even to this day thescholars of the land see no other ground on which to found Imperialauthority, no other basis for ethics and religion, than the divinedescent of the Emperor. [DE]

The Shinto world-view, conceiving of men as direct offspring of thegods, has in it potentially the doctrine of the divine nature of allmen, and their consequent infinite worth. Shinto never developed thistruth, however. It did not discover the momentous implications of itsview. Failing to discover them, it failed to introduce into the socialorder that moral inspiration, that social leaven which would havegradually produced the individualistic social order. 

No attempt has been made either in ancient or modern times to squarethis Shinto world-view with advancing knowledge of the world, particularly with the modern scientific conception of the universe. Anthropology, ethnology, and the doctrine of evolution both cosmic andhuman, are all destructive of the primitive Shinto world-view. Itwould not be difficult to show, however, that in this world-viewexists a profound element of truth. The Shinto world-conception needsto be expanded to take the universe and all races of men into itsview; and to see that Japan is not alone the object of divinesolicitude, but that all races likewise owe their origin to that samedivine power, and that even though the Emperor is not more directlythe offspring of the gods than are all men, yet in the providence ofHim who ruleth the affairs of men, the Emperor is in fact the visiblerepresentative of authority and power for the people over whom hereigns. With this expansion and the consequences that flow from it, the world-view that has cradled Old Japan will come into accord withthe scientific Christian world-view, and become fitted to be thefoundation for the new and individualistic social order, now arisingin Japan, granting full liberty of thought and action, knowing thatonly so can truth come out of error, and assured that truth is theonly ground of permanent welfare. 

Throughout the centuries including the present era of Meiji, it is theShinto religion that has provided and that still provides religioussanctions for the social order--even for the new social order that hascome in from the West. It is the belief of the people in the divinedescent of the Emperor, and his consequent divine right, that to-dayunifies the nation and causes it to accept so readily the new socialorder; desired by him, they raise no questions, make no opposition, even though in some respects it brings them trouble and anxiety. 

Our study of Buddhism has brought to light its extremelyindividualistic nature, and its lack of asocial ideal. Its world-viewwe have sufficiently examined in the preceding chapter. We are toldthat when Buddhism came to Japan it made little headway until itadopted the Shinto deities into its theogony. What does this mean?That only on condition of accepting the Shinto sanctions for thecommunal order of society was it able to commend itself to the peopleat large. And Buddhism had no difficulty in fulfilling this condition, because it had no ideal order of society to present and no religioussanctions for any kind of social order; in this respect Buddhism hadno ground for conflict with Shinto. Shinto had the field to itself;and Buddhism was perfectly at liberty to adopt, or at least to allow, any social order that might present itself. Furthermore, by itsdoctrines of incarnation and transmigration, according to which noblesouls might appear and reappear in different worlds and differentlands, Buddhism could identify Shinto deities with its own deities ofHindu origin, asserting their pre-incarnation. Having accepted theShinto deities, ideals, and sanctions for the social order, Buddhismbecame not only tolerable to the people, but also exceedingly popular. 

The Shinto-Buddhistic was in truth a new religion, each of the oldreligions supplying an essential element. 

One real reason, beside its accommodation to Shintoism, why Buddhismwas so popular was that it brought an indispensable element into thenational life. For the first time emphasis began to be laid on theindividual. Introspection and deliberate meditation were brought intoplay. Arts demanding individual skill were fostered. A gorgeousritual, elaborate architecture, complex religious organism, lettersand literature, all gave play to individual activity and developmentwhether in manual, in mental, or in æsthetic lines. The hithertocramped and primitive life of the Japanese responded to these appealsand opportunities with profound joy. The upper classes especially feltthemselves growing in richness and fullness of life. They felt thestimulus in many directions. The reason, then, why Buddhism flourishedso mightily, and at the same time caused the nation to bloom, wasbecause it helped develop the individual. The reason, on the otherhand, why it failed to carry the nation on from its first bloom intofull fruitage was because it failed to develop individualism in thesocial order. Its religious individualism was, as we have seen, inreality defective. It was abstract and one-sided. It did not discoverthe whole of the individual. It did not know anything of personality, either human or divine. It accordingly could not recognize theindividual's worth, but only his separateness and his weakness. Ittaught an abstract impoverished idea of self, and made, as the wholeaim of the salvation it offered, the final annihilation of allseparateness of this individual self. We can now see that itsindividualism was essentially defective in that it poured contempt onthe self, and that if its individualizing salvation were consistentlycarried out, it was not only no help to the social order, but apositive injury to it. Its individualism was of a nature which couldnot become an integral part of any social order. 

This character led to another inevitable difficulty. Although Buddhismostensibly adopted Shinto deities and the Shinto sanctions for thesocial order, it could not wholeheartedly accept the sanctions nortake the deities into full and legitimate partnership. It found noplace in its circle of doctrine to teach the important tenets ofShintoism. 

It left them to survive or perish as chance would have it. Inproportion as Buddhism absorbed the life and love of the people, Shinto fell into decay and with it its sanctions. Then came thecenturies of civil war during which Imperial power and authority sankto a minimum, and Japan's ignominy and disorder reached their maximum. What the land now needed was the re-introduction, first, of socialorder, even though it must be by the hand of a dictator, and second, the development of religious sanctions for the order that should beestablished. The first was secured by those three great generals ofJapan, Oda Nobunaga, the Taiko Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu. "Thefirst conceived the idea of centralizing all the authority of thestate in a single person; the second, who has been called the Napoleonof Japan, actually put the idea into practice, " but died beforeconsolidating his work; the third, by his unsurpassed skill as adiplomat and administrator, carried the idea completely out, arrangingthe details of the new order so that, without special military geniusor power on the part of his successors, the order maintained itselffor 250 years. 

Yet it is doubtful if this long maintenance of the social orderintroduced by Ieyasu would have been possible had he not found readyto hand a system of essentially religious sanctions for the socialorder he had established by force. Confucianism had lain for athousand years a dormant germ, receiving some study from learned men, but having no special relation to the education of the day or to thepolitical problems that became each century more pressing. In theConfucian doctrines of loyalty to ruler and piety to parents, adoctrine sanctioned by Heaven and by the customs of all the ancients, Ieyasu, with the insight of a master mind, found just the sanctions hedesired. He had the Confucian classics printed--it is said for thefirst time in Japan--"and the whole intellect of the country becamemolded by Confucian ideas. " The classics, edited with diacriticalmarks for Japanese students, "formed the chief vehicle of every boy'seducation. " These were interpreted by learned Chinese commentators. The intelligence of the land drank of this stream as the European mindrefreshed itself with the classic waters of the Renaissance. TheJapanese were weary of Buddhistic puerilities and transcendentaldoctrines that led nowhere. They demanded sanctions for the moral lifeand the social order; in response to this need Buddhism gave themNirvana--absolute mental and moral vacuity. Confucianism gave themprinciples whose working and whose results they could see andunderstand. Its sanctions appealed both to the imagination and to thereason, antiquity and learning and piety being all in their favor. Thesanctions were also seen to be wholly independent of puerilesuperstitions and foolish fears. The Confucian ideals and sanctions, moreover, coincided with the essential elements of the old Shintoworld-view and sanctions. In a true sense, the doctrines of Confuciuswere but the elaborated and succinctly stated implications of theirprimitive faith. Confucianism, therefore, swept the land. _It was_accepted as the groundwork and authority for the most flourishingfeudal order the world has ever seen. Japan bloomed again. [DF]

This difference, however, is to be noted between the Shinto idealsocial order and the Confucian, or rather that development ofConfucian ethics and civics which arose during the Tokugawa Shogunate;Shinto appears to have been, properly speaking, nationalistic, whilefeudal Confucianism was tribal. Although in Confucian theory thesupreme loyalty may have been due the Emperor, in point of fact it wasshown to the local daimyo. Confucian ethics was communal and mighteasily have turned in the direction of national communalism; it wouldthen have coincided completely with Shinto in this respect. But forvarious reasons it did not so turn, but developed an intensely local, a tribal communalism, and pushed loyalty to the Emperor as a vitalreality entirely into the background. This was one of the defects offeudal Confucianism which finally led to its own overthrow. Shinto, as we have seen, had long been pushed aside by Buddhism and waspractically forgotten by the people. The zeal for Confucian doctrinebrought, therefore, no immediate revival to the Shinto cultus, although it did revive the essential elements of the old communalreligion. We might say that the old religion was revived under a newname; having a new name and a new body, the real and vital connectionbetween the two was not recognized. We thus discern how the religioushistory of Japan was not a series of cataclysms or of disconnectedleaps in the dark, but an orderly development, one step naturallyfollowing the next, as the sun follows the dawn. The different stagesof Japan's religious progress have received different names, becausedue to specific stimuli brought from abroad; the religious lifeitself, however, has been a continuous development. 

Another difference between Shinto and Confucianism as it existed inJapan should not escape our attention, namely, in regard to theirrespective world-views. Shinto was confessedly a religion; it franklybelieved in gods, whom it worshiped and on whose help it relied. Confucianism, or to use the Japanese name, Bushido, was confessedlyagnostic. It did not assume to understand the universe, as Buddhismassumed. Nor did it admit the practical existence of gods or theirpower in this world, as Shinto believed. It maintained that, "if onlythe heart follows the way of truth, the gods will protect one eventhough he does not pray. " It laid stress on practical moralities, regardless of their philosophical presumptions, into which it wouldnot probe. When pressed it would ascribe all to "Heaven, " and, as wehave seen, it had many implications that would lead the inquiring mindto a belief in the personal nature of "Heaven. " Had it developed theseimplications, Bushido would have become a genuine religion. It wasindeed a system of ethics touched with emotion, it was religious, butit failed to become the religion it might have become because itinsisted on its agnosticism and refused to worship the highest andbest it knew. 

It is interesting to observe that the ideals and sanctions ofConfucianism produced effects which proved its ruin. They did this intwo ways; first, by developing the prolonged peace necessary for ahigh grade of scholarship which, turning its attention to ancienthistory, discovered that the Shogunate was assuming powers not inaccord with the primitive practice nor in accord with the theory ofthe divine descent of the Imperial house. Imperialistic patriotsarose, whose aim was to overthrow the Shogunate and restore theEmperor. They felt that, doing this, they were right; that is to say, they became inspired by the Shinto sanctions for a national life. Theythus discovered the defect of the disjointed feudal system sanctionedby feudal Confucianism. The second cause of its undoing grew out ofthe first. The scholarship which led the patriots against the usurperin political life led them also against all foreign innovations suchas Buddhism and Confucianism, which they scorned as modern andanti-imperial. The Shinto cultus thus received a powerful revival. With the overthrow of the Shogunate in 1868 Confucianism naturallywent with it, and for a time Shinto was the state religion. But itspoverty in every line, except the communal sanctions, caused it in ashort time to lose its place. 

The two causes just assigned for the fall of Bushido, however, couldhardly have wrought its ruin had it been more than a utilitarian andagnostic system of morality, calculated to maintain the socialascendency of a small fraction of the nation. As a religion, Bushidowould have secured a conservative power enabling it to survive, byadapting itself to a changed social order. As it was, Bushido wassnuffed out by a single breath of the breeze that began to blow fromforeign lands. As an ethical system it has conferred a blessing onJapan that should never be forgotten. But its identification with aclass and a clan social order rendered it too narrow for the nationaland international life into which the nation was forced bycircumstances beyond its control, and its agnostic utilitarianism didnot provide it with sufficient moral power to cope with the problemsof the new individualistic age that had suddenly burst upon it. In allJapan there remains to the present day only one of those oldConfucian schools with its temple to Confucius. All the rest havefallen into ruins or have been used for other purposes, while thegold-covered statues of the once deified teacher have been sold tocurio-dealers or for their bullion value. In the worship of Confucius, Bushido almost became a religion, but it worshiped the teacher insteadof the Creator, maintaining its agnosticism as to the Creator, as to"Heaven, " to the end, and thus lapsed from the path of religiousevolution. 

This brings us down to modern times--into the seventies. Already inthe sixties Japan had discovered herself in a totally new environment. She found that foreign nations had made great progress in everydirection since she shut them out two hundred and fifty years before. She discovered her helplessness, she discovered, too, that the socialorder of Western peoples was totally distinct from hers. Thesediscoveries served to break down all the remaining sanctions for herparticular type of social order--Confucianistic feudalism. The wholenation was eager to know the political systems of the West. So long asthe Shinto ideal of nationalism was not interfered with, the nationwas free to adopt any new social order. Japan's political andcommercial intercourse being with England and America, the socialorder of the Anglo-Saxon had the greatest influence on the Japanesemind. Japan accordingly has become predominantly Anglo-Saxon in itssocial ideas. Much has been made of the fact that the new social orderhas come in so easily; that the people have gained rights withoutfighting for them; and this has been attributed to the peculiarity ofJapanese human nature. This is an error. The real reason for the easewith which the individualistic Anglo-Saxon social order has beenintroduced has been the collapse of the sanctions for the Confucianorder. No one had any ground of duty on which to stand and fight. Thenational mind was open to any newcomer that might have appeared. I amreferring, of course, to the thinking classes. All the rest, accustomed to submissive obedience, never thought of any other coursethan to accept the will of superiors. 

Furthermore, the new social order in one important respect fell inwith and helped to re-establish the old Shinto ideal, that, namely, ofnationalism. In the treaty negotiations, the West would deal with nointermediaries, only with the responsible national head. Westernideals, too, demanded a strong national unity. In this respect, then, the foreign ideals and foreign social order were powerful influencesin building up the new patriotism, in re-enforcing the old Shintosocial sanctions. 

Thus has Japan come to the parting of the ways. What Japan needsto-day is a religion satisfying the intellect as to its world-view, and thus justifying the sanctions it holds out. These must be neitherexclusively communal, like those of Shinto, nor exclusivelyindividual, like those of Buddhism. While maintaining at their fullvalue the sanctions for the social life, it must add thereto thesanctions for the individual. It must not look upon the individual asa being whose salvation depends on his being isolated from, taken outof the community, as Buddhism did and does, nor yet as a mere fractionof the community, as Confucianism did, but as a complete, imperishableunit of infinite worth, necessarily living a double life, partlyinseparable from the social order and partly superior to it. Thisreligion must provide not only sanctions, but ideals, for a perfectsocial order in which, while the most complex organization of societyshall be possible, the freedom and the high development of theindividual's personality shall also be secured. 

The fulfillment of such conditions would at first thought seem to beimpossible. How can a religion give sanctions which at the very timethat they authorize the fullest development and organization ofsociety, apparently making society its chief end, also assume thefullest liberty and development of the individual, making him and hissalvation its chief end? Are not these ends incompatible? What hasbeen said already along this general line of thought has prepared usto see that they are not. The great, though unconscious, need of theages, and the unconscious effort of all religious evolution has beenthe development of just such a religion. As the "cake" of socialcustom was at first the great need for, and afterwards the greatobstacle in the way of, social evolution, so the sanctions of acommunal religion were at first the great need for, and afterwards thegreat obstacle in the way of, religious evolution and of personaldevelopment. Through its sanctions religion is the most powerful ofall the factors of the higher human evolution, either helping itonward or holding it back. 

Has, then, any religion secured such a dual development as we havejust seen to be necessary? As a matter of fact, one and only one hasdone so, Christianity. This religion clearly attains and maintains theapparently impossible combination of individualism and communalism bythe nature of its conception of the method of individual salvation. Its communalism is guaranteed by, because it rests on, itsindividualism. At the very moment that it pronounces the individual ofinestimable worth, --a son of God, --it commands him to show thatsonship by loving all God's other sons, and by serving them to theextent of self-sacrifice, and of death if need be. Its communalism isthus inseparable from its individualism and its individualism from itscommunalism. 

Christian individualism embraces and includes thoroughgoingcommunalism. True and full Christians are the most devoted patriots. As the acorn sends forth far-reaching; roots into the soil formoisture and nourishment, and a mighty trunk and spreading branchesupward for air and sunlight, so the seed of Christian life develops intwo directions, individualism as the root and communalism as thebeautiful tree. They are not contradictory, but supplementaryprinciples. While his own final gain is a real aim of the individual, it is only a part of his aim; he also desires and labors for the gainof all; and even the individual gain, he well knows, can be securedonly through the communal principle, through service to hisfellow-men. His own welfare, whether temporal or eternal, isinseparably bound up with that of his fellows. 

The Christian religion finds the sanctions for any and every socialorder that history knows, in the fact that all physical and sociallaws and organisms are part of the divine plan. Because any particularsocial order is the association of imperfect men and women, it must bemore or less imperfect. But the Christian, even while he is seekingto reform the social order and to bring it up to his ideal, must beloyal to it. And for this loyalty to fellow-men and to God, thehighest conceivable sanctions are held out, namely, an endless andinfinite life of conscious, joyous fellowship with souls made perfectin the Kingdom of God, and with God himself. 

A comprehensive study, therefore, of the real nature and the truefunction of religion in relation to man's development, whetherindividual or communal, shows that Christianity fulfills theconditions. A comparative study would show that, of all the existingreligions, Christianity alone does this. It alone combines in perfectproportion the individual and the communal elements, and the requisitesanctions. 

An expansion of communal religion is taking place in modern times. Thecommunity now arising is international in scope, interracial anduniversal in character. Cultivated men and women the world around arebeginning to talk of national rights and national duties. Europe isthought to be justified in suppressing the slave trade and itsaccompanying horrors in Africa, and condemned for not preventing theTurk from carrying on his wholesale slaughter of innocent Armenians. The Spaniard is despised and condemned for his prolonged inhumanitiesin Cuba and the Philippines, and the American is approved in warringfor humanity and justified in interfering with Spain's sovereignty. The conscience of the world is beginning to discover that no nation, though sovereign, has an absolute right over its people. Right is onlymeasured by righteousness. International righteousness, duty andrights, regardless of military power, are coming to the forefront ofthe thinking of advanced nations. 

Looked at closely, and studied in its implications, what is this but adeveloping form of communal religion? No nation is conceived asexisting apart; each exists as but one fraction of the world-widecommunity; in its relations it has both rights and duties. Does thisnot mean that appeal has been made from the communal sanctions ofmight to the supra-communal sanctions of right? We do not simply askwhat do other nations think of this or that national act, but what isright, in view of the whole order of the nature which has brought maninto being and set him in families and nations. In other words, national rights and duties are felt to flow from the supra-mundanesource, God the Creator of heaven and earth and all that in them is. The sanctions for national rights and duties are religious sanctionsand rest on a religious world-view. 

Now the point, of interest for us is the fact that Japan has enteredinto this universal community and is feeling the sanctions of thisuniversal communal religion. The international rights and duties ofJapan are a theme of frequent discourse and conversation. Japanstoutly maintained that the war with China was a "gi-sen, " a righteouswar, waged primarily for the sake of Korea. Many a Japanese waxesindignant over the cruelty of the Turk, the savage barbarity of theSpaniard, and the impotence and supineness of England and Europe. Ihave already spoken of the young man who became so indignant atEngland's compelling China to take Indian opium, that he proposed togo to England to preach an anti-opium crusade. Japan is beginning toenter into the larger communal life of the world, although, of course, she has as yet little perception of its varied implications. 

Many a student of New Japan perceives that she is abandoning her oldreligious conceptions, and that many moral and social evils areentering the land, who yet does not see that the wide acceptance ofsome new religion by the people is important for the maintenance ofthe nation. Some earnest Japanese thinkers are beginning to realizethat religion is, indeed, needful to steady the national life, butthey fail to see that Christianity alone fulfills the condition. Manyare saying that a religion scientifically constructed must bemanufactured especially for Japan. 

The reason why individualistic religion takes such an important partin the higher evolution of man is, in a word, because the religioussanctions are so much more powerful than all others, either legal orsocial. For the legal sanctions are chiefly negative; they are alsopartial and uncertain, and easily evaded by the selfish individual. The social sanctions, too, are often far from just or impartial orwise. Furthermore, the rise of individualism in the social ordersecures privacy for the individual, and so far forth removes him fromthe restraints and stimuli of the social sanctions. It is thereligious sanctions alone that follow the man in every waking moment. Not one of all his acts escapes the eye of the religious judgment. Heis his own judge, and he cannot escape bearing witness againsthimself. 

Now, it is manifest that where superior beings and man's relation tothese and the corresponding religious sanctions are defectivelyconceived, as, for instance, quite apart either from the individual orthe communal life, they are valueless to the higher evolution of manand have little interest for the student of social evolution. Inproportion, however, as man advances in intellectual grasp ofreligious truths and in susceptibility to the moral ideas andreligious sanctions they provide, conceiving of morality and religionas inseparable parts of the same system, the more powerfully doesreligion enter into and promote man's higher evolution. Anindividualistic social order demands the religious sanctions moreimperatively than a communal social order; for, in proportion as it isindividualistic, the social order is weak in compelling, through thelegal and social sanctions alone, the communal or altruistic activityof the individual. Altruistic spirit and action, however, areessential to the maintenance even of that individualistic order. Themore highly society develops, therefore, the more religious must eachmember of the society become. 

The same truth may be stated from another standpoint. The higher mandevelops, the more impatient he becomes with illogical reasonings anddefective conceptions; he thus becomes increasingly skeptical inregard to current traditional religions with their crude, primitiveideas; he is accordingly increasingly freed from the restraints theyimpose. But unless he finds some new religious sanctions for thecommunal life, for social conduct, and for the individuallife, --ideals and sanctions that command his assent and direct hislife, --he will drop back into a thoroughgoing atomic, individualistic, selfish life, which can be only a hindrance to the higher developmentboth of society and of the individual. In order that men advancing inintellectual ability may remain useful members of society, they mustremain subject to those ideals and sanctions which will actuallysecure social conduct. While disregarding the chaff of primitivereligious superstitions and ceremonials man must retain the wheat; hemust feel the force of the religious spirit in a deeper andprofounder, because more personal way than did his ancestors. Increasing intellectual power and knowledge must be balanced byincreasing individual experience of the religious motives and spirit. This is the reason why each advancing age should study afresh thewhole religious problem, and state in the terms of its own experiencethe prominent and permanent religious truths of all the ages and thesanctions that flow from them. Hence it is that a religion onlytraditional and ceremonial is quite unfitted for a developing life. 

Japan is no exception to the general laws of human evolution. As herintellectual abilities increase, the forms of her old religious lifewill become increasingly unacceptable to the people at large. If, inrejecting the obsolete forms of religious thought, she rejectsreligion and its sanctions altogether, atomistic individualism can bethe only result, and with it wide moral corruption will eat out thevitality of the national life. 

That Christianity alone, of all the religions of the world, fulfillsthe conditions will not need many words to prove. As a matter of factChristianity alone has succeeded in surviving the criticism of thenineteenth century. In Christendom, all religions but Christianityhave perished. This is a mere matter of fact. As for the reason, Christianity alone gives complete intellectually satisfactorysanctions for both the communal and the individualistic principles ofsocial progress. Christianity, as we have sufficiently shown, has bothprinciples not unrelated to each other, but vitally interrelated. Forthese reasons it is safe to maintain not only that Japan needs to finda new religion, but that the religion must be Christianity insubstance, whatever be the name given it. 

The Japanese have been described as essentially irreligious in nature. We have seen how defective such a description is. But have we not nowtraced one root of this seeming characteristic of New Japan? The oldreligious conceptions have been largely outgrown by the educated. Theyhave come to the conclusion that the old religious forms constitutethe whole of religion, and that consequently they are unworthy ofattention. The spirit of New Japan is indifferent to religion; butthis is not due to an inherently non-religious or irreligious nature, but to the empty externalism and shallow puerilities of the onlyreligions they know. How can they be zealous for them or recognize anyauthority in them? Those few Japanese who have come within theinfluence of the larger conception of religion brought to Japan byChristianity are showing a religious zeal and power supporting thecontention that the generally asserted lack of a religious nature isonly apparent and temporary. Preaching the right set of ideas, thosewhich appeal to the national sense of communal needs, by supplying thedemand for sanctions for the social order; ideas which appeal tointellects molded by modern thought, by supplying such an intellectualunderstanding of the universe as justifies the various supra-communalsanctions; and ideas which appeal to the heart, by supplying thepersonal demand of each individual for a larger life, for intercoursewith the Father of all Spirits and for strength for the prolongedbattle of life--preach these and kindred ideas, and the Japanese willagain become as conspicuously a religious people as they were whenBuddhism came to Japan a thousand years ago. [DG]

But if the real nature of a full and perfect religion is to save notonly the individual, providing sanctions for his conduct, but also tojustify the social order, and to provide sanctions that shall secureits maintenance, any religion which fails to have both characteristicscan hardly claim the name universal. We have seen that Buddhism lacksone of these elements. In my judgment it is not properly universal. Solong as it exists in or goes to a land already provided with otherreligions securing the social order, it may continue to thrive. But, on the one hand, it can never become the exclusive religion of anyland for it cannot do without and therefore it cannot depose the otherreligions; and, on the other hand, it must give way before thestronger religion which has both the individual and communal elementscombined. Buddhism, therefore, lacks a vital characteristic of auniversal religion. It may better be called a non-local, or aninternational religion. We now see another reason why Buddhism, although found in many Oriental lands, has never annihilated any ofthe pre-existing religions, but has only added one more to the manyvarieties already existing. It is so in Thibet, in China, in Burmah, and in Japan. And in India, its home, it has utterly died out. 

Many of the efforts made by students of comparative religion toclassify the various religions, seem to the writer defective throughlack of the perception that social and religious evolution are vitallyconnected. From this point of view, the classification of religions ascommunal, individual, and communo-individual, would seem to be thebest. 

XXXVI

WHAT ARE THE ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ORIENT?

We have now passed in rather detailed review the emotional, æsthetic, intellectual, moral, and religious characteristics of the Japaneserace. We have, furthermore, given considerable attention to theproblem of personality. We have tried to understand the relation ofeach characteristic to the Japanese feudal system and social order. 

The reader will perhaps feel some dissatisfaction with the results ofthis study. "Are there, then, " he may say, "no distinctive Japanesepsychical characteristics by which this Eastern race is radicallydifferentiated from those of the Occident?" "Are there no peculiarfeatures of an Oriental, mental and moral, which infallibly and alwaysdistinguish him from an Occidental?" The reply to this question givenin the preceding chapters of this work is negative. For the sake, however, of the reader who may not yet be thoroughly satisfied, it maybe well to examine this problem a little further, analyzing some ofthe current characterizations of the Orient. 

That Oriental and Occidental peoples are each possessed of certainunique psychic characteristics, sharply and completely differentiatingthem from each other, is the opinion of scientific sociologists aswell as of more popular writers. An Occidental entering the Orient iswell-nigh overwhelmed with amusement and surprise at the antipodalcharacteristics of the two civilizations. Every visible expression ofOriental civilization, every mode of thought, art, architecture;conceptions of God, man, and nature; pronunciation and structure ofthe language--all seem utterly different from their correspondingelements in the West. Furthermore, as he visits one Oriental countryafter another, although he discovers differences between Japanese, Koreans, Chinese, and Hindus, yet he is impressed with a strange, abaffling similarity. 

The tourist naturally concludes that the unity characterizing theOrient is fundamental; that Oriental civilization is due to Orientalrace brain, and Occidental civilization is due to Occidental racebrain. 

This impression and this conclusion of the tourist are not, however, limited to him. The "old resident" in the East becomes increasinglyconvinced with every added year that an Oriental is a different kindof human being from a Westerner. As he becomes accustomed to theexternals of the Oriental civilization, he forgets its comicalaspects, he even comes to appreciate many of its conveniences. But inproportion as he becomes familiar with its languages, its modes ofthought and feeling, its business methods, its politics, itsliterature, its amusements, does he increasingly realize the gulf setbetween an Oriental and an Occidental. The inner life of the spirit ofan Oriental would be utterly inane, spiritless to the averageOccidental. The "old resident" accordingly knows from long experiencewhat the tourist only guesses from a hasty glance, that thecharacteristic differences distinguishing the peoples of the East andthe West are racial and ineradicable. An Oriental is an Oriental, andthat is the ultimate, only thoroughgoing explanation of his nature. 

The conception of the tourist and the "old resident" crops up innearly every article and book touching on Far Eastern peoples. Whatever the point of remark or criticism, if it strikes the writer asdifferent from the custom of Occidentals, it is laid to the account ofOrientalism. 

This conception, however, of distinguishing Oriental characteristics, is not confined to popular writers and unscientific persons. Evenprofessed and eminent sociologists advocate it. Prof. Le Bon, in hissophistic volume on the "Psychology of Peoples, " advocates itstrenuously. A few quotations from this interesting work may not beout of place. 

"The object of this work is to describe the psychologicalcharacteristics which constitute the soul of races, and to show howthe history of a people and its civilization is determined by thesecharacteristics. "[DH] "The point that has remained most clearly fixedin mind, after long journeys through the most varied countries, isthat each people possesses a mental constitution as unaltering as itsanatomical characteristics, a constitution which is the source of itssentiments, thoughts, institutions, beliefs, and arts. "[DI]

"The life of a people, its institutions, beliefs, and arts, are butthe visible expression of its invisible soul. For a people totransform its institutions, beliefs, and arts it must first transformits soul. "[DJ]

"Each race possesses a constitution as unvarying as its anatomicalconstitution. There seems to be no doubt that the former correspondsto a certain special structure of the brain. "[DK]

"A negro or a Japanese may easily take a university degree or become alawyer; the sort of varnish he thus acquires is, however, quitesuperficial and has no influence on his mental constitution. What noeducation can give him, because they are created by heredity alone, are the forms of thought, the logic, and above all the character ofthe Western man. "[DL]

"Cross-breeding constitutes the only infallible means at our disposalof transforming in a fundamental manner the character of a people, heredity being the only force powerful enough to contend withheredity. Cross-breeding allows of the creation of a new race, possessing new physical and psychological characteristics. "[DM]

Such, then, being the opinion of travelers, residents, andprofessional sociologists, it is not to be lightly rejected. Nor hasit been lightly rejected by the writer. For years he agreed with thisview, but repeated study of the problem has convinced him of thefallacy of both the conception and the argument, and has brought himto the position maintained in this work. 

The characteristics differentiating Occidental and

Oriental peoples and civilizations are undoubtedly great. But theyare differences of social evolution and rest on social, not onbiological heredity. Anatomical differences are natal, racial, andnecessary. Not so with social characteristics and differences. Theseare acquired by each individual chiefly after birth, and depend onsocial environment which determines the education from infancy upward. Furthermore, an entire nation or race, if subjected to the rightsocial environment, may profoundly transform its institutions, beliefs, and arts, which in turn transform what Prof. Le Bon andkindred writers call the invisible "race soul. " Racial activityproduces race character, for "Function produces organism. " I cannotagree with these writers in the view that the race soul is a givenfixed entity. Social psychogenesis is a present and a progressiveprocess. Japan is a capital illustration of it. In the development ofraces and civilizations involution is as continuous a process asevolution. Evolution is, indeed, only one-half of the process. Withoutinvolution, evolution is incomprehensible. And involution is the moreinteresting half, as it is the more significant. In modern discussionmuch that passes by the name of evolution is, in reality, a discussionof involution. 

The attentive reader will have discovered that the real point of thediscussion of Japanese characteristics given in the preceding chaptershas been on the point of involution. How have these characteristicsarisen? has been our ever-recurring question. The answer hasinvariably tried to show their relation to the social order. In thisway we have traversed a large number of leading characteristics of theJapanese. We have seen how they arose, and also how they are now beingtransformed by the new Occidentalized social order. We have seen thatnot one of the characteristics examined is inherent, that is, due tobrain structure, to biological heredity. We have concluded, therefore, that the psychical characteristics which differentiate races are allbut wholly social. 

It is incumbent on advocates of the biological view to point out indetail the distinguishing inherent traits of the Orient. Let them alsocatalogue the essential psychic characteristics of Occidentals. Suchan attempt is seldom made. And when it is made it is singularlyunconvincing. Although Prof. Le Bon states that the mentalconstitution of races is as distinctive and unaltering as theiranatomical characteristics, he fails to tell us what they are. This isa vital omission. If the differences are as distinct as he asserts, itwould seem to be an easy matter to describe them. Whatever theclothing adopted, it is an easy matter for one to distinguish aEuropean from an Asiatic, an Englishman from an Italian, a Japanesefrom a Korean, a Chinaman from a Hindu. The anatomical characteristicsof races are clear and easily described. If the psychiccharacteristics are equally distinct, why do not they who assert thisdistinctness describe and catalogue these differences?

Occasionally a popular writer makes something of an attempt in thisdirection, but with astonishingly slight results. A recent writer inthe London _Daily Mail_ has illustrated afresh the futility of allattempts to catalogue the distinguishing characteristics of theOriental. He names the inferior position assigned to women, thelicentiousness of men, licensed prostitution, lack of the playinstinct among Oriental boys, scorn of Occidental civilization, andthe rude treatment of foreigners. Many of his statements of facts aresadly at fault. But supposing them to be true, are they thedifferentiating characteristics of the Orient? Consider for a momentwhat was the position of woman in ancient times in the Occident, andwhat was the moral character of Occidental men? Is not prostitutionlicensed to-day in the leading cities of Europe? And is there not anunblushing prostitution in the larger cities of England and Americawhich would put to shame the licensed prostitution of Japan? AreOrientals and their civilization universally esteemed andconsiderately treated in the Occident? Surely none of these areuniquely Oriental characteristics, distinguishing them from Occidentalpeoples as clearly as the anatomical characteristics of oblique eyesand yellow skin. 

Mr. Percival Lowell has made a careful philosophical effort todiscover the essential psychic nature of the Orient. He describes it, as we have seen, as "Impersonality. " The failure of his effort wehave sufficiently considered. 

There remain a few other characterizations of the Orient that we maywell examine briefly. 

It has been stated that the characteristic psychic traitdistinguishing the East from the West is that the former is intuitive, while the latter is logical. In olden times Oriental instructionrelied on the intuitions of the student. No reliance was placed on thelogical process. Religion, so far as it was not ceremony and magic, was intuitional, "Satori, " "Enlightenment, " was the keyword. Each manattains enlightenment by himself--through a flash of intuition. Moralinstruction likewise was intuitional. Dogmatic statements were madewhose truth the learner was to discover for himself; no effort wasmade to explain them. Teaching aimed to go direct to the point, notstopping to explain the way thither. 

That this was and is a characteristic of the Orient cannot bedisputed. The facts are abundant and clear. But the question iswhether this is a racial psychic characteristic, such that itinevitably controls the entire thinking of an Oriental, whatever hiseducation, and also whether the Occident is conspicuously deficient inthis psychic characteristic. Thus stated, the question almost answersitself. 

Orientals educated in Western methods of thought acquire logicalmethods of reasoning and teaching. The old educational methods ofJapan are now obsolete. On the other hand, intuitionalism is notunknown in the West. Mystics in religion are all conspicuouslyintuitional. So too are Christian scientists, faith-healers, andspiritualists. Great preachers and poets are intuitionalists ratherthan logicians. 

Furthermore, if we look to ancient times, we shall see that evenOccidentals were dominated by intuitionalism. All primitive knowledgewas dominated by intuitions, and was as absurd as many still prevalentOriental conceptions of nature. The bane of ancient science andphilosophy was its reliance on a priori considerations; that is, onintuition. Inductive, carefully logical methods of thought, ofscience, of philosophy, and even of religion, are relatively moderndevelopments of the Occidental mind. We have learned to doubtintuitions unverified by investigation and experimental evidence. Thewide adoption of the inductive method is a recent characteristic ofthe West. 

Modern progress has consisted in no slight degree in the developmentof logical powers, and particularly in the power of doubting andexamining intuitions. To say that the East is conspicuouslyintuitional and the West is conspicuously logical is fairly true, butthis misses the real difference. The West is intuitional plus logical. It uses the intuitional method in every department of life, but itdoes not stop with it. An intuition is not accepted as truth until ithas been subjected by the reason to the most thorough criticismpossible. The West distrusts the unverified and unguided intuitivejudgment. On the other hand, the East is not inherently deficient inlogical power. When brought into contact with Occidental life, andespecially when educated in Occidental methods of thought, theOriental is not conspicuously deficient in logical ability. 

This line of thought leads to the conclusion that the psychiccharacteristics distinguishing the East from the West, profound thoughthey are, are sociological rather than biological. They are thecharacteristics of the civilization rather than of essential racenature. 

A fact remarked by many thoughtful Occidentals is the astonishingdifficulty--indeed the impossibility--of becoming genuinely andintimately acquainted with the Japanese. Said a professor of HarvardUniversity to the writer some years ago: "Do you in Japan find itdifficult to become truly acquainted with the Japanese? We see manystudents here, but we are unable to gain more than a superficialacquaintance. They seem to be incrusted in a shell that we are unableto pierce. " The editor of the _Japan Mail_, speaking of the difficultyof securing "genuinely intimate intercourse with the Japanese people, "says: "The language also is needed. Yet even when the language isadded, something still remains to be achieved, and what that somethingis we have never been able to discover, though we have beenconsidering the subject for thirty-three years. No foreigner has everyet succeeded in being admitted into the inner circle of Japaneseintercourse. "

Is this a fact? If not, why is it so widespread a belief? If it is afact, what is the interpretation? Like most generalizations itexpresses both a truth and an error. As the statement of a generalexperience, I believe it to be true. As an assertion of universalapplication I believe it to be false. As a truth, how is it to beexplained? Is it due to difference of race soul, and thus to racialantipathy, as some maintain? If so, it must be a universal fact. This, however, is an error, as we shall see. The explanation is not so hardto find as at first appears. 

The difficulty under consideration is due to two classes of facts. Thefirst is that the people have long been taught that Occidentals desireto seize and possess their land. Although the more enlightened havelong since abandoned this fear and suspicion, the people still suspectthe stranger; they do not propose to admit foreigners to any leadingposition in the political life of the land. They do not implicitlytrust the foreigners, even when taken into their employ. Thatforeigners should not be admitted to the inner circle of Japanesepolitical life, therefore, is not strange. Nor is it unique to Japan. It is not done in any land except the United States. Secondly, thediverse methods of social intercourse characterizing the East and theWest make a deep chasm between individuals of these civilizations oncoming into social relations. The Oriental bows low, uttersconventional "aisatsu" salutations, listens respectfully, withholdshis own opinion, agrees with his vis-à-vis, weighs every word utteredwith a view to inferring the real meaning, for the genius of thelanguage requires him to assume that the real meaning is not on thesurface, and chooses his own language with the same circumspection. The Occidental extends his hand for a hearty shake--if he wishes to befriendly--looks his visitor straight in the eye, speaks directly fromhis heart, without suspicion or fear of being misunderstood, expresseshis own opinions unreservedly. The Occidental, accustomed to thisdirect and open manner, spontaneously doubts the man who lacks it. Itis impossible for the Occidental to feel genuinely acquainted with anOriental who does not respond in Occidental style of frank openintercourse. Furthermore, it is not Japanese custom to open one'sheart, to make friends with everyone who comes along. Thehail-fellow-well-met characteristic of the Occident is a feature ofits individualism, that could not come into being in a feudalcivilization in which every respectable man carried two swords withwhich to take instant vengeance on whoever should malign or doubt him. Universal secretiveness and conventionality, polite forms and veiledexpressions, were the necessary shields of a military feudalism. Boththe social order and the language were fitted to develop to a highdegree the power of attention to minutest details of manner and speechand of inferring important matters from slight indications. The wholesocial order served to develop the intuitional method in humanrelations. Reliance was placed more on what was not said than on whatwas clearly expressed. A doubting state of mind was the necessarypsychological prerequisite for such an inferential system. And doubtwas directly taught. "Hito wo mireba dorobo to omoye, " "when you see aman, count him a robber, " may be an exaggeration, but this ancientproverb throws much light on the Japanese chronic state of mind. Mutual suspicion--and especially suspicion of strangers--was the rulein Old Japan. Among themselves the Japanese make relatively fewintimate friends. They remark on Occidental skill in making friends. 

That the foreigner is not admitted to the inner social life of theJapanese is likewise not difficult of explanation, if we bear in mindthe nature of that social life. Is it possible for one who keepsconcubines, who takes pleasure in geisha, and who visits houses ofprostitution, to converse freely and confidentially with those whocondemn these practices? Can he who stands for a high-grade morality, who criticises in unsparing measure the current morality of Japanesesociety, expect to be admitted to its inner social circles?Impossible. However friendly the relations of Japanese and foreignersmay be in business and in the diplomatic corps, the moral chasmseparating the social life of the Occident from that of the Orienteffectually prevents a foreigner from being admitted to its innersocial life. 

It might be thought that immoral Occidentals would be so admitted. Notso. The Japanese distinguish between Occidentals. They know well thatimmoral Occidentals are not worthy of trust. Although for a seasonthey may hobnob together, the intimacy is shallow and short-lived; itrests on lust and not on profound sympathies of head and heart. 

And this suggests the secret of genuine acquaintance. Men becomeprofoundly acquainted in proportion as they hold in common seriousviews of life, and labor together for the achievement of great moralends. Now a gulf separates the ordinary Japanese, even thougheducated, from the serious-minded Occidental. Their views of life arewell-nigh antipodal. If their social intercourse is due only to theaccident of business or of social functions, what true intimacy canpossibly arise? The acquaintance can only be superficial. Nothingbinds the two together beyond the temporary and accidental. Let them, however, become possessed of a common and a serious view of life; letthem strive for the attainment of some great moral reform, which theyfeel of vital importance to the welfare of the nation and the age, andimmediately a bond of connection and intercourse will be establishedwhich will ripen into real intimacy. 

I dispute the correctness of the generalization above quoted, however, not only on theoretical considerations, but also as a matter ofexperience. Among Christians, the conditions are fulfilled forintimate relations between Occidentals and Orientals which result, asa matter of fact, in genuine and intimate friendship. The relationsexisting between many missionaries and the native Christians andpastors refute the assertion of the editor of the _Japan Mail_ that, "no foreigner has ever yet succeeded in being admitted into the innercircle of Japanese intercourse. " This assertion is doubtless true inregard to the relation of foreigners to non-Christian society. Thereason, for the fact, however, is not because one is Occidental andthe other Oriental in psychic nature, but solely because of diversemoral views, aims, and conduct. 

It is not the contention of these pages, however, that intimatefriendships between Occidental and Oriental Christians are as easilyformed as between members of two Occidental nations. Although commonviews of life, and common moral aims and conduct may provide therequisite foundations for such intimate friendships, the diversemethods of thought and of social intercourse may still serve to hindertheir formation. It is probably a fact that missionaries experiencegreater difficulty in making genuine intimate friendships withJapanese Christians than with any other race on the face of the globe. The reasons for this fact are manifold. The Japanese racial ambitionmanifests itself not only in the sphere of political life; it does nottake kindly to foreign control in any line. The churches manifest thischaracteristic. It is a cause of suspicion of the foreign missionaryand separation from him; it has broken up many a friendship. Intimacybetween missionaries and leading native pastors and evangelists wasmore common in the earlier days of Christian work than more recently, because the Japanese church organization has recently developed aself-consciousness and an ambition for organic independence which haveled to mutual criticisms. 

Furthermore, Japanese Christians are still Japanese. Their methods ofsocial intercourse are Oriental; they bow profoundly, they repeatformal salutations, they refrain from free expression of personalopinion and preference. The crust of polite etiquette remains. Theforeigner must learn to appreciate it before he can penetrate to thekindly, sincere, earnest heart. This the foreigner does not easily do, much to the detriment of his work. 

And on the other hand, before the Oriental can penetrate to thekindly, sincere, and earnest heart of the Occidental, he must abandonthe inferential method; he must not judge the foreigner by what isleft unsaid nor by slight turns of that which is said, but by thewhole thought as fully expressed. In other words, as the Occidentalmust learn and must trust to Oriental methods of social intercourse, so the Oriental must learn and must trust to the correspondingOccidental methods. The difficulty is great in either case, though ofan opposite nature. Which has the greater difficulty is a question Ido not attempt to solve. 

Another generalization as to the essential difference marking Orientaland Occidental psychic natures is that the former is meditative andappreciative, and the latter is active. This too is a characterizationof no little truth. The easy-going, time-forgetting, dreamingcharacteristics of the Orient are in marked contrast to the rush, bustle, and hurry of the Occident. One of the first and most forcibleimpressions made on the Oriental visiting the West is the tremendousenergy displayed even in the ordinary everyday business. In the homethere is haste; on the streets men, women, and children are "always onthe run. " It must seem to be literally so, when the walk of theOccidental is compared with the slow, crawling rate at which theOriental moves. Horse cars, electric cars, steam cars, run at highspeed through crowded streets. Conversation is short and hurried. Visits are curtailed--hardly more than glimpses. Everyone is sonervously busy as to have no time for calm, undisturbed thought. Sodoes the Orient criticise and characterize the Occident. 

In the Orient, on the contrary, time is nothing. Walking is slow, business is deliberate, visiting is a fine art of bows andconventional phrases preliminary to the real purpose of the call;amusements even are long-drawn-out, theatrical performances requiringan entire day. In the home there is no hurry, on the street there isno rush. To the Occidental, the Oriental seems so absorbed in a dreamlife that the actual life is to him but a dream. 

If the characterization we are considering is meant to signify thatthe Orient possesses a power of appreciation not possessed by theWest, then it seems to me an error. The Occident is not deficient inappreciation. A better statement of the difference suggested by theabove characterization is that Western civilization is an expressionof Will, whereas Eastern civilization is an expression ofsubordination to the superior--to Fate. This feature of Orientalcharacter is due to the fact that the Orient is still as a wholecommunal in its social order, whereas the Occident is individualistic. In the West each man makes his own fortune; his position in societyrests on his own individual energy. He is free to exert it at will. Society praises him in proportion as he manifests energy, grit, independence, and persistence. The social order selects such men andadvances them in political, in business, in social, and in academiclife. The energetic, active characteristics of the West are due, then, to the high development of individualism. The entire Occidentalcivilization is an expression of free will. 

The communal nature of the Orient has not systematically given roomfor individual progress. The independent, driving man has beencondemned socially. Submission, absolute and perpetual, to parents, tolord, to ancestors, to Fate, has been the ruling idea of each man'slife. Controlled by such ideas, the easy-going, time-ignoring, dreaming, contemplative life--if you so choose to call it--of theOrient is a necessary consequence. 

But has this characteristic become congenital, or is it still onlysocial? Is dreamy appreciation now an inborn racial characteristic ofOriental mind, while active driving energy is the correspondingessential trait of Occidental mind? Or may these characteristicschange with the social order? I have no hesitancy whatever inadvocating the latter position. The way in which Young Japan, clad inEuropean clothing, using watches and running on "railroad time, " hasdropped the slow-going style of Old Japan and has acquired habits ofrapid walking, direct clear-cut conversation, and punctuality inbusiness and travel (comparatively speaking) proves conclusively thecorrectness of my contention. New Japan is entering into the hurry andbustle of Occidental life, because, in contact with the West, she hasadopted in a large measure, though not yet completely, theindividualism of the West. 

As time goes on, Japanese civilization will increasingly manifest thephenomena of will, and will proportionally become assimilated to thecivilization of the West. But the ultimate cause of thistransformation in civilization will be the increasing introduction ofindividualism into the social order. And this is possible only becausethe so-called racial characteristics are sociological, and notbiological. The transformation of "race soul" therefore does notdepend on the intermarriage of diverse races, but only on the adoptionof new ideas and practices through social intercourse. 

We conclude, then, that the only thoroughgoing interpretation of thedifferences characterizing Eastern and Western psychic nature is asocial one, and that social differences can be adequately expressedonly by contrasting the fundamental ideas ruling their respectivesocial orders, namely, communalism for the East and individualism forthe West. 

The unity that pervades the Orient, if it is not due to theinheritance of a common psychic nature, to what is it due? Surely tothe possession of a common civilization and social order. It would behard to prove that Japanese, Koreans, Chinese, Siamese, Burmese, Hindus (and how many distinct races does the ethnologist find inIndia), Persians, and Turks are all descendants from a common ancestryand are possessed therefore by physical heredity of a common racialpsychic nature. Yet such is the requirement of the theory we areopposing. That the races inhabiting the Asiatic continent have hadfrom ancient times mutual social intercourse, whereby thecivilization, mental, moral, and spiritual, of the most developed haspassed to the other nations, so that China has dominated Eastern Asia, and India has profoundly influenced all the races inhabiting Asia, isan indisputable fact. The psychic unity of the Orient is acivilizational, a social unity, as is also the psychic unity of theOccident. The reason why the Occident is so distinct from the Orientin social, in psychic, and in civilizational characteristics isbecause these two great branches of the human race have undergoneisolated evolution. Isolated biological evolution has produced thediverse races. These are now fixed physical types, which can bemodified only by intermarriage. But although isolated social evolutionhas produced diverse social and psychic characteristics these are notfixed and unalterable. To transform psychic and socialcharacteristics, intimate social intercourse, under specialconditions, is needful alone. 

If the characteristics differentiating the Eastern from the Westernpeoples are only social, it might be supposed that the results ofassociation would be mutual, the East influencing the West as much asthe West influences the East, both at last finding a common level. Such a result, however, is impossible, from the laws regulatingpsychic and social intercourse. The less developed psychic nature canhave no appreciable effect on the more highly developed, just asundeveloped art cannot influence highly developed art, nor crudescience and philosophy highly developed science and philosophy. Thelaw governing the relations of diverse civilizations when brought intocontact is not like the law of hydrostatics, whereby two bodies ofwater of different levels, brought into free communication, finallyfind a common level, determined by the difference in level and theirrespective masses. In social intercourse the higher civilization isunaffected by the lower, in any important way, while the lower ismightily modified, and in sufficient time is lifted to the grade ofthe higher in all important respects. This is a law of greatsignificance. The Orient is becoming Occidentalized to a degree and ata rate little realized by travelers and not fully appreciated by theOrientals themselves. They know that mighty changes have taken place, and are now taking place, but they do not fully recognize theirnature, and the multitudes do not know the source of these changes. Inso far as the East has surpassed the West in any important directionwill the East influence the West. 

In saying, then, as we did in our first chapter, that the Japanesehave already formed an Occidento-Oriental civilization, we meant thatJapan has introduced not only the external and mechanical elements ofWestern civilization into her new social order, but also its inner anddeterminative principle--individualism. In saying that, as theEthiopian cannot change his skin nor the leopard his spots, so Japanwill never become thoroughly Occidentalized, we did not intend to saythat she was so Oriental in her physiological nature, in her "racesoul, " that she could make no fundamental social transformation; butmerely that she has a social heredity that will always and inevitablymodify every Occidental custom and conception that may be brought tothis land. Although in time Japan may completely individualize hersocial order, it will never be identical with that of the West. Itwill always bear the marks of her Oriental social heredity ininnumerable details. The Occidental traveler will always be impressedwith the Orientalisms of her civilization. Although the Orientalfamiliar with the details of the pre-Meiji social order will beimpressed with what seems to him the complete Occidentalization of hernew civilization and social order, although to-day communalism andindividualism are the distinguishing characteristics respectively ofthe East and the West, they are not necessary characteristics due toinherent race nature. The Orient is sure to become increasinglyindividualistic. The future evolution of the great races of the earthis to be increasingly convergent in all the essentials of individualand racial prosperity, but in countless non-essential details thecustoms of the past will remain, to give each race and nationdistinctive psychic and social characteristics. 

XXXVII

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS

The aim of the present work has been to gain insight into the realnature of both Japanese character and its modern transformation. 

In doing this we have necessarily entered the domain of socialscience, where we have been compelled to take issue with many, to us, defective conceptions. Our discussions of social principles have, however, been narrowly limited. We have confined our attention to theinterpretation of those social and psychic characteristicsdifferentiating the Japanese from other races. Our chief contentionhas been that these characteristics are due to the nature of thesocial order that has prevailed among them, and not to the inherentnature of the people; and that the evolution of the psychiccharacteristics of all races is due to social more than to biologicalevolution. 

This position and the discussions offered to prove it imply more thanhas been explicitly stated. In this closing chapter it seems desirableto state concisely, and therefore with technical terminology, some ofthe more fundamental principles of social philosophy assumed orimplied in this work. Brevity requires that this statement take theform of dogmatic propositions and unillustrated abstractions. Theaverage reader will find little to interest him, and is accordinglyadvised to omit it entirely. 

Let us first clearly see that we have made no effort to account forthe origin or inherent nature of psychic life. That association or thesocial order is the original producing cause of psychic life is by nomeans our contention. Given the psychic nature as we find it in man, the problem is to account for its diverse manifestation in thedifferent races and civilizations. This, and this alone, has been ourproblem. 

Psychic nature is the sole and final cause of social life. Withoutpsychic nature there could be no association. Personalized psychicnature is the sole and final cause of human social life. Numberlessconditions determine by stimulation or imitation the manifestation ofpsychic life. These conditions differ for different lands, peoples, ages, and political relations, producing diverse social orders foreach separated group. These diverse social orders determine thepsychic characteristics differentiating the various groups. Sociallife and social order are objective expressions of a reality of whichpsychic nature is the subjective and therefore deeper reality. The twocannot be ruthlessly torn apart and remain complete, nor can they beunderstood, or completely interpreted, apart from each other. They arecorrelative and complementary expressions for the same reality. 

Similarly physical and psychical life are to be conceived asprofoundly interrelated, being respectively objective and subjectiveexpressions of a reality incapable of separate interpretation. Yeteach has markedly distinct characteristics and is the subject ofdistinct laws of activity and development. 

Heredity is of two kinds, biological heredity, transmitting innatecharacters, and social heredity, transmitting acquired habits andtheir physiological results. 

The innate characters transmitted by biological heredity are eitherphysiological, anatomical, or psychical. 

The acquired habits transmitted by social heredity are essentiallypsychical: but they may result in acquired physiological, or evenanatomical, characters. Here belong the physiological effects of diet, housing, clothing, occupation, education, etc. , which have not yetbeen taken up and incorporated into the innate physiologicalconstitution by biological heredity. The physiological effects ofsocial heredity are through the daily physical life and activity ofeach individual, in accordance with the requirements of the socialorder in which he is reared; and these are reached through itsinfluence on the acquired psychical habits, which are transmittedthrough association, imitation, and the control of activities bylanguage and education. In biological heredity the transmission isexclusively prior to birth, while in social heredity it is chiefly, ifnot entirely, after birth. 

In social heredity the transmission is not determined byconsanguinity, and therefore extends to members of alien races whenthey are incorporated in the social organization. 

While the transmission of biological inheritance to each offspring isinevitable and complete, that of social inheritance is largelyvoluntary. It is also more or less complete, according to theknowledge, purpose, and effort of the individuals concerned. Thetransmission of acquired social and psychic characteristics even fromparents to offspring depends on their association, and the impositionon their offspring by parents of their own modes of life. Sharing withparents their bodily activities, their language and their environment, both social and psychical, the offspring necessarily develop psychicand social characteristics similar to those of the parents. 

Evolution takes place through the transformation of inheritance. Theevolution of _innate_ physiological, anatomical, and psychicalcharacters takes place through the transformation of biologicalinheritance; and the evolution of society and of _acquired_ characterschiefly through the transformation of social inheritance. 

Nearly all biologists admit that change in the form of naturalselection is one of the principles transforming biologicalinheritance; but whether the _acquired_ characters of parents are evenin the least degree inherited by the offspring, thus becoming _innate_characters, is one of the important biological problems of recentyears. Into this problem we have not entered, though we recognize thatit must have important bearings on sociological science. Brieflystated, it is this: Do social and psychic characteristics, acquired byindividuals or by groups of individuals, affect the intrinsicinherited and transmissible psychic nature in such ways thatoffspring, by the mere fact of being offspring, necessarily manifestthose characteristics, regardless of the particular social environmentin which they may be reared? Into this problem, thus broadly stated, we do not enter. Limiting our view to those advanced races whichmanifest practically equal physiological development, we ask whetheror not their differentiating psychic characteristics are due tomodifications of their inherited and intrinsic psychic nature, suchthat those characteristics are necessarily transmitted to offspringthrough intrinsic biological heredity. Current popular and scientificsociology seems to give an affirmative answer to this question. Thereply of this work emphasizes the negative. Although it is notmaintained that there is absolutely no difference whatever in thepsychic nature of the different races, or that the psychic differencesdistinguishing the races are entirely transmitted by social heredity, it is maintained that this is very largely the case--far more largelythan is usually perceived or admitted. Such inherent differences, ifthey exist, are so vague and intangible as practically to defydiscovery and clear statement, and may be practically ignored. 

The only adequate disproof of the position here maintained would beabout as follows. Let a Japanese infant be reared in an American homefrom infancy, not only fed and clothed as an American, but loved as amember of the family and trained as carefully and affectionately asone's own child. The full conditions require that not only the childhimself, but everyone else, be ignorant of his parentage and race inorder that he be thought to be, and be treated as though he were, agenuine member of his adopting home and people. What would be thepsychic characteristics of that child when grown to manhood? If heshould manifest psychic traits like those of his Japanese parents, ifhe should think in the Japanese order, if he should have a tendency touse prepositions as postpositions, if he should drop pronouns andshould use honorific words in their place, if he should be markedlysuspicious and inferential, if he should bow in making his salutationsrather than shake hands, if he should show marked preference forsitting on the floor rather than on chairs, and for chopsticks toknives and forks, and if developing powers as an artist he shouldnaturally paint Japanese pictures, Japanese landscapes, and Japanesefaces, finding himself unable to draw according to the canons ofWestern art, if on developing poetic tastes he should find specialpleasure in seventeen syllable or thirty-one syllable exclamatorypoems, finding little interest in Longfellow or Shakespeare, if, inshort, he should develop a predilection for any distinctive Japanesecustom, habit of thought, method of speech, emotion or volition, itwould evidently be due to his intrinsic heredity. If in all thesematters, however, he should prove to be like an American, acquiring anAmerican education like any American boy, and if on being brought toJapan, at, say, thirty years of age, still supposing himself to be anAmerican, he should have equal difficulty with any American inmastering the language and adapting himself to and understanding theJapanese people, then it would follow that his psychic characteristicshave been inherited socially and he is what he is, nationally, becauseof his social heritage. Such a result would show that the psychictraits differentiating races are social and not intrinsic. 

We have limited our discussion to the advanced races because theproblem is then relatively simple, the material abundant, and theissue clear. Much discussion in theology, psychology, and sociology isfutile because it concerns that practically mythical being, theaboriginal man, about whose social and psychic life no one knowsanything, and any theorizer can say what he chooses without fear ofshipwreck on incontrovertible facts. Whether the lowest races knownto-day are differentiated from the highest only by acquired social andpsychic characteristics, or also by differences of psychic nature, mayperhaps be an open question. However this may be, the case is fairlyclear in regard to the higher races inhabiting the earth. Theirdifferentiating psychic characteristics are, for the most part, notdue to diverse psychic nature, but to diverse social orders, while thetransmission of these characteristics takes place, as a matter ofobservation, through social heredity. 

The discussions of this work are exclusively concerned with theevolution of society and of psychic characteristics. But even in thislimited field we have not attempted to cover the whole ground. We havegiven our chief attention to the interdependence of social phenomenaand psychic characteristics. The causes of evolution in the socialorder have not been the main subject under discussion. 

Segregation is the essential condition on which divergent evolution isdependent. Many forms of segregation may be specified, under each ofwhich evolution proceeds on a different principle. In brief, it may besaid that biological segregation prevents the swamping of incipientorganic divergences, by preventing the intermarriage of thosepossessing such divergences, while social segregation prevents theswamping of incipient social divergences and their correspondingincipient psychic characteristics by preventing the inter-associationof those having such tendencies. 

Biologically segregated groups undergo divergent biological evolutionthrough segregated marriage, producing distinct physiological unitiesor racial types. These racial types are now relatively fixed and canbe appreciably modified only by the intermarriage of different races. 

Socially segregated groups undergo divergent social evolution throughthe segregated social intercourse of the members of each group, producing distinct civilizational and psychic unities. The differencesbetween these social or psychic groups are relatively plastic and arethe subject of constant variation. The modification of the social andpsychic characteristics of a group takes place through a change in thephysical or social environment of the group, or through the rise ofstrong personalities within the group. 

Biologically distinct groups may thus be unified biologically only byintermarriage, while socially physically distinct groups may beunified socially and psychically without intermarriage, butexclusively through association. 

The psychic defects of the offspring of interracial marriages may belargely due to the defective social heredity transmitted by theparents, rather than to mixed intrinsic inheritance. 

The term "race soul" is a convenient, though delusive, because highlyfigurative, expression for the psychic unity of a social group. Theunity is due entirely to the more or less complete possession by theindividual members of the group, of common ideas, ideals, methods ofthought, emotions, volitions, customs, institutions, arts, andbeliefs. 

Each individual is molded psychically to the type of the social groupin which he is reared. The "race soul" is thus imposed on theindividual by conscious and unconscious education. 

The psychic evolution of social groups is divergent so long asisolation is fairly complete, but becomes convergent in proportion toassociation. Perfect association produces complete psychic unity, though it should be noted that perfect association of geographicallyseparated social groups is practically unattainable. 

The essential elements constituting national unity are psychic andsocial, not biological. Racial unity is biological. The same race mayaccordingly separate into different social and psychic groups. Andmembers of different races may belong to the same social psychicgroup. 

The so-called "race soul" of many sociologists is, therefore, afiction and indicates mental confusion. The term refers not to theracial unity of inherent psychic nature, but only to the social unityof socially inherited psychic characteristics. Groups thus sociallyunified may or may not be racially homogeneous. In point of fact norace is strictly homogeneous biologically, nor is any social groupcompletely unified psychically. 

In sociology as in biology function produces organism, that is to say, activity produces the organ or faculty fitted to perform theactivity. [2] The psychic characteristics differentiating social groupsare chiefly, and perhaps exclusively, due to diverse socialactivities. These activities are determined by innumerable causes, geographical, climatic, economic, political, intellectual, emotional, and personal. 

The plasticity of a psychic group is due to the plasticity of theinfant mind and brain, which is wonderfully capable of acquiring thelanguage, thought forms, and differentiating characteristics of anygroup in which it may be reared. To what extent this plasticityextends only carefully conducted experiments can show. In the higherAsiatic and European races we find it to be much greater than isgenerally supposed to be the case, but it is not improbable that thelowest races possess it in a much lower degree. 

The relative fixity of a psychic group is due to the fact that infull-grown adults, who form the majority of every group, function hasproduced structure. Body, brain, and mind have "set" or crystallizedin the mold provided by the social order. Influences sufficientlypowerful to transform the young have little effect on the adult. Therelative fixity of a psychic group is also due to thedifficulty--well-nigh impossibility--of bringing new psychicinfluences to bear on all members of the group simultaneously. Themajority, being oblivious to the new psychic forces, maintain the oldpsychic régime. The difficulty of reform, of transforming a socialorder, is principally due to these two causes. 

The "character" of a people (psychic group) consists of its more orless unconscious, because structuralized or incarnate, ideas, emotions, and volitions. Chief among them are those concerning thecharacter of God, the nature and value of man and woman, the necessaryrelation of character to destiny, the nature and meaning of life anddeath, and the nature and the authority of moral law. In proportion asthe social order incorporates high or low views on these vitalsubjects, is the character of the people elevated and strong, ordebased and weak. 

The destiny of a people, and the rôle it plays in history, aredetermined not by chance nor yet by environment, but in the lastanalysis by its own character. Yet this character is not somethinggiven it complete at the start, an intrinsic psychical inheritance, nor is it dependent for transmission on biological heredity, passingonly from parents to offspring. Character belongs to the sphere ofsocial psychic life and is the subject of social heredity. Throughsocial intercourse the moral character dominating a psychic group maybe transmitted to members of an alien psychic group. This usuallytakes place through missionary activity. The moral character of apsychic group may in this way be fundamentally transformed, and withcharacter, destiny. 

Floating ideas, not yet woven into the warp and woof of life, not yetincarnate in the individual or in the social order, have littleinfluence on the character of the individual or the group, howeverbeautiful, true, or elevating such ideas may be in themselves. Thecharacter of a people is to be judged, therefore, not by the beauty orelevation of every idea that may be found in its literature, but onlyby those ideas that have been assimilated, that have becomeincorporated into the social order. These determine a people'scharacter and destiny. According as these ideas persist in the socialorder, is its character permanent. 

Progress consists of expanding life, communal and individual, extensive and intensive, physical and psychical. True progress isbalanced. High communal development, that is, highly organizedsociety, is impossible without the wide attainment of highly developedindividuals. Progressive mastery of nature likewise is impossibleapart from growing psychic development in all its branches, emotional, intellectual and volitional, communal and individual. 

Historically, communalism is the first principle to emerge inconsciousness. To succeed, however, it must be accompanied by at leasta certain degree of individualism, even though it be quite implicit. The full development of the communal principle is impossible apartfrom the correspondingly full development of the individual principle. These are complementary principles of progress. Each alone isimpossible. In proportion as either is emphasized at the expense ofthe other, is progress impeded. Arrested civilizations are due to thedisproportionate and excessive development of one or the other ofthese principles. 

Personality, expressing and realizing itself in communal andindividual life, in objective and subjective forms, is at once thecause and the goal of progress. Social and psychic evolution are, therefore, in the last analysis, personal processes. The irreducibleand final factor in social evolution and in social science ispersonality; for personality is the determinative factor of a humanbeing. 

Progress in personal development consists of increasing extent andaccuracy of knowledge, refinement and elevation of emotions, andnobility and reliability of volitions. Progress in personaldevelopment requires the individual to pass from objectiveheterocratic to subjective autocratic or self-regulative ethical life. He must pass from the traditional to the enlightened, from thecommunal to the individualistic stage in ethics and religion. He mustfeel with increasing force the binding nature of the supra-communalsanctions for communal and individual life, accepting the highestdictates of the enlightened moral consciousness as the laws of theuniverse. But this means that the individual must secure increasinginsight into the immutable and eternal laws of spiritual being andmust identify his personal interests, his very self with those laws, with the Heart of the. Universe, with God himself. Only so will hebecome completely autonomous, self-regulative. Only thus will theindividual become and remain an altruistic communo-individual, fittedto meet and survive the relaxation of the historic communal andsupra-communal sanctions for communal and individual life, arelaxation induced by growing political liberty and growingintellectual rejection of primitive or defective religious beliefs. 

Progress in personality is thus at bottom an ethico-religious process. The wide attainment of developed personality permits the formation ofenlarging highly organized psychic groups, accompanied by increasingspecialization of its individual members. This communal expansion, ramifying organization and individual specialization, securesincreasing extensive and intensive intellectual understanding of theuniverse, and this in turn active mastery of nature, with all theconsequences of growing ease and richness of life. 

Ethico-religious, autonomous personality is thus the tap-root ofhighly developed and permanently progressive civilizations. Personality is, therefore, the criterion of progress. Mere ease ofphysical life, freedom from anxiety, light-hearted, care-freehappiness, mastery of nature, material civilization, highly developedart, literature, and music, or even refined culture, are partial andinadequate, if not positively false, criteria. 

Personality, as a nature, is an inherent psychic heritage shared byall human beings. It is transmitted only from parents to offspring, and its transmission depends only on that relation. Personality, as avarying psychic characteristic, is a matter of social inheritance, andis profoundly dependent, therefore, on the nature of the social orderand the social evolution. 

Religion, as incorporated in life, is the most important single factordetermining the personality and character of its adherents, eitherhindering or promoting their progress. 

Japanese social and psychic evolution have in no respects violated theuniversal laws of evolution. Japanese personal and other psychiccharacteristics are the product not of essential, but of socialinheritance and social evolution. Japan has recently entered into anew social inheritance from which she is joyfully accepting newconceptions and principles of communal and individual life. These sheis working into her social organism. 

Already these are producing profound, and we may believe permanent, transformations in her social order and correspondingly profound andpermanent transformations of her character and destiny. 

THE END

INDEX

"Abdication": in church work, 84; due to past social conditions, 86; explains prominence of young men, 86, 161

Æsthetic characteristics: development unbalanced, 174; speech and conduct, 178; development of masses, 180; development, social not racial, 188

Adoption; family maintained, 215

Affection: post-marital, 102; its expression, 105

Agnosticism, old not new, 247

Alcock, Sir Rutherford: quotation misleading, 172; on untruthfulness, 255

Altruism, social or racial? 365

Ambition, 137

Ancestral worship and the importance of sons, 98

Apotheosis, 147; "Divine right of kings, " 151; in Japan expresses unity, 152

Architectural development and social heredity, 188

Arisaka, Colonel, inventions, 207

Arnold, Sir Edwin, 16, 17

Art; simplicity its characteristic, 173; lacking the nude, 175-177; its ideal in representing gods and men, 174; defects, 184; original or imitative? 203; not "impersonal, " 351

Artistic and inartistic contrasts, 184

Aston, Mr. W. G. : on poetic form, 187; intellectual inferiority of Japanese claimed, 218; "Japanese Literature, " 228

Baelz, Dr. E. , measurements of skull, 191

"Bakufu, " "curtain government, " 214

Bargaining, a personal experience, 212

Baths, public, 274; cleanliness, 316

Birthday festivals, 349; method of reckoning age, 350

Brain weights, comparative figures, 190

Brown, Rev. S. R. , 90

Buckley, Prof. E. , Phallic worship, 325

Buddhism: relation to the family, 112; suppression of emotion, 166; modified in Japan, 197; early influence, 204; teachings about woman, 259; lack of moral teachings, 269; religious ecstasy, 297; nature and history, 306, 307; terms "ingwa" and "mei, " 319; "impersonal"? 377-388; introspection, 378; salvation through self, 379; consciousness of self, highly developed, 379-380; attributes no worth to self, 380; failure of its influence, 381; mercy to animals and shallow reasoning, 381; thought of self an intellectual abstraction, 383; not impersonal, but abstract, 384; doctrine of illusion, 384; failure of social order, 385; popular acceptance not philosophical, 386; not logically carried out, 389-390. Appeal to personal activity, 390. Conversion of a priest to Christianity, 394. Conception of God, 398. The universe characterized, 400. Nirvana, 400. Supplementary to Shintoism, 407. Popularity explained, 408. Individualism defective, 408. Not exclusive in any land, 421. 

Buddhistic doctrines and sociological consequences, 388. 

Caricature in art: its prominence, 177. 

Cary's, Rev. Otis, "Japan and Its Regeneration, " 10. 

Chamberlain, Prof. B. H. , 17, 55, 159. Quotation on imitation, --over-emphasis, 196. People irreligious, 287. 

Character and destiny, 445. How judged, 446

Children: their festivals, 96. Love for the young in Occident and Orient compared, 97. Infanticide, 100. 

Chinese characters and the common schools, 192. 

Chinese philosophy not accepted without question, 200. 

Christianity: relation to the family, 111-114. The support of new ideals, 112. Fluctuating interest in, 162, 163. Influence on woman, 168. Criticised by a Japanese, 231. Relation to new social order, 282. Its growth in Japan, 308. Monotheism, its attraction, 311. Its view of the universe, 399. Involving communalism and individualism, 415. 

Civilization: two types in conflict, 13. Social not racial, 28. Its rapid modernization, 30. 

Clark, Pres. , 90

Cleanliness: exaggerated reputation, 315, 316. 

Cocks of Tosa: the abnormal, 178. 

Communalism: and human progress, 332, 333. Defined, 361. Its altruism, 367. Throws light on religious history, 404. Difficulty of combining it with individualistic religious elements, 414. Japan appreciates its spirit, 417

Comte, 22. 

Conceit, 139. Not the only conceited nation, 142. 

Concubinage: children of the Emperor, 151. Buddhistic and Confucian teaching, 259. Its sociological interpretation, 260. Increase of, 278. Statistics of, 279. 

Confidence and suspicion, 120. Feudal explanation, 121. 

Confucian ethics: leave gods alone, 286, 287. Antidote to Buddhism, 390. 

Confucianism: its relation to the family, 112. Modified in Japan, 197. Metaphysical foundation of, 228. Its relation to morality, 269. Nature and history of, 307, 308. Its doctrines restored, 409. Its limitations, 410. Not a religion, 411. Cause of failure, 412. 

Confucius and Lao-tse about returning good for evil, 128. Influence opposed to progress, 204. 

Constitution, authority from Emperor, 149. 

Conversation: realistic baldness, 179. 

Courtesy: conventional not racial, 182. Phrases of, 211. Not proof of "impersonality, " 362, 363. 

Culture: more apparent than real, 181. 

Curiosity: real though concealed, --illustration, 166. 

"Curtain government, " its significance, 214. 

Daimyo, a figurehead, 214. 

Darwin, 22

Decoration of rooms, 171

Dening, Mr, Walter, lack of idealism, 233

De Quatrefages, African brains, 191

Deity: conception of, 310; monotheistic terms, 311; common people, 391

Disposition: apparently cheerful, 115; pessimists out of sight, 116

Divorce: grounds for, 56; frequency of, 99; Civil Code of 1898, 265; statistics, 267; divorce and "impersonality, " 352, 355

Doshisha, endangered, 123, 124; American benefactors of, 281

Drama and novel: weakness explained, 187

Drummond, 22

Dwarfed plants, --delight in the abnormal, 177

Eastern and Western civilizations blending, 30-32

Educational Department and Imperial Edict, 328

Emotional nature, 82-84; due to social order, 169

Emperor: concubines and children of, 151

English study and methods of thinking, 212

Ethics: pivotal points, 283

Etiquette: superficial not radical requirements, 183; its collapse explained, 183; relation to imagination, 235

Evolution: real explanation of progress, 24-27, 33-34; national, 332-343; intellectual, 419; Involution one half the process, 425; defined, 440

Express train, "nominal" destination, 216

Fairbanks, Prof. , 20

"Falling in love" not recognized, 102

Family life: false registration checks affection, 107

_Far East_: quotation from, adaptation of foreign systems, 208

Farmer, higher rank than merchant, 257 (note)

Fate: "Ingwa, " in development of personality, 386

Feudal times: moderation, 118; courage cultivated, 153, 154; trade, 284

Fickleness: its manifestation, 159; a modern trait, 160; shown chiefly in methods, 160; among Christians, apparent not real, 161

Filial obedience: extreme application, 263; piety, moral ideal, 249; piety and religion, 322

Fiske, 22

Flexibility of mental constitution, 77-78

Flowering trees, 171

Forty-seven Ronin, 89, 250

Freedom: relation of belief to the fact, 387

Fukuzawa, Mr. , on monogamy, 109, 112; condemning concubinage, 279; on religion, 287

Furniture; recent introduction, 181

Future life: Shinto, Confucian, 318; Buddhistic, 319

"Geisha, " dancing girl, vivacity, 168

Generalization, capacity for, 220; use of philosophical terms, 221

Giddings, Prof. , 19, 22

"Go-between, " illustrations, 210; advantages, 211

God: Greek, Buddhist, Christian, 399; conceptions compared, 400

Governmental initiative: explains rapid reforms, 201

Gratitude: religious sentiment, 323; ingratitude shown 324

Greek universe characterized, 400

Green, T. H. , 397 (note)

Greene, Dr. D. C. , teaching of Shinto sect, 269

Griffis, W. E. , on suicide, 155; on religions, 315

Gubbins, introduction to translation of New Civil Code of Japan, 86; on woman's position, 268

Harris, Townsend, quoted, 132; regulation by authority, 204; as to untruthfulness, 256

Hawaii, musical development, 185

Head, size of, 190

Hearn, Mr. Lafcadio, 16, 17, 68; mistaken contention, 263; privacy, 275; gratitude, 323

Hegel, 345; "Nothing" and Universal Soul of Buddhism, 383 (note)

Heredity: social and physiological contrasted, 21; defined and analyzed, 439

Heroes and hero-worship, 89-95; "The forty-seven Ronin" as heroes, 89; craving for modern heroes, 90-92; Omi Sajin, 93; Dr. Neesima, 375

Hirase, Mr. , scientist, 207

History, research suppressed, 205; its claims, 206; apparent credulity of scholars due to social system, 207

"Holy towels, " physical disease, 314

Honesty: decline of, 280; explanation, 282

"Honorifics, " shades of courtesy, 179; indefiniteness of speech, 211

Houses, privacy impossible, 273

Housewife, simple requirements, 181

Idealizing tendency, 94, 236

Idols, imported feature of Japanese religion, 174

Ikeno, Mr. , scientific discovery, 207

Illusion, 398

Imagination: is it lacking? 233; shown in etiquette, political life, ambition, self-conceit, etc. , 235; seen in optimism, 240; related to fancy, --caricature, 241; not disproved by imitation, 242; sociological explanation, 243; constructive, 246; suppression of, 246

Imitation in Japanese progress, 78-81; creditable characteristic, 196

Immorality, increase of, 261

Impassiveness, "putty-face, " 164

Imperial and popular sovereignty, conflict between, 152-153

Imperial Edict, 328

Imperialists during the Shogunate, 146

Imperial succession of Oriental type, 150

"Impersonality": Hegel, 345: definitions contradictory, 347, 348; related, to art, 351; family life, 352; divorce, 352; "falling in love, " 354; definition, 359, 360; outcome of social order, 361; not proved by courtesy of people, 362, 363, nor by lack of personal pronouns, 368; arguments against, 377; diverse elements analyzed, 381; objection to term, 385

"Impersonality" and altruism, 365

Impractical idealism: claimed by Japanese, 236; illustrations, 237, 238

"In, " and "Yo, " significance of, 221

India and Japan contrasted, 32-34

Indirectness, 210

Individual, small value, 258

Individualism: expressed, 245, 246; changing social order and honesty, 282; importance of, 334; how possible, 335; defined, 361; easy acceptance explained, 413

Individualistic religion as a sociological factor in higher, human evolution, 418

Infanticide, 100-101

"Ingwa, " fate, 386

Inouye, Dr. T. , Japonicized Christianity, 39; claims for Japanese, 205; philosophical writer, 229

Intellectual characteristics, social, 244

Inventions: originality, 207

Irreligious phenomena explained, 302, 303

Ishii, Mr. , father of orphan asylums in Japan, 94, 131, 145

Isolation of nations impossible, 71

Ito, Marquis, on religion, 288

Iyeyasu: his testament, 253; use of Confucian doctrines, 409

Japanese people: international responsibility, 13; need of understanding them, 15-20; change of opinion regarding, 23-25; defects, conscious of, 143; acquaintance with, 428; reasons for difficulty in, acquaintance with, 429, 430; secret of acquaintance, 431

_Japan Mail_: quotation, 130; originality of Japanese art, 203: on wealth, 277; on honesty, 280; on acquaintance, 428

Jealousy and women, 127-128

Kato, Mr. H. , 229; on religion, 288; patriotism is loyalty to throne, 373

"Ki, " defined, 221

Kidd, 22

Kissing unknown, 105

Kitazato, Dr. , scientific research, 207

Knapp, Mr. A. M. , 16

Knox, Dr. G. W. , quotation, 199; "A Japanese Philosopher, " 228; translator of Muro Kyuso, 249

Ladd, Prof. G. T. , 94; sentimentality of Japanese, 234

Language: its acquirement and Japanese students, 194; diversities of, not due to diversities in brain type, 195

Lao-tse, on doing good in return for evil, 128

Le Bon's physiological theory of character inadequate, 13-20; quotation, 51; dissent from opinion, 168; quotation, 424

Le Conte, 22

Literature, ancient, its impurity, 253

Lowell, Mr. Percival, "The Soul of the Far East, " 103, 344; Japanese unimaginative, 234; opinion criticised, 241; "sense and incense, " 286; pilgrimages, 291; "impersonality, " 359, 363, 374; teaching of philosophic Buddhism, 378

Loyalty and religion, 322; sentimental, 148, 149

Lunatics and lepers, cruel treatment, 130

Magic formulæ, 320

Man and nature: differing artistic treatment of, 175

Manners; influenced by Western ways, 182

Marriage, Civil Code of 1898, 265

Marsh, Prof. , size of Japanese brain, 190

"Matter-of-factness" explained, 245

Memorizing: mechanical, 222; defective method, 223; as related to higher mental powers, 223

Memory; power overrated, 192; in daily affairs not exceedng

Occidental, 193; characteristics sociological, not biological, 194

Mnemonic power and social selection, 193

Mencius, teaching, the "Way" of Heaven and Earth, 250

Mental faculties: are the Japanese deficient? 218; power of generalization, 221

Metaphysical tendencies, 227: denial of ability unjustifiable, 227

Metaphysics and ethics, 228

Monotheism, why attractive, 312

Morality: courage in persecucution, 156; illustration, 158; discrimination developed, 249; parents, children, patriots, 249; ideals communal, 255; standards differing for men and women, 263; teaching focused on rulers, 270; Imperial Edict, 271; standards of, and individualism, 275, 276; social, not racial, 283; on authority, 284; morality and Old Japan, 261, 264

Motora, Prof. Y. , 229

Müller, Prof. Max, statement about Vedas, 193

Murata rifle, invention of, 207

Muro Kyuso, philosopher, 249; ancient books condemned, 252; on immorality, 286; teachings, 299, 300

Music, Japanese deficiency, 185

Nakashima, Prof. Rikizo, 229

Nash, Prof. H. S. , on Apotheosis in Rome, 153

National life, stimulus from the West, 43-48

Natural scenery in art, 173

Neesima, Dr. , founder of the Doshisha, 94; monotheism, 311; his character, 375

"Netsuke, " comical carvings, 241

New æon, characterized, 14; the consequences, 15

Newton's, Rev. J. C. E. , "Japan: Country, Court, and People" 10, 46

"Nichiren, " a sect, 198

Nirvana characterized, 400

Nitobe's, Prof. J. , "Bushido: The Soul of Japan, " 10

"Nominal": Pedigree, 215; church contributions, 216; express train, 216

"Nominality": illustrated in history, 213; in family life, 214; in Christian work, 216; explained by old order, 217; giving way under Western influence, 217

Norman, Mr. Henry, 17; his "Real Japan, " 46

Nude in art: its lack, 175-177

Obsequiousness, 140

Occident and Orient: conflict not unending, 13; social intercourse and mutual influence, 436

Occidental civilization; a defect in, 71

Ohashi, Junzo, opposed to Western thought, 254

Old Japan, 35-37; its oppression, 53, 54; emptiness of common life, 54; condition of woman, 54, 56; divorce, 56, 57; moral and legal maxims, 252, 253; its morality, 244, 261

"Omi Sajin, " Sage of Omi, 93

Oriental characteristics: are they distinctive? 422; general opinion of, 423; view of author, 425; social, not racial, 425, 434

Originality in art, 203; judicious imitation, 209

Orphan asylums, 131

Oyomei, 228

Patriotism, 48-51; relation to apotheosis, 144, 158; to war, 145; Christian orphans, 145

Peasants, stolidity, 165

Pedigree, "nominal" not actual ancestry, 215

Peery, Dr. , Japanese philosophical incompetence, 225

Personality: 21-22; importance of, 342; defined, 356-357; characteristics of, 358; "strong" and "weak, " 374, 375; Confucian ethics, 390; Supreme Being, 391; gods of popular Buddhism, 391; idea grasped by Japanese, 393; sketch of development, 394; racial or social inheritance, 395; progress in ethico-religious process, 447; the criterion of progress, 447

Personality in conception of nationality, 373

Personal pronouns, their lack possible proof of personality, 369; "honorific" particles, 368; substitutes, 370, 371

Pfleiderer, Prof. , religious deficiency of Japanese, 286

Phallicism: its suppression, 325; Western influence, 326

Philosophy: Occidental ignorance of its history in Japan, 200; terms used, 221; Japanese students of, 229; individuals interested, 229

Philosophical ability, 225-232; Japanese claims, 225; constructive power, 226; writers mentioned, 229; East and West compared, 231

Pilgrimages: statistics, 290-291; immorality, 326

Poetry characterized, 186

Powder, smokeless, invention of, 207

Pride, sociological explanation, 19, 21

Progress, modern characteristic, 52-60; defined, 57; light-heartedness no proof of, 59; its method, 61-71; recognition of individual worth, 63-67; knowledge of implements and methods, 67-70; imitation, 78-81; passion for it, 143

Psychic nature and social life, 439

Psychic evolution, 444

Psychic function and psychic organism, 445

Psychological similarities, Japanese and Anglo-Saxon, 189

Public speaking, fluency, 219

"Putty-face, " 164

"Race-soul, " 444

Ransome, Mr. Stanford, quoted, 51; "Japan in Transition, " 46

Reforms, governmental initiative, 201

Religion: its characteristics social, not racial, 309; loyalty and filial piety, 322; liberty in belief, 327; the Imperial Edict, 328; forms determined by history, 329; the problem of to-day, 414; Religions classified, 421

Religious or not? appearances explained, 286; judged by phenomena, 288; prayer, shrines, charms, 292; Buddha-shelves, God-shelves, 293; emotion and social training, 296; emotion shown in abstraction, 297

Religious life, 404, 421; communal, 404; present difficulty in Japan, 420

Renaissance of Japan, 29-30

Revenge: the ancient law, 128; teachings of Confucius and Lao-tse, 128-129

Reverence, apparent lack of, 304

"Ri" defined, 221

Roman alphabet: adoption recommended by many, 192

"Roundaboutness": characteristic of speech and action, 211; recent improvement, 212

Sadness and isolation of many, 116

Sage of Omi, _see_ "Omi Sajin. "

Salvation and sin, 314; Buddhist and Christian, 379

Samurai: high mental power, social leaders, impractical, 244; their relation to trade, 252; new ideals, 256; revolt from religious forms, 298

Segregation and divergent evolution, 443

Self-confidence not without grounds, 141, 143; reorganization by young men, 141-142

Self-control: moral teaching, 250; Kujuro, the self-controlled, 251

Sensitiveness to environment, 72, 81; illustrated by students abroad, 73, by life in Japan, 73-77

Shimose, Mr. , invention, smokeless powder, 207

"Shinshu, " "Reformed" Buddhism, 198

Shinto: nature and history, 305, 306; personal gods, 391; communal, 405; no longer a religion, 405; world view, 406; religious sanction for social order, 407; revived, 412

Sin, terminology, 313; consciousness of, 317; instance of conversion, 318

Shusi, 228

Social evil, the, 261 (note)

Social segregation and social divergence, 21

Social and racial unity distinguished, 443

Social evolution convergent, 14; principle revealed, 15; personal process, 446

Social heredity, transmitting results of toil, 71

Social intercourse of Occident and Orient, 436

Social order from the West, 413; the parting of the ways, 414

Sociological theory of: character, 14, 446; pride, 30; fear of ridicule, 73; cruelty, 135; kindness, 136; stolidity, 163; power of generalization, 222; philosophical development, 231; apparent deficiency in imagination, 236; differences characterizing Eastern and Western psychic nature, 247, 435; untruthfulness, 256; concubinage, 260; religious characteristics, 309, 321; the suppression of Phallicism, 327; religious tolerance, 329; divorce and "falling in love, " 355; courtesy, 363, 364; the personal pronoun, 372; the failure of Buddhism, 385; the conception of Fate, 387

Sociology and individual religion, 405; and Shintoism, 407

Southerland, 23

"Soul of Japan, " the, 144

"Soul of the Far East, " quotation, 234

Spencer, 22

Stolidity: easily distinguished from stoicism, 164, 165; the peasants, 165; social, not racial, 167; cultivated, 168

Students: testimony of foreign teachers, 218; at home and abroad, 219

Suicide, a matter of honor, 154-156

Sutra, translation of, 402

Suspiciousness and military feudalism, 125-126

Taguchi, Dr. , brain statistics, 190

Tai-ku Reform, epoch-making period, 201

Takahashi, Mr. G. , 229; the monks and consciousness of sin, 317

Taste and lack of taste in woman's dress, 182

Temples, statistics, 296

Tokugawa Shogunate, 38-40; how overthrown, 40-43; prohibitive of progress, 204; last of "Curtain governments, " 214

Torture, in Japan, 132; in Europe, 133

Toys and toy-stores, 96

Trade estimates, 256; Old Japan, the Greeks, the Jews compared, 257, note; trade and the feudal order, 284

Transmigration, 319; theory illogical, but helpful, 389

Truthfulness, undeveloped, 255

Tyranny and Western wives 106

Unæsthetic phenomena, 179

Verbeck, Dr. G. F. , 91

Visionary tendency, 236, 237

Vivacity, Geisha girl, 168

Wallace, 22

Ward, 22

"Way, " _see_ Muro Kyuso, 250; reference to, 287

Wealth increasing, 277

Wedding, Prince Imperial, 268; Imperial silver wedding, 268

Woman: obedience, 55, 56; estimates of East and West contrasted, 102-103; Western estimates, recent growth, 111, 113 (note); Buddhist and Confucian teaching, 112, 259; jealousy, 127; her position, 258; influenced by Hindu philosophy, 258; improvement, 268

Writing, a fine art, 173

Xavier, Francis, 308

Yamaguchi, Mr. , quotation, 149; the Imperial throne, 373

"Yamato Damashii, " _see_ "The Soul of Japan. "

"Yumei-mujitsu, " _see_ "Nominality. "

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote A: "Things Japanese, " p. 156. ]

[Footnote B: Let not the reader gather from the very brief glance atthe attainments of New Japan, that she has overtaken the nations ofChristendom in all important respects; for such is far from the case. He needs to be on his guard not to overestimate what has beenaccomplished. ]

[Footnote C: Prof. B. H. Chamberlain. ]

[Footnote D: Only since the coming of the new period has it becomepossible for a woman to gain a divorce from her husband. ]

[Footnote E: Chapter xxix. Some may care to read this chapter at thispoint. ]

[Footnote F: _Cf. _ chapter ii. ]

[Footnote G: "Kokoro, " by L. Hearn, p. 31. ]

[Footnote H: _Japan Mail_, September 30, 1899. ]

[Footnote I: Part II. P. Xxxii. ]

[Footnote J: _Japan Mail_, June 4, 1898, p. 586. ]

[Footnote K: If all that has been said above as to the relative lackof affection between husband and wife is true, it will help to makemore credible, because more intelligible, the preceding chapter as tothe relative lack of love for children. Where the relation betweenhusband and wife is what we have depicted it, where the children aresystematically taught to feel for their father respect rather thanlove, the relation between the father and the children, or the motherand the children, cannot be the same as in lands where all thesecustoms are reversed. ]

[Footnote L: The effect of Christian missions cannot be measured bythe numbers of those who are to be counted on the church rolls; almostunconsciously the nation is absorbing Christian ideals from thehundreds of Christian missionaries and tens of thousands of Christiannatives. The necessities of the new social order make their teachingsintelligible and acceptable as the older social order did not andcould not. This accounts for the astonishing change in theanti-Christian spirit of the Japanese. This spirit did not cease atonce on the introduction of the new social order, nor indeed is it nowentirely gone. But the change from the Japan of thirty years ago tothe Japan of to-day, in its attitude toward Christianity, is moremarked than that of any great nation in history. A similar change inthe Roman Empire took place, but it required three hundred years. Thischange in Japan may accordingly be called truly miraculous, not in thesense, however, of a result without a cause, for the causes are wellunderstood. 

Among the Christians, especially, the old order is rapidly giving wayto the new. Christianity has brought a new conception of woman and herplace in the home and her relation to her husband. Japanese Christiangirls, and recently non-Christian girls, are seeking an educationwhich shall fit them for their enlarging life. Many of the moreChristian young men do not want heathen wives, with their low estimateof themselves and their duties, and they are increasingly unwilling tomarry those of whom they know nothing and for whom they care not atall. Already the idea that love is the only safe foundation for thehome is beginning to take root in Japan. This changing ideal isbringing marked social changes. In some churches an introductioncommittee is appointed whose special function is to introducemarriageable persons and to hold social meetings where the youngpeople may become acquainted. Here an important evolution in thesocial order is taking place before our eyes, but not a few of theworld's wise men are too exalted to see it. Love and demonstrativeaffection between husband and wife will doubtless become ascharacteristic of Japan in the future as their absence has beencharacteristic in the past. To recapitulate: these distinctivecharacteristics of the emotional life of the Japanese might at firstseem to be so deep-rooted as to be inherent, yet they are really dueto the ideas and customs of the social order, and are liable to changewith any new system of ideas and customs that may arise. The higherdevelopment of the emotional life of the Japanese waits now on thereorganization of the family life; this rests on a new idea as to theplace and value of woman as such and as a human being; this in turnrests on the wide acceptance of Christian ideals as to God and theirmutual relations. It involves, likewise, new ideals as to man's finaldestiny. In Japan's need of these Christian ideals we find one mainground and justification, if justification be needed, for missionaryenterprise among this Eastern people. ]

[Footnote M: Chapter v. P. 82. ]

[Footnote N: P. 133]

[Footnote O: "Résumé Statistique l'Empire du Japan, " published by theImperial Cabinet, 1897. ]

[Footnote P: As illustrating the point under discussion see portionsof addresses reported in "The World's Parliament of Religions, " vol. Ii. Pp. 1014, 1283. ]

[Footnote Q: _Japan Mail_, December 10, 1898. ]

[Footnote R: I have found it difficult to secure exact information onthe subject of the Imperial concubines (who, by the way, have aspecial name of honor), partly for the reason that this is not amatter of general information, and partly because of the unwillingnessto impart information to a foreigner which is felt to tarnish theluster of the Imperial glory. A librarian of a public library refusedto lend a book containing the desired facts, saying that foreignersmight be freely informed of that which reveals the good, the true, andthe beautiful of Japanese history, customs, and character, but nothingelse. By the educated and more earnest members of the nation muchsensitiveness is felt, especially in the presence of the Occidental, on the subject of the Imperial concubinage. It is felt to be a blot onJapan's fair name, a relic of her less civilized days, and is, accordingly, kept in the background as much as possible. Thestatements given in the text in regard to the number of the concubinesand children are correct so far as they go. A full statement mightrequire an increase in the figures given. ]

[Footnote S: P. 59. ]

[Footnote T: P. 119. ]

[Footnote U: Aston's "Japanese Literature, " p. 29. ]

[Footnote V: "Japanese Literature, " p. 24. ]

[Footnote W: _Cf. _ chapter xxxiii. ]

[Footnote X: Gustave Le Bon maintains, in his brilliant, butsophistical, work on "The Psychology of Peoples, " that the "soul of arace" unalterably determines even its art. He states that a Hinduartist, in copying an European model several times, graduallyeliminates the European characteristics, so that, "the second or thirdcopy . .. Will have become exclusively Hindu. " His entire argument isof this nature; I must confess that I do not in the least feel itsforce. The reason the Hindu artist transforms a Western picture incopying it is because he has been trained in Hindu art, not because heis a Hindu physiologically. If that same Hindu artist, taken ininfancy to Europe and raised as a European and trained in Europeanart, should still persist in replacing European by Hindu artcharacteristics, then the argument would have some force, and hiscontention that the "soul of races" can be modified only byintermarriage of races would seem more reasonable. ]

[Footnote Y: "The Human Species, " p. 283. ]

[Footnote Z: _Ibid. _, p. 282. ]

[Footnote AA: _Ibid. _, p. 384. ]

[Footnote AB: The manuscript of this work was largely prepared in 1897and 1898. Since writing the above lines, a vigorous discussion hasbeen carried on in the Japanese press as to the advantages anddisadvantages of the present system of writing. Many have advocatedboldly the entire abandonment of the Chinese character and theexclusive use of the Roman alphabet. The difficulties of such a stepare enormous and cannot be appreciated by anyone not familiar with thewritten language of Japan. One or the strongest arguments for such acourse, however, has been the obstacle placed by the Chinese in theway of popular education, due to the time required for its mastery andthe mechanical nature of the mind it tends to produce. In August of1900 the Educational Department enacted some regulations that havegreat significance in this connection. Perhaps the most important isthe requirement that not more than one thousand two hundred Chinesecharacters are to be taught to the common-school children, and theform of the character is not to be taught independently of themeaning. The remarks in the text above are directed chiefly to theancient methods of education. ]

[Footnote AC: Griffis' "Religions of Japan, " p. 272. ]

[Footnote AD: P. 24. ]

[Footnote AE: _Far East_ for January, 1898. ]

[Footnote AF: January 20, 1900. ]

[Footnote AG: _Japan Mail_, November 12, 1898. ]

[Footnote AH: P. 17. ]

[Footnote AI: P. 18. ]

[Footnote AJ: P. 18. ]

[Footnote AK: "History of the Empire of Japan, " compiled andtranslated for the Imperial Japanese Commission of the World'sColumbian Exposition. ]

[Footnote AL: "Japanese Literature, " p. 4. ]

[Footnote AM: _Cf. _ chapter xvi. P. 199. ]

[Footnote AN: _Cf. _ chapter xvii. ]

[Footnote AO: Quotations from "A Japanese Philosopher" will be foundin chapters xxiv. And xxvi. ]

[Footnote AP: "Things Japanese, " p. 133. ]

[Footnote AQ: P. 213. ]

[Footnote AR: P. 30. ]

[Footnote AS: _Cf. _ chapter vii. ]

[Footnote AT: _Cf. _ chapter xv. Pp. 186, 187. ]

[Footnote AU: _Cf. _ chapters xvi. And xvii. ]

[Footnote AV: Chapter xv. ]

[Footnote AW: Chapters xix. And xx. ]

[Footnote AX: P. 39. ]

[Footnote AY: P. 36. ]

[Footnote AZ: Pp. 42, 43. ]

[Footnote BA: P. 45. ]

[Footnote BB: P. 61. ]

[Footnote BC: P. 120. ]

[Footnote BD: P. 129. ]

[Footnote BE: P. 130. ]

[Footnote BF: Dickenson's "Japan, " chapter vii. ]

[Footnote BG: _Cf. _ chapter xxi. ]

[Footnote BH: P. 163. ]

[Footnote BI: P. 169. ]

[Footnote BJ: It is interesting to observe that the contempt of OldJapan for trade, and the feeling that interest and profit by commercewere in their nature immoral, are in close accord with the old Greekand Jewish ideas regarding property profits and interest. Aristotleheld, for instance, that only the gains of agriculture, of fishing, and of hunting are natural gains. Plato, in the Laws, forbids thetaking of interest. Cato says that lending money on interest isdishonorable, is as bad as murder. The Old Testament, likewise, forbids the taking of interest from a Jew. The reason for thisuniversal feeling of antiquity, both Oriental and Occidental, lies inthe fact that trade and money were not yet essential parts of thesocial order. Positive production, such as hunting and farming, seemedthe natural method of making a living, while trade seemedunnatural--living upon the labor of others. That Japan ranked thefarmer higher in the social scale than the merchant is, thus, natural. In moral character, too, it is altogether probable that they were muchhigher. ]

[Footnote BK: _Cf_. Chapter ix. P. 103. ]

[Footnote BL: Chapter vi. ]

[Footnote BM: Chapter xxix. P. 339. ]

[Footnote BN: An anonymous writer, in a pamphlet entitled "How theSocial Evil is Regulated in Japan, " gives some valuable facts on thissubject. He describes the early history of the "Social Evil, " and thevarious classes of prostitutes. He distinguishes between the "jigoku"(unlicensed prostitutes), the "shogi" (licensed prostitutes), and the"geisha" (singing and dancing girls). He gives translations of thevarious documents in actual use at present, and finally attempts toestimate the number of women engaged in the business. The method ofreaching his conclusions does not commend itself to the present writerand his results seem absurdly wide of the mark, when compared withmore carefully gathered figures. They are hardly worth quoting, yetthey serve to show what exaggerated views are held by some in regardto the numbers of prostitutes in Japan. He tells us that a moderateestimate for licensed prostitutes and for geisha is 500, 000 each, while the unlicensed number at least a million, making a total of2, 000, 000 or 10 per cent. Of the total female population of Japan! Acareful statistical inquiry on this subject has been recently made byRev. U. G. Murphy. His figures were chiefly secured from provincialofficers. According to these returns the number of licensedprostitutes is 50, 553 and of dancing girls is 30, 386. Mr. Murphy'sfigures cannot be far astray, and furnish us something of a basis forcomparison with European countries. Statistics regarding unlicensedprostitutes are naturally not to be had. ]

[Footnote BO: P. 148. ]

[Footnote BP: June 25, 1898. ]

[Footnote BQ: The last line of figures, those for 1897, is taken fromRev. U. G. Murphy's statistical pamphlet on "The Social Evil inJapan. "]

[Footnote BR: It is stated that Mill's work on "RepresentativeGovernment, " which, translated, fills a volume of five hundred pagesin Japanese, has reached its third edition. ]

[Footnote BS: The _Japan Mail_ for February 5, 1896; quoting from the_Jiji Shimpo_. ]

[Footnote BT: The best summary of this discussion which I have seen inEnglish is found in the _Japan Mail_ for February 4, 1899. ]

[Footnote BU: _Japan Mail, _January 14, 1899. ]

[Footnote BV: _Japan Mail, _June 24, 1898. ]

[Footnote BW: The constituency of the Doshisha consists principally ofKumiai Christians. ]

[Footnote BX: "Occult Japan, " p. 23. ]

[Footnote BY: _Cf. _ chapter xxiv. ]

[Footnote BZ: "A Japanese Philosopher, " p. 120. ]

[Footnote CA: In immediate connection with this oft-quoted statement, however, I would put the following, as much more recent, and probablyrepresenting more correctly the Marquis's matured opinion. Mr. Kakehi, for some time one of the editors of the Osaka _Mainichi Shinbun_(Daily News), after an interview with the illustrious statesman inwhich many matters of national importance were discussed, was asked bythe Marquis where he had been educated. On learning that he was agraduate of the Doshisha, the Marquis remarked: "The only truecivilization is that which rests on Christian principles, and thatconsequently, as Japan must attain her civilization on theseprinciples, those young men who receive Christian education will bethe main factors in the development of future Japan. "]

[Footnote CB: Chamberlain's "Things Japanese, " p. 358. ]

[Footnote CC: "Things Japanese, " p. 70, and Murray's "Hand-book forJapan, " p. 37. ]

[Footnote CD: "Things Japanese, " p. 93. ]

[Footnote CE: P. 85. ]

[Footnote CF: _Cf. _ chapter xxiii. P. 271. ]

[Footnote CG: By the term "centralization" I mean personalcentralization. Political centralization is the gathering of all thelines of governmental authority to a single head or point. Personalcentralization, on the contrary, is the development in the individualof enlarging and joyous consciousness of his relations with hisfellow-countrymen, and the bringing of the individual intoincreasingly immediate relations of interdependence withever-increasing numbers of his fellow-men, economically, intellectually, and spiritually. These enlarging relations and theconsciousness of them must be loyally and joyfully accepted. Theyshould arouse enthusiasm. The real unity of society, true nationalcentralization, includes both the political and the personal phase. The more conscious the process and the relation, the more real is theunity. By this process each individual becomes of more importance tothe entire body, as well as more dependent upon it. While eachindividual becomes with increasing industrial development morespecialized in economic function, if his personal development has beenproperly carried on, he also becomes in mind and in character amicro-community, summing up in his individual person the nationalunity with all its main interests, knowledge, and character. ]

[Footnote CGa: P. 14. ]

[Footnote CH: P. 15. ]

[Footnote CI: Pp. 88, 89. ]

[Footnote CJ: Pp. 203, 204. ]

[Footnote CK: _Cf. _ chapter viii. ]

[Footnote CL: See the _Rikugo Zasshi_ for March, 1898. ]

[Footnote CM: _Cf. _ chapter xv. ]

[Footnote CN: Buddhism is largely responsible for the wide practice of"joshi, " through its doctrine that lovers whom fate does not permit tobe married in this world may be united in the next because of thestrength of their love. ]

[Footnote CO: P. 88. ]

[Footnote CP: P. 12. ]

[Footnote CQ: P. 14. ]

[Footnote CR: P. 15. ]

[Footnote CS: In their relations with foreigners, the people, butespecially the Christians, are exceedingly lenient, forgiving andoverlooking our egregious blunders both of speech and of manner, particularly if they feel that we have a kindly heart. Yet it is theuniform experience of the missionary that he frequently hurts unawaresthe feelings of his Japanese fellow-workers. Few thoughts morefrequently enter the mind of the missionary, as he deals withChristian workers, than how to say this needful truth and do thatneedful deed so as not to hurt the feelings of those whom he wouldhelp. The individual who feels slighted or insulted will probably giveno active sign of his wound. He is too polite or too politic for that. He will merely close like a clam and cease to have further cordialfeelings and relations with the person who has hurt him. ]

[Footnote CT: _Cf. _ chapter xiii. ]

[Footnote CU: See chapter xxix. ]

[Footnote CV: P. 201. ]

[Footnote CW: _Cf. _ chapter vii. ]

[Footnote CX: It seems desirable to guard against an inference thatmight be made from what I have said about Hegel's "Nothing. " Hegel sawclearly that his "Nothing" was only the farthest limit of abstraction, and that it was consequently absolutely empty and worthless. It wasonly his starting point of thought, not his end, as in the case ofBrahmanism and of Buddhism. Only after Hegel had passed the "Nothing"through all the successive stages of thesis, antithesis, andsynthesis, and thus clothed it with the fullness of being andcharacter, did he conceive it to be the concrete, actual Absolute. There is, therefore, the farthest possible difference between Hegel'sAbsolute Being and Buddha's Absolute. Hegel sought to understand andstate in rational form the real nature of the Christian's conceptionof God. Whether he did so or not, this is not the place to say. ]

[Footnote CY: I remark, in passing, that Western non-Christian thoughthas experienced, and still experiences, no little difficulty inconceiving the ultimate nature of being, and thus in solving theproblem, into which, as a cavernous tomb, the speculative religions ofthe Orient have fallen. Western non-Christian systems, whethermaterialism, consistent agnosticism, impersonal pantheism, or othersystems which reject the Christian conception of God as perfectpersonality endowed with all the fullness of being and character, equally with philosophic Buddhism, fail to provide any theoreticfoundation for the doctrine of the value of man as man, andconsequently fail to provide any guarantee for individualism in thesocial order and the wide development of personality among themasses. ]

[Footnote CZ: _Cf. _ chapter vi. ]

[Footnote DA: Foot of chapter xxix. ]

[Footnote DB: Chapter xxxiii. P. 498. ]

[Footnote DC: It seems desirable to append a brief additionalstatement on the doctrine of the "personality of God, " and itsacceptability to the Japanese. I wish to make it clear, in the firstplace, that the difficulties felt by the Japanese in adopting thisdoctrine are not due primarily to the deficiency either of theJapanese language or to the essential nature of the Japanese mind, that is to say, because of its asserted structural "impersonality. " Wehave seen how the entire thought of the people, and even the directmoral teachings, imply both the fact of personality in man, and alsoits knowledge. The religious teachings, likewise, imply thepersonality even of "Heaven. "

That there are philosophical or, more correctly speaking, metaphysicaldifficulties attending this doctrine, I am well aware; and that theyare felt by some few Japanese, I also know. But I maintain that thesedifficulties have been imported from the West. The difficulties raisedby a sensational philosophy which results in denying the reality evenof man's psychic nature, no less than the difficulties due to athoroughgoing idealism, have both been introduced among educatedJapanese and have found no little response. I am persuaded that thereal causes of the doubt entertained by a few of the Christians inJapan as to the personality of God are of foreign origin. These doubtsare to be answered in exactly the same way as the same difficultiesare answered in other lands. It must be shown that the sensational and"positive" philosophies, ending in agnosticism as to all the greatproblems of life and of reality, are essentially at fault in notrecognizing the nature of the mind that knows. The searching criticismof these assumptions and methods made by T. H. Green and other carefulthinkers, and to which no answer has been made by the sensational andagnostic schools of thought, needs to be presented in intelligibleJapanese for the fairly educated Japanese student and layman. So, too, the discussions of such writers and philosophical thinkers as Seth, and Illingworth, and especially Lotze, whose discussions of"personality" are unsurpassed, should be presented to Japanesethinkers in native garb. But, again I repeat, it seems to me that thedifficulty felt in Japan on these subjects is due not to the"impersonality" of the language or the native mind, or to the hithertoprevalent religions, but wholly to the imported philosophies andsciences. The individuals who feel or at least express any sense ofdifficulty on these topics--so far at least as my knowledge of thesubject goes--are not those who know nothing but their own languageand their own native religions, but rather those who have hadexceptional advantages in foreign study, many of them having spentyears abroad in Western universities. They furnish a fresh revelationof the quickness with which the Japanese take up with new ideas. Theydid not evolve these difficulties for themselves, but gathered themfrom their reading of Western literature and by their mingling withmen of unevangelical temper and thought in the West. ]

[Footnote DD: "Sacred Books of the East, " vol. Xlix, part ii. P. 147. ]

[Footnote DE: _Cf. _ chapters xiii. And xxxi. ]

[Footnote DF: It is not strange that in all the centers of this newlearning Confucius was deified and worshiped. In connection with manyschools established for the study of his works, temples were built tohis honor, in which his statue alone was placed, before which astately religious service was performed at regular intervals. Thus didConfucianism become a living and vitalizing, although, as we shallsoon see, an incomplete religion. ]

[Footnote DG: Writers on the history and philosophy of religion havemuch to say about the differences between national and universalreligions. The three religions which they pronounce universal areMahomedanism, Buddhism, and Christianity. The ground for thisstatement is the fact that each of these religions has developedstrong individualistic characteristics. They are concerned withindividual salvation. The importance of this element none will deny, least of all the writer. But I question the correctness of thedescriptive adjective. Because of their individualistic character theyare fitted to leap territorial boundaries and can find acceptance inevery community; for this they are not dependent on the territorialexpansion of the communities in which they arose. ]

[Footnote DH: P. Xvii. ]

[Footnote DI: P. Xviii. ]

[Footnote DJ: P. 19. ]

[Footnote DK: P. 6. ]

[Footnote DL: P. 37. ]

[Footnote DM: P. 83. ]

[Footnote 2: Whether or not the activity modifies the transmissiblenature is the problem as to the inheritance of acquiredcharacteristics. The dictum that function produces organism does notsay whether that organism is transmissible or not, either in biologyor sociology. ]