t
EVOLUTION OF THE
JAPANESE
SOCIAL AND PSrCHIC
SIDNEY L. GULICK, M. A.
Missionary of the American Board
in Japan
New York Chicago Toronto
Fleming H. Revell Company
London and Edinburgh
Copyright, 1903, by
FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY
{May)
REFSE
New York : 1 58 Fifth Avenue
Chicago : 63 Washington Street
Toronto : 27 Richmond Street, W.
London : 21 Paternoster Square
Edinburgh : 30 St. Mary Street
PREFACE
The present work is an attempt to interpret the
characteristics of modern Japan in the Hght of social
science. It also seeks to throw some light on the
vexed question as to the real character of so-called
race-nature, and the processes by which that na-
ture is transformed. If the principles of social science
here set forth are correct, they apply as well to China
and India as to Japan, and thus will bear directly on the
entire problem of Occidental and Oriental social inter-
course and mutual influence.
The core of this work consists of addresses to Ameri-
can and English audiences delivered by the writer dur-
ing his recent furlough. Since returning to Japan, he
has been able to give but fragments of time to the com-
pletion of the outlines then sketched, and though he
would gladly reserve the manuscript for further elabo-
ration, he yields to the urgency of friends who deem it
wise that he delay no longer in laying his thought be-
fore the wider public.
To Japanese readers the writer wishes to say that
although he has not hesitated to make statements pain-
ful to a lover of Japan, he has not done it to condemn
or needlessly to criticise, but simply to make plain
what seem to him to be the facts. If he has erred in
his facts or if his interpretations reflect unjustly on the
history or spirit of Japan, no one will be more glad than
he for corrections. Let the Japanese be assured that
his ruling motive, both in writing about Japan and in
spending his life in this land, is profound love for the
Japanese people. The term " native " has been freely
used because it is the only natural correlative for " for-
eign." It may be well to say that neither the one nor
vi PREFACE
the other has any derogatory impHcation, although
anti-foreign natives, and anti-native foreigners, some-
times so use them.
The indebtedness of the writer is too great to be
acknowledged in detail. But whenever he has been
conscious of drawing directly from any author for ideas
or suggestions, effort has been made to indicate the
source.
Since the preparation of the larger part of this work
several important contributions to the literature on
Japan have appeared which would have been of help to
the writer, could he have referred to them during the
progress of his undertaking. Rev. J. C. C. Newton's
"Japan: Country, Court, and People"; Rev. Otis Cary's
"Japan and Its Regeneration"; and Prof. J. Nitobe's
" Bushido: The Soul of Japan," call for special mention.
All are excellent works, interesting, condensed, inform-
ative, and well-balanced. Had the last named come to
hand much earlier it would have received frequent ref-
erence and quotation in the body of this volume, de-
spite the fact that it sets forth an ideal rather than the
actual state of Old Japan.
Special acknowledgment should be made of the help
rendered by my brothers, Galen M. Fisher and Edward
L. Gulick, and by my sister, Mrs. F. F. Jewett, in read-
ing and revising the manuscript. Acknowledgment
should also be made of the invaluable criticisms and
suggestions in regard to the general theory of social
evolution advocated in these pages made by my uncle.
Rev. John T. Gulick, well known to the scientific world
for his contributions to the theory as well as to the facts
of biological evolution.
S. L. G.
Matsuyama, Japan.
CONTENTS
„>v
INTRODUCTION 13
I. PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS
Occidental conceptions of the recent history of Japan — Japan
seems to be contradicting our theory of national evolu-
tion — Similarities of ancient and modern Japan — Jap-
anese evolution is " natural " — The study of Japanese
social evolution is of unusual interest, because it has ex-
perienced such marked changes — Because it is now in
a stage of rapid growth — And is taking place before our
eyes — Also because here is taking place a unique union of
Occidental and Oriental civilizations — Comparison be-
tween India and Japan, 23
II. HISTORICAL SKETCH
Mythology and tradition — Authentic history — Old Japan —
The transition from Old to New Japan — New Japan —
Compelled by foreign nations to centralize — Ideals and
material instrurnents supplied from abroad — Exuberant
Patriotism — " Ai-koku-shin," 35
III. THE PROBLEM OF PROGRESS
Is Japan making progress? — Happiness as a criterion — The
oppressive rule of militarism — The emptiness of the
ordinary life — The condition of woman — " The Greater
Learning for Woman " — Divorce — Progress defined —
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 discus-
sion " an insufficient principle of progress — Two lines of
I
CONTENTS
PAGE
progress, Ideal and Material — The significance of Perry's
coming to Japan — Effect on Japan of Occidental ideas —
The material element of progress — Mistaken praise of
the simplicity of Old Japan, L. Hearn — The significance
of the material clement of civilization — Mastery of
nature — The defect of Occidental civilization, . . 6i
V. JAPANESE SENSITIVENESS TO
ENVIRONMENT
Our main question — Illustrations — Japanese students
abroad — Sensitiveness to ridicule — Advantages and dis-
advantages of this characteristic — National sensitiveness
to foreign criticism — Nudity — Formosa — Mental and
physical tlexibility — Adjustability — Some apparent ex-
ceptions — Chinese ideographs — How account for these
characteristics,
VI. WAVES OF FEELING— ABDICATION
The Japanese are emotional — An illustration from politics —
The tendency to run to extremes — Danger of over-
emphasizing this tendency — Japanese silent dissent —
Men of balance in public life — Abdication — Gubbins
quoted — Is abdication an inherent trait? ... 82
VII. HEROES AND HERO-WORSHIP
Popular national heroes — The craving for modern heroes —
Tovi^nsend Harris's insight into Oriental character —
Hero-worship an obstacle to missionary work — Capt.
Jaynes— An experience in Kumamoto — " The sage of
Omi " — " The true hero " — Moral heroes in Japan — The
advantage and disadvantage of hero-worship — IModcrn
moral heroes — Hero-worship depends on personality and
idealism — The new social order is producing new ideals
and new heroes, 8g
VIII. LOVE FOR CHILDREN
Japanese love for children — Children's festivals — Toys and
toy-stores^ — Do Japanese love children more than Amer-
icans do? — Importance in Japan of maintaininc: the
family line — The looseness of the Japanese family tic
— Early cessation of demonstrative affection — Infan-
ticide, q6
CONTENTS
IX. MARITAL LOVE
Affection between husband and wife — Occidental and Orien-
tal estimate of woman contrasted — This a subject easily
misunderstood — Kissing a social habit unknown in
Japan — Demonstrative affection a social, not a racial
characteristic — Some specific illustrations, Dr. Nee-
sima — A personal experience — Illegitimate children —
Fraudulent registration — Adult adoption— Divorce —
Monogamy, polygamy, and prostitution — Race character,
social order, and affection — Position of women — The so-
cial order and affection — The social order and the valu-
ation of man and woman — The new social order and the
valuation of man — The spread of Christian ideals and
the re-organization of the family, . . . .
X. CHEERFULNESS— INDUSTRY-
TRUTHFULNESS— SUSPICIOUSNESS
Japanese cheerfulness — Festivals — Pessimism existent, but
easily overlooked — The ubiquity of children gives an
appearance of cheerfulness — Industry — Illustrations —
Easy-going — Sociological interpretation — Mutual confi-
dence and trustfulness — Relation to communalistic
feudalism — Changes in the social order and in charac-
ter — The American Board's experience in trusting Jap-
anese honor — The Doshisha and its difficulties — Sus-
piciousness — Necessary under the old social order —
The need of constant care in conversation, . . • iiS
XI. JEALOUSY— REVENGE— HUMANE
FEELINGS
Jealousy particularly ascribed to women — How related to the
social order — Is jealousy limited to women? — Revenge —
Taught as a moral duty — Revenge and the new social
order — Are the Japanese cruel? — First impressions —
Treatment of the insane — Of lepers — The cruelty and
hardness of heart of Old Japan — Buddhistic teaching
and practice — Buddhist and Christian Orphan Asy-
lums — Treatment of horses — Torture in Old Japan —
Crucifixion and transfixion by spears — Hard-hearted-
ness cultivated under feudalism — Cruelty and the hu-
mane feelings in the Occident — Abolition of cruel cus-
toms in ancient and in Old Japan — Cruelty a sociolog-
ical, not a biological characteristic — The rise of humane
feelings — Doctors and hospitals — Philanthropy, . . I27
4 CONTENTS
XII. AMBITION— CONCEIT
PAGE
Ambition, both individual and national — The " Kumamoto
Band " — Sclf-confidcncc and conceit — Refined in na-
ture — Ilkistrations in the use of English — Readiness of
young men to assume grave responsibilities — A product
of the social order — Assumptions of inferiority by the
common people — Obsequiousness — Modern self-confi-
dence and assumptions not without ground — Self-con-
fidence and success — Self-confidence and physical size —
Young men and the recent history of Japan — The self-
confidence and conceit of Western nations — The open-
mindedness of most Japanese, 137
XIII. PATRIOTISM— APOTHEOSIS-
COURAGE
*' Yamato-Damashii " : " The Soul of Japan " — Patriotism
and the recent war with China — Patriotism of Christian
orphans — Mr. Ishii — Patriotism is for a person, not for
country — National patriotism is modern — Passionate de-
votion to the Emperor — A gift of 20,000,000 yen to the
Emperor — The constitution derives its authority from
the Emperor — A quotation from Prof. Yamaguchi — Jap-
anese Imperial succession is of Oriental t3'pe — Concu-
bines and children of the reigning Emperor — Apotheosis,
Oriental and Occidental — Apotheosis and national
unity — The political conflict between Imperial and popu-
lar sovereignty — Japanese and Roman apotheosis — Prof.
Nash quoted — Courage — Cultivated in ancient times —
A peculiar feature of Japanese courage — " Harakiri " —
W. E. Griffis quoted — A boy hero — Relation of courage
to social order — Japanese courage not only physical —
A modern instance of moral courage, .... 144
XIV. FICKLENESS— STOLIDITY-
STOICISM
Illustrations of fickleness — Prof. Chamberlain's explana-
tion — Fickleness a modern trait — Continuity of purpose
in spite of changes of method — The youth of those on
whom responsibility rests — Fluctuation of interest in
Christianity not a fair illustration — The period of fluc-
tuation is passing away — Tmpassiveness — " Putty
faces" — Distinguish between stupidity and stoicism —
Stupid stolidity among the farmers — Easily removed —
Social stolidity cultivated — Demrmded by the old social
order — The indiuMHH' of Buddhism in suppressing ex-
pression of emotion — An illuslration of suppressed ciu-i-
osity — Lack of emotional manifestations when the Em-
CONTENTS 5
PAGE
peror appears in public — Stolidity a social, not a racial
trait — A personal experience — The increased vivacity of
Christian women — Relations of emotional to intellectual
development and to the social order, .... 159
XV. .ESTHETIC CHARACTERISTICS
The wide development of the aesthetic sense in Japan —
Japanese aesthetic development is unbalanced — The sense
of smell — Painting — Japanese art pays slight attention to
the human form — Sociological interpretation — The nude
in Japanese art — Relation to the social order — Art and
immorality — Caricature — Fondness for the abnormal in
nature — Abnormal stones — Tosa cocks — Esthetics of
speech — The aesthetic sense and the use of personal
pronouns — Deficiency of the aesthetic development in
regard to speech — Sociological explanations — Close re-
lation of aesthetics and conduct — Sociological explana-
tion for the wide development of. the aesthetic sense —
The classes lived in close proximity — The spirit of de-
pendence and imitation — Universality of culture more
apparent than real — Defects of a:sthetic taste — Defective
etiquette — How accounted for — Old and new condi-
tions — " Western taste debasing Japanese art " — Illus-
tration of aboriginal aesthetic defects — Colored photo-
graphs—esthetic defects of popular shrines — The aes-
thetics of music — Experience of the Hawaiian people —
Literary aesthetic development — Aston quoted — Archi-
tectural aesthetic development — Esthetic development is
sociological rather than biological, .... 170
XVI. MEMORY— IMITATION
Psychological unity of the East and the West— Brain size
and social evolution — The size of the Japanese brain —
Memory— Learning Chinese characters — Social selection
and mnemonic power — Japanese memory in daily life —
Memory of uncivilized and semi-civilized peoples — Hin-*
du memory — Max Miiller quoted — Japanese acquisition
of foreign languages — The argument from language for
the social as against the biological distinction of races —
The faculty of imitation ; is not to be despised — Prof.
Charnberlain's over-emphasis of Japanese imitation —
Originality in adopting Confucianism and Buddhism —
" Shinshu " — " Nichirenshu " — Adoption of Chinese
philosophy — Dr. Knox's over-emphasis of servile adop-
tion — Our ignorance of Japanese history of thought — A
reason for Occidental misunderstanding — The incubus
of governmental initiative — Relation of imitation to the
social order, 189
V
I
6 CONTENTS
XVII. ORIGINALITY— INVENTIVENESS
PAGE
Originality in art — Authoritative suppression of originality —
Townsend Harris quoted — Suppression of Christianity
and of heterodox Confucianism — Modern suppression of
historical research — Yet Jaiian is not wholly lacking in
originality — Recent discoveries and inventions — Orig-
inality in borrowing from the West — Quotations from a
native paper, 203
XVIII. INDIRECTNESS—" NOMINALITY "
" Roundaboutness " — Some advantages of this characteris-
tic — Illustrations — Study of English for direct and ac-
curate habits of thought — Rapid modern growth of di-
rectness — " Nominality " — All Japanese history an illus-
tration — The Imperial rule only nominal — The daimyo
as a figure-head — " Nominality " in ordinary life — In
family relations — Illustrations in Christian work — A
" nominal " express train — " Nominality " and the social
order, 210
XIX. INTELLECTUALITY
Do Japanese lack the higher mental faculties? — Evidence of
inventions — Testimony of foreign teachers — Japanese
students, at home and abroad — Readiness in public
speech — Powers of generalization in primitive Japan —
" Ri " and " Ki," " In " and " Yo " — Japanese use of
Chinese generalized philosophical terms — Generalization
and the social order — Defective explanation of peurile
Oriental science — Relation to the mechanical memory
method of education — High intellectuality dependent on
social order, 218
XX. PHILOSOPHICAL ABILITY
Do Japanese lack philosophical ability? — Some opinions —
Some distinctions — Japanese interest in metaphysical
problems — Buddhist and Confucian metaphysics — Aleta-
physics and ethics — Japanese students of Occidental phi-
losophy — A personal experience — " The little philoso-
pher " — A Buddhist priest — Rarity of original philo-
sophical ability and even interest — Philosophical ability
and the social order in the West
% XXI. IMAGINATION
Some criticisms of Japanese mental traits — Wide range of
imaginative activity — Some salient points — Unbalanced
\
CONTENTS 7
PAGE
imaginative development — Prosaic matter-of-factness —
Visionariness — Impractical idealism — Illustrations — An
evangelist — A principal — Visionariness in Christian
work — Visionariness in national ambition — Imagination
and optimism — Mr. Lowell's opinion criticised — Fancy
and imagination — Caricature — Imagination and imita-
tion — Sociological interpretation of visionariness — And
of prosaic matter-of-factness — Communalism and the
higher mental powers — Suppression of the constructive
imagination — Racial intellectual characteristics are so-
cial rather than inherent, 233
XXII. MORAL IDEALS
Loyalty and filial piety as moral ideals — Quotations from an
ancient moralist, Muro Kyuso — On the heavenly origin
of moral teaching — On self-control— Knowledge comes
through obedience — On the impurity of ancient litera-
ture — On the ideal of the samurai in relation to trade —
Old Japan combined statute and ethical law — " The
testament of lyeyasu " — Ohashi's condemnation of West-
ern learning for its impiety — Japanese moral ideals were
communal — Truthfulness undeveloped — Relations of
samurai to tradesman — The business standards are
changing with the social order — Ancient Occidental
contempt for trade — Plato and Aristotle, . . . 249
XXIII. MORAL IDEALS {Continued)
The social position of woman — Valuation of the individ-
ual — Confucian and Buddhistic teaching in regard to
concubinage and polygamy — Sociological interpreta-
tion — Japan not exceptional — Actual morality of Old
Japan — Modern growth of immorality — Note on the
" Social Evil " — No ancient teaching in regard to mas-
culine chastity — Mr. Hearn's mistaken contention — ■
Filial obedience and prostitution — How could the social
order produce two different moral ideals? — The new
Civil Code on marriage — Divorce — Statistics — Modern
advance of woman — Significance of the Imperial Silver
Wedding — The Wedding of the Prince Imperial —
Relation of Buddhism and Confucianism to moral
ideals and practice — The new spirit of Buddhism —
Christian influence on Shinto ; Tenri Kyo — The ancient
moralists confined their attention to the rulers — The
Imperial Edict in regard to Moral Education, . . 258
XXIV. MORAL PRACTICE
The publicity of Japanese life — Public bathing— Personal ex-
perience at a hot-spring — Mr. Hearn on privacy — Indi-
8 CONTENTS
PAGE
vidualism and variation from the moral standard —
Standards advancing — Revenge — Modern liberty of
travel — Increase of wealth — Increasing luxury and vice —
Increase of concubinage — Native discussions — Statis-
tics — Business honesty — A native paper quoted — Some
experiences with Christians — Testimony of a Japanese
consul — Difference of gifts to Buddhist and to Christian
institutions — Christian condemnation of Doshisha mis-
management — Misappropriation of trust funds in the
West — Business honesty and the social order — Fitness
of Christianity to the new social order — A summary —
Communal virtues — Individual Vices — The authority of
the moral ideal — Moral characteristics are not inherent,
but social, in nature, 273
XXV. ARE THE JAPANESE RELIGIOUS ?
Prof. Pfleidercr's view — Pcrcival Lowell's definition of re-
ligion — Japanese appearance of irreligion due to many
facts — Skeptical attitude of Confucius towards the
gods — Ready acceptance of Western agnosticism — Prof.
Chamberlain's assertion that the Japanese take their re-
ligion lightly — Statements concerning religion by Messrs.
Fukuzawa, Kato, and Ito — Statements of Japanese ir-
religion are not to be lightly accepted — Incompetence of
many critics — We must study all the religious phenom-
ena—Pilgrimages — Statistics — Mr. Lowell's criticism of
"peripatetic picnic parties" — Is religion necessarily
gloomy? — God and Buddha shelves universal in Japan —
Temples and shrines — Statistics, 2S6
XXVI. SOME RELIGIOUS PHENOMENA
Stoical training conceals religious emotions — The earnest-
ness of many suppliants — Buddhistic and Shinto prac-
tice of religious ecstasy — The revolt from Buddhism a
religious movement — Muro Kyu-so quoted — '' Heaven's
Way " — " God's omnipresence " — Pre-Christian teachers
of Christian truth — Interpretation of modern irreligious
phenomena — Japanese apparent lack of reverence — Not
an inherent racial characteristic — Sketch of Japanese re-
ligious history — Shinto — Buddhism — Confucianism —
Christianity — Roman Catholicism — Protestantism — Re-
ligious characteristics are social, not essential or racial. 296
XXVII. SOME RELIGIOUS CONCEPTIONS
Japruu'sc conceptions as to deity — The number and relation
of the gods to the tmiverso — Did the Jnpanes-e have the
monotheistic conception ? — Attractiveness of Christian
CONTENTS 9
PAGE
monotfieism — Confucian and Buddhist monism — Reli-
gious conception of man — Conception of sin — Defective
terminology — Relation of sin to salvation — " Holy
water " — Holy towels and the spread of disease — The
slight connection between physical and moral pollution —
W. E. Griffis quoted — Exaggerated cleanliness of the
Japanese — Public bathing houses — Consciousness of sin
in the sixteenth century — A recent experience — Doctrine
of the future life — Salvation from fate — " Ingwa " —
These are important doctrines — " Mei " (Heaven's de-
cree) — Japan not unique — Sociological interpretations of
religious characteristics, 310
XXVIII. SOME RELIGIOUS PRACTICES
Loyalty and filial piety as religious phenomena — Gratitude
as a religious trait — Hearn quoted — Unpleasant ex-
periences of ingratitude — Modern suppression of phal-
licism — Brothels and prostitutes at popular shrines — The
failure of higher ethnic faiths to antagonize the lower —
Suppression of phallicism due to Western opinion — The
significance of this suppression to sociological theory —
Religious liberty — Some history — Inconsistent attitude
of the Educational Department — Virtual establishment
of compulsory state religion — Review and summary —
The Japanese ready learners of foreign religions— The
significance of this to sociology — Japanese future religion
is to be Christianity, 322
XXIX. SOME PRINCIPLES OF NA-
TIONAL EVOLUTION
Progress is from smaller to larger communities — Arrest of
development — The necessity of individualism — The rela-
tion of communal to individual development — A possible
misunderstanding — The problem of distribution — Per-
sonality, 332
XXX. ARE THE JAPANESE IMPERSONAL?
Assertion of Oriental impersonality — Quotations from
Percival Lowell — Defective and contradictory definitions
— Arguments for impersonality resting on mistaken
interpretations — Children's festivals — Occidental and
Oriental method of counting ages — Argument for imper-
sonality from Japanese art — From the characteristics of
the Japanese family — The bearing of divorce on this
argument — Do Japanese " fall in "love " ? — Suicide and
murder for love — Occidental approval and Oriental con-
demnation of " falling in love " — Sociological significance
of divorce and of " falling in love," .... 344
10 CONTENTS
PAGE
XXXI. THE JAPANESE NOT IMPERSONAL
The problem stated — Definitions — Remarks on definitions —
Characteristics of a person — Impersonality defined — A
preliminary summary statement — Definitions of Com-
munalism and Individualism — The argument for
" impersonality " from Japanese politeness — Some
difficulties of this interpretation — The sociological
interpretation of politeness — The significance of Japa-
nese sensitiveness — Altruism as a proof of impersonality
— Japanese selfishness and self-assertiveness — Distinc-
tion between communal and individualistic altruism —
Deficiency of personal pronouns as a proof of imperson-
ality — A possible counter-argument — Substitutes for per-
sonal pronouns — Many personal words in Japanese —
Origin of pronouns, personal and others — The relation
of the social order to the use of personal pronouns —
Japanese conceive Nationality only through Personality
— "Strong" and "weak" personality — Strong person-
alities in Japan — Feudalism and strong personalities, . 356
XXXII. IS BUDDHISM IMPERSONAL?
Self-suppression as a proof of impersonality — Self-suppres-
s-ion cannot be ascribed to a primitive people — Esoteric
Buddhism not popular — Buddhism emphasized intro-
spection and self-consciousness — Mr. Lowell on the
teaching of Buddha — Consciousness of union with the
Absolute a developed, not a primitive, trait — Buddhist
self-suppression proves a developed self — Buddhist self-
salvation and Christian salvation by faith — Buddhism
does not develop rounded personality — Buddhism attrib-
utes no worth to the self — Buddhist mercy rests on the
doctrine of transmigration, not on the inherent worth of
man — Analysis of the diverse elements in the asserted
" Impersonality " — Why Buddhism attributed no value to
the self — The Infinite Absolute Abstraction — Buddhism
not impersonal hut abstract — Buddhist doctrine of illu-
sion — Popular Buddhism not philosophical — Relation of
" ingwa," Fate, to the development of personality — Rela-
tion of belief in freedom to the fact of freedom — Socio-
logical consequences of Buddhist doctrine. . . . 377
XXXIH. TRACES OF PERSONALITY IN
SHINTOISM, BUDDHISM, AND CON-
FUCIANISM
Human illogicalness providential — Some devices for avoid-
ing the evils of logical conclusions — Buddliistic actual
appeal to personal self-activity— Practical Confucianism
CONTENTS II
PAGE
an antidote to Buddhist poison — Confucian ethics pro-
duced strong persons — The personal conception of deity
is widespread — Shinto gods all persons — Popular Bud-
dhist gods are personal — Confucian " Heaven " implies
personality — The idea of personality not wholly wanting
in the Orient — The idea of divine personality not diffi-
cult to impart to a Japanese — A conversation with a
Buddhist priest — Sketch of the development of Japanese
personality — Is personality inherent? — Intrinsic and phe-
nomenal personality — Note on the doctrine of the per-
sonality of God, 389
XXXIV. THE BUDDHIST WORLD-VIEW
Comparison of Buddhist, Greek, and Christian conceptions
of God — Nirvana — The Buddhistic Ultimate Reality
absolute vacuity — Greek affirmation of intelligence in the
Ultimate Reality — Christian affirmation of Divine Per-
sonality — The Buddhist universe is partly rational and
ethical — The Greek universe is partly rational and
ethical — Corresponding views of sin, salvation, change,
and history — Resulting pessimism and optimism — Con-
sequences to the respective civilizations and their social
orders, 398
XXXV. COMMUNAL AND INDIVIDUAL
ELEMENTS IN THE EVOLUTION OF
JAPANESE RELIGIOUS LIFE
Japanese religious life has been predominantly communal —
Shinto provided the sanctions for the social order — Re-
cent abdication of Shinto as a religion — Primitive
Shinto world - view — Shinto and modern science —
Shinto sanctions for the modern social order — Bud-
dhism is individualistic — Lacks social ideals and sanc-
tions — Hence it could not displace Shinto — Shinto
and Buddhism are supplementary — Produced a period
of prosperity — The defect of Buddhist individualism —
Imperfect acceptance of Shinto — Effect of political his-
tory — Confucianism restored the waning communal
sanctions — The difference between Shinto and Confu-
cian social ideals and sanctions — The difference between
Shinto and Confucian world-views — Rejection of the
Confucian social order — An interpretation — The failure
of Confucianism to become a religion — Western inter-
course re-established Shinto sanctions — Japan's modern
religious problem — Difficulty of combining individual
and communal religious elements— Christianity has
12 CONTENTS
PAGE
accomplished it — Individualism in and through com-
munalism — A modern expansion of communal religion —
Shared by Japan — Some Japanese recognize the need of
religion for Japan — Sociological function of individual-
istic religion in the higher human evolution — Obstacle
to evolution through the development of intellect — The
Japanese mind is outgrowing its old religious concep-
tions — The dependence of religious phenomena on the
ideas dominating society — Note on National and Uni-
versal religions — Buddhism not properly classified as
Universal — The classification of religions, . . . 404
XXXVI. WHAT ARE THE ESSENTIAL
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ORIENT
The conclusion reached in this work — Contrary to the
opinion of tourists, residents, and many sociologists —
Professor Le Bon quoted — Social psychic characteristics
not inherent — Evolution and involution — Advocates of
inherent Oriental traits should catalogue those traits —
An attempt by the London Daily Mail — Is the East
inherently intuitive, and the West logical ? — The diffi-
culty of becoming mutually acquainted — The secret of
genuine acquaintance — Is the East inherently meditative
and the West active? — Oriental unity and characteristics
are social, not inherent — Isolated evolution is divergent
— Mutual influence of the East and the West — Summary
statement,
XXXVII. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS
Review of our course of thought — Purpose of this chapter —
The problem studied in this work — Interrelation of
social and psychic phenomena — ^^Heredity defined and
analyzed — Evolution defined — Exact definition of our
question, and our reply — What would be an adequate
disproof of our position — Reasons for limiting the dis-
cussion to advanced races — Divergent evolution depend-
ent on segregation — Distinction between racial and so-
cial unity — Relation of the individual psychic character
to the social order — " Race soul " a convenient fiction —
Psychic function produces psychic organis'm — Causes
and nature of plasticity and fixity of society — Relation
of incarnate ideas to character and destiny — Valueless-
ness of " floating " ideas — Progress is at once communal
and individual — Personality is its cause, aim, and cri-
terion — Progress in personality is ethico-religious —
Japanese social and psychic evolution not exceptional, . 43S
INTRODUCTION.
THE tragedy enacted in China during the closing
year of the nineteenth century marks an epoch in
the history of China and of the world. Two
world-views, two types of civilization met in deadly
conflict, and the inherent weakness of isolated, belated,
superstitious and corrupt paganism was revealed.
Moreover, during this, China's crisis, Japan for the
first time stepped out upon the world's stage of political
and military activity. She was recognized as a civilized
nation, worthy to share with the great nations of the
earth the responsibility of ruling the lawless and back-
ward races.
The correctness of any interpretation as to the sig-
nificance of this conflict between the opposing civiliza-
tions turns, ultimately, on the question as to what is
the real nature of man and of society. If it be true, as
maintained by Prof. Le Bon and his school, that the
mental and moral character of a people is as fixed as
its physiological characteristics, then the conflict in
China is at bottom a conflict of races, not of civiliza-
tions.
The inadequacy of the physiological theory of na-
tional character may be seen almost at a glance by a
look at Japan. Were an Oriental necessarily and un-
changeably Oriental, it would have been impossible for
Japan to have come into such close and sympathetic
touch with the West.
The conflict of the East with the West, however, is
not an inherent and unending conflict, because it is not
racial, but civilizational. It is a conflict of world-views
and systems of thought and life. It is a conflict of
heathen and Christian civilizations. And the conflict
will come to an end as soon as, and in proportion as,
China awakes from her blindness and besfins to build
14 INTRODUCTION
her national temple on the bedrock of universal
truth and righteousness. The conflict is practically
over in Japan because she has done this. In loyallv ac-
cepting science, popular education, and the rights of
every individual to equal protection by the government,
Japan has accepted the fundamental conceptions of civ-
ilization held in the West, and has thus become an in-
tegral part of Christendom, a fact of world-wide signifi-
cance. It proves that the most important differences
now separating the great races of men are civiliza-
tional, not physiological. It also proves that European,
American, and Oriental peoples may be possessed by
the same great ideals of life and principles of action,
enabling them to co-operate as nations in great move-
ments to their mutual advantage.
While even we of the West may be long in learning
the full significance of what has been and still is taking
place in Japan and more conspicuously just now, be-
cause more tragically, in China, one thing is clear:
steam and electricity have abolished forever the old
isolation of the nations.
Separated branches of the human race that for thou-
sands of years have been undergoing divergent evolu-
tion, producing radically different languages, customs,
civilizations, systems of thought and world-views, and
have resulted even in marked physiological and psy-
chological differences, are now being brought into close
contact and inevitable conflict. But at bottom it is a
conflict of ideas, not of races. The age of isolation and
divergent evolution is passing away, and that of inter-
national 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 to the wall
and cease to exist as independent nations, just as, in
ancient times, the tribes that refused to unite with
neighboring tribes were finally subjugated by those that
did so unite.
Universal economic, political, intellectual, moral, and
religious intercourse is the characteristic of the new
aeon/oh which wc arc entering. What arc to be the
INTRODUCTION 15
final consequences of this wide intercourse? Can a
people change its character? Can a nation fully pos-
sessed by one type of civilization reject it, and adopt
one radically different? Do races have "souls" which
are fixed and incapable of radical transformations?
What has taken place in Japan, a profound, or only a
superficial change in psychical character? Are the des-
tinies of the Oriental races already unalterably de-
termined?
The answers to these questions have already been
suggested in the preceding paragraphs, in regard to
what has already taken place in Japan. But we may add
that that answer really turns on our conception as to
the nature of the characteristics separating the East
from the West. In proportion as national character is
reckoned to be biological, will it be considered fixed
and the national destiny predetermined. In proportion
as it is reckoned to be sociological, will it be considered
alterable and the national destiny subject to new social
forces. Now that the intercourse of widely different
races has begun on a scale never before witnessed, it
is highly important for us to know its probable conse-
quences. For this we need to gain a clear idea of the
nature both of the individual man and of society, of
the relation of the social order to individual and to race
character, and of the law regulating and the forces pro-
ducing social evolution. Only thus can we forecast
the probable course and consequences of the free social
intercourse of widely divergent races.
It is the belief of the writer that few countries afford
so clear an illustration of the principles involved in social
evolution as Japan. Her development has been so rapid
and so recent that some principles have become mani-'
fest that otherwise might easily have escaped notice.
The importance of understanding Japan, because of the
light her recent transformations throw on the subject
of social evolution and of national character and also
because of the conspicuous role to which she is destined
as the natural leader of the Oriental races in their adop-
tion of Occidental modes of life and thought, justifies a
careful study of Japanese character. He who really
i6 INTRODUCTION
understands Japan, has gained the magic key for un-
locking the social mysteries of China and the entire
East. But the Japanese people, with their institutions
and their various characteristics, merit careful study
also for their own sakes. For the Japanese constitute
an exceedingly interesting and even a unique branch of
the human race. Japan is neither a purgatory, as
some would have it, nor a paradise, as others maintain,
but a land full of individuals in an interesting stage of
social evolution.
Current opinions concerning Japan, however, are as
curious as they are contradictory. Sir Edwin Arnold
says that the Japanese " Have the nature rather of birds
or butterflies than of ordinary human beings." _ Says
Mr. A. M. Knapp: "Japan is the one country in the
world which does not disappoint. . . It is un-
questionably the unique nation of the globe, the land of
dream and enchantment, the land which could hardly
differ more from our own, were it located in another
planet, its people not of this world." An " old resi-
dent," however, calls it " the land of disappointments."
Few phenomena are more curious than the readiness
with which a tourist or professional journalist, after a
few days or weeks of sight-seeing and interviewing,
makes up his mind in regard to the character of the peo-
ple, unless it be the way in which certain others,
who have resided in this land for a number of
years, continue to live in their own dreamland. These
two classes of writers have been the chief contributors
of material for the omnivorous readers of the West.
It appears to not a few who have lived many years in
this Far Eastern land, that the public has been fed with
the dreams of poets or the snap-judgments of tourists
instead of witli the facts of actual experience. A recent
editorial article in the Japan Mail, than whose editor
few men have had a wider acquaintance with the Japa-
nese people or language, contains the following para-
graph:
" In the case of such writers as Sir Edwin Arnold and
Mr. Lafcadio Ilearn it is quite apparent that the logical
INTRODUCTION 17
faculty is in abeyance. Imagination reigns supreme.
As poetic flights or outbursts, the works of these
authors on Japan are dehghtful 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 de-
tail, did space allow." — Japan Mail, May 7, i8p8.
But even more harmful to the reading public of Eng-
land and America are the hastily formed yet, neverthe-
less, widely published opinions of tourists and news-
paper correspondents. Could such writers realize the
inevitable limitations under which they see and try to
generalize, the world would be spared many crudities
and exaggerations, not to say positive errors. The im-
pression so common to-day that Japan's recent devel-
opments are anomalous, even contrary to the laws of
national growth, is chiefly due to the superficial writ-
ings of hasty observers. Few of those who have dilated
ecstatically on her recent growth have understood either
the history or the genius of her people.
"To mention but one among many examples," says
Prof. Chamberlain, " the ingenious Traveling Commis-
sioner of the Pall Mall Gazette, Mr, Henry Norman,
i8 INTRODUCTION
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 impres-
sion 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 crea-
tion. 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. Tlie 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. ii6.
But inter-racial misunderstanding is not, after all,
so very strange. Few things are more difficult than to
accommodate one's self in speech, in methods of life, and
even in thought, to an alien people; so identifying one's
deepest interest with thedrs as really to understand
them. The minds of most men are so possessed by
notions acquired in childhood and youth as to be unable
to see even the plainest facts at variance with those
notions. He who comes to Japan possessed with the
idea that it is a dreamland and that its old social order
was free from defects, is blind to any important facts
invalidating that conception ; while he who is persuaded
that Japan, being Oriental, is necessarily pagan at
heart, however civilized in form, cannot easily be per-
suaded that there is anything praiseworthy in her old
INTRODUCTION 19
civilization, in her moral or religious life, or in any of
her customs.
If France fails in important respects to understand
England; and England, Germany; and Germany, its
neighbors; if even England and America can so misun-
derstand one another as to be on the verge of war over
the boundary dispute of an alien country, what hope is
there that the Occident shall understand the Orient, or
the Orient the Occident?
Though the difficulty seems insurmountable, I am
persuaded that the most fruitful cause of racial misun-
derstandings and of defective descriptions both of the
West by Orientals, and of the East by Occidentals, is a
well-nigh universal misconception as to the nature of
man, and of society, and consequently of the laws de-
termining their development. In the East this error
arises from and rests upon its polytheism, and the ac-
companying theories of special national creation and
peculiar national sanctity. On these grounds alien
races are pronounced necessarily inferior. China's
scorn for foreigners is due to these ideas.
Although this pagan notion has been theoretically
abandoned in the West, it still dominates the thought
not only of the multitudes, but also of many who pride
themselves on their high education and liberal senti-
ments. They bring to the support of their national or
racial pride such modern sociological theories as lend
themselves to this view. Evolution and the survival of
the fittest, degeneration and the arrest of development,
are appealed to as justifying the arrogance and domi-
neering spirit of Western nations.
But the most subtle and scholarly doctrine appealed
to in support of national pride is the biological concep-
tion of society. Popular writers assume that society is
a biological organism and that the laws of its evolution
are therefore biological. This assumption is not strange,
for until recent times the most advanced professional
sociologists have been dominated by the same mis-
conception. Spencer, for example, ' makes sociology
a branch of biology. More recent sociological
writers, however, such as Professors Giddings and
20 INTRODUCTION
Fairbanks, have taken special pains to assert the
essentially physic character of society ; they reject
the biological conception, as inadequate to express
the real nature of society. The biological conception,
they insist, is nothing more than a comparison, useful
for bringing out certain features of the social
life and structure, but harmful if understood as their
full statement. The laws of psychic activity and de-
velo])ment differ as widely from those of biologic
activity and development as these latter do from those
that hold in the chemical world. If the laws which reg-
ulate psychic development and the progress of civiliza-
tion were understood by popular writers on Japan, and
if the recent progress of Japan had been stated in the
terms of these laws, there would not have been so much
mystification in the West in regard to this matter as
there evidently has been. Japan would not have ap-
peared to have "jumped out of her skin," or suddenly
to have escaped from the heredity of her past millen-
niums of development. This wide misunderstanding of
Japan, then, is not simply due to the fact that " Japanese
progress, traced to its causes and explained by reference
to the means employed, is not nearly such fascinating
reading as when represented in the guise of a fairy crea-
tion," but it is also due to the still current popular view
that the social organism is biological, and subject there-
fore to the laws of biological evolution. On this as-
sumption, some hold that the progress of Japan, how-
ever it may appear, is really superficial. v>hile others
represent it as somehow having evaded the laws regu-
lating the development of other races. A nation's char-
acter and characteristics are conceived to be the prod-
uct of brain-structure; these can change only as brain
structure changes. Brain is held to determine civiliza-
tion, rather than civilization brain. Hampered by this
defective view, popular writers inevitably describe
Japan to the West in terms that necessarily misrepre-
sent her, and that at the same tinu' pander to Occitlental
pride and prejudice.
lUit tliis misunderstanding of Japan reveals an ecjually
profound misunderstanding in regard to ourselves.
INTRODUCTION 21
Occidental peoples are supposed to be what they are
in civilization and to have reached their high attain-
ments in theoretical and applied science, in philosophy
and in practical politics, because of their unique brain-
structures, brains secured through millenniums of bio-
logical evolution. The following statement may seem
to be rank heresy to the average sociologist, but my
studies have led me to believe that the main dififerences
between the great races of mankind to-day are not due
to biological, but to social conditions; they are not
physico-psychological differences, but only socio-psy-
chological differences. The Anglo-Saxon is what he is
because of his social heredity, and the Chinaman is what
he is because of his social heredity. The profound dif-
ference between social and physiological heredity and ,
evolution is unappreciated except by a few of the most I
recent sociological writers. The part that association, /
social segregation, and social heredity take in the main-
tenance, not only of once developed languages and civi-
lizations, but even in their genesis, has been generally
overlooked.
But a still more important factor in the determination
of social and psychic evolution, generally unrecognized
by sociologists, is the nature and function of person-
ality. Although in recent years it has been occasionally
mentioned by several eminent writers, personality as a
principle has not been made the core of any system of
sociology. In my judgment, however, this is the dis-
tinctive characteristic of human evolution and of human
association, and it should accordingly be the funda-
mental principle of social science. Many writers on
the East have emphasized what they call its " imper-
sonal " characteristics. So important is this subject
that I have considered it at length in the body of this
work.
Sociological phenomena cannot be fully expressed by
any combination of exclusively physical, biological, and
psychic terms, for the significant element of man
and of society consists of something more than these —
namely, personality. It is this that differentiates human
from animal evolution. The unit of human sociology
22 INTRODUCTION
is a self-conscious, self-dctcrminative being. The
causative factor in the social evolution of man is his
personality. The goal of that evolution is developed
personality. Personality is thus at once the cause and
the end of social progress. The conditions which aflfect
or determine progress are those which afifect or deter-
mine personality.
The biological evolution of man from the animal has
been, it is true, frankly assumed in this work. No at-
tempt is made to justify this assumption. Let not the
reader infer, however, that the writer similarly
assumes the adequacy of the so-called naturalistic or
evolutionary origin of ethics, of religion, or even of
social progress. It may be doubted whether Darwin,
Wallace, Le Conte, or any exponent of biological evolu-
tion has yet given a complete statement of the factors
of the physiological evolution of man. It is certain,
however, that ethical, religious, and social writers who
have striven to account for the higher evolution of man,
by appealing to factors exclusively parallel to those
which haveproduced the physiological evolution of man,
have conspicuously failed. However much we may find
to praise in the social interpretations of such eminent
writers as Comte, Spencer, Ward, Fiske, Giddings,
Kidd, Southerland, or even Drummond, there still re-
mains the necessity of a fuller consideration of the
moral and religious evolution of man. The higher
evolution of man cannot be adequately expressed or
even understood in any terms lower than those of per-
sonality.
EVOLUTION OF THE
JAPANESE
I
PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS
SAID a well educated and widely read Englishman
to the writer while in Oxford, " Can you explain to
me how it is that the Japanese have succeeded in
jumping out of their skins?" And an equally thoughtful
American, speaking about the recent strides in civiliza-
tion made by Japan, urged that this progress could not
be real and genuine. " How can such a mushroom-
growth, necessarily without deep roots in the past, be
real and strong and permanent? How can it escape
being chiefly superficial?" These two men are typical
of much of the thought of the West in regard to Japan.
Seldom, _perhaps never, has the civilized world so
suddenly and completely reversed an estimate of a
nation as it has that with reference to Japan. Before
the recent war, to the majority even of fairly educated
men, Japan was little more than a name for a few small
islands somewhere near China, whose people were
peculiar and interesting. To-day there is probably not
a man, or woman, or child attending school in any part
of the civilized world, who does not know the main facts
about the recent war: how the small country and the
men of 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, especially regarding one so remote from the
centers of Western civilization as Japan, could not have
taken place in any previous generation. The tele-
24 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
graph, the daily paper, the intelhgent reporters and
writers of books and magazine articles, the rapid steam
travel and the many travelers — all these have made pos-
sible this sudden actjuisition of knowledge and startling
reversal of opinion.
There is reason, however, to think that much mis-
apprehension and real ignorance still exists about Japan
and her leap into power and world-wide prestige. Many
seem to think that Japan has entered on her new career
through the abandonment of her old civilization and the
adoption of one from the West — that the victories on
sea and land, in Korea, at Port Arthur, and a Wei-hai-
wei, and more recently at Tientsin and Pekin, were
solely due to her Westernized navy and army. Such
persons freely admit that this process of Westernization
had been going on for many years more rapidly than
the world at large knew, and that consequently the
reputation of Japan before the war was not such as cor-
responded with her actual attainments. But they
assume that there was nothing of importance in the old
civilization; that it was little superior to organized bar-
barism.
These people conceive of the change which has taken
place in Japan during the past thirty years as a revolu-
tion, not as an evolution ; as an abandonment of the old,
and an adoption of the new, civilization. They con-
ceive the old tree of civilization to have been cut down
and cast into the fire, and a new tree to have been im-
ported from the West and planted in Japanese soil.
New Japan is, from this view-point, the new tree.
Not many months ago I heard of a wealthy family in
Kyoto which did not take kindly to the so-called im-
provements imported from abroad, and which conse-
quently persisted in using the instruments of the older
civilization. Even such a convenience as the kerosene
lamp, now universally adopted throughout the land of
the Rising Sun, this family refused to admit into its
home, preferring the old-style andiron with its vegetable
oil, dim light, and flickering flame. Recently, however,
an electric-light comi)any was organized in that city,
and this brilliant illuminant was hitroduccd not only
PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS 25
into the streets and stores, but into many private
houses. Shortly after its introduction, the family was
converted to the superiority of the new method of illumi-
nation, and passed at one leap from the old-style lantern
to the latest product of the nineteenth century. This
incident is considered typical of the transformations
characteristic of modern Japan. It is supposed that New
Japan is in no proper sense the legitimate product
through evolution of Old Japan.
In important ways, therefore, Japan seems to be con-
tradicting our theories of national growth. We have
thought that no " heathen " nation could possibly gain,
much less wield, unaided by Westerners, the forces of
civilized Christendom. We have likewise held that
national growth is a slow process, a gradual evolution,
extending over scores and centuries of years. In both
respects our theories seem to be at fault. This " little
nation of little people," which we have been so ready to
condemn as " heathen " and " uncivilized," and thus to
despise, or to ignore, has in a single generation leaped
into the forefront of the world's attention.
Are our theories wrong? Is Japan an exception?
Are our facts correct? We instinctively feel that some-
thing is at fault. We are not satisfied with the usual
explanation of the recent history of Japan. We are
perhaps ready to concede that " the rejection of the old
and the adoption of Western civilization " is the best
statement whereby to account for the riew power of
Japan and her new position among the nations, but
when we stop to think, we ask whether we have thus
explained that for which we are seeking an explanation?
Do not the questions still remain — Why did the Japa-
nese so suddenly abandon Oriental for Occidental civili-
zation? And what mental and other traits enabled a
people who, according to the supposition, were far from
civilized, so suddenly to grasp and wield a civilization
quite alien in character and superior to their own; a
civilization ripened after millenniums of development of
the Aryan race? And how far, as a matter of fact, has
this assimilation gone? Not until these questions are
really answered has the explanation been found. So
26 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
that, after all, the prime cause which we must seek is
not to be found in the external environment, but rather
in the internal endowment.
An effort to understand the ancient history of Japan
encounters the same problem as that raised by her
modern history. What mental characteristics led the
Japanese a thousand years ago so to absorb the Chinese
civilization, philosophy, and language that their own suf-
fered a permanent arrest? What religious traits led
them so to take on a religion from China and India that
their own native religion never passed beyond the most
primitive development, either in doctrine, in ethics, in
ritual, or in organization? On the other hand, what
mental characteristics enabled them to preserve their
national independence and so to modify everything
brought from abroad, from the words of the new lan-
guage to the philosophy of the new religions, that
Japanese civilization, language, and religion are mark-
edly distinct from the Chinese? Why is it that, though
the Japanese so fell under the bondage of the Chinese
language as permanently to enslave and dwarf their own
beautiful tongue, expressing the dominant thought of
every sentence with characters (ideographs) borrowed
from China, yet at the same time so transformed what
they borrowed that no Chinaman can read and under-
stand 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 are the mental traits that
have made her respond so dififerently from her neighbor
to the environment of the nineteenth-century civilization
of the West Why is it that Japan has sent thousands
of her students to these Western lands to see and stuily
and bring back all that is good in them, while China has
remained in stolid self-satisfaction, seeing nothing good
in the West and its ways? To affirm that the differ-
ence is due to the environment alone is impos-
sible, for the environment seems to be essentially
the same. This difference of attitude and action
must be traced, it would seem, to differences of
mental and temperamental characteristics. Those
PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS 27 \
who seek to understand the secret of Japan's
newly won power and reputation by looking sim-
ply at her newly acquired forms of government, her
reconstructed national social structure, her recently con-
structed roads and railroads, telegraphs, representative
government, etc., and especially at her army and navy
organized on European models and armed with Eu-
ropean weapons, are not unlike those who would dis-
cover the secret of human life by the study of anatomy.
This external view and this method of interpretation
are, therefore, fundamentally erroneous. Never, per-
haps, has the progress of a nation been so manifestly an
evolution as distinguished from a revolution. _No
foreign conquerors have come in with their armies,
crushing down the old and building up a new civiliza-
tion. No magician's wand has been waved over the
land to make the people forget the traditions of a^ thou-
sand years and fall in with those of the new regime.
No rite or incantation has been performed to charm the
marvelous tree of civilization and cause it to take root
and grow to such lofty proportions in an unprepared
soil.
In contrast to the defective views outlined above, one
need not hesitate to believe that the actual process by
which Old japan has been transformed into New Japan
is perfectly natural and necessary. It has been a con-
tinuous growth; it is not the mere accumulation of ex-
ternal additions; it does not consist alone of the acquisi-
tion of the machinery and the institutions of the Occi-
dent. It is rather a development from within, based
upon already existing ideas and institutions. New
Japan is the consequence of her old endowment and her
new environment. Her evolution has been in progress
and can be traced for at least a millennium and a half,
during which she has been preparing for this latest step.
All that was necessary for its accomplishment was the
new environment. The correctness of this view and
the reasons for it will appear as we proceed in our study
of Japanese characteristics. But we need to note at this
point the danger, into which many fall, of ascribing to
Japan an attainment of western civilization which the
28 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
facts will not warrant. She has secured much, but by
■ no means all, that the West has to give.
We may suggest our line of thought by asking what is
the fundamental element of civilization? Does it consist
in the manifold appliances that render life luxurious;
the railroad, the telegraph, the post office, the manu-
factures, the infinite variety of mechanical and other
conveniences? Or is it not rather the social and intel-
^ lectual and ethical state of a people? ^Manifestly the
1 latter. The tools indeed of civilization may be imported
i into a half-civilized, or barbarous country; such impor-
tation, however, does not render the country civilized,
although it may assist greatly in the attainment of that
result. Civilization being mental, social, and ethical,
can arise only through the growth of the mind and
character of the vast multitudes of a nation. Now has
Japan imported only the tools of civilization? In other
words, is her new civilization only external, formal,
nominal, unreal? That she has imported much is true.
Yet that her attainments and progress rest on her
social, intellectual, and ethical development will 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 other peoples.
This conception of the rise of New Japan will doubt-
less approve itself to every educated man who will allow
his thought to rest upon the subject. For all human
progress, all organic evolution, proceeds by the pro-
gressive modification of the old organs under new con-
ditions. The modern locomotive did not spring com-
plete from the mind of James Watt; it is the result of
thousands of years of human experience and conse-
quent evolution, beginning first pcrhajis with a rolling
log, becoming a rude cart, and being gratlually trans-
formed by successive inventions until it has become one
of the marvels of the nineteenth century. It is impos-
sible for those who liave attained the view-jioint of
modern science to conceive of discontinuous progress;
of continually rising types of being, of thought, or of
PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS 29
moral life, in which the higher does not find its ground
and root and thus an important part of its explanation,
in the lower. Such is the case not only with reference:
to biological evolution; it is especially true of social
evolution. He who would understand the Japan of to-
day cannot rest with the bare statement that her adop-
tion of the tools and materials of Western civilization
has given her her present power and place among the
nations. The student with historical insight knows that
it is impossible for one nation, ofif-hand, without prepa-
ration, 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 experi-
enced such unique changes in her environment. Her
history brings into clear light some principles of evolu-
tion which the usual development of a people does not
make so clear.
In the second place, New Japan is in a state of rapid
growth. She is in a critical period, resembling a youth,
just coming to manhood, when all the powers of growth
are most vigorous. The latent qualities of body and
mind and heart then burst forth with peculiar force.
In the course of four or five short years the green boy
develops into a refined and noble man; the thoughtless
girl ripens into the full maturity of womanhood and
of motherhood. These are the years of special interest
to those who would observe nature in her time of most
critical activity.
Not otherwise is it in the life of nations. There are
times when their growth is phenomenally rapid; when
their latent qualities are developed; when their growth
can be watched with special ease and delight, because so
rapid. The Renaissance was such a period in Europe.
Modern art, science, and philosophy took their start
with the awakening of the mind of Europe at that
eventful and epochal period of her 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 equaled only by her self-reliance. Her self-
confidence and amazing expectations have not yet been
30 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
sobered by hard experience. Neither does she, nor do
her critics, know how much she can or cannot do. She
is in the first flush of her new-found powers; powers of
mind and spirit, as well as of physical force. Her
dreams are gorgeous with all the colors of the rainbow.
Her efforts are sure to be noble in proportion as her
ambitions are high. The growth of the past half-
century is only the beginning of what we may expect
to see.
Then again, this latest and greatest step in the evolu-
tion of Japan has taken place at a time unparalleled for
opportunities of observation, 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.
Hundreds of papers and magazines, native and
European, read by tens of thousands of intelligent men
and women, have kept the world aware of the daily and
hourly events. Telegraphic dispatches and letters by
the million have passed between the far East and the
West. It would seem as if the modernizing of Japan
had been providentially delayed until the last half of the
nineteenth century with its steam and electricity, anni-
hilators of space and time, in order that her evolution
might be studied with a minuteness impossible in any
previous age, or by any previous generation. It is
almost as if one were conducting an experiment in
human evolution in his own laboratory, imposing the
conditions and noting the results.
For still another reason is the evolution of New Japan
of special interest to all intelligent persons. To illus-
trate great things by small, and human by physical, no
one wlio has visited Geneva has failed to see the beau-
tiful mingling of the Arve and the Rhone. The latter
flowing from the calm Geneva lake is of delicate blue,
pure and limpid. The former, running direct from the
glaciers of Mont Blanc and the roaring bed of
Chamouni, bears along in its rushing waters powdered
rocks and loosened soil. These rivers, though joined
in one bed, for hundreds of rods are qtiite distinct; the
one, turbitl; the other, clear as cr\slal: yet they press
PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS 31
each against the other, now a Httle of the Rhone's clear
current forces its way into the Arve, soon to be carried
ofif, absorbed and discolored by the mass of muddy
water around it. Now a little of the turbid Arve forces
its way into the clear blue Rhone, to lose there its iden-
tity in the surrounding waters. The interchange goes
on, increasing with the distance until, miles below, the
two rivers mingle as one. No longer is it the Arve or
the old Rhone, but the new Rhone.
In Japan there is going on to-day a process unique in
the history of the human race. Two streams of civiliza-
•tion, that of the far East and that of the far West, are
jDeginning to flow in a single channel. These streams
are exceedingly diverse, in social structure, in govern-
ment, in moral ideals and standards, in religion, in psy-
chological and metaphysical conceptions. Can they
live together? Or is one going to drive out and anni-
hilate the other? If so, which will be victor? Or is
there to be modification of both? In other words, is
there to be a new civilization — a Japanese, an Occi-
dento-Oriental civilization?
The answer is plain to him who has eyes with which
to see. Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the
leopard his spots? No more can Japan lose all trace of
inherited customs of daily life, of habits of thought and
language, products of a thousand years of training in
Chinese literature, Buddhist doctrine, and Confucian
ethics. That " the boy is father to the man " is true of
a nation no less than of an individual. What a youth
has been at home in his habits of thought, in his purpose
and spirit and in their manifestation in action, will
largely determine his after-life. In like manner the
mental and moral history of Japan has so stamped cer-
tain characteristics on her language, on her thought,
and above all on her temperament and character, that,
however she may strive to Westernize herself, it is im-
possible for her to obliterate her Oriental features. She
will inevitably and always remain Japanese.
_ Japan has already produced an Occidento-Oriental
civilization. Time will serve progressively to Occident-
alize it. But there is no reason for thinking that it will
32 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE!
ever become wholly Occidentalized. A Westerner
visiting Japan will always be impressed with its Oriental
features, while an Asiatic will be impressed with its
Occidental features. This progressive Occidentaliza-
tion of Japan will take place according to the laws of
social evolution, of which we must speak somewhat
more fully in a later chapter.
An important question bearing on this problem is the
precise nature of the characteristics differentiating the
Occident and the Orient. What exactly do we mean
when we say that the Japanese are Oriental and will
always bear the marks of the Orient in their civilization,
however much they may absorb from the West? The
importance and difficulty of this question have led the
writer to defer its consideration till toward the close of
this work.
If one would gain adequate conception of the process
now going on, the illustration already used of the min-
gling of two rivers needs to be supplemented by another,
corresponding to a separate class of facts. Instead of
the mingling of rivers, let us watch the confluence of
two glaciers. What pressures! What grindings!
What upheavals! What rendings! Such is the min-
gling of two civilizations. It is not smooth and noise-
less, but attended with pressure and pain. It is a colli-
sion in more ways than one. The unfortunates on
whom the pressures of both currents are directed are
often quite destroyed.
Comparison is often made between Japan and India.
In both countries enormous social changes are taking
place; in both, Eastern and Western civilizations are in
contact and in conflict. The differences, however, are
even more striking than the likenesses. Most con-
spicuous is the fact that whereas, in India, the changes in
civilization are due almost wholly to the force and rule
of the conquering race, in Japan these changes are s]ion-
taneous, attributable entirely to the desire and initiative
of the native rulers. This difference is fundamental and
vital. The evolution of society in India is to a large
degree compulsory; in a true sense it is an artificial evo-
lution. In Japan, on the other hand, evolution is
PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS 33
natural. There has not been the sHghtest physical com-
pulsion laid on her from without. With two rare ex-
ceptions, Japan has never heard the boom of foreign
cannon carrying destruction to her people. During
these years of change, there have been none but Japanese
rulers, and such has been the case throughout the entire
period of Japanese history. Their native rulers have
introduced changes such as foreign rulers would hardly
have ventured upon. The adoption of the Chinese lan-
guage, literature, and religions from ten to twelve cen-
turies ago, was not occasioned by a military occupancy
of Japanese soil by invaders from China. It was due
absolutely to the free choice of their versatile people, as
free and voluntary as was the adoption by Rome of
Greek literature and standards of learning. The
modern choice of Western material civilization no doubt
had elements of fear as motive power. But impulsion
through a knowledge of conditions differs radically
from compulsion exercised by a foreign military occu-
pancy. India illustrates the latter; Japan, the former.
Japan and her people manifest amazing contrasts.
Never, on the one hand, has a nation been so free from
foreign military occupancy throughout a history cover-
ing more than fifteen centuries, and at the same time,
been so influenced by and even subject to foreign
psychical environment. What was the fact in ancient
times is the fact to-day. The dominance of China and
India has been largely displaced by that of Europe.
Western literature, language, and science, and even cus-
toms, are being welcomed by Japan, and are working
their inevitable effects. But it is all perfectly natural,
perfectly spontaneous. The present choice by Japan of
modern science and education and methods and prin-
ciples of government and nineteenth-century literature
and law, — in a word, of Occidental civilization, — is not
due to any artificial pressure or military occupancy. But
the choice and the consequent evolution are wholly due
to the free act of the people. In this, as in several other
respects, Japan reminds us of ancient Greece. Dr.
Menzies, in his " History of Religion," says : " Greece
was not conquered from the East, but stirred to new life
34 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
by the communication of new ideas." Free choice has
made Japan reject Chinese astronomy, surgery, medi-
cine, and jurisprudence. The early choice to admit for-
eigners to Japan to trade may have been made en-
tirely through fear, but is now accepted and justified by
reason and choice.
The true explanation, therefore, of the recent and
rapid rise of Japan to power and reputation, is to be
found, not in the externals of her civilization, not in the
pressure of foreign governments, but rather in the in-
herited mental and temperamental characteristics, re-
acting on the new and stimulating environment, and
working along the lines of true evolution. Japan has
not " jumped out of her skin," but a new vitality has
given that skin a new color.
II
HISTORICAL SKETCH
HOW many of the stories of the Kojiki (written
in 712 A. D.) and Nihongi (720 a. d.) are to be
accepted is still a matter of dispute among
scholars. Certain it is, however, that Japanese early
history is veiled in a mythology which seems to center
about three prominent points: Kyushu, in the south;
Yamato, in the east central, and Izumo in the west cen-
tral region. This mythological history narrates the cir-
cumstances of the victory of the southern descendants
of the gods over the two central regions. And it has
been conjectured that these three centers represent
three waves of migration that brought the ancestors of
the present inhabitants of Japan to these shores. The
supposition is that they came quite independently- and
began their conflicts only after long periods of residence
and multiplication.
Though this early record is largely mythological, tra-
dition shows us the progenitors of the modern Japa-
nese people as conquerors from the west and south
who drove the aborigines before them and gradually
took possession of the entire land. That these con-
querors were not all of the same stock is proved by the
physical appearance of the Japanese to-day, and by their
language. Through these the student traces an early
mixture of races — the Malay, the Mongolian, and the
Ural-Altaic. Whether the early crossing of these races
bears vital relation to the plasticity of the Japanese is a
question which tempts the scholar.
Primitive, inter-tribal conflicts of which we have no
reliable records resulted in increasing intercourse. Vic-
tory was followed by federation. And through the
development of a common language, of common cus-
toms and common ideas, the tribes were unified socially
35
36 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
and psychically. Consciousness of this unity was em-
phasized by the age-long struggle against the Ainu,
who were not completely conquered tmtil the eighteenth
century-.
With the dawn of authentic history- (500600 a. d.)
we find amalgamation of the conquering tribes, with,
however, constantly recurring inter-clan and inter-
family wars. ^lany of these continued for scores and
even hundreds of years — proving that, in the modem
sense of the word, the Japanese were not yet a nation,
though, through inter-marriage, through the adoption
of important elements of civilization brought from
China and India \'ia Korea, through the nominal ac-
ceptance of the Emperor as the divinely appointed ruler
of the land, they were, in race and in civilization, a fairly
homogeneous people.
The national governmental system was materially
aflected by the need, throughout many centuries, of
systematic methods of defense against the Ainu. The
rise of the Shogunate dates back to 883 a. d.. when the
chief of the forces opposing the Ainu was appointed by
the Emperor and bore the official title, " The Bar-
barian-expelling Generalissim.o." This ofiice devel-
oped in power tmtil, some centuries later, it usurped in
fact, if not in name, all the imperial prerogatives.
It is probable that the Chinese written language,
literature, and ethical teachings of Confucius came to
Japan from Korea after the Christian era. The oldest
known Japanese writings (Japanese written with
Chinese characters) date from the eighth centun.-. In
this period also Buddhism first came to Japan. For
over a hundred years it made relatively little progress.
But when at last in the ninth and tenth centuries native
Japanese Buddhists popularized its doctrines and
adopted into its theogony the deities of the aboriginal
religion, now known as Shinto, Buddhism became the
religion of the people, and filled the land with its great
temples, praying priests, and gorgeous rituals.
Even in those early centuries the contact of Japan with
her Oriental neighbors revealed certain traits of her
character which have been conspicuous in recent times
HISTORICAL SKETCtI 37
— great capacity for acquisition, and readiness to adopt
freely from foreign nations. Her contact with China,
at that time so far in advance of herself in every ele-
ment of civilization, was in some respects disastrous to
her original growth. Instead of working out the prob-
lems of thought and life for herself, she took what China
and Korea had to give. The result was an arrest in
the development of everything distinctively native. The
native religion was so absorbed by Buddhism that for a
thousand years it lost all self-consciousness. Indeed
the modern clear demarcation between the native and
the imported religions is a matter of only a few decades,
due to the researches of native scholars during the
latter part of the last and the early part of this century.
Even now. multitudes of the common people know no
difference between the various elements of the com-
posite religion of which they are the heirs.
Moreover, early contact with China and her enor-
mous literature checked the development of the native
language and the growth of the native literature. The
language suffered arrest because of the rapid introduc-
tion of Chinese terms for all the growing needs of
thought and civilization. Modern Japanese is a com-
pound of the original tongue and Japonicized Chinese.
Native speculative thought likewise found little encour-
agement or stimulus fo independent activity in the
presence of the elaborate and in many respects pro-
found philosophies brought from India and Cliina.
From earliest times the government of Japan was
essentially feudal. Powerful families and clans dis
puted and fought for leadership, and the political his-
tory of Japan revolves around the varying fortunes of
these families. While the Imperial line is never lost to^
sight, it seldom rises to real power.
When, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Japan's
conquering arm reached across the waters, to ravage the
coast of China, to extend her influence as far south as
Siam, and even to invade Korea with a large army in
1592. it looked as if she were well started on her career
as a world-power. But that was not yet to be. The
hegemony of her clans passed into the powerful and
38 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
shrewd Tokiigawa family, the poHcy of which was peace
and national self-sufficiency.
The representatives of the Occidental nations (chiefly
of Spain and Portui^al) were banished. The Christian
religion (Roman Catholic), which for over fifty years
had enjoyed free access and had made great progress,
was forbidden and stamped out, not without much
bloodshed. Foreign travel and commerce were strictly
interdicted. A particular school of Confucian ethics
was adopted and taught as the state religion. Feudal-
ism was systematically established and intentionally
developed. Each and every man had his assigned
and recognized place in the social fabric, and change
was not easy. It is doubtful if any European coun-
try has ever given feudalism so long and thorough
a trial. Never has feudalism attained so complete a
development as it did in Japan under the Tokugawa
regime of over 250 years.
During- this period no influences came from other
lands to disturb the natural development. With the ex-
ception of three ships a year from Holland, an occa-
sional stray ship from other lands, and from fifteen to
twenty Dutchmen isolated in a little island in the harbor
of Nagasaki, Japan had no communication with foreign
lands or alien peoples.
Of this period, extending to the middle of the present
century, the ordinary visitor and even the resident have
but a superficial knowledge. All the changes that have
taken place in Japan, since the coming of Perry in 1854,
are attributed by the easy-going tourist to the external
pressure of foreign nations. But such travelers know
nothing of the internal preparations that had been mak-
ing for generations previous to the arrival of Perry.
The tourist is quite ignorant of the line of Japanese
scholars that had been undermining the authority of the
military rulers, " the Tokugawa," in favor of the Im-
perial line which they had practically supplanted.
The casual student of Jai)an has been e(|ually igno-
rant of the real mental and moral caliber of the Japa-
nese. Dressed in clothing that apjieared to us fantastic,
and armed with cumbersome armor and old-fashioned
HISTORICAL SKETCH 39
guns, it was easy to jump to the conclusion that the
people were essentially uncivilized. We did not know
the intellectual discipline demanded of one, whether
native or foreign, who would master the native language
or the native systems of thought. We forgot that 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 show on the surface of a nation's
civilization. While they thought us to be " unclean,"
" dogs," " red-haired devils," we perhaps thought them
to be clever savages, or at best half-civilized heathen,
without moral perceptions 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 were footpaths; educa-
tion was limited to the samurai, or military class, re-
tainers of the daimyo, *' feudal lords " ; inter-clan travel
was limited and discouraged ; Confucian ethics was the
moral standard. From the beginning of the seventeenth
century Christianity was forbidden by edict, and was
popularly known as the " evil way "; Japan was thought
to be especially sacred, and the coming of foreigners
was supposed to pollute the land and to be the cause of
physical evils. Education, as in China, was limited to
the Chinese classics. Mathematics, general history, and
science, in the modern sense, were of course wholly un-
known. Guns and powder were brought from the West
in the sixteenth century by Spaniards and Portuguese,
but were never improved. Ship-building was the same
in the middle of the nineteenth century as in the middle
of the sixteenth, perhaps even less advanced. Archi-
tecture had received its great impulse from the intro-
duction of Buddhism in the ninth and tenth centuries
and had made no material improvement thereafter.
But while there was little progress in the external and
mechanical elements of civilization, there was progress
in other respects. During the " great peace," first
arose great scholars. Culture became more general
throughout the nation. Education was esteemed. The
corrupt lives of the priests were condemned and an
effort was made to reform life through the revival of a
40 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
certain school of Confucian teachers known as " Shin-
Gaku " — " Heart-Knowledge." Art also made prog-
ress, both pictorial and manual. It would almost seem
as if modern artificers and painters had lost the skill of
their forefathers of one or two hundred years ago.
Many reasons explain the continuance of the old po-
litical and social order: the lack of a foreign foe to com-
pel abandonment of the tribal organization; the moun-
tainous nature of the country with its slow, primitive
means of intercommunication; the absence of all idea
of a completely centralized nation. Furthermore, the
principle of complete subordination to superiors and
ancestors had become so strong that individual innova-
tions were practically impossible. Japan thus lacked
the indispensable key to further progress, the principle
of individualism. The final step in the development of
her nationality has been taken, therefore, only in our
own time.
Old Japan seemed absolutely committed to a thor-
ough-going antagonism to everything foreign. New
Japan seems committed to the opposite policy. What
are the steps by which she has effected this apparent
national reversal of attitude?
We should first note that the absolutism of the Toku-
gawa Shogunate served to arouse ever-growing opposi-
tion because of its stern repression of individual opinion.
It not only forbade the Christian religion, but also all
independent thought in religious philosoi)hy and in poli-
tics. The particular form of Confucian moral philoso-
phy which it held was forced on all public teachers of
Confucianism. Dissent was not only heretical, but
treasonable. Although, by its military absolutism, the
Tokugawa rule secured the great blessing of peace, last-
ing over two hundred years, and although the curse of
Japan for well-nigh a thousand preceding years had
been fierce inter-tribal and inter-family wars and feuds,
yet it secured that peace at the expense of individual
liberty of thought and act. It thus gradually aroused
against itself the opposition of many able minds. The
enforced peace rendered it possible for these men to
devote themselves to problems of thought and of his-
HISTORICAL SKETCH
41
tory. Indeed, they had no other outlet for their ener-
gies. As they studied the history of the past and com-
pared their resuUs with the facts of the present, it grad-
ually dawned on the minds of the scholars of the eigh-
teenth century, that the Tokugawa family were exer-
cising functions of government which had never been
delegated to them ; and that the Emperor was a poverty-
stricken puppet in the hands of a family that had seized
the military power and had gradually absorbed all the
active functions of government, together with its reve-
nues.
It is possible for us to see now that these early Jap-
anese scholars idealized their ancient history, and as-
signed to the Emperor a place in ancient times which
in all probability he has seldom held. But, however
that may be, they thought their view correct, and held
that the Emperor was being deprived of his rightful rule
by the Tokugawa family.
These ideas, first formulated in secret by scholars,
gradually filtered down, still in secrecy, and were ac-
cepted by a large number of the samurai, the military
literati of the land. Their opposition to the actual
rulers of the land, aroused by the individual-crushing
absolutism of the Tokugawa rule, naturally allied itself
to the religious sentiment of loyalty to the Emperor.
Few Westerners can appreciate the full significance of
this fact. Throughout the centuries loyalty to the Em-
peror has been considered a cardinal virtue. With one
exception, according to the popular histories, no one
ever acknowledged himself opposed to the Emperor.
Every rebellion against the powers in actual possession
made it the first aim to gain possession of the Emperor,
and proclaim itself as fighting for him. When, there-
fore, the scholars announced that the existing govern-
ment was in reality a usurpation and that the Emperor
was robbed of his rightful powers, the latent antagonism
to the Tokugawa rule began to find both intellectual and
moral justification. It could and did appeal to the re-
ligious patriotism of the people. It is perhaps not too
much to say that the overthrow of the Tokugawa family
and the restoration of the Imperial rule to the Imperial
42 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
family would have taken place even though there had
been no interference of foreign nations, no extraneous
influences. But eciually certain is it that these antag-
onisms to the ruling family were crystallized, and the
great internal changes hastened by the coming in of the
aggressive foreign nations. How this external influence
operated must and can be told in a few words.
When Admiral Perry negotiated his treaty with the
Japanese, he supposed he was dealing with responsible
representatives of the government. As was later
learned, however, the Tokugawa rulers had not secured
the formal assent of the Emperor to the treaty. The
Tokugawa rulers and their counselors, quite as much
as the clan-rulers, wished to keep the foreigners out of
the country, but they realized their inability. The rulers
of the clans, however, felt that the Tokugawa rulers
had betrayed the land; they were, accordingly, in active
opposition both to the foreigners and to the national
rulers. When the foreigners requested the Japanese
government, *' the Tokugawa Shogunate," to carry out
the treaties, it was unable to comply with the request
because of the antagonism of the clan-rulers. When
the clan-rulers demanded that the government annul the
treaties and drive out the hated and much-feared
foreigners, it found itself utterly unable to do so,
because of the formidable naval power of the for-
eigners.
As a consequence of this state of affairs, a few serious
collisions took place between the foreigners and the
two-sworded samurai, retainers of the clan-rulers. The
Tokugawa rulers apparently did their best to protect
the foreigners, and, when there was no possible method
of evasion, to execute the treaties they had made. But
they could not control the clans already rebellious. A
few murders of foreigners, followed by severe reprisals,
and two bombardments of native towns by foreign gun-
boats, began to reveal to the military class at large
that no individual or local action against the foreigners
was at all to be thought of. The first step necessary was
the unification of the Empire under the Imperial rule.
This, however, could be dcjue only bv the overthrow of
HISTORICAL SKETCH 43
the Tokugawa Shogawa; which was effected in 1867-68
after a short struggle, marked by great clemency.
We thus reahze that the overthrow of the Shogunate
as also the final abolishment of feudalism with its clans,
lords, and hereditary rulers, and the establishment of
those principles of political and personal centralization
which lie at the foundation of real national unity, not
only were hastened by, but in a marked degree depend-
ent on, the stimulus and contribution of foreigners.
They compelled a more complete Japanese unity than
had existed before, for they demanded direct relations
with the national head. And when treaty negotiations
revealed the lack of such a head, they undertook to
show its necessity by themselves punishing those local
rulers who did not recognize the Tokugawa headship.
With the establishment of the Emperor on the
throne, began the modern era in Japanese history,
known in Japan as " Meiji " — " Enlightened Rule."
But not even yet was the purpose of the nation at-
tained, namely, the expulsion of the polluters of the
sacred soil of Japan. As soon as the new government
was established and had turned its attention to foreign
affairs, it found itself in as great a dilemma as had its
predecessors, the Tokugawa rulers. For the foreign
governments insisted that the treaties negotiated with
the old government should be accepted in full by the
new. It was soon as evident to the new rulers as it
had been to the old that direct and forcible resistance?
to 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 Gov-
ernment " was early translated, and read by all the think-
ing men of the day. These ideas were also keenly
studied in their actual workings in the West. The
consequence was that feudalism was utterly rejected
and the new ideas, more or less modified, were speedily
adopted, even down to the production of a constitution
and the establishment of local representative assem-
blies and a national diet. In other words, the theories
and practices of the West in regard to the political or-
44 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
ganization of the state supplied Japan with those new
intellectual variations which were essential to the
higher development of her own national unity.
A further point of importance is the fact that at the
very time that the West applied this pressure and sup-
plied Japan with these political ideals she also put within
her reach the material instruments which would enable
her to carry them into practice. I refer to steam loco-
motion by land and sea, the postal and telegraphic sys-
tems of communication, the steam printing press, the
system of popular education, and the modern organiza-
tion of the army and the navy. These instruments Japan
made haste to acquire. But for these, the rapid trans-
formation of Old Japan into New Japan would have
been an exceedingly long and difficult process. The
adoption of these tools of civilization by the central
authority at once gave it an immense superiority over
any local force. For it could communicate speedily
with every part of the Empire, and enforce its decisions
with a celerity and a decisiveness before unknown. It
became once more the actual head of the nation.
We have thus reached the exi:)lanation of one of the
most astonishing changes in national attitude that his-
tory has to record, and the new attitude seems such a
contradiction of the old as to be inexplicable, and almost
incredible. But a better knowledge of the facts and a
deeper understanding of their significance will serve to
remove this first impression.
What, then, did the new government do? It simply
said, " For us to drive out tlicse foreigners is impossi-
ble; but neither is it desirable. We need to know the
secrets of their power. We must study their language,
their science, their machinery, their steamboats, their
battle-ships. We must learn all their secrets, and then
we shall be able to turn them out without difficulty.
Let us therefore restrict them carefully to the treaty
ports, but let us make all the use of them we can."
This has virtually been the national policy of Japan
ever since. And this policy gained the acceptance of
the people as a whole witli marvelous readiness, for a
reason which few foreigners can appreciate. Mad this
HISTORICAL SKETCH 45
policy been formulated and urged by the Tokugawa
rulers, there is no probability that it would have been
accepted. But because it was, ostensibly at least, the
declared will of the Emperor, loyalty to him, which in
Japan is both religion and patriotism, led to a hearty
and complete acceptance which could hardly have been
realized in any other land. During the first year of his
" enlightened " rule (1868), the Emperor gave his sanc-
tion to an Edict, the last two clauses 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, how-
ever, is in accord with the real genius of the people, that
has transformed Japan. It has sent hundreds of its
young men to foreign lands to learn and bring back to
Japan the secrets of Western power and wealth; it has
established roads and railways, postal and telegraphic
facilities, a public common-school system, colleges and
a university in which Western science, history, and
languages have been taught by foreign and foreign-
trained instructors; daily, weekly, and monthly papers
and magazines; factories, docks, drydocks; local and
foreign commerce; representative government — in a
word, all the characteristic features of New Japan. The
whole of New Japan is only the practical carrying out
of the policy adopted at the beginning of the new era,
when it was found impossible to cast out the foreigners
by force. Brute force being found to be out of the ques-
tion, resort was thus made to intellectual force, and
with real success.
The practice since then has not been so much to re-
tain the foreigner as to learn of him and then to elimi-
nate him. Every branch of learning and industry has
proved this to be the consistent Japanese policy. No
foreigner may hope to obtain a permanent position in
Japanese employ, either in private firms or in the gov-
ernment. A foreigner is useful not for what he can do,
but for what he can teach. When any Japanese can do
46 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
his work tolerably well, the foreigner is sure to be
dropped.
The purpose of this volume does not require of us a
minute statistical statement of the present attainments
of New Japan. Such information may be procured from
Henry Norman's " Real Japan," Ransome's " Japan in
Transition," and Newton's "Japan: Country, Court,
and People." It is enough for us to realize that Japan
has wholly abandoned or profoundly modified all the
external features of her old, her distinctively Oriental
civilization and has replaced them by Occidental fea-
tures. In government, she is no longer arbitrary, auto-
cratic, and hereditary, but constitutional and representa-
tive. Town, provincial, and national legislative assem-
blies are established, and in fairly good working order,
all over the land. The old feudal customs have been
replaced by well codified laws, which are on the whole
faithfully administered according to Occidental meth-
ods. Examination by torture has been abolished. The
perfect Occidentalization of the army, and the creation
of an efficient navy, are facts fully demonstrated to the
world. The limited education of the few — and in ex-
clusively Chinese classics — has given place to popular
education. Common schools number over 30,000,
taught by about 100,000 teachers (4278 being women),
having over 4,500,000 pupils (over 1,500,000 being
girls). The school accommodation is insufficient ; it is
said that 30,000 additional teachers arc needed at once.
Middle and high schools throughout the land are re-
jecting nearly one-half of the student applicants for
lack of accommodation.
Feudal isolation, repression, and seclusion have given
way to free travel, free speech, and a free press. News-
papers, magazines, and books pour forth from the uni-
versal printing press in great profusion. Twenty dailies
issue in the course of a year over a million copies each,
while two of them circulate 24,000,000 and 21,000,000
copies, respectively.
Personal, ])olitical, and religious liberty has been
practically secure now for over two decades, guaran-
teed by the constitution, and enforced by the courts.
HISTORICAL SKETCH 47
Chinese medical practice has largely been replaced by
that from the West, although many of the ignorant
classes still prefer the old methods. The government
enforces Western hygienic principles in all public mat-
ters, with the result that the national health has im-
proved and the population is growing at an alarming
rate. While in 1872 the people numbered 33,000,000,
in 1898 they numbered 45,000,000. The general scale
of living for the common people has also advanced con-
spicuously. Meat shops are now common throughout
the land — a thing unknown in pre-Meiji times — and
rice, which used to be the luxury of the wealthy few, has
become the staple necessity of the many.
Postal and telegraph facilities are quite complete.
Macadamized roads and well-built railroads have re-
placed the old footpaths, except in the most mountain-
ous districts. Factories of many kinds are appearing
in every town and city. Business corporations, banks,
etc., which numbered only thirty-four so late as 1864 are
now numbered by the thousand, and trade flourishes as
in no previous period of Japanese history. Instead of
being a country of farmers and soldiers, Japan is to-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 so radical have they been, — so pro-
ductive of new life in Japan, — that some have urged the
re-writing of Japanese history, making the first year
of Meiji (1868) the year one of Japan, instead of reckon-
ing from the 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 transforma-
tions produced by the " restoration " of the present Em-
peror, upon the overthrow of the " Bakufu," or " Cur-
tain Government," may be judged, from the following
graphic paragraph from The Far East:
"The Restoration of Meiji was indeed the greatest
of revolutions that this island empire ever underwent.
48 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
Its magic wand left nothing untouched and unchanged.
It was the Restoration that overthrew the Tokugawa
Shogunate, which reigned supreme for over two cen-
turies and a half. It was the Restoration that brought
us face to face with the Occidentals. It was the Resto-
ration that pulled the demigods of the Feudal lords
down to the level of the commoners. It was the Res-
toration 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 earth-
quakes 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 mes-
senger, 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 Soc-
rates and Aristotle the chairs left vacant by Confucius
and Mencius. It was the Restoration that let Shak-
spere and Goethe take the place of Bakin and Chika-
matsu. It was the Restoration that deprived the people
of the swords and topnots. In short, after the Restora-
tion 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 every-
thing " (p. 541).
A natural outcome of the Restoration is the exuber-
ant patriotism that is so characteristic a feature of New
Japan. The very term " ai-koku-shin " is a new crea-
tion, almost as new as the thing. This word is an in-
cidental proof of the general correctness of the conten-
tion of this chapter that true nationality is a recent
product in Japan. The term, literally translated, is
" love-country heart" ; but the point for us to notice
particularly is the term for country, " koku"; this word
has never before meant the country as a whole, but
only the territory of a clan. If I wish to ask a Japanese
HISTORICAL SKETCH 49
what part of Japan is his native home, I must use this
word. And if a Japanese wishes to ask me which of the
foreign lands I am a native of, he must use the same
word. The truth is that Old Japan did not have any
common word corresponding to the English term, " My
country." In ancient times, this could only mean, " My
clan-territory." But with the passing away of the clans
the old word has taken on a new significance. The new
word, " ai-koku-shin," refers not to love of clan, but
to love of the whole nation. The conception of na-
tional unity has at last seized upon the national mind
and heart, and is giving the people an enthusiasm for
the nation, regardless of the parts, which they never be-
fore knew. Japanese patriotism has only in this gen-
eration come to self-consciousness. This leads it to
many a strange freak. It is vociferous and imperious,
and often very impractical and Chauvinistic. It fre-
quently takes the form of u.ncompromising disdain for
the foreigner, and the most absolute loyalty to the
Emperor of Japan; it demands the utmost respect of
expression in regard to him and the form of government
he has graciously granted the nation. The slightest
hint or indirect suggestion of defect or ignorance, or
even of limitation, is most vehemently resented.
A few illustrations of the above statements from
recent experience will not be out of place. In August,
1891, the Minister of Education, Mr. Y. Osaki, criticis-
ing the tendency in Japan to pay undue respect to
moneyed men, said, in the course of a long speech,
" You Japanese worship money even more reverently
than the Americans do. If you had a republic as they
have, I believe you would nominate an Iwazaki or a
Mitsui to be president, whereas they don't think of
nominating a Vanderbilt or a Gould." It was not long
before a storm was raging around his head because of
this reference to a republican form of government as a
possibility in Japan. The storm became so fierce that
he was finally compelled to resign his post and retire,
temporarily, from political life.
In October, 1898, the High Council of Education was
required to consider various questions regarding the
50 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
conduct of the educational department after the New
Treaties should come into force. The most important
question was whether foreigners should be allowed to
have a part in the education of Japanese youth. The
general argument, and that which prevailed, was that
this should not be allowed lest the patriotism of the chil-
dren be weakened. So far as appears but one voice was
raised for a more liberal policy. Mr. Y. Kamada main-
tained that '* patriotism in Japan was the outcome of
foreign intercourse. Patriotism, that is to say, love of
country — not merely of fief — and readiness to sacrifice
everything for its sake, was a product of the Meiji era."
In 1891 a teacher in the Kumamoto Boys' School gave
expression to the thought in a public address that, as all
mankind are brothers, the school should stand for the
principle of universal brotherhood and universal good-
will to men. This expression of universalism was so
obnoxious to the patriotic spirit of so large a number of
the people of Kumamoto Ken, or Province, that the
governor required the school to dismiss that teacher.
There is to-day a strong party in Japan which makes
" Japanism " their cry; they denounce all expressions of
universal good-will as proofs of deficiency of patriotism.
There are not wanting those who see through the shal-
lowness of such views and who vigorously oppose and
condemn such narrow patriotism. Yet the fact that it
exists to-day with such force must be noted and its
natural explanation, too, must not be forgotten. It is
an indication of self-conscious nationality.
That this love of country, even this conception of
country, is a modern thing will appear from two further
facts. Until modern times there was no such thing as
a national flag. The flaming Sun on a field of white
came into existence as a national flag only in 1859. The
use of the Sun as the syml)ol for the l^nipcror has been
in vogue since 700 a. d., the custom having been adopted
from Qiina. "When in 1859 a national flag corre-
sponding to those of Europe became necessary, the Sun
Banner naturally stepped into the vacant place." *
The second fact is the recent origin of the festival
* " Tliiiij^s Japanese," p. 156.
HISTORICAL SKETCH 51
known as " Kigensetsu." It occurs on February 11 and
celebrates the alleged accession of Jimmu Tenno, the
first Emperor of Japan, to the throne 2560 years ago
(660 B. c). The festival itself, however, was instituted
by Imperial decree ten years ago (1890).
The transformation which has come over Japan in a
single generation requires interpretation. Is the
change real or superficial? Is the new social order "a
borrowed trumpery garment, which will soon be rent by
violent revolutions," according to the eminent student
of racial psychology, Professor Le Bon, or is it of " a
solid nature " according to the firm belief of Mr. Stan-
ford Ransome, one of the latest writers on Japan?
This is the problem that will engage our attention
more or less directly throughout^ this work. We shall
give our chief thought to the nature and development of
Japanese racial characteristics, believing that this alone
gives the light needed for the solution of the problem.*
* Let not the reader gather from the very brief glance at the
attainments of New Japan, that she has overtaken the nations
of Christendom in all important respects; for such is far from
the case. He needs to be on his guard not to overestimate what
has been accomplished.
Ill
THE PROBLEM OF PROGRESS
WHAT constitutes progress? And what is the
true criterion for its measurement? In adopt-
ing Western methods of Hfe and thought, is
Japan advancing or receding? The simphcity of the
life of the common people, their freedom from fashions
that fetter the Occidental, their independence of furni-
ture in their homes, their few wants and fewer necessi-
ties — these, when contrasted with the endless needs and
demands of an Occidental, are accepted by some as evi-
dences of a higher stage of civilization than prevails in
the West.
The hedonistic criterion of progress is the one most
commonly adopted in considering the question as to
whether japan is the gainer or the loser by her rapid
abandonment of old ways and ideas and by her equally
rapid adoption of Western ones in their place. Yet this
appeal to happiness seems to me a misleading because
vague, if not altogether false, standard of progress.
Those who use it insist that the people of Japan are los-
ing their former happiness under the stress of new con-
ditions. Now there can be no doubt that during the
" Kyu-han jidai," the times before the coming in of
Western waves of life, the farmers were a simple, un-
sophisticated peoi)le; living from month to' month with
little thought or anxiety. They may be said to have been
happy. The samurai who lived wholly on the bounty
of the daimyo led of course a tranquil life, at least so
far as anxiety or toil for daily rice and fish was con-
cerned. As the fathers had lived and fought and died,
so did the sons. To a large extent the community had
all things in common; for although the lortl lived in rela-
tive luxury, yet in such small communities tliere never
was the great difference between classes that we find in
52
THE PROBLEM OF PROGRESS 53
modern Europe and America. As a rule the people
were fed, if there was food. The socialistic principle
was practically universal. Especially was emphasis. laid
on kinship. As a result, save among the outcast classes,
the extremes of poverty did not exist.
Were we to rest our inquiries at this point, we might
say that in truth the Japanese had attained the summit
of progress ; that nothing further could be asked. But
pushing our way further, we find that the peace and quiet
of the ordinary classes of society were accompanied by
many undesirable features.
Prominent among them was the domineering spirit of
the military class. They alone laid claim to personal
rights, and popular stories are full of the free and furious
ways in which they used their swords. The slightest
ofifense by one of the swordless men would be paid for
by a summary act of the two-sworded swashbucklers,
while beggars and farmers were cut down without com-
punction, sometimes simply to test a sword. In de-
scribing those times one man said to me, " They used to'
cut ofif the heads of the common people as farmers cut
off the head of the daikon " (a variety of giant radish).
I have frequently asked my Japanese friends and ac-
quaintances, whether, in view of the increasing difificul-
ties of life under the new conditions, the country would
not like to return to ancient times and customs. But
none have been ready to give me an affirmative reply.
On detailed questioning I have always found that the
surly, domineering methods, the absolutism of the rulers,
and the defenselessness of the people against unjust
arbitrary superiors would not be submitted to by a
people that has once tasted the joy arising from indi-
vidual rights and freedom and the manhood that comes
from just laws for all.
A striking feature of those Japanese who are un-
changed by foreign ways is their obsequious manner
toward superiors and officials. The lordly and often-
times ruthless manner of the rulers has naturally cowed
the subject. Whenever the higher nobility traveled, the
common people were commanded to fall on the ground
in obeisance and homage. Failure to do so was pun-
54 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
ishable with instant death at the hands of the retainers
who accompanied the lord. Dnrins^ my first stay in
Kumamoto I was surprised 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 their
spectacles if there were nothing else removable. These
were signs of respect given to all in authority. When
my real status began to be generally known, these signs
of politeness gave place to rude staring. It is difficult
for the foreigner to appreciate the extremes of the high-
handed and the obsequious spirit which were developed
by the ancient form of government. Yet it is compara-
tively easy to distinguish between the evidently genuine
humility of the non-military classes and the studied
deference of the dominant samurai.
Another feature of the old order of things was the
emptiness of the lives of the people. Education was
rare. Limited to the samurai, who composed but a
fraction of the population, it was by no means universal
even among them. And such education as they had was
confined to the Chinese classics. Although there were
schools in connection with some of the temples, the
people as a whole did not learn to read or write. These
were accomplishments for the nobility and men of
/ leisure. The thoughts of the people were circumscribed
/ by the narrow world in which they lived, and this
( allowed but an occasional glimpse of other clans
through war or a chance traveler. h\or, in those times,
freedom of travel was not generally allowed. Each
man, as a rule, lived and labored and died where he was
born. The military classes had more freedom. But
when we contrast the breadth of thought and outlook
enjoyed by the nation to-day, through newspapers and
magazines, with the outlook and knowledge of even the
most progressive and learned of those of ancient times,
how contracted do their lives ajipcar!
A third feature of former times is the condition of
/ women during those ages. Eulogizers of Old Japan
not only seem to forget that working classes existed
then, but also tliat women, constituting half the popula-
THE PROBLEM OF PROGRESS 55
tion, were essential to the existence of the nation.
Though allowing more freedom than was given to
women in other Oriental nations, Japan did not grant
such liberty as is essential to the full development of her
powers. " Woman is a man's plaything " expresses a
view still held in Japan. " Woman's sole duty is the
bearing and rearing of children for her husband " is the
dominant idea that has determined her place in the
family and in the state for hundreds of years. That
she has any independent interest or value as a human
being has not entered into national conception. " The
way in which they are treated by the men has hitherto
been such as might cause a pang to any generous
European heart. . . A woman's lot is summed up in
what is termed ' the three obediences/ obedience, while
yet unmarried, to a father; obedience, when married, to
a husband; obedience, when widowed, to a son. At the
present moment the greatest duchess or marchioness in
the land is still her husband's drudge. She fetches and
carries for him, bows down humbly in the hall when my
lord sallies forth on his good pleasure." * '' The
Greater Learning for Women," by Ekken Kaibara
(1630-1714), an eminent Japanese moralist, is the name
of a treatise on woman's duties which sums up the ideas
common in Japan upon this subject. For two hundred
years or more it has been used as a text-book in the
training of girls. It enjoins such abject submission of
the wife to her husband, to her parents-in-law, and to
her other kindred by marriage, as no self-respecting
woman of Western lands could for a moment endure.
Let me prove this through a few quotations.
" A woman should look on her husband as if he were
Heaven itself and never weary of thinking how she may
yield to her husband, and thus escape celestial castiga-
tion." " Woman must form no friendships and no
intimacy, except when ordered to do so by her parents
or by the middleman. Even at the peril of her life, must
she harden her heart like a rock or metal, and observe
the rules of propriety." " A woman has no particular
lord. She must look to her husband as her lord and
* Prof. B. H. Chamberlain.
56 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
must serve him with all reverence and worship, not de-
spising or thinking lightly of him. The great life-long
duty of a woman is obedience. . . When the husband
issues his instructions, the wife must never disobey
them. . . Should her husband be roused to anger at any
time, she must obey him, with fear and trembling."
Not one word in all these many and specific instructions
hints at love and affection. That which to Western
ears is the sweetest word in the English language, the
foundation of happiness in the home, the only true bond
between husband and wife, parents and children —
LOVE — does not once appear in this the ideal instruc-
tion for Japanese women.
Even to this day divorce is the common occurrence in
Japan. According to Confucius there are seven
grounds of divorce: disobedience, barrenness, lewd con-
duct, jealousy, leprosy or any other foul or incurable
disease, too much talking, and thievishness. " In plain
English, 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 minutely described and insisted on as are those of the
wife to the husband and to his parents, this " Greater
Learning for Women " would not seem so deficient; but
such is not the case. The woman's rights are few, yet
she bears her lot with marvelous patience. Indeed, she
has acquired a most attractive and patient and modest
behavior despite, or is it because of, centuries of well-
nigh tyrannical treatment from the male sex. In some
important respects the women of Japan are not to be
excelled by those of any other land. But that this lot
has been a happy one I cannot conceive it possible for a
European, who knows the meaning of love or home, to
contend. The single item of one divorce for every
three marriages tells a tale of sorrow and heartache that
is sad to contemplate. Nor does this include those
separations where tentative marriage takes place with
a view to learning whether the parties can endure living
together. I have known several such cases. Neither
does this take account of the great number of concu-
bines that may l)c found in the homes of the higher
THE PROBLEM OF PROGRESS 57
classes. A concubine often makes formal divorce quite
superfluous.
I by no means contend that the women of Old Japan
were all and always miserable. There was doubtless
much happiness and even family joy; affection between
husband and wife could assuredly have been found in
numberless cases. But the hardness of life as a whole,
the low position held by woman in her relations to man,
her lack of legal rights,* and her menial position, justify
the assertion that there was much room for improve-
ment.
These three conspicuous features of the older life in
Japan help us to reach a clear conception as to what
constitutes progress. We may say that true progress
consists in that continuous, though slow, transformation
of the structure of society which, while securing its more
thorough organization, brings to each individual the
opportunity of a larger, richer, and fuller life, a life which
increasingly calls forth his latent powers and capacities.
In other words, progress is a growing organization of
society, accompanied by a growing liberty of the indi-
vidual resulting in richness and fullness of life. It is
not primarily a question of unreflecting happiness, but
a question of the wide development of manhood and
womanhood. Both men and women have as yet un-
measured latent capacities, which demand a certain
liberty, accompanied by responsibilities and cares, in
order for their development. Intellectual education and
a wide horizon are likewise essential to the production
of such manhood and womanhood. In the long run
this is seen to bring a deeper and a more lasting happi-
ness than was possible to the undeveloped man or
woman.
The question of progress is confused and put on a
wrong footing when the consciousness of happiness or
unhappiness is made the primary test. The happiness
of the child is quite apart from that of the adult. Re-
gardless of distressing circumstances, the child is able
to laugh and play, and this because he is a child ; a child
*Only since the coming of the new period has it become pos-
sible for a woman to gain a divorce from her husband.
58 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
in his ignorance of actual life, and in his inability to per-
ceive the true conditions in which he lives. Not other-
wise, I take it, was the happiness of the vast majority
in Old Japan. Theirs was the happiness of ignorance
and simple, undeveloped lives. Accustomed to tyranny,
they did not think of rebellion against it. Familiar with
brutality and suffering, they felt nothing of its shame
and inhumanity. The sight of decapitated bodies, the
torture of criminals, the despotism of husbands, the
cringing obedience of the rvded, the haughtiness of the
rulers, the life of hard toil and narrow outlook, were all
so usual that no thought of escape from such an order
of society ever suggested itself to those who endured
it.
From time to time wise and just rulers did indeed
strive to introduce principles of righteousness into their
methods of government; but these men formed the ex-
ception, not the rule. They were individuals and not
the system under which the people lived. It was always
a matter 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 in their selection. The
structure of society was and always had been absolute
militarism. Even under the most benevolent rulers the
use of cruel torture, not only on convicted criminals, but
on all suspected of crime, was customary. Those in
authority might personally set a good example, but they
did not modify the system. They owned not only the
soil but practically the laborers also, for these could not
leave their homes in search of others that were better.
They were serfs, if not slaves, and the system did not
tend to raise the standard of life or education, of man-
hood or w^omanhood among the people. The happi-
ness of the people in such times was due in part to their
essential inhumanity of heart and lack of sympathy with
suffering and sorrow. Each individual bore his own
sorrow and pain alone. The community, as such, did
not distress itself over individuals who suffered. Sym-
pathy, in its full meaning, was unknown in Old Jajian.
The barbarous custom of casting out the leper from the
home, to wander a lonely exile, living on the charity of
THE PROBLEM OF PROGRESS 59
strangers, is not unknown even to this day. We are told
that in past times the " people were governed by such
strong aversion to the sight of sickness that travelers
were often left to die by the roadside from thirst,
hunger, or disease; and householders even went the
length of thrusting out of doors and abandoning to
utter destitution servants who suffered from chronic
maladies." So universal was this heartlessness that the
government at one time issued proclamations against
the practices it allowed. " Whenever an epidemic
occurred the number of deaths was enormous." Seven
men of the outcast, " the Eta," class were authoritatively
declared equal in value to one common man. Beggars
were technically called " hi-nin," " not men."
Those who descant on the happiness of Old Japan
commit the great error of overlooking all these sad
(features of life, and of fixing their attention exclusively
ion the one feature of the childlike, not to say childish,
lightness of heart of the common people. Such writers
■are thus led to pronounce the past better than thd
present time. They also overlook the profound happi-
•ness and widespread prosperity of the present era.
Trade, commerce, manufactures, travel, the freest of
intercommunication, newspapers, and international re-
lations, have brought into life a richness and a fullness
that were then unknown. But in addition, the people
now enjoy a security of personal interests, a possession
of personal rights and property, and a personal liberty,
that make life far miore Vs^orthy and profoundly enjoy-
able, even while they bring responsibilities and duties
and not a few anxieties. This explains the fact that no
Japanese has expressed to me the slightest desire to
abandon the present and return to the life and condi-
tions of Old Japan.
Let me repeat, therefore, with all possible emphasis,
that the problem of progress is not primarily one of
increasing light-heartedness, pure and simple, nor yet
a problem of racial unification or of political centraliza-
tion ; it is rather a problem of so developing the structure
of society that the individual may have the fullest oppor-^.J ^ ^rj
tunity for development.
6o EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
The measure of progress is not the degree of racial
unification, of political centralization, or of unrcflective
happiness, but rather the degree and the extent of indi-
vidual personality. Racial unification, political centrali-
zation, and increasing happiness are in the attainment of
progress, but they are not to be viewed as sufficient
ends. Personality can alone be that end. The wide
development of personality, therefore, is at once the
goal and the criterion of progress.
IV
THE METHOD OF PROGRESS
PROGRESS as an ideal is quite modern in its origin.
For although the ancients were progressing, they
did it unconsciously, blindly, stumbling on it by
chance, forced to it, as we have seen, by the struggle for
existence. True of the ancient civilizations of Europe
and Western Asia and Africa, this is emphatically true
of the Orient. Here, so far from seeking to progress,
the avowed aim has been not to progress; the set pur-
pose has been to do as the fathers did; to follow their
example even in customs and rites whose meaning has
been lost in the obscurity of the past. This blind ad-
herence was the boast of those who called themselves
religious. They strove to fulfill their duties to their
ancestors.
Under such conditions how was progress possible?
And how has it come to pass that, ruled by this ideal
until less than fifty years ago, Japan is now facing quite
the other way? The passion of the nation to-day is to
make the greatest possible progress in every direction.
Here is an anomaly, a paradox; progress made in spite
of its rejection; and, recently, a total volte-face. How
shall we explain this paradox?
In our chapter on the Principles of National Evolu-
tion,* we see that the first step in progress was made
through the development of enlarging communities by
means of extending boundaries and hardening customs.
We see that, on reaching this stage, the great problem
was so to break the " cake of custom " as to give liberty
to individuals whereby to secure the needful variations.
We do not consider how this was to be accomplished.
We merely show that, if further progress was to be
* Chapter xxix. Some may care to read this chapter at this point.
6i
62 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
made, it could only be through the development of the
individualistic principle to which we give the more exact
name communo-individualism. This problem as to
how the " cake of custom " is successfully broken must
now engage our attention.
Mr. Bagehot contends that this process consisted,
as a matter of history, in the establishment of govern-
ment by discussion. Matters of principle came to be
talked over; the desirability of this or that measure was
submitted to the people for their approval or disap-
proval. This method served to stimulate definite and
practical thought on a wide scale; it substituted the
thinking of the many for the thinking of the few; it
stimulated independent thinking and consequently in-
dependent action. This is, however, but another way
of saying that it stimulated variation. A government
whose action was determined after wide discussion
would be peculiarly fitted to take advantage of all use-
ful variations of ideas and practice. Experience shows,
he continues, that the difficulty of developing a " cake
of custom " is far more easily surmounted than that
of developing government by discussion; /. c, that it is
far less difficult to develop communalism than com-
muno-individualism. The family of arrested civiliza-
tions, of which China and India and Japan, until re-
cent times, are examples, were caught in the net of
what had once been the source of their progress. The
tyranny of their laws and customs was such that all in-
dividual variations were nipped in the bud. They failed
to progress because they failed to develop variations.
And they failed in this because they did not have gov-
ernment by discussion.
No one will dispute the importance of Mr. Bagehot's
contribution to this subject. But it may be doubted
whether he has pointed out the full reason for the diffi-
culty of breaking the " cake of custom " or manifested
the real root of progress. To attain progress in the full
sense, not merely of an oligarchy or a caste, but of the
whole people, there must not only be government by
discussion, but the responsibilities of the government
must be shared more or less fully by all the governed.
THE METHOD OF PROGRESS 63
History, however, shows that this cannot take place
until a conception of intrinsic manhood and womanhood
has arisen, a conception which emphasizes their infinite
and inherent worth. This conception is not produced by
government by discussion, while government by discus-
sion is the necessary consequence of the wide acceptance
of this conception. It is therefore the real root of prog-
ress.
As I look over the history of the Orient, I find no
tendency to discover the inherent worth of man or to
introduce the principle of government by discussion.
Left to themselves, I see no probability that any of
these nations would ever have been able to break the
thrall of their customs, and to reach tnat stage of de-
velopment in which common individuals could be trusted
with a large measure of individual liberty. Though I
can conceive that Japan might have secured a thorough-
going political centralization under the old regime, I
cannot see that that centralization would have been ac-
companied by growing liberty for the individual or by
such constitutional rights for the common man as he ^'""
enjoys to-day. Whatever progress she might have g/U^f^^'^
made in the direction of nationality it would still have
been a despotism. The common man would have re-
mained a helpless and hopeless slave. Art might have ^1 u/"^'^'^^'
prospered; the people might have remained simple-
minded and relatively contented. But they could not
have attained that freedom and richness of life, that
personality, which we saw in our last chapter to be the
criterion and goal of true progress.
If the reader judges the above contention correct and
agrees with the writer that the conception of the in-
herent value of a human being could not arise spon-
taneously in Japan, he will conclude that the progress . ^^.^J*
of Japan depended on securing this important concep- '^Y^^x,u-<_,
tion from without. Exactly this has taken place. By J^^^ __^^
her thorough-going abandonment of the feudal social / Q
order and adoption of the constitutional and representa- V^
tive government of Christendom, whether she recog- "P Vy^-^^,""
nizes it or not, she has accepted the principles of the in- W
herent worth of manhood and womanhood, as well as . ,y^. . ^
64 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
government by discussion. Japan has thus, by imita-
tion rather than by origination, entered on the path of
endless progress.
So important, however, is the step recently taken
that further analysis of this method of progress is de-
sirable for its full comprehension. We have already
noted quite briefly* how Japan was supplied by the West
wath the ideal of national unity and the material instru-
ments essential to its attainment. In connection with
the high development 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 imi-
tation, but if progress is to be real and lasting, both
must grow to independence.
The first and by far the most important is the psychi-
cal, the introduction of new ideas. So long as the old,
familiar ideas hold sway over the mind of a nation, there
is little or no stimulus to comparison and discussion.
Stagnation is well-nigh complete. But let new ideas
be so introduced as to compel attention and comprehen-
sion, and the mind spontaneously awakes to wonderful
activity. The old stagnation is no longer possible. Dis-
cussion is started; and in the end something must take
place, even if the new ideas are not accepted wholly
or even in part. But they will not gain attention if pre-
sented simply in the abstract, unconnected with real
life. They must bring evidence 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 entrance to Japan. The people suddenly
awoke from their sleep of two and a half centuries to
find that new nations had arisen since they closed their
eyes, nations among which new sets of ideas had been
at work, giving them a power wholly unknown to the
Orient and even mysterious to it. Those ideas were
concerned, not alone with the making of guns, the build-
ing of ships, the invention of machinery, the taming
and using of the forces of nature, but also with methods
* Cf. chapter ii.
THE METHOD OF PROGRESS 65
of government and law, with strange notions, too, about
religion and duty, about the family and the individual,
which the foreigners said were of inestimable value and
importance. It needed but a few years of intercourse
\yith Western peoples to convince the most conserva-
tive that unless the Japanese themselves could gain the
secret of their power, either by adopting their weapons
or their civilization, they themselves must fade away "^
before the stronger nations. The need of self-preser-
vation was the first great stimulus that drove new
thoughts into unwilling brains.
There can be no doubt that the Japanese were right f^y- 'i^-'
in this analysis of the situation. Had they insisted on k>^- .
maintaining their old methods of national life and social ^^^^JuJ-t.-:
order and ancient customs, there can be no doubt as to ''^
the result. Africa and India in recent decades and
China and 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 per-
sisting in her love of feudalism, would long since have
become the territory of some European Power. She
was saved by the possession of a remarkable combina-
tion of national characteristics, — the powers of ob-
servation, of appreciation, and of imitation. In a word,
her sensitiveness to her environment and her readiness
to respond to it proved to be her salvation.
But the point on which I wish to lay special emphasis
is that the prime element of the form in which the de-
liverance came was through the acquisition of numerous
new ideas. These were presented by persons who thor-
oughly believed in them and who admittedly had a
power not possessed by the Japanese themselves.
Though unable to originate these ideas, the Japanese f^^ ^^"^"^'^
yet proved themselves capable of understanding and ; ^. N
appreciating them — in a measure at least. They were -^ . j^
at first attracted to that which related chiefly to the ex- t ^^ '"^
ternals^ of civilization, to that which would contribute
immediately to the complete political centralization of
the nation. With great rapidity they adopted Western.
66 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
ideas about warfare and weapons. They sent their
young men abroad to study the civiHzation of the for-
eign nations. At great expense they also employed
many foreigners to teach them in their own land the
things they wished to learn. Thus have the Japanese
mastered so rapidly 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 the most conducive to the continuous
growth of civilization have been definitely accepted and
adopted by the people, namely, popular rights, the lib-
erty of individuals to differ from the past so far as this
does not interfere with national unity, and the direct
responsibility and relation of each individual to the na-
tion without any mediating group. These rights and
liberities are secured to the individual by a constitution
and by laws enacted by representative legi^fetures.
Government by discussion has been fairly inaugurated.
During these years of change the effort has been to
leave the old social order as undisturbed as possible. For
example, it was hoped that the reorganization of the
military and naval forces of the Empire would be suf-
ficient without disturbing the feudal order and without
abolishing the feudal states. But this was soon found
ineffectual. For a time it was likewise thought that the
adoption of Western methods of government might be
made without disturbing the old religious ideas and
without removing the edicts against Christianity. But
experience soon showed that the old civilization was a
unit. No part could be vitally modified without affecting
the whole structure. Having knocked over one block in
the long row that made up their feudal social order, it
was found that each successive block was touched ami
fell, until nothing was left standing as before. It was
found also that the old ideas of education, of travel, of
jurisprudence, of torture and punishment, of social
ranks, of the relation of the individual to the state, of
the state to the family, and of religion to the family,
were more or less defective and unsuited to the new
civilization. Before this new movement all obstructive
THE METHOD OF PROGRESS 67
ideas, however, sanctioned by antiquity, have had to give
way. The Japanese of to-day look, as it were, upon a
new earth and a new heaven. Those of forty years
ago would be amazed, not only at the enormous changes
in the externals, life and government, but also at the
transformation which has overtaken every element of
the older civilization. Putting it rather strongly, it is
now not the son who obeys the father, but the father
the ?on. The rulers no longer command the people,
but the people command 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 prac-
tices be thought to constitute progress or not will de-
pend on one's view of the aim of life. If this be as
maintained in the previous chapter, then surely the
transformation of Japan must be counted progress.
That, however, to which I call attention is the fact that
the essential requisite of progress 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 she has
adopted a social structure to stimulate the continuous
production of new ideas, through the development of
individuality. She is thus in the true line of continu-
ously progressive evolution. Imitating the stronger
nations, she has introduced into her system the life-
giving blood of free discussion, popular education, and
universal individual rights and liberty. In a word, she
has begun to be an individualistic nation. She has intro-
duced a social order fitted to a wide development of per-
sonality.
The importance of the second line of progress, the
physical, would seem to be too obvious to call for any
detailed consideration. But so much has been said by
both graceful and able writers on Japan as to the ad-
vantages she enjoys from her simple non-mechanical
civilization, and the mistake she is making in adopting
the mechanical civilization of the West, that it may not
be amiss to dwell for a few moments upon it. I wish
to show that the second element of progress consists in
the increasing use of mechanisms.
68 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
The enthusiastic admirer of Japan hardly finds words
wherewith sufiiciently to praise the simphcity of her
pre-Meiji civihzation. No furniture brings confusion
to the room; no machinery distresses the ear with its
groanings or the eye with its unsighthness. Xo fac-
tories blacken the sky with smoke. No trains screech-
ing through the towns and cities disturb sleepers and
frighten babies. The simple bed on the floor, the straw
sandal on the foot, wooden chopsticks in place of
knives and forks, the small variety of foods and of cook-
ing utensils, the simple, homespun cotton clothing, the
fascinating homes, so small and neat and clean — in
truth all that pertains to Old Japan finds favor in the
eyes of the enthusiastic admirer from the Occident.
One such writer, in an elaborate paper intended to set
forth the superiority 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
the struggle of life; it shows also the real chajacter of
some of the weaknesses in our own civilization. It
forces reflection upon the useless multiplicity of our
daily wants. We must have meat and bread and butter;
glass windows and fire; hats, white shirts, and woolen
underwear; boots and shoes; trunks, bags, and boxes;
bedsteads, mattresses, sheets, and blankets ; all of which
a Japanese can do without, and is really better ofif with-
out." * Surely one finds much of truth in this, and there
is no denying the charm of the simpler civilization, but
the closing phrase of the quotation is the assumption
without discussion of the disputed point. Are the Jap-
anese really better off without these implements of
Western civilization? Evidently they themselves do
not think so. For, in glancing through the list as
given by the writer quoted, one realizes the extent of
Japanese adoption of these Western devices. Hardly
an article but is used in Japan, and certainly with the
su]iposition of the purchaser that it adds cither to his
health or his comfort. In witness are the luuulreds of
*" Kokoro," by L. llcarii, ]). 31.
THE METHOD OF PROGRESS 69
thousands of straw hats, the glass windows everywhere,
and the meat-shops in each town and city of the Em-
pire. The charm of a foreign fashion is not sufficient
explanation for the rapidly spreading use of foreign
inventions.
That there are no useless or even evil features in our
Western civilization is not for a moment contended. The
stilT starched shirt may certainly be asked to give an
account of itself and justify its continued existence, if it
can. But I think the proposition is capable of defense
that the vast majority of the implements of our Occi-
dental civilization have their definite place and value,
either in contributing directly to the comfort and happi-
ness of their possessor, or in increasing his health and
strength and general mental and physical power. What
is it that makes the Occidental longer-lived than the
Japanese? Why is he healthier? Why is he more in-
telligent? Why is he a more developed personality?
Why are his children more energetic? Or, reversing
the questions, why has the population of Japan been
increasing with leaps and bounds since the introduction
of Western civilization and medical science? Why is
the rising generation so free from pockmarks? Why
is the number of the blind steadily diminishing? Why
are mechanisms multiplying so rapidly — the jinrikisha,
the railroads, the roads, the waterworks and sewers,
the chairs, the tables, the hats and umbrellas, lamps,
clocks, glass windows and shoes? A hundred simi-
lar questions might be asked, to which no definite an-
swers are needful.
Further discussion of details seems unnecessary. Yet
the full significance of this point can hardly be appre-
ciated without a perception of the great principle that
underlies it. The only way in which man has become
and continues to be increasingly superior to animals is
in his use of mechanisms. The animal does by brute
force what man accomplishes by various devices. The
inventiveness of different races differs vastly. But
everywhere, the most advanced are the most powerful.
Take the individual man of the more developed race
and separate him from his tools and machines, and it
70 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
is doubtless true that he cannot in some selected points
compete with an individual of a less developed race.
But let ten thousand men of the higher development
compete with ten thousand of the lower, each using the
mechanisms under his control, and can there be any
doubt as to which is the superior?
In other words, the method of human progress con-
sists, in no small degree, in the progressive mastery of
nature, first through understanding her and then
through the use of her immense forces by means of suit-
able mechanisms. All the machines and furniture, and
tools and clothing, and houses and canned foods, and
shoes and boots, and railroads and telegraph lines, and
typewriters and watches, and the ten thousand other so-
( called " impedimenta " of the Occidental civilization are
but devices whereby Western man has sought to in-
crease his health, his wealth, his knowledge, his com-
fort, his independence, his capacity of travel — in a word,
his well-being. Through these mechanisms he masters
nature. He extracts a rich living from nature; he an-
nihilates time and space; he defies the storms; he tun-
nels the mountains; he extracts precious ores and
metals from the rock-ribbed hills; with a magic touch
he loosens the grip of the elements and makes them
surrender their gold, their silver, and, more precious
still, their iron; with these he builds his spacious cities
and parks, his railroads and ocean steamers; he travels
the whole world around, fearing neither beast nor alierr
man; all are subject to his command and will. He in-
vestigates and knows the constitution of stellar worlds
no less than that of the world in which he lives. By his
instruments he explores the infinite depths of heaven
and the no less infinite depths of the microscopic world.
All these reviled " impedimenta " thus bring to the race
that has them a wealth of life both physical and psychi-
cal, practical and ideal, that is otherwise unattainable.
I By them he gains and gives external expression to the
reality of his inner nature, his freedom, liis juM'Sonality.
True, instead of bringing health and long life, knowledge
and deep enjoyment, they may become the means of bit-
terest curses. But the lesson to learn from this fact
THE METHOD OF PROGRESS 71
is how to use these powers aright, not how to forbid
their use altogether. They are not to be branded as
hindrances to progress.
The defect of Occidental civilization to-day is not ^
its multiplicity of machinery, but the defective view that \
still blinds the eyes of the multitude as to the true na- -^
ture and the legitimate goal of progress. Individual,
selfish happiness is still the ideal of too many men and
women to permit of the ideal which carries the
Golden Rule into the markets and factories, into the
politics of parties and nations, which is essential to the
attainment of the highest progress. But no one who
casts his eyes over the centuries of struggle and effort
through which man has been slowly working his way
upward from the rank of a beast to that of a man, can
doubt that progress has been made. The worth of
character has been increasingly seen and its possession
desired. The true end of effort and development was
never more clear than it is at the close of the nineteenth
century. Never before were the conditions of progress
so bright, not only for the favored few in one or two
lands, but for the multitudes the world over. Isolation
and separation have passed from this world forever.
Free social intercourse between the nations permits wide
dissemination of ideas and their application to practical n ;^
life in the form of social organization and mechanical ^cU^'t^ c,^-^
invention. This makes it possible for nations more or ik"^'"'^^^^
less backward in "social and civilizational development iv^'*^^^''*'^
to gain in a relatively short time the advantages won r aM
by advanced nations through ages of toil and under ^
favoring circumstances. Nation thus stimulates nation,
each furnishing the other with important variations in
ideas, customs, institutions, and mechanisms resulting
from long-continued divergent evolution. The advan-
tages slowly gained by advanced peoples speedily ac-
crues through social heredity to any backward race
really desiring to enter the social heritage.
Thus does the paradox of Japan's recent progress be-
come thoroughly intelligible.
JAPANESE SENSITIVENESS TO
ENVIRONMENT
WITH this chapter we begin a more detailed
study of Japanese social and psychic evolution.
We shall take up the various characteristics
of the race and seek to account for them, show-
ing their origin in the peculiar nature of the so-
cial order which so long prevailed in Japan. This
is a study of Japanese psychogenesis. The ques-
tion to which we shall continually return is whether or
not the characteristic under consideration is inherent
and congenital and therefore inevitable. Not only our
interpretation of Japanese evolution, past, present, and
future, but also our understanding of the essential na-
ture of social evolution in general, depends upon the
answer to this question.
We naturally begin with that characteristic of Jap-
anese nature which would seem to be more truly con-
genital than any other to be mentioned later. I refer
to their sensitiveness to environment. More quickly
than most races do the Japanese seem to perceive and
adapt themselves to changed conditions.
The history of the past thirty years is a prolonged
illustration of this characteristic. The desire to imitate
foreign nations was not a real reason for the overthrow
of feudalism, but there was, rather, a more or less con-
scious feeling, rapidly pervading the whole people, that
the feudal system would be unable to maintain the na-
tional integrity. As intimated, the matter was not so
much reasoned out as felt. But such a vast illustration
is more difficult to appreciate than some individual in-
stances, of which I have noted several.
During a conversation with Drs. I-'orsythe and Dale,
72
SENSITIVENESS TO ENVIRONMENT 73
of Cambridge, England, I asked particularly as to their
experience with the Japanese students who had been
there to study. They both remarked on the fact that all
Japanese students were easily influenced by those with
whom they customarily associated ; so much so that,
within a short time, they acquired not only the cut of coats
and trousers, but also the manner and accent, of those
with whom they lived. It was amusing, they said, to see
what transformations were wrought in those who went
to the Continent for their long vacations. From
France they returned with marked "French manners and
tones and clothes, while from Germany they brought
the distinctive marks of German stiffness in manner and
general bearing. It was noted as still more curious that
the same student would illustrate both variations, pro-
vided he spent one summer in Germany and another
in France.
Japanese sensitiveness is manifested in many unex-
pected ways. An observant missionary lady once re-
marked that she had often wondered how such unruly,
self-willed children as grow up under Japanese training,
or its lack, finally become such respectable members of
society. She concluded that instead of being punished
out of their misbehaviors they were laughed out of
them. The children are constantly told that if they do
so and so they will be laughed at — a terrible thing.
The fear of ridicule has thus an important sociological*
function in maintaining ethical standards. Its power'
may be judged by the fact that in ancient times when
a samurai gave his note to return a borrowed sum, the
only guarantee aflfixed was the permission to be laughed
at in public in case of failure. The Japanese young
man who is making a typewritten copy of these pages
for me says that, when still young, he heard an address
to children which he still remembers. The speaker
asked what the most fearful thing in the world was.
Man}' replies were given by the children — " snakes,"
" wild beasts," " fathers," " gods," " ghosts," " de-
mons," " Satan," " hell," etc. These were admitted to
be fearful, but the speaker told the children that one
other thing was to be more feared than all else, nam.ely.
74 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
to b e lancrhpfl at " This speech, with its vivid illustra-
tions, made a lastinj^ impression on the mind of the boy,
and on reading what I had written he realized how pow-
erful a motive fear of ridicule had been in his own life;
also how large a part it plays in the moral education of
the young in Japan.
Naturally enough this fear of being laughed at leads
to careful and minute observation of the clothing, man-
ners, and speech of one's associates, and prompt con-
formity to them, through imitation. The sensitiveness
of Japanese students to each new environment is thus
easily understood. And this sensitiveness to environ-
ment has its advantages as well as its disadvantages. I
have already referred to the help it gives to the estab-
lishment of individual conformity to ethical standards.
The phenomenal success of many reforms in Japan may
easily be traced to the national sensitiveness to foreign
criticism. Many instances of this will be given in the
course of this work, but two may well be mentioned at
this point. According to the older customs there was
great, if not perfect, freedom as to the use of clothing
by the people. The apparent indifference shown by
them in the matter of nudity led foreigners to call the
nation uncivilized. This criticism has always been a
galling one, and not without reason. In many respects
their civilization has been fully the equal of that of any
other nation; yet in this respect it is true that they re-
sembled and still do resemble semi-civilized peoples.
In response to this foreign criticism, however, a law
was passed, early in the Meiji era, prohibiting nudity
in cities. The requirement that public bathing houses
be divided into two separate compartments, one for men
and one for women, was likewise due to foreign opin-
ion. That this is the case may be fairly inferred from
the fact that the enforcement of these laws has largely
taken places where foreigners abound, whereas, in the
interior towns and villages they receive much less atten-
tion. It must be acknowledged, however, that now at
last, twenty-five years after their jnissage. they are
almost everywhere beginning to be enforced by the
authorities.
SENSITIVENESS TO ENVIRONMENT 75
My other illustration of sensitiveness to foreign opin-
ion is the present state of Japanese thought about the
management of Formosa. The government has been
severely criticised by many leading papers for its blunders
there. But the curious feature is the constant reference to
the contempt into which such mismanagement will bring
Japan in the sight of the world — as if the opinion of
other nations were the most important issue involved,
and not the righteousness and probity of the govern-
ment itself. It is interesting to notice how frequently
the opinion of other nations with regard to Japan is a
leading thought in the mind of the people.
In this connection the following extract finds its nat-
ural 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.
" (i) 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 annoy-
ance. 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
76 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
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 oiY 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. Num-
ber 7, however, which hails from Osaka, is somewhat nar-
row and prejudiced. The injunction not to sell houses
to foreigners is, as the Jiji Shimpo points out, absurd
and mischievous." *
The sensitiveness of the people also works to the ad-
vantage of the nation in the social unity which it helps
to secure. Indeed I cannot escape the conviction that the
striking unity of the Japanese is largely due to this char-
acteristic. It tends to make their mental and emotional
activities synchronous. It retards reform for a season,
to be sure, but later it accelerates it. It makes it diffi-
cult for individuals to break away from their surround-
ings and start out on new lines. It leads to a general
progress while it tends to hinder individual progress.
It tends to draw back into the general current of
national life those individuals who, under excejitional
conditions, may have succeeded in breaking awa) from
* Japan Mail, September 30, 1S99.
SENSITIVENESS TO ENVIRONMENT 77
ft for a season. This, I think, is one of the factors of no
little power at work among the Christian churches in
Japan. It is one, too, that the Japanese themselves
little perceive; so far as I have observed, foreigners
likewise fail to realize its force.
Closely connected with this sensitiveness to environ-
ment are other qualities which make it efifective. They
are: great flexibility, adjustability, agility (both mental
and physical), and the powers of keen attention to de-
tails and of exact imitation.
As opposed to all this is the Chinese lack of flexibility.
Contrast a Chinaman and a Japanese after each has
been in America a year. The one to 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 be mistaken for one. How different is it
with the Chinaman! He retains his curious cue with
a tenacity that is as intense as it is characteristic. His
hat is the conventional one adopted by all Chinese im-
migrants. His clothing likewise, though far from
Chinese, is nevertheless entirely un-American. He
makes no effort to conform to his surroundings. He
seems to glory in his separateness.
The Japanese desire to conform to the customs and
appearances of those about him is due to what I have
called sensitiveness; his success is due to the flexibility
of his mental constitution.
But this characteristic is seen in multitudes of little
ways. The new fashion of wearing the hair according
to the Western styles; of wearing Western hats, and
Western clothing, now universal in the army, among
policemen, and common among of^cials and educated
men; the use of chairs and tables, lamps, windows, and
other Western things is due in no small measure to
that flexibility of mind which readily adopts new ideas
and new ways; is ready to try new things and new
words, and after trial, if it finds them convenient or use-
ful or even amusing, to retain them permanently, and
this flexibility is, in part, the reason why the Japanese
are accounted a fickle people. They accept new ways
78 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
so easily that those who do not have this faculty have
no explanation for it but that of fickleness. A frequent
surprise to a missionary in Japan is that of meeting a
line-lookino;, accomplished gentleman whom he knew a
few years before as a crude, ungainly youth. I am con-
vinced that it is the possession of this set of charac-
teristics that has enabled Japan so quickly to assimilate
many elements of an alien civilization.
Yet this flexibility of mind and sensitiveness to
changed conditions find some apparently striking ex-
ceptions. Notable among these are the many customs
and appliances of foreign nations which, though adopted
by the people, have not been completely modified to
suit their own needs. In illustration is the Chinese
ideograph, for the learning of which even in the modern
common-school reader, there is no arrangement of the
characters in the order of their complexity. The pos-
sibility of simplifying the colossal task of memorizing
these uncorrelated ideographs does not seem to have
occurred to the Japanese; though it is now being at-
tempted by the foreigner. Perhaps a partial explana-
tion of this apparent exception to the usual flexibility of
the people in meeting conditions may be found in their
relative lack of originality. Still I am inclined to refer
it to a greater sensitiveness of the Japanese to the per-
sonal and human, than to the impersonal and physical
environment.
The customary explanation of the group of char-
acteristics considered in this chapter is that they arc
innate, due to brain and nerve structure, and acquired
by each generation through biological heredity. If
closely examined, however, this is seen to be no expla-
nation at all. Accepting the characteristics as empiri-
cal, inexplicable facts, the real problem is evaded, pushed
into prehistoric times, that convenient dumping ground
of biological, anthropological, and sociological diffi-
culties.
Japanese flexibility, imitativencss, and sensitiveness
to environment are to be accounted for by a care-
ful consideration of the national environment and
social order. Modern ])sychology has called at-
SENSITIVENESS TO ENVIRONMENT 79
tentioii to the astonishing part played by imitation,
conscious and unconscious, in the evokition of the
human race, and in the unification of the social
group. Prof. Le Tarde goes so far as to make this
the fundamental principle of human evolution. He has
shown that it is ever at work in the life of every human
being, modifying all his thoughts, acts, and feelings.
In the evolution of civilization the rare man thinks, the
millions imitate.
A slight consideration of the way in which Occidental
lands have developed their civilization will convince
anyone that imitation has taken the leading part.
Japan, therefore, is not unique in this respect. Her
periods of wholesale imitation have indeed called spe-
cial notice to the trait. But the rapidity of the move-
ment has been due to the peculiarities of her environ-
ment. For long periods she has been in complete isola-
tion, and when brought into contact with foreign na-
tions, she has found them so far in advance of herself
in many important respects that rapid imitation was
the only course left her by the inexorable laws of na-
ture. Had she not imitated China in ancient times and
the Occident in modern times, her independence, if not
her existence, could hardly have been maintained.
Imitation of admittedly superior civilizations has
therefore been an integral, conscious element of Japan's
social order, and to a degree perhaps not equaled by
the social order of any other race.
The difference between Japanese imitation and that
of other nations lies in the fact that whereas the latter,
as a rule, despise foreign races, and do not admit the
superiority of alien civilizations as a whole, imitating
only a detail here and there, often without acknowledg-
ment and sometimes even without knowledge, the Jap-
anese, on the other hand, have repeatedly been placed
in such circumstances as to see the superiority of for-
eign civilizations as a whole, and to desire their general
adoption. This has produced a spirit of imitation
among all the individuals of the race. It has become a
part of their social inheritance. This explanation
largely accounts for the striking difference between
8o EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
Japanese and Chinese in the Occident. The Japanese
go to the West in order to acquire all the West can
give. The Chinaman goes steeled against its influ-
ences. The spirit of the Japanese renders him quickly
susceptible to every change in his surroundings. He
is ever noting details and adapting himself to his cir-
cumstances. The spirit of the Chinaman, on the con-
trary, renders him quite oblivious to his environment.
His mind is closed. Under special circumstances, when
a Chinaman has been liberated from the prepossession
of his social inheritance, he has shown himself as capa-
ble of Occidentalization in clothing, speech, manner,
and thought as a Japanese. Such cases, however, are rare.
But a still more effective factor in the development
of the characteristics under consideration is the nature
of Japanese feudalism. Its emphasis on the complete
subordination of the inferior to the superior was one
of its conspicuous features. This was a factor always
and everywhere at work in Japan. No individual was
beyond its potent influence. Attention to details, ab-
solute obedience, constant, conscious imitation, secre-
tiveness, suspiciousness, were all highly developed by
this social system. Each of these traits is a special
form of sensitiveness to environment. From the most
ancient times the initiative of superiors was essential
to the wide adoption by the people of any new idea or
custom. Christianity found ready acceptance in the
sixteenth century and Buddhism in the eighth, because
they had been espoused by exalted persons. The su-
periority of the civilization of China in early times, and
of the West in modern times, was first acknowledged
and adopted by a few nobles and the Emperor. Having
gained this prestige they promptly became acceptable
to the rank and file of people who vied with each other"
in their adoption. A peculiarity of the Japanese is the
readiness with which the ideas and aims of the rulers
are accepted by the peo])le. This is due to the nature of
Japanese feudalism. It has made the body of the na-
tion conspicuously subject to the ruling brain and
has conferred on Japan her unique sensitiveness to en-
vironment.
SENSITIVENESS TO ENVIRONMENT 8i
Susceptibility to slight changes in the feehngs of
lords and masters and corresponding flexibiHty were
important social traits, necessary products of the old
social order. Those deficient in these regards would in-
evitably lose in the struggle for social precedence, if not
in the actual struggle for existence. These character-
istics would, accordingly, be highly developed.
Bearing in mind, therefore, the character of the fac-
tors that have ever been acting on the Japanese psychic
nature, we see clearly that the characteristics under
consideration are not to be attributed to her inherent
race nature, but may be sufficiently accounted for by
reference to the social order and social environment.
VI
WAVES OF FEELING— ABDICATION
IT has long been recognized that the Japanese are emo-
tional, but the full significance of this element of their
nature is far from realized. It underlies their en-
tire life; it determines the mental activities in a way
and to a degree that Occidentals can hardly appreciate.
Waves of feeling have swept through the country,
carrying everything before them in a manner that has
oftentimes amazed us of foreign lands. An illustration
from the recent pof^tical life of the nation comes to
mind in this connection. For months previous to the
outbreak of tho recent war with China, there had been
a prolonged struggle between the Cabinet and the po-
litical parties who were united in their opposition to the
government, though in little else. The parties insisted
that the Cabinet should be responsible to the party in
power in the Lower House, as is the case in England,
that thus they might stand and fall together. The Cab-
inet, on the other hand, contended that, according to
the constitution, it was responsible to the Emperor
alone, and that consequently there was no need of a
change in the Cabinet with every change of party lead-
ership. The nation waxed hot over the discussion. Sus-
cessive Diets were dissolved and new Diets elected, in
none of which, however, could the supporters of the
Cabinet secure a majority; the Cabinet was, therefore,
incapable of carrying out any of its distinctive measures.
Several times the opposition went so far as to decline
to pass the budget pro])osed by the Cabinet, unless so
reduced as to crijiplc the government, the reason con-
stantly urged being that the Cabinet was not compe-
tent to administer the expenditure of such large sluns
of money. There were no direct charges of fraud,, but
82
WAVES OF FEELING— ABDICATION 83
simply of incompetence. More than once the Cabinet
was compelled to carry on the government during- the
year under the budget of the previous year, as provided
by the constitution. So intense was the feeling that
the capital was full of " soshi," — political ruffians, —
and fear was entertained as to the personal safety of
the members of the Cabinet. The whole country was
intensely excited over the matter. The newspapers
were not loath to charge the government with extrav-
agance, and a great explosion seemed inevitable, when,
suddenly, a breeze from a new quarter arose and abso-
lutely changed the face of the nation.
War with China was whispered, and then noise-d
around. Events moved rapidly. One or two success-
ful encounters with the Chinese stirred the warlike pas-
sion that lurked in every breast. At once the feud with
the Cabinet was forgotten. When, on short notice,
an extra session of the Diet was called to vote funds
for a war, not a word was breathed about lack of con-
fidence in the Cabinet or its incompetence to manage
the ordinary expenditures of the government; on the
contrary, within five minutes from the introduction of
the government bill asking a war appropriation of 150,-
000,000 yen, the bill was unanimously passed.
Such an absolute change could hardly have taken
place in England or America, or any land less subject
to waves of emotion. So far as I could learn, the na-
tion was a unit in regard to the war. There was not
the slightest sign of a " peace party." Of all the Jap-
anese with whom I talked 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 Japanese extremists. If liberals, they are ex-
tremely liberal; if conservative, they are extremely con-
servative. The craze for foreign goods and customs
which prevailed for several years in the early eighties
was replaced by an almost equally strong aversion to
anything foreign.
This tendency to swing to extremes has cropped out
not infrequently in the theological thinking of Japanese
84 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
Christians. Men who for years had done effective
work in upbuilding the Church, men who had hfted
hundreds of their fellow-countrymen out of moral and
religious darkness into light and life, have suddenly,
as it has appeared, lost all appreciation of the truths
they had been teaching and have swung off to the
limits of a radical rationalism, losing with their evan-
gelical faith their power of helping their fellow-men,
and in some few cases, going over into lives of open
sin. The intellectual reasons given by them to account
for their changes have seemed insufficient; it will be
found that the real explanation of these changes is to
be sought not in their intellectual, but in their emo-
tional natures.
Care must be taken, however, not to over-emphasize
this extremist tendency. In some respects, I am con-
vinced that it is more apparent than real. The appear-
ance is due to the silent passivity even of those who
are really opposed to the new departure. It is natural
that the advocates of some new policy should be en-
thusiastic and noisy. To give the impression to
an outsider that the new enthusiasm is universal,
those who do not share it have simply to keep
quiet. This takes place to some degree in every
land, but particularly so in Japan. The silence
of their dissent is one of the striking character-
istics of the Japanese. It seems to be connected with
an abdication of personal responsibility. How often
in the experience of the missionary it has happened
that his first knowledge of friction in a church, wholly
independent and self-supporting and having its own
native pastor, is the silent withdrawal of certain mem-
bers from their customary places of worship. On in-
quiry it is learned that certain things are being done or
said which do not suit them and, instead of seeking to
have these matters righted, they simply wash their
hands of the whole affair by silent withdrawal.
The Kumi-ai church, in Kumamoto, from being large
and prosperous, fell to an actual active membership of
less than a dozen, solely because, as each member be-
came dissatisfied with the high-handed antl radical pas-
WAVES OF FEELING -ABDICATION 85
tor, he simply withdrew. Had each one stood by the
church, realizing that he had a responsibility toward
it which duty forbade him to shirk, the conservative
and substantial members of the church would soon have
been united in their opposition to the radical pastor
and, being in the majority, could have set matters right.
In the case of perversion of trust funds by the trustees
of the Kumamoto School, many Japanese felt that in-
justice was being done to the American Board and a
stain was being inflicted on Japan's fair name, but they
did nothing either to express their opinions or to mod-
ify the results. So silent were they that we were
tempted to think them either ignorant of what was tak-
ing place, or else indififerent to it. We now know, how-
ever, that many felt deeply on the matter, but were sim-
ply silent according to the Japanese custom.
But silent dissent does not necessarily last indefi-
nitely, though it may continue for years. As soon as
some check has been put upon the rising tide of feel-
ing, and a reaction is evident, those who before had
been silent begin to voice their reactionary feeling,
while those who shortly before had been in the ascend-
ant begin to take their turn of silent dissent. Thus the
waves are accentuated, both in their rise and in their
relapse, by the abdicating proclivity of the people.
Yet, in spite of the tendency of the nation to be swept
from one extreme to another by alternate waves of feel-
ing, there are many well-balanced men who are not car-
ried with the tide. The steady progress made by the
nation during the past generation, in spite of emo-
tional actions and reactions, must be largely attributed
to the presence in its midst of these more stable na-
tures. These are the men who have borne the respon-
sibilities of government. So far as we are able to see,
they have not been led by their feelings, but rather by
their judgments. When the nation was wild with in-
dignation over Europe's interference with the treaty
which brought the China-Japanese war to a close, the
men at the helm saw too clearly the futility of an at-
tempt to fight Russia to allow themselves to be car-
ried away by sentimental notions of patriotism. Theirs
86 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
was a deeper and truer patriotism than that of the great
mass of the nation, who, flushed with recent victories by
land and by sea, were eager to give Russia the thrash-
ing which they felt quite able to administer.
Abdication is such an important element in Japanese
life, serving to throw responsibility on the young, and
thus helping to emphasize the emotional characteris-
tics of the people, that we may well give it further at-
tention at this point. In describing it, I can do no
better than quote from J. H. Gubbins' valuable introduc-
tion to his translation of the New Civil Code of Japan.*
" Japanese scholars who have investigated the sub-
ject 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 abdica-
tion 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 mon-
asteries, abdicating sovereigns shaved their heads and
entered the priesthood, and when subsequently the cus-
tom 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, tlie custom of abdi-
cation 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 sev-
erance from tradition and religious associations, whether
* Part II. p. xxxii.
WAVES OF FEELING— ABDICATION 87
re:,l 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
' in kio ' 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 seclu-
sion 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 posi-
tion of the individual vis-a-vis the family being un-
affected; in the other case, it is the position of head of
the family which is relinquished, with the result of the
complete efifacement 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 incom-
patible with the^jimitinuation 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 addi-
tion to the duties and responsibilities incumbent upon
his position, has to bear the brunt of the tedious cere-
monies 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. Tliat in many cases the reason for ab-
dication lies in the wish to escape from the tyrannical
88 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
calls of family life, rather than in mere desire for idle-
ness 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 per-
son'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 well shown by the official list of daimyos pub-
lished by the Shogunate in 1862. To a list of 268 rul-
ing daimyos is added a list of 104 " in kio."
In addition to what we may call political and family
abdication, described above, is personal abdication, re-
ferred to on a previous page.
Are the traits of Japanese character considered in
this chapter inherent and necessary? Already our de-
scription has conclusively shown them to be due to the
nature of the social order. This was manifestly the
case in regard to political and family abdication. The
like origin of personal abdication is manifest to him
who learns how little there was in the ancient training
tending to give each man a " feeling of independent re-
sponsibility to his own conscience in the sight of
Heaven." He was taught devotion to a person rather
than to a principle. The duty of a retainer was not to
think and decide, but to do. He might in silence dis-
approve and as far as possible he should then keep out
of his lord's way; should he venture to think and to act
contrary to his lord's commands, he must expect and
plan to commit " harakiri " in the near future. Per-
sonal abdication and silent disa])proval, 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 the nature of the gods it worships, no less
valuable an insight is gained by a study of its heroes.
Such a study confirms the impression that the emotional
life is fundamental in the Japanese temperament.
Japan is a nation of hero-worshipers. This is no exag-
geration. Not only is the primitive religion, Shintoism,
systematic hero-worship, but every hero known to his-
tory is deified, and has a shrine or temple. These
heroes, too, are all men of conspicuous valor or
strength, famed for mighty deeds of daring. They are
men of passion. The most popular story in Japanese
literature is that of " The Forty-seven Ronin," who
avenged the death of their liege-lord after years of wait-
ing and plotting. This revenge administered, they
committed harakiri in accordance with the etiquette of
the ethical code of feudal Japan. Their tombs are to
this day among the most frequented shrines in the
capital of the land, and one of the most popular dramas
presented in the theaters is based on this same heroic
tragedy.
The prominence of the emotional element may be
seen in the popular description of national heroes. The
picture of an ideal Japanese hero is to our eyes a cari-
cature. His face is distorted by a fierce frenzy of pas-
sion, his eyeballs glaring, his hair fiying, and his hands
hold with a mighty grip the two-handed sword where-
with he is hewing to pieces an enemy. I am often
amazed at the difference between the pictures of Japa-
nese heroes and the living Japanese I see. This differ-
ence is manifestly due to the idealizing process; for they
89
}(
90 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
love to see their heroes in their passionate moods and
tenses.
The craving for heroes, even on the part of those who
are famihar with Western thought and customs, is a
feature of great interest. Well do I remember the en-
thusiasm with which educated, Christian young men
awaited the coming to Japan of an eminent American
scholar, from whose lectures impossible things were
expected. So long as he was in America and only his
books were known, he was a hero. But when he ap-
peared in person, carrying himself like any courteous
gentleman, he lost his exalted position.
Townsend Harris showed his insight into Oriental
thought never more clearly than by maintaining his
dignity according to Japanese standards and methods.
On his first entry into Tokyo he states, in his journal,
that although he would have preferred to ride on horse-
back, in order that he might see the city and the people,
yet as the highest dignitaries never did so, but always
rode in entirely closed " norimono " (a species of sedan
chair carried by twenty or thirty bearers), he too would
do the same; to have ridden into the limits of the city
on horseback would have been construed by the Japa-
nese as an admission that he held a far lower official
rank than that of a plenipotentiary 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 especially feudalism, is the foundation
on which the social order rests.
Some of the difficulties met by foreign missionaries
in trying to do their work arise from the fact that they
are not easily regarded as heroes by their followers.
The people are accustomed to commit their guidance to
officials or to teachers or advisers whom they can re-
gard as heroes. Since missionaries are not officials and
do not have the manners of heroes, it is not to be ex-
pected that the Jai")anese will accept their leadership.
A few foreigners have, however, become heroes in
Japanese eyes. President Clark and Rev. S. R. Brown
had great influence on groups of young men in the
early years of Mciji, while giving them secular edu-
HEROES AND HERO-WORSHIP 91
cation combined with Christian instruction. The condi-
tions, however, were then extraordinarily exceptional,
and it is a noticeable fact that neither man remained
long in Japan at that time. Another foreigner who
was exalted to the skies by a devoted band of students
was a man well suited to be a hero — for he had the
samurai spirit to the full. Indeed, in absolute fearless-
ness and assumption of superiority, he out-samuraied
the samurai. He was a man of impressive and imperi-
ous personality. Yet it is a significant fact that when
he was brought back to Japan by his former pupils^,
after an absence of about eighteen years, during which
they had continued to extol his merits and revere his
memory, it was not long before they discovered that he
was not the man their imagination had created. Not
many months were needed to remove him from his
pedestal. It would hardly be a fair statement of the
whole case to leave the matter here. So far as I know.
President Clark and Rev. S. R. Brown have always
retained their hold on the imagination of the Japanese.
The foreigner who of all others has perhaps done the
most for Japan, and whose services have been most
heartily acknowledged by the nation and government,
was Dr. Guido F. Verbeck, who began his missionary
work in 1859; he was the teacher of large numbers of
the young men who became leaders in the transforma-
tion of Japan; he alone of foreigners was made a citizen
and was given a free and general pass for travel; and
his funeral in 1898 was attended by the nobility of the
land, and the Emperor himself made a contribution
toward the expenses. Dr. Verbeck is destined to be
one of Japan's few foreign heroes.
Among the signs of Japanese craving for heroes may
be mentioned the constant experience of missionaries
when search is being made for a man to fill a particular
place. The descriptions of the kind of man desired are
such that no one can expect to meet him. The Chris-
tian boys' school in Kumamoto, and the church with it,
went for a whole year without principal and pastor be-
cause they could not secure a man of national reputa-
tion. They wanted a hero-principal, who would cut a
92 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
great figure in local politics and also be a hero-leader
for the Christian work in the whole island of Kyushu,
causing the school to shine not only in Kumamoto, but
to send forth its light and its fame throughout the Em-
pire and even to foreign lands. The unpretentious, un-
prepossessing-looking man who was chosen temporarily,
though endowed with common sense and rather un-
usual ability to harmonize the various elements in the
school, was not deemed satisfactory. He was too much
like Socrates. At last they found a man after their own
heart. He had traveled and studied long abroad; was
a dashing, brilliant fellow; would surely make things
hum; so at least said those who recommended him
(and he did). But he was still a poor student in Scot-
land; his passage money must be raised by the scho'ol
if he was to be secured. And raised it was. Four
hundred and seventy-five dollars those one hundred and
fifty poor boys and girls, who lived on two dollars
a month, scantily clothed and insufficiently warmed,
secured from their parents and sent across the seas to
bring back him who was to be their hero-principal and
pastor. The rest of the story I need not tell in detail,
but I may whisper that he was more of a slashing hero
than they planned for; in three months the boys' school
was split in twain and in less than three years both frag-
ments of the school had not only lost all their Christian
character, but were dead and gone forever. And the
grounds on which the buildings stood were turned into
mulberry fields.
Talking not long since to a native friend, concerning
the hero-worshiping tendency of the Japanese, I had my
attention called to the fact that, while what has been said
above is substantially correct as concerns a large pro-
portion of the people, especially the young men, there
is nevertheless a class whose ideal heroes are not mili-
tary, but moral. Their power arises not through self-
assertion, but rather through humility; their influence is
due entirely to learning coupled with insight into the
great moral issues of life. Such has been the character
of not a few of the " moral " teachers. 1 have recently
read a Japanese novel l)ased upon the life of one such
HEROES AND HERO-WORSHIP 93
hero. Omi Seijin, or the " Sage of Omi," is a name well
known among the people of Japan; and his fame rests
rather on his character than on his learning. If tradi-
tion is correct, his influence on the people of his region
was powerful enough to transform the character of the
place, producing a paradise on earth whence lust and
crime were banished. Whatever the actual facts of liis
life may have been, this is certainly the representation
of bis character now held up for honor and imitation.
There are also indications that the ideal military hero
is not, for all the people, the self-assertive type that I
have described above, though this is doubtless the prev-
alent one. Not long since I heard the following coup-
let 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, " I atte takakarazu," which means in plain
English, " having authority, but not puffed up." In the
presence of these facts, it will not do to think that the
ideal hero of all the Japanese is, or even in olden times
was, only a military hero full of swagger and bluster; in
a military age such would, of necessity, be a popular
ideal; but just in proportion as men rose to higher
forms of learning, and character, so would their ideals
be raised.
It is not to be lightly assumed that the spirit of hero-
worship is wholly an evil or a necessarily harmful thing.
It has its advantages and rewards as well as its dangers
and evils. The existence of hero-worship in any land
reveals a nature in the people that is capable of heroic
actions. Men appreciate and admire that which in a
measure at least they are, and more that which they
aspire to become. The recent war revealed how the
capacity for heroism of a warlike nature lies latent in
every Japanese breast and not in the descendants of the
94 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
old military class alone. But it is more encouraging
to note that popular appreciation of moral heroes is
growing.
Education and religion are bringing forth modern
moral heroes. The late Dr. Neesima, the founder of
the Doshisha, is a hero to many even outside the Church.
Mr. Ishii, the father of Orphan Asylums in Japan, prom-
ises to be another. A people that can rear and admire
men of this character has in it the material of a truly
great nation.
The hero-worshiping characteristic of the Japanese
depends on two other traits of their nature. The first is
the reality of strong personalities among them capable
of becoming heroes; the second is the possession of a
strong idealizing tendency. Prof. G. T. Ladd has
called them a " sentimental " people, in the sense that
they are powerfully moved by sentiment. This is a
conspicuous trait of their character appearing in num-
berless ways in their daily life. The passion for group-
photographs is largely due to this. Sentimentalism, in
the sense given it by Prof. Ladd, is the emotional aspect
of idealism.
The new order of society is reacting on the older
ideal of a hero and is materially modifying it. The old-
fashioned samurai, girded with two swords, ready to kill
a personal foe at sight, is now only the ideal of romance.
In actual life he would soon find himself deprived of his
liberty and under the condemnation not only of the law,
but also of public opinion. The new ideal with which I
have come into most frequent contact is far different.
Many, possibly the majority, of the young 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 thorough
education, in order that finally they might become great
" statesmen " and might guide the nation into paths of
prosperity and international power. The modern hero
is one who gratifies the patriotic passion by bringing
some marked success to the nation. He must be a gen-
tleman, educated in science, in history, and in foreign
languages; but above all, he must be versetl in political
economy and law. This new ideal of a national hero
HEROES AND HERO-WORSHIP 95
has been brought in by the order of society, and in pro-
portion as this order continues, and emphasis continues
to be laid on mental and moral power, rather than on
rank or official position, on the intrinsic rather than
on the accidental, will the old ideal fade away and the
new ideal take its place. Among an idealizing and
emotional people, such as the Japanese, various ideals
will naturally find extreme expression. As society
grows complex also and its various elements become
increasingly differentiated, so will the ideals pass
through the same transformations. A study of ideals,
therefore, serves several ends; it reveals the present
character of those whose ideals they are; it shows the
degree of development of the social organism in which
they live; it makes known, likewise, the degree of the
differentiation that has taken place between the various
elements of the nation.
VIII
LOVE FOR CHILDREN
AN aspect of Japanese life widely remarked and
l\ praised by foreign writers is the love for chil-
X JLdren. Children's holidays, as the third day of
the third moon and the fifth day of the fifth moon, are
general celebrations for boys and girls respectively, and
are observed with much gayety all over the land. At
these times the universal aim is to please the children;
the girls have dolls and the exhibition of ancestral dolls;
while the boys have toy paraphernalia of all the ancient
and modern forms of warfare, and enormous wind-
inflated paper fish, symbols of prosperity and success,
fly from tall bamboos in the front yard. Contrary to
the prevailing opinion among foreigners, these festivals
have nothing whatever to do with birthday celebrations.
In addition to special festivals, the children figure con-
spicuously in all holidays and merry-makings. To the
famous flower-festival celebrations, families go in
groups and make an all-day picnic of the joyous
occasion.
The Japanese fondness for children is seen not only
at festival times. Parents seem always ready to provide
their children with toys. As a consequence toy stores
flourish. There is hardly a street without its store.
A still further reason for the impression that the Jap-
anese are esi)ecially fond of their children is the slight
amount of punislimcnt and reprimand which they admin-
ister. The children seem to have nearly everything their
own way. Playing on the streets, they are always in
evidence and are given the right of way.
That Japanese show much affection for their children
is clear. The question of importance, however, is
whether they have it in a marketl degree, more, for in-
96
LOVE FOR CHILDREN 97
stance, than Americans? And if so, is this due to their
nature, or may it be attributed to their family Hfe as
molded by the social order? It is my impression that,
on the whole, the Japanese do not show more affection
for their children than Occidentals, although they may
at first sight appear to do so. Among the laboring
classes of the West, the father, as a rule, is away from
home all through the hours of the day, working in
shop or factory. He seldom sees his children except
upon the Sabbath. Of course, the father has then very
little to do with their care or education, and little op-
portunity for the manifestation of affection. In Japan,
however, the industrial organization of society is still
such that the father is at home a large part of the
time. The factories are few as yet; the store is usually
not separate from the home, but a part of it, the front
room of the house. Family life is, therefore, much less
broken in upon by the industrial necessities of civiliza-
tion, and there are accordingly more opportunities for
the manifestation of the father's affection for the chil-
dren. Furthermore, the laboring people in Japan live
much on the street, and it is a common thing to see the
father caring for children. While I have seldom seen
a father with an infant tied to his back, I have frequently
seen them with their infant sons tucked into their
bosoms, an interesting sight. This custom gives a vivid
impression of parental affection. But, comparing the
middle classes of Japan and the West, it is safe to say
that, as a whole, the Western father has more to do
by far in the care and education of the children than
the Japanese father, and that there is no less of fondling
and playing with children. If we may judge the degree
of affection by the signs of its demonstrations, we must
pronounce the Occidental, with his habits of kissing and
embracing, as far and away more affectionate than his
Oriental cousin. While the Occidental may not make so
much of an occasion of the advent of a son as does the
Oriental, he continues to remember the birthdays of all
his children with joy and celebrations, as the Oriental
does not. Although the Japanese invariably say, when
asked about it, that they celebrate their children's birth-
98 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
days, the uniform experience of the foreiiii^ner is that
birthday celebrations play a very insignificant part in
the joys and the social life of the home.
It is not difficult to understand why, apart from the
question of affection, the Japanese should manifest spe-
cial joy on the advent of sons, and particularly of a first
son. The Oriental system of ancestral worship, with
the consequent need, both religious and political, of
maintaining the family line, is quite enough to account
for all the congratulatory ceremonies customary on the
birth of sons. The fact that special joy is felt and mani-
fested on the birth of sons, and less on the birth of
daughters, clearly shows that the dominant conceptions
of the social order have an important place in determin-
ing even so fundamental a trait as affection for off-
spring.
Affection for children is, however, not limited to the
day of their birth or the period of their infancy. In judg-
ing of the relative possession by different races of affec-
tion for children, we must ask how the children are
treated during all their succeeding years. It must be
confessed that the advantage is then entirely on the side
of the Occidental. Not only does this appear in the
demonstrations of affection which are continued
throughout childhood, often even throughout life, but
more especially in the active parental solicitude for the
children's welfare, striving to fit them for life's duties
and watching carefully over their mental and moral edu-
cation. In these respects the average Occidental is far
in advance of the average Oriental.
I have been told that, since the coming in of the new
civilization and the rise of the new ideas about woman,
marriage, and home, there is clearly observable to the
Japanese themselves a change in the way in which chil-
dren are being treated. But, even still, the elder son takes
the more prominent place in the affection of the family.
and sons precede daughters.
A fair statement of the case, therefore, is somewhat
as follows: The lower and laboring classes of Japan
seem to have more visible affection for their children
than the same classes in the Occident. AmouiJ- the mid-
LOVE FOR CHILDREN
99
die and upper classes, however, the balance is in favor
of the West. In the East, while, without doubt, there
always has been and is now a pure and natural affection,
it is also true that this natural affection has been more
mixed with utilitarian considerations than in the West.
Christian Japanese, however, differ little from Christian
Americans in lliis respect. The differences between the
East and the West are largely due to the differing in-
dustrial and family conditions induced by the social
order.
The correctness of this general statement will per-
haps be better appreciated if we consider in detail some
of the facts of Japanese family life. Let us notice first
the very loose ties, as they seem to us, holding the Jap-
anese family together. It is one of the constant wonders
to us Westerners how families can break up into frag-
ments, as they constantly do. One third of the mar-
riages end in divorce; and in case of divorce, the children
all stay with the father's family. It would seem as if the
love of the mother for her children could not be very
strong where divorce under such a condition is so com-
mon. Or, perhaps, it would be truer to say that divorce
would be far more frequent than it is but for the moth-
er's love for her children. For I am assured that many a
mother endures most distressing conditions rather than
leave her children. Furthermore, the way in which par-
ents allow their children to leave the home and then
fail to write or communicate with them, for months or
even years at a time, is incomprehensible if the parental
love were really strong. And still further, the way in
which concubines are brought into the home, causing
confusion and discord, is a very striking evidence
of the lack of a deep love on the part of the
father for the mother of his children and even for his own
legitimate children. One would expect a father who
really loved his children to desire and plan for their le-
gitimacy ; but the children by his concubines are not " ipso
facto " recognized as legal. One more evidence in this
direction is the frequency of adoption and of separation.
Adoption in Japan is largely, though by no means ex-
clusively, the adoption of an adult; the cases where
100 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
a child is adopted by a childless couple from love of
children are rare, as compared with similar cases in the
United States, so far, at least, as my observation goes. I
recently heard of a conversation on personal financial
matters between a number of Christian evangelists.
After mutual comparisons they agreed that one of their
number was more fortunate than the rest in that he did
not have to support his mother. On inquiring into the
matter, the missionary learned that this evangelist, on
becoming a Buddhist priest many years before, had se-
cured from the government, according to the laws of
the land, exemption from this duty. When he became
a Christian it did not seem to occur to him that it was
his duty and his privilege to support his indigent
mother. I may add that this idea has since occurred to
him and he is acting upon it.
Infanticide throws a rather lurid light on Japanese
affection. First, in regard to the facts: Mr. Ishii's atten-
tion was called to the need of an orphan asylum by
hearing how a child, both of whose parents had died of
cholera, was on the point of being buried alive with its
dead mother by heartless neighbors when it was rescued
by a fisherman. Certain parts of Japan have been no-
torious from of old for this practice. In Tosa the evil was
so rampant that a society for its prevention has been in
existence for many years. It helps support children of
poor parents who might be tempted to dispose of them
criminally. In that province from January to j\Iarch,
1898, I was told that " only " four cases of conviction
for this crime were reported. The registered annual
birth rate of certain villages has increased from 40-501
to 75-80, and this without any immigration from outside.
The reason assigned is the diminution of infanticide.
In speaking of infanticide in Japan, let us not forget
that every race and nation has been guilty of the same
crime, and has continued to be guilty of it imtil deliv-
ered by Christianity.
Widespread infanticide proves a wide lack of natural
afTection. Poverty is, of course, the common plea.
Yet infanticide has been practiced not so much by the
desperately poor as by small land-holders. The amount
LOVE FOR CHILDREN loi
of farming land possessed by each family was strictly
limited and could feed only a given number of mouths.
Should the family exceed that number, all would be in-
volved in poverty, for the members beyond that limit
did not have the liberty to travel in search of new occu-
pation. Infanticide, therefore, bore direct relation to the
rigid economic nature of the old social order.
Whatever, therefore, be the point of view from which
we study the question of Japanese affection for children,
we see that it was intimately connected with the nature
of the social order. Whether we judge such affection or
its lack to be a characteristic trait of Japanese nature,
we must still maintain that it is not an inherent trait
of the race nature, but only a characteristic depending
for its greater or less development on the nature of the
social order.
IX
MARITAL LOVE
IF the Japanese are a conspicuously emotional race,
as is commonly believed, we should naturally expect
this characteristic to manifest itself in a marked
degree in the relation of the sexes. Curiously enough,
however, such does not seem to be the case. So slight a
place does the emotion of sexual love have in Japanese
family life that some have gone to the extreme of deny-
ing it altogether. In his brilliant but fallacious volume,
entitled " Tlie Soul of the Far East," Mr. Percival
Lowell states that the Japanese do not " fall in love."
The correctness of this statement we shall consider in
connection with the argument for Japanese imperson-
ality. That " falling in love " is not a recognized part of
the family system, and that marriage is arranged regard-
less not only of love, but even of mutual acquaintance,
are indisputable facts.
Let us confine our attention here to Japanese post-
marital emotional characteristics. Do Japanese hus-
bands love their wives and wives their husbands? We
have already seen that in the text-book for Japanese
women, the " Onna Daigaku," not one word is said
about love. It may be stated at once that love between
husband and wife is almost as consjMcuously lacking in
practice as in precept. In no regard, perhaps, is the
contrast between the East and the West more striking
than the respective ideas concerning woman and mar-
riage. The one counts woman the equal, if not the su-
perior of man; the other looks down upon her as man's
inferior in every respect; the one considers profound
love as the only true condition of marriage; the other
thinks of love as essentially impiu-e, beneath the dignity
of a true man, and not to be taken into consideratiiMi
102
MARITAL LOVE 103
when marriage is contemplated; in the one, the two
persons most interested have most to say in the matter;
in the other, they have the least to say; in the one, a
long and intimate previous acquaintance is deemed im-
portant; 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 his parents; in the one, the children are hers as well
as his; in the other, they are his rather than hers, and re-
main with him in case of divorce; in the one, divorce is
rare and condemned; in the other, it is common in the
extreme; in the one, it is as often the woman as the
man who seeks the divorce; in the other, until most re-
cent times, it is the man alone who divorces the wife; in
the one, the reasons for divorce are grave; in the other,
they are often trivial ; in the one, the wife is the " help-
mate"; 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 " danna san " or " teishu " (the lord or master);
in the ideal home of the one, the wife is the object of
the husband's constant affection and solicitous care; in
the ideal home of the other, she ever waits upon her
lord, serves his food for him, and faithfully sits up for
him at night, however late his return may be; in the
one, the wife is justified in resenting any unfaithfulness
or immorality on the part of her husband; in the other,
she is commanded to accept with patience whatever he
may do, however many concubines he may have in his
home or elsewhere ; and however immoral he may be, she
must not be jealous. The following characterization
of the women of Japan is presumably by one who 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 every-
thing, svv'eet-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
104 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
intellectual life of the nation. Politics, art, literature,
science, are closed books to her. She cannot think logi-
cally 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." *
In face of all these facts, it is evident that the emo-
tional element of character which plays so large a part
ill the relation of the sexes in the West has little, if any,
counterpart in the Far East. Where the emotional ele-
ment does come in, it is under social condemnation.
There are doubtless many happy marriages in Japan,
if the wife is faithful in her place and fills it well; and
if the master is honorable according to the accepted
standards, steady in his business, not given to wine or
women. But even then the affection must be different
from that which prevails in the West. No Japanese wife
ever dreams of receiving the loving care from her hus-
band which is freely accorded her Western sister by
her husband. f
I wish, however, to add at once that this is a topic
about which it is dangerous to dogmatize, for the cus-
toms of Japan demand that all expressions of affection
between husband and wife shall be sedulously concealed
from the outer world. I can easily believe that there is
no little true affection existing between husband and
wife. A Japanese friend with whom I have talked on
this subject expresses his belief that the statement made
above, to the effect that no Japanese wife dreams of re-
ceiving the loving care which is expected by her West-
*/apan Mail, June 4, 1898, p. 586.
f If all that has been said above as to the relative lack of affec-
tion between husband and wife is true, it will help to make
more credible, because more intelligible, the preceding cliapter
as to the relative lack of love for children. Where the relation
between husband and wife is what we have depicted it, where
the children are systematically taught to feel for their father re-
spect rather than love, the relation between the father and the
children, or the mother and the children, cannot be the same as
in lands where all these customs are reversed.
MARITAL LOVE 105
ern sister, is doubtless true of Old Japan, but that there
has been a great change in this respect in recent decades;
and especially among the Christian community. That
Christians excel the others with whom I have come in
contact, has been evident to me. But that even they
are still very different from Occidentals in this respect,
is also clear. Whatever be the affection lavished on the
wife in the privacy of the home, she does not receive in
public the constant evidence of special regard and high
esteem which the Western wife expects as her right.
How much affection can be expressed by low formal
bows? The fact is that Japanese civilization has striven
to crush out all signs of emotion ; this stoicism is ex-
emplified to a large degree even in the home, and under
circumstances when we should think it impossible. Kiss-
ing was an unknown art in Japan, and it is still un-
known, except by name, to the great majority of the peo-
ple. Even mothers seldom kiss their infant children,
and when they do, it is only while the children are very
young.
The question, however, which particularly interests
us, is as to the explanation for these facts. Is the lack
of demonstrative affection between husband and wife
due to the inherent nature of the Japanese, or is it not
due rather to the prevailing social order? If a Jap-
anese goes to America or England, for a few years, does
he maintain his cold attitude toward all women, and
never show the slightest tendency to fall in love, or ex-
hibit demonstrative affection? These questions almost
answer themselves, and with them the main question for
whose solution we are seeking.
A few concrete instances may help to illustrate the
generalization that these are not fixed because racial
characteristics, but variable ones dependent on the so-
cial order. Many years ago when the late Dr. Neesima,
the founder, with Dr. Davis, of the Doshisha, was on
the point of departure for the United States on account
of his health, he made an address to the students. In
the course of his remarks he stated that there were
three principal considerations that made him regret the
necessity for his departure at that time; the first was
ic6 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
that the Doshisha was in a most critical position; it was
but starting on its larger work, and he felt that all its
friends should be on hand to help on the great under-
taking. The second was that he was compelled to leave
his aged parents, whom he might not find living on his
return to Japan. The third was his sorrow at leaving
his beloved wife. This public reference to his wife, and
especially to his love for her, was so extraordinary that
it created no little comment, not to say scandal; espe-
cially obnoxious was it to many, because he mentioned
her after having mentioned his parents. In the reports
of this speech given by his friends to the public press
no reference was made to this expression of love for
his wife. And a few months after his death, when Dr.
Davis prepared a short biography of Dr. Neesima, he
was severely criticised by some of the Japanese for re-
producing the speech as Dr. Neesima gave it.
Shortly after my first arrival in Japan, I was walking
home from church one day with an English-speaking-
Japanese, who had had a good deal to do with for-
eigners. Suddenly, without any introduction, he re-
marked that he did not comprehend how the men of the
West could endure such tyranny as was exercised over
them by their wives. I, of course, asked what he meant.
He then said that he had seen me buttoning my wife's
shoes. I should explain that on calling on the Japanese,
in their homes, it is necessary that we leave our shoes
at the door, as the Japanese invariably do; this is, of
course, awkward for foreigners who wear shoes; espe-
cially so is the necessity of putting them on again. The
difficulty is materially increased by the invariably high
step at the front door. It is hard enough for a man to
kneel down on the step and reach for his shoes and then
])ut them on; much more so is it for a woman. And after
the shoes are on, there is no suitable place on which to
rest the foot for buttoning and tying. I used, there-
fore, very gladly to help my wife with hers. Yet, so con-
trary to Japanese precedent was this act of mine that
this well-educated gentleman and Christian, who had
had much intercourse with foreigners, could not sec in
it anything except the imperious command of the wife
MARITAL LOVE 107
and the slavish obedience of the husband. His concep-
tion of the relation between the Occidental husband and
wife is best described as tyranny on the part of the
wife.
One of the early shocks I received on this gen-
eral subject was due to the discovery that whenever my
wife took my arm as we walked the street to and from
church, or elsewhere, the people looked at us in surprised
displeasure. Such public manifestation of intimacy was
to be expected from libertines alone, and from these
only when they were more or less under the influence
of drink. Whenever a Japanese man walks out with
his wife, which, by the way, is seldom, he invariably
steps on ahead, leaving her to follow, carrying the par-
cels, if there are any. A child, especially a son,^ may
walk at his side, but not his wife.
Let me give a few more illustrations to show how the
present family life of the Japanese checks the full and
free development of the affections. In one of our out-
stations I but recently found a young woman in a
distressing condition. Her parents had no sons, and
consequently, according to the custom of the land,
they had adopted a son, who became the husband
of their eldest daughter; the man proved a rascal,
and the family was glad when he decided that he
did not care to be their son any longer. Shortly after
his departure a child was born 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 registra-
tion, the children of concubines are not recognized as
legitimate; yet it is common to register such children
as those of the regular wife, especially if she has few or
none of her own.
An evangelist who worked long in Kyushu was al-
ways in great financial trouble because of the fact that
he "had to support two mothers, besides giving aid to his
father, who had married a third wife. The first was his
own mother, who had been divorced, but, as she had no
home, the son took her to his. When the father
io8 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
divorced his second wife, the son was induced to take
care of her also. Another evangeUst, with whom I had
much to do, was the adopted son of a scheming old
man; it seems that in the earlier part of the present era
the eldest son of a family was exempt from military-
draft. It often happened, therefore, tliat families who
had no sons could obtain large sums of money from
those who had younger sons whom they wished to have
adopted for the purpose of escaping the draft. This
evangelist, while still a boy, was adopted into such a
family, and a certain sum was fixed upon to be paid at
some time in the future. But the adopted son proved
so pleasing to the adopting father that he did not ask
for the money; by some piece of legerdemain, however,
he succeeded in adopting a second son, who paid him the
desired money. After some years the first adopted
son became a Christian, and then an evangelist, both
steps being taken against the wishes of the adopting
father. The father finally said that he would forego all
relations to the son, and give him back his original
name, provided the son would pay the original sum that
had been agreed on, plus the interest, which altogether
would, at that time, amount to several hundred yen.
This was, of course, impossible. The negotiations
dragged on for three or four years. Meanwhile, the
young man fell in love with a young girl, whom he
finally married; as he was still the son of his adopting
father, he could not have his wife registered as his wife,
for the old man had another girl in view for him an^l
would not consent to this arrangement. And so the mat-
ter dragged for several months more. Unless the matter
could be arranged, any children born to them must be
registered as illegitimate. At this point I was con-
sulted and, for the first time, learned the details of the
case. Further consultations resulted in an agreement
as to the sum to be paid; the adopted son was released,
and re-registered under his newly acquired name and for
the first time his marriage became legal. The confusion
and suffering brought into the family by this practice of
adoption and of separation are almost endless.
The number of cases in which beautiful ami accom-
MARITAL LOVE 109
plished young women have been divorced by brutal and
licentious husbands is appalling. I know several such.
What wonder that Christians and others are constantly
laying emphasis, in public lectures and sermons and pri-
vate talks, on the crying need of reform in marriage and
in the home ?
Throughout the land the newspapers are discussing
the pros and cons of monogamy and polygamy. In Jan-
uary of 1898 the Jiji Shimpo, one of the leading daily
papers of Tokyo, had a series of articles on the subject
from the pen of one of the most illustrious educators of
New Japan, Mr. Fukuzawa. His school, the " Keio
Gijiku," has educated more thousands of young men
than any other, notwithstanding the fact that it is a pri-
vate institution. Though not a Christian himself, nor
making any professions of advocating Christianity, yet
Mr. Fukuzawa has come out strongly in favor of mo-
nogamy. His description of the existing social and fam-
ily life is striking, not to say sickening. If I mistake not,
it' is he who tells of a certain noble lady who shed tears
at the news of the promotion of her husband in official
rank; and when questioned on the matter she confessed
that, with added salary, he would add to the number of
his concubines and to the frequency of his intercourse
with famous dancing and singing girls.
The distressing sliate of family life may also be gath-
ered from the large numbers of public and secret prosti-
tutes that are to be found in all 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 the topic immediately before us, yet it throws a
lurid light on this question also. It lets us see, perhaps,
more clearly than we could in any other way, how de-
ficient is the average home life of the people. A pro-
fessing Christian, a man of wide experience and social
standing, not long since seriously argued at a meeting
of a Young Men's Christian Association that dancing
and singing girls are a necessary part of Japanese civili-
zation to-day. He argued that they supply the men
with that female element in social life which the ordi-
no EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
nary woman cannot provide; were the average wives
and daughters sufificiently accomphshed to share in the
social hfe of the men as they are in the West, dancing
and singing girls, being needless, would soon cease
to be.
One further question in this connection merits our
attention. How are we to account for an order of so-
ciety that allows so little scope for the natural afifections
of the heart, unless by saying that that order is the true
expression of their nature? Must w^e not say that
the element of affection in the present social order is
deficient because the Jajjanese themselves are naturally
deficient? The question seems more difficult than it
really is.
In the first place, the affectionate relation existing
between husbands and wives and between parents and
children, in Western lands, is a product of relatively re-
cent times. In his exhaustive work on " The History
of Human Marriage," W^estermarck makes this very
plain. Wherever the woman is counted a slave, is
bought and sold, is considered as merely a means of
bearing children to the family, or in any essential way is
looked down upon, there high forms of affection are by
the nature of the case impossible, though some affection
doubtless exists; it necessarily attains only a rudimen-
tary development. Now it is conspicuous that the con-
ception of the nature and purpose of woman, as held in
the Orient, has always been debasing to her. Though
individual women might rise above their assigned posi-
tion the whole social order, as established by the leaders
of thought, was against her. The statement that there
was a primitive condition of society in Japan in which
the affectionate relations between 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 human evolution have pointed out, that
those tribes and races in which the family was most
completely consolidated, that is to say. those in which
the power of the father was absolute, were the ones to
gain the victory over their competitors. The reason for
this is too obvious to recjuirc even a statement. Every.
MARITAL LOVE iii
conquering race has accordingly developed the " patria
potestas " to a greater or less degree. Now one general
peculiarity of the Orient is that that stage of develop-
ment has remained to this day; it has not experienced
those modifications and restrictions which have arisen
in the West. The national government dealt with fam-
ilies and clans, not with individuals, as the final social
unit. In the West, however, the individual has become
the civil unit; the "patria potestas" has thus been all
but lost. This, added to religious and ethical consider-
ations, has given women and children an ever higher
place both in society and in the home. Had this
loss of authority by the father been accompanied with
a weakening of the nation, it would have been an injury;
but, in the West, his authority has been transferred to
the nation. These considerations serve to render more
intelligible and convincing the main proposition of
these chapters, that the distinctive emotional character-
istics of the Japanese are not inherent; they are the re-
sults of the social and industrial order; as this order
changes, they too will surely change. The entire civili-
zation of a land takes its leading, if not its dominant,
color from the estimate set by the people as a whole on
the value of human life. The relatively late develop-
ment of the tender affections, even in the West, is due
doubtless to the extreme slowness with 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
the leaven 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 vital relation to the entire
progress of man. It may be questioned whether Christ
gave any more important impetus to the development
of civilization than by His teaching in regard to the in-
estimable worth of man, grounding it, as He did, on
man's divine sonship. Those nations which insist on
valuing human life only by the utilitarian standard, and
which consequently keep woman in a degraded place, in-
sisting on concubinage and all that it implies, are sure to
wane before those nations which loyally adopt and prac-
tice the higher ideals of human worth. The weakness
112 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
of heathen lands arises in no sHght degree from their
cheap estimate of human Ufe.
In Japan, until the Meiji era, human life was cheap.
For criminals of the military classes, suicide was the
honorable method of leaving this world; the lower
orders of society suffered loss of life at the hands of the
military class without redress. The whole nation ac-
cepted the low standards of human value; woman was
valued chiefly, if not entirely, 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
supreme value of human life, as such, once suggested,
much less any adequate conception of the worth and
nature of woman. The entire social order was con-
structed 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 a set of laws in which the
equality of all men before the law is recognized at least;
for the first time in Oriental history, woman is given the
right to seek divorce. The experiment is now being
made on a great scale as to whether the new social order
adopted by the rulers can induce those ideas among the
people at large which will insure its performance. Can
the mere legal enactments which embody the principles
of human equality and the value of human life, regard-
less of sex, beget those fundamental conceptions on
which alone a steady and lasting government can rest?
Can Japan really step into the circle of Western
nations, without abandoning her pagan religions
and pushing onward into Christian monotheism with
all its corollaries as to the relations and mutual
duties of man? All earnest men are crying out for a
strengthening of the moral life of the nation through
the reform of the family and are proclaiming the neces-
sity of monogamy; but, aside from the Christians, none
appear to see how this is to be done. Even Mr,
Fukuzawa says that the first stcj) in the reform of the
family and the establishment of monogamy is to develop
public sentiment against prostitution and plural or
I
MARITAL LOVE 113
illegal marriage; and the way to do this is first to make
evil practices secret. This, he says, is more important
than to give women a higher education. He does not
see that Christianity with its conceptions of immediate
responsibility of the individual to God, the loving
Heavenly Father, and of the infinite value of each human
soul, thus doing away with the utilitarian scale for meas-
uring both men and women, together with its concep-
tions of the relations of the sexes and of man to man,
can alone supply that foundation for all the elements of
the new social order, intellectual and emotional, which
will make it workable and permanent, and of which
monogamy is but one element.* He does not see that
*The effect of Christian missions cannot be measured by the
numbers of those who are to be counted on the church rolls ;
almost unconsciously the nation is absorbing Christian ideals
from the hundreds of Christian missionaries and tens of thou-
sands of Christian natives. The necessities of the new social
order make their teachings intelligible and acceptable as the
older social order did not and could not. This accounts for the
astonishing change in the anti-Christian spirit of the Japanese.
This spirit did not cease at once on the introduction of the new
social order, nor indeed is it now entirely gone. But the change
from the Japan of thirty years ago to the "japan of to-day, in its
attitude toward Christianity, is more marked than that of any
great nation in history. A similar change in the Roman Empire
took place, but it required three hundred years. This change
in Japan may accordingly be called truly miraculous, not in the
sense, however, of a result without a cause, for the causes are
well understood.
Among the Christians, especially, the old order is rapidly giv-
ing way to the new. Christianity has brought a new conception
of woman and her place in the home and her relation to her hus-
band. Japanese Christian girls, and recently non-Christian
girls, are seeking an education which shall fit them for their en-
larging life. Many of the more Christian young men do not
want heathen wives, with their low estimate of themselves and
their duties, and they are increasingly unwilling to marry those
of whom they know nothing and for whom they care not at all.
Already the idea that love is the only safe foundation for the
home is beginning to take root in Japan. This changing ideal
is bringing marked social changes. In some churches an intro-
duction committee is appointed whose special function is to
introduce marriageable persons and to hold social meetings
where the young people may become acquainted. Here an im-
portant evolution in the social order is taking place before our
eyes, but not a few of the world's wise men are too exalted to
see it. Love and demonstrative affection between husband and
114 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
representative government and popular rights cannot
stand for any length of time on any other foundation.
wife will doubtless become as characteristic of Japan in the
future as their absence has been characteristic in the past. To
recapitulate : these distinctive cliaracteristics of the emotional
life of the Japanese might at first seem to be so deep-rooted as
to be inherent, vet they are really due to the ideas and customs
of the social order, and are liable to change with any new sys-
tem of ideas and customs that may arise. The higher develop-
ment of the emotional life of the Japanese waits now on the
reorganization of the family life ; this rests on a new idea as to
the place and value of woman as such and as a human being ;
this in turn rests on the wide acceptance of Christian ideals as
to God and their mutual relations. It involves, likewise, new
ideals as to man's final destiny. In Japan's need of these Christian
ideals we find one main ground and justification, if justification
be needed, for missionary enterprise among this Eastern people.
X
CHEERFULNESS — INDUSTRY — TRUTHFUL.
NESS— SUSPICIOUSNESS
MANY writers have dwelt with dehght on the
cheerful disposition that seems so common in
Japan. Lightness of heart, freedom from all
anxiety for the future, living chiefly in the present, these
and kindred features are pictured in glowing terms.
And, on the whole, these pictures are true to life. The
many fiower festivals are made occasions for family
picnics when all care seems thrown to the wind. There
is a simplicity and a freshness and a freedom from worry
that is delightful to see. But it is also remarked that
a change in this regard is beginning to be observed.
The coming in of Western machinery, methods of gov-
ernment, of trade and of education, is introducing cus-
toms and cares, ambitions and activities, that militate
against the older ways. Doubtless, this too is true. If
so, it but serves to establish the general proposition of
these pages that the more outstanding national char-
acteristics are largely the result of special social condi-
tions, 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 are relatively undeveloped.
This is due to the nature of their social order during the
past. The government has been largely paternal in
form and fully so in theory. Little has been left to in-
dividual initiative or responsibility. Wherever such a
system has been dominant and the perfectly accepted
order, the inevitable result is just such a state of simple,
childish cheerfulness as we find in Japan. It constitutes
that golden age sung by the poets of every land. But
being the cheerfulness of children, the happiness of im-
"5
ii6 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE •
maturity, it is bound to change with growth, to be lost
with coming maturity.
Yet the Japanese are by no means given up to a cheer-
ful view of life. Many an individual is morose and
dejected in the extreme. Tliis disposition is ever stimu-
lated by the religious teachings of Buddhism. Its great
message has been the evanescent character of the
present life. Life is not worth living, it urges; though
life may have some pleasures, the total result is disap-
pointment and sorrow. Buddhism has found a warm
welcome in the hearts of many Japanese. For more
than a thousand years it has been exercising a potent in-
fluence on their thoughts and lives. Yet how is this
consistent with the cheerful disposition which seems so
characteristic of Japan? The answer is not far to seek.
Pessimism is by its very nature separative, isolating,
silent. Those oppressed by it do not enter into public
joys. They hide themselves in monasteries, or in the
home. The result is that by its very nature the actual
pessimism of Japan is not a conspicuous feature of
national character. The judgment that all Japanese are
cheerful rests on shallow grounds. Because, forsooth,
millions on holidays bear that appearance, and because
on ordinary occasions the average man and woman
seem cheerful and happy, the conclusion is reached that
all are so. No efifort is made to learn of those whose lives
arc spent in sadness and isolation. I am convinced that
the Japan of old, for all its apparent cheer, had likewise
its side of deep tragedy. Conditions of life that struck
down countless individuals, and mental conditions which
made Buddhism so popular, both point to this conclu-
sion.
Again I wish to call attention to the fact that the
prominence of children and young people is in part the
cause of the ai^pearance of general happiness. Tlie Japa-
nese live on the street as no Western people do. The
stores and workshops are the homes; when these are
open, the homes are open. When the children go out
of the house to play they use the streets, for ihcy seldom
have yards. Here they gather in great numbers and
play most enthusiastically, utterly regardless of the
CHEERFULNESS— INDUSTRY 1 1 7
passers-by, for these latter are all on foot or in jinriki-
shas, and, consequently, never cause the children any
alarm.
The Japanese give the double impression of being
industrious and diligent on the one hand, and, on the
other, of being lazy and utterly indifferent to the lapse of
time. The long hours during which they keep at work
is a constant wonder to the Occidental. I have often
been amazed in Fukuoka to find stores and workshops
open, apparently in operation, after ten and sometimes
even until eleven o'clock at night, while blacksmiths
and carpenters and wheelwrights would be working
away as if it were morning. Many of the factories
recently started keep very long hours. Indeed most of
the cotton mills run day and night, having two sets of
workers, who shift their times of labor every week.
Those who work during the night hours one week take
the day hours the following week. In at least one such
factory, with which I am acquainted, the fifteen hundred
girls who work from six o'clock Saturday evening until
six o'clock Sunday morning, are then supposed to have
twenty-four hours of rest before they begin their day's
work Monday morning; but, as a matter of fact, they
must spend three or four and sometimes five hours on
Sunday morning cleaning up the factory.
In a small silk-weaving factory that I know the cus-
tomary hours for work were from five in the morning
until nine at night, seven days in the week- The wife,
however, of the owner became a Christian. Through
her intervention time for rest was secured on Sunday
long enough for a Bible class, which the evangelist of the
place was invited to teach. After several months of in-
struction a number of the hands became Christian, and
all were sufficiently interested to ask that the whole of
the Sabbath be granted to them for rest; but in order
that the master might not lose thereby, they agreed to
begin work at four each morning and to work on until
ten at night. With such hours one would have expected
them to fall at once into their beds when the work of the
day was over. But for many months, at ten o'clock in
the evening, my wife and I heard them singing a hymn
ii8 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
or two in their family worship before retiring for the
night.
In certain weaving factories I have been told that the
girls are required to work sixteen hours a day; and that
on Sundays they are allowed to have some rest, being
then required to work but ten hours! The diligence of
mail deliverers, who always run when on duty, the hours
of consecutive running frequently performed by jin-
irikisha men (several have told me that they have made
over sixty miles in a single day), the long hours of per-
sistent study by students in the higher schools, and
many kindred facts, certainly indicate a surprising
capacity for work.
But there are equally striking illustrations of an oppo-
site nature. The farmers and mechanics and carpenters,
among regular laborers, and the entire life of the com-
mon people in their homes, give an impression of indif-
ference to the flight of time, if not of absolute laziness.
The workers seem ready to sit down for a smoke and a
chat at any hour of the day. In the home and in ordi-
nary social life, the loss of time seems to be a matter of
no consequence whatever. Polite palaver takes un-
stinted hours, and the sauntering of the people through
the street emphasizes the impression that no business
calls oppress them.
In my opinion these characteristics, also, are due to
the conditions of society, past and present, rather than
to the inherent nature of the people The old civiliza-
tion was easy-going; it had no clocks; it hardly knew the
time of day; it never hastened. The hour was esti-
mated and was twice as long as the modern hour. The
structure of society demanded the constant observance
of the forms of etiquette; this, with its numberless genu-
flections and strikings of the head on the floor, always
demanded time. Furthermore, the very character of the
footgear compelled and still compels a shuflling, am-
bling gait when walking the streets. The clog is a
well-named hindrance to civilization in the waste of time
it compels. The slow-going, time-ignoring character-
istics of New Japan are social inlu'rit.-uices from feudal
times, characteristics which are still hampering its de-
CHEERFULNESS— INDUSTRY 119
velopment. The industrious spirit that is to be found
in so many quarters to-day is largely the gift of the new
civilization. Shoes are taking the place of clogs. The
army and all the police, on ordinary duty, wear shoes.
Even the industry of the students is largely due to the
new conditions of student life. The way in which the
Japanese are working to-day, and the feverish haste that
some of them evince in their work, shows that they are
as capable as Occidentals of acquiring the rush of
civilization.
The home life of the people gives an impression of list-
lessness that is in marked contrast to that of the W.est.
This is partly due to the fact that the house work is rela-
tively light, there being no furniture to speak of, the
rooms small, and the cooking arrangements quite
simple. Housewives go about their work with restful
deliberation, which is trying, however, to one in haste.
It is the experience of the housekeepers from the West
that one Japanese domestic is able to accomplish from
a third to a half of what is done by a girl in Amierica.
This is not wholly due to slowness of movement, how-
ever, but also to smallness of stature and corresponding
lack of strength. On the other hand, the long hours of
work required of women in the majority of Japanese
homes is something appalling. The wife is expected to
be up before the husband, to prepare his meals, and to
wait patiently till his return at night, however late that
may be. In all except the higher ranks of society she
takes entire care of the children, 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
to her back. Though she does not work hard at any
one time (and is it to be wondered at?) yet she works
long. Especially hard is the life of the waiting girls in
the hotels. I have learned that, as a rule, they are re-
quired to be up before daylight and to remain on duty
until after midnight. In some hotels they are allowed
but four or five hours out of the twenty-four. The re-
sult is, they are often overcome and fall asleep while at
service. Sitting on the floor and waiting to serve the
rice, with nothing to distract their thoughts or hold
120 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
their attention, they easily lose themselves for a few
moments.
Two other strongly contrasted traits are found in the
Japanese character, absolute confidence and trustfulness
on the one hand, and suspicion on the other. It is the
universal testimony that the former characteristic is
rapidly passing away; in the cities it is well-nigh gone.
But in the country places it is still common. The idea
of making a bargain when two persons entered upon
some particular piece of work, the one as employer, the
other as employed, was entirely repugnant to the older
generation, since it was assumed that their relations as
inferior and superior should determine their financial
relations; the superior would do what was right, and the
inferior should accept what the superior might give
without a question or a murmur. Among the samurai,
where the arrangement is between equals, bargaining or
making fixed and fast terms which will hold to the end,
and which may be carried to the courts in case of dif-
ferences, was a thing practically unknown in the older
civilization. Everything of a business nature was
left to honor, and was carried on in mutual confi-
dence.
A few illustrations of this spirit of confidence from my
own experience may not be without interest. On first
coming to Japan, I found it usual for a Japanese who
wished to take a jinrikisha to call the runner and take
the ride without making any bargain, giving him at the
end what seemed right. And the men gencrallv ac-
cepted the payment without question. I have found that
recently, unless there is some definite understanding
arrived at before the ride, there is apt to be some dis-
agreement, the runner presuming on the hold he has, by
virtue of work done, to get more than is customary.
This is especially true in case the rider is a foreigner.
Another set of examples in which astonishing simplicity
and confidence were manifested was in the employment
of evangelists. I have known several instances in which
a full corresjiondence with an evangelist with regartl to
his employment was carried on. and the settlement
finally concluded, and the man set to work without a
CHEERFULNESS— IND USTRY 1 2 1
word said about money matters. It need hardly be
said that no foreigner took part in that correspond-
ence.
The simple, childhke trustfuhiess of the country
people is seen in multiplied ways; yet on the whole I
cannot escape the conviction that it is a trustfulness
which is shown toward each other as equals. Certain
farmers whom I have employed to care for a cow and to
cultivate the garden, while showing a trustful disposi-
tion towards me, have not had the same feelings toward
their fellows apparently.,
This confidence and trustfulness were the product of a
civilization resting on communalistic feudalism; the
people were kept as children in dependence on their
feudal lord; they had to accept what he said and did;
they were accustomed to that order of things from the
beginning and had no other thought; on the whole too,
without doubt, they received regular and kindly treat-
ment. Furthermore, there was no redress for the
peasant in case of harshness; it was always the wise
policy, therefore, for him to accept whatever was given
without even the appearance of dissatisfaction. This
spirit was connected with the dominance of the military
class. Simple trustfulness was, therefore, chiefly that of
the non-military classes. The trustfulness of the
samurai sprang from their distinctive training. As al-
ready mentioned, when drawing up a bond in feudal
times, in place of any tangible security, the document
would read, " If I fail to do so and so, you may laugh at
me in public."
Since the overthrow of communal feudalism and the
establishment of an individualistic social order, necessi-
tating personal ownership of property, and the uni-
versal use of money, trustful confidence is rapidly passing
away. Everything is being more and more accurately
reduced to a money basis. The old samurai scorn for
money seems to be wholly gone, an astonishing trans-
formation of character. Since the disestablishment of
the samurai class many of them have gone into
business. Not a few have made tremendous failures
for lack of business instinct, being easily fleeced by more
122 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
cunning- and less honorable fellows who have played the
" confidence " game most successfully; others have made
equally great successes because of their superior mental
ability and education. The government of Japan is to-
day chiefly in the hands of the descendants of the
samurai class. They have their fixed salaries and
everything is done on a financial basis, payment being
made for work only. The lazy and the incapable are
being pushed to the wall. Many of the poorest and
most pitiable people of the land to-day are the proud
sons of the former aristocracy, who glory in the history
of their ancestors, but are not able or willing to change
their 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 con-
fidence that was the prevailing 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, how-
ever, mission . work was freely allowed by the govern-
ment and welcomed by many of the people in all parts
of the land, and as it became desirable to have con-
tinuous missionary work in several of the interior towns,
it seemed wise to locate missionaries in those places and
to provide suitable houses for them. In order to do
this, land was bought and the needed houses erected,
and the title was necessarily held in the names of appar-
ently trustworthy native Christians. The government
was, of course, fully aware of what was being done and
offered no objection. It was well understood that the
property was not for the private ownership of the indi-
vidual missionary, but was to be held by the Christians
for the use of the mission to which the missionary be-
longed. For many years no questions were raised and
all moved along smoothly. The arrangement between
the missionaries and the Christian or Christians in whose
names the property might be held was entirely verbal,
no document being of any legal value, to say no'diing of
the fact that in those early days the mention of docu-
mentary relationshi])s would have greatly luu-t tlio ten-
der feelings of honor which were so prominent a [)art of
CHEERFULNESS— INDUSTRY 123
samurai character. The financial relations were purely
those of honor and trust.
Under this general method, large sums of money were
expended by the American Board for homes for its mis-
sionaries in various parts of Japan, and especially in
Kyoto. Here was the Doshisha, which grew from a
small English school and Evangelists' training class to
a prosperous university with fine buildings. Tens of
thousands of dollars were put into this institution, be-
sides the funds needful for the land and the houses for
nine foreign families. An endowment was also raised,
partly in Japan, but chiefly in America. In a single be-
quest, Mr. Harris of New London gave over one hun-
dred thousand dollars for a School of Science. It has
been estimated that, altogether, the American Board and
its constituency have put into the Doshisha, including
the salaries of the missionary teachers, toward a million
dollars.
In the early nineties the political skies were suddenly
darkened. The question of treaty revision loomed up
black in the heavens. The politicians of the land
clamored for the absolute refusal of all right of prop-
erty ownership by foreigners. In their political furore
they soon began to attack the Japanese Christians who
were holding the property used by the various missions.
Tliey accused them of being traitors to the country. A
proposed law was drafted and presented in the National
Diet, confiscating all such property. The Japanese
holders naturally became nervous and desirous of
severing the relationships with the foreigners as soon as
possible., In the case of corporate ownership the trus-
tees began to make assumptions of absolute ownership,
regardless of the moral claims of the donors of the funds.
In the earlier days of the trouble frequent conferences
on the question were held by the missionaries of the
American Board with the leading Christians of the Em-
pire, and their constant statement was, " Do not worry;
trust us , we are samurai and will do nothing that is not
perfectly honorable." So often were these sentiments
reiterated, and yet so steadily did the whole manage-
ment of the Doshisha move further and further away
124 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
from the honorable course, that finally the " financial
honor of the samurai " came to have an odor far from
pleasant. A deputation of four gentlemen, as repre-
sentatives of the American Board, came from America
especially to confer with the trustees as to the Christian
principles of the institution, and the moral claims of the
Board, but wholly in vain. The administration of the
Doshisha became so distinctly non-Christian, to use no
stronger term, that the mission felt it impossible to
co-operate longer with the Doshisha trustees; the mis-
sionary members of the faculty accordingly resigned.
In order to secure exemption from the draft for its
students the trustees of the Doshisha abrogated cer-
tain clauses of the constitution relating to the Christian
character of the institution, in spite of the fact that these
clauses belonged to the " unchangeable " part of the con-
stitution which the trustees, on taking office, had indi-
vidually sworn to maintain. Again the Board sent out
a man, now a lawyer vested with full power to press
matters to a final issue. After months of negotiations
with the trustees in regard to the restoration of the sub-
stance of the abrogated clauses, without result, he was
on the point of carrying the case into the courts, when
the trustees decided to resign in a body. A new board
of trustees has been formed, who bid fair to carry on the
institution in accord with the wishes of its founders and
benefactors, as expressed in the original constitution.
At one stage of the proceedings the trustees voted mag-
nanimously, as they appeared to think, to allow^ the mis-
sionaries of the Board to live for fifteen years, rent free,
in the foreign houses connected with the Doshisha; this,
because of the many favors it had received from the
Board! By this vote they maintained that they had
more than fulfilled every requirement of honor. That
they were consciously betraying the trust that had
been reposed in them is not for a moment to be sup-
posed.
It would not be fair not to add that this experience in
Kyoto does not exeni])lify the universal Ja])ancse char-
acter. There are many Japanese who dee]ily de]ilore
and condemn the whole proceeding. Some of the
CHEERFULNESS— INDUSTRY 125
Doshisha alumni have exerted themselves strenuously
to have righteousness done.
Passing now from the character of trustful confi-
dence, we take up its opposite, suspiciousness. The de-
velopment of this quality is a natural result of a military
feudalism such as ruled Japan for hundreds of years.
Intrigue was in constant use when actual war was not
being waged. In an age when conflicts were always
hand to hand, and the man who could best deceive his
enemy as to his next blow was the one to carry ofif his
head, the development of suspicion, strategy, and deceit
was inevitable. The most suspicious men, other things
being equal, would be the victors; they, with their fami-
lies, would survive and thus determine the nature of the
social order. The more than two hundred and fifty
clans and " kuni," " clan territory," into which the land
was divided, kept up perpetual training in the arts of
intrigue and subtlety which are inevitably accompanied
by suspicion.
Modern manifestations of this characteristic are fre-
quent. Not a cabinet is formed, but the question of its
make-up is discussed from the clannish standpoint.
Even though it is now thirty years since the centralizing
policy was entered upon and clan distinctions were
effectually broken down, yet clan suspicion and jealousy
is not dead.
The foreigner is impressed by the constant need of care
in conversation, lest he be thought to mean something
more or other than he^says. When we have occasion to
criticise anything in the Japanese, we have found by ex-
perience that much more is inferred than is said.
Shortly after my arrival in Japan I was advised by one
who had been in the land many years to be careful in
correcting a domestic or any other person sustaining
any relation to myself, to say not more than one-tenth
of what I meant, for the other nine-tenths would be
inferred. Direct and perfectly frank criticism and sug-
gestion, such as prevail among Anglo-Americans at
least, seem to be rare among the Japanese.
In closing, it is in order to note once again that the
emotional characteristics considered in this chapter, al-
126 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
though customarily thought to be deep-seated traits of
race nature, arc, nevertheless, shown to be dependent on
the character of the social order. Change the order, and
in due season corresponding changes occur in the
national character, a fact which would be impossible were
that character inherent and essential, passed on from
generation to generation by the single fact of biological
heredity.
XI
JEALOUSY— REVENGE— HUMANE FEELINGS
A CCORDING to the teachings of Confucius, jeal-
I\ ousy is one of the seven just grounds on which a
X^-L. woman may be divorced. In the " Greater Learn-
ing for Women," * occur the following words : " Let her
never even dream of jealousy. If her husband be disso-
lute, she must expostulate with him, but never either
render her countenance frightful or her accents re-
pulsive, which can only result in completely alienating
her husband from her, and making her intolerable in his
eyes." " The five worst maladies that afflict the female
mind are indocility, discontent, slander, jealousy, and
silliness. Without any doubt, these five maladies infest
seven or eight out of' every ten women, and it is from
these that arises the inferiority of women to men. . .
Neither when she blames and accuses and curses inno-
cent persons, nor when in her jealousy of others she
thinks to set herself up alone, does she see that she is
her own enemy, estranging others and incurring their
hatred."
The humiliating conditions to which women have been
subjected in the past and present social order, and to
which full reference has been made in previous chapters,
give sufficient explanation of the jealousy which is recog-
nized as a marked, and, as might appear, inevitable char-
acteristic of Japanese women. Especially does this seem
inevitable when it is remembered how slight is their hold
on their husbands, on whose faithfulness their happiness
so largely depends. Only as this order 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 dis-
* Chapter v. p. 82.
127
128 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
appear. That it will do so under such conditions, there
is no reason to question. Already there are evidences
that in homes where the husband and the wife are both
earnest Christians, and where each is confident of the
loyalty of the other, jealousy is as rare as it is in Chris-
tian lands.
But is jealousy a characteristic limited to women? or
is it not also a characteristic of men? I am assured from
many quarters that men also suffer from it. The jeal-
ousy of a woman is aroused by the fear that some other
woman may supplant her in the eyes of her husband;
that of a 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 since of a man who
was so afraid lest some man might steal his wife's affec-
tions that he could not attend to his business, and
finally, after three months of married wretchedness, he
divorced her. A year later he married her again, but
the old trouble reappeared, and so he divorced her a
second time. If marital jealousy is less common among
men than among women, the explanation is at hand in
the lax moral standard for man. The feudal order of
society, furthermore, was exactly the soil in which to
develop masculine jealousy. In such a society ambi-
tion and jealousy go hand in hand. Wherever a man's
rise in popularity and influence depends on the over-
throw of someone already in possession, jealousy is
natural. Connected with the spirit of jealousy is that
of revenge. Had we known Japan only during her
feudal days, we should have pronounced the Japanese
exceedingly revengeful. Revenge was not only the cus-
tom, it was also the law of the land and the teaching
of moralists. One of the proverbs handed down from
the hoary past is: " Kumpu no ada to tomo ni ten wo
itadakazu." " With the enemy of country, or father,
one cannot live under the same heaven.'" The tales of
heroic Japan abound in stt)ries of revenge. Once when
Confucius was asked about the doctrine of Lao-Tse that
one should return good for evil, he replied, " With what
then should one reward good ? The true doctine is to
return good for good, and evil with justice." This saying
JEALOUS Y— REVENGE 1 29
of Confucius has nullified for twenty-four hundred years
that pearl of truth enunciated by Lao-Tse, and has caused
it to remain an undiscovered diamond amid the rubbish of
Taoism. By this judgment Confucius sanctified the
rough methods of justice adopted in a primitive order
of society. His dictum pecuharly harmonized with the
mihtarism of Japan. Being, then, a recognized duty for
many hundred years, it would be strange indeed were not
revengefulness to appear among the modern traits of the
Japanese.
But the whole order of society has been transformed.
Revenge is now under the ban of the state, which has
made itself responsible for the infliction of corporal
punishment on individual transgressors. As a result
conspicuous manifestations of the revengeful spirit have
disappeared, and, may we not rightly say, even the spirit
itself? The new order of society leaves no room for its
ordinary activity; it furnishes legal methods of redress.
The rapid change in regard to this characteristic gives
reason for thinking that if the industrial and social order
could be suitably adjusted, and the conditions of indi-
vidual thought and life regulated, this, and many other
evil traits of human character, might become radically
changed in a short time. Intelligent Christian Social-
ism is based on this theory and seems to have no little
support for its position.
Are Japanese cruel or humane? The general impres-
sion of the casual tourist doubtless is that they are hu-
mane. They are kind to children on the streets, to a
marked degree; the jinrikisha runners turn out not only
for men, women, and children, but even for dogs. The
patience, too, of the ordinary Japanese under trying
circumstances is marked; they show amazing tolerance
for one another's failings and defects, and their mutual
helpfulness in seasons of distress is often striking. To
one traveling through New Japan there is usually little
that will strike the eye as cruel.
But the longer one lives in the country, the more is
he impressed with certain aspects of life which seem to
evince an essentially unsympathetic and inhumane dis-
position. I well remember the shock I received when
130 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
I discovered, not far from my home in Kumamoto, an in-
sane man kept in a cage. He was given only a slight
amount of clothing, even though heavy frost fell each
night. Food was given him once or twice a day. He
was treated like a wild animal, not even being provided
with bedding. This is not an exceptional instance, as
might, perhaps, at first be supposed. The editor of the
Japan Mail, who has lived in Japan many years, and
knows the people well, says: "Every foreigner travel-
ing or residing in Japan must have been shocked from
time to time by the method of treating lunatics. Only
a few months ago an imbecile might have been seen at
Hakone confined in what was virtually a cage, where,
from year's end to year's end, he received neither medi-
cal assistance nor loving tendance, but was simply fed
like a wild beast in a managerie. We have witnessed
many such sights with horror and pity. Yet humane
Japanese do not seem to think of establishing asylums
where these unhappy sufferers can find refuge. There
is only one lunatic asylum in Tokyo. It is con-
trolled by the municipality, its accommodation is limited,
and its terms place it beyond the reach of the poor."
And the amazing part is that such sights do not seem
to arouse the sentiment of pity in the Japanese.
The treatment accorded to lepers is another signifi-
cant indication of the lack of sympathetic and humane
sentiments among the people at large. For ages they
have been turned from home and house and compelled
to wander outcasts, living in the outskirt of the villages
in rude booths of their own construction, and dependent
on their daily begging, until a wretched death gives them
relief from a more wretched life. So far as I have been
able to learn, the opening of hospitals for lepers did not
take place until begun by Christians in recent times.
This casting out of leper kindred was not done by the
poor alone, but by the wealthy also, although I do not
afifirm or suppose that the practice was universal. I am
personally acquainted with the management of the
Christian Leper Hospital in Kumamoto, and the sad
accounts I have heard of the way in which lepers are
treated by their kindred would seem incrcilible, were
JEALOUSY— REVENGE 1 3 1
they not supported by the character of my informants,
and by many other facts of a kindred nature.
A history of Japan was prepared by Japanese scholars
under appointment from the government and sent to
the Columbian Exposition in 1893; it makes the follow-
ing statement, already referred to on a previous page:
" Despite the issue of several proclamations . . . peo-
ple were governed by such strong aversion to the sight
of sickness that travelers were often left to die by the
roadside from thirst, hunger, or disease, and household-
ers even went to the length of thrusting out of doors
and abandoning to utter destitution servants who suf-
fered from chronic maladies. . . Whenever an epi-
demic occurred, the number of deaths that resulted was
enormous." * This was the condition of things after
Buddhism, with its civilizing and humanizing influences,
had been at work in the land for about four hundred
years, and Old Japan was at the height of her glory,
whether considered from the standpoint of her govern-
ment, her literature, her religious development, or her
art.
Of a period some two hundred years earlier, it is stated
that, by the assistance of the Sovereign, Buddhism es-
tablished a charity hospital in Nara, " where the poor
received medical treatment and drugs gratis, and an
asylum was founded for the support of the destitute.
Measures were also taken to rescue foundlings, and, in
general, to relieve poverty and distress" (p. 92). The
good beginning made at that time does 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, there are to-day in Japan fifty orphan asy-
lums, of which eleven are of non-Christian, and thirty-
nine of Christian origin, support, and control. Of the
non-Christian, five are in Osaka, two in Tokyo, four in
Kyoto, and one each in Nagoya, Kumamoto, and Mat-
suye. Presumably the majority of these are in the
hands of Buddhists. Of the Christian asylums twenty
are Roman Catholic and nineteen are Protestant. It is
a noteworthy fact that in this form of philanthropy and
* P. 133.
132 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
religious activity, as in so many others, Christians are
the pioneers and Buddhists are the imitators. In a land
where Buddhism has been so effective as to modify the
diet of the nation, leading them in obedience to the doc-
trines of Buddha, as has been stated, to give up eating
animal food, it is exceedingly strange that the people ap-
parently have no regard for the pain of living animals.
Says the editor of the Mail in the article already quoted:
" They will not interfere to save a horse from the bru-
tality of its driver, and they will sit calmly in a jinrikisha
while its drawer, with throbbing heart and str<iining mus-
cles, toils up a steep hill." How often have I seen this
sight ! How the rider can endure it, I cannot under-
stand, except it be that revolt at cruelty and sympathy
with suffering do not stir within his heart. Of course,
heartless individuals are not rare in the West also. I
am speaking here, however, not of single individuals,
but of general characteristics.
But a still more conspicuous evidence of Japanese
deficiency of sympathy is the use, until recently, of pub-
lic torture. It was the theory of Jaj^anese jurisprudence
that no man should be punished,. ,e\4«n though proved
guilty by sufficient evidence, until he himself confessed
his guilt; consequently, on the flimsiest evidence, antl
even on bare suspicion, he was tortured until the de-
sired confession was extracted. The cruelty of the
methods employed, we of the nineteenth century cannot
appreciate. Some foreigner tells how the sight of tor-
ture which he witnessed caused him to weep, while the
Japanese spectators stood by unmoved. The methods
of execution were also refined devices of torture. Town-
send Harris says that crucifixion was performed as fol-
lows: "The criminal is tied to a cross with his arms
and legs stretched apart as wide as possible; then a
spear is thrust through the body, entering just under t'lic
bottom of the shoulder blade on the left si(,le, and com-
ing out on the rigliT side, just by the armpit. Anotlu-r
is then thrust through in a similar manner from the
right to the left side. The executioner endeavors to
avoid the heart in this operation. The spears are
thrust through in this maniier until the criminal ex-
JEALOUSY— REVENGE 133
pires, but his sufferings are prolonged as much as possi-
ble. Shinano told me that a few years ago a very strong
man lived until the eleventh spear had been thrust
through him."
From these considerations, which might be supported
by a multitude of illustrations, we conclude that in the
past there has certainly been a great amount of cruelty
exhibited in Japan, and that even to this day there is in
this country far less sympathy for suffering, whether
animal or human, than is felt in the West.
But we must not be too quick to jump to the con-
clusion that in this regard we have discovered an essen-
tial characteristic of the Japanese nature. With refer-
ence to the reported savagery displayed by Japanese
troops at Port Arthur, it has been said and repeated
that you have only to scratch the Japanese skin to find
the Tartar, as if the recent development of human feel-
ings were superficial, and his real character were ex-
hibited in his most cruel moments. To get a true view
of the case 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 can read of the tortures there inflicted
without shuddering with horror? It is not necessary
to go back to the times of the Romans with their amphi-
theaters and gladiators, and with their throwing of
Christians to wild animals, or to Nero using Christians
as torches in his garden. How long is it since witches
were burned, not only in Europe by the thousand, but
in enlightened and Christian New England? although
it is true that the numbers there burned were relatively
few and the reign of terror brief. How long is it since
slaves were feeling the lash throughout the Southern
States of our " land of freedom "? How long is it since
fiendish mobs have burned or lynched the objects of their
rage? How long is it since societies for preventing
cruelty to animals and to children were established in
England and America? Is it not a suggestive fact that
it was needful to establish them and that it is still need-
ful to maintain them? The fact is that the highly de-
veloped humane sense which is now felt so strongly by
134 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
the great majority of people in the West is a late de-
veloi)mcnt, and is not yet universal. It is 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 over-
look certain facts which show that Japan has made grad-
ual progress in the development of the humane feelings
and in the legal suppression of cruelty. Tlie Nihon
Shoki records that, on the death of Yamato Hiko no
IMikoto, his immediate retainers were buried alive in a
standing position around the grave, presumably with
the heads alone projecting above the surface of the
ground. The Emperor Suijin Tenno, on hearing
the continuous wailing day after day of the slowly
dying retainers, was touched with pity and said that
it was a dreadful custom to bury with the master
those who had been most faithful to him w^hen alive.
And he added that an evil custom, even though
ancient, should not be followed, and ordered it to
be abandoned. A later record informs us that from
this time arose the custom of burying images in the
place of servants. According to the ordinary Jap-
anese chronology, this took place in the year correspond-
ing to I B.C. The laws of leyasu (1610 a. d.) like-
wise condemn this custom as unreasonable, together
with the custom in accordance with which the retainers
committed suicide upon the master's death. These same
laws also refer to the proverb on revenge, given in the
third paragraph of this chapter, and add that whoever
undertakes thus to avenge himself or his father or
mother or lord or cider brother must first give notice to
the proper office of the fact and of the time within which
he will carry out his intention; without such a notice,
the avenger will be considered a common murderer.
This provision was clearly a limitation of the law of re-
venge. These laws of leyasu also describe the old
methods of punishing criminals, and then add: " Crimi-
nals are to be punished by branding, or beating, or tying
up, and, in cajjital cases, by spearing or decaiiitation ;
but the old punishments of tearing to pieces and boiling
JEALOUSY— REVENGE 135
to death are not to be used." Torture was finally
legally abolished m Japan only as late as 1877.
It has already become quite clear that the prevalence
of cruelty or of humanity depends largely upon the so-
cial order that prevails. It is not at all strange that
cruelty, or, at least, lack of sympathy for suffering in
man or beast, should be characteristic of an order based
on constant hand-to-hand conflict. Still more may we
expect to find a great indifference to human suffering
wherever the value of man as man is slighted. Not
until the idea of the brotherhood of man has taken full
possession of one's heart and thought does true sym-
pathy spring up; then, for the first time, comes the power
of putting one's self in a brother's place. The apparently
cruel customs of primitive times, in their treatment of
the sick, and particularly of those suffering from con-
tagious diseases, is the natural, not to say necessary, re-
sult of superstitious ignorance. Furthermore, it was
often the only ready means to prevent the spread of con-
tagious or epidemic diseases.
In the treatment of the sick, the first prerequisite for
the development of tenderness is the introduction of
correct ideas as to the nature of disease and its proper
treatment. As soon as this has been effectually done,
a great proportion of the apparent indifference to human
suffering passes away. The cruelty which is to-day so
universal in Africa needs but a changed social and in-
dustrial order to disappear. The needed change has
come to Japan. Physicians trained in modern methods
of medical practice are found all over the land. In 1894
there were 597 hospitals, 42,551 physicians, 33,921
nurses and midwives, 2869 pharmacists, and 16,106 drug-
gists, besides excellent schools of pharmacy and medi-
cine. *
It is safe to say that nearly all forms of active cruelty
have disappeared from Japan; some amount of active
sympathy has been developed, though, as compared to
that of other civilized lands, it is still small. But there
can be no doubt that the rapid change which has come
* " Resume Statistique I'Empire du Japan," published by the
Imperial Cabinet, 1897.
136 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
over the people during the past thirty years is not a
change in essential innate character, but only in the
social order. As soon as the idea takes root that every
man has a mission of mercy, and that the more cruel are
not at liberty to vent their barbarous feelings on helpless
creatures, whether man or beast, a strong uprising of
humane activity will take place which will demand the
formation of societies for the prevention of cruelty and
for carrying active relief to the distressed and wretched.
Lepers will no longer need to eke out a precarious liv-
ing by exhibiting their revolting misery in public; luna-
tics will no longer be kept in filthy cages and left with
insufificient care or clothing. The stream of philan-
thropy will rise high, to be at once a blessing and a glory
to a race that already has shown itself in many w-ays
capable of the highest ideals of the West.
XII
AMBITION— CONCEIT
A MBITION is a conspicuous characteristic of New
UL Japan. I have already spoken of the common de-
J. JL sire of her young men to become statesmen. The
stories of Neesima and other young Japanese who, in
spite of opposition and without money, worked their
way to eminence and usefulness, have fired the imagi-
nation of thousands of youths. They think that all they
need is to get to America, when their difficulties will
be at an end. They fancy that they have but to look
around to find 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 con-
quer China and make himself the Emperor of the East.
He thought he could accomplish this in two years. Dur-
ing the recent war, it was the desire of many to march
on to Pekin. Frequent expression was given to the
idea that it is the duty of Japan to rouse China from
her long sleep, as America roused Japan in 1854. It is
frequently argued, in editorial articles and public
speeches, that the Japanese are peculiarly fitted to lead
China along the path of progress, not only indirectly by
example, as they have been doing, but directly by
teaching, as foreigners have led Japan. " The Mission
of Japan to the Orient " is a frequent theme of public
discourse. But national ambitions do not rest here. It
is not seldom asserted that in Japan a mingling of the
Occidental and Oriental civilizations is taking place un-
der such favorable conditions that, for the first time in
history, the better elements of both are being selected;
137
138 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
and that before lont^ the world will sit to learn at her
feet. The lofty ambition of a group of radical Chris-
tians is to discover or create a new religion which shall
unite the best features of Oriental and Occidental re-
ligious thought and experience. The religion of the
future will be, not Christianity, nor Buddhism, but some-
thing better than either, more consistent, more pro-
found, more universal; and this religion, first developed
in Japan, will spread to other lands and become the final
religion of the world.
A single curious illustration of thehigh-fiyingthoughts
of the people may well find mention here. W'hen the
Kumamoto Boys' School divided over the arbitrary,
tyrannical methods of their newly secured, brilliant prin-
cipal, already referred to in a previous chapter, the
majority of the trustees withdrew and at once estab-
lished a new school for boys. For some time they
struggled for a name which should set forth the prin-
ciples for which the school stood, and finally they fixed
on that of " To-A Gakko." Translated into unpreten-
tious English, this means "Eastern Asia School"; the
idea was that the school stood for no narrow methods
of education, and that its influence was to extend be-
yond the confines of Japan. This interpretation is not
an inference, but was publicly stated on various occa-
sions. The school began with twenty-five boys, if my
memory is correct, and never reached as many as fift}-.
In less than three years it died an untimely death through
lack of patronage.
The young men of the island of Kyushu, especially
of Kumamoto and Kagoshima provinces, are noted for
their ambitious projects. The once famous " Kuma-
moto Band " consisted entirely of Kyushu boys. Under
the masterful influence of Captain Jaynes those high-
spirited sons of samurai, who had come to learn foreign
languages and science, in a school founded to combat
Christianity and to ui)build Buddhism, became impressed
with the immense superiority of foreign lantls, which
superiority they were leil to attribute to Christianity.
They accordingly espoused the Christian cause with
great ardor, and, in their compact with one another,
AMBITION— CONCEIT 139
agreed to work for the reform of Japan. I have hstened
to many addresses by the Kumamoto schoolboys, and I
have been uniformly impressed with the political and
national tendencies of their thought.
Accompanying ambition is a group of less admirable
qualities, such as self-sufficiency and self-conceit. They
are seldom manifested with that coarseness which in
the West we associate with them, for the Japanese is
usually too polished to be ofifensively obtrusive. He
seldom indulges in bluster or direct assertion, but is con-
tented rather with the silent assumption of superiority.
I heard recently of a slight, though capital, illustration
of my point. Two foreign gentlemen were walking
through the town of Tadotsu some years since and ob-
served a sign in English which read " Stemboots."
Wondering what the sign could mean they inquired the
business of the place, and learning that it was a steam-
boat office, they gave the clerk the reason for their in-
quiry, and at his request made the necessary correction.
A few days later, however, on their return, they noticed
that the sign had been re-corrected to " Stem-boats," an
assumption of superior knowledge on the part of some
tyro in English. The multitude of signboards in aston-
ishing English, in places frequented by English-speaking
people, is one of the amusing features of Japan. It
would seem as if the shopkeepers would at least take the
pains to have the signs correctly worded and spelled, by
asking the help of some foreigner or competent Japa-
nese. Yet they assume that they know all that is
needful.
Indications of perfect self-confidence crop out in mul-
titudes of ways far too numerous to mention. The
aspiring ambition spoken of in the immediately preced-
ing pages is one indication of this characteristic. An-
other is the readiness of fledglings to undertake re-
sponsibilities far beyond them. Young men having a
smattering of English, yet wholly unable to converse,
set up as teachers. Youths in school not infrequently
undertake to instruct their teachers as to what courses
of study and what treatment they should receive. Still
more conspicuous is the cool assumption of superiority
140 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
evinced by so many Japanese in discussing intellectual
and philosophical problems. The manner assumed is
that of one who is complete master of the subject. The
silent contempt often poured on foreigners who attempt
to discuss these problems is at once amusing and illus-
trative of the characteristic of which 1 am speaking.*
We turn next to inquire for the explanation of these
characteristics. Are they inherent traits of the race?
Or are they the product of the times? Doubtless the
latter is the true explanation. It will be found that
those individuals in w^hom these characteristics appear
are descendants of the samurai. A small class of men
freed from heavy physical toil, given to literature and
culture, ever depending on the assumption of superiority
for the maintenance of their place in society and defend-
ing their assumption by the sword — such a class, in such
a social order, would develop the characteristics in ques-
tion to a high degree. Should we expect an immediate
change of character when the social order has been sud-
denly changed?
In marked contrast to the lofty assumptions of superi-
ority which characterized the samurai of Old Japan, was
the equally marked assumption of inferiority which char-
acterized the rest of the people, or nineteen-twentieths
of the nation. I have already sufBciently dwelt on this
aspect of national character, i here recur to it merely
to enforce the truth that self-arrogation and self-
abnegation, haughtiness and humility, proud, high-
handed, magisterial manners, and cringing, obsccjuious
obedience, are all elements of character that depend on
the nature of the social order. They are passed on from
generation to generation more by social than by bio-
logical heredity. Both of these sets of contrasted char-
acteristics are induced by a full-fledged feudal system,
and must remain for a time as a social inheritance after
that system has been overthrown, particularly if its over-
throw is sudden. In ])roportion as the principles of
personal rights and individual worth on the basis of
♦As illustrating tlie point under discussion see portions
of addresses reported in " The World's Parliament of Religions,"
vol. ii. pp. 1014, 1283.
AMBITION— CONCEIT 141
manhood become realized by the people and incorpo-
rated into the government and customs of the land, will
abnegating obsequiousness, as well as haughty lordli-
ness, be replaced by a straightforward manliness, in
which men of whatever grade of society will frankly face
each other, eye to eye.
But what shall we say in regard to the assumption
made by young Japan in its attitude to foreigners? Are
the assumptions wholly groundless? Is the self-confi-
dence unjustified? Far from it. When we study later
the intellectual elements of Japanese character, we shall
see some reasons for their feeling of self-reliance. The
progress which the nation has made in many lines within
thirty years shows that it has certain kinds of power
and, consequently, some ground for self-reliance. Fur-
thermore, self-reliance, if fairly supported by ability and
zeal, is essential in the attainment of any end whatever.
Faint heart never won fair lady. Confidence in self is
one form of faith. No less of peoples than individuals
is it true, that without faith in themselves they cannot
attain their goal. The impression of undue self-con-
fidence made by the Japanese may be owing partly to
their shortness of stature. It is a new experience for
the West to see a race of little people with large brains
and large plans. Especially does it seem strange and
conceited for a people whose own civilization is so be-
lated to assume a role of such importance in the afifairs
of' the world. Yet we must learn to dissociate physical
size from mental or spiritual capacity. The future alone
will disclose what Japanese self-reliance and energy can
produce.
The present prominence of this characteristic in Japan
is still further to be accounted for by her actual recent
history. The overthrow of the Shogunate was pri-
marily the work of young men; the introduction of al-
most all the sweeping reforms which have transformed
Japan has been the work of young men who, though
but partly equipped for their work, approached it with
energy and perfect confidence, not knowing enough per-
haps to realize the difficulties they were undertaking.
They had to set aside the customs of centuries; to do
142 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
this required startling assumptions of superiority to their
ancestors and their imme(Hate parents. The young men
undertook to dispute and doubt everything that stood
in the way of national re-organization. In what nation
has there ever been such a setting aside of parental teach-
ing and ancestral authority? Tliese heroic measures
secured results in which the nation glories. Is it
strange, then, that the same spirit should show itself in
every branch of life, even in the attitude of the people to
the Westerners who have brought them the new ways
and ideas?
The Japanese, however, is not the only conceited
nation. Indeed, it would be near the truth to say that
there is no people without this quality. Certainly the
American and English, French and German nations' can-
not presume to criticise others. The reason why we
think Japan unique in this respect is that in the case of
these Western nations we know more of the grounds for
national self-satisfaction than in the case of Japan. Yet
Western lands are, in many respects, truly provincial to
this very day, in spite of their advantages and progress ;
the difficulty with most of them is that they do not per-
ceive it. The lack of culture that prevails among our
working classes is in some respects great. The narrow
horizon still bounding the vision of the average Ameri-
can or Briton is very conspicuous to one who has had
opportunities to live and travel in many lands. Each
country, and even each section of a country, is much in-
clined to think that it has more nearly reached perfec-
tion than any other.
This phase of national and local feeling is interesting,
especially after one has lived in Japan a number of years
and has had opportunities to mingle freely with her
people. For they, although self-reliant and self-con-
ceited, are at the same time surprisingly ready to ac-
knowledge that they are far behind the times. Their
open-mindedness is truly amazing. In describing the
methods of land tenure, of house-building, of farming,
of local government, of education, of moral instruction,
of family life, indeed, of almost anything in the West
that has some advantageous feature, the remark will be
AMBITION— CONCEIT 143
dropped incidentally that these facts show how uncivi-
lized Japan still is. In their own public addresses, if any
custom is attacked, the severest indictment that can be
brought against it is that it is uncivilized. In spite,
therefore, of her self-conceit, Japan is in a fairer way of
making progress than many a Western nation, because
she is also so conscious of defects. A large section of
the nation has a passion for progress. It wishes to learn
of the good that foreign lands have attained, and to apply
the knowledge in such wise as shall fit most advantage-
ously into the national life. Although Japan is con-
ceited, her conceit is not without reason, nor is it to be
attributed to her inherent race nature. It is manifestly
due to 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 to his Hps when his country is
assailed or maligned, " Yamato-Damashii." In
prosaic English this means " Japan Soul." But the
native word has a flavor and a host of associations that
render it the most pleasing his tongue can utter.
" Yamato " is the classic name for that part of Japan
where the divinely honored Emperor, Jimmu Tenno, the
founder of the dynasty and the Empire, first established
his court and throne. " Damashii " refers to the soul,
and especially to the noble qualities of the soul, which,
in Japan of yore, were synonymous with bravery, the
characteristic of the samurai. If, therefore, you wish to
stir in the native breast the deepest feelings of patriotism
and courage, you need but to call upon his " Yamato-
Damashii."
There has been a revival in the use of this word dur-
ing the last decade. The old Japan-Spirit has been ap-
pealed to, and the watchword of the anti-foreign reaction
has been " Japan for the Japanese." Among English-
speaking and English-reading Japanese there has been
a tendency to give this term a meaning deeper and
broader than the historic usage, or even than the current
usage, will bear. One Japanese writer, for instance, de-
fines the term as meaning, " a spirit of loyalty to coun-
try, conscience, and ideal." An American writer comes
more nearly to the current usage in the definition of it
as " the aggressive and invincible spirit of Japan."
That there is such a spirit no one can doubt who has the
slightest ac(iuaintance with her past or present history.
Concerning the recent rise of patriotism I have si)oken
elsewhere, perhaps at sufficient length. Nor is it need-
144
PATRIOTISM— APOTHEOSIS 145
ful to present extensive evidence for the statement that
the Japanese have this feehng of patriotism in a marked
degree. One or two rather interesting items may, how-
ever, find their place here.
The recent war with China was the occasion of focus-
ing patriotism and fanning it into flame. Almost
every town street, and house, throughout the Empire,
was brilliantly decked with lanterns and flags, not on a
single occasion only, but continuously. Each reported
victory, however small, sent a thrill of delight through-
out the nation. Month after month this was kept up.
In traveling through the land one would not have fan-
cied that war was in progress, but rather, that a long-
continued festival was being observed.
An incident connected with sending troops to Korea
made a deep impression on the nation. The Okayama
Orphan Asylum under the efficient management of its
founder, Mr. Ishii, had organized the older boys into a
band, securing for them various kinds of musical instru-
ments. These they learned to use with much success.
When the troops were on the point of leaving, Mr. Ishii
went with his band to the port of Hiroshima, erected a
booth, prepared places for heating water, and as often
as the regiments passed by, his little orphans sallied
forth with their teapots of hot tea for the refreshment of
the soldiers. Each regiment was also properly saluted,
and if opportunity offered, the little fellows played the
national anthem, " Kimi-ga yo," which has been thus
translated: " May Our Gracious Sovereign reign a thou-
sand years, reign till the little stone grow into a mighty
rock, thick velveted with ancient moss." And finally
the orphans would raise their shrill voices with the
rhythmical national shout, " Tei-koku Ban-zai, Tei-koku
Ban-zai"; "Imperial-land, a myriad years, Imperial-
land, a myriad years." This thoughtful farewell was
maintained for the four or five days during which the
troops were embarking for the seat of war, well knowing
that some would never return, and that their children
would be left fatherless even as were these who saluted
them. So deep was the impression made upon the sol-
diers that many of them wept and many a bronzed face
146 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
bowed in loving recognition of tlie patriotism of these
Christian boys. It is said that the commander-in-chief
of the forces himself gave the little fellows the highest
military salute in returning theirs.
Throughout the history of Japan, the aim of every re-
bellious clan or general was first to get possession of
the Emperor. Having done this, the possession of the
Imperial authority was unquestioned. Whoever was
opposed to the Emperor was technically called " Cho-
teki," the enemy of the throne, a crime as heinous as
treason in the West. The existence of this sentiment
throughout the Empire is an interesting fact. For, at
the very same time, there was the most intense loyalty to
the local lord or " daimyo." This is a fine instance of a
certain characteristic of the Japanese of which I must
speak more fully in another connection, but which, for
convenience, I term " nominality." It accepts and, ap-
parently at least, is satisfied with a nominal state of
affairs, which may be quite different from the real. The
theoretical aspect of a question is accepted without refer-
ence to the actual facts. The real power may be in the
hands of the general or of the daimyo. but if authority
nominally proceeds from the throne, the theoretical de-
mands are satisfied. The Japanese themselves describe
this state as "yumei-mujitsu." In a sense. throughout the
centuries there has been a genuine loyalty to the throne,
but it has been of the " yumei-mujitsu " type, apparently
satisfied with the name only. In recent times, however,
there has been growing dissatisfaction with this state of
afifairs. Some decades before Admiral Ferry appeared
there were patriots secretly working against the Toku-
gawa Shogunatc. Called in Japanese " Kinnoka." they
may be properly termed in English " Imperialists."
Their aim was to overthrow the Shogunate and restore
full and direct authority to the Emperor. Not a few lost
their lives because of their views, ])ut tliese are now
honored by the nation as patriots.
There is a tendency among scholars to-day to
magnify the patriotism and l(\valty of preceding ages,
also to emj^hasize the dignity and Imperial authority of
the Emperor. The patriotic spirit is now so strong that
PATRIOTISM— APOTHEOSIS 147
it blinds their eyes to many of the sahent facts of their
history. Their patriotism is more truly a passion than
an idea. It is an emotion rather than a conception. It
demands certain methods of treatment for their ancient
history that Western scholarship cannot accept. It for-
bids any really critical research into the history of the
past, since it might cast doubt on the divine descent of
the Imperial line. It sums itself up in passionate ad-
miration, not to say adoration, of the Emperor. In him
all virtues and wisdom abound. No fault or lack in
character can be attributed to him. I question if any
rulers have ever been more truly apotheosized by any
nation than the Emperors of Japan. The essence of
patriotism to-day is devotion to the person of the Em-
peror. It seems impossible for the people to distin-
guish between the country and its ruler. He is the
fountain of authority. Lower ranks gain their right and
their power from ' him alone. Power belongs to the
people only because, and in proportion as, he has con-
ferred it upon them. Even the Constitution has its au-
thority only because he has so determined. Should he
at any time see fit to change or withdraw it, it is exceed-
ingly doubtful whether one word of criticism or com-
plaint would be publicly uttered, and as for forcible oppo-
sition, of such a thing no one would dream.
Japanese patriotism has had some unique and inter-
esting features. In some marked respects it is dif-
ferent from that of lands in which democratic thought
has held sway. For 1500 years, under the military social
order, loyalty has consisted of personal attachment to
the lord. It has ever striven to idealize that lord. The
" yumei-mujitsu " characteristic has helped much in this
idealizing process, by bridging the chasm between the
prosaic fact and the ideal. Now that the old form of
feudalism has been abruptly abolished, with its local
lords and loyalty, the old sentiment of loyalty naturally
fixes itself on the Emperor. Patriotism has perhaps
gained intensity in proportion as it has become focal-
ized. The Emperor is reported to be a man of com-
manding ability and good sense. It is at least true that
he has shown wisdom in selecting his councilors. There
148 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
is general agreement that he is not a mere puppet in the
hands of his advisers, but that he exercises a real and
direct influence on the government of the day. During
the late war with China it was currently reported that
from early morning until late at night, week after week
and month after month, he w^orked upon the various
matters of business that demanded his attention. No
important move or decision was made without his careful
consideration and final approval. These and other
noble cjualities of the present Emperor have, without
doubt, done much toward transferring the loj^alty of
the people from the local daimyo to the national
throne.
An event in the political world has recently occurred
which illustrates pointedly the statements just made in
regard to the enthusiastic loyalty of the people toward
the Emperor. In spite of the fact that the national
finances are in a distressing state of confusion, and not-
withstanding the struggle which has been going on be-
tween successive cabinets and political parties, the for-
mer insisting on, and the latter refusing, any increase
in the land tax, no sooner was it suggested by a
small political party, to make a thank-ofTering to the
Emperor of 20,000,000 yen out of the final payment of
the war indemnity lately received, than the proposal was
taken up with zeal by both of the great and utterly hos-
tile political parties, and immediately by both houses of
the Diet. The two reasons assigned were, " First, that
the victory over China would never have been won, nor
the indemnity obtained, had not the Emperor been the
victorious, sagacious Sovereign that he is, and that,
therefore, it is only right that a portion of the indemnity
should be offered to him; secondly, that His Majesty is
in need of money, the allowance granted by the state for
the maintenance of the Imperial Household being in-
sufficient, in view of the greatly enhanced prices of com-
modities and the large donations constantly made by
His Majesty for charitable purposes." * This act of the
Diet appeals to the sentiment of the people as the prosaic,
business-like method of the Occident would not do. The
* Jap aft Mail, December 10, 1898,
PATRIOTISM— APOTHEOSIS 149
significance of the appropriation made by the Diet will
be better realized if it is borne in mind that the post-
bellum programme for naval and military expansion
which was adopted in view of the large indemnity (being,
by the way, 50,000,000 yen), already calls for an expendi-
ture in excess of the indemnity. Either the grand pro-
gramme must be reduced, or new funds be raised, yet
the leading political parties have been absolutely op-
posed to any substantial increase of the land tax, which
seems to be the only available source of increase even to
meet the current expenses of the government, to say
nothing of the post-bellum programme. So has a burst
of sentiment buried all prudential considerations. This
is a species of loyalty that Westerners find hard to ap-
preciate. To them it would seem that the first mani-
festation of loyalty would be to provide the Emperor's
Cabinet and executive officers with the necessary funds
for current expenses; that the second would be to give
the Emperor an allowance sufficient to meet his actual
needs, and the third, — if the funds held out, — to make
him a magnificent gift. This sentimental method of loy-
alty to the Emperor, however, is matched by many details
of common life. A sentimental parting gift or speech will
often be counted as more friendly than thoroughly busi-
ness-like relations. The prosaic Occidental discounts
all sentiment that has not first satisfied the demands of
business and justice. Such a standard, however, seems
' to be repugnant to the average Japanese mind.
"^ The theory that all authority resides in the Emperor
is also enforced by recent history. For the constitu-
tion was not wrung from an unwilling ruler by an ambi-
tious people, but was conferred by the Emperor of his
own free will, under the advice of his enlightened and
progressive councilors.
As an illustration of some of the preceding statements
let me quote from a recent article by Mr. Yamaguchi,
Professor of History in the Peeresses' School and Lec-
turer in the Imperial Military College. After speaking
of the abolition of feudalism and the establishment of a
constitutional monarchy, he goes on to say: "But we
must not suppose that the sovereign power of the state
ISO EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
has been transferred to the Imi)erial Diet. On the con-
trary, it is still in the hands of the Emperor as before. . .
The functions of the government, are retained in the
Emperor's own hands, who merely delegates them to
the Diet, the Government (Cabinet), and the Judiciary,
to exercise the same in his name. The present form of
government is the result of the history of a country
which has enjoyed an existence of many centuries.
Each country has its own peculiar characteristics which
differentiate it from others. Japan, too, has her history,
different from that of other countries. Therefore we
ought not to draw comparisons between Japan and other
countries, as if the same principles applied to all indis-
criminately. The Empire of Japan has a history of
3000 [ !] years, which fact distinctly marks out our
nationality as unique. The monarch, in the eyes of the
people, is not merely on a par with an aristocratic oli-
garchy which rules over the inferior masses, or a few
nobles who equally divide the sovereignty among them-
selves. According to our ideas, the monarch reigns over
and governs the country in his own right, and not by virtue
of rights conferred by the constitution. . . Our Em-
peror possesses real sovereignty and also exercises it.
He is quite different from other rulers who possess but
a partial sovereignty. . . He has inherited the rights of
sovereignty from his ancestors. Thus it is quite legiti-
mate to think that the rights of sovereignty exist in the
Emperor himself. . . The Empire of Japan shall be
reigned over and governed by a line of EmjK^rors un-
broken for ages eternal. (Constitution, Art. LXXIII.)
. . . The sovereign power of the state cannot be dis-
sociated from the Imperial Throne. It lasts forever,
along with the Imperial line of succession, unbroken for
ages eternal. If llic liii])erial house cease to exist, the
Empire falls."
In a land where adopted sons are practically equiva-
lent to lineal descendants (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 in fact, though it may not be in name, it is not
PATRIOTISM— APOTHEOSIS 1 5 1
at all wonderful that the 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 some day,
and if lineal descent should be considered essential to
inheritance, as in the Occident, it is not at all likely that
the Imperial line will maintain itself unbroken from
father to son indefinitely. Although the present Em-
peror has at least five concubines besides his wife, the
Empress, and has had, prior to 1896, no less than thirteen
children by them, only two of these are still living, both
of them the offspring of his concubines ; one of these is
a son born in 1879, proclaimed the heir in 1887, elected
Crown Prince in 1889, and married in 1900; he is said to
be in delicate health; the second child is a daughter born
in 1890. Since 1896 several children have been born to
the Emperor and two or three have died, so that at pres-
ent writing there are but four living children. These
are all offspring of concubines.*
In speaking, however, of the Japanese apotheosis of
their Emperor, we must not forget how the " divine
right of kings " has been a popular doctrine, even in en-
lightened England, until the eighteenth century, and is
not wholly unknown in other lands at the present day.
Only in recent times has the real source of sovereignty
been discovered by historical and political students.
That the Japanese are not able to pass at one leap from
* I have found it difficult to secure exact information on the
subject of the Imperial concubines (who, by the way, have a
special name of honor), partly for the reason that this is not a
matter of general information, and partly because of the unwill-
ingness to impart information to a foreigner which is felt to
tarnish the luster of the Imperial glory. A librarian of a public
library refused to lend a book containing the desired facts, say-
ing that foreigners might be freely informed of that which re-
veals the good, the true, and the beautiful of Japanese history,
customs, and character, but nothing else. By the educated and
more earnest members of the nation much sensitiveness is felt,
especially in the presence of the Occidental, on the subject of
the Imperial concubinage. It is felt to be a blot on Japan's fair
name, a relic of her less civilized days, and is, accordingly, kept
in the background as much as possible. The statements given
in the text in regard to the number of the concubines and chil-
dren are correct so far as they go. A full statement might
require an increase in the figures given.
152 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
the old to the new conception in regard to this funda-
mental element of national authority is not at all strange.
Past history, together with that which is recent, fur-
nishes a satisfactory explanation for the peculiar nature
of Japanese patriotism. This is clearly due to the nature
of the social order.
A further fact in this connection is that, in a very real
sense, the existence of Japan as a unified nation has de-
pended on apotheosis. It is the method that all ancient
nations have adopted at one stage of their social devel-
opment for expressing their sense of national unity and
the authority of national law. In that stage of social
development when the common individual counts for
nothing, the only possible conception of the authority of
law is that it proceeds from a superior being — the
highest ruler. And in order to secure the full advan-
tage of authority, the supreme ruler must be raised to
the highest possible pinnacle, must be apotheosized.
That national laws should be the product of the un-
valued units which compose the nation was unthinkable
in an age when the worth of the individual was utterly
unrecognized. The apotheosis of the Emperor was
neither an unintelligible nor an unreasonable practice.
But now that an individualistic, democratic organization
of society has been introduced resting on a principle
diametrically opposed to that of apotheosis, a struggle
of most profound importance has been inaugurated.
Does moral or even national authority really reside in
the Emperor? The school-teachers are finding great
difficulty in teaching morality as based exclusively on
the Imperial Edict. The politicians of Japan are not
content with leaving all political and state authority to
the Emperor. Not long ago (June, 1898), for the first
time in Japan, a Cabinet acknowledging responsil)ility to
a political party took the place of one acknowledging
responsibility only, to the Emperor. For this end the
politicians have been working since the first meeting of
the national Diet. Which princii)le is to succeed,
apotheosis and absolute Imperial sovereignty or indi-
vidualism with democratic sovereignty? The two can-
not permanently live together. The struggle is sure to
PATRIOTISM— APOTHEOSIS 153
be intense, for the question of authority, both political
and moral, is inevitably involved.
The parallel between Japanese and Roman apotheosis
is interesting. I can present it no better than by quot-
ing from that valuable contribution to social and moral
problems, " The Genesis of the Social Conscience," by
Prof. H. S. Nash: "Yet Rome with all her greatness
could not outgrow the tribal principle. . . We find
something that reveals a fundamental fault in the whole
system. It is the apotheosis of the Emperors. The
process of apotheosis was something far deeper than
servility in the subject conspiring with vanity in the ruler.
It was a necessity of the state. There was no means of
insuring the existence of the state except religion. In
the worship of the Csesars the Empire reverenced its
own law. There was no other way in which pagan
Rome could guarantee the gains she had made for civi-
lization. Yet the very thing that was necessary to her
was in logic her undoing. . . The worship of the Em-
peror undid the definition of equality the logic of the
Empire demanded. Again apotheosis violated the
divine unity of humanity upon which alone the Empire
could securely build." *
That the final issue of Japan's experience will be like
that of Rome I do not believe. For her environment is
totally different. But the same struggle of the two con-
flicting principles is already on. Few, even among the
educated classes, realize its nature or profundity. The
thinkers who adhere to the principle of apotheosis do so
admittedly because they see no other way in which to
secure authority for law, whether political or moral.
Here we see the importance of those conceptions of
God, of law, of man, which Christianity alone can give.
From patriotism we naturally pass to the considera-
tion of courage. Nothing was more prized and praised in
Old Japan. In those days it was the deliberate effort of
parents and educators to develop courage in children.
Many were their devices for training the young in
bravery. Not content with mere precept, they were sent
alone on dark stormy nights to cemeteries, to houses re-
*P. 59.
154 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
puted to be haunted, to dangerous mountain peaks, and
to execution grounds. Alany deeds were required of the
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 of
this most hated of all opprobrious epithets. The history
of Japan is full of heroic deeds. I well remember a con-
versation with a son of the old samurai type, who told
me, with the blood tingling in his veins, of bloody deeds
of old and the courage they demanded. He remarked
incidentally that, until one had slain his first foe, he was
ever inclined to tremble. "But once the deed had been
done, and his sword had tasted the life blood of a man.
fear was no more. He also told me how for the sake of
becoming inured to ghastly sights under nerve-testing
circumstances, the sons of samurai were sent at night
to the execution grounds, there, by faint moonlight to
see, stuck on poles, the heads of men who had been
recently beheaded.
The Japanese emotion of courage is in some respects
peculiar. At least it appears to diiTer from that of the
Anglo-Saxon. A Japanese seems to lose all self-control
when the supreme moment comes; he throws himself
into the fray with a frenzied passion and a fearless mad-
ness allied to insanity. Such is the impression I have
gathered from the descriptions I have heard and the pic-
tures I have seen. Even the pictures of the late war
with China give evidence of this.
But their courage is not limited to fearlessness in the
face of death; it extends to complete indifTerenco to
pain. The honorable method by which a samurai who
had transgressed some law or failed in some point of
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 sensi-
tive to tales of blood, unexpurgated Japanese history
must be a dreadful thing. The vastness of the nnilti-
tudes who died by their own hands would be incredible,
were there not ample evidence of the most convincing
nature. It may be said with truth that suicide became
PATRIOTISM— APOTHEOSIS 155
apotheosized, a condition that I suppose 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 mis-
representing it. " Seppuku " itself was not honored, for
in the vast majority of cases those who performed it
were guilty of some crime or breach of etiquette. And'
not infrequently those who were condemned to commit
"seppuku" were deficient in physical courage; in such
cases, some friend took hold of the victim's hand and
forced him to cut himself. Such cowards were always
despised. To be condemned to commit " seppuku " was
a disgrace, but it was much less of a disgrace than to be
beheaded as a common man, for it permitted the samurai
to show of what stufT he was made. It should be stated
further that in the case of " seppuku," as soon as the act
of cutting the abdomen had been completed, always by
a single rapid stroke, someone from behind would, with
a single blow, behead the victim. The physical agony of
" seppuku " was, therefore, very brief, lasting but a few
seconds.
I can do no better than quote in this connection a para-
graph from the " Religions of Japan " by W. E. Grilfis :
" From the prehistoric days when the custom of
' Junshi,' or dying with the master, required the inter-
ment 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 mas-
ters, 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 Mo-
lech 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
156 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
of the suicides during this long period be collected, their
publication would excite in Christendom the utmost
incredulity." *
I well remember the pride, which almost amounted to
glee, with which a young blood gave me the account of
a mere boy, perhaps ten or twelve years old, who cut his
bowels in such a way that the deed was not cjuite com-
plete, and then tying his " obi " or girdle over it, walked
into the presence of his mother, explained the circum-
stances which made it a point of honor that he should
commit " seppuku," and forthwith untied his " obi " and
died in her presence.
These are the ideals of courage and loyalty that have
been held up before Japanese youth for centuries.
Little comment is needful. From the evolutionary
standpoint, it is relatively easy to understand the rise of
these ideas and practices. It is clear that they depend
entirely on the social order. With the coming in of the
Western social order, feudal lords and local loyalty and
the carrying of swords were abolished. Are the Japa-
nese any less courageous now than they were thirty
years ago? The social order has changed and the ways
of showing courage have likewise changed. That is all
that need be said.
Are we to say that the Japanese are more courageous
than other peoples? Although no other people have
manifested such phenomena as the Japanese in regard to
suicide for loyalty, yet any true appreciation of Western
peoples will at once dispel the idea that they lack
courage. Manifestations of courage differ according to
the nature of the social order, but no nation could long-
maintain itself, to say nothing of coming into existence,
without a high degree of this endowment.
But Japanese courage is not entirely of the physical
order, although that is the form in which it has chielly
shown itself thus far. The courage of having and hold-
ing one's own convictions is known in jai)an as else-
where. There has been a long line of martyrs. During
the decades after the intrc^ductiiMi of Ihuldhism, there
PATRIOTISM— APOTHEOSIS 157
was such opposition that it required much courage for
converts to hold to their behefs. So, too, at the time of
the rise of the new Buddhist sects, there was consider-
able persecution, especially with the rise of the Nichiren
Shu. And when the testing time of Christianity came,
under the edict of the Tokugawas by which it was
suppressed, tens of thousands were found who preferred
death to the surrender of their faith. In recent times,
too, much courage has been shown by the native Chris-
tians.
As an illustration is the following : When an
eminent American teacher of Japanese youth returned
to Japan after a long absence, his former pupils gathered
around him with warm admiration. They had in the in-
terval of his absence become leaders among the trus-
tees and faculty of the most prosperous Christian college
in Japan. He was accordingly invited to deliver a
course of lectures in the Chapel. It was generally
known that he was no longer the earnest Christian
that he had once been, when, as teacher in an interior
town, he had inspired a band of young men who be-
came Christians under his teaching and a power for
good throughout the land. But no one was prepared
to hear such extreme denunciations of Christian-
ity and Christian missions and missionaries as consti-
tuted the substance of his lectures. At first the matter
was passed over in silence. But, by the end of the sec-
ond lecture, the missionaries entered a protest, urging
that the Christian Chapel should not again be used for
such lectures. The faculty, however, were not ready
to criticise their beloved teacher. The third lecture
proved as abusive as the others; the speaker seemed to
have no sense of propriety. A glimpse of his thought
and method of expression may be gained from a single
sentence: "I have been commissioned, gentlemen, by
Jesus Christ, to tell you that there is no such thing as
a soul or a future life." Although the missionary mem-
bers of the faculty urged it, the Japanese members, most
of whom were his former pupils, were unwilling to take
any steps whatever to prevent the continuation of the
blasphemous lectures. The students of the institution
158 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
accordingly held a mass-meeting, in which the matter
was discussed, and it was decided to inform the speaker
that the students did not care to hear any more such
lectures. The question then arose as to' who would
deliver the resolution. There was general hesitancy, and
anyone who has seen or known the lecturer, and has
heard him speak, can easily understand this feehng; for
he is a large man with a most impressive and imperious
manner. The young man, however, who had perhaps
been most active in agitating the matter, and who had
presented the resolution to the meeting, volunteered to
go. He is slight and rather small, even for a Japanese.
Going to the home of the lecturer, he delivered calmly
the resolution of the students. To the demand as to
who had drawn up and presented the resolution to the
meeting, the reply was: "I, sir." That ended the con-
versation, but not the matter. From that day the idol-
ized teacher was gradually lowered from his pedestal.
But the moral courage of the young man who could say
in his enraged presence, " I, sir," has not been forgotten.
Neither has that of the young man who had acted as
interpreter for the first lecture; not only did he decline
to act in that capacity any longer, but,' taking the first
public opportunity, at the chapel service the following
day, which proved to be Sunday, he went to the plat-
form and asked forgiveness of God and of men that he
had uttered such language as he had been compelled to
use in his translating. Here, too, was moral courage of
no mean order.
XIV
FICKLENESS— STOLIDITY— STOICISM
A FREQUENT criticism of the Japanese is that
they are fickle; that they run from one fad to an-
other, from one idea to another, quickly tiring of
each in turn. They are said to lack persistence in their
amusements no less than in the most serious matters
of life.
None will deny the element of truth in this charge.
In fact, the Japanese themselves recognize that of late
their progress has been by '* waves," and not a few la-
ment it. A careful study of school attendance will show
that it has been subject to alternate waves of popularity
and disfavor. Private schools glorying in their hun-
dreds of pupils have in a short time lost all but a few
score. In 1873 there was a passion for rabbits, certain
varieties of which were then for the first time introduced
into Japan. For a few months these brought fabulous
prices, and became a subject of the wildest speculation.
In 1874-75 cock-fighting was all the rage. Foreign waltz-
ing and gigantic funerals were the fashion one year, while
wrestling was the fad at another time, even the then
prime minister. Count Kuroda, taking the lead. But
the point of our special interest is as to whether fickle-
ness is an essential element of Japanese character, and
so dominant that wherever the people may be and what-
ever their surrovmdings, they will always be fickle; or
whether this trait is due to the conditions of their re-
cent history. Let us see.
Prof. Basil H. Chamberlain says, " Japan stood
still so long that she has to move quickly and often now
to make up for lost time." This states the case pretty
well. Had we known Japan only through her Tokugawa
period, the idea of fickleness would not have occurred to
us; on the contrary, the dominant impression would
159
i6o EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
have been that of the permanence and fixity of her life
and customs. This quality or appearance of fickleness
is, then, a modern trait, due to the extraordinary cir-
cumstances in which Japan finds herself. The occur-
rence of wave after wave of fresh fashions and fads is
neither strange nor indicative of an essentially fickle
disposition. Glancing below the surface for a moment,
we shall see that there is an earnestness of purpose
which is the reverse of fickle.
\\'hat nation, for example, ever voluntarily set itself
to learn the ways and thoughts and languages of foreign
nations as persistently as Japan? That there has been
fluctuation of intensity is not so surprising as that,
through a period of thirty years, she has kept steadily
at it. Tens of thousands of her young men are now
able to read the English language with some facility;
thousands are also able to read German and French.
Foreign languages are compulsory in all the advanced
schools. A regulation going into force in September,
1900, requires the study of two foreign languages. This
has been done at a cost of many hundred thousands of
dollars. There has been a fairly permanent desire and
effort to learn all that the West has to teach. The ele-
ment of fickleness is to be found chiefly in connection
with the methods rather than in connection with the
ends to be secured. From the moment when Japan dis-
covered that the West had sources of power unknown to
herself, and indispensable if she expected to hold her own
with the nations of the world, the aim and end of all
her efforts has been to master the secrets of that power.
She has seen that education is one important means.
That she should stumble in the adoption of educational
methods is not strange. The necessary experience is
being secured. But for a lesson of this sort, more than
one generation of experience is required of a nation.
For some time to come Japan is sure to give signs of
unsteadiness, of lack of perfect l)ahince.
A pitiful sight in Japan is that of boys not more than
five or six years of age pushing or pulling with all their
might at heavily loaded hand-carts drawn by their
parents. Yet this is typical of one aspect of Japanese
FICKLENESS— STOLIDITY i6i
civilization. The work is largely done by young people
under thirty, and vast multitudes of the workers are un-
der twenty years of age. This is true not only of menial
labor, but also in regard to labor involving more or less
responsibility. In the post offices, for instance, the
great majority of the clerks are mere boys. In the
stores one rarely sees a man past middle age conduct-
ing the business or acting as clerk. Why are the young
so prominent? Partly because of the custom of "abdi-
cation." As " family abdication " is frequent, it has a
perceptible efYect on the general character of the nation,
and accounts in part for rash business ventures and other
signs of impetuosity and unbalanced judgment. Fur-
thermore, under the new civilization, the older men have
become unfitted to do the required work. The younger
and more flexible members of the rising generation can
quickly adjust themselves to the new conditions, as in
the schools, where the older men, who had received only
the regular training in Chinese classics, were utterly in-
competent as teachers of science. Naturally, therefore,
except for instruction in these classics, the common-
school teachers, during the earlier decades, were almost
wholly young boys. The extreme youthfulness of
school-teachers has constantly surprised me. In the
various branches of government this same phenomenon
is equally common. Young men have been pushed for-
ward into positions with a rapidity and in numbers un-
known in the West, and perhaps unknown in any pre-
vious age in Japan.
The rise and decline of the Christian Church in Japan
has been instanced as a sign of the fickleness of the peo-
ple. It is a mistaken instance, for there are many other
causes quite sufficient to account for the phenomenon
in question. Let me illustrate by the experience of an
elderly Christian. He had been brought to Christ
through the teachings of a young man of great bril-
liancy, whose zeal was not tempered with full knowledge
— which, however, was not strange, in view of his limited
opportunities for learning. His instruction was there-
fore narrow, not to say bigoted. Still the elderly gen-
tleman found the teachings of the young man sufficiently
i62 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
strong and clear thoroughly to upset all his old ideas
of religion, his polytheism, his belief in charms, his
worship of ancestors, and all kindred ideas. He ac-
cepted the New Testament in simple unquestioning
faith. But, after six or eight years, the young instruc-
tor began to lose his own primitive and simple faith.
He at once proceeded to attack that which before he had
been defending and expounding. Soon his whole theo-
logical position was changed. Higher criticism and re-
ligious philosophy were now the center of his preach-
ing and writing. The result was that this old gentleman
was again in danger of being upset in his religious think-
ing. He felt that his new faith had been received in bulk,
so to speak, and if a part of it were false, as his young
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 in this faith that was real ; he was
loath to lose it; consequently, for some years now, he
has systematically stayed away from church services,
and refrained from reading magazines in which these
new and destructive views have been discussed; he has
preferred to read the Bible quietly at home, and to have
direct communion with God, even though, in many mat-
ers of Biblical or theoretical science, he might hold his
mistaken opinions. A surface view of this man's conduct
might lead one to think of him as fickle; but a deeper
consideration will lead to the opposite conclusion.
The fluctuating condition of the Christian churches
is not cause for astonishment, nor is it to be wholly,
if at all, attributed to the fickleness of the national char-
acter, but rather, in a large degree, to the peculiar
conditions of Japanese life. Tlie early Christians had
much to learn. They knew, experimentally, but little
of Christian truth. The whole course of Christian
thought, the historical development of theology, with
the various heresies, the recent discussions resting on
the so-called " higher criticism " of the Bible, together
with the still more recent investigations into the history
and philosophy of religion in general, w-cre of coin-se
wholly unknown to them. Tliis was inevitable, and
they were blameless. All could not be learned at once.
FICKLENESS— STOLIDITY 1 63
Nor is there any blame attached to the missionaries. It
was as impossible for them to impart to young and inex-
perienced Christians a full knowledge of these matters
as it was for the latter to receive such information. The
primary interest of the missionaries was in the prac-
tical and everyday duties of the Christian life, in the
great problem of getting men and women to put away
the superstitions and narrowness and sins springing
from polytheism or practical atheism, and getting them
started in ways of godliness. The training schools for
evangelists were designed to raise up practical workers
rather than speculative theologians. Missionaries con-
sidered it their duty (and they were beyond question
right) to teach religion rather than the science and phi-
losophy of religion. When, therefore, the evangelists
discovered that they had not been taught these advanced
branches of knowledge, it is not strange that some
should rush after them, and, in their zeal for that which
they supposed to be important, hasten to criticise their
former teachers. As a result, they undermined both
their own faith and that of many who had become Chris-
tians through their teaching.
The dullness of the church life, so conspicuous at
present in many of the churches, is only partly due to
the fact that the Christians are tired of the services. It
is true that these services no longer afford them that
mental and spiritual stimulus which they found at the
first, and that, lacking this, they find little inducement to
attend. But this is only a partial explanation. Looking
over the experience of the past twenty-five years, we
now see that the intense zeal of the first few years was a
natural result of a certain narrowness of view. It is an
interesting fact that, during one of the early revivals in
the Doshisha, the young men were so intense and ex-
cited that the missionaries were compelled to restrain
them. These young Christians felt and said that the
missionaries were not filled with the Holy Spirit; they
accordingly considered it their duty to exhort their for-
eign leaders, even to chide them for their lack of faith.
The extraordinary expectations entertained by the young
Japanese workers of those days and shared by the mis-
i64 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
sionaries, that Japan was to become a Christian nation
before the end of the century, was due in large measure
to an ignorance alike of Christianity, of human nature,
and of heathenism, but, under the peculiar conditions
of life, this was well-nigh inevitable. And that great and
sudden changes in feeling and thought have come over
the infant churches, in consequence of the rapid acquisi-
tion of new light and new experience, is equally inevi-
table. These changes are not primarily attributable to
fickleness of nature, but to the extraordinary additions
to their knowledge.
There is good reason to think, however, that the
period of these rapid fluctuations is passing away. All
the various fads, fancies, and follies, together with the
sciences, philosophies, ologies, and isms of the Western
world, have already come to Japan, and are fairly well
known. No essentially new and sudden experiences lie
before the people.
Furthermore, the young men are year by year grow-
ing older. Experience and age together are giving a
soberness and a steadiness otherwise unattainable. In
the schools, in the government, in politics, and in the
judiciary, and in the churches, men of years and of train-
ing in the new order are becoming relatively numerous,
and erelong they will be in the majority. We may expect
to see Japan gradually settling down to a steadiness and
a regularity that have been lacking during the past few
decades. The newcomer to Japan is much impressed
with the expressionless character of so many Japanese
faces. They appear like the images of Buddha, who is
supposed to be so absorbed in profound meditation that
the events of the passing world make no impression upon
him. I have sometimes heard the expression " putty
face " used to describe the appearance of the common
Japanese face. This immobility of the Oriental is more
conspicuous to a newcomer than to one who has seen
much of the people and who has learned its significance.
But though the " putty " efi'oct wears off, there remains
an impression of stoicism that never fades away, l^hese
two features, stolidity and stoicism, are so closely allied
in appearance that they are easily mistaken, yet thoy are
FICKLENESS— STOLIDITY 165
really distinct. The one arises from stupidity, from dull-
ness of mind. The other is the product of elaborate
education and patient drill. Yet it is often difificult to
determine where the one ends and the other begins.
The stolidity of stupidity is, of course, commonest
among the peasant class. For centuries they have been
in closest contact with the soil ; nothing has served to
awaken their intellectual faculties. Reading and writ-
ing have remained to them profound mysteries. Their
lives have been narrow in the extreme. But the Japa-
nese peasant is not peculiar in this respect. Similar
conditions in other lands produce similar results, as in
France, according to Millet's famous painting, " The
Man with the Hoe."
It is an interesting fact, however, that this stolidity of
stupidity can be easily removed. I have often heard
comments on the marked change in the facial expression
of those adults who learn to read the Bible. Their minds
are awakened; a new light is seen in their eyes as new
ideas are started in their minds.
The impression of stolidity made on the foreigner is
due less, however, to stupidity than to a stoical educa-
tion. For centuries the people have been taught to re-
press all expression of their emotions. It has been re-
quired of the inferior to listen quietly to his superior
and to obey implicitly. The relations of superior and
inferior have been drilled into the people for ages. The
code of a military camp has been taught and enforced in
all the homes. Talking in the presence of a superior,
or laughter, or curious questions, or expressions of sur-
prise, anything revealing tlie slightest emotion on the
part of the inferior was considered a discourtesy.
Education in these matters was not confined to oral
instruction; infringements were punished with great
rigor. Whenever a daimyo traveled to Yedo, the cap-
ital, he was treated almost as a god by the people. They
were required to fall on their knees and bow their faces
to the ground, and the death penalty was freely awarded
to those who failed to make such expressions of respect.
One source, then, of the systematic repression of emo-
tional expression is the character of the feudal order of
i66 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
society that so long prevailed. The warrior who had
best control of his facial expression, who could least ex-
pose to his foe or even to his ordinary friends the real
state of his feelings, other things being equal, would come
off the victor. In further explanation of this repression
is the religion of Buddha. For 1200 years it has helped
to mold the middle and the lower classes of the people.
According to its doctrine, desire is the great evil; from
it all other evils spring. For this reason, the aim of the
religious life is to suppress all desire, and the most nat-
ural way to accom])lish this is to suppress the manifesta-
tion of desire; to maintain passive features under all
circumstances. The images of Buddha and of Buddhist
saints are utterly devoid of expression. They indicate
as nearly as possible the attainment of their desire,
namely, freedom from all desire. This is the ambition of
every earnest Buddhist. Being the ideal and the actual
effort of life, it does affect the faces of the people. Lack
of expression, however, does not prove absence of de-
sire.
Every foreigner has had amusing proof of this. A
common experience is the passing of a group of Japa-
nese who, apparently, give no heed to the stranger.
Neither by the turn of the head nor by the movement
of a single facial muscle do they betray any curiosity,
yet their eyes take in each detail, and involuntarily
follow the receding form of the traveler. In the in-
terior, where foreigners are still objects of curiosity,
young men have often run up from behind, gone to a
distance ahead of me, then turned abruptly, as though
remembering something, and walked slowly back again,
giving me, apparently, not the slightest attention. The
motive was the desire to get a better look at the for-
eigner. They hoped to conceal it by a ruse, for there
must be no manifestation of curiosity.
Phenomena which a foreigner may attribute to a lack
of emotion of, at least, to its repression, mav be due
to some very different cause. Few things, for instance,
are more astonishing to the Occidental than the silence
on the part of the multitude when the Fmpcror, whom
they all admire and love, appears on the street. Under
FICKLENESS— STOLIDITY 167
circumstances which would call forth the most enthu-
siastic cheers from Western crowds, a Japanese crowd
will maintain absolute silence. Is this from lack of emo-
tion? By no means. Reverence dominates every
breast. They would no more think of making noisy
demonstrations of joy in the presence of the Emperor
than a congregation of devout Christians would think
of doing the same during a religious service. This idea
of reverence for superiors has pervaded the social order
— the intensity of the reverence varying with the rank
of the superior. But a change has already begun. Si-
lence is no longer enforced; no profound bowings to the
ground are now demanded before the nobility; on at
least one occasion during the recent China-Japan war
the enthusiasm of the populace found audible expression
when the Emperor made a public appearance. Even
the stoical appearance of the people is passing away un-
der the influence of the new order of society, with its
new, dominant ideas. Education is bringing the nation
into a large and throbbing life. Naturalness is taking
the place of forced repression. A sense of the essential
equality of man is springing up, especially among the
young men, and is helping to create a new atmosphere
in this land, where, for centuries, one chief effort has
been to repress all natural expression of emotion.
While touring in Kyushu several years ago, I had an
experience which showed me that the stolidity, or vivac-
ity, of a people is largely dependent on the prevailing
social order rather than on inherent nature. Those who
have much to do with the Japanese have noted the ex-
treme quiet and reserve of the women. It is a trait that
has been lauded by both native and foreign writers.
Because of this characteristic it is difficult for a strangei;
to carry on conversation with them. They usually reply
in monosyllables and in low tones. The very expression
of their faces indicates a reticence, a calm stolidity, and
a lack of response to the stimulus of social intercourse
that is striking and oppressive to an Occidental. I have
always found it a matter of no little difficulty to become'
acquainted with the women, and especially with the
young women, in the church with which I have been con-
i68 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
nected. With the older women this reticence is not so
marked. Now for my story:
One day I called on a family, expecting to meet the
mother, with whom I was well acquainted. She proved
to be out; but a daughter of whom I had not before
heard was at home, and I began to talk with her. Con-
trary to all my previous experience, this young girl of
less than twenty years looked me straight in the face
with perfect composure, replied to my questions with
clear voice and complete sentences, and asked questions
in her turn without the slightest embarrassment. I was
amazed. Here was a Japanese girl acting and talking
with the freedom of an American. How was this to be
explained? Difificult though it appeared, the problem
was easily solved. The young lady had been in America,
having spent several years in Radcliffe College. There
it was that her Japanese demureness was dropped and
the American frankness and vivacity of manner acquired.
It was a matter simply of the prevailing social customs,
and not of her inherent nature as a Japanese.
And this conclusion is enforced by the further fact
that there is a marked increase in vivacity in those who
become Christian. The repressive social restraints of
the old social order are somewhat removed. A freedom
is allowed to individuals of the Christian community, in
social life, in conversation between men and women, in
the holding of private opinions, which the non-Christian
order of society did not permit. Sociability between
the sexes was not allowed. The new freedom naturally
results in greater vivacity and a far freer play of facial
expression than the older order could produce. The
vivacity and sociability of the geisha (dancing and sing-
ing girls), whose business it is to have social relations
with the men, freely conversing with them, still further
substantiates the view that the stolid, irrepressive fea-
tures of the usual Japanese woman are social, not essen-
tial, characteristics. The very same girls exhibit alter-
nately stolidity and vivacity according as they are act-
ing as geisha or as respectable members of society.
This completes our direct study of the various ele-
ments characterizing the emotional nature of the Japa-
FICKLENESS-STOLIDITY 1 69
nese. It is universally admitted that the people are con-
spicuously emotional. We have shown, however, that
their feelings are subject to certain remarkable sup-
pressions.
It remains to be asked why the Japanese are more
emotional than other races? One reason doubtless is
that the social conditions were such as to stimulate their
emotional rather than their intellectual powers. The
military system upon which the social structure rested
kept the nation in its mental infancy. Twenty-eight
millions of farmers and a million and a half of soldiers
was the proportion during the middle of the nineteenth
century. Education was limited to the soldiers. But
although they cultivated their minds somewhat, their
very occupation as soldiers required them to obey rather
than to think; their hand-to-hand conflicts served
mightily to stimulate the emotions. The entire feudal
order likewise was calculated to have the same effect.
The intellectual life being low, its inhibitions were cor-
respondingly weak. When, in the future, the entire
population shall have become fairly educated, and taught
to think independently; and when government by the
people shall have become much more universal, throw-
ing responsibility on the people as never before, and
stimulating discussion of the general principles of life,
of government, and of law, then must the emotional
features of the nation become less conspicuous.
It is a question of relative development. As children
run to extremes of thought and action on the slightest
occasion, simply because their intellects have not come
into full activity, weeping at one moment and laughing
at the next, so it is with national life. Where the gen-
eral intellectual development of a people is retarded, the
emotional manifestations are of necessity correspond-
ingly conspicuous.
Even so fundamental a racial trait, then, as the emo-
tional, is seen to be profoundly influenced by the prevail-
ing social TDrder. The emotional characteristics which
distinguish the Japanese from other races are due, in the
last analysis, to the nature of their social order rather
than to their inherent nature or brain structure.
XV
ESTHETIC CHAR.^CTERISTICS
IN certain directions, the Japanese reveal a develop-
ment of aesthetic taste which no other nation has
reached. The general appreciation of landscape-
views well illustrates this point. The home and garden
of the average workman are far superior artistically to
those of the same class in the West, There is hardly a
home without at least a diminutive garden laid out in
artistic style with miniature lake and hills and winding
walks. And this garden exists solely for the delight of
the eye.
The general taste displayed in many little ways is a
constant delight to the Western " barbarian " when he
first comes to Japan. Nor does this delight vanish with
time and familiarity, though it is tempered by a later
perception of certain other features. Indeed, the more
one knows of the details of their artistic taste, the more
does he appreciate it. The " toko-no-ma." for example,
is a variety of alcove usually occupying 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 room and should never be stepped upon.
In this "toko-no-ma" is usually placed some work of art,
or a vase with flowers, and on the wall is hung a picture
or a few Chinese characters, written by some famous
caligraphist, wliich are changed witli the seasons. The
woodwork and the 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 the eye; this "honor-
able spot" is found in at least one room in every house;
and if the owner has moderate means, there are two or
three such rooms. Only the homes of the poorest of the
poor are without this ornament.
170
.ESTHETIC CHARACTERISTICS 171
The Japanese show a refined taste in the coloring and
decoration of rooms; natural woods, painted and pol-
ished, are common; every post and board standing erect
must stand in the position in which it grew. A Japanese
knows at once whether a board or post is upside down,
though it would often puzzle a Westerner to decide the
matter. The natural wood ceilings and the soft yel-
lows and blues of the walls are all that the best trained
Occidental eye could ask. Dainty decorations called
the " ramma," over the neat " fusuma," consist of deli-
cate shapes and quaint designs cut in thin boards, and
serve at once as picture and ventilator. The drawings,
too, on the " fusuma " (solid thick paper sliding 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 aesthetic de-
velopment. Not only are there various flower festivals
at which times the people flock to suburban gardens and
parks, but sprays, budding branches, and even large
boughs are invariably arranged in the homes and public
halls. Every church has an immense vase for the pur-
pose. The proper arrangement of flowers and of
flowering sprays and boughs is a highly developed art.
It is often one of the required studies in girls' schools.
I have known two or three men who made their entire
living by teaching this art. Miniature flowering trees
are reared with consummate skill. An acquaintance of
mine glories in 230 varieties of the plum tree, all in pots,
some of them between two and three hundred years old.
Shinto and Buddhist temples also reveal artistic quali-
ties most pleasing to the eye.
But the main point of our interest lies in the explana-
tion of this characteristic. Is the aesthetic sense more
highly developed in Japan than in the West? Is it more
general? Is it a matter of inherent nature, or of
civilization?
In trying to meet these problems, I note, first of all,
that the development of the Japanese aesthetic taste is
one-sided; though advanced in certain respects it is be-
lated in others. In illustration is the sense of smell. It
will not do to say that " the Japanese have no use for the
172 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
nose," and that the love of sweet smells is unknown.
Sir Rutherford Alcock'sofif-quoted sentence that "in one
of the most beautiful and fertile countries in the whole
world the flowers have no scent, the birds no song,
and the fruit and vegetables no flavor," is quite mis-
leading, for it has only enough truth to make it the more
deceptive. It is true that the cherry blossom has little
or no odor, and that its beauty lies in its exquisite color-
ing and abounding luxuriance, but most of the native
flowers are praised and prized by the Japanese for their
odors, as well as for their colors, as the plum, the
chrysanthemum, the lotus, and the rose. The fragrance
of flowers is a frequent theme in Japanese poetry.
Japanese ladies, like those of every land, are fond of deli-
cate scents. Cologne and kindred wares find wide sale
in Japan, and I am told that expensive musk is not in-
frequently packed away with the clothing of the wealthy.
But in contrast to this appreciation is a remarkable
indifference to certain foul odors. It is amazing what
horrid smells the cultivated Japanese will endure in his
home. What we conceal in the rear and out of 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. It would seem as if a high aesthetic de-
velopment should long ago have banished such sights
and smells. As a matter of fact, however, the a}slhetics
of the subject does not seem to have entered the national
mind, any more than have the hygienics of the same
subject.
In explanation of these facts, may it not be that the
Japanese method of agriculture has been a potent hin-
drance to the aesthetic development of the sense of smell?
In primitive times, when wealth was small, the only
easy method which the people had of preserving the fer-
tilizing properties of that which is removed from our
cities by the sewer- system was such as we still find in
use in Japan to-day. Perhaps the necessities of the case
have toughened the mental, if not the physical, sense of
the people. Perhaps the unxsthetic character of the
sights and smells has been submerged in the great value
of fertilizing materials. Then, too, with the Occidental,
iESTHETIC CHARACTERISTICS 173
the thought is common that such odors are indications
of seriously unhealthful conditions. We are accord-
ingly offended not simply by the odor itself, but also by
the associations of sickness and death which it suggests.
Not so the unsophisticated Oriental. Such a correla-
tion of ideas is only now arising in Japan, and changes
are beginning to be made, as a consequence.
I cannot leave this point without drawing attention to
the fact that the development of the sense of smell in
these directions is relatively recent, even in the West.
Of all the non-European nations and races, I have no
doubt Japan is most free from horrid smells and putrid
odors. And in view of our own recent emancipation it
is not for us to marvel that others have made little
progress. Rather is it marvelous that we should so
easily forget the hole from which we have been so re-
cently digged.
In turning to study certain features of Japanese pic-
torial art, we notice that a leading characteristic is that
of simplicity. The greatest results are secured with the
fewest possible strokes. This general feature is in part
due to the character of the instrument used, the " fude,"
" brush." This same brush answers for writing. It ad-
mits of strong, bold outlines; and a large brush allows
the exhibition of no slight degree of skill. As a result,
" writing " is a fine art in Japan. Hardly a family that
makes any pretense at culture but owns one or more
framed specimens of writing. In Japan these rank as
pictures do or mottoes in the West, and are prized not
merely for the sentiment expressed, but also for the skill
displayed in the use of the brush. Skillful writers be-
come famous, often receiving large sums for small
" pictures " which consist of but two or three Chinese
characters.
No doubt the higher development of appreciation for
natural scenery among the people in general is largely
due to the character of the scenery itself. Steep hills
and narrow valleys adjoin nearly every city in the land.
Seas, bays, lakes, and rivers are numerous; reflected
mountain scenes are common ; the colors are varied and
marked. Flowering trees of striking beauty are abun-
174 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
dant. Any people living under these physical condi-
tions, and sufficiently advanced in civilization to have
leisure and culture, can hardly fail to be impressed with
such wealth of beauty in the scenery itself.
In the artistic reproduction of this scenery, however,
Japanese artists are generally supposed to be inferior to
those of the West.
As often remarked, Japanese art has directed its chief
endeavor to animals and to nature, thus failing to give
to man his share of attention. This curious one-sided-
ness shows itself particularly in painting and in sculp-
ture. In the former, when human beings are the sub-
ject, the aim has apparently been to extol certain char-
acteristics; in warriors, the military or heroic spirit; in
wise men, their wisdom; in monks and priests, their mas-
tery over the passions and complete attainment of peace;
in a god, the moral character which he is supposed to
represent. Art has consequently been directed to bring-
ing into prominence certain ideal features which must
be over-accentuated in order to secure recognition;
caricatures, rather than lifelike forms, are the frequent
results. The images of multitudes of gods are frightful
to behold; the aim being to show the character of the
emotion of the god in the presence of evil. These idols
are easily misunderstood, for we argue that the more
frightful he is, the more vicious must be the god in his
real character; not so the Oriental. To him the more
frightful the image, the more noble the character.
Really evil gods, such as demons, are always repre-
sented, I think, as deformed creatures, partly human
and partly beast. It is to be remembered, in this con-
nection, that idols are an imported feature of Japanese
religion; Shinto to this day has no " graven image." All
idols are Buddhistic. Moreover, tbcy arc but copies of
the hideous idols of India; the Japanese artistic genius
has added nothing to their grotesque appearance. But
the point of interest for us is that the aesthetic taste
which can revel in flowers and natural scenery has
never delivered Japanese art from truly uncesthctic
representations of human beings and of gods.
Standing recently before a toy store and looking at
iESTHETIC CHARACTERISTICS 175
the numberless dolls offered for sale, I was impressed
afresh with the lack of taste displayed, both in coloring
and in form; their conventionality was exceedingly tire-
some; their one attractive feature was their absurdity.
But the moment I turned away from the imitations of
human beings to look at the imitations of nature, the
whole impression was changed, I was pleased with the
artistic taste displayed in the perfectly imitated, deli-
cately colored flowers. They were beautiful indeed.
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, but does not give, the correct
interpretation of the phenomenon in question. The
reason lies in the nature of the ruling ideas of Oriental
civilization. Man,asman,has not been honored or highly
esteemed. As a warrior he has been honored; conse-
quently, when pictured 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 a passionate victor, slaying his
foe or planning for the same. And so with the priests
and the teachers, the emperors and the generals ; all have
been depicted, not for what they are in themselves, but
for the rank which they have attained; they are accord-
ingly represented with their accouterments and robes
and the characteristic attitudes of their rank. The
effort to preserve their actual appearance is relatively
rare. Manhood and womanhood, apart from social rank,
have hardly been recognized, much less extolled by art.
This feature, then, corresponds to the nature of the
Japanese social order. The art of a land necessarily
reveals the ruling ideals of its civilization. As Japan
failed to discover the inherent nature and value of man-
hood and womanhood, estimating them only on a utili-
tarian basis, so has her art reflected this failure.
Apparently it has never attempted to depict the nude
human form. This is partly explained, perhaps, by the
fact that the development of a perfect physical form
through exercise and training has not been a part of
Oriental thought. Labor of every sort has been re-
garded as degrading. Training for military skill and
prowess has indeed been common among the military
176 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
classes; but the skill and strength themselves have been
the objects of thought, rather than the beauty of the
muscular development which they produce. When we
recall the prominent place which the games of Greece
took in her civilization previous to her development of
art, and the stress then laid on perfect bodily form, we
shall better understand why there should be such differ-
ence in the development of the art of these two lands.
I have never seen a Japanese man or youth bare his arm
to show with pride the development of his Inceps; and so
far as I have observed, the pride which students in the
United States feel over well-developed calves has no
counterpart in Japan — this, despite the fact that the
average Japanese has calves which would turn the
American youth green with envy.
From the absence of the nude in Japanese art it has
been urged that Japan herself is far more morally pure
than the West. Did the moral life of the people cor-
respond to their art in this respect, the argument would
have force. Unfortunately, such does not seem to be the
case. It is further suggested as a reason that the bodily
form of Oriental peoples is essentially una^sthetic; that
the men are either too fat or too lean, and the women
too plump when in the bloom of youth and too wrinkled
and fllabby when the first bloom is over. The absurdity
of this suggestion raises a smile, and a query as to the
experience which its author must have had. For any
person who has lived in Japan must have seen indi-
viduals of both sexes, whom the most fastidious painter
or sculptor would rejoice to secure as models.
It might be thought that a truly artistic people, who
are also somewhat immoral, would have developed
much skill in the portrayal of the nude female form.
But such an attempt does not seem to have been made
until recent times, and in imitation of Western art. At
least such attempts have not been recognized as art nor
have they been preserved as such. I have never seen
either statue or ])icture of a nude Japanese woman.
Even the pictures of famous prostitutes are alwavs fault-
lessly attired. The number and size of the conventional
hairpins, and the gaudy coloring of the clothing, alone
iESTHETIC CHARACTERISTICS 177
indicate the immoral character of the woman repre-
sented.
It is not to be inferred, however, that immoral pic-
tures have been unknown in Japan, for the reverse is
true. Until forcibly suppressed by the government
under the incentive of Western criticism, there was per-
fect freedom to produce and sell licentious and lascivious
pictures. The older foreign residents in Japan testify
to the frequency with which immoral scenes were de-
picted and exposed for sale. Here I merely say that
these were not considered works of art; they were re-
produced not in the interests of the aesthetic sense, but
wholly to stimulate the taste for immoral things.
The absence of the nude from Japanese art is due to
the same causes that led to the relative absence of all
distinctively human nature from art. Manhood and
womanhood, as such, were not the themes they strove
to depict.
A curious feature of the artistic taste of the people is
the marked fondness for caricature. It revels in absurd
accentuations of special features. Children with pro-
truding foreheads; enormously fat little men; grotesque
dwarf figures in laughable positions; these are a few
common examples. Nearly all of the small drawings
and sculpturings of human figures are intentionally
grotesque. But the Japanese love of the grotesque is
not confined to its manifestation in art. It also reveals
itself in other surprising ways. It is difficult to realize
that a people who revel in the beauties of nature can
also delight in deformed nature; yet such is the case.
Stunted and dwarfed trees, trees whose branches have
been distorted into shapes and proportions that nature
would scorn — these are sights that the Japanese seem to
enjoy, as well as " natural " nature. Throughout the
land, in the gardens of the middle and higher classes,
may be found specimens of dwarfed and stunted trees
which have required decades to raise. The branches,
too, of most garden shrubs and trees are trimmed in
fantastic shapes. What is the charm in these distor-
tions? First, perhaps, the universal human interest in
anything requiring skill. Think of the patience and per-*
178 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
sistence and experimentation necessary to rear a dwarf
pear tree twelve or fifteen inches high, growing its full
number of years and bearing full-size fruit in its season!
And second is the no less universal human interest in
the strange and abnormal. All primitive people have
this interest. It shows itself in their religions. Ab-
normal stones are often objects of religious devotion.
Although I cannot affirm that such objects are wor-
shiped in Japan to-day, yet I can say that they are fre-
quently set up in temple grounds and dedicated with
suitable inscriptions. Where nature can be made to
produce the abnormal, there the interest is still greater.
It is a living miracle. Witness the cocks of Tosa, dis-
tinguished by their two or three tail feathers reaching
the extraordinary length of ten or even fifteen feet, the
product of ages of special breeding.
According to the ordinary use of the term, aesthetics
has to do with art alone. Yet it also has intimate rela-
tions with both speech and conduct. Poetry depends
for its very existence on aesthetic considerations. Al-
though little conscious regard is paid to aesthetic claims
in ordinary conversation, yet people of culture do, as a
matter of fact, pay it much unconscious attention. In
conduct too, aesthetic ideas are often more dominant
than we suppose. The objection of the cultured to the
ways of the boorish rests on aesthetic grounds. This is
true in every land. In the matter of conduct it is some-
times hard to draw the line between aesthetics and ethics,
for they shade imperceptibly into one another; so much
so that they are seen to be complementary rather than
contradictory. Though it is doubtless true that con-
duct aesthetically defective may not be defective ethic-
ally, still is it not quite as true that conduct bad from
the ethical is bad also from the xsthctical standpoint?
In no land have aesthetic considerations had more force
in molding both speech and conduct than in Japan.
Not a sentence is uttered by a Japanese but has the char-
acteristic marks of aesthcticism woven into its very
structure. By means of " honorifics " it is seldom neces-
sary for a speaker to be so pointedly vulgar as even to
mention self. There are few points in the language so
^ESTHETIC CHARACTERISTICS 179
difficult for a foreigner to master, whether in speaking
himself, or in listening to others, as the use of these
honorific words. The most delicate shades of courtesy
and discourtesy may be expressed by them. Some
writers have attributed the relative absence of the per-
sonal pronouns from the language to the dominating
force of impersonal pantheism. I am unable to take
this view for reasons stated in the later chapters on
personality.
Though the honorific characteristics of the language
seem to indicate a high degree of aesthetic development,
a certain lack of delicacy in referring to subjects that
are ruled out of conversation by cultivated people in the
West make the contrary impression upon the uniniti-
ated. Such language in Japan cannot be counted im-
pure, for no such idea accompanies the words. They
must be described simply as aesthetically defective. Far
be it from me to imply that there is no impure conversa-
tion in Japan. I only say that the particular usages to
which I refer are not necessarily a proof of moral
tendency. A realistic baldness prevails that makes ho
efifort to conceal even that which is in its nature unpleas-
ant and unsesthetic. A spade is called a spade without
the slightest hesitation. Of course specific illustrations
of such a point as this are out of place. Esthetic con-
siderations forbid.
And how explain these unsesthetic phenomena? By
the fact that Japan has long remained in a state of primi-
tive development. Speech is but the verbal expression
of life. Every primitive society is characterized by a
bald literalism shocking to the aesthetic sense of societies
which represent a higher stage of culture. In Japan,
until recently, little effort has been made to keep out of
sight objects and acts which we of the West have con-
sidered disagreeable and repulsive. Language alters
more slowly than acts. Laws are making changes in
the latter, and they in time will take effect in the former.
But many decades will doubtless pass before the culti-
vated classes of Japan will reach, in this respect, the
standard of the corresponding classes of the West.
As for the aesthetics of conduct in Japan, enough is in-
i8o EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
dicated by what has been said already concerning the
aesthetics of speech. Speech and conduct are but diverse
expressions of the same inner hfc. Japanese etiquette
has been fashioned on the feudaHstic theory of society,
with its numberless gradations of inferior and superior^
Assertive individualism, while allowed a certain range
among the samurai, always had its well-marked limits.
The mass of the people were compelled to walk a nar-
row line of respectful obedience and deference both in
form and speech. The constant aim of the inferior was
to please the superior. That individuals of an inferior
rank had any inherent rights, as opposed to those of a
superior rank, seldom occurred to them. .Furthermore,
this whole feudal system, with its characteristic etiquette
of conduct and speech, was authoritatively taught by
moralists and religious leaders, and devoutly believed
by the noblest of the land. Ethical considerations,
therefore, combined powerfully with those that were
social and aesthetic to produce " the most polite race on
the face of the globe." Recent developments of rude-
ness and discourtesy among themselves and toward for-
eigners have emphasized my general contention that
these characteristics are not due to inherent race nature,
but rather to the social order.
How are we to account for the wide aesthetic develop-
ment of all classes of the Japanese? As already sug-
gested, the beautiful scenery explains much. But I pass
at once to the significant fact that although the classes
of Japanese society were widely differentiated in social
rank, yet they lived in close proximity to each other.
There was no spatial gulf of separation preventing the
lower from knowing fully and freely the thoughts, ideals,
and customs of the upper classes. The transmission of
culture was thus an easy matter, in spite of social
gradations.
Moreover, the character of the building materials, and
the methods of construction used by the more prosper-
ous among the people, were easily imitated in kind, if
not in costliness, by the less prosperous. Take, for ox-
amj)lc, the structure of the room; it is always of certain
fixed proportions, that the uniform mats may be easily
/ESTHETIC CHARACTERISTICS i8i
fitted to it. The mats 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 compara-
tively small cost. The walls of the average houses are
made of mud wattles. The outer layers of plaster con-
sist of selected earth and tinted lime. Whether put
up at large or small expense, these walls may be
neat and attractive. So, too, with other parts of the
house.
The utter lack of independent thinking throughout the
middle and lower classes, and the constant desire of the
inferior to imitate the superior, have also helped to make
the culture of the classes the possession of the masses.
This subserviency and spirit of imitation has been further
stimulated by the enforced courtesy and deference and
obedience of the common people.
In this connection it should be noted, however, that
the universality of culture in Japan is more apparent
than real. The appearance is due in part to the lack of
furniture in the homes. Without chairs or tables, bed-
steads or washstands, and the multitude of other things
invariably found in the home of the Occidental, it is easy
for the Japanese housewife to keep her home in perfect
order. No special culture is needful for this.
How it came about that the Japanese people adopted
their own method of sitting on the feet, I cannot say;
neither have I heard any plausible explanation of the
practice. Yet this habit has relieved them of all neces-
sity for heavy furniture. Given the custom of sitting
on the feet, and a large part of the furniture of the
house will be useless. Already is the introduction of
furniture after Western patterns producing changes in
the homes of the people; and it will be interesting to
see whether the aesthetic sense of the Japanese will be
able to assimilate and harmonize with itself these useful,
but bulky and unsesthetic, elements of Occidental civili-
zation.
That no part of the fine taste of the Japanese is due
to the general civilization, rather than to the individual
possession of the aesthetic faculty, may be inferred
i82 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
from many little signs. In spite of the fact that, follow-
ing the long-established social fashions, the women usu-
ally display good taste in the choice of colors for their
clothing, it sometimes happens that they also manifest
not the slightest sense of the harmony of colors. Daugh-
ters of wealthy families will array themselves in brilliant
discordant hues, yet apparently without causing the
wearers or their friends the slightest aesthetic discomfort.
Little children are arrayed in clothing that would doubt-
less put Joseph's coat of many colors quite out of coun-
tenance. Combinations and brilliancy that to the West-
ern eye of culture seem crude and gaudy, typical of bar-
baric splendor, are in constant use, and are apparently
thought to be fine. The Japanese display both taste
and its lack in the choice of colors for clothing; this
contradiction is the more striking in view of the taste
manifest in the decorations of the homes of all classes
of the people. Few sights are more ludicrously unces-
thetic than the red, yellow, and blue worsted crocheted
caps and shawls for infants, which shock all our ideas of
aesthetic harmony.
In connection with Western ways or articles of cloth-
ing, the native aesthetic faculty often seems to take its
flight. In a foreign house many a Japanese seems to
lose his sense of fitness. I have had schoolboys, and
even gentlemen, enter my home with hobnailed muddied
boots, without wiping their feet on the conspicuous door
mat, which is the more remarkable since, in their own
homes, they invariably take ofif their shoes on entering.
I have frecfuently noticed that in railway cars the first
comers monopolize the seats, and the later ones receive
not the slightest notice, being often compelled to stand
for an hour at a time, although, with a little moving,
there would be abundant room for all. I have noticed
this so often that I cannot think it an exceptional oc-
currence. I do not believe it to be intentional rudeness,
but to be due simply to a lack of real heart politeness.
Yet a true and deep resthctic development, so far at
least as relates to conduct, to say nothing of the spirit
of altruism, would not permit such indifference to an-
other's discomfort.
iESTHETIC CHARACTERISTICS 183
My explanation for this, and for all similar defects in
etiquette, is somewhat as follows. Etiquette is popularly-
conceived as consisting of rules of conduct, rather than
as the outward expression of the state of the heart.
From time immemorial rules for the ordinary affairs of
life have been formulated by superiors and have been
taught the people. In all usual and conventional
relations, therefore, the average farmer and peasant
know how to express perfect courtesy. But in certain
situations, as in foreign houses and the railroad car,
where there are no precedents to, follow, or rules to obey,
all evidence of politeness takes its flight. The old rules
do not fit the new conditions. Not being grounded
on the inner principles of etiquette, the people are not
able to formulate new rules for new conditions. To the
Westerner, on the other hand, these seem to follow from
the simplest principles of common sense and kindliness.
The general collapse of etiquette in Japan, which native
writers note and deplore, is due, therefore, not only to
the withdrawal of feudal pressure, but also to intro-
duction of strange circumstances for which the people
have no rules, and to the fact that the people have not
been taught those underlying principles of high courtesy
which are applicable on all occasions.
An impression seems to have gained currency in the
United States that the unsesthetic features seen in Ja-
pan to-day are due to the debasing influences of West-
ern art and Occidental intercourse. There can be no
doubt that a certain type of tourist, ignorant of Japa-
nese art, by greedily buying strange, gaudy things at
high prices, has stimulated a morbid production of truly
unaesthetic pseudo-Japanese art. But this accounts for
only a small part of the grossly inartistic features of
Japan. The instances given of hideous worsted bibs
for babes and collars for dogs, combining in the closest
proximity the most uncomplementary and mutually re-
pellent colors, has nothing whatever to do with foreign
art or foreign intercourse. What foreigner ever deco-
rated a little lapdog with a red-green-yellow-blue-and
purple crocheted collar, four or five inches wide?
Westerners have been charmed with the exquisite col-
i84 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
ored photographs produced in Japan. It is strange, yet
true, that the same artistic hand that produces these
beautiful effects will also, by a slight change of tints,
produce the most unnatural and spectral views. Yet
the strangest thing is, not that he produces them, but that
he does not seem conscious of the defect, for he will put
them on sale in his own shop or send them to purchasers
in America, without the slightest apparent hesitation.
The constant care of the purchaser in selection and his
insistence on having only truly artistic work are what
keep the Japanese artist up to the standard.
If other evidence is needed of aesthetic defect in the still
unoccidentalized Japanese taste let the doubter go to any
popular second-grade Shinto shrine or Buddhist temple.
Here unsesthetic objects and sights abound. Hideous
idols, painted and unpainted, big and little, often dec-
orated with soiled bibs; decaying to-rii; ruined sub-
shrines; conglomerate piles of cast-off paraphernalia,
consisting of broken idols, old lanterns, stones, etc.,
filthy towels at the holy-water basins, piously offered to
the gods and piously used by hundreds of dusty pilgrims;
equally filthy bell-ropes hung in front of the main shrines,
pulled by ten thousand hands to call the attention of the
deity; travel-stained hands, each of which has left its
mark on the once beautiful enormous tasselated cord;
ex-voto tufts of human hair; scores of pictures, where
the few may be counted works of art while the rest are
hideous beyond belief; frightful faces of tengu, with their
long noses and menacing teeth, decorated with scores of
spit-balls or even with mud-balls ; these are some of the
more conspicuous unaesthetic features of multitudes of
popular shrines and temples. And none of these can
be attributed to the debasing influence of Western art.
And these inartistic features will be found accompany-
ing scrupulous neatness in well-swept walks, new sub-
shrines, floral decorations, and much that pleases the
eye — a strange compound of the beautiful and the ugly.
Truly the aesthetic development of the Japanese is cu-
riously one-sided.
A survey of Japanese musical history leads to the con-
clusion that while the peoi)lc are fairly developetl in cer-
^ESTHETIC CHARACTERISTICS 185
tain aspects of the aesthetics of music, such as rhythm,
they are certainly undeveloped in other directions — in
melody, for example, and in harmony. Their instru-
mental music is primitive and meager. They have no
system of musical notation. The love of music, such as
it is, is well-nigh universal. Their solo-vocal music,
a semi-chanting in minors, has impressive elements; but
these are due to the passionate outbursts and plaintive
wails, rather than to the musically aesthetic character
of the melodies. The universal twanging samisen, a
species of guitar, accompanied by the shrill, hard voices
of the geisha (singing girls), marks at once the universal-
ity of the love of music and the undeveloped quality of
the musical taste, both vocal and instrumental. But
in comparing the musical development of Japan with
that of the West, we must not forget how recent is that
of the former.
The conditions which have served to develop musical
taste in the West have but recently come to Japan.
Sufficient time has not yet elapsed for the nation to make
much visible progress in the lines of Occidental music.
But it has already done something. The popularity of
brass bands, the wide introduction of organs, their man-
ufacture in this land, their use in all public schools, the
exclusive use of Occidental music in Christian churches,
the ability of trained individuals in foreign vocal and in-
strumental music — all these facts go to show that in
time we may expect great musical evolution in Japan.
Tliose who doubt this on the ground of inherent race
nature may be reminded of the evolution which has taken
place among the Hawaiians during the past two genera-
tions. From being a race manifesting marked defi-
ciency in music they have developed astonishing musical
taste and ability. During a recent visit to these isl-
ands after an absence of twenty-seven years, I attended
a Sunday-school exhibition, which was largely a musical
contest; the voices were sweet and rich; and the diffi-
culty of the part songs, easily carried through by chil-
dren and adults, revealed a musical sense that surpasses
any ordinary Sunday school of the United States or
England with which I am acquainted.
i86 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
The development of Japanese literature likewise con-
spicuously reflects the ruling ideas of the social order,
and reveals the dependence of literary taste on the order.
As in other aspects in Japanese aesthetic development,
so in this do we see marked lack of balance. " It is
wonderful what felicity of phrase, melody of versifica-
tion, and true sentiment can be compressed within the
narrow limits (of the Tanka). In their way nothing can
be more perfect than some of these little poems." *
The deficiencies of Japanese poetry have been remarked
by the foreigners most competent to judge. The follow-
ing general characterization from the volume just
quoted merits attention.
" Narrow in its scope and resources, it is chiefly re-
markable 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 i)oems are also conspicuously absent. The
Japanese muse does not meddle with such subjects, and
it is doubtful whether, if it did, the native Pegasus pos-
sesses 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 ama-
tory verse poems of longing for home and absent dear
ones, praise of love ancl wine, elegies on the dead, la-
ments 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 in-
* Aston's " Japanese Literatiu-e," p. 29.
^ESTHETIC CHARACTERISTICS 187
sects, even the croaking of frogs,, the leaping of trout
in a mountain stream, the young shoots of fern in
spring, the belHng 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 pa-
triotic 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. Cham-
berlain 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." *
The drama and the novel have both achieved consid-
erable development, yet judged from Occidental stand-
ards, they are comparatively weak and insipid. They, of
course, conspicuously reflect the characteristics of the
social order to which they belong. Critics call repeated
attention to the lack of sublimity in Japanese literature,
and ascribe it to their inherent race nature. While the
lack of sublimity in Japanese scenery may in fact ac-
count for the characteristic in question, still a more con-
clusive explanation would seem to be that in the older
social order man, as such, was not known. The hidden
glories of the soul, its temptations and struggles, its
defects and victories, could not be the themes of a litera-
ture arising in a completely communal social order,
even though it possessed individualism of the Buddhistic
type.f These are the themes that give Western litera-
ture — poetic, dramatic, and narrative — its opportunity
for sustained power and sublimity. They portray the
inner life of the spirit.
The poverty of poetic form is another point of West-
ern criticism. Mr. Aston has shown how this poverty
is directly due to the phonetic characteristics of the
language. Diversities of both rhyme and rhythm are
practically excluded from Japanese poetry by the na-
ture of the language. And this in turn has led to the
" preference of the national genius for short poems."
But language is manifestly the combined product of
• *' Japanese Literature," p. 24. \ Cf. chapter xxxiii.
1 88 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
ling-uistic heredity and the social order, and can in no
sense be ascribed to inherent race nature. Thus directly
are social heredity and social order determinative of the
literary characteristics and aesthetic tastes of a nation.
Even more manifestly may Japanese architectural de-
velopment be traced to the social heredity derived from
China and India. The needs of the developing internal
civilization have determined its external manifestation.
So far as Japanese dilTers from Chinese architecture, it
may be attributed to Japan's isolation, to the different
demands of her social order, to the difference of accessi-
ble building materials, and to the different social hered-
ity handed down from prehistoric times. That the dis-
tinguishing characteristics of Japanese architecture are
due to the inherent race nature cannot for a moment
be admitted.
We conclude that the Japanese are not possessed of a
unique and inherent aesthetic taste. In some respects
they are as certainly ahead of the Occidental as they
are behind him in other respects. But this, too, is a mat-
ter of social development and social heredity, rather
than of inherent race character, of brain structure. If
aesthetic nature were a matter of inherited brain struc-
ture, it would be impossible to account for rapid fluctua-
tions in aesthetic judgment, for the great inequality of
aesthetic development in the different departments of
life, or for the ease of acquiring the aesthetic develop-
ment of alien races.*
*Gustave Le Bon maintains, in his brilliant, but sophistical,
work on " The Psychology of Peoples," that the " soul of a race "
unalterably determines even its art. He states that a Hindu
artist, in copying an European model several times, gradually
eliminates the European characteristics, so that, " the second or
third copy . . . will have become exclusively Hindu." His entire
argument is of this nature; I must confess that I do not in the least
feel its force. The reason the Hindu artist transforms a Western
picture in copying it is because he has been trained in Hindu art,
not because he is a Hindu pliysiologically. If that same Hindu
artist, taken in infancy to Europe and raised as a European and
trained in European art, should still persist in replacing Euro-
pean by Hindu art characteristics, then the argument would
have some force, and his contention that the "soul of races"
can be modified only by intermarriage of races would seem
more reasonable.
XVI
MEMORY— IMITATION
THE differences which separate the Oriental from
the Occidental mind are infinitesimal as com-
pared with the likenesses which unite them. This
is a fact that needs to be emphasized, for many writers
on Japan seem to ignore it. They marvel at the differ-
ences. The real marvel is that the differences are so
few and so superficial. The Japanese are a race whose
ancestors were separated from their early home nearly
three thousand years ago ; during this period they have
been absolutely prevented from intermarriage with the
parent stock. Furthermore, that original stock was not
the Indo-European race. And no one has ventured to
suggest how long before the migration of the ancestors of
the Japanese to Japan their ancestors parted from those
who finally became the progenitors of modern Occi-
dental peoples. For thousands of years, certainly, the
Japanese and Anglo-Saxon races have had no ancestry
in common. Yet so similar is the entire structure and
working of their minds that the psychological text-
books of the Anglo-Saxon are adopted and perfectly
understood by competent psychological students among
the Japanese. I once asked a professor of psychology
in the Matsuyama Normal School if he had no difficulty
in teaching his classes the psychological system of
Anglo-Saxon thinkers, if there were not peculiarities of
the Anglo-Saxon mind which a Japanese could not
understand, and if there were not psychological phe-
nomena of the Japanese mind which were ignored in
Anglo-Saxon psychological text-books. The very ques-
tions surprised him; to each he gave a negative reply.
The mental differences that characterize races so dis-
similar as the Japanese and the Anglo-Saxon, I venture
189
igo EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
to repeat, are insignificant as compared with their re-
semblances.
Our discussions shall have reference, not to those gen-
eral psychological characteristics which all races have
in common, but only to those which may seem to stamp
the Japanese people as peculiar. We wish to understand
the distinguishing features of the Japanese mind. We
wish to know whether they are due to brain structure,
to inherent race nature, or whether they are simply the
result of education, of social heredity. This is our ever-
recurring question.
First, in regard to Japanese brain development.
Travelers have often been impressed with the unusual
size of the Japanese head. It has sometimes been
thought, however, that the size is more apparent than
real, and the appearance has been attributed to the rela-
tively short limbs of the people and to the unusual pro-
portion of round heads which one 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, as
related to his body, is unexpectedly large.
Prof. Marsh of Yale University is reported to have
said that, on the basis of brain size, the Japanese is the
race best fitted to survive in the struggle for existence,
or at least in the struggle for pre-eminence.
Statements have been widely circulated to the elTect
that not only relatively to the body, but even absolutelv,
the Japanese possess larger brains than the European,
but craniological statistics do not verify the assertion.
The matter has been somewhat discussed in Japanese
magazines of late, to which, through the assistance of a
Japanese friend, I am indebted for the following figures.
They are given in Japanese measurements, but are. on
this account, however, none the less satisfactorv for
comparative purposes.
According to Dr. Davis, the average European male
brain weighs 36.498 momme. and the Australian. 22,413,
while the Japanese, according to Dr. Taguchi, weighs
36,205. Taking the extremes, the largest English male
brain weighs 38,100 momme and the smallest t,S-?,77,
whereas the corresponding figures for Japan are 43^919
MEMORY—IMITATION 191
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 Japan
have a larger skull circumference than either the middle
or upper classes (1.8414, 1.7905, and 1.8051 feet, respect-
ively), and the Ainu (1.8579) exceed the Japanese. From
these facts it might almost appear that brain size and
civilizational development are in inverse ratio. Were the
Japanese brain larger, then, than that of the European, it
might plausibly be argued that they are therefore in-
ferior in brain power. This would be in accord with
certain of De Quatrefages's investigations. He has
shown that negroes born in America have smaller brains,
but are intellectually superior to their African brothers.
" With them, therefore, intelligence increases, while the
cranial capacity diminishes." *
Those who trace racial and civilizational nature to
brain development cannot gain much consolation from
a comparative statistical study of race brains. De
Quatrefages's conclusion is repeatedly forced home:
" We must confess that there can be no real relation be-
tween the dimension of the cranial capacity and social
development." f " The development of the intellectual
faculties of man is, to a great extent, independent of
the capacity of the cranium and the volume of the
brain." $
We may conclude at once, then, that Japanese intel-
lectual peculiarities are in no way due to the size of their
brains, but depend rather on their social evolution. Yet
it will not be amiss to study in detail the various mental
peculiarities of the race, real and supposed, and to note
their relation to the social order.
In becoming acquainted with the Japanese and
Chinese peoples, an Occidental is much impressed with
their powers of memory, and this especially in connec-
tion with the written language, the far-famed " Chinese
Character," or ideograph. My Chinese dictionary con-
tains over 50,000 different characters. The task of
*" The Human Species," p. 283.
\Ibid., p. 282.
%Ibid., p. 384.
192 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
learning them is appalling. How the Japanese or
Chinese do it is to us a constant wonder. We assume
at once their possession of astonishing memories. We
argue that, for hundreds of years, each generation has
been developing powers of memory through eflforts to
conquer this cumbersome contrivance for writing, and
that, as a consequence for the nations using this system,
there is now prodigious ability to remember.
It is my impression, however, that w^e greatly overrate
these powers. In the first place, few Japanese claim any
acquaintance with the entire 50,000 characters; only the
educated make any pretense of knowing more than a few
hundred, and a vast majority even of learned men do not
know more than 10,000 characters. Some Japanese
newspapers have undertaken to limit themselves in the
use of the ideograph. It is said that between four and
five thousand characters suffice for all the ordinary pur-
poses of communication. These are, without doubt,
fairly well known to the educated classes. But for the
masses, there is need that the pronunciation be placed
beside each printed character, before it can be read.
Furthermore, we must remember that a Japanese youth
gives the best years of his life to the bare memorizing
of these symbols.*
Were European or American youth to devote to the
*The manuscript of this work was largely prepared in 1S97
and 1898. Since writing the above lines, a vigorous discussion
has been carried on in the Japanese press as to the advantages
and disadvantages of the present system of writing. ^ Many
. have advocated "boldly the entire abandonment of the Chinese
character and the exclusive use of the Roman alphabet. The
difficulties of such a step are enormous and cannot be appreci-
ated by anyone not familiar with the written language of Japan.
One of the strongest arguments for such a course, however, has
been the obstacle placed by the Chinese in the way of popular
education, due to the cime required for its mastery and the me-
chanical nature of the mind it tends to produce. In August of
igoo the Educational Department enacted some regulations that
have great significance in this connection. Perhaps the most
important is the requirement that not more than one thousand
two hundred Chinese characters are to be taught to the common-
school children, and the form of the eliaracter is not to be taught
independently of the meaning. The remarks in the te.\t above
are directed chiefly to the ancient methods of education.
MEMORY— IMITATION 193
study of Chinese the same number of hours each day
for the same number of years, I doubt if there would be
any conspicuous difference in the results. We should
not forget also that some Occidentals manifest astonish-
ing facility in memorizing Chinese characters.
In this connection is the important fact that the social
order serves to sift out individuals of marked mnemonic
powers and bring them into prominence, while those
who are relatively deficient are relegated to the back-
ground. The educated class is necessarily composed of
those who have good powers of memory. All others
fail and are rejected. We see and admire those who
succeed ; of those who fail we know nothing and we even
forget that there are such.
In response to my questions Japanese friends have
uniformly assured me that they are not accustomed to
think of the Japanese as possessed of better memories
than the people of the West. They appear surprised
that the question should be raised, and are specially sur-
prised at our high estimate of Japanese ability in this
direction.
If, however, we inquire about their powers of memory
in connection with daily duties and the ordinary acqui-
sition of knowledge and its retention, my own experience
of twelve years, chiefly with the middle and lower classes
of society, has left the impression that, while some learn
easily and remember well, a large number are exceed-
ingly slow. On the whole, I am inclined to believe that,
although the Japanese may be said to have good mem-
ories, yet it can hardly be maintained that they conspicu-
ously exceed Occidentals in this respect.
In comparing the Occidental with the Oriental, it is to
be remembered that there is not among Occidental
nations that attention to bare memorizing which is so
conspicuous among the less civilized nations. The
astonishing feats performed by the transmitters of an-
cient poems and religious teachings seem to us incredi-
ble. Professor Max Miiller says" that the voluminous
Vedas have been handed down for centuries, unchanged,
simply from mouth to mouth by the priesthood. Every
progressive race, until it has attained a high develop-
194 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
ment of the art of writing, has manifested similar
power of memory. Such power is not, however, inherent ;
that is to say, it is not due to the innate pecuHarity of
brain structure, but rather to the nature of the social
order which demands such expenditure of time and
strength for the maintenance of its own higher life.
Through the art of writing Occidental peoples have
found a cheaper way of retaining their history and of
preserving the products of their poets and religious
teachers. Even for the transactions of daily life we
have resorted to the constant use of pen and notebook
and typewriter, by these devices saving time and strength
for other things. As a result, our memories are devel-
oped in directions different from those of semi-civilized
or primitive man. The differences of memory char-
acterizing different races, then, are for the most part due
to differences in the social order and to the nature of the
civilization, rather than to the intrinsic and inherited
structure of the brain itself.
Since memory is the foundation of all mental opera-
tions, we have given to it the first place in the present
discussion. And that the Japanese have a fair degree of
memory argues well for the prospect of high attain-
ment in other directions. With this in mind, we naturally
ask whether they show any unusual proficiency or defi-
ciency in the acquisition of foreign languages? In
view of her protracted separation from the languages
of other peoples, should we not expect marked deficiency
in this respect? On the contrary, however, we find that
tens of thousands of Japanese students have acquired a
fairly good reading knowledge of English, French, and
German. Those few who have had good and sufficient
teaching, or who have been abroad and lived in Occi-
dental lands, have in addition secured ready conversa-
tional use of the various languages. Indeed, some have
contended that since the Japanese learn foreign lan-
guages more easily than foreigners learn Jai^anese. they
have greater linguistic powers than the foreigner. It
should be borne in mind, however, that in such a com-
parison, not only are the time required and the proficiency
attained to be considered, but also the inherent diffi-
MEMORY— IMITATION 195
culty of the language studied and the Hnguistic helps
provided the student.
I have come gradually to the conclusion that the
Japanese are neither particularly gifted nor particularly
deficient in powers of language acquisition. They rank
with Occidental peoples in this respect.
To my mind language afTords one of the best possible
proofs of the general contention of this volume that the
characteristics which distinguish the races are social
rather than biological. The reason why the languages
of the different races dififer is not because the brain-
types of the races are different, but only because of the
isolated social evolution which the races have experi-
enced. Had it been possible for Japan to maintain
throughout the ages perfect and continuous social inter-
course with the ancestors of the Anglo-Saxon race,
while still maintaining biological isolation, i. c, perfect
freedom from intermarriage, there is no reason to think
that two distinct languages so different as English and
Japanese would have arisen. The fact that Japanese
children can accurately acquire English, and that English
or American children can accurately acquire Japanese,
proves conclusively that diversities of language do not
rest on brain differences and brain heredity, but exclu-
sively on social differences and social heredity.
If this is true, then the argument can easily be ex-
tended to all the features that differentiate the civiliza-
tions of different races ; for the language of any race is,
in a sense, the epitome of the civilization of that race.
All its ideas, customs, theologies, philosophies, sciences,
mythologies ; all its characteristic thoughts, conceptions,
ideals ; all its distinguishing social features, are repre-
sented in its language. Indeed, they enter into it as de-
termining factors, and by means of it are transmitted
from age to age. This argument is capable of much
extension and illustration.
The charge that the Japanese are a nation of imitators
has been repeated so often as to become trite, and the
words are usually spoken with disdain. Yet, if the truth
were fully told, it would be found that, from many points
of view, this quality gives reason rather for congratu-
196 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
lation. Surely that nation which can best discriminate
and imitate has advantage over nations that are so fixed
in their self-sufficiency as to be able neither to see that
which is advantageous nor to imitate it. In referring to
the imitative powers of the Japanese, then, I do not speak-
in terms of reproach, but rather in those of commenda-
tion. " Monkeyism " is not the sort of imitation that
has transformed primitive Japan into the Japan of the
early or later feudal ages, nor into the Japan of the
twentieth centurv. Bare imitation, without thought,
has been relatively slight in Japan. If it has been
known at times, those times have been of short dura-
tion.
In his introduction to "The Classic Poetry of the
Japanese " Professor Chamberlain has so stated the case
for the imitative quality of the people 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 neighbor-
ing continent; so much so that of all that we are accus-
tomed to term ' Old Japan ' scarce one trait in a hun-
dred is really and properly Japanese. Not only are their
silk and laccjuer not theirs by right of invention, nor
their painting (all)eit so often praised by European
critics for its originality), nor their porcelain, nor their
music, but even the larger part of their language con-
sists 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 state-
ments, yet I can but feel thai it makes, on the whole, a
false impression. Were these same tests applied to
any European people, what would be the result? Of
what European nation may it be said that its art. or
MEMORY— IMITATION 197
method of writing, or architecture, or science, or lan-
guage even, is "its own by right of invention"? And
when we stop to examine the details of the ancient
Japanese civilization which is supposed to have been so
slavishly copied from China and India, we shall find
that, though the beginnings were indeed imitated, there
were also later developments of purely Japanese crea-
tion. In some instances the changes were vital.
In examining the practical arts, while we acknowl-
edge that the beginnings of nearly all came from Korea
or China, we must also acknowledge that in many impor-
tant respects Japan has developed along her own lines.
The art of sword-making, for instance, was undoubtedly
imported; but who does not know of the superior
quality and beauty of Japanese swords, the Damascus
blades of the East? So distinct is this Japanese produc-
tion that it cannot be mistaken for that of any other
nation. It has received the impress of the Japanese
social order. Its very shape is due to the habit of car-
rying the sheath in the " obi " or belt.
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 ex-
plain their architecture, so different from that of China
and Korea? How explain the multiplied original ways
in which bamboo and straw are used?
For a still closer view of the matter, let us consider
the imported ethical and religious codes of the country.
In China the emphasis of Confucianism is laid on the
duty of filial piety. In Japan the primary emphasis is on
loyalty. This single change transformed the entire sys-
tem and made the so-called Confucianism of Japan dis-
tinct from that of China. In Buddhism, imported from
India, we find greater changes than Occidental nations
have imposed on their religion imported from Palestine.
Indeed, so distinct has Japanese Buddhism become that
it is sometimes difficult to trace its connections in China
and India. And the Buddhistic sects that have sprung
up in Japan are more radically diverse and antagonistic
to each other and to primitive Buddhism than the de-
198 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
nominations of Christianity arc to each other and to
primitive Qiristianity.
In ilkistration 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 of Christianity that
some have supposed them to have been derived from it,
but without the slightest evidence. All its main doc-
trines and practices were clearly formulated by its
founder, Shinrah, six hundred years ago. The regular
doctrines of Buddhism that salvation comes only
through self-effort and self-victory are rejected, and sal-
vation through 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 the older
and more primitive Buddhism. The sacred books are
printed in the vernacular, in marked contrast to the cus-
toms of the other sects. Women, too, are given a very
different place in the social and religious scale and are
allowed hopes of attaining salvation that are denied by
all the older sects. " Penance, fasting, prescribed diet,
pilgrimages, isolation from society, whether as hermits
or in the cloister, and generally amulets and charms, are
all tabooed by this sect. Monasteries imposing life vows
are unknown within its pale. Family life takes the place
of monkish seclusion. Devout prayer, purity, earnest-
ness of life, and trust in Buddha himself as the only
worker of perfect righteousness, are insisted on.
Morality is taught as more important than ortho-
doxy." * It is amazing how far the Shin sect has broken
away from regular Buddhistic doctrine and practice.
Who can say that no originality was required to de-
velop 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 " Plokke " or " Nicheren." Its fountler,
known by the name of Nichiren, was a man of extraordi-
nary independence and religious fervor. Wliolly by his
original questions and doubts as to the prevailing doc-
* Griffis' " Religions of Japan," p. 272.
MEMORY— IMITATION
■99
trines and customs of the then dominant sects, he was
led to make independent examination into the history
and meaning of Buddhistic Hterature and to arrive at
conckisions quite different from those of his contempo-
raries. Of the truth and importance of his views he was
so persuaded that he braved not only fierce denuncia-
tions, but prolonged opposition and persecution. He
was rejected and cast out by his own people and sect;
he was twice banished by the ruling military powers.
But he persevered to the end, finally winning thousands
of converts to his views. The virulence of the attacks
made upon him was due to the virulence with which he
attacked what seemed to him the errors and corruption
of the prevailing sects. Surely his was no case of
servile imitation. His early followers had also to en-
dure opposition and severe persecution.
Glancing at the philosophical ideas brought from
China, we find here too a suggestion of the same tend-
ency toward originality. It is true that Dr. Geo. Wm.
Knox, in his valuable monograph on " A Japanese Phi-
losopher," makes the statement that, " In acceptance and
rejection alike no native originality emerges, nothing
beyond a vigorous power of adoption and assimilation.
No improvements of the new philosophy were even at-
tempted. Wherein it was defective and indistinct, defec-
tive and indistinct it remained. The system was not
thought out to its end and independently adopted. Po-
lemics, 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 so
much of discrimination was shown." * And somewhat
earlier he likewise asserts that " There is not an original
and valuable commentary by a Japanese writer. They
have been content to brood over the imported works and
to accept unquestioningly politics, ethics, and metaphys-
ics." After some examination of these native philoso-
phers, I feel that, although not without some truth, these
assertions cannot be strictly maintained. It is doubtless
true that no powerful thinker and writer has appeared in
Japan that may be compared to the two great philoso-
* P. 24.
200 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
phers of China, Shushi and Oyomei. The works and
the system of the former dominated Japan, for the simple
reason that governmental authority forbade the public
teaching or advocacy of the other. Nevertheless, not a
few Japanese thinkers rejected the teachings and philoso-
phy of Shushi, regardless of consequences. Notable
among those rejecters was Kaibara Yekken, whose book
" The Great Doubt " was not published until after his
death. In it he rejects in emphatic terms the philosoph-
ical and metaphysical ideas of Shushi. An article* by Dr.
Tetsujiro Inouye, Professor of Philosophy in the' Im-
perial University in Tokyo, on the " Development of Phil-
osophical Ideas in Japan," 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 have had no independence in philosophy, is
our ignorance of the larger part of Japanese and Chinese
literature. Oriental speculation was moving in a direc-
tion so diverse from that of the West that we are im-
pressed more with the general similarity that prevails
throughout it than with the evidences of individual
difYerences. Greater knowledge would reveal these dif-
ferences. In our generalized knowledge, we see the uni-
formity so strongly that we fail to discover the origin-
ality.
As a traveler from the West, on reaching some East-
ern land, finds it difficult at first to distinguish between the
faces of different individuals, his mind being focused on
the likeness pervading them all, so the Occidental stu-
dent of Oriental thought is impressed with the remark-
able similarity that pervades the entire Oriental civili-
* Far East for January, 1S9S.
MEMORY— IMITATION 201
zation, modes of thought, and philosophy, finding it
difficult to discover the differences which distinguish
the various Oriental races. In like manner, a beginner
in the study of Japanese philosophy hardly gives the
Japanese credit for the modifications of Chinese philoso-
phy which they have originated.
In this connection it is well to remember that, more
than any Westerner can realize, the Japanese people
have been dependent on governmental initiative from
time immemorial. They have never had any thought
but that of implicit obedience, and this characteristic of
the social order has produced its necessary conse-
quences in the present characteristics of the people. In-
dividual initiative and independence have been frowned
upon, if not always forcibly repressed, and thus the habit
of imitation has been stimulated. The people have been
deliberately trained to imitation by their social system.
The foreigner is amazed at the sudden transformations
that have swept the nation. When the early contact
with China opened the eyes of the ruling classes to the
fact that China had a system of government that was
in many respects better than their own, it was an easy
thing to adopt it and make it the basis for their own
government. This constituted the epoch-making period
in Japanese history known as the Taikwa Reform. It
occurred in the seventh century, and consisted of a cen-
tralizing policy; under which, probably for the first time
in Japanese history, the country was really unified.
Critics ascribe it to an imitation of the Chinese system.
Imitation it doubtless was ; but its significant feature was
its imposition by the few rulers on the people; hence
its wide prevalence and general acceptance.
Similarly, in our own "times, the Occidentalized order
now dominant in Japan was adopted, not by the people,
but by the rulers, and imposed by them on the people;
these had no idea of resisting the new order, but accepted
it loyally as the decision of their Emperor, and this
spirit of unquestioning obedience to the powers that be
is, I am persuaded, one of the causes of the prevalent
opinion respecting Japanese imitativeness as well as of
the fact itself.
202 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
The reputation for imitativeness, together with the
quahty itself, is due in no small degree, therefore, to the
long-continued dominance of the feudal order of society.
In a land where the dependence of the inferior on the su-
perior is absolute, the wife on the husband, the children
on the parents, the followers on their lord, the will of
the superior being ever supreme, individual initiative
must be rare, and the quality of imitation must be power-
fully stimulated.
XVII
ORIGINALITY— INVENTIVENESS
ORIGINALITY is the obverse side of imitation.
In combating the notion that Japan is a nation
of unreflective imitators, I have given numerous
examples of originaHty. Further extensive illustration
of this characteristic is, accordingly, unnecessary. One
other may be cited, however.
The excellence of Japanese art is admitted by all.
Japanese temples and palaces are adorned with mural
paintings and pieces of sculpture that command the ad-
miration of Occidental experts. The only question is as
to their authors. Are these, properly speaking, Japa-
nese works of art — or Korean or Chinese? That Japan
received her artistic stimulus, and much of her artistic
ideas and technique, from China is beyond dispute. But
did she develop nothing new and independent ? This is a
question of fact. Japanese art, though Oriental, has a
distinctive quality. A magnificent work entitled " So-
licited Relics of Japanese Art" is issuing from the press,
in which there is a large number of chromo-xylographic
and collotype reproductions of the best specimens of an-
cient Japanese art. Reviewing this work, the Japan
Mail 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 master-
pieces 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." *
* January 20, 1900.
203
204 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
Under the early influence of Buddhism (900-1200 A.
D.) Japan fairly bloomed. Those were the days of her
glory in architecture, literature, and art. But a blight
fell upon her from which she is only now recovering.
The causes of this blight will receive attention in a sub-
sequent 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 the Japanese government has interfered with
the originality of the people. " The genius of their gov-
ernment seems to forbid any exercise of ingenuity in
producing articles for the gratification of wealth and
luxury. Sumptuary laws rigidly enforce the forms,
colors, material, and time of changing the dress of all.
As to luxury of furniture, the thing is unknown in
Japan. . . It would be an endless task to attempt
to put down all the acts of a Japanese that are regulated
by authority."
The Tokugawa rule forbade the building of large
ships; so that, by the middle of the nineteenth century,
the art of ship-building was far behind what it had been
two centuries earlier. Government authority exter-
minated Christianity in the early part of the seventeenth
century and freedom of religious belief was forbidden.
The same power that put the ban on Christianity for-
bade the spread of certain condemned systems of Con-
fucianism. Even in the study of Chinese literature and
philosophy, tlierefore, such originality as the classic
models stimulated was discouraged by the all-powerful
Tokugawa government. The avowed aim and end of the
ruling powers of Japan was to keep the nation in its
status quo. Originality was heresy and treason; prog-
ress was impiety. The teaching of Confucius likewise
lent its support to this policy. To do exactly as the
fathers did is to honor them ; to do, or even to think,
otherwise is to dishonor them. There have not been
wanting men of originality and independence in both
China and Japan ; but they were not great enough to
break over, or break down, the incrusted system in
which they lived — the system of blind devotion to the
past. This system, that deliberately opposed all inven-
ORIGINALITY -INVENTIVENESS 205
tion and originality, has been the great incubus to na-
tional progress, in that it has rejected and repressed every
tendency to variation. What results might not the
country have secured, had Christianity been allowed to
do its work in stimulating individual development and
in creating the sense of personal responsibility towards
God and man !
A curious anomaly still remains in Japan on the sub-
ject of liberty in study and belief. Though perfect
liberty is the rule, one topic is even yet under of-
ficial embargo. No one may express public dissent from
the authorized version of primitive Japanese history. A
few years ago a professor in the Imperial University
made an attempt to interpret ancient Japanese myths.
His constructions were supposed to threaten the divine
descent of the Imperial line, and he was summarily
dismissed.
Dr. E. Inouye, Professor of Buddhist Philosophy in
the Imperial University, addressing a Teachers' Associa-
tion of Sendai, delivered a conservative, indirectly anti-
foreign speech. He insisted, as reported by a local
English correspondent, that the Japanese people " were
descended from the gods. In all other countries the
sovereign or Emperor was derived from the people, but
here the people had the honor of being derived from the
Emperor. Other countries had filial piety and loyalty,
but no such filial piety and loyalty as exist in Japan.
The moral attainments of the people were altogether
unique. He informed his audience that though they
might adopt foreign ways of doing things, their minds
needed no renovating; they were good enough as they
were." *
As a result of this position, scholarship and credulity
are curiously combined in modern historical production.
Implicit confidence seems to be placed in the myths of
the primitive era. Tales of the gods are cited as histor-
ical events whose date, even, can be fixed with some
degree of accuracy. Although writing was unknown in
Japan until early in the Christian era, the chronology of
the previous six or eight hundred years is accepted on
* Japan Mail, November 12, 1898.
2o6 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
the authority of a single statement in the Kojiki, written
712 years a. d. This statement was reproduced from
the memory of a single man, who remembered miracu-
lously the contents of a book written shortly before, but
accidentally destroyed by fire. In the authoritative his-
tory of Japan, prepared and translated into English at
the command of the government for the Columbian Ex-
position, we find such statements as these:
" From the time that Amaterasu-Omikami made Xi-
nigi-no-mikoto to descend from the heavens and sub-
ject to his administrative sway Okini-nushi-no-mikoto
and other offspring of the deities in the land, descend-
ants of the divine beings have sat upon the throne, gen-
eration after generation in succession." * " Descended
in a direct line from the heavenly deities, the Em-
peror has stood unshaken in his high place through
all generations, his prestige and dignity immutable
from time immemorial and independent of all the
vicissitudes of the world about him." f " Never has
there been found a single subject of the realm who
sought to impair the Imperial prestige." $ It is true
that in a single passage the traditions of the " age of the
Deities" are described as "strange and incredible le-
gends," but it is added that, how^ever singular they arc,
in order to understand the history of the Empire's begin-
nings, they must be studied. Then follows, without a
word of criticism or dissent, the account of the doings of
the heavenly deities, in creating Japan and its people, as
well as the myriads of gods. There is no break between
the age of the gods and the history of men. The first in-
ventions and discoveries, such as those of fire, of min-
ing, and of weaving are ascribed to Amate rasu-
Omikami (the Sun Goddess). According to these tradi-
tions and the modern histories built upon them, the
Japanese race came into existence wholly independently
of all other races of men. Such is the authoritative
teaching in the schools to-day.
Occidental scholars do not accept these statements or
dates. That the Japanese will evince historical and crit-
ical ability in the study of their own early history, as
*P. 17. fP. 18. I P. 18.
ORIGINALITY— INVENTIVENESS 207
soon as the social order will allow it, can hardly be doubt-
ed. Those few who even now entertain advanced ideas do
not dare to avow them. And this fact throws an interest-
ing light on the way in which the social order, or a des-
potic government, may thwart for a time the natural
course of development. The present apparent credulity
of Japanese historical scholarship is due neither to race
character nor to superstitions lodged in the inherited
race brain, but simply to the social system, which, as yet,
demands the inviolabiUty of the Imperial line.
Now that the Japanese have been so largely relieved
from the incubus of the older social order, the question
rises whether they are showing powers of originality.
The answer is not doubtful, for they have already
made several important discoveries and inventions. The
Murata rifle, with which the army is equipped, is the in-
vention of a Japanese. In 1897 Colonel Arisaka in-
vented several improvements in this same rifle, increas-
ing the velocity and accuracy, and lessening the weight.
Still more recently he has invented a rapid-fire field-
piece to superintend whose manufacture he has been
sent to Europe. Mr. Shimose has invented a smokeless
powder, which the government is manufacturing for its
own use. Not infrequently there appear in the papers
notices of new inventions. I have recently noted the
invention of important improvements in the hand loom
universally used in Japan, also a " smoke-consumer "
which not only abolishes the smoke, but reduces the
amount of coal used and consequently the expense.
These are but a few of the ever-increasing number of
Japanese inventions.
In the field of original scientific research is the famous
bacteriologist, Dr. Kitazato. Less widely known per-
haps, but none the less truly original explorers in the
field of science, are Messrs. Hirase and Ikeno, whose dis-
coveries of spermatozoids in Ginko and Cycas have no
little value for botanists, especially in the development
of the theory of certain forms of fertilization. These in-
stances show that the faculty of original thought is not
entirely lacking among the Japanese. Under favorable
conditions, such as now prevail, there is good reason for
2o8 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
holding that the Japanese will take their place among the
peoples of the world, not only as skillful imitators and
adapters, but also as original contributors to the prog-
ress of civilization and of science.
Originality may be shown in imitation as well as in
production, and this type of originality the Japanese
have displayed in a marked way. They have copied the
instituti(jns of no single country. It might even be dif-
ficult to say which Western land has had the greatest in-
fluence in molding the new social order of Japan. In
view of the fact that it is the English language which
has been most in favor during the past thirty years, it
might be assumed that England and America are the
favored models. But no such hasty conclusion can be
drawn. The Japanese have certainly taken ideas and
teachers from many different sources; and they have
changed them frequently, but not thoughtlessly. A
writer in The Far East brings this points out clearly :
" Wliile Japan remained secluded from other coun-
tries, she had no necessity for and scarcely any war ves-
sels, but after the country was opened to the free inter-
course 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. Rut in the matter of naval education
our rulers' found the English system altogether unsatis-
factory, and adopted the American system for the model
of our naval academy. So, in discipline, our naval of-
ficers 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 sys-
tem, or the American, or the French, or the German
system. But it has been so constructed as to inchulc
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 dis-
cipline. Shortly before the present era we reorganized
our army by adopting ihe Dutch system, then the Eng-
ORIGINALITY— INVENTIVENESS 209
lish, then the French, and after the Franco-Prussian
war, made an improvement by adopting the German sys-
tem. But on every occasion of reorganization we re-
tained 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 been followed. There has been no slavish or
unconscious imitation. On the contrary, there has been
a constant conscious effort to follow the best model that
the civilized world afforded. Of course, it may be
doubted whether in fact they have always chosen the
best; but that is a different matter. The Japanese think
they have; and what foreigner can say that, under the
circumstances and in view of the conditions of the peo-
ple, they have not? One point is clear, that on the
whole the nation has made great progress in recent dec-
ades, and that the conduct of the government cannot
fail to command the admiration of every impartial stu-
dent of Oriental lands. This is far from saying that all
is perfection. Even the Japanese make no such claim.
Nor is this equivalent to an assertion of Japan's equal-
ity with the leading lands of the West, although many
Japanese are ready to assert this. But I merely say that
the leaders of New Japan have revealed a high order of
judicious originality in their imitation of foreign
ngjtions.
XVIII
INDIRECTNESS—" NOMINALITY "
THE Japanese have two words in frequent use
which aptly describe certain striking aspects of
their civiHzation. They are " tomawashi ni,"
"yumei-mujitsu," the first translated literally signifying
" roundabout " or " indirect," the second meaning " hav-
ing the name, but not the reality." Botli these aspects
of Japanese character are forced on 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 wish to buy; but that
would not be the most Japanese method. I accordingly
resorted to the help of a "go-between." This individual,
who has a regular name in Japanese, "nakadachi," is in-
dispensable for many purposes. When land was being
bought for missionary residences in Kumamoto, there
were at times three or even four agents acting between
the purchaser and the seller and each received his "orei,"
" honorable politeness," or, in plain English, commission.
In the purchase of two or three acres of land, dealings
were carried on with some fifteen or more separate land-
owners. Three dififerent go-betweens dealt directly with
the purchaser, and each of these had his go-between, and
in some cases these latter had theirs, before the land-
owner was reached. A domestic desiring to leave my
employ conferred with a go-between, who conferred with
his go-between, who conferred with me! In every im-
portant consultation a go-between seems essential in
Japan. That vexatious delays and misunderstandings
are frequent may be assumed.
The system, however, has its advantages. In case of
disagreeable matters the go-between can say the dis-
2IO
INDIRECTNESS-" NOMINALITY " 211
agreeable things in the third person, reducing the un-
pleasant utterances to a minimum.
I recall the case of two evangelists in the employ of
the Kumamoto station. Each secured the other to act
as go-between in presenting his own difficulties to me.
To an American the natural course would have been for
each man to state his own grievances and desires, and
secure an immediate settlement.
The characteristic of " roundaboutness " is not, how-
ever, confined to Japanese methods of action, but also
characterizes their methods of speech. In later chap-
ters on the alleged Japanese impersonality we shall con-
sider the remarkable deficiency of personal pronouns in
the language, and the wide use of " honorifics." This
substitution of the personal pronouns by honorifics
makes possible an indefiniteness of speech that is exceed-
ingly difficult for an Anglo-Saxon to appreciate. Fancy
the amount of implication in the statement, " Ikenai
koto-wo shimashita" which, strictly translated, means
" Can't go thing have done." Who has done? you? or
he? or I? This can only be inferred, for it is not stated.
If a speaker wishes to make his personal allusion blind,
he can always do so with the greatest ease and without
the slightest degree of grammatical incorrectness.
" Caught cold," " better ask," " honorably sorry," " feel
hungry," and all the common sentences of daily life are
entirely free from that personal definiteness which an
Occidental language necessitates. We shall see later
that the absence of the personal element from the word-
ing of the sentence does not imply, or prove, its absence
from the thought of either the speaker or hearer. The
Japanese language abounds in roundabout methods of
expression. This is specially true in phrases of courtesy.
Instead of saying, "I am glad to see you," the Japanese
say, "Well, honorably have come"; instead of, "I am
sorry to have troubled you," they say, " Honorable hin-
drance have done " ; instead of " Thank you," the correct
expression is, " It is difficult."
In a conversation once with a leading educator, I was
maintaining that a wide study of English was not need-
ful for the Japanese youth; that the majority of the boys
212 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
would never learn enough English to make it of prac-
tical use to them in after-life, and that it would be wiser
for them to spend the same amount of time on more
immediately practical subjects. Tlie reply was that the
boys needed to have the drill in English in order to gain
clear methods of thought: that the sharp distinctness of
the English sentence, with its personal pronouns and
tense and number, affords a mental drill which the Japa-
nese can get in no other way; and that even if the boys
should never make the slightest after-use of English in
reading or conversation, the advantage gained was well
worth the time expended. I have since noticed that
those men who have spent some time in the study of a
foreign language speak very much more clearly in
Japanese than those who have not had this training. In
the former case, the enunciation is apt to be more dis-
tinct, and the sentences rounded into more definite periods.
The conversation of the average Japanese tends to
ramble on in a never-ending sentence. But a marked
change has come over vast numbers of the people dur-
ing the last three decades. The roundaboutness of to-
day is as nothing to that which existed under the old
order of society. For the new order rests on radically
different ideas; directness of speech and not its ojiposite
is being cultivated, and in absolute contrast to the
methods of the feudal era, directness of governmental
procedure is well-nigh universal to-day. In trade, too,
there has come a straightforwardness that is promising,
though not yet triumphant. It is safe to assume that in
all respectable stores the normal price is charged; for
the custom of fixed prices has been widely adopted. If
individuals are known to have the " beating down "
habit, special prices are added for their sakes.
A personal experience illustrates the point. My wife
and I had priced several lamps, had made note of the
most satisfactory, and had gone home without buying.
The next day a domestic was sent to secure the one
which pleased us best. He was charged more than we
had been, and in surprise mentioned the sum which we
had authorized him to pay. The shopkeeper explained
by saying that he always told us the true i)rice in the
INDIRECTNESS— "NOMINALITY" 213
beginning, because we never tried to beat him down. In
truth, modern industrial conditions have pretty well ban-
ished the old-time custom of haggling. A premium is
set on straightforwardness in business 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 sim-
plicity, I venture to call " nominality." Japanese his-
tory is a prolonged illustration of this characteristic.
For over a thousand years " yumei-mujitsu " has been
a leading feature in governmental life. Although the
Emperor has ostensibly been seated on the throne,
clothed with absolute power, still he has often reigned
only in name.* Even so early as 130 A. d., the two
families of Oomi and Omuraji began to exercise des-
potic authority in the central government, 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
to the Imperial line. These early took possession of the
person of the Emperor, and the fathers of the wives
often exercised Imperial power. The country was fre-
quently and long disturbed by intense civil wars between
these rival families. In turn the Fujiwaras, the Mina-
motos, and the Tairas held the leading place in the con-
trol of the Emperor; they determined the succession and
secured frequent abdication in favor of their infant sons,
but within these families, in turn, there appeared
the influence of the " yumei-mujitsu " characteristic.
Lesser men, the retainers of these families, manipulated
the family leaders, who were often merely figureheads
of the contending families and clans. Emperors were
made and unmade at the will of these men behind the
scenes, most of whom are quite unknown to fame. The
creation of infant Emperors, allowed to bear the Im-
perial name in their infancy and youth, but compelled to
abdicate on reaching manhood, was a common device
*" History of the Empire of Japan," compiled and translated
for the Imperial Japanese Commission of the World's Columbian
Exposition.
214 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
for maintaining nominal Imperialism with actual im-
potence.
When military clans began to monopolize Imperial
power, the people distinctly recognized the nature of
their methods and gave it the name of " Bakufu " or
" curtain government," a roundabout expression for
military government. There has been a succession of
these " curtain governments," the last and most success-
ful being that of the Tokugawa, whose fall in 1867-68
brought the entire system to an end and placed the true
Emperor on the throne.
But this " yumei-mujitsu " characteristic of Japanese
life has been by no means limited to the national gov-
ernment. Every daimyate was more or less blighted
by it ; the daimyo, or " Great Name," was in too many
cases 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 by the
daimyo. The lord was often a " great name " and
nothing more. That this state of affairs was always at-
tended with evil results is by no means the contention
of these pages. Not infrequently the people were saved
by it from the incompetence and ignorance and selfish-
ness of hereditary rulers. Indeed, this system of
" yumei-mujitsu " government was one of the devices
whereby the inherent evils of hereditary rulers were
more or less obviated. It may be questioned, however,
whether the device did not in the long run cost more
than it gained. Did it not serve to maintain, if not actu-
ally to produce, a system of dissimulation and deception
which could but injure the national character? It cer-
tainly could not stimulate the straightforward frankness
and outspoken directness and honesty so essential to the
well-being of the human race.
Although " yumei-mujitsu " government is now prac-
tically extinct in Japan, yet in the social structure it
still survives.
The Japanese family is a maze of " nominality." Full-
grown young men and women are adopted as sons and
dauirhters, in order to maintain the famih- line anil name.
INDIRECTNESS— "NOMINALITY" 215
A son is not a legal son unless he is so registered, while
an illegitimate child is recognized as a true son if so
registered. A man may be the legal son of his grand-
mother, or of his sister, if so registered. Although a
family may have no children, it does not die out unless
there has been a failure to adopt a son or daughter,
and an extinct family may be revived by the legal
appointment of someone to take the family name and
worship at the family shrine. The family pedigree,
therefore, does not describe the actual ancestry, but only
the nominal, the fictitious. There is no deception in this.
It is a well-recognized custom of Old Japan. Its origin,
moreover, is not difficult to explain. Nor is this kind of
family peculiar to Japan. It is none the less a capital
illustration of the " yumei-mujitsu " characteristic per-
meating the feudal civilization, and still exerting a
powerful influence. Even Christians are not free from
" nominalism," as we have frequently found in our mis-
sionary work.
A case in mind is of an evangelist employed by our
mission station. He was to receive a definite propor-
tion of his salary from the church for which he worked
and the rest from the station. On inquiry I learned that
he was receiving only that provided by the station, and
on questioning him further he said that probably the
sum promised by the church was being kept as his
monthly contribution to the expenses of the church!
Instances of this kind are not infrequent. While in
Kyushu I more than once discovered that a body of
Christians, whose evangelists we were helping to sup-
port proportionately, were actually raising not a cent of
their proportion. On inquiry, I would be told that the
evangelists themselves contributed out of their salary
the sums needed, and that, therefore, the Christians did
not need to raise it.
The mission, at one time, adopted the plan of throw-
ing upon the local churches the responsibility of decid-
ing as to the fitness of young men for mission aid in
securing a theological education. It was agreed by rep-
resentatives of the churches and the mission that each
candidate should secure the approval of the deacons of
2i6 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
the church of which he was a member, and that the
church should pay a certain proportion of the candidate's
school expenses. It was thought that by this method
the leading Christians of the young man's acquaintance
would become his sponsors, and that they would be un-
willing to take this responsibility except for men in
whom they had personal confidence, and for whom they
would be willing to make personal contributions. In
course of time the mission discovered that the plan was
not working as expected. The young men could secure
the approval of the deacons of their church without any
difficulty; and as for the financial aid from the church,
that could be very easily arranged for by the student's
making a monthly contribution to the church of the sum
which the church should contribute toward his expenses.
Although this method seems to the average Occidental
decidedly deceptive, it seemed to the Japanese perfectly
proper. The arrangement, it is needless to state, was
not long continued. I am persuaded that the correct
explanation of these cases is " yumei-mujitsu."
Not long since express trains were put on between
Kobe and Tokyo. One morning at Osaka I planned to
take the early express to Kyoto, distant about thirty
miles. These are the second and third cities of Japan,
and the travel between them is heavy. On applying for
a ticket I was refused and told there was no train for
Kyoto. But as multitudes were buying tickets, and
going out upon the platform, I asked an official what the
trouble was, and received the explanation that for this
express train no tickets could be sold for less than forty
miles; but if I would buy a ticket for the next station
beyond Kyoto, it would be all right ; I could get ofT at
Kyoto. I was assured that I would be allowed to land
and leave the station at Kyoto. This I did then, and
have repeatedly done since. The same absurd rule is
applied, I am told, between Yokohama and Tokyo.
But our interest in these illustrations is the light they
shed on Japanese character. They indicate the intel-
lectual angle from which the people have looked out on
life. What is the origin of the characteristic? Is it due
to deep-lying race nature, to the quality of the race
INDIRECTNESS— "NOMINALITY" 217
brain ? Even more clearly than in the case of " round-
aboutness," it seems to me that " nominahty " is due to
the nature of the old social order. Feudalism has
always exhibited more or less of these same features.
To Anglo-Saxons, reared in a land blessed by direct
government of the people, by the people, and for the
people, such methods were not only needless but ob-
noxious. Nominal responsibility without real power has
been seen to breed numberless evils. We have learned
to hate all nominalism, all fiction in government, in busi-
ness, and, above all, in personal character. But this is due
to the Anglo-Saxon social order, the product in large
measure of centuries of Christian instruction.
Through contact with Westerners and the ideas they
stand for, directness and reality are being assimilated
and developed by the Japanese. This would be im-
possible were the characteristic in question due to in-
herent race nature necessarily bequeathed from genera-
tion to generation by intrinsic heredity.
XIX
INTELLECTUALITY
SOME writers hold that the Japanese are inherently
deficient in the higher mental faculties. They con-
sider mediocre mentality to be an inborn character-
istic of Japan and assert that it lies at the root of the
civilizational differences distinguishing the East from the
West. The puerility of Oriental science in all its depart-
ments, the prevalence of superstition even among tlie
cultivated, the lack of historical insight and interpreta-
tion of history are adduced as conclusive evidences of
this view.
Foreign teachers in Japanese employ have told me
that Japanese students, as compared with those of the
West, manifest deficient powers of analysis and of gen-
eralization. Some even assert that the Japanese have
no generalizing ability whatever, their progress in
civilization being entirely due to their remarkable power
of clever imitation. Mr. W. G. Aston, in ascribing the
characteristic features of Japanese literature to the fun-
damental nature of the race, says they are '' hardly capa-
ble of high intellectual achievement." *
While we may admit that the Japanese do not seem to
have at present the same power of scientific generaliza-
tion as Occidentals, we naturally ask ourselves whether
the difference is due to natal deficiency, or whether it
may not be due to difiference in early training. We
must not forget that the youth who come under the ob-
servation of foreign teachers in Japanese schools are
already products of the Japanese system of education,
home and school, and necessarily are as defective as it is.
In a previous chapter a few instances of recent inven-
tion and important scientific discovery were given.
* " Japanese Literature," p. 4.
218
INTELLECTUALITY 2 1 9
These could not have been made without genuine powers
of analysis and generalization. We need not linger to
elaborate this point.
Another set of facts throwing light on our problem is
the success of so many Japanese students, at home and
in foreign lands, in mastering modern thought. Great
numbers have come back from Europe and America with
diplomas and titles; not a few have taken high rank in
their classes. The Japanese student abroad is usually
a hard worker, like his brother at home. I doubt if any
students in the new or the old world study more hours
in a year than do these of Japan. It has often amazed
me to learn how much they are required to do. This is
one fair sign of intellectuality. The ease too with which
young Japan, educated in Occidental schools and intro-
duced to Occidental systems of thought, acquires ab-
struse speculations, searching analyses, and generalized
abstractions proves conclusively Japanese possession of
the higher mental facuhies, in spite of the long survival
in their civilization of primitive puerility and supersti-
tions and the lack of science, properly so called.
Japanese youths, furthermore, have a fluency in public
speech decidedly above anything I have met with in the
United States. Young men of eighteen or twenty years
of age deliver long discourses on religion or history or
politics, with an apparent ease that their uncouth appear-
ance would not lead one to expect. In the little school
of less than 150 boys in Kumamoto there were more in-
dividuals who could talk intelligibly and forcefully on
important themes of national policy, the relation of re-
ligion and politics, the relation of Japan to the Occi-
dent and the Orient, than could be found in either of
the two colleges in the United States with which I was
connected. I do not say that they could bring forth
'original ideas on these topics. But they could at least
remember what they had heard and read and could
reproduce the ideas with amazing fluency.
A recent public meeting in Tokyo in which Christian
students of the University spoke to fellow-students on
the great problems of religion, revealed a power of no
mean order in handling the peculiar difficulties encoun-
220 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
tered by educated young men. A competent listener,
recently graduated from an American university and
widely acquainted with American students, declared that
those Japanese speakers revealed greater powers of mind
and speech than would be found under similar circum-
stances in the United States.
The fluency with which timid girls pray in public has
often surprised me. Once started, they 'never seem to
hesitate for ideas or words. The same girls would
hardly be able to utter an intelligible sentence in replv
to questions put to them by the pastor or the missionary,
so faint would be their voices and so hesitating the'ir
manner.
The question as to whether the Japanese have powers
of generalization receives some light from a study of the
language of the people. An examination of primitive
Japanese proves that the race, prior to receiving even
the slightest influence from China, had developed highly
generalized terms. It is worth while to call attention
here to a simple fact which most writers seem to ignore,
namely, that all language denotes and indeed rests on
generalization. Consider the word " uma," ' horse " ;
this is a name for a whole class of objects, and is there-
fore the product of a mind that can generalize and ex-
press its generalization in a concept which no act of the
imagination can picture; the imagination can represent
only individuals ; the mind that has concepts of classes of
things, as, for instance, of horses, houses, men, women,
trees, has already a genuine power of generalization.
Let me also call attention to such words as " wake," " rea-
son " ; " mono," " thing " ; " koto," " fact " ; " aru," " is " ;
" oro," " lives " ; " aru koto," " is fact," or " existence " ;
" ugoku koto," " movement " ; " omoi," " thought " ;
this list might be indefinitely extended. Let the reader
consider whether these words are not highly general-
ized; yet these are all pure Japanese words, and reveal
the development of the Japanese mind before it was in
the least influenced by Chinese thought. Evidently it
will not do to assert the entire lack of the power of gen-
eralization to the Japanese mind.
Still further evidence proving Japanese possession of
INTELLECTUALITY 221
the higher mental faculties may be found in the wide
prevalence and use of the most highly generalized philo-
sophical terms. Consider for instance, " Ri " and " Ki,"
" In " and " Yo." No complete translation can be found
for them in English; " Ri " and " Ki " may be best trans-
lated as the rational and the formative principles in the
universe, while " In " and " Yo " signify the active and
the passive, the male and the female, the light and the
darkness; in a word, the poles of a positive and nega-
tive. It is true that these terms are of Chinese origin as
well as the thoughts themselves, but they are to-day in
universal use in Japan. Similar abstract terms of Bud-
dhistic origin are the possession of the common people.
Of course the possession of these Chinese terms is
not offered as evidence of independent generalizing
ability. But wide use proves conclusively the pos-
session of the higher mental faculties, for, without such
faculties, the above terms would be incomprehensible to
the people and would find no place in common speech.
We must be careful not to give too much weight to the
foreign origin of these terms. Chinese is to Japanese
what Latin and Greek are to modern European lan-
guages. The fact that a term is of Chinese origin
proves nothing as to the nature of the modern Japanese
mind. The developing Japanese civilization demanded
new terms for her new instruments and increasing con-
cepts. These for over fifteen centuries have been bor-
rowed from, or constructed out of, Chinese in the same
way that all our modern scientific terms are constructed
out of Latin and Greek. It is doubtful if any of the
Chinese terms, even those borrowed bodily, have in
Japan the same significance as in China. If this is true,
then the originating feature of Japanese power of gen-
eralization becomes manifest.
Indeed from this standpoint, the fact that the Japanese
have made such extensive use of the Chinese language
'shows the degree to which the Japanese mind has out-
grown its primitive development, demanding new terms
for the expression of its expanding life. But mental
growth implies energy of acquisition. The adoption of
Chinese terms is not a passive but an active process.
222 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
Acquisition of generalized terms can only take place
with the development of a generalizing mind. Foreign
terms may help, but they do not cause that development.
In a study of the question whether or not the Japa-
nese possess independent powers of analysis and general-
ization, we must ever remember the unicjue character of
the social environment to which they have been sub-
jected. Always more or less of an isolated nation, they
have been twice or thrice suddenly confronted with a
civilization much superior to that which they in their
isolation had developed. Under such circumstances,
adoption and modification of ideas and language as well
as of methods and machinery were the most rational and
natural courses.
The explanation usually given for the puerilities of
Oriental science, history, and religion has been short
and simple, namely, the inherent nature of the Oriental
races, as if this were the final fact, needing and admitting
no further explanation. That the Orient has not develop-
.ed history or science is doubtless true, but the correct
explanation of this fact is, in my opinion, that the educa-
tional method of the entire Orient has rested on
mechanical memorization; during the formative period
of the mind the exclusive effort of education has been to
develop a memory which acts by arbitrary or fanciful
connections and relations. A Japanese boy of Old
Japan, for instance, began his education at from seven
to eight years of age and spent three or four years in
memorizing the thousands of Chinese hieroglyphic char-
acters contained in the Shisho and Gokyo, nine of the
Chinese classics. This completed, his teacher would be-
gin to explain to him the meaning of the characters and
sentences. The entire educational cfifort was to develop
the powers of observing and memorizing accidental,
superficial, or even purely artificial relations. This
double faculty of observing trifling and irrelevant details,
and of remembering them, became phenomenally and
abnormally developed.
Recent works on the psychologv of education, how-
ever, have made plain how an excessive development of
a child's lower mental faculties mav arrest its later
INTELLECTUALITY 223
growth in all the higher departments of its intellectual
nature; the development of a mechanical memory is well
known as a serious obstacle to the higher activities of
reason. Now Japanese education for centuries, like
Chinese, has developed such memory. It trained the
lower and ignored the higher. Much of the Japanese
education of to-day, although it includes mathematics,
science, and history, is based on the mechanical memory
method. The Orient is thus a mammoth illustration of
the effects of over-development of the mechanical mem-
ory, and the consequent arrest of the development of the
remaining powers of the mind.
Encumbered by this educational ideal and system, how
could the ancient Qiinese and Japanese men of educa-
tion make a critical study of history, or develop any
science worthy of the name? The childish physics and
astronomy, the brutal therapeutics and the magical and
superstitious religions of the Orient, are a necessary
consequence of its educational system, not of its inherent
lack of the higher mental powers.
If Japanese children brought up from infancy in
American homes, and sent to American schools from
kindergarten days onward, should still manifest marked
deficiencies in powers of analysis and generalization, as
compared with American children, we should then be
compelled to conclude that this difference is due to
diverse natal psychic endowment. Generalizations as
to the inherent intellectual deficiencies of the Oriental
are based on observations of individuals already devel-
oped in the Oriental civilization, whose psychic defects
they accordingly necessarily inherit through the laws of
social heredity. Such observations have no relevancy
to our main problem. We freely admit that Oriental
civilization manifests striking deficiencies of develop-
ment of the higher mental faculties, although it is not
nearly so great as many assert; but we contend that
these deficiencies are due to something else than the in-
herent psychic nature of the Oriental individual. Innu-
merable causes have combined to produce the Oriental
social order and to determine its slow development.
These cannot be stated in a sentence, nor in a paragraph.
224 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
In the final analysis, however, the causes which produce
the characteristic features of Japanese social order are
the real sources of the differentiating intellectual traits
now characterizing the Japanese. Introduce a new social
heredity, — a new system of education, — one which rele-
gates a mechanical memory to the background, — one
which exalts powers of rational observation of the pro-
found causal relations of the phenomena of nature, and
which sets a premium on such observation, analysis, and
generalization, and the results will show the inherent
psychic nature of the Oriental to be not different from
that of the Occidental.
XX
PHILOSOPHICAL ABILITY
WE are now prepared to consider whether or not
the Japanese have philosophical abihty. The
average educated Japanese beheve such to be
the case. The rapidity and ease with which the upper
classes have abandoned their superstitious faiths is com-
monly attributed by themselves to the philosophical
nature of their minds. Similarly the rapid spread of
so-called rationalism and Unitarian thought and Higher
Criticism among once earnest Christians, during the
past decade, they themselves ascribe to their interest in
philosophical questions, and to their ability in handling
philosophical problems.
Foreigners, on the other hand, usually deny them the
possession of philosophical ability.
Dr. Peery, in his volume entitled " The Gist of
Japan," says: " By nature, I think, they are more inclined
to be practical than speculative. Abstract theological
ideas have little charm for them. There is a large ele-
ment in Japan that simulates a taste for philosophical
study. Philosophy and metaphysics are regarded
by them as the profoundest of all branches of learn-
ing, and in order to be thought learned they profess
great interest in these studies. Not only are the highly
metaphysical philosophies of the East studied, but the
various systems of the West are looked into likewise.
Many of the people are capable of appreciating these
philosophies, too; but they do it for a purpose." Other
writers make the same general charge of philosophical
incompetence. One or two quotations from Dr. Knox's
writings were given on this subject, under the head of
Imitation.*
What, then, are the facts? Do the Japanese excel in
* Cf. chapter xvi. p. 199.
225
226 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
philosophy, or arc they conspicuously deficient? In
either case, is the characteristic due to essential race
nature or to some other cause?
We must first distinguish between interest in philo-
sophical problems and ability in constructing original
philosophical systems. In this distinction is to be found
the reconciliation of many conflicting views. Many
who argue for Japanese philosophical ability are im-
pressed with the interest they show in metaphysical
problems, while those who deny them this ability are
impressed with the dependence of Japanese on Chinese
philosophy.
The discussions of the previous chapter as to the
nature of Japanese education and its tendency to develop
the lower at the expense of the higher mental faculties,
have prepared us not to expect any particularly brilliant
history of Japanese philosophy. Such is indeed the case.
Primitive Japanese cosmology does not differ in any
important respect from the primitive cosmology of other
.races. The number of those in Old Japan \v'ho took a
living interest in distinctly metaphysical problems is in-
disputably small. While we admit them to have mani-
fested some independence and even originality, as Pro-
fessor Inouye urges,* yet it can hardly be maintained
that they struck out any conspicuously original philo-
sophical systems. There is no distinctively Japanese
philosophy.
These facts, however, should not blind us to the dis-
tinction between latent ability in philosophical thought
and the manifestation of that ability. The old social
order, with its defective education, its habit of servi'.^ in-
tellectual dependence on ancestors, and its social and
legal condemnation of independent originality, particu-
larly in the realm of thought, was a mighty incubus on
speculative philosophy. Furthermore, crude science
and distorted hi.story could not provide the recpiisite
material from which to construct a philosophical inter-
pretation of the universe that would a]ipeal to the
modern Occidental.
In spite, however, of social and educational hin-
* Cf. cliaptcr .wii.
PHILOSOPHICAL ABILITY 227
dranccs, the Japanese have given ample evidence of
interest in metaphysical problems and of more or less
ability in their solution. Religious constructions of the
future life, conceptions as to the relations of gods and
men and the universe, are in fact results of the meta-
physical operations of the mind. Primitive Japan was
not without these. As she developed in civilization and
came in contact with Chinese and Hindu metaphysical
thoupjit, she acquired their characteristic systems.
Buddhist first, and later Confucian, metaphysics domi-
nated the thought of her educated men. In view of the
highly metaphysical character of Buddhist doctrines and
the interest they have produced at least among the bet-
ter trained priests, the assertion that the Japanese have
no ability in metaphysics cannot be maintained.
At one period in the history of Buddhism in Japan,
prolonged public discussions were all the fashion.
Priests traveled from temple to temple to engage in pub-
lic debate. The ablest debater was the abbot, and he had
to be ready to face any opponent who might appear. If
a stranger won, the abbot yielded his place and his liv-
ing to the victor. Many an interesting story is told of
those times, and of the crowds that would gather to hear
the debates. But our point is that this incident in the
national life shows the appreciation of the people for
philosophical questions. And although that particular
fashion has long since passed away, the national interest
in discussions and arguments still exists. No monks of
the West ever enjoyed hair-splitting arguments more
than do many of the Japanese. They are as adept at
mc.ital refinements and logical juggling as any people
of the West, though possibly the Hindus excel them.
If it be said that Confucianism was not only non-
metaphysical, but uniquely practical, and for this reason
found wide acceptance in Japan, the reply must be first
that, professing to be non-metaphysical, it nevertheless
had a real metaphysical system of thought in the back-
ground to which it ever appealed for authority, a sys-
tem, be it noted, more in accord with modern science and
philosophy than Buddhist metaphysics; and secondly,
although Confucianism became the bulwark of the state
228 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
and the accepted faith of the samurai, it was hmited to
them. The vast majority of the nation clung to their
primitive Buddhistic cosmology. That Confucianism
rested on a clearly implied and more or less clearly ex-
pressed metaphysical foundation may be seen in the
quotations from the writings of i\Iuro Kyuso which are
given in chapter xxiv. We should note that the revolt
of the educated classes of Japan from Buddhism three
hundred years ago, and their general adoption of Con-
fucian doctrine, was partly in the interests of religion
and partly in the interests of metaphysics. In both re-
spects the progressive part of the nation had become dis-
satisfied with Buddhism. The revolt proves not lack of
religious or metaphysical interest and insight, but rather
the reverse.
Not a little of the teaching of Shushi (i 130-1200 a. d.)
and of Oyomei (1472-1528 a. d.), Chinese philosophical
expounders of Confucianism, is metaphysical. The doc-
trine of the former was widely studied and was the
orthodox doctrine in Japan for more than two centuries,
all other doctrine and philosophy being forbidden by
the state. It is true that the central interest in this phil-
osophical instruction was the ethical. It was felt that
the entire ethical system rested on the acceptance of a
particular metaphysical system. But so far from de-
tracting from our argument this statement rather adds.
For in what land has not the prime interest in meta-
physics been ethical? A study of the history of
philosophy shows clearly that philosophy and meta-
physics arose out of religious and ethical problems,
and have ever maintained their hold on thinking men,
because of their mutually vital relations. In Japan it
has not been otherwise. If anyone doubts this he
should read the Japanese philosophers — in the original,
if possible; if not, then in such translations and extracts
as Dr. Knox has given us in his "A Japanese Phi-
losopher," and Mr. Aston in his " Japanese Literature."
The ethical interest is primary, and the metaphysical
interest is secondary,* to be sure, but not to be denied.
* Quotations from " A Jaiianese Philosopher " will be found in
chapters xxiv. and xxvi.
PHILOSOPHICAL ABILITY 229
Occidental philosophy has found many earnest and
capable Japanese students. The Imperial University
has a strong corps of philosophical instructors. Occi-
dental metaphysical thought, both materialistic and
idealistic, has found many congenial minds. Indeed,
it is not rash to say that in the thought of New Japan
the distinguishing Oriental metaphysical conceptions of
the universe have been entirely displaced by those of
the West. Christians, in particular, have entirely aban-
doned the old polytheistic, pantheistic, and fatahstic
metaphysics and have adopted thoroughgoing mono-
theism.
Ability to understand and sufficient interest to study
through philosophical and metaphysical systems of
foreign lands indicate a mental development of no slight
order, whatever may be the ability, or lack of it, in
making original contributions to the subject. That
educated Japanese have shown real ability in the former
sense can hardly be doubted by those who have read
the writings of such men as Goro Takahashi, ex-presi-
dent Hiroyuki Kato, Prof. Yujiro Motora, Prof. Rikizo
Nakashima, or Dr. Tetsujiro Inouye. The philosophical
brightness of many of Japan's foreign as well as home-
trained scholars argues well for the philosophical ability
of the nation.
A recent conversation with a young Japanese gives
point to what has just been said. The young man sud-
denly appeared at my study door, and, with unusually
brief salutations, said that he wished me to talk to him
about religion. In answer to questions he explained
that he had been one of my pupils ten years ago in the
Kumamoto Boys' School; that he had been baptized
as a Christian at that time, but had become cold and
filled with doubts ; that he had been studying ever since,
having at one time given considerable attention to the
Zen sect of Buddhism; but that he had found no satis-
faction there. He accordingly wished to study Christi-
anity more carefully. For three hours we talked, he
asking questions about the Christian conception of God,
of the universe, of man, of sin, of evolution, of Christ,
of salvation, of the object of life, of God's purpose in
230 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
creation, of the origin and nature of the Bible. Toward
the latter part of our conversation, referring to one idea
expressed, he said, " That is about what Hegel held, is
it not?" As he spoke he opened his knapsack, which
I then saw to be full of books, and drew out an English
translation of Hegel's " Philosophy of History"; he had
evidently read it carefully, making his notes in Japa-
nese on the margin. I asked him if he had read it
through. " Yes," he replied, " three times." He also
incidentally informed me that he had thought of entering
our mission theological training class during the pre-
vious winter, but that he was then in the midst of the
study of the philosophy of Kant, and had accordingly
decided to defer entering until the autumn. How thor-
oughly he had mastered these, the most profound and
abstruse metaphysicians that the West can boast, I can-
not state. But this at least is clear ; his interest
in them was real and lasting. And in his conversation
he showed keen appreciation of philosophical problems.
It is to be noted also that he was a self-taught phi-
losopher — for he had attended no school since he studied
elementary English, ten years before, while a lad of less
than twenty.
As a sample of the kind of men I not infrequently
meet, let me cite the case of a young business man
who once called on me in the hotel at Imabari, popularly
called " the little philosopher." He wished to talk about
the problem of the future life and to ask my personal
belief in the matter. He said that he believed in God
and in Jesus as Plis unique son and revealer, but that he
found great difftculty in believing in the continued life
of the soul after death. His difificulty arose from the
problems of the nature of future thinking; shall we con-
tinue to think 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 then remember
our present life? If we do, then the future life will not
be essentially different from this, /. c, we must still have
physical senses, and continue to live in an essentially
physical world. Here was a set of objections to the
PHILOSOPHICAL ABILITY 231
doctrine of the future life that I have never heard as
much as mentioned by any Occidental youth. Though
without doubt not original with him, yet he must have
had in some degree both philosophical ability and in-
terest in order to appreciate their force and to seek their
solution.
In conversation not long since with a Buddhist priest
of the Tendai sect, after responding to his request for
a criticism of Buddhism, I asked him for a similarly
frank criticism of Christianity. To my surprise, he
said that while Christianity was far ahead of Buddhism
in its practical parts and in its power to mold char-
acter, it was deficient in philosophical insight and in-
terest. This led to a prolonged conversation on
Buddhistic philosophy, in which he explained the doc-
trines of the " Ku-ge-chu," and the " Usa and Musa."
Without attempting to explain them here, I may say
that the first is amazingly like Hegel's " absolute noth-
ing," with its thesis, antithesis, and synthesis, and the
second a psychological distinction between volitional
and spontaneous emotions.
In discussing Japanese philosophical ability, a point
often forgotten is the rarity of philosophical ability or
even interest in the West. But a small proportion of
college students have the slightest interest in philo-
sophical or metaphysical problems. The majority do
not understand what the distinctive metaphysical prob-
lems are. In my experience it is easier to enter into a
conversation with an educated man in Japan on a
philosophical question than with an American. If in-
terest in philosophical and metaphysical questions in
the West is rare, original ability in their investigation
is still rarer.
We conclude, then, that in regard to philosophical
ability the Japanese have no marked racial character-
istic dififerentiating them from other races. Although
they have not developed a distinctive national phi-
losophy, this is not due to inherent philosophical in-
competence. Nor, on the other hand, is the relatively
wide interest now manifest in philosophical problems
232 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
attributable to the inherent philosophical ability of the
race. So far as Japan is either behind or in advance
of other races, in this respect, it is due to her social
order and social inheritance, and particularly to the
nature, methods, and aims of the educational system, but
not to her intrinsic psychic inheritance.
XXI
IMAGINATION
IN no respect, perhaps, have the Japanese been more
sweepingly criticised by foreigners than in regard
to their powers of imagination and ideahsm, Un-
quahfied generaHzations not only assert the entire lack
of these powers, but they consider this lack to be the
distinguishing inherent mental characteristic of the race.
The Japanese are called " prosaic," " matter-of-fact,"
" practical," " unimaginative."
Mr. Walter Dening, describing Japanese mental char-
acteristics, 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 aUke the results of a network
of subtle influences to which the Japanese are compara-
tive 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 afifair when compared with that of Westerners.
The Japanese cannot understand why our controversial-
ists 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." *
*'* Things Japanese," p. 233.
233
234 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
Mr. Percival Lowell expends an entire chapter in
his " Soul of the Far East," in showing how important
imagination is as a factor in art, religion, science, and
civilization generally, and how strikingly deficient Japa-
nese are in this faculty. " The F"ar Orientals," he
argues, " ought to be a particularly unimaginative set
of people. Such is precisely what they are. Their
lack of imagination is a well-recognized fact."*
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."*
On the other hand, some writers have called attention
to the contrary element of Japanese mental nature.
Prof. Ladd, for instance, maintains that the character-
istic mental trait of the Japanese is their sentimentality.
He has shown how their lives are permeated with and
regulated by sentiment. Ancestral worship, patriotism.
Imperial apotheosis, friendship, arc fashioned by ideal-
izing sentiment. In our chapters on the emotional
elements of Japanese character we have considered how
widespread and ])owerful these ideals and sentiments
have been and still are.
Writers who compare the Chinese with the Japanese
remark the practical business nature of the former and
the impractical, visionary nature of the latter.
For a proper estimate of our problem we should
♦P. 213. tP-3o.
IMAGINATION 235
clearly distinguish between the various forms of im-
agination. It reveals itself not merely in art and
literature, in fantastic conception, in personification
and metaphor, but in every important department of
human life. It is the tap-root of progress, as Mr.
Lowell well points out. It pictures an ideal life in ad-
vance of the actual, which ideal becomes the object of
effort. The forms of imagination may, therefore, be
classified according to the sphere of life in which it
appears. In addition to the poetic fancy and the
idealism of art and literature generally, we must dis-
tinguish the work of imagination in the aesthetic, in
the moral, in the religious, in the scientific, and in the
political life. The manifestation of the imaginative
faculty in art and in literature is only one part of the
aesthetic imagination.
In studying Japanese aesthetic characteristics, we
noted how unbalanced was the development of their
aesthetic sense. This proposition of unbalanced devel-
opment applies with equal force to the imaginative
faculty as a whole. Conspicuously lacking in certain
directions, it is as conspicuously prominent in others.
Rules of etiquette are the products of the sesthetic
imagination, and in what land has etiquette been more
developed than in feudal Japan? Japanese imagination
has been particularly active in the political world. The
passionate loyalty of retainers to their lord, of samurai
to their daimyo', of all to their " kuni," or clan, in
ancient times, and now, of the people to their Emperor,
are the results of a vivid political idealizing imagina-
tion. Imperial apotheosis is a combination of the
political and religious imagination. And in what land
has the apotheosizing imagination been more active
than in Japan?* Ambition and self-conceit are like-
wise dependent on an active imaginative faculty.
There can be no doubt the writers quoted above have
drawn attention to some salient features of Japanese
art. In the literature of the past, the people have not
manifested that high literary imagination that we dis-
cover in the best literature of many other nations.
236 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
This fact, however, will not justify the sweeping gen-
eralizations based upon it. Judging from the pre-
Elizabethan literature, who would have expected the
brilliancy of the Elizabethan period? Similarly in re-
gard to the Victorian period of English literature.
Because the Japanese have failed in the past to produce
literature equal to the best of Western lands, we are
not justified in asserting that she never will and that
she is inherently deficient in literary imagination. In
regard to certain forms of light fancy, all admit that
Japanese poems are unsurpassed by those of other
lands. Japanese amative poetry is noted for its deli-
cate fancies and plays on words exceedingly difficult, if
not impossible, of translation, or even of expression, to
one unacquainted with the language.
The deficiencies of Japanese literature, therefore, are
not such as to warrant the conclusion that they both
mark and make a fundamental difference in the race
mind. For such differences as exist are capable of a
sociological explanation.
The prosaic matter-of-factness of the Japanese mind
has been so widely emphasized that we need not dwell
upon it here. There is, however, serious danger of
over-emphasis, a danger into which all writers fall who
make it the ground for sweeping condemnatory criti-
cism. They are right in ascribing to the average Japa-
nese a large amount of unimaginative matter-of-fact-
ness, but they are equally wrong in unqualified dogmatic
generalizations. They base their inductions on in-
sufificient facts, a habit to which foreigners are peculiarly
liable, through ignorance of the language and also of
the inner thoughts and life of the people.
The prosaic nature of the Japanese has not impressed
me so much as the visionary tendency of the people,
and their idealism. The Japanese themselves count this
idealism a national characteristic. They say that they are
theorizers, and numberless experiences confirm this view.
They project great undertakings; they scheme; they
discuss contingencies; they make enormous j^lans; ail
with an air of seriousness and yet with a nonchalance
which shows a semi-consci(-)US sense of the unrcalit\- of
IMAGINATION 237
their proposals. In regard to Korea and China and
Formosa, they have hatched poHtical and business
schemes innumerable. The kaleidoscopic character of
Japanese politics is in part due to the rapid succession
of visionary schemes. One idea reigns for a season,
only to be displaced by another, causing constant re-
adjustment of political parties. Frequent attacks on
government foreign policy depend for their force on
lordly ideas as to the part Japan should play in inter-
national relations. Writing about the recent discus-
sions in the public press over the question of intro-
ducing foreign capital into Japan, one contributor to
the Far East remarks that " It has been treated more
from a theoretical than from a practical standpoint. . .
This seems to me to arise from a peculiar trait of
Japanese mind -which is prone to dwell solely on the
theoretical side until the march of events compels a
sudden leap toward the practical." This visionary fac-
ulty of the Japanese is especially conspicuous in the
daily press. Editorials on foreign affairs and on the
relations of Japan to the world are full of it.
I venture to jot down a few illustrations of im-
practical idealism out of my personal knowledge. An
evangelist in the employ of the Kumamoto station
exemplified this visionary trait in a marked degree.
Nervous in the extreme, he was constantly having new
ideas. For some reason his attention was turned to
the subject of opium and the evils China was suffering
from the drug, forced on her by England. Forthwith
he came to me for books on the subject; he wished to
become fully informed, and then he proposed to go to
China and preach on the subject. For a few weeks he
was full of his enterprise. It seemed to him that if
he were only allowed the opportunity he could convince
the Chinese of their error, and the English of their
crime. One of his plans was to go to England and
expostulate with them on their un-Qiristian dealings
with China. A few weeks later his attention was turned
to the wrongs inflicted on the poor on account of their
ignorance about law and their inability to get legal
assistance. This idea held him longer than the previous.
238 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
He desired to study law and become a public pleader
in order to defend the poor against unjust men of
wealth. In his theological ideas he was likewise ex-
treme and changeable; swinging from positive and
most emphatic belief to extreme doubt, and later back
again. In his periods of triumphant faith it seemed
to him that he could teach the world; and his expositions
of truth were extremely interesting. He proposed to
formulate a new theology that would dissolve forever
the difhculties of the old theology. In his doubts, too,
he was no less interesting and assertive. His hold on
practical matters was exceedingly slender. His salary,
though considerably larger than that of most of the
evangelists, was never sufficient. He would spend lav-
ishly 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 of its fierce struggles and' final col-
lapse, whom I have already referred to as the Hero-
Principal,* is another example of this impractical high-
strung visionariness. No sooner had he reached
Kumamoto, than there opened before our enchanted
eyes the vision of this little insignificant school bloom-
ing out into a great university. True, there had been
some of this bombast before his arrival; but it took on
new and gorgeous form under his master hand. The
airs that he put on, displaying his (fraudulent) Ph. D.,
and talking a])out his schemes, are simply amusing to
contemplate from this distance. His studies in the
philosophy of religion had so clarified his mind that
he was going to reform both Christianity and Buddhism.
His sermons of florid eloquence and vociferous power,
never less than an hour in length, were as marked in
ambitious thoughts as in puljMt mannerisms. He threw
a spell over all who came in contact with him. He over-
awed them by his vehemence and tremendous earnest-
ness and insistence on perfect obedience to his masterful
will. In one of his climactic sermons, after charging
missionaries with teaching dangerous errors, he said
♦ Cf. chapter vii.
IMAGINATION 239
that while some were urging that the need of the times
was to " hie back to Luther," and others were saying
that we must " hie back to Christ " (these EngHsh
words being brought into his Japanese sermon), they
were both wrong; we must " hie back to God "; and he
prophesied a reformation in rehgion, beginning there in
Kumamoto, in that school, which would be far and
away more important in the history of the world than
was the Lutheran Reformation.
The recent history of Christianity in Japan supplies
many striking instances of visionary plans and visionary
enthusiasts. The confident expectation entertained
during the eighties of Christianizing the nation before
the close of the century was such a vision. Another,
arising a few years later, was the importance of
returning all foreign missionaries to their native lands
and of intrusting the entire evangelistic work to native
Christians, and committing to them the administration
of the immense sums thus set free. For it was assumed
by these brilliant Utopians that the amount of money
expended in supporting missionaries would be avail-
able for aggressive work should the missionaries be
withdrawn, and that the Christians in foreign lands
would continue to pour in their contributions for the
xTevangelization of Japan.
Jf Still another instance of Utopian idealism is the
/ vision that Japan will give birth to that perfect religion,
' meeting the demands of both heart and head, for which
the world waits. In January, 1900, Prof. T. Inouye, of
the Imperial University, after showing quite at length,
and to his own satisfaction, the inadequacy of all exist-
ing religions to meet the ethical and religious situation
in Japan, maintained this ambitious view.
Some Japanese Christians are declaring the need of
Japonicized Christianity. " Did not the Greeks trans-
form Christianity before they accepted it? And did not
the Romans, and finally the Germans, do the same?
Before Japan will or can accept the religion of Christ,
it must be Japonicized." So they argue; "and who so
fit to do it as we?" lies in the background of their
thought.
240 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
Many a Christian pastor and evangelist, although not
sharing the ambition of Prof. Inouye, nevertheless
glows with the confident expectation that Japonicized
Christianity will be its most perfect type. " No one
need wonder if Japan should be destined to present to
the world the best type of Christanity that has yet
appeared in history," writes an exponent of this view,
at one time a Christian pastor. In this connection the
reader may recall what was said in chapter xiv. on
Japanese Ambition and Conceit, qualities depending on
the power of seeing visions. We note, in passing, the
optimistic spirit of New Japan. This is in part due,
no doubt, to ignorance of the problems that lie athwart
their future progress, but it is also due to the vivid
imaginative faculty which pictures for them the glories
of the coming decades when they shall lead not only
tlie Orient, but also the Occident, in every line of civi-
lization, material and spiritual, moral and religious. A
dull, unimaginative, prosaic nature cannot be exuber-
antly optimistic. It is evident that writers who pro-
claim the unimaginative matter-of-factness of the
Japanese as universal and absolute, have failed to see
a large side of Japanese inner life.
Mr. Percival Lowell states that the root of all the
peculiarities of Oriental peoples is their marked lack
of imagination. This is the faculty that " mav in a
certain sense be said to be the creator of the world."
The lack of this faculty, according to Mr. Lowell, is
the root of the Japanese lack of originality and inven-
tion; it gives the whole Oriental civilization its char-
acteristic features. He cites a few words to prove the
essentially prosaic character of the Japanese mind, such
as " up-down " for " pass " (which word, by the way, is
his own invention, and reveals his ignorance of the
language), "the being (so) is difificult," in place of "thank
you." " A lack of any fanciful ideas," he savs, " is one
of the most salient traits of all Far Eastern' peoples, if
indeed a sad dearth can properly be called salient. In-
directly, their want of imagination betrays itself in their
everyday sayings and doings, and more dircctlv in every
branch of thought." I note, in passing, that INIr. Lowell
IMAGINATION 241
does not distinguish between fancy and imagination.
Though allied faculties, they are distinct. Mr. Lowell's
extreme estimate of the prosaic nature of the Japanese
mind I cannot share. Many letters received from
Japanese friends refute this view by their fanciful ex-
pressions. The Japanese language, too, has many fan-
ciful terms. Why " pass " is any more imaginative than
" up-down," to accept Mr. Lowell's etymology, or " the
being (so) is difficult " than " thank you," I do not
see. To me the reverse proposition would seem the
truer. And are not " breaking-horns " for " on pur-
pose," and " breaking-bones " for " with great difficulty,"
distinctly imaginative terms, more imaginative than the
English? In the place of our English term "sun,"
the Japanese have several alternative terms in common
use, such as " hi," " day," '' Nichirin," " day-ball,"
" Tcn-to Sama," "the god of heaven's light;" and fof
" moon," it has " tsiiki," " month," " gctsu-rin," " month
ball." The names given to her men-of-war also indicate
a fanciful nature. The torpedo destroyers are named
" 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-naped
Crane," and " White Hawk." Surely, it cannot be main-
tained that the Japanese are utterly lacking in fancy.
Distinguishing between fancy as " the power of form-
ing pleasing, graceful, whimsical, or odd mental images,
or of combining them with little regard to rational
processes of construction," and imagination, in its more
philosophical use, as " the act of constructive intellect
in grouping the materials of knowledge or thought into
new, original, and rational svstems," we assert without
fear of successful contradiction, that the Japanese race
is not without either of these important mental facul-
ties.
In addition to the preceding illustrations of visionary
and fanciful traits, let the reader reflect on the signifi-
cance of the comic and of caricature in art. Japanese
Netsuke (tiny carvings of exquisite skill representing
comical men, women, and children) are famous the
242 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
world over. Surely, the fancy is the most conspicuous
mental characteristic revealed in this branch of Japanese
art. In Japanese poetry " a vast number of conceits,
more or less pretty," are to be found, likewise manifest-
ing the fancy of both the authors who wrote and the
people who were pleased with and preserved their writ-
ings.* The so-called " impersonal habit of the Japanese
mind," with a corresponding " lack of personification
of abstract qualities," doubtless prevents Japanese lit-
erature from rising to the poetic heights attained by
Western nations. But this lack does not prove the
Japanese mind incapable of such flights. As describ-
ing the actual characteristics of the literature of the
past the assertion of " a lack of imaginative power " is
doubtless fairly correct. But the inherent nature of
the Japanese mind cannot be inferred from the de-
ficiencies of its past literature, without first examining
the relation between its characteristic features and the
nature ®f the social order and the social inheritance.
Are the Japanese conspicuously deficient in imagina-
tion, in the sense of the definition given above? The
constructive imagination is the creator of civilization.
Not only art and literature, but, as already noted,
science, philosophy, politics, and even the practical arts
and prosaic farming are impossible without it. It is
the tap-root of invention, of discovery, of originality.
It is needless to repeat what has been said in previous
chapters f on Japanese imitation, invention, discovery,
and originality. Yet, in consideration of the facts there
given, are we justified in counting the Japanese so con-
spicuously deficient in constructive imagination as to
warrant the assertion that such a lack is the fundamental
characteristic of the race psychic nature?
As an extreme case, look for a moment at their imita-
tivcness. Although imitation is considered a proof of
deficient originality, and thus of imagination, yet reflec-
tion shows that this depends on the nature of the
imitation. Japanese imitation has not been, except
* Cf. chapter xv. pj). i86, 187.
f Cf. chapters xvi. ami xvii.
IMAGINATION 243
possibly for short periods, of that slavish nature which
excludes the work of the imagination. Indeed, the
impulse to imitation rests on the imagination. But
for this faculty picturing the state of bliss or power
secured in consequence of adopting this or that feature
of an alien civilization, the desire to imitate could not
arise. In view, moreover, of the selective nature of
Japanese imitation, we are further warranted in ascrib-
ing to the people no insignificant development of the
imagination.
In illustration, consider Japan's educational system.
Established no doubt on Occidental models, it is never-
theless a distinctly Japanese institution. Its buildings
arc as characteristically Japonicized Occidental school
buildings as are its methods of instruction. Japanese
railroads and steamers, likewise constructed in Japan,
are similarly Japonicized — adapted to the needs and con-
ditions of the people. To our eyes this of course sig-
nifies no improvement, but assuredly, without such
modification, our Western railroads and steamers would
be white elephants on their hands, expensive and difificult
of operation.
What now is the sociological interpretation of the
foregoing facts? How are the fanciful, visionary, and
idealistic characteristics, on the one hand, and, on the
other, the prosaic, matter-of-fact, and relatively unim-
aginative characteristics, related to the social order?
It is not difficult to account for the presence of
accentuated visionariness in Japan. Indeed, this quality
is conspicuous among the descendants of the military
and literary classes; and this fact furnishes us the clew.
" From time immemorial," to use a phrase common on
the lips of Japanese historians, up to the present era, the
samurai as a class were quite separated Jrom the
practical world; they were comfortably supported by
their liege lords; entirely relieved from the necessity of
toiling for their daily bread, they busied themselves not
only .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,
244 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
there was sure to arise a refined system of etiquette
and ol rank distinctions. Even a few centuries of life
would, under such conditions, develop highly nervous
individuals in large numbers, hypersensitive in many
directions. These men, by the very development of
their nervous constitutions, would become the social
if not the practical leaders of their class ; high-spirited,
and with domineering ideas and scheming ambitions,
they would set the fashion to all their less nervously
developed fellows. Freed from the exacting conditions
of a practical life, they would inevitably fly off on tan-
gents more or less impractical, visionary.
If, therefore, this trait is more marked in Japanese
character than in that of many other nations, it may
be easily traced to the social order that has ruled this
land " from time immemorial." More than any other
of her mental characteristics, impractical visionariness
may be traced to the development of the nervous organ-
ization at the expense of the muscular. This character-
istic accordingly may be said to be more inherently a
race characteristic than many others that have been
mentioned. Yet we should remember that the samurai
constitute but a small proportion of the people. Ac-
cording to recent statistics (1895) the entire class to-day
numbers but 2,050,000, while the common people
number over 40,000,000. It is, furthermore, to be re-
membered that not all the descendants of the samurai
are thus nervously organized. Large numbers have a
splendid physical endowment, with no trace of abnormal
nervous development. Whilt^he_old_f£udaL order, with
its constant carrying ^fsyyoras^ and the giving of honor
to the most impetuous, naturally tended to push the
most high-strung individuals into the forefront and to
set them up as models for the imitation of the young, J
the social order now regnant in Japan faces in the
other direction. Such visionary men are increasingly
relegated to the rear. Their approach to insanity is
recognized and condemned. Even this trait of char-
acter, therefore, which seems to be rooted in brain and
nerve structure is, nevertheless, more subject to the
prevailing social order than would at first seem possible.
IMAGINATION 245
Its rise we have seen was due to that order, and the set-
ting aside of these characteristics as ideals at least, and
thus the bringing into prominence of more normal and
healthy ideals, is due to the coming in of a new order.
Japanese prosaic matter-of-factness may similarly be
shown to have intimate relations to the nature of the
social order. Oppressive military feudalism, keeping
|the vast majority of the people in practical bondage,
physical, intellectual, and spiritual, would necessarily
render their lives and thoughts narrow in range and
spiritless in nature. Such a system crushes out hope.
From sunrise to sunset, '' ncmbyaku nenju," " for a hun-
dred years and through all the year," the humdrum
duties of daily life were the only psychic stimuli of the
absolutely uneducated masses. Without ambition,
without self-respect, without education or any stimulus
for the higher mental life, what possible manifestation
of the higher powers of the mind could be expected?
Should some " sport " appear by chance, it could not
long escape the sword of domineering samurai. Even
though originally possessing some degree of imagina-
tion, cringing fear of military masters, with the con-
tinuous elimination by ruthless slaughter of the more
idealizing, less submissive, and more self-assertive in-
dividuals of the non-military classes, would finally
produce a dull, imitative, unimaginative, and matter-
of-fact class such as we find in the hereditary laboring
and merchant classes.
Furthermore, Japanese civilization, like that of the
entire Orient, with its highly communalized social
order, is an expression of passive submission to superior
authority. Although an incomplete characterization,
there is still much truth in saying that the Orient is an
expression of Fate, the Occident of Freedom. We have
seen that a better contrasted characterization is found
in the terms communal and individual. The Orient
has known nothing of individualism. It has not valued
the individual nor sought his elevation and freedom.
In every way, on the contrary, it has repressed and
opposed him. The high development of the individual
culminating in powerful personality has been an excep-
246 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
tional occurrence, due to special circumstances. A
communal social order, often repressing and invariably
failing to evoke the higher human faculties, must ex-
press its real nature in the language, literature, and
customs of the people. Thus in our chapter on the
Esthetic Characteristics of the Japanese* we saw how
the higher forms of literature were dependent on the
development of manhood and on a realization of his
nature. A communal social order despising, or at least
ignoring the individual, cannot produce the highest
forms of literature or art, because it does not possess
the highest forms of psychic development. Take from
Western life all that rests on or springs from the prin-
ciples of individual worth, freedom, and immortality,
and how much of value or sublimity will remain? The
absence from Japanese literature and language of the
higher forms of fancy, metaphor, and personification on
the one hand, and, on the other, the presence of wide-
spread prosaic matter-of-factness, are thus intimately
related to the communal nature of Japan's long domi-
nant social order.
Similarly, in regard to the constructive imagination,
whose conspicuous 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 social order. In our dis-
cussions concerning Japanese Intellectuality and
Philosophical Ability,t we saw how intimate a relation
exists between the social order, particularly as ex-
pressed in its educational system, and the development
of the higher mental faculties. Now a moment's reflec-
tion will show how the constructive imagination, be-
longing as it does to the higher faculties, was sup-
pressed by the system of mechanical and S4.iporfioinl
education required by the social order. Religion
apotheosized ancestral knowledge and customs, thus
effectively condemning all conscious use of this faculty.
So far as it was used, it was under the guise of reviving
old knowledge or of expounding it more completely.
* Cliaptcr XV.
I Cluipters xix. and xx.
IMAGINATION
247
This, however, has been the experience of every race
in certain stages of its development. Such periods have
been conspicuously deficient in powerful literature,
progressive science, penetrating philosophy, or develop-
ing political life. When a nation has once entered such
a social order it becomes stagnant, its further develop-
ment is arrested. The activity of the higher faculties
of the mind are in abeyance, but not destroyed. It
needs the electric shock of contact and conflict with
foreign races to startle the race out of its fatal repose
and start it on new lines of progress by demanding, on
pain of death, or at least of racial subordination, the
introduction of new elements into its social order by a
renewed exercise of the constructive imagination. For
without such action of the constructive imagination a
radical and voluntary modification of the 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 sweeping generalizations as to her
inherent deficiency of constructive imagination.
It is by no means our contention that Japanese imag-
ination is now as widely and profoundly exercised as
that of the leading Western nations. We merely con-
tend that the exercise of this mental faculty is intimately
related to the nature of the whole social order; that
under certain circumstances this important faculty may
be so suppressed as to give the impression to superficial
observers of entire absence, and that with a new en-
vironment necessitating a new social order, this faculty
may again be brought into activity.
The inevitable conclusion of the above line of thought
is that the activity and the manifestation of the higher
faculties is so intimately related to the nature of the
social order as to prevent our attributing any particular
mental characteristics to a race as its inherent and un-
changeable nature. The psychic characteristics of a
race at any given time are the product of the inherited
social order. To transform those characteristics
changes in the social order, introduced either from with-
out, or through individuals within the race, are alone
248 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
needful. This completes our specific study of the in-
tellectual characteristics of the Japanese, It may seem,
as it undoubtedly is, quite fragmentary. But we have
purposely omitted all reference to those characteristics
which the Japanese admittedly have in common with
other races. We have attempted the consideration of
only the more outstanding characteristics by which they
seem to be dififerentiated from other races. We have
attempted to show that in so far as they are different,
the difference is due not to inherent psychic nature
transmitted by organic heredity, but to the nature of
the social order, transmitted by social heredity.
XXII
MORAL IDEALS
EVEN a slight study of Japanese history suffices to
show that the faculty of moral discrimination was
highly developed in certain directions. In what land
have the ideal and practice of loyalty been higher? The
heroes most lauded by the Japanese to-day are those
who have proved their loyalty by the sacrifice of their
lives. When Masashige Kusunoki waged a hopeless
war on behalf of one branch of the then divided dynasty,
and finally preferred to die by his own hand rather than
endure the sight of a victorious rebel, he is considered
to have exhibited the highest possible evidence of
devoted loyalty. One often hears his name in the
sermons of Christian preachers as a model worthy of
all honor. The patriots of the period immediately pre-
ceding the Meiji era, known as the " Kinnoka," some
of whom lost their lives because of their devotion to
the cause of their then impotent Emperor, are accorded
the highest honor the nation can give.
The teachings of the Japanese concerning the rela-
tions that should exist between parents and children,
and, in multitudes of instances, their actual conduct also,
can hardly be excelled. We can assert that they have a
keen moral faculty, however further study may compel
us to pronounce its development and manifestations to
be unbalanced.
Better, however, than generalizations as to the ethical
ideals of Japan, past and present, are actual quotations
from her moral teachers. The following passages are
taken from " A Japanese Philosopher," by Dr. Geo. W.
Knox, the larger part of the volume consisting of a
translation of one of the works of Muro Kyuso — who
lived from 1658 to 1734. It was during his life that
249
250 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
the famous forty-seven ronin performed their exploit,
and Kyu-so gave them the name by which they are still
remembered, Gi-shi, the " Righteous Samurai," The
purpose of the work is the defense of the Confucian
faith and practice, as interpreted by Tei-shu, the phi-
losopher of China whom Japan delighted to honor. It
discusses among other things the fundamental prin-
ciples of ethics, politics, and religion. Dr. Knox has
done all earnest Western students of Japanese ethical
and religious ideas an inestimable service in the pro-
duction of this work in 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
Menicius ; 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." *
'' Recently I was astounded at the words of a phi-
losopher : ' 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 aesthetics and orna-
ment. 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 mon-
strous as this." t
" 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
* P. 29. f P. 36.
MORAL IDEALS 251
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." *
" 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 rightness
and wrongness." f
" 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." $
" 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, un-
less it is that they are intoxicated with its style. That is
* Pp. 42, 43. tP.45. 1:P-6i.
252 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
like plucking the spring blossom unmindful of the au-
tumn's fruit. The book is full of adulteries from begin-
ning 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." *
" 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 righteous-
ness. Until the middle part of the middle ages customs
were comparatively pure, though not really righteous!
Corruption has come only during this period of govern-
ment 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." f
" Even in the days of my youth, young folks never
mentioned the price of anything; and their faces red-
dened 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 dutv of
samurai. But nowadays the young men talk of loss
and gain, of dancing girls and harlots and gross pleas-
ures. 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.' " $
A point of considerable interest to the student of
Japanese ethical ideals is the fact that the laws of Old
Japan combined legal and moral maxims. Loyalty and
* P. I20. f P. 129. X P- 130.
MORAL IDEALS 253
morality were conceived as inseparable. leyasu (ab-
dicated in 1605, and died in 1616), the founder of the To-
kugawa Shogunate, left a body of laws to his successors as
his last will, in accordance with which they should rule
the land. These laws were not made public, but were
kept strictly for the guidance of the rulers. They are
known as the Testament or " Honorable Will " of leyasu,
and consist of one hundred rules. It will serve our
purpose here to quote some 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. c, 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 or-
phans, 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 — ' Shin-
koku']. 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,
254 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
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, awd am
not assisting my own relatives and friends only." "^
These quotations are perhaps sufficient, though one
more from a recent writer has a peculiar interest of its
own, from the fact that the purpose of the book from
which the quotation is taken was the destruction of the
tendencies toward approval of Western thought. It
was published in 1857. The writer, Junzo Ohashi, felt
himself to be a witness for truth and righteousness, and,
in the spirit of the doctrine he professed, sealed his
faith with a martyr's suffering and death, dying (in
August, 1868) from the effect of repeated examination
by torture for a supposed crime, innocence of which he
maintained to the end. It is interesting to note that
two of his granddaughters, " with the physics_ and as-
tronomy of the West, have accepted its religion."
" The West knows not the ' Ri 'f 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 the\' have
no right to steal the honored name of natural phi-
losophy. As when ' l\i " is destroyed. * Ri ' too dis-
ajipears, so, with their analysis of ' Ki.* they destroy
' Ri,' and thus this learning brings benevolence and
* Dickenson's " Japan," chapter vii.
\ C/. chapter x.xi.
MORAL IDEALS 255
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].'* 'Let then the child make its par-
ent, 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." f
The foregoing quotations reveal the exalted nature
of the ideals held by at least some of the leaders of
ethical thought in Japan. Taken as a whole, the moral
ideals characterizing the Japanese during their entire
historical period have been conspicuously communal.
The feudal structure of society has determined the
peculiar character of the moral ideal. Loyalty took
first rank in the moral scale; the subordination of the
inferior to the superior has come next, including un-
questioning obedience of children to parents, and of
wife to husband. The virtues of a military people have
been praised and often gloriously exemplified. The
possession of these various ideals and their attainment
in such high degree have given the nation its cohesive-
ness. They make the people a unit. The feudal train-
ing under local daimyos was fitting the people for the,
larger life among the nations of t'he world on which
they are now entering. Especially is their sense of
loyalty, as exhibited toward the Emperor, serving them
well in this period of transition from Oriental to Occi-
dental social ideals.
Let us now examine some defective moral standards
and observe their origin in the social order. Take, for
instance, the ideal of truthfulness. Every Occidental
remarks on the untruthfulness of the Japanese. Lies
are told without the slightest apparent compunction;
* P. 163. f P. 169.
256 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
and when confronted with the charge of lying, the cul-
prit often seems to feel little sense of guilt. This trait
of character was noted repeatedly by the early
negotiators with Japan. Townsend Harris and Sir
Rutherford Alcock made frequent mention of it. When
we inquire as to the moral ideal and actual instruction
concerning truthfulness, we are amazed to find how
inadequate it was. The inadequacy of the teaching,
however, was not the primal cause of the characteristic.
There is a far deeper explanation, yet very simple,
namely, the nature of the social order. The old social
order was feudal, and not industrial or commercial.
History shows that industrial and commercial nations
develop the virtue of truthfulness far in advance of
miHtary nations. For these virtues are essential to
them; without them they could not long continue to
prosper.
So in regard to all the aspects of business moralitv,
it must be admitted that, from the Occidental stand-
point, Old Japan was very deficient. But it must also
be stated that new ideals are rapidly forming. Buying
and selling with a view to making' profit, though' not
unknown in Old Japan, was carried on by a despised
section of the community. Compared with the pres-
ent, the commercial community of feudal times was
mean and small. Let us note somewhat in detail the
attitude of the samurai toward the trader in olden
times, and the ideals they reveal.
The pursuit of business was considered necessarily
degrading, for he who handled money was supposed
to be covetous. The taking of profit was thought to
be ignoble, if not deceitful. They who condescended
to such an occupation were accordingly despised and
condemned to the lowest place in the social scale. These
ideas doubtless helped to make business degrading;
traders were doubtless sordid and covetous and deceit-
ful. In the presence of the samurai they were required
to take the most abject postures. In addressing him.
they must never stand, but nuist touch the ground with
their foreheads ; while talking with him they must re-
main with their hands on the ground. Even the
MORAL IDEALS 257
children of samurai always assumed the lordly attitude
toward tradesmen. The sons of tradesmen might not
venture into a quarrel with the sons of samurai, for the
armed children of the samurai were at liberty to cut
down and kill the children of the despicable merchant,
should they insult or even oppose them.
All this,, however, has passed away. Commerce is
now honored ; trade and manufacture are recognized not
only as laudable, but as the only hope of Japan for the
future. The new social order is industrial and com-
mercial. The entire body of the former samurai, now
no longer maintaining their distinctive name, are en-
gaged in some form of business. Japan is to-day a
nation of traders and farmers. Accompanying the
changes in the social order, new standards as to honesty
and business integrity are being formulated and en-
forced.*
* It is interesting to observe that the contempt of Old Japan for
trade, and the feeling that interest and profit by commerce were
in their nature immoral, are in close accord with the old Greek
and Jewish ideas regarding property profits and interest. Aris-
totle held, for instance, that only the gains of agriculture, of
fishing, and of hunting are natural gains. Plato, in the Laws,
forbids the taking of interest. Cato says that lending money on
interest is dishonorable, is as bad as murder. The Old Testa-
ment, likewise, forbids the taking of interest from a Jew. The
reason for this universal feeling of antiquity, both Oriental and
Occidental, lies in the fact that trade and money were not yet es-
sential parts of the social order. Positive production, such as hunt-
ing and farming, seemed the natural method of making a living,
while trade seemed unnatural — living upon the labor of others.
That Japan ranked the farmer higher in the social scale than
the merchant is, thus, natural. In moral character, too, it is
altogether probable that they were much higher.
XXIII
MORAL IDEALS
(Continued)
AN Occidental is invariably filled with astonishment
ZA on learning that a human being, as such, had no
JL A> value in Old Japan. The explanation lies chiefly
in the fact that the social order did not rest on the in-
herent worth of the individual. As in all primitive
lands and times, the individual was as nothing compared
to the family and the tribe. As time went on, this prin-
ciple took the form of the supreme worth of the higher
classes in society. Hence arose the liberty allowed
the samurai of cutting down, in cold blood, a beggar, a
merchant, or a farmer on the slightest provocation, or
simply for the purpose of testing his sword.
Japanese social and religious philosophy had not yet
discovered that the individual is of infinite worth in him-
self, apart from all considerations of his rank in society.
As we have seen, the absence of this idea from Japanese
civilization resulted in various momentous consequences,
of which the frequency of murder and suicide is but
one.
Another, and this constitutes one of the most striking
differences between the moral ideals of the East and the
West, is the low estimate put upon the inherent nature
and value of woman, by which was determined her social
position and the moral relations of the sexes. Japan
seems to have suffered somewhat in this respect from her
acceptance of Hindu philosophy. For there seems to
be considerable unanimity among historians that in
primitive times in Japan there prevailed a much larger
liberty, and consequently a much higher regard, for
■ 258
I
MORAL IDEALS 259
woman than in later ages after Buddhism became power-
ful. With regard, however, to that earlier period of
over a thousand years ago, it is of little use to speculate.
I cannot escape the feeling, however, that the condition
of woman then has been unconsciously idealized, in
order to make a better showing in comparison with the
customs of Western lands. Be that as it may, the
notions and ideals presented by Buddhism in regard to
woman are clear, and clearly degrading. She is the
source of temptation and sin; she is essentially inferior
to man in every respect. Before she may hope to enter
Nirvana she must be born again as man. How widely
these extreme views of woman have found acceptance in
Japan, I am not in a position to state. It is my impres-
sion, however, that they never received as full acceptance
here as in India. Nevertheless, as has already been
shown,* the ideals of what a woman should do and be
make it clear that her social position for centuries has
been relatively low; as wife she is a domestic rather than
a helpmeet. The " three obediences," to parents, to
husband, to son, set forth the ideal, although, without
doubt, the strict application of the third, obedience to
one's son after he becomes the head of the household, is
relatively rare.
What especially strikes the notice of the Occidental is
the slight amount of social intercourse that prevails to-
day between men and women. Whenever women enter
into the social pleasures of men, they do so as profes-
sional singers and dancers, they being mere girls and
unmarried young women; this social intercourse is all
but invariably accompanied with wine-drinking, even if it
does not proceed to further licentiousness. The state-
ment that woman is man's plaything has been often
heard in Japan. Confucian no less than Buddhistic
ethics must bear the responsibility for putting and keep-
ing woman on so low a level. Concubinage, possibly
introduced from China, was certainly sanctioned by the
Chinese classics.
The Lei-ki allows an Emperor to have in addition to
the Empress three consorts, nine maids of high rank,
* Cf. chapter ix. p. 103.
26o EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
and twenty-seven maids of lower rank, all of whom rank
as wives, and, beside these, eighty-one other females
called concubines. Concubinage and polygamy, being
thus sanctioned by the classics, became an established
custom in Japan.
The explanation for this ideal and practice is not far
to seek. It rests in the communal character of the social
order. The family was the social unit of Japan. No
individual member was of worth except the legal head
and representative, the father. A striking proof of the
correctness of this explanation is the fact that even the
son is obeyed by the father in case he has become
" in kio," * that is, has abdicated; the son then becomes
the authoritative head. The ideals regarding woman
then were not unique ; they were part of the social order,
and were determined by the principle of " com-
munalism " unregulated by the principle of "' individual-
ism." Ideals respecting man and woman were equally
affected. So long as man is not valued as a human
being, but solely according to his accidental position in
society, woman must be regarded in the same way. She
is valued first as a begetter of offspring, second as a do-
mestic. And when such conceptions 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
loose morality are necessary consequences.
But this moral or immoral ideal is by no means
peculiar to Japan. The peculiarity of Japan and the
entire Orient is that the social order that fostered it
lasted so long, before forces arose to modify it. But, as
will be shown later.f the great problem of human evolu-
tion, after securing the advantages of " communalism."
and the solidification of the nation, is that of introducing
the principle of individualism into the social order. In
the Orient the principle of communalism gained such
headway as effectually to prevent the introduction of
this new principle. There is, in my opinion, no prob-
ability that Japan, while maintaining her isolation, would
ever have succeeded in making any radical change in hei
* Chaplcr vi. t Chapter .Kxix. p. 339-
MORAL IDEALS 261
social order; her commtinalism was too absolute. She
needed the introduction of a new stimulus from with-
out. It was providential that this stimulus came from
the Anglo-Saxon race, with its pronounced principle of
" individualism " wrought out so completely in social
order, in literature, and in government. Had Russia or
Turkey been the leading influences in starting Japan on
her new career, it is more than doubtful whether she
would have secured the principles needful for her health-
ful moral development.
Justice to the actual ideals and life of Old Japan for-
bids me to leave, without further remark, what was said
above regarding the ideals of morality in the narrower
significance of this word. Injunctions that women
should be absolutely chaste were frequent and stringent.
Nothing more could be asked in the line of explicit
teaching on this theme. And, furthermore, I am per-
suaded, after considerable inquiry, that in Old Japan in
the interior towns and villages, away from the center of
luxury and out of the beaten courses of travel, there was
purity of moral life that has hardly been excelled any-
where. I have repeatedly been assured that if a youth
of either sex were known to have transgressed the law of
chastity, he or she would at once be ostracised; and that
such transgressions were, consequently, exceedingly
rare. It is certainly a fact that in the vast majority of
the interior towns there have never, until recent times.
been licensed houses of prostitution. Of late there has
been a marked increase of dancing and singing girls, of
whom it is commonly said that they are but " secret
prostitutes." These may to-day be found in almost
every town and village, wherever indeed there is a hotel.
Public as w^ell as secret prostitution has enormously
increased during the last thirty or forty years.*
* An anonymous writer, in a pamphlet entitled " How the
Social Evil is Regulated in Japan," gives some valuable facts on
this subject. He describes the early history of the " Social
Evil," and the various 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 the various documents in actual
use at present, and finally attempts to estimate the number of
262 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
Thanks to Mr. Miirpli3''s consecrated energy, the ap-
palling legalized and hopeless slavery under which these
two classes of girls exist is at last coming to light. He
has shown, by several test cases, that although the
national laws are good to look at they are powerless be-
cause set aside by local police regulations over which
the courts are powerless ! In September, 1900, however,
in large part due no doubt to the facts made public by
him, and backed up by the public press, and such leaders
of Japan's progressive elements as Shimada Sabur, the
police regulations were modified, and with amazing re-
sults. Whereas, previous to that date, the average
monthly suicides throughout the land among the public
prostitutes were between forty and fifty, during the two
months of September and October there were none! In
that same period, out of about five thousand prostitutes
in the city of Tokyo, 492 had fled from their brothels
and declared their intentions of abandoning the
" shameful business," as the Japanese laws call it, and
in consequence a prominent brothel had been compelled
to stop the business! We are only in the first flush of
this new reform as these lines are written, so cannot tell
what end the whole movement will reach. But the con-
science of the nation is beginning to waken on this mat-
ter and we are confident it will never tolerate the old
slavery of the past, enforced as it was by local laws, local
courts, so that girls were always kept in debt, and when
women engaged in the business. The method of reaching his
conclusions does not commend itself to the present writer and
his results seem absurdly wide of the mark, when compared witli
more carefully gathered figures. The^- are hardly worth quot-
ing, yet they serve to show what exaggerated views are held bv
some in regard to the numbers of prostitutes in Japan. He tells
us that a moderate estimate for licensed prostitutes and for geislia
is 500,000 each, while the unlicensed number at least a million,
making a total of 2,000.000 or 10 per cent, of the total female
population of Japan! A careful statistical inquiry on this sub-
ject has been recently made by Rev. U. G. Murphv. His figures
were chiefly secured from provincial officers. According to these
returns the number of licensed prostitutes is 5o,^f;3 and of danc-
ing girls is 30,386. Mr. Murphy's figures cannot be far astray,
and furnish us something of a basis for comparison with Euro-
pean countries. Statistics regarding unlicensed prostitutes are
naturally not to be had.
MORAL IDEALS 263
they fled were seized and forced back to the brothels in
order to pay their debts!
But in contrast to the undoubted ideal of Old Japan
in regard to the chastity of women, must be set the
equally undoubted fact that the sages have very little
to say on the subject of chastity for men. Indeed there
is no word in the Japanese language corresponding to
our term " chastity " which may be applied equally to
men and women. In his volume entitled " Kokoro,"
Mr. Hearn charges the missionaries with the assertion
that there is no word for chastity in Japanese. " This,"
he says, " is true in the same sense only that we might
say that there is no word for chastity in the English
language, because such words as honor, virtue, purity,
chastity have been adopted into English from other lan-
guages." * I doubt if any missionary has made such a
statement. His further assertion, that " the word most
commonly used applies to both sexes," would have more
force, if Mr. Hearn had stated what the word is. His
English definition of the term has not enabled me to
find the Japanese equivalent, although I have discussed
this question with several Japanese. It is their uniform
confession that the Japanese language is defective in its
terminology on this topic, the word with which one may
exhort a woman to be chaste being inapplicable to a man.
The assertion of the missionaries has nothing whatever
to do with the question as to whether the terms used are
pure Japanese or imported Chino- Japanese ; nor has it
any reference to the fact that the actual language is de-
ficient in abstract terms. It is simply that the term ap-
plicable to a woman is not applicable to a man. And
this in turn proves sharp contrasts between the ideals
regarding the moral duties of men and of women.
An interesting point in the Japanese moral ideal is the
fact that the principle of filial obedience was carried to
such extremes that even prostitution of virtue at the
command of the parents, or for the support of the
parents, was not only permitted but, under special condi-
tions, was highly praised. Modern prostitution is ren-
dered possible chiefly through the action of this per-
*P. 148.
2»64 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
verted principle. Although the sale of daughters for
immoral purposes is theoretically illegal, yet, in fact, it
is of frequent occurrence.
Although concubinage was not directly taught by
Confucius, yet it was never forbidden by him, and the
leaders and rulers of the land have lent the custom the
authority and justification of their example. As we have
already seen, the now ruling Emperor has several con-
cubines, and all of his children are the offspring of these
concubines. In Old Japan, therefore, there were two
separate ideals of morality for the two sexes.
The question may be raised how a social order which
required such fidelity on the part of the woman could
permit such looseness on the part of the man, whether
married or not. How could the same social order pro-
duce two moral ideals? The answer is to be found in
several facts. First, there is the inherent desire of each
/liusband to be the sole possessor of his wife's afifections.
/ As the stronger of the two, he would bring destruction
' on an unfaithful wife and also on any who dared invade
his home. Although the woman doubtless has the same
desire to be the sole possessor of her husband's affection,
she has not the same power, either to injure a rival or tc
punish her faithless husband. Furthermore, licentious-
ness in women has a much more visibly disastrous effect
on her procreative functions than equal licentiousness in
man. This, too, would serve to beget and maintain dif-
ferent ethical standards for the two sexes. Finally, and
perhaps no less effective than the two preceding, is the
fact that the general social consciousness held different
conceptions in regard to the social positions of man and
woman. The one was the owner of the family, the lord
and master; to him belonged the freedom to do as he
chose. The other was a variety of property, not free
in any sense to jilcase herself, but to do only as her lord
and master required.
An illustration of the first reason given above came
to my knowledge not long since. Rev. John T. Gulick
saw in Kanagawa, in 1862, a man going through the
streets carrying the bloody heads of a man and a woman
which he declared to be those of his wife and her setlucer.
MORAL IDEALS 265
whom he had caught and killed in the act of adultery,
This act of the husband's was in perfect accord with the
practices and ideals of the time, and not seldom figures
in the romances of Old Japan.
The new Civil Code adopted in 1898 furnishes an au-
thoritative statement of many of the moral ideals of New
Japan. For the following summary I am indebted to
the Japan Mail/^ '■ In regard to marriage it is note-
worthy that the " prohibited degrees of relationship are
the same as those in England " — including the deceased
wife's sister. " The minimum age for legal marriage is
seventeen in the case of a man and fifteen in the case of
a woman, and marriage takes effect on notification to
the registrar, being thus a purely civil contract. As to
divorce, it is provided that the husband and wife may
effect it by mutual consent, and its legal recognition
takes the form of an entry by the registrar, no reference
being necessary to the judicial authorities. Where'
mutual consent is not obtained, however, an action
for divorce must be brought, and here it appears
that the rights of the woman do not receive the
same recognition as those of the man. Thus, al-
though adultery committed by the wife constitutes a
valid ground of divorce, we do not find that aduUery
on the husband's part furnishes a plea to the wife.
Ill-treatment or gross insult, such as renders liv-
ing together impracticable, or desertion, constitutes a
reason for divorce from the wife's point of view." The
English reviewer here adds that " since no treatment
can be worse nor any insult grosser than open incon-
stancy on the part of a husband, it is conceivable that a
judge might consider that such conduct renders living
together impracticable. But in the presence of an ex-
plicit provision with regard to the wife's adultery and in
the absence of any such provision with regard to the
husband's, we doubt whether any court of law would
exercise discretion in favor of the woman." The gross
" insult of inconstancy " on the part of the husband is a
plea that has never yet been recognized by Japanese
society. The reviewer goes on to say : " One cannot
♦June 25, 1898.
266 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
help wishing that the pecnhar code of morality observed
by husbands in this country had received some condem-
nation at the hands of the framers of the new Code. It
is further laid down that a ' person who is judicially di-
vorced or punished because of adultery cannot contract
a marriage with the other party to the adultery.' If
that extended to the husband it would be an excellent
provision, well calculated to correct one of the worst
social abuses of this country. Unfortunately, as we
have seen, it applies apparently to the case of the wife
only." The provision for divorce by " mutual consent "
is striking and ominous. It makes divorce a matter of
entirely private arrangement, unless one of the parties
objects. In a land where women are so docile, is it
likely that the wife would refuse to consent to divorce
when her lord and master requests or commands her to
leave his home? " There are not many women in Japan
who could refuse to become a party to the ' mutual con-
sent ' arrangement if they were convinced that they had
lost their husband's affection and that he could not live
comfortably with them." It would appear that nothing
whatever is said by the Code with reference to con-
cubinage, either allowing or forbidding it. Presumably
a man may have but one legitimate wife, and children by
concubines must be registered as illegitimate. Noth-
ing, however, on this point seems to be stated, although
provision is made for the public acknowledgment of
illegitimate children. " Thus, a father can acknowledge
a natural child, making what is called a ' shoshi,' and if.
subsequent to acknowledgment, the father and mother
marry, the * shoshi,' acquires the status of a legitimate
chikU such status reckoning back, apparently to the time
of birtli." Evidently, this provision rests on the impli-
cation that the mother is an unmarried woman — pre-
sumably a concubine.
Recent statistics throw a rather lurid light on these
provisions of the Code. The Imperial Cabinet for some
years past has published in French and Japanese a
resume of national statistics. Those bearing on mar-
riage and divorce, in the volume published in 1897, may
well be given at this point.
MORAL IDEALS 267
MARRIAGES
DIVORCES
LEGITIMATE BIRTHS
ILLEGITIMATE
1890
325,141
109,088
1,079,121
66,253
I89I
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*
These authoritative statistics show how divorce is a
regular part of the Japanese family system, one out of
three marriages proving abortive.
Morally Japan's weak spot is the relation of the sexes,
both before and after marriage. Strict monogamy, with
the equality of duties of husband and wife, is the remedy
for the disease.
This slight sketch of the provision of the new Code as
it bears on the purity of the home,, and on the develop-
ment of noble manhood and womanhood, shows that the
Code is very defective. It practically recognizes and
legalizes the present corrupt practices of society, and
makes no efifort to establish higher ideals. Whether
anything more should be expected of a Code drawn up
under the present circumstances is, of course, an open
question. But the Code reveals the astonishingly low
condition of the moral standards for the home, one of
the vital weaknesses of New Japan. The defectiveness
of the new Code in regard to the matters just considered
must be argued, however, not from the failure to em-
body Occidental moral standards, but rather from the
failure to recognize the actual nature of the social order
of New Japan. While the Code recognizes the principle
of individualism and individual rights and worth in all
other matters, in regard to the home, the most important
social unit in the body politic, the Code legalizes and
perpetuates the old pre-Meiji standards. Individualism
in the general social order demands its consistent recog-
nition in every part.
We cannot conclude our discussion of Japanese ideas
as to woman, and the consequent results to morality,
*The last line of figures, those for 1897, is taken from Rev.
U. G. Murphy's statistical pamphlet on "The Social Evil in
Japan."
268 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
without referring to the great changes which are to-day
taking place. Although the new Civil Code has not
done all that we could ask, we would not ignore what it
has secured. Says Prof. Gubbins in the excellent intro-
duction to his translation of the Codes:
" In no respect has modern progress in Japan made
greater strides than in the improvement of the position
of woman. Though she still labors under certain dis-
abilities, a woman can now become a head of a family,
and exercise authority as such; she can inherit and own
property and manage it herself; she can exercise parental
authority; if single, or a widow, she can adopt; she is
one of the parties to adoption efifected by her husband,
and her consent, in addition to that of her husband, is
necessary to the adoption of her child by another per-
son; she can act as guardian, or curator, and she has a
voice in family councils." In all these points the Code
marks a great advance, and reveals by contrast the
legally helpless condition of woman prior to 1898. But
in certain respects practice is preceding theory. We
would call special attention to the exalted position and
honor publicly accorded to the Empress. On more than
one historic occasion she has appeared at the Em-
peror's side, a thing unknown in Old Japan. Tlie Im-
perial Silver Wedding (1892) was a great event, unprece-
dented in the annals of the Orient. Commemorative
postage stamps were struck off which were first used on
the auspicious day.
The wedding of the Prince Imperial (in May, 1900)
was also an event of unique importance in Japanese social
and moral history. Never before, in the 2600 years
claimed by her historians, has an heir to the throne
been honored by a public wedding. The ceremony was
prepared dc novo for the occasion and the pledges were
mutual. In the reception that followed, the Imperial
bride stood beside her Imperial husband. On this occa-
sion, too, commemorative postage stamps were issued
and first used on the auspicious (lay; the entire land was
brilliantly decorated with flags and lanterns. Countless
congratulatory meetings were held throughout the coun-
try and thousands of gifts, letters, and telegra]>hic
MORAL IDEALS 269
messages expressed the joy and good will of the
people.
But the chief significance of these events is the new
and exalted position accorded to woman and to mar-
riage by the highest personages of the land. It is said
by some that the ruling Emperor will be the last to have
concubines. However that may be, woman has already
attained a rank and marriage an honor unknown in any
former age in Japan, and still quite unknown in any
Oriental land save Japan.
A serious study of Japanese morality should not fail
to notice the respective parts taken by Buddhism and
Confucianism. The contrast is so marked. While Con-
fucianism devoted its energies to the inculcation of
proper conduct, to morality as contrasted to religion.
Buddhism devoted its energies to the development of a
cultus, paying little attention to morality. A recent
Japanese critic of Buddhism remarks that " though
Buddhism has a name in the world for the excellence of
its ethical system, yet there exists no treatise in Japa-
nese which sets forth the distinctive features of Bud-
dhist ethics." Buddhist literature is chiefly occupied
with mythology, metaphysics, and eschatology, ethical
precepts being interwoven incidentally. The critic just
quoted states that the pressing need of the times is that
Buddhist ethics should be disentangled from Buddhist
mythology. The great moralists of Japan have been
Confucianists. Distinctively Japanese morality has
derived its impulse from Confucian classics. A new
spirit, however, is abroad among the Buddhist priest-
hood. Their preaching is increasingly ethical. The
common people are saying that the sermons heard in
certain temples are identical with those of Christians.
How widely this imitation of Christian preaching has
spread I cannot say; but that Christianity has in any de-
gree been imitated is significant, both ethically and
sociologically.
Buddhism is not alone, however, in imitating Chris-
tianity. A few years ago Dr. D. C. Greene attended the
preaching services of a modern Shinto sect, the " Ten-
Ri-Kyo," the Heaven-Reason-Teaching, and was sur-
270 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
prised to hear almost literal quotations from the " Ser-
mon on the Mount " ; the source of the sentiment and doc-
trine was not stated and very likely was not known to
the speaker. Dr. Greene, who has given this sect con-
siderable study, is satisfied that the insistence of its
teachers on moral conduct is general and genuine.
When I visited their headquarters, not far from Nara, in
1895, and inquired of one of the priests as to the chief
points of importance in their teaching, I was told that
the necessity of leading an honorable and correct life
was most emphasized. There are reasons for thinking
that the Kurozumi sect of Shintoism, with its emphasis
on morality, is considerably indebted to Christianity both
for its origin and its doctrine.
It is evident that Christianity is having an influence
in Japan, far beyond the ranks of its professed believers.
It is proving a stimulus to the older faiths, stirring them
up to an earnestness in moral teaching that they never
knew in the olden times. It is interesting to note that this
widespread emphasis on ethical truth comes at a time
when morality is suffering a wide collapse.
An important point for the sociological student of
Japanese moral ideals is the fact that her moralists have
directed their attention chiefly to the conduct of the
rulers. The ideal of conduct as stated by them is for a
samurai. If any action is praised, it is said that it be-
comes a samurai ; if condenmed, it is on the ground that
it is not becoming to a samurai. Anything wrong or
vulgar is said to be what you might expect of the com-
mon man. All the terms of the higher morality, such as
righteousness, duty, benevolence, are expounded from
the standpoint of a samurai, that is, from the standpoint
of loyalty. The forty-seven ronin were pronounced
" righteous samurai " because they avenged the death
of their lord, even though in doing so they committed
deeds that, by themselves, would have been condemned.
Japanese history and literature proclaim the same ideal.
They are exclusively concerned with the deeds of the
higher class, the court and the samurai. The actual
condition of the common people in ancient times is a
matter not easily determined. The morality of the com-
MORAL IDEALS 271
moil people was more a matter of unreasoning custom
than of theory and instruction. But these facts are suc-
ceptible of interpretation if we remember that the
interest of the historian and the moraHst was not in
humanity, as such, but in the external features of the
social order. 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 amiss to append the Imperial Edict concern-
ing the moral education of the youtl? of Japan, issued
by the Emperor November 31, 1890. This is supposed
to be the distilled essence of Shinto and Confucian teach-
ing. It is to-day the only authoritative teaching on
morality given in the public schools. It is read with
more reverence than is accorded to the. Bible 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 founda-
tion 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 har-
monious as husbands and wives; and be faithful to your
friends; conduct yourselves with propriety and careful-
ness; extend generosity and benevolence toward your
neighbors; attend to your studies and follow your pur-
suits; 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 prerog-
272 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
ativc, 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 con-
duce 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 the life of the individual. He
seems to feel no need for privacy. Houses are
so constructed that privacy is practically impossible.
The slight paper shoji and fusuma between the small
rooms serve only partially to shut out peering eyes;
they afiford no protection from listening ears. More-
over, these homes of the middle and lower classes open
upon public streets, and a passer-by may see much of
what is done within. Even the desire for privacy seems
lacking. The publicity of the private ( ?) baths and sani-
tary conveniences which the Occidental puts entirely out
of sight has already been noted.
I once passed through a village and was not a little
amazed to see two or three bath tubs on the public road,
each occupied by one or more persons; nor were the
occupants children alone, but men and women also.
Calling at the home of a gentleman in Kyushu with
whom I had some business, and gaining no notice at the
front entrance, I went around to the side of the house
only to discover the lady of the place taking her bath
with her children, in a tub quite out of doors, while a
manservant chopped wood but a few paces distant.
The natural indifference of the Japanese to the ex-
posure of the unclothed body is an interesting fact. In
the West such indifference is rightly considered im-
modest. In Japan, however, immodesty consists en-
tirely in the intention of the heart and does not arise
from the accident of the moment or the need of the
occasion. With a fellow missionary, I went some years
since to some famous hot springs at the foot of Mount
274 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
Ase, the smoking crater of Kyushu. The spot itself is
most charming, situated in the center of an old crater,
said to be the largest in the world. Wearied with a long
walk, we were glad to find that one of the public bath
tubs or tanks, some fifteen by thirty feet in size, in
a bath house separate from other houses, was quite un-
occupied; and on inquiry we were told that bathers were
few at that hour of the day, so that we might go in with-
out fear of disturbance. It seems that in such places
the tiers of boxes for the clothing on either side of the
door, are reserved for men and women respectively.
Ignorant of this custom, we deposited our clothing in
the boxes on the left hand, and as quickly as we could
accommodate ourselves to the heat of the water, we got
into the great tank. We were scarcely in, when a com-
pany of six or eight men and women entered the bath
house; they at once perceived our blunder, but without
the slightest hesitation, the women as well as the men
went over to the men's side and proceeded to undress
and get into the tank with us, betraying no conscious-
ness that aught was amiss. So far as I could see there
was not the slightest self-consciousness in the entire
proceeding. In the tank, too, though it is customary
for women to occupy the left side, on this occasion they
mingled freely with the men. I suppose it is impossible
in England or America to conceive of such a state of
unconsciousness. Yet it seems to be universal in Japan.
It is doubtless explained by the custom, practiced from
infancy, not only of public bathing, but also of living
together so unreservedly. The heat of the summer
and the nature of Japanese clothing, so easily thrown
off, has accustomed them to the greater or less ex-
posure of the person. All these customs have pre-
vented the development of a sense of modesty corre-
sponding to that which has developed in the West.
Whether this 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, and in manv respects deservedly popu-
lar, writer on Japan. Says Mr. llearn, "There is little
MORAL PRACTICE
275
privacy of any sort in Japan. Among the people,
indeed, what we term privacy in the Occident does not
exist. There are only walls of paper dividing the lives
of men; there are only sliding screens instead of doors;
there are neither locks nor bolts to be used by day; and
whenever the weather permits, the fronts and perhaps
even the sides of the houses are literally removed, and
its interior widely opened to the air, the light, and the
public gaze. Within a hotel or even a common dwell-
ing house, nobody knocks before entering your room;
there is nothing to knock at except a shoji or a fusuma,
which cannot be knocked at without being broken.
And in this world of paper walls and sunshine, nobody is
afraid or ashamed of fellow-man or fellow-woman.
Whatever is done is done after a fashion in public.
Your personal habits, your idiosyncrasies (if you have
any), your foibles, your likes and dislikes, your loves
and your hates must be known to everybody. Neither
vices nor virtues can be hidden; there is absolutely
nowhere to hide them. . . There has never been,
for the common millions at least, even the idea of living
unobserved." The Japanese language has no term for
" privacy," nor is it easy to convey the idea to one
who does not know the English word. They lack the
term and the clear idea because they lack the prac-
tice.
These facts prove conclusively that the Japanese in-
dividual is still a gregarious being, and this fact throws
light on the moral life of the people. It follows of
necessity that the individual will conform somewhat
more closely to the moral standards of the community,
than a man living in a strong segregarious commu-
nity.
The converse of this principle is that in a community
whose individuals are largely segregarious, enjoying
privacy, and thus liberty of action, variations from the
moral standards will be frequent and positive trans-
gressions not uncommon. In the one case, where
" communalism " reigns, moral action is, so to speak,
automatic; it requires no particular assertion of the in-
dividual will to do right; conformity to the standard is
276 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
spontaneous. In the latter case, however, where " in-
dividuahsm " is the leading characteristic of the com-
munity, the acceptance of the moral standards usually
requires a definite act of the individual will.
The history of Japan is a capital illustration of this
principle. The recent increase of immorality and crime
is universally admitted. The usual explanation is that
in olden times every slight offense was punished with
death; the criminal class was thus continuously ex-
terminated. Nowadays a robber can ply his trade con-
tinuously, though interrupted by frequent intervals of
imprisonment. In former times, once caught, he never
could steal again, except in the land of the shades.
While this explanation has some force, it does not cover
the ground. A better explanation for the modern in-
crease of lawlessness is the change in the social order
itself. The new order gives each man wider liberty
of individual action. He is free to choose his trade
and his home. Formerly these were determined for him
by the accident of his 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 committed fifty years ago,
such, for instance, as " kataki uchi," revenge, would
to-day soon land one behind prison doors. In a word.
" individualism " is beginning to work powerfully on
conduct; it has not yet gained the ascendency attained
in the West; it is nevertheless abroad in the land.
The young are especially influenced by it. Taking ad-
vantage of the liberty it grants, many forms of
immorality seem to be on the increase. So far as I
can gather by inquiry, there has been a great collajiso
not only in honesty, but also in the matter of sexual
morality. It will hardly do to say dogmatically that
the national standards of morality have been lowered,
but it is beyond c|uestion that the power of the com-
munity to enforce those standards lias suddenly come
to naught by reason of the changing social oriler.
Western thought and ])ractice as to the structure of
society and the freedom of the individual have been
MORAL PRACTICE 277
emphasized; Spencer and Mill and Huxley have been
widely read by the educated classes.*
Furthermore, freedom and ease of travel, and liberty
to change one's residence at will, and thus the ability
to escape unpleasant restraints, have not a little to do
with this collapse in morality. Tens of thousands of
students in the higher schools are away from their homes
and are entirely without the steadying support that
home gives. Then, too, there is a wealth among the
common people that was never known in earlier times.
Formerly the possession of means was limited to a rela-
tively small number of families. To-day we see general
prosperity, and a consequent tendency to luxury that
was unknown in any former period.
To be specific, let us note that in feudal times there
were some 270 daimyo living in the utmost luxury.
About 1,500,000 samurai were dependent on them as
retainers, while 30,000,000 people supported these sons
of luxury. In 1863 the farmers of Japan raised 30,000-
000 koku of rice, and paid 22,000,000 of it to the govern-
ment as taxes. Taxed at the same rate to-day the farmers
would have to pay 280,000,000 yen, whereas the actual
payment made by them is only 38,000,000 yen. " The
farmer's manner of life has radically changed. He is
now prosperous and comfortable, wearing silk where for-
merly he could scarcely afford cotton, and eating rice
almost daily, whereas formerly he scarcely knew its
taste." t
It is stated by the Japan Mail that whereas but " one
person out of ten was able thirty years ago to afford
rice, the nine being content to live from year's end to
year's end on barley alone or barley mixed with a
modicum of rice, six persons to-day out of ten count
it a hardship 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 a necessity."
*It is stated that Mill's work on "Representative Govern-
ment," which, translated, fills a volume of five hundred pages in
Japanese, has reached its third edition.
{The Japan Mail for February 5, 1898; quoting from the
Jijt Shwipo.
278 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
Financially, then, the farming and middle classes are
incomparably better off to-day than in olden times.
The amount of ready money which a man can earn has
not a little to do with his morality. If his upright-
ness depends entirely or chiefly on his lack of oppor-
tunity to do wrong, he will be a moral man so long as
he is desperately poor or under strict control. But
give him the chance to earn ready cash, together with
the freedom to live where he chooses, and to spend his
income as he pleases, and he is sure to develop various
forms of immorality.
I have made a large number of inquiries in regard
to the increase or decrease of concubinage during the
present era. Statistics on this subject are not to be
had, for concubines are not registered as such nor yet
as wives. If a concubine lives in the home of the man,
she is registered as a domestic, and her children should
be registered as hers, although I am told that they are
very often illegally registered as his. If she lives in
her own home, the concubine still retains the name and
registry of her own parents. The government takes no
notice of concubinage, and publishes no statistics in
regard to it. The children of concubines who live with
their own parents are, I am told, usually registered
as the children of the mother's father; otherwise they
are registered as illegitimate; statistics, therefore, fur-
nish no clew as to the increase or decrease or amount
of concubinage and illegitimacy, most important ques-
tions in Japanese sociology. r»ut my informants are
unanimous in the assertion that there has been a marked
increase of concubinage during recent years. The
simple and unif(5rm explanation given is that multitudes
of merchants and ofificials. and even of farmers, can
afford to maintain them to-day who formerly were un-
able to do so. The older ideals on this subject were
such as to allow of concubinage to the extent of one's
financial ability.
During the year 1898 the newspapers and leading
writers of Japan carried on a vigorous discussion con-
cerning concubinage. The Vorocu Choho published an
inventory of 493 men maintaining separate establish-
MORAL PRACTICE 279
ments for their concubines, giving not only the names
and the business of the men, but also the character of
the women chosen to be concubines. Of these 493
men, 9 are ministers of state and ex-ministers; 15 are
peers or members of House of Peers; 7 are barristers;
3 are learned doctors; the rest are nearly all business
men. The women were, previous to concubinage,
Dancing girls, 183; Servants, 69; Prostitutes, 17;
"Ordinary young girls," 91; Adopted daughters, 15;
Widows, 7; Performers, 7; Miscellaneous, 104. In this
discussion it has been generally admitted that concu-
binage has increased in modern times, and the cause
attributed is " general looseness of morals." Some of
the leading writers maintain that the concubinage of
former times was largely confined to those who took
concubines to insure the maintenance of the family line;
and also that the taking of dancing girls was unknown
in olden times.
It is interesting to note in this connection that some
of those who defend the practice of concubinage appeal
to the example of the Old Testament, saying that what
was good enough for the race that gave to Christians
the greater part of their Bible is good enough for the
Japanese. Another point in the discussion interesting
to the Occidental is the repeated assertion that there is
no real difference between the East and the West in
point of practice; the only difference is that whereas in
the East all is open and above board, in the West
extra-marital relations are condemned by popular
opinion, and are therefore concealed.* A few writers
publicly defend concubinage; most, however, condemn
it vigorously, even though making no profession of
Christian faith. Of the latter class is Mr. Fukuzawa,
one of Japan's leaders of public opinion. In his most
trenchant attack, he asserts that if Japan is to progress
in civilization she must abandon her system of con-
cubinage. That new standards in regard to marital re-
lations are arising in Japan is clear; but they have as
yet little force; there is no consensus of opinion to
* The best summary of this discussion which I have seen in
English is found in th^ Japan Mail for February 4, 1899.
28o EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
give them force. He who transgresses them is still
recognized as in good standing in the community.
Similarly, with respect to business honesty, it is the
opinion of all with whom I have conversed on the
subject that there has been a great decline in the
honesty of the common people. In feudal days thefts
and petty dishonesty were practically unknown. To-day
these are exceedingly common. Foreign merchants
complain that it is impossible to trust Japanese to carry
out verbal or written promises, when the conditions of
the market change to their disadvantage. It is accord-
ingly charged that the Japanese have no sense of honor
in business matters.
The Kokiunin Shinbun (People's News) has re-
cently discussed the question 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 busi-
ness men have no adequate appreciation of the perma-
nent interests of business ; fourthly, that they are with-
out ability to work in common; and fifthly, that they do
not get to know either their customers or themselves.*
" The Japanese consul at Tientsin recently reported to
the Government that the Chinese have begun to regard
Japanese manufactures with serious distrust. Merchan-
dise received from Japan, they allege, does not corre-
spond with samples, and packing is, in almost all cases,
miserably unsubstantial. The consul expresses the
deepest regret that Japanese merchants are disposed to
break their faith without regard to honor." f
In this connection it may not be amiss to revert to
illustrations that have come within my own experience.
I have already cited instances of the apparent duplicity
to which deacons and candidates for the ministry stoop.
I do not believe that either the deacons or the candi-
dates had the slightest thought that they were doing
anything dishonorable. Nor do I for a moment
suppose that the President and the Trustees of the
Doshisha at all realized the gravity of the moral aspect
* Japan Mail , January 14, 1899.
\ Japan Mail, June 24, 1898.
MORAL PRACTICE 281
of the course they took in diverting the Doshisha from
its original purposes. They seemed to think that
money, once given to the Doshisha, might be used
without regard to the wishes of the donors. I cannot
help wondering how much of their thought on this sub-
ject is due to the custom prevalent in Japan ever since
the establishment of Buddhist temples and monasteries,
of considering property once given as irrevocable, so
that the individuals who gave it or their heirs, have no
further interest or right in the property. _ Large dona-
tions in Japan have, from time immemorial, been given
thus absolutely; the giver assumed that the receiver
would use it aright; specific directions were not added
as to the purposes of the gift. American benefactors
of the Doshisha have given under the standards pre-
vailing in the West. The receivers in Japan have
accepted these gifts under the standards prevailing in
the East. Is not this in part the cause of the friction
that has arisen in recent years over the administration
of funds and lands and houses held by Japanese for
mission purposes?
In this connection, however, I should not fail to
refer to the fact that the Christians of the Kumiai
(shurches,* in their annual meeting (1898), took strong
grounds as to the mismanagement of the Doshisha
by the trustees. The action of the latter in repealing
the clause of the constitution which declared the six
articles of the constitution forever unchangeable, and
then of striking out the word " Christian " in regard to
the nature of the moral education to be given in all
departments of the institution, was characterized as
" fu-ho," that is to say, unlawful, unrighteous, or im-
moral. Resolutions were also passed demanding that
the trustees should either restore the expunged words
or else resign and give place to men who would restore
them and carry out the will of the donors. This act
on the part of a large majority of the delegates of the
churches shows that a standard of business morality is
arising in Japan that promises well for the future.
*The constituency of the Doshisha consists principally of
Kumiai Christians.
282 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
Before leaving this question, it is important for us
to consider how widely in lands which have long been
both Christian and commercial, the standards of truth-
fulness and business morality are transgressed. I for
one do not feel disposed to condemn Japanese failure
very severely, 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 draw between legitimate
and illegitimate profits? What a relative distinction
this is ! Even the Westerner finds difficulty in discov-
ering and observing it. especially so when the man with
whom he is dealing happens to be ignorant of the real
value of the goods in question. Let us not be too
severe, then, in condemning the Japanese, even though
we must judge them to be deficient in ideals and con-
duct. The explanation for the present state of Japan
in regard to business morality is neither far to seek
nor hard to find. It has nothing whatever to do with
brain structure or inherent race character, but is whollv
a matter of changing social order. Feudal communal-
ism has given way to individualistic commercialism.
The results are inevitable. Japan has suddenly entered
upon that social order where the individuals of the
nation are thrown upon their own choice for character
and life as they have been at no previous time. Old
men, as well as young, are thrown ofif their feet by the
new temptations into which they fall.
One of the strongest arguments in my mind for the
necessity of a rapid introduction into Japan of the
Gospel of Christ, is to be built on this fact. An in-
dividualistic social order demands an individualizing
religion. So far as I know, the older religions, with
the lofty moral teachings which one may freely admit
them to have, make no determined or even distinct effort
to secure the activity of the individual will in the adop-
tion of moral ideals. The place both of " conversion "
and of the public avowal of one's '' faith " in the estab-
lishment of individual character, and the peculiar fitness
of a religion having such characteristics to a social
order in which '' individualism " is the dominant prin-
ciple, have not yet been widely recognized by writers
MORAL PRACTICE 283
on sociology. These practices of the Protestant
churches are, nevertheless, of inestimable value in the
upbuilding both of the individual and of society. And
Japan needs these elements at the earliest possible date
in order to supplement the new order of society which
is being established. Without them it is a question
whether in the long run this new order may not prove a
step downward rather than upward.
This completes our detailed study of Japanese moral
characteristics as revealed alike in their ideals and
their practices. Let us now seek for some general
statement of the facts and conclusions thus far reached.
It has become clear that Japanese moralists have placed
the emphasis of their ethical thinking on loyalty; sub-
ordinated to this has been filial piety. These two prin-
ciples have been the pivotal points of Japanese ethics.
All other virtues flowed out of them, and were inti-
mately dependent upon them. These virtues are
especially fitted to upbuild and to maintain the feudal
order of society. They are essentially communal virtues.
The first group, depending on and growing out of
loyalty, was concerned with the maintenance of the
larger communal unity, formerly the tribe, and now
the nation. The virtues connected with the second prin-
ciple — filial piety — were concerned with the maintenance
of the smaller unit of society — the family. Righteous-
ness and duty, of which much was made by Japanese
moralists, consisted in the observance of these two
ideals.
The morality of individualism was largely wanting.
From this lack sprang 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 the heathen
world, as graphically depicted by Mr. Dennis in his
great work on " Christian Missions and Social Progress "
— were sins of omission and commission against the in-
dividual. The rights of inferiors practically received
no consideration at the hands of the moralists. In the
Japanese conception of righteousness and duty, the
rights and value of the individual, as such, whatever his
social standing or sex, were not included.
284 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
One class of defects in the Japanese moral ideal arose
out of the feudal order itself, namely, its scorn of
trade. Trade had no vital relation to the communal
unity; hence it found and developed no moral sanctions
for its guidance. The West conceives of business de-
ceit as concerned not only with the integrity of the
community, but also with the rights of the individual.
The moral ideals and sanctions for business honesty
are therefore doubly strong with us. The old order
of Japan was in no way dependent for its integrity on
business honor and honesty, and, as we have seen, in-
dividuals, as such, were not thought to have inherent
rights. Under such conditions, it is difficult to conceive
how universal moral ideals and sanctions for business
relations could be developed and maintained.
One further point demands attention. We naturally
ask what the grounds were on which the ethical ideals
were commonly supposed to have authority. So far as
my knowledge goes, this question received almost no
consideration by the ordinary person, and but little from
the moralist. Old Japan was not accustomed to ask
"Why?" It accepted everything on the authority of
the teacher, as children do, and as all primitive peoples
do. There was little or no thought as to the source
of the moral ideals or as to the nature or the function
of the social sanctions. If, as in a few instances, the
questions were raised as to their authority, the reply
ordinarily would be that they had derived their teach-
ings from ancient times. And, if the matter were
pressed, it would be argued that the most ancient times
were nearer the beginning of men. and, therefore, nearer
to Heaven, which decreed that all the duties and customs of
men; in the final resort, therefore, authority would be
attributed to Heaven. Hut such a (|uestioner was rare.
Moral law was unhesitatingly accepted on the authority
of the teacher, and no uncomfortable questions were
asked. It is easy to see that both of the pivotal moral
ideals, /. r., loyalty and filial piety, would support this
uncpiestioning habit of mind, for to ask questions as
to authority is the beginning both of disloyalty to the
master and of irreverence to the jiarents ami ancestors.
MORAL PRACTICE 285
The whole social order, being one of authority, un-
questioned and absolute, moral standards were ac-
cepted on the ipse dixit of great teachers.
In closing, we revert to our ever-recurring question :
Are the moral characteristics wherein the Japanese
differ from other races inherent and necessary, as are
their physiological characteristics, or are they incidental
and transient, liable to transformation? Light has been
thrown on this problem by every illustration adduced.
We have seen in detail that every characteristically
Japanese moral trait is due to the nature of her past
social order, and is changing with that order. Racial
moral traits, therefore, are not due to inherent nature,
to essential character, to brain structure, nor are they
transmitted from father to son by the mere fact of
physical generation. On the contrary, the distinguish-
ing ethical characteristics of races, as seen in their
ethical ideals and their moral conduct, are determined
by the dominant social order, and vary with it. Ethical
characteristics are transmitted by association, trans-
mission is therefore not limited to the relation of par-
ents and children. The bearing of this fact on the
problem 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 sorry to know that the Japanese are
deficient in rehgious nature." In an elaborate
article entitled, " Wanted, a Religion," a missionary
describes the three so-called religions of Japan,
Buddhism, Confucianism, and Shintoism, and shows to
his satisfaction that none of these has the essential
characteristics of religion.
Mr. Percival Lowell has said that " Sense may not
be vital to religion, but incense is." * In my judg-
ment, this is the essence of nonsense, and is fitted to
incense a man's sense.
The impression that the Japanese people are not re-
ligious is due to various facts. The first is that for
about three hundred years the intelligence of the nation
has been dominated by Confucian thought, which rejects
active belief in supra-human beings. "Whcn asked by
his pupils as to the gods, Confucius is reported to have
said that men should respect them, but should have
nothing to do with them. The tendency of Confucian
ethics, accordingly, is to leave the gods severely alone,
although their existence is not absolutely denied.
When Confucianism became popular in Japan, the edu-
cated part of the nation broke away from Buddhism,
which, for nearly a thousand years,' had been univer-
sally dominant. To them Buddhism seemed supersti-
tious in the extreme. It was not uncommon for them
to criticise it severely. Muro Kyu-so,t speaking of the
immorality that was so common in the native literature,
says: "Long has Buddhism made Japan to think of
nothing as important except the worship of Buddlia.
* " Occult Japan," p. 23. f ^/- cliaptur .\.\iv.
286
ARE THE JAPANESE RELIGIOUS? 287
So it is that evil customs prevail, and there is no one
who does not find pleasure in lust. . . Take out the
lust and Buddhism from that book, and the scenery
and emotions are well described. . . Had he learned
in the ' Way ' of the sages, he had not fallen into
Buddhism." * The tendency of all persons trained in
Confucian classics was toward thoroughgoing- skepti-
cism as to divine beings and their relation to this world.
For this reason, beyond doubt, has Western agnosticism
found so easy an entrance into Japan. This ready ac-
ceptance of Western agnosticism is a second fact that
has tended to give the West the impression referred
to above. Complete indifference to religion is char-
acteristic of the educated classes of to-day. Japanese
and foreigners, Christians and non-Christians, alike,
unite in this opinion. The impression usually conveyed
by this statement, however, is that agnosticism is a new
thing in Japan. In point of fact, the old agnosticism
is merely re-enforced by the support it receives from
the agnosticism of the West.
The Occidental impression of Japanese irreligious
race nature is further strengthened by the frequent
assertion of it by writers, some of whom at least are
neither partial nor ignorant. Prof. Basil H. Chamber-
lain, for instance, repeatedly makes the assertion or
necessitates the inference. Speaking of pilgrimages,
he remarks that the Japanese " take their religion
lightly." Discussing the general question of religion,
he speaks of the Japanese as " essentially undevo-
tional," but he guards against the inference that they
are therefore specially immoral. Yet, in the same para-
graph, he adds, " Though they pray little and make light
of supernatural dogma, the religion of the family binds
them down in truly social bonds." Percival Lowell
also, as we have seen, makes light of Japanese religion.
This conclusion of foreigner observers is rendered the
more convincing to the average reader when he learns
that such an influential man as Mr. Fukuzawa declares
that " religion is like tea," it serves a social end, and
nothing more; and that Mr. Hiroyuki Kato, until re-
* "A Japanese Philosopher," p. 120.
288 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
cently president of the Imperial University, and later
Minister of Education, states that " Religion depends
on fear." Marquis Ito, Japan's most illustrious states-
man, is reported to have said: " I regard religion
itself as quite unnecessary for a nation's life; science
is far above superstition, and what is religion —
Buddhism or Christianity — but superstition, and there-
fore a possible source of weakness to a nation? I do
not regret the tendency to free thought and atheism,
which is almost universal in Japan, because I do not
regard it as a source of danger to the community." *
If leaders of national thought have such conceptions
as to the nature and origin of religion, is it strange
that the rank and file of educated people should have
little regard for it, or that foreigners generally should
believe the Japanese race to be essentially non-religious?
But before we accept this conclusion, various con-
siderations demand our notice. Although the concep-
tion of religion held by the eminent Japanese gentlemen
just quoted is not accepted by the writer as correct,
yet, even on their own definitions, a study of Japanese
superstitions and religious ceremonies would easily
prove the people as a whole to be exceedingly religious.
Never had a nation so many gods. It has been indeed
" the country of the gods." Tlieir temples and shrines
have been innumerable. Priests have abounded and
worshipers swarmed. For worship, however indis-
criminate and thoughtless, is evidence of religious
nature.
Furthermore, utterances like those quoted above in
* In immediate connection with this oft-quoted statement,
however, I would put the following, as much more recent, and
probably representing more correctly the Marquis's matured
opinion. Mr. Kal<ehi, for some time one of the editors of the
Osaka Mainichi Shhibitn (Daily News), after an interview witli
the illustrious statesman in which many matters of national im-
portance were discussed, was asked by the Marquis where ho
had been educated. On learning that he was a graduate of the
Doshisha, the Marquis remarked: "The only true civilization
is that which rests on Christian principles, and tliat conse-
quently, as Japan must attain her civilization on these principles,
those young men who receive Christian education will be the
main factors in the development of future Japan."
ARE THE JAPANESE RELIGIOUS? 289
reg-ard to the nature and function of religion, are fre-
quently on the lips of Westerners also, multitudes of
whom have exceedingly shallow conceptions of the real
nature of religion or the part it plays in the develop-
ment of society and of the individual. But we do not
pronounce the West irreligious because of such utter-
ances. We must not judge the religious many by the
irreligious few.
Again, are they competent judges who say the Japa-
nese are non-religious? Can a man who scorns religion
himself, who at least reveals no appreciation of its real
nature by his own heart experience, judge fairly of the
religious nature of the people? Still further, the re-
ligious phenomena of a people may change from age
to age. In asking, then, whether a people is religious
by nature, we must study its entire religious history,
and not merely a single period of it. The hfe of modern
Japan has been rudely shocked by the sudden accession
of much new intellectual light. The contents of re-
ligion depends on the intellect; sudden and widespread
accession of knowledge always discredits the older
forms of religious expression. An undeveloped re-
ligion, still bound up with polytheistic symbolism, with
its charms and mementoes, inevitably suffers severely
at the hands of exact modern science. For the edu-
cated minority, especially, the inevitable reaction is to
complete skepticism, to apparent irreligion. For the
time being, religion itself may appear to have been dis-
credited. In an advancing age, prophets of religious
dissolution are abundant. Such prophecies, with refer-
ence to Christianity, have been frequent, and are not un-
heard even now. Particular beliefs and practices of
religion have indeed changed and passed away, even
in Christianity. But the essentially religious nature of
man has re-asserted itself in every case, and the out-
ward expressions of that nature have thereby only
become freer from elements of error and superstition.
Exactly this is taking place in Japan to-day. The ap-
parent irreligion of to-day is the groundwork of the
purer religion of to-morrow.
If the Japanese are emotional and sentimentalj we
290 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
should expect them to be, perhaps more than most
peoples, religions. This expectation is not disappointed
by a study of their history. However imperfect as a
religion we must pronounce original Shinto to have
been, consisting of little more than a cultus and a
theogony, yet even with this alone the Japanese should
be pronounced a religious people. The universality
of the respect and adoration, not to say love, bestowed
throughout the ages of history on the " Kami " (the
multitudinous Gods of Shintoism), is a standing witness
to the depth of the religious feeling in the Japanese
heart. True, it is associated with the sentiments of love
of ancestors and country, with filial piety and loyalty;
but these, so far from lowering the religion, make it
more truly religious.
Unending lines of pilgrims, visiting noted Shinto
temples and climbing sacred mountain peaks, arrest the
attention of every thoughtful student of Japan. These
pilgrims are numbered by the hundreds of thousands
every year. The visitors to the great shrine at Kizuki
of Izumo number about 250,000 annually. " The more
prosperous the season, the larger the number of pil-
grims. It rarely falls below two hundred thousand."
In his " Occult Japan," Mr. Lowell has given us an in-
teresting account of the " pilgrim clubs." The largest
known to him numbered about twelve thousand men,
but he thinks they average from one hundred to about
five hundred persons each. The number of yearly
visitors to the Shinto shrines at Isc is estimated at
half a million, and ten thousand pilgrims climb Mt.
Fuji every summer. The number of pilgrims to Kom-
pira, in Shikoku, is incredibly large; according to the
count taken during the first half of 1898, the first ever
taken, the average for six months was 2500 each day ;
at this rate the number for the year is nearly 900,000.
The highest for a single day was over 12,000. These
figures were given me by the chief of^cial of this district.
The highest mountain in Shikoku, Tshidzuchi San, some
six thousand feet in height, is said to be ascended by
ten thousand pilgrims eaoli summer. These pilgrims
eat little or nothing at hotels, (Upending rather on what
ARE THE JAPANESE RELIGIOUS? 291
they carry until they return from their arduous three
days' chmb; nor do they take any prolonged rest until
they are on the homeward way. The reason for this
is that the climb is supposed to be a test of the heart;
if the pilgrim fail to reach the summit, the inference is
that he is at fault, and that the god does not favor him.
They who ofTer their prayers from the summit are sup-
posed to be assured of having them answered.
But beside these greater pilgrimages to mountain
summits and national shrines, innumerable lesser ones
are made. Each district has a more or less extended
circuit of its own. In Shikoku there is a round known
as the " Hachi-Ju-hakka sho mairi," or " The Pilgrim-
age to the 88 Places," supposed to be the round
once made by Kobo Daishi (a. d. 774-834), the
founder of the Shinton sect of Buddhism. The number
of pilgrims who make this round is exceedingly large,
since it is a favorite circuit for the people not only of
Shikoku, but also of central and western Japan. Many
of the pilgrims wear on the back, just below the neck,
a pair of curious miniature " waraji " or straw sandals,
because Kobo Daishi carried a real pair along with
him on his journey. I never go to Ishite Temple (just
out of Matsuyama), one of the eighty-eight places of
the circuit, without seeing some of these pilgrims. But
this must suffice. The pilgrim habit of the Japanese
is a strong proof of widespread religious enthusiasm,
and throws much light on the religious nature of the
people. There seems to be reason for thinking that
the custom existed in Japan even before the introduc-
tion of Buddhism. If this is correct, it bears powerful
testimony to the inherently religious nature of the
Japanese race.
The charge has been made that these pilgrimages are
mere pleasure excursions. Mr. Lowell says, face-
tiously, that " They are peripatetic picnic parties, faintly
flavored with piety; just a sufficient suspicion of it to
render them acceptable to the easy-going gods." Be-
neath this light alliterative style, which delights the liter-
ary reader, do we find the truth? To me it seems like
a slur on the pilgrims, evidently due to Mr. Lowell's
292 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
idea that a genuine religious feeling must be gloomy
and solemn. Joy may seem to him incompatible with
heartfelt religion and aspiration. Tliat these pilgrims
lack the religious aspiration characteristic of highly
developed Christians of the West, is, of course, true;
but that they have a certain type of religious aspira-
tion is equally indisputable. They have definite and
strong ideas as to the advantage of prayer at the vari-
ous shrines; they confidently believe that their welfare,
both in this world and the next, will be vitally affected
by such pilgrimages and such a faithful worship. It
is customary for pilgrims, who make extended journeys,
to carry what may be called a passbook, in which seals
are placed by the officials of each shrine. This is evi-
dence to friends and to die pilgrim himself, in after
years, of the reality of his long and tedious pilgrimage.
Beggars before these shrines are apt to display these
passbooks as an evidence of their worthiness and need.
For many a pilgrim supports himself, during his pil-
grimage, entirely by begging.
Pilgrims also buy from each shrine of note some
charm, " o mamori," " honorable preserver," and " o
fuda," " honorable ticket," which to them are exceed-
ingly precious. There is hardly a house in Japan but
has some, often many, of these charms, either nailed
on the front door or placed on the god-shelf. I have
seen a score nailed one above another. In some cases
the year-names are still legible, and show considerable
age. The sale of charms is a source of no little revenue
to the temples, in some cases amounting to thousands
of yen annually. We may smile at the ignorance and
superstition which these facts reveal, but, as I already
remarked, these are external features, the material ex-
pression or clothing, so to speak, of the inner life.
Their particular form is due to deficient intellectual de-
velopment. I do not defend them ; I merely maintain
that their existence shows conclusively the possession
by the people at large of a real religious emotion and
purpose. If so, they arc not to be sneered at, altliough
the mood of the average iiil^rini may be clircM-ful. and
the ordinary pilgrimage may ha\c the aspect o\ a " per-
ARE THE JAPANESE RELIGIOUS? 293
ipatetic picnic, faintly flavored with piety." The outside
observer, such as the foreigner of necessity is, is quick
to detect the picnic quahty, but he cannot so easily dis-
cern the reHgious significance or the inner thoughts
and emotions of the pilgrims. The former is discerni-
ble at a glance, without knowledge of the Japanese lan-
guage or sympathy with the religious heart; the latter
can be discovered only by him who intimately under-
stands the people, their language and their religion.
If religion were necessarily gloomy, festivals and
merry-making would be valid proof of Japanese re-
ligious deficiency. But such is not the case. Primitive
religions, like primitive people, are artless and simple in
religious joy as in all the aspects of their life. Devel-
oped races increasingly discover the seriousness of
living, and become correspondingly reflective, if not
positively gloomy. Religion shares this transforma-
tion. But those religions in which salvation is a promi-
nent idea, and whose nature is such as to satisfy at
once the head and the heart, restore joyousness as a
necessary consequence. While certain aspects of
Christianity certainly have a gloomy look, — which
its critics are much disposed to exaggerate, and then
to condemn, — yet Christianity at heart is a re-
ligion of profound joy, and this feature shows itself
in such universal festivals as Christmas and Easter.
Even though the Japanese popular religious life showed
itself exclusively in festivals and on occasions of joy,
therefore, that would not prove them to be inherently
lacking in religious nature.
But there is another set of phenomena, even more
impressive to the candid and sympathetic student. It
is the presence in every home of the " 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
always quite simple, as are all Shinto charms and
utensils. The Butsu-dan are usually elaborate and
294 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
beautiful, and sometimes large and costly. The uni-
versality of these tokens of family religion, and the con-
stant and loving care bestowed upon them, are strik-
ing testimony to the universality of the religion in
Japan. The pathos of life is often revealed by the faith-
ful devotion of the mother to these silent representa-
tives of divine beings and departed ancestors or chil-
dren. I have no hesitation in saying that, so far as
external appearances go, the average home in Japan
is far more religious than the average home in en-
lightened England or America, especially when com-
pared with such as have no family w^orship. There
may be a genuine religious life in these A\''estern homes,
but it does not appear to the casual visitor. Yet no
casual visitor can enter a Japanese home, without seeing
at once the evidences of some sort, at least, of religious
life.
It is impossible for me to believe, as many assert, that
all is mere custom and hollow form, without any kernel
of meaning or sincerity. Customs ma}' outlast beliefs
for a time, and this is particularly the case with religious
customs; for the form is so often taken to involve the
very essence of the reality. But customs which have
lost all significance, and all belief, inevitably dwindle
and fade away, even if not suddenly rejected; they reman
as " survivals," as Prof. Tyler has happily called
them; they leave their trace indeed, but so faintly that
only the student of primitive customs can detect them
and recognize their original nature and purpose. The
Butsu-dan and Kami-dana do not belong to this order
of beliefs. The average home of Japan would feel itself
desecrated were these to be forcibly removed. The
piety of the home centers, in large measure, about these
expressions of the religious heart. Their practical uni-
versality is a significant witness to the ]")osscssion by the
people at large of a religious nature.
If it is fair to argue that the Christian religion has a
vital hold on the Western peoples because <>f the cathe-
drals and churches to be found througliout the length
and breadth of Christendom, a similar argument apjilies
to Japan and the hold of the religions of this land upon
ARE THE JAPANESE RELIGIOUS? 295
its people. For over a thousand years the external
manifestations of religion in architecture have been
elaborate. Temples of enormous size, comparing not
unfavorably with the cathedrals of Europe as regards the
cost of erection, are to be found in all parts of the land.
Immense temple bells of bronze, colossal statues of
Buddha, and lesser ones of saints and worthies innumer-
able, bear witness to the lavish use of wealth in the ex-
pression of religious devotion. It is sometimes said that
Buddhism is moribund in Japan. It is seriously asserted
that its temples are falling into decay. This is no more
true of the temples of Buddhism in Japan, than of the
cathedrals of Christendom. Local causes greatly affect
the prosperity of the various temples. Some are falling
into decay, but others are being repaired, and new ones
are being built. No one can have visited any shrine of
note without observing the large number of signboards
along either side of the main approach, on which are
written the sums contributed for the building or repair-
ing of the temple. These gifts are often munificent,
single gifts sometimes reaching the sum of a thousand
yen; I have noticed a few exceeding this amount. The
total number of these temples and shrines throughout
the country is amazing. According to government
statistics, in 1894 the Buddhist temples numbered 71,831 ;
and the Shinto temples and shrines which have received
official registration reached the vast number of 190,803.
The largest temple in Japan, costing several million dol-
lars, the Nishihongwaji in Kyoto, has been built during
the past decade. Considering the general poverty of the
nation, the proportion of gifts made for the erection and
maintenance of these temples and shrines is a striking
testimony to the reality of some sort of religious zeal.
That it rests entirely on form and meaningless rites, is
incredible.
XXVI
SOME RELIGIOUS PHENOMENA
WITHOUT doubt, many traits arc attributed to
the Japanese by the casual observer or cap-
tious critic, through lack of ability to read be-
tween the lines. We have already seen how the stoical
element of Japanese character serves to conceal from
the sociologist the emotional nature of the people.
If a Japanese conceals his ordinary emotions, much more
does he refrain from public exhibition of his deeper re-
ligious aspirations. Although he may feel profoundly,
his face and manner seldom reveal it. When torn with
grief over the loss of a parent or son, he will tell you of
his loss with smiles, if not with actual laughter. "' The
Japanese smile " has betrayed the solemn foreigner into
many an error of individual and racial character inter-
pretation. Particularly frequent have been such errors
in matters of religion.
Although the light and joyous, " smiling " aspect of
Japanese religious life is prominent, the careful observer
will come incidentally and unexpectedlv on many signs
of an opposite nature, if he mingle intimately with the
people. Japan has its sorrows and its tragedies, no less
than other lands. These have tlieir pari in determining
religious phenomena.
The student who takes his stand at a popular shrine
and watches the worshipers come and go will be re-
warded by the growing conviction that, although many
are manifestly ceremonialists, others are clearly subjects
of profound feeling. See that mother leadmg her tod-
dling child to the image of Binzuru, the god of healing,
and teaching it to rub the eyes and face of the god :uu\
then its own eyes and f;ice. See that pilgrim before a
296
SOME RELIGIOUS PHENOMENA 297
bare shrine repeating in rapt devotion the prayer he
has known from his childhood, and in virtue of which
he has already received numberless blessings. Behold
that leper pleading with merciful Kwannon of the thou-
sand hands to heal his disease. Hear that pitiful wail
of a score of fox-possessed victims for deliverance from,
their oppressor. Watch that tearful maiden performing
the hundred circuits of the temple while she prays for a
specific blessing for herself or some loved one. Observe
that merchant solemnly worshiping the god of the sea,
with offering of rice and wine. Count those hundreds
of votive pictures, thanksgiving remembrances of the
sick who have been healed, in answer, as they firmly be-
lieve, to their prayers to the god of this particular shrine.
These are not imaginary cases. The writer has seen
these and scores more like them. Here is a serious side
to Japanese religious life easily overlooked by a casual
or unsympathetic observer.
In addition to these simpler religious phenomena, we
find in Japan, as in other lands, the practice of ecstatic
union with the deity. In Shinto it is called " Kami-
oroshi," the bringing down of the gods. It is doubtless
some form of hypnotic trance, yet the popular inter-
pretation of the phenomenon is that of divine posses-
sion.
Among Buddhists, the practice of ecstasy takes a dif-
ferent form. The aim is to attain absolute vacuity of
mind and thus complete union with the Absolute. When
attained, the soul becomes conscious of blissful superi-
ority to all the concerns of this mundane life, a foretaste
of the Nirvana awaiting those who shall attain to Buddha-
hood. The actual attainment of this experience is prac-
tically limited to the priesthood, who alone have the time
and freedom from the cares of the world needful for its
practice. For it is induced only by long and profound
" meditation." Especially is this experience the desire
of the Zen sect, which makes it a leading aim, taking its
name " zen " (to sit) from this practice. To sit in re-
ligious abstraction is the height of religious bliss.
The practical business man of the West may perhaps
find some difficulty in seeing anything particularly re-
298 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
lig-ions in ecstasy or mental vacuity. But if I mistake
not, this religious phenomenon of the Orient does not
differ in essence from the mystical religious experience
so common in the middle and subsequent ages in Eu-
rope, and represented to-day by mystical Christians.
Indeed, some of the finest religious souls of Western
lands have been mystics. Mystic Christianity finds
ready acceptance with certain of the Japanese.
The critical reader may perhaps admit, in view of the
facts thus far presented, that the ignorant millions have
some degree of religious feeling and yet, in view of the
apparently irreligious life of the educated, he may still
feel that the religious nature of the race is essentially
shallow. He may feel that as soon as a Japanese is
lifted out of the superstitious beliefs of the past, he is
freed from all religious ideas and aspirations. I admit
at once that there seems to be some ground for such an
assertion. Yet as I study Ibe-^haracter of the samurai
of the Tokugawa period, who alone may be called the
irreligious of the olden times, I see good reasons for
holding that, though rejecting Buddhism, they were re-
ligious at heart. They developed little or no religious
ceremonial to replace that of Buddtlism, yet there were
indications that the religious life still remained. Intel-
lectual and moral growth rendered it impossible for ear-
nest and honest men to accept the old religious expres-
sions. They revolted from religious forms, rather than
from religion, and the revolt resulted not in deeper
superstitions and a poorer life, but in a life richer in
thought and noble endeavor. Muro Kyu-so, the " Japa-
nese Philosopher " to whom we have referred more than
once, rejected Buddhism, as we have already seen. The
high quality of his moral 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 synonymous
with corrupt and superstitious Buddhism. To have told
Muro that he was religious would doubtless have
offended him, but a few ([notations should satisfy anyone
that at heart he was religious in the best sense of the
term.
SOME RELIGIOUS PHENOMENA
299
" Consider all of you. Whence is fortune? From
Heaven. Even the world says, Fortune is in Heaven. So
then there is no resource save prayer to Heaven. Let
us then ask: what does Heaven hate, and what does
Heaven love? It loves benevolence and hates malevo-
lence. It loves truth and hates untruth. . . That which
in Heaven begets all things, in man is called love. So
doubt not that Heaven loves benevolence and hates its
opposite. So too is it with truth. For countless ages
sun and moon and stars constantly revolve and we make
calendars without mistake. Nothing is more certain.
It is the very truth of the universe ... I have noticed
prayers for good luck, brought year by year from
famous temples and hills, decorating the entrances to
the homes of famous samurai. But none the less they
have been killed or punished, or their line has been de-
stroyed and house extinguished. Or at least to many,
shame and disgrace have come. They have not learned
fortune, but foolishly depend on prayers and charms.
Confucius said : ' When punished by Heaven there is no
place for prayer.' Women of course follow the temples
and trust in charms, but not so should men. Alas!
Now all are astray, those who should be teachers, the
samurai and those higher still " (pp. 63-5). " Sin is the
source of pain and righteousness of happiness. This is
the settled law. The teaching of the sages and the con-
duct of superior men is determined by principles and
the result is left to Heaven. Still, we do not obey in the
hope of happiness, nor do we forbear to sin from fear.
Not with this meaning did Confucius and Mencius teach
that happiness is in virtue and pain in sin. But the
' way ' is the law of man. It is said, ' The way of
Heaven blesses virtue and curses sin.' That is intended
for the ignorant multitude. Yet it is not like the Bud-
dhist ' hoben ' (pious device), for it is the determined
truth " (p. 66), " Heaven is forever and is not to be 1
understood at once, like the promises of men. Short- !
sighted men consider its ways and decide that there is no '
reward for virtue or vice. So they doubt when the good
are virtuous and fear not when the wicked sin. They ;
do not know that there is no victory against Heaven /
300 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
when it decrees " (p. Sj). " Reason comes from Heaven,
and is in men. . . The philosopher knows the truth as
the drinker knows the taste of sake and the abstainer
the taste of sweets. How shall he 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-so about his view as to the gods, stating their
own dissatisfaction with the fantastic interpretations given
to the term " Shinto " by the native scholars. Making
some quotations from the Chinese classics, he went on
to say for himself :
" I cannot accept that which is popularly called
Shinto. . . I do not profess to understand the pro-
found reason of the deities, but in outline this
is my idea : The Doctrine of the i\Iean speaks of the
' virtue of the Gods ' and Shu-shi explains this word
' virtue ' to mean the ' heart and its revelation.' Its
meaning is thus stated in the Saden : ' God is pure intel-
ligence and justice.' Now all know that God is just, but
do not know that he is intelligent. But there is no such
intelligence elsewhere as God's. Man hears by the ear
and where the ear is not he hears not . . .; man sees
with his eyes, and where they are not he sees not . . . ;
with his heart man thinks and the swiftest thought takes
time. But God uses neither ear nor eye, nor docs he
pass over in thought. Directly he feels, and directly
does he respond. . . Is not this the divinity of Heaven
and Earth? So the Doctrine of the Mean says : ' Looked
for it cannot be seen, listened to it cannot he heard. It
enters into all things. There is nothing without it.' . .
' Everywhere, everywhere, on the right and on the left.'
This is the revealing of God, the truth not to be con-
cealed. Think not that God is distant, 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 ctne \
spirit with llie God of Heaven and Earth. . . And now I
SOME RELIGIOUS PHENOMENA 301
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 know the truth of
what I speak " (pp. 50-52).
In the above passage Dr. Knox has translated the term
" Shin," the Chinese ideograph for the Japanese word
" Kami," by the English singular, God. This lends to the
passage a fullness of monotheistic expression which the
original hardly, if at all, justifies. The originals are in-
definite as to number and might with equal truth be trans-
lated " gods," as Dr. Knox suggests himself in a footnote.
These and similar passages are of great interest to the
student of Japanese religious development. They
should be made much of by Christian preachers and mis-
sionaries. Such writers and thinkers as Muro evidently
was might not improperly be called the pre-Christian
Christians of Japan. They prepared the way for the
coming of more light on these subjects. Japanese
Christian apologists should collect such utterances from
her wise men of old, and by them lead the nation to an
appreciation of the truths which they suggest and for
which they so fitly prepare the way. Scattered as they
now are, and seldom read by the people, they lie as
precious gems imbedded in the hills, or as seed safely
stored. They can bear no harvest till they are sown in
the soil and allowed to spring up and grow.
The more I have pondered the implications of these
and similar passages, the more clear has it become that
their authors were essentially religious men. Their re-
volt from " religion " did not spring from an irreligious
motive, but from a deeper religious insight than was
prevalent among Buddhist believers. The irrational and
often immoral nature of many of the current religious
expressions and ceremonials and beliefs became ob-
noxious to the thinking classes, and were accordingly
rejected. The essence of religion, however, was not re-
jected. They tore off the accumulated husks of exter-
nalism, but kept intact the real kernel of religion.
The case for the religious nature of modern, educated
Japan is not so simple. Irreligious it certainly appears.
302 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
Yet it, too, is not so irrclis^ious as perhaps the Occi-
dental thinks. Though immoral, a Japanese may still
be a filial son and a loyal subject, characteristics which
have religious value in Japan, Old and New. It would
not be difficult to prove that many a modern Japanese
writer who proclaims his rejection of religion — calling
all religion but superstition and ceremony — is neverthe-
less a religious man at heart. The religions he knows
are too superstitious and senseless to satisfy the demands
of his intellectually developed religious nature. He does
not recognize that his rejection of what he calls " re-
ligion " is a real manifct^tation of his religious nature
rather than the reverse.
The widespread irreligious phenomena of New Japan
are, therefore, not difficult of explanation, when viewed
in the light of two thousand years of Japanese religious
history. They cannot be attributed to a deficient racial
endowment of religious nature. They are a part of
nineteenth-century life by no means limited to Japan.
If the Anglo-Saxon race is not to be pronounced in-
herently irreligious, despite the fact that irreligious phe-
nomena and individuals are in constant evidence the
world over, neither can New Japan be pronounced irre-
ligious for the same reason. The irreligion now so ram-
pant is a recent phenomenon in Japan. It may not im-
mediately pass away, but it must eventually. Religion
freed from superstition and ceremonialism, resting in
reality, identifying moral and scientific with religious
truth, is already finding hearty support from many of
Japan's educated men. If appeal is made under the
right conditions, the Japanese manifest no lack of a
genuine religious nature. That they seem to be defi-
cient in the sense of reverence is held by some to be
proof presumptive of a deficient religious nature. A
few illustrations will make clear what the critic means
and will guide us to an interj^retation of the phenomena.
Occidentals are accustomed to consider a religious
service as a time of solemn quiet, for we foci ourselves
in a special sense in the ]:)resence of Cod; His majesty
and glory are realities to the believing worshiper. T>x\\
much occurs during a Christian service in Japanese
SOME RELIGIOUS PHENOMENA 303
churches which would seem to indicate a lack of this
feeling. It is by no means uncommon for little chfldren
to run about without restraint during the service, for
mothers to nurse their infants, and for adults to converse
with each other in an undertone, though not so low but
that the sound of the conversation may be heard by all.
I know a deacon occupying a front mat in church who
spends a large part of service time during the first two
sabbaths of each month in making out the receipts of the
monthly contributions and distributing them among the
members. His apparent supposition is that he disturbs
no one (and it is amazing how undisturbed the rest of
the congregation is), but also that he is in no way inter-
fering with the solemnity or value of the service. The
freedom, too, with which individuals come and go during
the service is in marked contrast to our custom. From
our standpoint, there is lack of reverence.
I recently attended a young men's meeting at which
the places for each were assigned by written quotations,
from the Bible, one-half of which was given to the indi-
vidual and the other half placed at the seat. One quo-
tation so used was the text, " The birds of the air have
nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his
head." It would hardly seem as if earnest Christians
could have made such use of this text. Some months
ago at a social gathering held in connection with the an-
nual meeting of the churches of Shikoku, one of the
comic performances consisted in the efifort on the part of
three old men to sing through to 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 going through a course of quavers and breaks
which was exceedingly laughable, but absolutely irrever-
ent. The lack of reverence which has sometimes char-
acterized the social side of the Christmas services in
Japan has been the source of frequent regret to the mis-
sionaries. In a social gathering of earnest young Chris-
tians recently, a game demanding forfeits was played;
these consisted of the recitation of familiar texts from
the Bible. There certainly seems to be a lack of the
sense of the fitness of things.
304 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
But the question is, are these practices due to an in-
herent deficiency of reverence, arising from the character
of the Japanese nature, or are they due rather to the re-
hgious history of the past and the conditions of the
present? That the latter seems to me the correct view I
need hardly state. The fact that the Japanese are an
emotional people renders it probable, a priori, that under
suitable conditions they would be especially subject to the
emotion of reverence. And when we look at their his-
tory, and observe the actual reverence paid by the multi-
tudes to the rulers, and by the superstitious worshipers
to the " Kami " and " Hotoke," it becomes evident that
the apparent irreverence in the Christian churches must
be due to peculiar conditions. Reverence is a subtle feel-
ing ; it depends on the nature of the ideas that possess the
mind and heart. From the very nature of the case, Japa-
nese Christians cannot have the same set of associations
clustering around the church, the service, the Bible, or
any of the Christian institutions, as the Occidental who
has been reared from childhood among them, and who
has derived his spiritual nourishment from them. All
the wealth of nineteen centuries of experience has tended
to give our services and our churches special religious
value in our eyes. The average Christian in Japan and
in any heathen land cannot have this fringe of ideas and
subtle feelings so essential to a profound feeling of rev-
erence. But as the significance of the Christian con-
ception of God, endowed with glory and honor, majesty
and might, is increasingly realized, and as it is found that
the spirit of reverence is one that needs cultivation in
worship, and especially as it is found that the spirit of
reverence is important to high spiritual life and vitalizing
spiritual power, more and more will that spirit be mani-
fested by Japanese Christians. But its possession or its
lack is due not to the inherent character of the people,
but rather to the character of the ideas which possess
them. In taking now a brief glance at the nature and
history of the three religions of Japan it seems tlosirable
to quote freely from the writings of recognized authori-
ties on the sui3Ject.
SOME RELIGIOUS PHENOMENA 305
" 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 intro-
duction 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 dis-
tinguish three periods in the existence of Shinto. Dur-
ing 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 introduc-
tion of Buddhism into Japan, in which period Shinto be-
came absorbed into Buddhism through the doctrine that
the Shinto deities were ancient incarnations of Buddhas.
In this period Shinto retained no distinctive feature.
" Only at court and at a few great shrines, such as those
of Ise and Id/.umo, was a knowledge of Shinto in its
native simplicity kept up ; and it is doubtful whether
changes did not creep in with the lapse of ages. Most
Shinto temples throughout the country were served by
Buddhist priests, who introduced the architectural orna-
3o6 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
ments and the ceremonial of their own rehg'ion. Thus
was formed the Ryobti Shinto — a mixed reUgion founded
on a compromise between the old creed and the new, and
hence the tolerant ideas on theological subjects of most
of the middle-lower classes, who worship mdifferently at
the shrines of either faith."
The third period began about 1700. It was introduced
by the scholarly study of history. " Soon the movement
became religious and political — above all, patriotic. . .
The Shogunate was frowned on, because it had supplanted
the autocracy of the heaven-descended Mikados. Bud-
dhism and Confucianism were sneered at because of their
foreign origin. The great scholars IMabuchi ( 1697-1769),
Motoori (1730-1801), and Hirata (1776-1843) devoted
themselves to a religious propaganda — if that can be
called a religion which sets out from the principle that the
only two things needful are to follow one's natural im-
pulses and to obey the Mikado. This order triumplied
for a moment in the revolution of 1868." It became for
a few months the state religion, but soon lost its status.*
Buddhism came to Japan from Korea 7'ia China in 552
A. D. It was already a thousand years old and had, be-
fore it reached Japan, broken up into numerous sects and
subsects dififering widely from each other and from the
original teaching of Sakya Muni. After two centuries
of propagandism it conquered the land and absorbed the
religious life of the people, though Shinto was never
entirely suppressed. " All education was for centuries in
Buddhist hands ; Buddhism introduced art, and medicine,
molded the folklore of the country, created its dramatic
poetry, deeply influenced politics and every sphere of social
and intellectual activity. In a word. Buddhism was the
teacher under whose instruction the Japanese nation grew
up. As a nation they are now grossly forgetful of this
fact. Ask an educated Japanese a question about Bud-
dhism, and ten to one he will smile in your face. A hun-
dred to one that he knows nothing about the subject and
glories in his nescience." " The complicated meta-
physics of Buddhism have awakened no interest in the
Japanese nation. Another fact, curious but true, is that
these people have never been at the trouble to translate
♦ Chamberlain's " Things Japanese," p. 358.
SOME RELIGIOUS PHENOMENA 307
the Buddhist canon into their own language. The priests
use a Chinese version, and the laity no version at all,
though . . . they would seem to have been given to
searching the Scriptures a few hundred years ago. The
Buddhist religion was disestablished and disendowed dur-
ing the years 1871-74, a step taken in consequence of the
temporary ascendency of Shinto." Although Confucian-
ism took a strong hold on the people in the early part of
the seventeenth century, yet its influence was limited to the
educated and ruling classes. The vast multitude still re-
mained Shinto-Buddhists.
As for doctrine, philosophic Buddhism with its dogmas
of salvation through intellectual enlightenment, by means
of self-perfecting, with its goal of absorption into Nir-
vana, has doubtless been the belief and aim of the few.
But such Buddhism was too deep for the multitudes.
" By the aid of hoben, or pious devices, the priesthood has
played into the hands of popular superstition. Here, as
elsewhere, there have been evolved charms, amulets, pil-
grimages, and gorgeous temple services, in which the
people worship not only the Buddha, who was himself an
agnostic, but his disciple, and even such abstractions as
Amida, which are mistaken for actual divine person-
ages."* The deities of Shinto have been more or less
confused with those of popular Buddhism ; in some cases,
inextricably so.
Confucianism, as known in Japan, was the elaborated
doctrine of Confucius. " He confined himself to practical
details of morals and government, and took submission to
parents and political rulers as the corner stone of his sys-
tem. The result is a set of moral truths — some would
say truisms — of a very narrow scope, and of dry
ceremonial observances, political rather than personal."
" Originally introduced into Japan early in the Christian
era, along with other products of Chinese civilization, the
Confucian philosophy lay dormant during the middle
ages, the period of the supremacy of Buddhism. It
awoke with a start in the early part of the seventeenth
century when Iccasu, the great warrior, ruler, and patron
of learning, caused the Confucian classics to be printed in
*" Things Japanese," p. 70, and Murray's "Hand-book for
Japan," p. 37.
3o8 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
Japan for the first time. During the two- hundred and
fifty years that followed, the intellect of the country was
molded by Confucian ideas. Confucius himself had, it
is true, labored for the establishment of a centralized
monarchy. But his main doctrine of unquestioning sub-
mission to rulers and parents fitted in perfectly with the
feudal ideas of Old Japan ; and the conviction of the para-
mount importance of such subordination lingers on, an
element of stability, in spite of the recent social cataclysm
which has involved Japanese Confucianism, properly
so-called, in the ruin of all other Japanese institutions." *
Christianity was first brought to Japan by Francis
Xavier, who landed in Kagoshima in 1549. His zeal
knew no bounds and his results were amazing. " The
converts were drawn from all classes alike. Noble-
men, Buddhist priests, men of learning, embraced the
faith with the same alacrity as did the poor and igno-
rant. , . One hundred and thirty-eight Euroj^ean
missionaries " were then on the field. " Until the break-
ing out of the persecution of 1596 the work of evangeliza-
tion proceeded apace. The converts numbered ten thou-
sand }early, though all were full}- aware of the risk to
which they exposed themselves by embracing the Cath-
olic faith." " At the beginning of the seventeenth cen-
tury, the Japanese Christians numbered about one million,
the fruit of half a century of apostolic labor accomplished
in the midst of comparative peace. Another half-century
of persecution was about to ruin this flourishing church,
to cut ofif its pastors, more than two hundred of whom
sufifered martyrdom, and to leave its laity without the
offices of religion. . . The edicts ordering these measures
remained in force for over two centuries." Tens of thou-
sands of Christians preferred death to perjury. It was
supposed that Christianity was entirely exterminatctl by
the fearful and prolonged persecutions. Yet in the
vicinity of Nagasaki over four thousand Christians wore
discovered in 1867. who were again subject to persecution
imtil the prcssm-c of foreign lands secured religious toler-
ation in Japan.
Protestant Christianity came to Japan with the begin-
* " Things Japanese," p. 93.
SOME RELIGIOUS PHENOMENA 309
ning of the new era, and has been preached with much
zeal and moderate success. For a time it seemed des-
tined to sweep the land even more astonishingly than did
Romanism in the sixteenth century. But in 1888 an anti-
foreign reaction began in every department of Japanese
life and thought which has put a decided check on the
progress of Christian missions.
This must suffice for our historical review of the re-
ligious life of the Japanese. Were we to forget Japan's
long and repeated isolations, and also to ignore fluctua-
tions of belief and of other religious phenomena in other
lands, we might say, as many do, that the Japanese have
inherently shallow and changeable religious convictions.
But remembering these facts, and recalling the persecu-
tions of Buddhists by each other, of Christianity by the
state, and knowing to-day many earnest, self-sacrificing
and persistent Christians, I am convinced that such a
judgment is mistaken. There are other and sufficient
reasons to account for this appearance of changeableness
in religion.
I close this chapter with a single observation on the
religious history just outlined. Bearing in mind the
great changes that have come over Japanese religious
thinking and forms of religion I ask if religious phe-
nomena are the expressions of the race nature, as some
maintain, and if this nature is inherent and unchangeable,
how are such profound changes to be accounted for? If
the religious character of the Japanese people is inherent,
how is it conceivable that they should so easily adopt
foreign religions, even to the exclusion of their own
native religion, as did those who became Buddhist or
Confucian or Christian? I conclude from these facts,
and they are paralleled in the history of many other
peoples, that even religious characteristics are not de-
pendent on biological, but are wholly dependent on social
evolution. It seems to me capable of the clearest proof that
the religious phenomena of any age are dependent on the
general development of the intellect, on the ruling ideas,
and on the entire conditions of the civilization of the age
rather than on brain structure or essential race nature.
XXVII
SOME RELIGIOUS CONCEPTIONS
THE conceptions of the common people in regard
to deity are chaotic. They beHeve in local spirits
who are to be worshiped ; some of these are of
human origin, and some antedate all human life. The
gods of the Shinto pantheon are " yaoyorodzu " in num-
ber, eight thousand myriads ; yet in their " norito," or
prayer rituals, reference is made not only to the
" yaoyorodzu " who live in the air, but also to the " yao-
yorodzu " who live on earth, and even to the " yaoyo-
rodzu " who live beneath the earth. If we add these
together there must be at least twenty-four thousand
myriads of gods. These of course include sun, moon,
stars, and all the forces of nature, as well as the spirits of
men. Popular Buddhism accepts the gods of Shinto and
brings in many more, worshiping not only the Buddha
and his immediate" rakan," disciples, five hundred in num-
ber, but numberless abstractions of ideal qualities, such
as the varieties of Kwannon (Avelokitesvara, gods and
goddesses of mercy), Amida (Amitabha, the ideal of
boundless light), Jizo (Kshitigarbha. the helper of those
in trouble, lost children, and pregnant women), Emma O
(Yama-raja, ruler of Buddhist hells), Fudo (Achala.
the "immovable," " unchangealjle "), and many others.
Popular r)U(ldhism also worships every man dead or liv-
ing who has liecome a " hotoke." that is, has attained lUul-
dhahood and has entered Nirvana. The gods of japan
are innumerable in theory and multitudinous in practice
Not only are there gods of goodness but also gods of lust
and of evil, to whom robl)crs and harlots may pra\ for
success and blessing.
In the Japanese pantheon there is no sui~)renu' god.
such, for instance, as the Roman Jupiter, or the Greek
Chronos, nor is there a thoroughgoing divine hierarchy.
310
SOME RELIGIOUS CONCEPTIONS 311
According to the common view (although there is no
definite thought about it), the idea seems to be that the
universe with its laws and nature were already existent
before the gods appeared on the scene ; they created
specific places, such as Japan, out of already existing
material. Neither in Shinto nor in popular Buddhism is
the conception formed of a primal fount of all being with
its nature and laws. In this respect Japanese thought is
like all primitive religious thought. There is no word
in the Japanese language corresponding to the English
term " God." The nearest approach to it are the Con-
fucian terms " Jo-tei," " Supreme Emperor," " Ten,"
" Heaven," and " Ten-tei," " Heavenly Emperor " ; but all
of these terms are Chinese, they are therefore of late ap-
pearance in Japan, and represent rather conceptions of
educated and Confucian classes than the ideas of the
masses. These terms approach closely to the idea of
monotheism ; but though the doctrine may be discovered
lying implicit in these words and ideas it was never de-
veloped. Whether " Heaven " was to be conceived as a
person, or merely as fate, was not clearly thought out;
some expressions point in one direction while others point
in the other.
I may here call attention to a significant fact in the
history of recent Christian work in Japan. Although the
serious-minded Japanese is first attracted to Christianity
by the character of its ethical thought — so much resem-.
bling, also so much surpassing that of Confucius, it is
none the less true that monotheism is another powerful
source of attraction. I have been repeatedly told by
Christians that the first religious satisfaction they ever
experienced was upon their discovery of monotheism.
How it affected Dr. Neesima, readers of his life cannot
have overlooked. He is a type of multitudes. In the
earlier days of Christian work many felt that they had
become Christians upon rejection of polytheism and ac-
ceptance of monotheism. And in truth they were so far
forth Christian, although they knew little of Christ, and
felt little need of His help as a personal Saviour. The
weakness of the Church in recent years is due in part, I
doubt not, to the acceptance into its membership of num-
312 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
bers who were, properly speaking, monotheistic, but not
in the complete sense of the term Christian. Their dis-
covery later that more was needed than the intellectual
acceptance of monotheism ere they could be considered,
or even be, truly " Christian," has led many such " be-
lievers " to abandon their relations with the Church.
This, while on many accounts to be regretted, was never-
theless inevitable. The bare acceptance of the mono-
theistic idea does not secure that transformation of heart
and produce that warmth of living faith which are essen-
tial elements in the altruistic life demanded of the
Christian.
Nor is it difficult to understand why monotheism has
proved such an attraction to the Japanese when we con-
sider that through it they first recognized a unity in the
universe and even in their own lives. Nature and human
nature took on an intelligibility which they never had had
under the older philosophy. History likewise was seen
to have a meaning and an order, to say nothing of a pur-
pose, which the non-Christian faiths did not themselves
see and could not give to their devotees. Furthermore
the monotheistic idea furnished a satisfactory back-
ground and explanation for the exact sciences. H there
is but one God, who is the fount and cause of all being,
it is easy to see why the truths of science should be uni-
versal and absolute, rather than local and diverse, as they
would be were they subject to the jurisdiction of various
local deities. The universality of nature's laws was in-
conceivable under polytheism. Monotheism thus found a
ready access to many minds. Polytheism pure and
simple is the belief of no educated Japanese to-day. He
is a monist of some kind or other. Philosophic Bud-
dhism always was monistic, but not monotheistic.
Thinking Confucianists were also monistic. But neither
philosophic Buddhism nor Confucianism emphasized
their monistic elements ; they did not realize the impor-
tance to popular thought of monistic conceptions. But
possessing these ideas, and being now in contact with
aggressive Christian monotheism, they are beginning to
emphasize this truth.
As Japan has had no adequate conception of God, her
SOiVlE RELIGIOUS CONCEPTIONS 313
conception of man has been of necessity defective. In-
deed, the cause of her inadequate conception of God is
due in large measure to her inadequate conception of
man, which we have seen to be a necessary consequence
of the primitive communal order. Since, however, we
have already given considerable attention to Japan's in-
adequate conception of man, we need do no more than
refer to it in this connection.
Corresponding to her imperfect doctrines of God and
of man is her doctrine of sin. That the Japanese sense
of sin is slight is a fact generally admitted. This is the
universal experience of the missionary. Many Japanese
with whom I have conversed seem to have no conscious-
ness of it whatever. Indeed, it is a difficult matter to
speak of to the Japanese, not only because of the etiquette
involved, but for the deeper reason of the deficiency of
the language. There exists no term in Japanese which
corresponds to the Christian word " sin." To tell a man
he is a sinner without stopping to explain what one means
would be an insult, for he is not conscious of having
broken any of the laws of the land. Yet too much stress
must not be laid on this argument from the language, for
the Buddhistic vocabulary furnishes a number of terms
which refer to the crime of transgressing not 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 con-
ception of religion for the initiated few, it gave no help
to the ignorant multitudes ; rather it riveted their super-
stitions upon them. It spoke of law indeed, and lust
and sin ; and of dreadful punishments for sin ; but when
it explained sin it made its nature too shallow, being
merely the result of mental confusion ; salvation, then,
became simply intellectual enlightenment ; it also made the
consequences of sin too remote and the escape from them
too easy. The doctrine of " Don," suddenness of salva-
tion, the many external and entirely formal rites, short
pilgrimages to famous shrines, the visiting of some neigh-
boring temple having miniature models of all the other
efficacious shrines throughout the land, the wearing of
charms, the buying of " o fuda," and even the single
314 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
utterance of certain magic prayers, were taught to be
quite enough for the salvation of the common man fron:
the worst of sins. Where release is so easily obtained,
the estimate of the heinousness of sin is correspondingly
slight. How different was the consciousness of sin and
the conception of its nature developed by the Jewish
worship with its system of sin offerings ! Life for life.
Whatever we may think of the efficacy of offering an
animal as an expiation for sin, it certainly contributed
far more toward deepening the sense of sin than the rite.'
in common practice among the Buddhists. So far as I
know, human or animal sacrifice has never been known
in Japan.
In response to the not unlikely criticism that sacrifice
is the result of profound sense of sin and not its cause, I
reply that it is both. The profound sense is the experi-
ence of the few at the beginning ; the practice educate?
the multitudes and begets that feeling in the nation.
Ceremonial purification is an old rite in Japan. In this
connection we naturally think of the " Chozu-bachi "
which may be found before every Shinto shrine, contain-
ing the " holy water " with which to rinse the mouth and
wash the hands. Pilgrims and worshipers invariably
make use of this water, wiping their hands on the towels
provided for the purpose by the faithful. To our eyes,
few customs in Japan are more conducive to the spread of
impurity and infectious disease than this rite of cere-
monial purification. No better means could be devised
for the wide dissemination of the skin diseases which arc
so common. The reformed religion of New Japan —
whether Ruddhist, Shinto, or Christian — could do few
better services for the people at large than by entering on
a crusade against this religious rite. It could and
should preach the doctrine that sin and defilement of the
hearts are not removed by such an easy method as the
rite implies and the masses believe. If retained as a
symbol, the purification rite should at least bo reformeil
as a practice.
Wliether the use of purificatory water is to be traced to
the sense of moral or spiritual sin is doubtful to my mind ;
in view of the general nature of primitive Shinto. The
SOME RELIGIOUS CONCEPTIONS 315
interpretation given the system by W. E. Griffis, in his
volume on the " Religions of Japan," is suggestive, but
in view of all the facts does not seem conclusive. " One
of the most remarkable features of Shinto " he writes,
" was the emphasis laid on cleanliness. Pollution was
calamity, defilement was sin, and physical purity at least
was holiness. Everything that could in any way soil the
body or clothing was looked upon with abhorrence and
detestation." * The number of specifications given in
this connection is worthy of careful perusal. But it is a
strange nemesis of history that the sense of physical pol-
lution should develop a religious rite fitted to become the
very means for the dissemination of physical pollution
and disease.
Japanese personal cleanliness is often connected in the
descriptions of foreigners with ceremonial purification,
but the facts are much exaggerated. In contrast to
nearly if not quite all non-Christian peoples, the Japanese
are certainly astonishingly cleanly in their habits. But
it is wholly unnecessary to exaggerate the facts. The
'' tatami," or straw-mats, an inch or more in thickness,
give to the room an appearance of cleanliness which
usually belies the truth. The multitudes of fleas that in-
fest the normal Japanese home are convincing proof of
the real state of the " tatami." There are those who
declare that a Japanese crowd has the least offensive
odor of any people in the world. One writer goes so far
as to state that not only is there no unpleasant odor what-
ever, but that there is even a pleasant intimation of
lavender about their exhalations. This exactly contra-
dicts my experience. Not to mention the offensive oil
with which all women anoint their hair to give it luster
and stiffness, the Japanese habit of wearing heavy cot-
ton wadded clothing, with little or no underwear, produces
the inevitable result in the atmosphere of any closed
room. In cold weather I always find it necessary to
throw open all the doors and windows of my study or
parlor, after Bible classes of students or even after the
visits of cultured and well-to-do guests. That the
Japanese bathe so frequently is certainly an interesting
*P. 85.
3i6 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
fact and a valuable feature of their civilization ; it indi-
cates no little degree of cleanliness ; but for that, their
clothing would become even more disagreeable than it is,
and the evil effect upon themselves of wearing soiled
garments would be much greater. In point of fact, their
frecjuent baths do not wholly remove the need of change
in clothing. To a Japanese the size of the weekly wash
of a foreigner seems extravagant.
As to the frequent bathing, its cleanliness is exagger-
ated by Western thought, for instead of supplying fresh
water for each person, the Japanese public baths consist
usually of a large tank used by multitudes in common.
Clean water is allowed for the face, but the main tank is
supplied with clean hot water only once each day. In
Kumamoto, schoolgirls living with us invariably asked
permission to go to the bath early in the day that they
might have the first use of the water. They said that by
night it was so foul they could not bear to use it. Each
hotel has its own private bath for guests ; this is usually
heated in the afternoon, and the guests take their baths
from four o'clock on until midnight, the waiting girls of
the hotel using it last. My only experience with public
baths has been mentioned already. At first glance the
conditions were reassuring, for a large stream of hot
water was running in constantly, and the water in the
tank itself was quite transparent. But on entering I
was surprised, not to say horrified, to see floating along
the margin of the tank and on the bottom of it suggestive
proofs of previous bathers. On inquiry I learned that
the tank was never washed out, nor the water entirel\
discharged at a single time ; the natural overflow along
the edge of the tank being considered sufficient. In the
interest of accuracy it is desirable to add that New Japan
is making progress in the matter of public baths. In
some of the larger cities, I am told, provision is some-
times made for entirely fresh water for each bather in
separate bathrooms.
In view of these facts — as unpleasant to mention as
they are essential to a faithful description of the habits of
the people — it is clear that the " horror of physical im-
purity " has not been, and is not now, so great as some
SOME RELIGIOUS CONCEPTIONS 317
would have us believe. Whatever may have been the
condition in ancient times, it would be difficult to believe
that the rite of ceremonial purification could arise out of
the present practices and habits of thought. One may
venture the inquiry whether the custom of using the
" purificatory water " may not have been introduced from
abroad.
But whatever be the present thought of the people on
the general subject of sin, it may be shown to be due
to the prevailing system of ideas, moral and religious,
rather than to the inherent racial character. In an
interesting article by Mr. G. Takahashi on the " Past,
Present, and Future of Christianity in Japan " I find the
statement that the preaching of the monks who came to
Japan in the sixteenth century was of such a nature as to
produce a very deep consciousness of sin among the con-
verts. " The Christians or martyrs repeatedly cried out
' we miserable sinners,' ' Christ died for us,' etc., as
their letters abundantly prove. It was because of this
that their consciences were aroused by the burning words
of Christ, and kept awake by means of contrition and
confession." Among modern Christians the sense of sin
is much more clear and pronounced than among the un-
converted. Individual instances of extreme conscious-
ness of sin are not unknown, especially under the earlier
Protestant preaching. If the Christians of the last dec-
ade have less sense of sin, it is due to the changed char-
acter of recent preaching, in consequence of the changed
conception of Christianity widely accepted in Protestant
lands. Who will undertake to say that Christians in
New England of the nineteenth century have the same
oppressive sense of sin that was customary in the six-
teenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries? The
sense of sin is due more to the character of the dominant
religious ideas of the age than to brain structure or to
race nature. I cannot agree wdth Mr. Takahashi that
" To be religious one needs a Semitic tinge of mind." It
is not a question of mind, of race nature, but of dominant
ideas.
In this connection I may refer to an incident that came
under my notice some years ago. A young man applied
3i8 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
for membership in the Kumamoto Church, who at one
time had been a student in one of my Bible classes. I
had not known that he had received any special help from
his study with me, until I heard his statement as to how
he had discovered his need of a Saviour, and had found
that need satisfied in Christ. In his statement before the
examining committee of the church, he said that when he
first read the thirteenth chapter of i Corinlhians, he was
so impressed with its beauty as a poem that he wrote it
out entire on one of the fusuma (light paper doors) of
his room, and each morning, as he arose, he read it. This
practice continued several weeks. Then, as we continued
our study of the Bible, we took up the third chapter of
John, and when he came to the sixteenth verse, he was
so impressed with its statement that he wrote that beside
the poem from Corinthians, and read them together.
Gradually this daily reading, together with the occasional
sermons and other Christian addresses which he heard
at the Boys' School, led him to desire to secure for him-
self the love described by Paul, and to know more vitally
the love of God described by John. It occurred to him
that, to secure these ends, he should pray. Upon doing
so he said that, for the first time in his life, his un worthi-
ness and his really sinful nature overwhelmed him. This
was, of course, but the beginning of his Christian life.
He began then to search the Scriptures in earnest, and
with increasing delight. It was not long before he wished
to make public confession of his faith, and thus identify
himself with the Christian community. This brief ac-
count of the way in which this young man was brought
to Christ illustrates a good many points, but that ior
which I have cited it is the testimony it bears to the fact
that under similar circumstances the human heart under-
goes very much the same religious experience, whatever
be the race or nationality of the individual.
In regard to the future life, Shinto has little specific
doctrine. It certainly implies the continued existence of
the soul after death, as its ancestral worship shows, but
its conception as to the future state is left vague in the
extreme. Confucius purposely declined to teach anything
on this point, and, in part, for this reason, it has been
SOME RELIGIOUS CONCEPTIONS 319
maintained 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 the future life, it
may be attributed to Buddhistic teachings. Into their
nature I need not inquire at any length. According to
popular Buddhism, the future world, or more properly
speaking, worlds (for there are ten of them, into any
one of which a soul may be born either immediately or
in the course of its future transmigrations), does not
differ in any vital way from the present world. It is
a world of material blessings or woes ; the successive
stages or worlds are graded one above the other in
fantastic ways. Salvation consists in passing to 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 deter-
mined by the merits and demerits of the individual soul.
Here we must consider two widely used terms
" ingwa " and " mei." The first of these is Buddhistic
and the other Confucianistic ; though differing much in
origin and meaning, yet in the end they amount to much
the same thing. " Ingwa " is the law of cause and effect.
According to the Buddhistic teaching, however, the " in,"
or cause, is in one world, while the " gwa," or effect, is in
the other. The suffering, for instance, or any misfortune
that overtakes one in this present life, is the " gwa " or ef-
fect of what was done in the previous, and is thus inevi-
table. The individual is working off in this life the " gwa "
of his last life, and he is also working up the " in " of
the next. He is thus in a kind of vise. His present is
absolutely determined for him by his past, and in turn
is irrevocably fixing his future. Such is the Buddhistic
" wheel of the law." The common explanation of mis-
fortune, sickness, or disease, or any calamity, is that it
is the result of " ingwa," and that there is, therefore,
no help for it. The paralyzing nature of this conception
on the development of character, or on activity 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
320 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
resorted to magic. Magic prayers, consisting of a few
mystic syllables of whose meaning the worshiper may
be quite ignorant, are the means for overcoming the inex-
orableness of " ingwa," both for this life and the next.
" Namu Amida Butsii," " Namu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo,"
" Namu Hen Jo Kongo," are the most common of such
magic formulas. These prayers are heard on the lips
of tens of thousands of pious pilgrims, not only at the
temples, but as they pass along the highways. It is be-
lieved that each repetition secures its reward. Popular
Buddhism's appeal to magic was not only winked at by
philosophical Buddhism, but it was encouraged. Magic
was justified by religious philosophy, and many a " ho-
ben," " pious device," for saving the ignorant was in-
vented by the priesthood. It will be apparent that while
Buddhism has in certain respects a vigorous system of
punishment for sin, yet its method of' relief is such that
the common people can gain only the most shallow and
superficial views of salvation. Buddhism has not served
to deepen the sense of responsibility, nor helped to build
up character. That the more serious-minded thinkers of
the nation have, as a rule, rejected Buddhism is not
strange.
One point of great interest for us is the fact that this
eschatological and soteriological system was imported,
and is not the spontaneous product of Japan. The wide
range of national religious characteristics thus clearly
traceable to Buddhistic influence shows beyond doubt
how large a part of a nation's character is due to the
system of thought that for one reason or another pre-
vails, rather than to the essential race character.
The other term mentioned above, "mei," literally means
" command " or " decree " ; but while the English terms
definitely imply a real being who decides, decrees, and
commands, the term " mei " is indeterminate on this
point. It is frequently joined to the word " Ten," or
Heaven; " Ten-mei," Heaven's decree, seeming to imply
a personality in the background of the thought. Yet, as
I have already pointed out, it is only implied ; in actual
usage it means the fate decreed by Heaven ; that is,
fated fate, or absolute fate. The Chinese and the Japa-
SOME RELIGIOUS CONCEPTIONS 321
nese alike failed to inquire minutely as to the implication
of the deepest conceptions of their philosophy. But
" mei " is commonly used entirely unconnected with
" Ten," and in this case its best translation into English
is probably " fate." In this sense it is often used. Un-
like Buddhism, however, Confucianism provided no way
of escape from " mei " except moral conduct. One of
its important points of superiority was its freedom from
appeal to magic in any form, and its reliance on sin-
cerity of heart and correctness of conduct.
Few foreigners have failed to comment on the universal
use by the Japanese of the phrase " Shikataga nai," " it
can't be helped." The ready resignation to " fate," as
they deem it, even in little things about the home and in
the daily life, is astonishing to Occidentals. Where we
hold ourselves and each other to sharp personal respon-
sibility, the sense of subjection to fate often leads them
to condone mistakes with the phrase " Shikataga nai."
But this characteristic is not peculiar to Japan. China
and India are likewise marked by it. During the famines
in India, it was frequently remarked how the Hindus
would settle down to starve in their huts in submission to
fate, where Westerners would have been doing something
by force, fighting even the decrees of heaven, if needful.
But it is important to note that this characteristic in
Japan is undergoing rapid change. The spirit of abso-
lute submission, so characteristic of the common people
of Old Japan, is passing away and self-assertion is taking
its place. Education and developing intelligence are
driving out the fear of fate. Had our estimate of the
Japanese race character been based wholly on the history
of Old Japan, it might have been easy to conclude that
the spirit of submission to rulers and to fate was a
national characteristic due to racial nature ; but every
added year of New Japan shows how erroneous that
view would have been. Thus we see again that the
characteristics of Japan, Old and New, are not due to
race nature, but to the prevailing civilization in the broad-
est sense of the term. The religious characteristics of
a people depend primarily on the dominant religious ideas,
not on the inherent religious nature.
XXVIII
SOME RELIGIOUS PRACTICES
A MONO the truly religions sentiments of the Japa-
i\ nese are those of loyalty and filial piety. Having
X^X^already given thcni considerable attention, we
need not delay long upon them here. The point to
be emphasized is that these two principles are exalted
into powerful religious sentiments, which have per-
meated and dominated the entire life of the nation.
Not only were they at the root of courage, of fidelity,
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
behefs have built 190,000 Shinto shrines. Loyalty
to the daimyo was the vital part of the religion of
the past, as loyalty to the Emperor is the vital part
of the popular religion of to-day. Next to loyalty came
filial piety ; it not only built the cemeteries, but also main-
tained god-shelves and family ancestral worship through-
out the centuries. One of the first questions which man}-
an inquirer about Christianity has put to me is as to
the way we treat our parents living and dead, and the
tombs and memories of our ancestors. These two re-
ligious sentiments of loyalty and filial piety were essential
elements of primitive Shinto. The imported religions,
particularly Confucianism and Christianity, served to
strengthen them. In view of the indubitable religious
nature of these two sentiments it is difficult to see how
anyone can deny the name of religion to the religions
that inculcate them, Shinto and Confucianism. It shows
how defective is the current conception of the real nature
of religion.
Despite the renlity of these religious sentiments, how-
ever, many things are done in Japan ([uite opposed to
322
SOME RELIGIOUS PRACTICES 323
them. Of course this is so. These violations spring from
irrehgion, and irrehgion is found in every land. Further-
more, many things done in the name of loyalty and piety
seem to us Westerners exceedingly whimsical and illogi-
cal. Deeds which to us seem disloyal and unfilial receive
no rebuke. Filial piety often seems to us more active
toward the dead than toward the living.
Closely connected with loyalty and filial piety, and in
part their expression, is one further religious sentiment,
namely, gratitude. In his chapter in " Kokoro " " About
Ancestor- Worship," Mr. Hearn makes some pertinent re-
marks as to the nature of Shinto. " Foremost among
the moral sentiments of Shinto is that of loving grati-
tude to the past." This he attributes to the fact that " To
Japanese thought the dead are not less real than the liv-
ing. They take part in the daily life of the people,
sharing the humblest sorrows and the humblest joys . . .
and they are universally thought of as finding pleasure
in the offerings made to them or the honors conferred
upon them." There is much truth in these statements,
though I by no means share the opinion that in con-
nection with the Japanese belief in the dead there " have
been evolved moral sentiments wholly unknown to West-
ern civilization," or that their " loving gratitude to the
past " is " a sentiment having no real correspondence in
our own emotional life." Mr. Hearn may be presumed
to be speaking for himself in these matters ; but he cer-
tainly does not correctly represent the thought or the
feelings of the circle of life known to me. " The feeling of
gratitude of Western peoples is as real and as strong as
that of the Japanese, though it does not find expression
in the worship of the dead. That the Japanese are pro-
fuse in their expressions of gratitude to the past and to
the powers that be is beyond dispute. It crops out in
sermons and public speeches, as well as in the numberless
temples to national heroes.
But it is a matter of surprise to note how often there
is apparent ingratitude toward living benefactors. Some
years ago I heard a conversation between some young
men who had enjo3'ed special opportunities of travel and
of study abroad by the liberality of American gentlemen.
324 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
It appeared that the young men considered that instead
of receiving any special favors, they were conferring
them on their benefactors by allowing the latter to help
such brilliant youth as they, whose subsequent careers in
Japan would preserve to posterity the names of their
benefactors. I have had some experience in the line of
giving assistance to aspiring students, in certain cases
helping them for years ; a few have given evidence of
real gratitude ; but a large proportion have seemed sin-
gularly deficient in this grace. It is my impression that
relatively few of the scores of students who have received
a large proportion of their expenses from the mission,
while pursuing their studies, have felt that they were
thereby under any special debt of gratitude. An expe-
rience that a missionary had with a class to w^hich he
had been teaching the Bible in English for about a year
is illustrative. At the close of the school year they in-
vited him to a dinner where they made some very pleasant
speeches, and bade each other farewell for the summer.
The teacher was much gratified with the result of the
year's work, feeling naturally that these boys were his
firm friends. But the following September when he re-
turned, not only did the class not care to resume their
studies with him, but they appeared to desire to hav(
nothing whatever to do with him. On the street many
of them would not even recognize him. Other similar
cases come to. mind, and it should be remembered that
missionaries give such instruction freely and always at'
the request of the recipient. In the case cited the teacher
came to the conclusion that the elaborate dinner and fine
farewell speeches were considered by the young men as
a full discharge of all debts of gratitude and a full com-
pensation for services. This, however, is to be said : the
city itself was at that time the seat of a determined an-
tagonism to Christianity and, of course, to the Christian
missionary; and this fact may in part, btit not wholly,
accoimt for the appearance of ingratitude.
The Japanese pride themselves on their gratitude. It
is, however, limited in its scope. It is vigorous towaril
the dead and toward the Emperor, but as a grace of tlaily
life it is not conspicuous.
SOME RELIGIOUS PRACTICES 325
Few achievements of the Japanese have been more
remarkable than the suppression of certain reHgious phe-
nomena. Any complete statement of the religious char-
acteristics of the Japanese fifty years ago would have
included most revolting and immoral practices under the
guise of religion. Until suppressed by the government
in the early years of Meiji there were in many parts of
Japan phallic shrines of considerable popularity, at which,
on festivals at least, sexual immorality seemed to be an
essential part of the worship. At Uji, not far from
Kyoto, the capital of the Empire, for a thousand years
and more, and the center of Buddhism, there was a shrine
of great repute and popularity. Thither resorted the mul-
titudes for bacchanalian purposes. Under the auspices
of the Goddess Hashihime and the God Sumiyoshi, free
rein was given to lust. Since the beginning of the new
regime such revels have been forbidden and apparently
stopped ; the phallic symbols themselves are no longer
visible, although it is asserted by the keeper of the shrine
that they are still there, concealed in the boxes on the
pedestals formerly occupied by the symbols. When I
visited the place some years since with a fellow mission-
ary we were told that multitudes still come there to pray
to the deities ; those seeking divorce pray to the female
deity, while those seeking a favorable marriage pray to
the male deity ; on asking as to the proportion of the wor-
shipers, we were told that there are about ten of the
former to one of the latter, a significant indication of the
unhappiness of many a home. Prof. Edmund Buckley
has made a special study of the subject of phallic wor-
sh.ip in Japan ; in his thesis on the topic he gives a list
of thirteen places where these symbols of phallic worship
might be seen a few years since. It is significant 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 of venereal diseases.
But though phallic worship and its accompanying im-
morality have been extirpated, immorality in connection
with religion is still rampant in certain quarters. Not
far from the great temples at Ise, the center of Shintoism
and the goal for half a million pilgrims yearly, are large
326 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
and prosperous brothels patronized by and existing for
the sake of the pilgrims. A still more popular resort
for pilgrims is that at Kompira, whither, as we have seen,
some 900,000 come each year; here the best hotels, and
presumably the others also, are provided with prostitutes
who also serve as waiting girls ; on the arrival of a guest
he is customarily asked whether or not the use of a pros-
titute shall be included in his hotel bill. It seems strange,
indeed, that the government should take such pains to
suppress phallicism, and allow such immorality to go on
under the eaves of the greatest national shrines; for
these shrines are not private affairs ; the government takes
possession of the gifts, and pays the regular salaries of
the attending priests. It would appear from its success
in the extermination of distinctly phallic worship that
the government could put a stop to all public prostitution
in connection with religion if it cared to do so.
One point of interest in connection with the above facts
is that the old religions, however much of force, beauty,
and truth we may concede to them, have never made
warfare against these obscene forms of \vorship, nor
against the notorious immorality of their devotees.
Whatever may be said of the profound philosophy of life
involved in phallic worship, for many hundreds of years
it has been a source of outrageous immorality. Never-
theless, there has never been any continued and effective
effort on the part of the higher types of religion to ex-
terminate the lower. But Japan is not peculiar in this
respect. India is even now amazingly immoral in certam
forms of her worship.
Another point of interest in this connection is that the
change of the nation in its attitude to this form of re-
ligion was due largely, probably wholly, to contact with
the nations of the West. The uprooting of phallic wor-
ship was due, not to a moral reformation, but to a political
ambition. It was carried out, not in deference to iniblic
opinion, but wholly by government command, tlunigh
without doubt the nobler opinion of the land apjiroved
of the government action. Rut even this nobler public
sentiment was aroused bv the Occidental stimulus. The
success of the effort nmst be attributed nol a little to the
SOME RELIGIOUS PRACTICES 327
age-long national custom of submitting absolutely to
governmental initiative and command.
Another point of interest is that, in consequence of
official pressure, the religious character of a large number
of the people seems to have undergone a radical change.
The ordinary traveler in Japan would not suspect that
phallicism had ever been a prominent feature of Japanese
religious life. Only an inquisitive seeker can now find
the slightest evidences of this once popular cult. Here
we have an apparent change in the character of a people
sudden and complete, induced almost wholly by external
causes. It shows that the previous characteristic was not
so deeply rooted in the physical or spiritual nature of the
race as many would have us believe. Can we escape the
conclusion that national characteristics are due much
more to the circle of dominant ideas and actual prac-
tices, than to the inherent race nature ?
The way in which phallicism has been suppressed dur-
ing the present era raises the general question of religious
liberty in Japan. In this respect, no less than in many
others, a change has taken place so great as to amount to
a revolution. During two hundred and fifty years Chris-
tianity was strictly forbidden on pain of extreme pen-
alties. In 1872 the edict against Christianity was re-
moved, free preaching was allowed, and for a time it
seemed as if the whole nation would become Christian
in a few decades; even non-Christians urged that Chris-
tianity be made the state religion. What an amazing
volte-face ! Religious liberty is now guaranteed by the
constitution promulgated in 1888. There are those who
assert that until Christianity invaded Japan, religious free-
dom was perfect ; persecutions were unknown. This is
a mistake. When Buddhism came to Japan, admission
was first sought from the authorities, and for a time was
refused. When various sects arose, persecutions were
severe. We have seen how belief in Christianity was
forbidden under pain of death for more than two hun-
dred and fifty years. Under this edict, many thousand
Japanese Christians and over two hundred European
missionaries were put to death. Yet, on the whole, it
may be said that Old Japan enjoyed no little religious
328 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
freedom. Indeed, the same man might worship freely
at all the shrines and temples in the land. To this day
multitudes have never asked themselves whether they are
Shinto or Buddhist or Confucianist. The reason for this
religious eclecticism was the fractional character of the
old religions ; they supplemented each other. There was
no collision between them in doctrine or in morals. The
religious freedom was, therefore, not one of principle
but of indifference. As Rome was tolerant of all religions
which made no exclusive claims, but fiercely persecuted
Christianity, so Japan was tolerant of the tw^o religions
that found their way into her territory because they made
no claims of exclusiveness. But a religion that demanded
the giving up of rivals was feared and forbidden.
New Japan, however, following Anglo-Saxon example,
has definitely adopted religious freedom as a principle.
First tacitly allowed after the abolition of the edict against
Christianity in 1872, it was later publicly guaranteed by
the constitution promulgated in 1888. Since that date
there has been perfect religious liberty for the individual.
Yet this statement must be carefully guarded. If we
may judge from some recent decrees of the Educational
Department, it would appear that a large and powerful
section of the nation is still ignorant of the real nature
and significance of " religious liberty." Under the plea
of maintaining secular education, the Educational De-
partment has forbidden informal and private Christian
teaching, even in private schools. An adequate statement
of the present struggle for complete religious liberty
would occupy many pages. We note but one important
point.
In the very act of forbidding religious instruction in
all schools the Educational Department is virtually estab-
lishing a brand-new religion for Japan, a religion based on
the Imperial Educational Edict.* The essentially relig-
ious nature of the attitude taken by the government to-
ward this Edict has become increasingly clear in late
years. In the summer of 1898 one who has had special
opportunities of information told me that I\Ir. Kinoshita,
a high official in the Educational Department, suggested
* Cf. chapter xxiii. p. 271.
SOME RELIGIOUS PRACTICES 329
the ceremonial worship of the Emperor's picture and
edict by all the schools, for the reason that he saw the
need of cultivating the religious spirit of reverence to-
gether with the need for having religious sanctions for
the moral law. He felt convinced that a national school
system without any such sanctions would be helpless in
teaching morality to the pupils. His suggestion was
adopted by the Educational Department and has been
enforced.
In this attitude toward the religious character of en-
tirely private schools, the government is materially
abridging the religious liberty of the people. It is
abridging their liberty of carrying belief into action
in one important respect, that, namely, of giving a
Christian education. It virtually insists on the ac-
ceptance of that form of religion which apotheosizes
the Emperor, and finds the sanctions for morality in his
edict ; it excludes from the schools every other form of
religion. It should, of course, be said that this attitude
is maintained not only toward Christian schools, but the-
oretically also toward all religious schools. It, however,
operates more severely on Christian schools than upon
others, because Christians are the only ones who establish
high-grade schools for secular education under religious
influences.
It is evident, therefore, that in the matter of religious
liberty the present attitude of the government is para-
doxical, granting in one breath, what, in an important
respect, it denies in the next. But throughout all these
changes and by means of them we see more and more
clearly that even religious tolerance is a matter of the
prevailing social ideas and of the dominant social order,
rather than of inherent race character. By a single trans-
formation of the social order, Japan passed from a state
of perfect religious intolerance to one just the reverse,
so far as individual belief was concerned.
Taking a comprehensive review of our study thus far,
we see that the forms of Japanese religious life have
been determined by the history, rather than by any in-
herent racial character of the people. Although they had
a religion prior to the coming of any external influence,
330 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
yet they have proved ready disciples of the religions of
other lands. The religion of India, its esoteric, and espe-
cially its exoteric forms, has found wide acceptance and
long-continued popularity. The higher life of the nation
readily took on in later times the religious characteristics
of the Chinese, predominantly ethical, it is true, and only
slightly religious as to forms of worship. When Roman
Catholic Christianity came to Japan in the sixteenth cen-
tury, it, too, found ready acceptance. It is true that it
presented a view of the nature of religion not very dif-
ferent from that held by Buddhism in many respects, yet
in others there was a marked divergence, as for instance,
in the doctrine of God, of individual sin, and of the na-
ture and method of salvation. The Japanese have thus
shown themselves ready assimilators of all these diverse
systems of religious expression. Just at present a new
presentation of Christianity is being made to the Japa-
nese ; some are urging upon them the acceptance of the
Roman Catholic form of it ; others are urging the Greek ;
and still others are presenting the Protestant point of
view. Each of these groups of missionaries seems to be
reaping good harvests. Speaking from my own experi-
ence, I may say, that many of the Japanese show as great
an appreciation of the essence of the religious life, and
find the ideas and ideals, doctrines and ceremonies, of
Christianity as fitted to their heart's deepest needs, as do
any in the most enlightened parts of Christendom. It is
true that the Christian system is so opposed to the Bud-
dhistic and Shinto, and in some respects to the Confucian,
that it is an exceedingly difficult matter at the beginning
to give the Buddhist or Shintoist any idea of what Chris-
tianity is. Yet the difficulty arises not from the structure
of the brain, nor from the inherent race character, but
solely from the diversity of hitherto prevailing systems of
thought. When once the passage from the one system of
thought to the other has been effected, and the signifi-
cance of the Christian system and life has been appre-
ciated, — in other words, when the Japanese Buddhist or
Shintoist or Confucianist has become a Christian. — he is as
truly a Christian and as faithful as is the Englishman or
American.
SOME RELIGIOUS PRACTICES 331
Of course I do not mean to say that he looks at every
doctrine and at every 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 differing social and
religious history of the past and the differing surround-
ings of the present, rather than to inherent racial char-
acter or brain structure. The Japanese are human beings
before they are Japanese.
for these reasons have I absolute confidence in the final
acceptance of Christianity by the Japanese. There is no
race characteristic in true Christianity that bars the way.
Furthermore, the very growth of the Japanese in recent
years, intellectually and in the reorganization of the social
order, points to their final acceptance of Christianity and
renders it necessary. The old religious forms are not
satisfying the religious needs of to-day. And if history
proves anything, it proves that only the religion of Jesus
can do this permanently. Religion is a matter of hu-
manity, not of nationality. It is for this reason that the
world over, religions, though of so many forms, are still
so much alike. And it is because the religion of Jesus is
pre-eminently the religion of humanity and has not a trace
of exclusive nationality about it, that it is the true religion,
and is fitted to satisfy the deepest religious wants of the
most highly developed as well as the least developed man
of any and every race and nation. In proportion as man
develops, he grows out of his narrow surroundings, both
physical and mental and even moral ; he enters a larger
and larger world. The religious expressions of his nature
in the local provincial and even national stages of his life
cannot satisfy his larger potential life. Only the religion
of humanity can do this. And this is the religion of
Jesus. The white light of religion, no less than that of
scientific truth, has no local or national coloring. Perfect
truth is universal, eternal, unchangeable. Occidental or
Oriental colorations are in reality defects, discolorations.
XXIX
SOME PRINCIPLES OF NATIONAL
EVOLUTION
A ND now, having studied somewhat in detail various
IJL distinctive Japanese characteristics, it is important
JL A.that we gain an insight into the general principles
which govern the development of unitied, national life.
These principles render Japanese history luminous.
Let us first fix our attention on the fact that every step
in the progress of mankind has been from smaller to
larger communities. In other words, human progress has
been through the increasing extension of the comnnmal
principle. The primitive segregative man, if there ever
really was such a being, hardly deserves to be called man.
Social qualities he had very slight, if at all ; his altruistic
actions and emotions were of the lowest and feeblest type.
His life was so self-centered — we may not call it selfish,
for he was not conscious of his self-centeredness — that he
was quite sufficient to himself except for short periods of
time. It was a matter of relative indifference to him
whether his kinsmen survived or perished. His life was
in only the slightest degree involved in theirs. The first
step of progress for him depended on the development of
some form of communal life. The primary problem of the
social evolution of man was that of taking the wild, self-
centered, self-sufficient man, and of teaching him to move
in line with his fellow-men. And this problem confronted
not only mankind at the beginning, but it has also been the
great problem of each successive stage. After the indi-
vidual has been taught to live with, to work with and for,
and to love, his immediate kinsmen (in other words to
merge his individual interests in those of the family, and
to count the family interests of more inijiortance than his
own),thenext step wasto induce the family to look beyond
NATIONAL EVOLUTION 333
its little world and be willing to work with and for neigh-
boring families. When, after ages of conflict, this step
was in a measure secured and the family-tribe was fairly
formed, this group in turn must be taught to take into its /" '^z'
view a still larger group, the tribal nation. Throughout
the ages the constant problem has been the development
of larger and larger communal groups. This general •' yj'
process has been very aptly called by Mr. Bagehot the r*^
taming process. The selfward thoughts and ambitions
of the individual man have been thus far driven more and
more into the background of fact, if not of consciousness.
The individual has been brought into vital and organic
relations with ever-increasing multitudes of his fellow-
men. It is, therefore, pre-eminently a process of social
or associational development. It not only develops social
relations in an ever-increasing scale, but also social quali-
ties and ideals and desires.
Now this taming, this socializing process, has been suc-
cessful because it has had back of it, always enforcing it,
the law of the survival of the strongest. What countless
millions of men must have perished in the first step !
They consisted of the less fit ; of those who would not, or
did not, learn soon enough the secret of existence through
permanent family union. And what countless millions
of families must have perished because they did not dis-
cover the way, or were too independent, to unite with kin-
dred families in order to fight a common foe or develop a
common food supply. And still later, what countless
tribes must have perished before the secret of tribal federa-
tion was widely accepted ! In each case the problem has 1
been to secure the subordination of the interests of the \
smaller and local community to those of the larger com- \
munity. Death to self and life to the larger interest was J'
often the condition of existence at all. How slow men
always have been and still are to learn this great lesson of
history !
The method whereby this taming process has been
carried on has been through the formation of increasmgly
comprehensive and rigid customs and ideas. Through
the development and continued existence of a common
language, series of common customs, and sets of common
Js-
334 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
ideas, unity was secured for the community ; these, indeed,
are the means whereby a group is transformed into a com-
munity. As the smaller comnnniity gave wav to the
larger, so the local languages, customs, and ideas had to
break up and become so far modified as to form a new
bond of unity. Until this unity was secured the new com-
munity was necessarily weak ; the group easily broke up
into its old constituent elements. We here gain a glimpse
into one reason why the development of large composite
communities, uniting and for the most part doing away
with smaller ones, was so difficult and slow.
The process of absorption of smaller groups and their
unification into larger ones, when carried out completely
in any land, tends to arrest all further growth, not simply
because there is no further room for expansion by the
absorption of other divergent tribes, but also because the
" cake of custom " is apt to become so hard, the uniformity
enforced on all the individuals is liable to become so
binding, that fruitful variation from within is effectually
cut off. The evolution of relatively isolated or segre-
gated groups necessarily produces variety; and the
process whereby these divergent types of life 'and thought
and organization are gradually brought together into one
large community provides wide elements of variation, in
the selection and general adoption of which the evolution
of the whole community may be secured. But let the
divergent elements of the lesser groups once be entirely
absorbed by the composite community and let the " cake
of custom " become so rigid that every individual who
varies from it is branded as a heretic and a traitor, and the
progressive evolution of that community must cease.
The great problem, therefore, which then confronts
man and seems to threaten all further progress is, how to
break the bondage of custom so as to secure iocal or indi-
vidual variations. This can be done only through some
form of individualism. The individual must be free to
think and act as experience or fancy may suggest, without
fear of being branded as a traitor, or at least he must have
the courage to do so in spite of such fears. And to pro-
duce an effect on the community he nnist also be more or
less protected in his idiosyncrasies by popular toleration.
NATIONAL EVOLUTION 335
He must be allowed to live and work out his theories, prov-
ing whether they are valuable or not. Biit since indi-
vidualism is just what all previous communal develop-
ment has been most assiduous in crushing out, how is the
rise of individualism possible, or even desirable? If the
first and continued development of man depended on the
attainment and the maintenance of the communal princi-
ple, we may be sure that his further progress will not con-
sist in the reversal of that principle. If, therfore, indi-
vidualism must be developed, it must manifestly be of a
variety which does not conflict with or abrogate com-
munalism. Only as the individualistic includes the com-
munal principle will it be a source of strength ; otherwise
it can only be a source of weakness to the community.
But is not this an impossible condition to satisfy? Cer-
tainly, before the event, it would seem to be so. The
rarity with which this step in human evolution has been
taken would seem to show that it is far more difficult to
accomplish than any of the previous steps. To give it a
name we may call it conimuno-individualism. What this
variety of individuali'Sm is, how this forward step was first
actually taken, and how it is maintained and extended
to-day, we shall consider in a later chapter. In the
present place its importance for us is twofold. First we
must realize the logical difficulty of the step — its apparently
self-contradictory nature. And secondly we need to see
that fully developed and continuously progressive national
life is impossible without it. The development of a
nation under the communal principle may advance far,
even to the attainment of a relatively high grade of civili-
zation. But the fully centralized and completely self-
conscious nation cannot come into existence except on the
basis of this last step of communo-individualism. The
growth of nationalism proper, and the high development
of civilization through the rise of the sciences and the arts
based upon individualism, all await the dawn of the era of
which communo-individualism is the leading, though at
first unrecognized, characteristic.
This individualistic development of the communal prin-
ciple is its intensive development ; it is the focalizing and
centralizing of the consciousness of the national unity in
336 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
each individual member. The extensive process of com-
munal enlargement must ever be accompanied by the in-
tensive establishment in the individual of the communal
ideal, the objective by the subjective, the physical by the
psychical, if the accidental association for individual
profit is to develop into the permanent association for the
national as well as the individual life. The intensive or
subjective development of the communal principle does,
as a matter of fact, take place in all growing communities,
but it is largely unconscious. Not until the final stages
of national development does it become a self-conscious
process, deserving the distinctive name I have given it
here, communo-individualism.*
The point just made is, however, only one aspect of a
more general fact, too, of cardinal importance for the
sociologist and the student of human evolution. It is that,
throughout the entire period of the expansion of the com-
munity, there has been an equally profound, although
wholly unconscious, development of the individual. This
fact seems to have largely escaped the notice of all but the
most recent thinkers and writers on the general topic of
human and social evolution. The fact and the importance
of the communal life have been so manifest that, in im-
portant senses, the individual has been almost, if not
* By the term "centralization" I mean personal centraliza-
tion. Political centralization is the gathering of all the lines of
governmental authorit}' to a single head or point. Personal
centralization, on the contrary, is the development in the indi-
vidual of enlarging ctnd joyous consciousness of his relations
with his fellow-countrymen, and the bringing of the individual
into increasingly immediate relations of interdependence with
ever-increasing numbers of his fellow-men, economically, intel-
lectually, and spiritually. These enlarging relations and the
consciousness of them must be loyally and joyfully accepted.
They .should arouse enthusiasm. The real anity of society, crue
national centralization, includes both che political und the per-
sonal phase. The more conscious the process and tiie relation,
the more real is the unity. By this process each individual be-
comes of more importance to the entire body, as well as more
dependent upon it. While each individual beconies with in-
creasing industrial development more specialized in economic
function, if his personal develoiiment lias been properly carried
on, he also becomes in mind and in character a micro-commu-
nity, summing up in his individual person the national unity with
all its main interests, knowledge, and character.
NATIONAL EVOLUTION 337
wholly, dropped out of sight. The individual has been
conceived to have been from the very beginning of social
evolution fully endowed with mind, ideas, and brains, and
to be perfectly regardless of all other human beings. The
development of the community has accordingly been con-
ceived to be a progressive taming and subduing of this
wild, self-centered, primitive man ; a process of eliminat-
ing his individualistic instincts. So far as the individual
is concerned, it has been conceived to be chiefly a negative
process ; a process of destroying his individual desires and
plans and passions. Man's natural state has been sup-
posed to be that of absolute selfishness. Only the hard
necessity of natural law succeeded in forcing him to curb
his natural selfish desires and to unite with his fellows.
Only on these terms could he maintain even an existence.
Those who have not accepted these terms have been ex-
terminated. Communal life in all its forms, from the
family upward to the most unified and developed nation, is
thus conceived as a continued limiting of the individual —
a necessity, 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 demonstra-
tion, that communal and individual development proceed
pari passu ; that every gain in the communal life is a gain
to the individual and vice versa. They are comple-
mentary, not contradictory processes. Neither can exist,
in any proper sense, apart from the other ; and the degree
of the development of the one is a sure index of the degree
of the development of the other. So important is "this
matter that we must pause to give it further consideration.
Consider, first, man in his earliest stage of development.
A relatively segregarious animal ; with a few ideas about
the nuts and fruits and roots on which he lives ; with a
little knowledge as to where to find them ; the subject of
constant fear lest a stronger man may suddenly appear
to seize and carry off his wife and food ; possessing pos-
sibly a few articulate sounds answering to words ; such
probably was primitive man. He must have been little
removed from the ape. His "self," his mind, was so
small and so empty of content that we could hardly recog-
338 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
nize him as a man, should we stumble on him in the
forest.
Look next upon him after he has become a family-
man. Living in the group, his life enlarges ; his exist-
ence broadens ; his ideas multiply ; his vocabulary in-
creases with his ideas and experiences ; he begins to share
the life and thinking and interests and joys and sorrows
of others; their ideas and experiences become his, to his
enormous advantage. What he now is throws into the
shade of night what he used to be. So far from being
the loser by his acceptance of even this limited communal
life, he is a gainer in every way. He begins to know what
love is, and hate ; what joy is, and sorrow ; what kindness
is, and cruelty ; what altruism is, and selfishness. Thus,
not only in ideas and language, in industry and property,
but also in emotions, in character, in morality, in religion,
in the knowledge of self, and even in opportunity for
selfishness, he is the gainer. In just the degree that
communal life is developed is the life of the individuals
that compose it extended both subjectively and objectively.
Human psychogenesis takes place in the comnuinal stage
of his life. Human association is its chief external cause.
It matters not at what successive stage of man's devel-
oping life we may choose to look at him, the depth and
height and breadth, in a word, the fullness and vigor and
character of the inner and private life of the individual,
will depend directly on the nature and development of the
communal life. As the community expands, taking in
new families or tribes or nations, reaching out to new
regions, learning new industries, developing new ideas of
man, of nature, of the gods, of duty, inventing new indus-
tries, discovering new truths, and developing a new lan-
guage, all these fresh acquirements of the community be-
come the possession of its individual members. In the
growing complexity of society the individual unit, it is
true, is increasingly lost among the millions of his fellow-
units, yet all these successive steps serve to render his life
the larger and richer. His horizon is no longer tlu' little
family group in which he was born ; he now looks out over
large and populous regions and feels the thrill of his
growing life as he realizes the unity and community of
NATIONAL EVOLUTION 339
his life and interests with those of his fellow-countrymen.
His language is increasingly enriched ; it serves to shape
all his thinking and thus even the structure of his mind.
His knowledge reaches far beyond his own experience;
it includes not only that of the few^ persons whom he
knows directly, but also that of unnumbered millions, re-
mote in time and space. He increasingly discovers,
though he never has analyzed, and is perhaps wholly un-
able to analyze, the discovery that he is not a thing among
things ; his life has a universal aspect. He lives more and
more the universal life, subjecting the demands of the
once domineering present to decisions of a cool judgment
that looks back into the past and carefully weighs the
interests of the future, temporal and eternal.
Every advance made by the community is thus stored
up to the credit of its individual members. So far, then,
from the development of the communal principle consist-
ing of and coming about through a limitation of the indi-
vidual, it is exactly the reverse. Only as the individual
develops are communal unity and progress possible. And
on the other hand, only where the communal principle has
reached its highest development, both extensively and in-
tensively, do we find the most highly developed person-
ality. The one is a necessary condition of the other.
The deepest, blackest selfishness, even, can only come
into existence where the communal principle has reached
its highest development.
The preceding statement, however, is not equivalent to
saying that when communalism and individualism arose
in human consciousness they were both accepted as
equally important. The reverse seems always to have
been the case. As soon as the tw'O principles are distin-
guished in thought, the communal is at once ranked as the
higher, and the individual principle is scorned if not actu-
ally rejected. And the reason for this is manifest. From
earliest times the constant foe which the community has
had to fight and exterminate has been the wanton, selfish
individual. Individualism of this type was the spon-
taneous contrast to the communal life, and was ever mani-
festing itself. No age or race has been without it, nor
ignorant of it. As soon as the two principles became
7
340 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
clearly contrasted in thought, therefore, because of his
actual experience, man could conceive of individualism
only as the antithesis to communalism ; it was felt that
the two were mutually destructive. It inevitably fol-
lowed that communalism as a principle was accepted and
individualism condemned. In their minds noi only social
order, but existence itself, was at stake. And they were
right. Egoistic individualism is necessarily atomistic.
No society can long maintain its life as a unified and
peaceful society, when such a principle has been widely
accepted by its members. The social ills of this and of
every age largely arise from the presence of this type of
men, who hoid this principle of life.
If, therefore, after a fair degree of national unity has
been attained, the higher stages of national evolution de-
pend on the higher development of individualism, and if
the only kind of individualism of which men can conceive
is the egoistic, it becomes evident that_ further progress
must cease. Stagnation, or degeneration, must follow.
This is what has happened to nearly all the great nations
and races of the world. They progressed well up to a
certain point. Then they halted or fell back. The only
possible condition under which a new lease of progressive
life could be secured by them was a new variety of in-
dividualism, which would unite the opposite and appa-
rently contradictory poles of communalism and egoism,
namely, communo-'individualism. Inconceivable though
it be to those men and nations who have not experienced
this type of life, it is nevertheless a fact, and a niighty
factor in human and in national evolution. In its light
we are able to sec that the comnunial life itself has not
reached its fullest development until the individualistic
principle has been not only recognized in thought, but
exalted, both in theory and in fact, to its true ami co-
ordinate position beside the communal principle. Only
then does the nation become fully and completely organ-
ized. Only then does the national organism contain \yith-
in itself the means for an endless, because a self-sustained.
It is important to guard against a misunderslaiiduig of
the principles just enunciated which may easily arise. In
NATIONAL EVOLUTION 341
saying that the development of the individual has pro-
ceeded pari passu with that of the community, that every
gain by the community has contributed directly to the
development of the individual, I do not say that the com-
munal profits are at once distributed among all the mem-
bers of the group, or that the distribution is at all equal.
Indeed, such is far from the case. Some few individuals
seem to appropriate a large and unfair proportion of the
communal bank account. So far as a people live a simple
and relatively undifferentiated life, all sharing in much
the same kind of pursuits, and enjoying much the same
grade of life, — such as prevailed in a large measure in
the earlier times, and decreasingly as society has become
industrial, — and so far also as the new acquirements of
thought are transformed into practical life and common
language, all the members of the community share these
acquirements in fairly equal measure. So far, however^
as the communal profits consist of more or less abstract
ideas, embodied in religious and philosophic thought, and
stored away in books and literature accessible only to
scholars, they are distributed very unequally. The more
highly developed and consequently differentiated the so-
ciety, the more difficult does distribution become. The-
very structure of the highly differentiated communal or-
ganism forbids the equal distribution of these goods. The
literary and ruling minority have exclusive access to the
treasures. The industrial majority are more and more
rigidly excluded from them. Thus, although it is strictly
true tliat every advance in the communal principle ac-
crues to the benefit of the individual, it is not true that
such advance necessarily accrues to the benefit of every^
individual, or equally to all individuals. In its lowest
stages, developing communalism lifts all its individual
members to about the same level of mental and moral
acquirement. In its middle stages it develops all indi-
viduals to a certain degree, and certain individuals to a
high degree. In its highest stages it develops among all
its members a uniformly high grade of personal worth
and acquirement.
Now the great problem on whose solution depends the
possibility of continued communal evolution is, from this
342 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
view-point, the problem of distributing the gains of the
community to all its members more and more equally. It
is the problem of giving to each human unit all the best
and truest thought and character, all the highest and
noblest ideals and motives, which the most advanced in-
dividuals have secured. If we stop to inquire minutely
and analytically just what is the nature of the greatest
attainments made by the community, we discover that it
is not the possession of wealth in land or gold, it is not
the accident of social rank, it is not any incident of tem-
poral happiness or physical ease of life. It consists, on
the contrary, in the discovery of the real nature of man.
He is no mere animal, living in the realm of things and
pleasures, limited by the now and the here. He is a
person, a rational being. His thoughts and desires can
only be expressed in terms of infinity. Nothing short of
the infinite can satisfy either his reason or his heart.
Though living in nature and dependent on it, he is above
it, and may and should understand it and rule it. His
thoughts embrace all time and all being. In a very real
sense he lives an infinite and eternal life, even here in this
passing world.
The discovery of this set of facts, slowly emerging into
consciousness, is the culmination of all past history, and
the beginning of all man's higher life. It is the turning-
point in the history of the human race. Every onward
step in man's preceding life, whereby he has united to
form higher and higher groups, has been leading onward
and upward to the development of strong personality,
to the development of individuals competent to make this
great discovery. But this is not enough.
The next step is to discover the fact, ami to believe it.
that this infinite life is the potential possession of every
member of the community ; that the bank account which
the community has been storing up for ages is for the
use not only of a favored few, but also of the masses.
That since every man is a man. he has an infinite and
an eternal life and value, which no accident of birth, or
poverty, can annul. Each man needs to discover himself.
The great problem, then, which confronts progressive
communal evolution is to take this enlarged definition
NATIONAL EVOLUTION 343
of the individual and scatter it broadcast over the land,
persuading all men to accept and believe it both for them-
selves and for others. This definition must be carried in
full confidence to the lowest, meanest, most ignorant man
that lives in the community, and by its help this down-
most man must be shown his birthright, and in the light
of it he must be raised to actual manhood. He must
" come to himself " ; only so can he qualify for his
heritage.
After a nation, therefore, has secured a large degree of
unity, of the confederated tribal type, the step which must
be taken, before it can proceed to more complete national-
ization even, is, first, the discovery of personality as the
real and essential characteristic of men, and secondly the
discovery that high-grade personality may and can and
must be developed in all the members of the community.
In proportion as the members of the community become
conscious persons, fully self-conscious and self -regulating,
fully imbued with the idea and the spirit of true person-
ality, of communo-individualism, in tliat proportion will
the community be unified and centralized, as well as ca-
pable of the most complex and differentiated internal
structure. The strength of such a nation will be indefi- \
nitely greater than that of any other less personalized /
and so less communalized nation.
XXX
ARE THE JAPANESE IMPERSONAL?
FEW phases of the Japanese character have proved
so fascinating to the philosophical writer on Ja-
pan as that of the personality of this Far Eastern
people. From the writings of Sir Rutherford x\lcock. the
first resident English minister in Japan, down to the last
publication that has come under my eye, all have some-
thing to say on this topic. One writer. Mr. Percival
Lowell, has devoted an entire volume to it under the title
of " The Soul of the Far East," in which he endeavors
to establish the position that the entire civilization of the
Orient, in its institutions, such as the family and the
state, in the structure of its language, in its conceptions
of nature, in its art, in its religion, and finally in its in-
herent mental nature, is essentially impersonal. One of
the prominent and long resident missionaries in Japan
once delivered a course of lectures on the influence of
pantheism in the Orient, in which he contended, among
other things, that the lack of personal pronouns and other
phenomena of Japanese life and religion arc due to the
presence and power in this land of pantheistic philosophy
preventing the development of personality.
The more I have examined these writings and their
fundamental assumptions, the more manifest have am-
biguities and contradictions in the use of terms become.
I have become also increasingly impressed with the fail-
ure of advocates of Ja]:)anese " impersonality " to appre-
ciate the real nature of the phenomena they seek to ex-
plain. They have not comprehended the nature or the
course of social evolution, nor have they discovered the
mutual relation existing between the social order and
personality. The arguments advanced for the " imper-
sonal " view are more or less plausible, and this method
344
ARE THE JAPANESE IMPERSONAL? 345
of interpreting the Orient appeals for authority to re-
spectable philosophical writers. No less a philosopher
than Hegel is committed to this interpretation. The im-
portance of this subject, not only for a correct understand-
ing of Japan, but also of the relation existing between
individual, social, and reUgious evolution, requires us to
give it careful attention. We shall make our way most
easily into this difticult discussion by considering some
prevalent misconceptions and defective arguments. I
may here express my indebtedness to the author of " The
Soul of the Far East " for the stimulus received from his
brilliant volume, differ though I do from his main thesis.
We begin this study with a few quotations from Mr.
Lowell's now classic work.
" Capability to evolve anything is not one of the marked
characteristics of the Far East. Indeed, the tendency to
spontaneous variation. Nature's mode of making experi-
ments, would seem there to have been an enterprising
faculty that was early exhausted. Sleepy, no doubt, from
having got up betimes with the dawn, these inhabitants
of the land of the morning began to look upon their day
as already far spent before they had reached its noon.
They grew old young, and have remained much the same
age ever since. What they were centuries ago, that at
bottom they are to-day. Take away the European in-
fluences of the past twenty years, and each man might
almost be his own great-grandfather. In race character,
he is yet essentially the same. The traits that distin-
guished these peoples in the past have been gradually
extinguishing them ever since. Of these traits, stagnating
influences upon their career, perhaps the most important
is the great quality of " impersonality."* " The peoples
inhabiting it [the northern hemisphere] grow steadily
more personal as we go West. So unmistakable is_ this
gradation that we are almost tempted to ascribe it to
cosmical rather than to human causes. . . The sense
of self grows more intense as we follow the wake of
the setting sun, and fades steadily as we advance into
the dawn. America, Europe, the Levant, India, Japan,
* P. 14.
346 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
each is less personal than the one before. We stand at
the nearer end of the scale, the Far Orientals at the other.
If with us the ' I ' seems to be the very essence of the
soul, then the soul of the Far East may be said to be
' Impersonality.' " *
Following the argument through the volume we
see that individual physical force and aggressiveness,
deficiency of politeness, and selfishness are, accord-
ing to this line of thought, essential elements of per-
sonality. The opposite set of qualities constitutes the
essence of impersonality. " The average Far Oriental, in-
deed, talks as much to no purpose as his Western cousin,
only in his chit-chat politeness takes the place of per-
sonalities. With him, self is suppressed, and an ever-
present regard for others is substituted in its stead. A
lack of personality is, as we have seen, the occasion of
this courtesy; it is also its cause. . . Considered a
priori, the connection between the two is not far to seek.
Impersonality, by lessening the interest in one's self, in-
duces one to take an interest in others. Introspection
tends to make a man a solitary animal, the absence of it
a social one. The more impersonal the people, the more
will the community supplant the individual in the poj)-
ular estimation. . . Then, as the social desires develop,
politeness, being the means of their enjoyment, develops
also."t
Let us take a look at some definitions :
" Individuality, personality, and the sense of self, are
only three asjjccts of the same thing. They are so many
various views of the soul, according as we regard it from
an intrinsic, an altruistic, or an egoistic standpoint. . .
By individuality we mean that bundle of ideas, thoughts,
and day-dreams which constitute our separate identity, and
by virtue of which we feel each one of us at home within
himself. . . Consciousness is the necessary attribute
of mental action. Not only is it the sole way we have
of knowing mind ; without it there would be no mind to
know. Not to be conscious of one's self is, mentally
* P. 15. t Pp. 88, 89.
ARE THE JAPANESE IMPERSONAL? 347
speaking, not to be. This complex entity, this little cosmos
of a world, the ' I,' has for its very law of existence,
self-consciousness, while personality is the effect it pro-
duces upon the consciousness of others." *
The more we study the above definitions, the more baf-
fling they become. Try as I may, I have not been able
to fit them, not only to the facts of my own experience,
which may not be strange, but I cannot reconcile them
even to each other. There seem to me inherent ambi-
guities and self-contradictions lurking beneath their scien-
tific splendor. Individuality is stated to be " that bundle
of ideas, thoughts, and day-dreams which constitute our
separate identity." This seems plain and straightforward,
but is it really so? Consciousness is stated to be not only
"the necessary attribute of mental action" (to which
exception might be taken on the ground of abundant
proof of unconscious mental action), but it is also con-
sidered to be the very cause of mind itself. Not only
by consciousness do we know mind, but the consciousness
itself constitutes the mind ; " without it there would be
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 or action ? And do we become
new-created when we awake ? What is the bond of con-
nection that binds into one the successive consciousnesses
of the successive days ? Does not that " bundle of ideas "
become broken into as many wholly independent frag-
ments as there are intervals between our sleepings? Or
rather is not each fragment a whole in itself, and is not
the idea of self -continuity from day to day and from
week to week a self-delusion? How can it be otherwise
if consciousness constitutes existence? For after the
consciousness has ceased and " the bundle of ideas," which
constitutes the individuality of that day, has therefore
gone absolutely out of existence, it is impossible that the
old bundle shall be resurrected by a new consciousness.
Only a new bundle can be the product of a new con-
sciousness. Evidently there is trouble somewhere. But
let us pass on.
* Pp. 203, 204.
348 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
" The ' I ' has for its very law of existence self-con-
sciousness." Is not " self-consciousness " here identified
with "consciousness" in the preceding sentence? The
very existence of the mind, the "I," is ascribed to each
in turn. Is there, then, no difference between conscious-
ness and self-consciousness? Finally, personality is
stated to be " the effect it [the " I "] produces on the self-
consciousness of others." I confess I gain no clear idea
from this statement. But whatever else it may mean,
this is clear, that personality is not a quality or character-
istic of the " I," but only some effect which the " I " pro-
duces on the consciousness of another. Is it a quality,
then, of the other person ? And does impersonality mean
the lack of such an effect? But does not this introduce
us to new confusion? When a human being is wholly
absorbed in an altruistic act, for instance, wholly forgetful
of self, he is, according to a preceding paragraph, quite
impersonal ; yet, according to the definition before us, he
cannot be impersonal, for he is producing most lively
effects on the consciousness of the poor human being he
is befriending ; in his altruistic deed he is strongly per-
sonal, yet not he, for personality does not belong to the
person acting, but somehow to the person aft"ected. How
strange that the personality of a person is not his own
characteristic but another's !
But still more confusing is the definition when we recall
that if the benevolent man is wholly unconscious of self,
and is thinking only of the one whom he is helping, then
he himself is no longer existing. But in that case how
can he help the poor man or even continue to think of
him ? Perfect altruism is self-annihilation ! Knowledge
of itself by the mind is that which constitutes it ! But
enough. It has become clear that these terms have not
been used consistently, nor are the definitions such as
to command the assent of any careful psychologist or phi-
losopher. What the writer means to say is, I judge, that
the measure of a man's personality is the amount of
impression he makes on his fellows. For the whole drift
of his argument is that both the physical and mental ag-
gressiveness of the Occidental is far greater than that
of the Oriental; this characteristic, he asserts, is due to
ARE THE JAPANESE IMPERSONAL? 349
the deficient development of personality in the Orient, and
this deficient development he calls " impersonality." If
those writers who describe the Orient as " impersonal "
fail in their definition of the term " personal," their failure
to define " impersonal " is even more striking. They use
the term as if it were so well known as to need no defi-
nition ; yet their usage ascribes to it contrary conceptions.
As a rule they conceive of " impersonality " as a deficiency
of development ; yet, when they attempt to describe its
nature, they speak of it as self-suppression. A clear state-
ment of this latter point may be found in a passage already
quoted : " Politeness takes the place of personalities. With
him [the Oriental], self is suppressed, and an ever-pres-
ent regard for others is substituted." " Impersonality, by
lessening the interest in one's self, induces one to take
interest in others." In this statement it will be noted
the "self is suppressed.'' Does "impersonality" then
follow personality, as a matter of historical development ?
It would so appear from this and kindred passages. But
if this is true, then Japan is iiwrc instead of less developed
than the Occident. Yet this is exactly the reverse of that
for which this school of thought contends.
Let us now examine some concrete illustrations ad-
duced by those who advocate Japanese impersonality.
They may be arranged in two classes : those that are due
wholly to invention, and those that are doubtless facts,
but that may be better accounted for by some other theory
than that 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 (old calendar).
Because the first of these is exclusively for the girls and
the second is exclusively for the boys, Mr. Lowell con-
cludes that they are general birthdays, in spite of the fact
which he seems to know that the ages are not reckoned
from these days. He calls them " the great impersonal
birthdays " ; for, according to his supposition, all the girls
celebrate their birthdays on the third day of the third
moon and 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. With regard to this under-
350 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
standing of the significance of the festival, I have asked
a large number of Japanese, not one of whom had ever
heard of such an idea. Each one has insisted that indi-
vidual birthdays are celebrated regardless of these general
festivals ; the ages of children are never computed from
these festivals ; they have nothing whatever to do with
the ages of the children.*
The rei)ort of the discussions of the Japanese Society
of Comparative Religion contains quite a minute state-
ment of all the facts known as to these festivals, much
too long in this connection, but among them there is not
the slightest reference to the birthday feature attributed
to them by Mr. Lowell. f
Mr. Lowell likewise invents another fact in support of
his theory by his interpretation of the Japanese method
of computing ages. Speaking of the advent of an infant
into the home he says, that " from the moment he makes
his appearance he is spoken of as a year old, and this same
age he continues to be considered in most simple cases
of calculation, till the beginning of the next calendar
year. When that epoch of general rejoicing arrives, he
is credited with another year himself. So is everybody
else. New Year's day is a common birthday for the com-
munit}', a sort of impersonal anniversary for his whole
world." Now this is a very entertaining conceit, but it
will hardly pass muster as a serious argument with one
who has any real understanding of Japanese ideas on the
subject. The simple fact is that the Japanese docs not
ordinarily tell you how^ old the child is, but only in how
many year periods he has lived. Though born December
31, on January i he has undoubtedly lived in two dif-
ferent year periods. This method of counting, however,
is not confined to the counting of ages, but it characterizes
all their counting. If you ask a man how many days be-
fore a certain festival near at hand he will say ten where
we would say but nine. In other words, in counting
periods the Japanese count all, including both the first
and the last, whereas we omit the first. This as a cus-
tom is an interesting psychological problem, but it has
* Cf. chapter viii.
f Sec the Rilcugo ZassJiiiox March, 1898.
ARE THE JAPANESE IMPERSONAL? 351
not the remotest connection with " personality " or " im-
personality." Furthermore, the Japanese have another
method of signifying the age of a child which corresponds
exactly to ours. You have but to ask what is the " full "
age of a child to receive a statement which satisfies our
ideas of the problem. The idea of calling New Year's
day a great " impersonal " birthday because forsooth all
the members of the community and the nation then enter
on a new year period, and of using that as an argument
for the " impersonality " of the whole race, is as inter-
esting as it is inconclusive.
Much is made of the fact that Japanese art has paid
its chief attention to nature and to animals, and but little
to man. This proves, it is argued, that the Japanese artist
and people are " impersonal " — that they are not self-
conscious, for their gaze is directed outward, toward " im-
personal " nature ; had they been an aggressive personal
people, a people conscious of self, their art would have
depicted man. The cogency of this logic seems ques-
tionable to me. Art is necessarily objective, whether it
depicts nature or man ; the gaze is always and necessarily
outward, even when it is depicting the human form. In
our consideration of the sesthetic elements of Japanese
character* we gave reasons for the Japanese love of
natural beauty and for their relatively slight attention to
the human form. If the reasons there given were correct,
the fact that Japanese art is concerned chiefly with nature
has nothing whatever to do with the " impersonality "
of the people. If " impersonality " is essentially altru-
istic, if it consists of self-suppression and interest in
others, then it is difficult to see how art that depicts the
form even of human beings can escape the charge of being
" impersonal " except when the artist is depicting him-
self. If, again, supreme interest in "objective " im-
personal " nature proves the lack of " personality," should
we not argue that the West is supremely " impersonal "
because of its extraordinary interest in nature and in the
natural and physical sciences ? Are naturalists and scien-
tists " impersonal," and are philosophers and psycholo-
gists "personal" in nature? If it be argued that art
* Cf. chapter xv.
352 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
which depicts the human emotions is properly speaking
subjective, and therefore a proof of developed person-
ality, will it be maintained that Japan is devoid of such
art ? How about the pictures and the statues of warriors ?
How about the passionate features of the Ni-o, the placid
faces of the Buddhas and other religious imagery? Are
there not here the most powerful representations possible
of human emotions, both active and passive? But even
so, is not the gaze of the artist still outward on others, /. e.,
is he not altruistic ; and, therefore, " impersonal," accord-
ing to this method of thought and use of terms? Are
European artists who revel in landscape and animal scenes
deficient in " personal " development, and are those who
devote their lives to painting nude women particularly
developed in " personality " ? Truly, a defective termi-
nology and a distorted conception of what " personality '
is, land one in most contradictory positions.
Those who urge the " impersonality " of the Orient
make much of the Japanese idea of the " family," with the
attendant customs. The fact that marriage is arranged
for by the parents, and that the two individuals most con-
cerned have practically no voice in the matter, proves
conclusively, they argue, that the latter have little " per-
sonality." Here again all turns on the definition of this
important word. If by " personality " is meant conscious-
ness of one's self as an independent individual, then I do
not see what relation the two subjects have. If, however,
it means the willingness of the subjects of marriage to
forego their own desires and choices, because indeed they
do not have any of their own, then the facts will not bear
out the argument. These writers skillfully choose certain
facts out of the family customs whereby to illustrate and
enforce this theory, but they 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 individ-
uals in each marriage are so dissatisfied with the arrange-
ments made by the parents that they reject them and assert
their own choice and decision. According to the argu-
ment for " impersonality " in marriage, these recalcitrant,
* Cy. chai)lcr .\xiii. p. 329.
ARE THE JAPANESE IMPERSONAL? 353
unsubmissive individuals have a great amount of " per-
sonality," that is, consciousness of self; and this conscious-
ness of 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 cases women), that is to say, the
effect of the divorce on the consciousness of the women,
constitutes the personality of the men ! The marriage
customs cited, therefore, do not prove the point, for no
account is taken of the multitudinous cases in which one
party or the other utterly refuses to carry out the ar-
rangements of the parents. Many a girl declines from
the beginning the proposals of the parents. These cases
are by no means few. Only a few days before writing
the present lines a waiting girl in a hotel requested me to
find her a place of service in some foreign family. On
inquiry she told me how her parents wished her to marry
into a certain family ; but that she could not endure the
thought and had run away from home. One of the facts
wdiich strike a missionary, as he becomes acquainted with
the people, is the frequency of the cases of running away
from home. Girls run away, probably not as frequently
as boys, yet very often. Are we to believe that these
are individuals who have an excessive amount of " per-
sonality"? If so, then the development of "person-
ality " in Japan is far more than the advocates of its
" impersonality " recognize or would allow us to believe.
Mr. Lowell devotes three pages to a beautiful and
truthful description of the experience known in the West
as " falling in love." Turning his attention to the Orient,
because of the fact that marriages are arranged for by the
families concerned, he argues that: " No" such blissful
infatuation falls to the lot of the Far Oriental. He never
is the dupe of his own desire, the willing victim of his
self-delusion. He is never tempted to reveal himself, and
by thus revealing, realize. . . For she is not his love;
she is only his wife ; 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 a support for the
theory of Japanese " impersonality." For it is not a
fact that the Japanese do not fall in love ; it is a well-
known experience to them. It is inconceivable how any-
354 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
one at all acquainted with either Japanese hfe or Hterature
could make such an assertion. The passionate love of a
man and a woman for each other, so strong that in multi-
tudes of cases the two prefer a common death to a life
apart, is a not uncommon event in Japan. Frequently
we read in the daily papers of a case of mutual suicide
for love. This is sufficiently common to have received a
specific name " joshi."*
So far as the argument for " impersonality " is con-
cerned this illustration from the asserted lack of love is
useless, for it is one of those manufactured for the occa-
sion by imaginative and resourceful advocates of " im-
personality."
But I do not mean to say that " falling in love " plays
the same important part in the life and development of
the youth in Japan that it does in the West. It is usually
utterly ignored, so far as parental planning for marriage
is concerned. Love is not recognized as a proper basis
for the contraction of marriage, and is accordingly
frowned upon. It is deemed a sign of mental and moral
weakness for a man to fall in love. Under these condi-
tions 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 the
West as a refining and elevating influence in the life of
a young man or woman. In a land where " falling in
love " is regarded as an immoral thing, a breaking out
of uncontrollable animal passion, it is not strange that
it should not be glorified by moralists or sanctified by
religion. There are few experiences in the West so en-
nobling as the love that a young man and a young woman
bear to each other during the days of their engagement
and lasting onward throughout the years of their length-
ening married life. The West has found the secret of
making use of this period in the lives of the young to
elevate and purify them of which the East knows little.
But there are still other and sadder consequences fol-
* Buddhism is larsjely responsible for the wide practice of
"joshi," tlirouijh its doctrine that lovers whom fate does not
permit to be married in this world may be united in the ne.xt
because of the strength of their love.
ARE THE JAPANESE IMPERSONAL? 355
lowing from the attitude of the Japanese to the question
of " falHng in love." It can hardly be doubted that the
vast number of divorces is due to the defective method of
betrothal, a method which disregards the free choice of
the parties most concerned. The system of divorce is,
we may say, the device of society for remedying the in-
herent defects of the betrothal system. It treats both
the man and the woman as though they w^ere not persons
but unfeeling machines. Personality, for a while submis-
sive, soon asserts its liberty, in case the married parties
prove uncongenial, and demands the right of divorce.
Divorce is thus the device of thwarted personality. But
in addition to this evil, there is that of concubinage or
virtual polygamy, which is often the result of " falling
in love." And then, there is the resort of hopelessly
thwarted personality known in the West as well as in the
East, murder and suicide, and oftentimes even double
suicide, referred to above. The marriage customs of the
Orient are such that hopeless love, though mutual, is far
more frequent than in the \\^est, and the death of lovers
in each other's arms, after having together taken the fatal
draught, is not rare. The number of suicides due to hope-
less love in 1894 was 407, and the number of murders
for the same cause was 94. Here is a total of over five
hundred deaths in a single year, very largely due to the
defective marriage system. Do not these phenomena re-
fute assertions to the effect that the Japanese are so im-
personal as not to know what it is to " fall in love " ? If
the question of the personality of the Japanese is to be
settled by the phenomena of family life and the strength
of the sexual emotion, would we not have to pronounce
them possessed of strongly developed personality ?
XXXI
THE JAPANESE NOT IMPERSONAL
WE must now face the far more difficult task of
presenting a positive statement in regard to the
problem of personality in the Orient. We need
to discover just what is or should be meant by the terms
" personality " and " impersonality." We must also an-
alyze this Oriental civilization and discover its elementary
factors, in order that we may see what it is that has given
the impression to so many students that the Orient is
" impersonal." In doing this, although our aim is con-
structive, we shall attain our end with greater ease if we
rise to positive results through further criticism of defect-
ive views. We naturally begin with definitions.
" Individuality " is defined by the Standard Dictionary
as " the state or quality of being individual ; separate or
distinct existence." " Individual " is defined as " Any-
thing that cannot be divided or separated into parts with-
out losing identity. . . A single person, animal, or
thing." " Personality " is defined as " That which con-
stitutes a person ; conscious, separate existence as an in-
telligent and voluntary being." " Person " is defined as
" Any being having life, intelligence, will, and separate
individual existence." On these various definitions the
following observations seem pertinent.
" Individuality " has reference only to the distinctions
existing between different objects, persons, or things. The
term draws attention to the fact of distinctness and dif-
ference and not to the (]ualitics which make the difference,
and least of all to the consciousness of identity by virtue
of which " we feel each one of us at home within him-
self."
" Personality " properly has reference onl\' to that
which constitutes a person. As contrastetl with an animal
THE JAPANESE NOT IMPERSONAL 357
a person has not only life, but also a highly developed and
self-conscious intelligence, feeling, and will ; these involve
moral relations toward other persons and religious rela-
tions toward God.
Consciousness is not attendant on every act of the per-
son, much less is self-consciousness, although both are
always potential and more or less implicit. A person is
often so absorbed in thought or act as to be wholly un-
conscious of his thinking or acting; the consciousness is,
so to speak, submerged for the time being. Self-con-
sciousness implies considerable progress in reflection on
one's own states of mind, and in the attainment of the
consciousness of one's own individuality. It is the result
of introspection. Self-consciousness, however, does not
constitute 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 my judgment, each human being is to
be conceived as being a separate " soul," endowed by its
very nature with definite capacities or qualities or attri-
butes which we describe as mental, emotional, and voli-
tional, having powers of consciousness more or less devel-
oped according to the social evolution of the race, the age
of the individual, his individual environment, and depend-
ing also on the amount of education he may have received.
The possession of a soul endowed with these qualities con-
stitutes a person ; their possession in marked measure con-
stitutes developed personality, and in defective measure,
undeveloped personality.
The unique character of a " person " is that he combines
perfect separateness with the possibility and more or less
of the actuality of perfect universality. A " person " is
in a true sense a universal, an infinite being. He is thus
through the constitution of his psychic nature a thinking,
feeling, and willing being. Through his intellect and in
proportion to his knowledge he becomes united with the
whole objective universe ; through his feelings he may be-
come united in sympathy and love with all sentient crea-
tion, and even with God himself, the center and source of
all being ; through his active will he is increasingly cre-
ator of his environment. Man is thus in a true sense ere-
358 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
ating the conditions which make him to be what he is.
Thus in no figurative sense, but hterally and actually,
man is in the process of creating himself. He is realiz-
ing the latent and hitherto unsuspected potentialities of
his nature. He is creating a world in which to express
himself; and this he does by expressing himself. In
proportion as man advances, making explicit what is im-
plicit in his inner nature, is he said to grow in personality.
A man thus both possesses personality and grows in per-
sonality. He could not grow in it did he not already actually
possess it. In such growth both elements of his being,
the individual and the universal, develop simultaneously.
A person of inferior personal development is at once less
individual and less universal. This is a matter, however,
not of endowment but of development. We thus distin-
guish between the original personal endowment, which we
may call intrinsic or inherent personality, and the various
forms in which this personality has manifested and ex-
pressed itself, which we may call extrinsic or acquired
personality. Inherent personality is that which differen-
tiates man from animal. It constitutes the original in-
volution which explains and even necessitates man's en-
tire evolution. There may be, nay, must be, varying de-
grees of expression of the inherent personality, just as
there may be and must be varying degrees of conscious-
ness of personality. These depend on the degree of evo-
lution attained by the race and by the individuals of the
race.
It is no part of our plan to justify this conception of
the nature of personality, or to defend these brief sum-
mary statements as to its inherent nature. It is enough
if we have gained a clear idea of this conception on which
the present chapter, and indeed this entire w^ork, rests.
In discussing the question as to personality in the Orient,
it is important for us ever to bear in mind the distinc-
tions between the inherent endowment that constitutes
personal beings, the explicit and external expression of
that endowment, and the possession of the consciousness
of that endowment. For these are three ihings quite tlis-
tinct, though intimately related.
The term " impersonality " demantls special attention,
THE JAPANESE NOT IMPERSONAL 359
being- the most misused and abused term of all. The first
and natural signification of the word is the mere negation
of personality ; as a stone, for instance, is strictly " imper-
sonal." This is the meaning given by the dictionaries.
But in this sense, of course, it is inapplicable to human
beings. What, then, is the meaning when applied to
them? When Mr. Lowell says, "If with us [of the
West] the ' I ' seems to be of the very essence of the soul,
then the soul of the Far East may be said to be ' imper-
sonal,' " what does he mean ? He certainly does not mean
that the Chinese and Japanese and Hindus have no emo-
tional or volitional characteristics, that they are strictly
" impersonal " ; nor does he mean that the Oriental has
less development of powers of thinking, willing, feeling,
or of introspective meditation. The whole argument
shows that he means that their sense of the individuality
or separateness of the Ego is so slight that it is practically
ignored; and this not by their civilisation alone, but by
each individual himself. The supreme consciousness of
the individual is not of himself, but of his family or race ;
or if he is an intensely religious man, his consciousness
is concerned with his essential identity with the Absolute
and Ultimate Being, rather than with his own separate
self. In other words, the term " impersonal " is made to
do duty for the non-existent negative of " individual."
" Impersonal " is thus equivalent to " universal " and per-
sonal to " individual." To change the phraseology, the
term " impersonal " is used to signify a state of mind in
which the separateness or individuality of the individual
ego is not fully recognized or appreciated even by the in-
dividual himself. The prominent element of the indi-
vidual's consciousness is the unity or the universalism,
rather than the multiplicity or individualism.
Mr. Lowell in effect says this in his closing chapter en-
titled " Imagination." His thesis seems to be that the
universal mind, of which each individual receives a frag-
ment, becomes increasingly differentiated as the race mind
evolves. In proportion as the evolution has progressed
does the individual realize his individuality — his separate-
ness ; this individualization, this differentiation of the in-
dividual mind is, in his view, the measure as well as the
36o EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
cause of the higher civiHzation. The lack of such indi-
vidualization he calls " impersonality " ; in such a mind
the dominant thought is not of the separateness between,
but of the unity that binds together, himself and the uni-
versal mind.
If the above is a correct statement of the conception of
those who emphasize the " impersonality " of the Orient,
then there are two things concerning it which may be said
at once. First, the idea is a perfectly clear and intelligible
one, the proposition is definite and tangible. But why do
they not so express it? The terms "personality" and
" individuality " are used synonymously ; while " imper-
sonal " is considered the equivalent of the negative of in-
dividual, un-individual — a word which has not yet been
and probably never will be used. But the negation of
individual is universal ; " impersonal," therefore, accord-
ing to the usage of these waiters, becomes equivalent to
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 the idea they are intended to con-
vey, the idea itself is fundamentally erroneous. I freely
admit that there is an interesting truth of which these
writers have got a glimpse and to which they are striv-
ing to give expression, but apparently they have not
understood the real nature of this truth and consequently
they are fundamentally wrong in calling 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 they are right, the problem is fundamentally one of bio-
logical evolution.
In contrast to this view, it is here contended, first, that
the feature they are describing is not such as they describe
it; second, that it is not properly called " impersonality ";
third, that it is not a matter of inherent race nature, of
brain structure, or of mind differentiation, but wholly a
matter of social evolution ; and, fourth, that if there is
such a trait as they describe, it is not due to a deficiently
developed but. on the contrary, to a superlatively develoi)ed
personality, which might heller be called super-person-
THE JAPANESE NOT IMPERSONAL 361
ality. To state the position here advocated in a nutshell,
it is maintained that the asserted " impersonality " of the
Japanese is the result of the communalistic nature of the
social order which has prevailed down to the most recent
times ; it has put its stamp on every feature of the national
and individual life, not omitting the language, the phi-
losophy, the religion, or even the inmost thoughts of the
people. This dominance of the communalistic type of
social order has doubtless had an effect on the physical
and psychic, including the brain, development of the
people. These physical and psychical developments, how-
ever, are not the cause, but the product, of the social order.
They are, furthermore, of no superlative import, since
they offer no insuperable obstacle to the introduction of a
social order radically different from that of past millen-
niums.
Before proceeding to elaborate and illustrate this gen-
eral position, it seems desirable to introduce two further
definitions.
Commvmalism and individualism are the two terms used
throughout this work 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 im-
portance of the community are more or less clearly recog-
nized, and in which this idea has become the constructive
principle of the social order, and where at the same time
the individual is practically ignored and crushed.
By individualism I mean that later order of society in
vi^hich the worth of the individual has been recognized and
emphasized, to the extent of radically modifying the com-
munalism, securing a liberty for individual act and
thought and initiative, of which the old order had no con-
ception, and which it would have considered both dan-
gerous and immoral. Individualism is not that atomic
social order in which the idea of the communal unity has
been rejected, and each separate human being regarded
as the only unit. Such a society could hardly be called
an order, even by courtesy. Individualism is that devel-
oped stage of communalism, wherein the advantages of
close communal unity have been retained, and wherein, at
362 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
the same time, the idea and practice of the worth of the
individual and the importance of giving him hberty of
thought and action have been added. Great changes in
the internal structure of society follow, but the com-
munial unity or idea is neither lost nor injured. In tak-
ing up our various illustrations regarding 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 suffi-
ciently accounted for by the communal theory of the
Japanese social order ?
Let us begin, then, with the illustration of which advo-
cates of " impersonality " make so nuich, Japanese polite-
ness. As to the reality of the fact, it is hardly necessary
that I present extended proof. Japanese politeness is
proverbial. It is carried into the minutest acts of daily
life; the holding of the hands, the method of entering a
room, the sucking in of the breath on specific occasions,
the arrangement of the hair, the relative places of honor
in a sitting-room, the method of handing guests refresh-
ments, the exchange of friendly gifts — every detail of
social life is rigidly dominated by etiquette. Not only
acts, but the language of personal address as well, is
governed by ideas of politeness which have fundamentally
affected the structure of the language, by preventing the
development of personal pronouns.
Now what is the cause of this characteristic of the
Japanese? It is commonly attributed by writers of the
impersonal school to the " impersonality " of the Oriental
mind. " Impersonality " is not only the occasion, it is the
cause of the politeness of the Japanese people. " Self is
suppressed, and an ever-present regard for others is sub-
stituted in its stead." " Impersonality, by lessening the
interest in one's self, induces one to take interest in
others." * Politeness is, in these passages, attributed to
the impersonal nature of the Japanese mind. The fol-
lowing quotations show that this characteristic is con-
ceived of as inherent in race and mind structure, not in
the social order, as is here maintained. " The nation
grew up to man's estate, keeping the mind of its child-
* P. 88.
THE JAPANESE NOT IMPERSONAL 363
hood." * " In race characteristics, he is yet essentially
the same. . . Of these traits . , . perhaps the most
important is the great quality of impersonality." f " The
peoples inhabiting- it [the earth's temperate zone] grow
steadily more personal as we go West. So unmistakable is
this gradation that one is almost tempted to ascribe it to
cosmical rather than human causes. . . The essence of
the soul of the Far East may be said to be impersonal-
ity." $
In his chapter on " Imagination," Mr. Lowell seeks
to explain the cause of the " impersonality " of the Orient.
He attributes it to their marked lack of the faculty of
" imagination " — the faculty of forming new and original
ideas. Lacking this faculty, there has been relatively little
stimulus to growth, and hence no possibility of differentia-
tion and thus of individualization.
If politeness were due to the " impersonal " nature of
the race mind, it would be impossible to account for the
rise and decline of Japanese etiquette, for it should have
existed from the beginning, and continued through all
time, nor could we account for the gross impoliteness that
is often met with in recent years. The Japanese them-
selves deplore the changes that have taken place. They
testify that the older forms of politeness were an integral
element of the feudal system and were too often a thin
veneer of manner by no means expressive of heart interest.
None can be so absolutely rude as they who are masters
of the forms of politeness, but have not the kindly heart.
The theory of " impersonality " does not satisfactorily
account for the old-time politeness of Japan.
The explanation here offered for the development and
decline of politeness is that they are due to the nature of
the social order. Thoroughgoing feudalism long main-
tained, with its social ranks and free use of the sword, of
necessity develops minute unwritten rules of etiquette;
without the universal observance of these customs, life
would be unbearable and precarious, and society itself
would be impossible. Minute etiquette is the lubricant
of a feudal social order. The rise and fall of Japan's
phenomenal system of feudal etiquette is synchronous with
* P. 12. f P. 14. t P- 15.
364 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
that of her feudal system, to which it is due rather than to
the asserted " impersonahty " of the race mind.
The impersonal theory is amazingly blind to adverse
phenomena. Such a one is the marked sensitiveness of
the middle and upper classes to the least slight or insult.
The gradations of social rank are scrupulously observed,
not only on formal occasions, but also in the homes at in-
formal and social gatherings. Failure to show the proper
attention, or the use of language having an insufficient
number of honorific particles and forms, would be instantly
interpreted as a personal slight, if not an insult.*
Now if profuse courtesy is a proof of " impersonality,"
as its advocates argue, what does morbid sensitiveness
prove but highly developed personality ? But then arises
the difficulty of understanding how the same individuals
can be both profusely polite and morbidly sensitive at one
and the same time? Instead of inferring " imperson-
ality " from the fact of politeness, from the two facts of
sensitiveness and politeness we may more logioally infer
a considerable degree of personality. Yet I would not lay
much stress on this argument, for oftentimes (or is it al-
ways true?) the weaker and more insignificant the person,
the greater the sensitiveness. Extreme sensitiveness is
as natural and necessary a product of a highly developed
feudalism as is politeness, and neither is particularly due
to the high or the low development of personality.
Similarly with respect to the question of altruism,
which is practically identified with politeness by ex-
pounders of Oriental " impersonality." They make this
* In their relations with foreigners, the people, but especially
the Christians, are exceedingly lenient, forgiving and overlook-
ing our egregious bin nders both of speech and of manner, par-
ticularly if they feel that we have a kindly heart. Yet it is the
uniform experience of the missionary that he frequently hiirts
unawares the feelings of his Japanese fellow-workers. Few
thoughts more fre([ucntly enter the mind of the missionary, as
he deals with Christian workers, than how to say this needful
truth and do that needful deed so as not to hurt the feelings of
those whom he would help. The individual who feels slighted
or insulted will probably give no active sign of his wound. Ik-
is too polite or too politic for that. He will merely close like a
clam and cease to have further cordial feelings and relations
with the person who has hurt him.
THE JAPANESE NOT IMPERSONAL 365
term (altruism) the virtual equivalent of " impersonality "
■ — interest in others rather than in self, an interest due,
according- to their view, to a lack of differentiation of the
individual minds ; the individuals, though separate, still
retain the universalism of the original mind-stuff. This
use of the term altruism makes it a very different thing
from the quality or characteristic 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 the Japanese of
sympathy, and the humane feelings.* We saw there
marked proofs of their lack. The cruelty of the old social
order was such as we can hardly realize. Altruism that
expresses itself only in polite forms, and does not strive
to alleviate the suffering of fellow-men, can have very little
of that sense, which this theory requires. So much as to
the fact. Then as to the theory. If this alleged altruism
were inherent in the mental structure, it ought to be a
universal characteristic of the Japanese ; it should be all-
pervasive and permanent. It should show itself toward
the foreigner as well as toward the native. But such is
far from the case. Few foreigners have received a hearty
welcome from the people at large. They are suspected
and hated ; as little room as possible is made for them.
The less of their presence and advice, the better. So far
as there is any interest in them, it is on the ground of
utility, and not of inherent good will because of a feeling
of aboriginal unity. Of course there are many exceptions
to these statements, especially among the Christians.
But such is the attitude of the people as a whole, espe-
cially of the middle and upper classes toward the
foreigners.
If \ve turn our attention to the opposite phase of Japa-
nese character, namely their selfishness, their self-assert-
iveness, and their aggressiveness, whether as a nation or
as individuals, and consider at the same time the recent
rise of this spirit, we are again impressed both with the
narrow range of facts to which the advocates of " imper-
* Cf. chapter xiii.
366 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
sonality " call our attention, and also with the utter insuffi-
ciency of their theory to account for the facts they over-
look. According to the theory of altruism and "imper-
sonality," these are characteristics of undeveloped races
and individuals, while the reverse characteristics, those of
selfishness and self-assertiveness, are the products of a
later and higher development, marks of strong person-
ality. But neither selfishness nor individual aggressive-
ness is a necessary clement of developed " personality."
If it were, children who have never been traiiied
by cultivated mothers, but have been allowed to have
their own way regardless of the rights or desires of
others, are more highly developed in " personality " than
the adult who has, through a long life of self-discipline and
religious devotion, become regardless of his selfish interests
and solicitous only for the welfare of others. If the high
development of altruism is equivalent to the development
of " impersonality," then those in the West who are re-
nowned for humanity and benevolence are " impersonal."
while robbers and murderers and all who are regardless of
the welfare of others are possessed of the most highly de-
veloped " personality." And it also follows that highly
developed altruistic benefactors of mankind are sucli,
after all, because they are undeveloped, — their minds are
relatively undifferentiated, — hence their fellow-feeling
and kindly acts. There is a story of some learned wit who
met a half-drunken boor ; the latter plunged ahead, remark-
ing, '' I never get out of the way of a fool " ; to which the
quick reply came, " I always do." According to this
argument based on self-assertive aggressiveness, the boor
was the man possessed of a strong personality, while the
gentleman was relatively " impersonal." If pure selfish-
ness and aggressiveness are the measure of personality,
then are not many of the carnivorous animals endowed
with a very high degree of " personality "?
The truth is, a comprehensive and at the same time cor-
rect contrast between the East and the \\Vst cannot be
stated in terms of personality and impersonality. They
fail not only to take in all the facts, but they fail to ex-
plain even the facts they take in. Such a contrast of the
East and the West can be stated onlv in the terms of com-
THE JAPANESE NOT IMPERSONAL 367
munalism and individualism. As we have already seen,*
every nation has to pass through the communal stage, in
order to become a nation at all. The families and tribes
of which it is composed need to become consolidated in
order to survive in the struggle for existence with sur-
rounding families, tribes, and nations. In this stage the
individual is of necessity sunk out of sight in the demands
of the community. This secures indeed a species of
altruism, but of a relatively low order. It is communal
altruism which nature compels on pain of extermination.
This, however, is very different from the altruism of a
high religious experience and conscious ethical devotion.
This latter is volitional, the product of character. This
altruism can arise chiefly in a social order where indi-
vidualism to a large extent has gained sway. It is this
variety of altruism that characterizes the West, so far as
the West is altruistic. But on the other hand, in a social
order in which individualism has full swing, the extreme
of egoistic selfishness can also find opportunity for devel-
opment. 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
exalted consciousness of one's individuality or separate-
ness are not necessary marks of developed personality,
nor their opposite the marks of undeveloped personality —
so-called " impersonality." On the contrary, the reverse
statement would probably come nearer the truth. He
who is intensely conscious of the great unities of nature
and of human nature, of the oneness that unites indi-
viduals to the nation and to the race, and who lives a cor-
responding life of goodness and kindness, is by far the
more developed personality. But the manifestations of
personality will vary much with the nature of the social
order. This may change with astonishing rapidity.
Such a change has come over the social order of the Japa-
nese nation during the past thirty years, radically modify-
ing its so-called impersonal features. Their primitive
docility, their politeness, their marriage customs, their
universal adoption of Chinese thoughts, language, and
* See chapter xxix.
368 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
literature, and now, in recent times, their rejection of the
Chinese philosophy and science, their assertiveness in
Korea and China and their aggressive attitude toward the
whole world — all these multitudinous changes and com-
plete reversals of ideals and customs, point to the fact that
the former characteristics of their civilization were not
" impersonal," but communal, and that they rested on
social development rather than on inherent nature or on
deficient mental differentiation.
A common illustration of Japanese " impersonality,"
depending for its force wholly on invention, is the defi-
ciency of the Japanese language in personal pronouns and
its surplus of honorifics. At first thought this argument
strikes one as very strong, as absolutely invincible indeed.
Surely, if there is a real lack of personal pronouns, is not
that proof positive that the people using the language,
nay, the authors of the language, must of necessity be de-
ficient in the sense of personality? And if the verbs in
large numbers are impersonal, does not that clinch the
matter? But further consideration of the argument and
its illustrations gradually shows its weakness. At present
I must confess that the argument seems to me utterl}- fal-
lacious, and for the sufficient reason that the personal
element is introduced, if not always explicitly yet at least
implicitly, in almost every sentence uttered. The method
of its expression, it is true, is quite different from that
adopted by Western languages, but it is none the less
there. It is usually accomplished l)y means of the titles,
" honorific " particles, and honorific verbs and nouns.
" Honorable shoes " can't by any stretch of the imagina-
tion mean shoes that belong to me ; every Japanese would
at once think "your shoes " ; his attention is not distracted
by the term " honorable " as is that of the foreigner; the
honor is largely overlooked by the native in the personal
element implied. The greater the familiarity with the
language the more clear it becomes that the impressions
of " impersonality " are due to the ignorance of the for-
eigner rather than to the real " impersonal " character of
the Japanese thought or mind. In the Japanese methods
of linguistic expression, politeness and personality are in-
deed, incxlricaM\- interwoven; bul lhe\- are not at all con-
THE JAPANESE NOT IMPERSONAL 369
fused. The distinctions of person and the consciousness
of self in the Japanese thought are as clear and distinct
as they are in the English thought. In the Japanese sen-
tence, however, the politeness and the personality 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 of Japanese " impersonality," i. e., of lack of con-
sciousness of self, this very deficiency may, with even
more plausibility, be used to establish the opposite view.
Child psychology has established the fact that an early
phenomenon of child mental development is the emphasis
laid on " meum " and " tuum," mine and yours. The
child is a thoroughgoing individualist in feelings, concep-
tions, 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 in others is excessive
emphasis on the first person, does he learn to moderate his
own excessive egoistic tendency. Is it not a fact that the
studied evasion of first personal pronouns by cultured
people in the West is due to their developed consciousness
of self? Is it possible for one who has no consciousness
of self to conceive as impolite the excessive use of egoistic
forms of speech? From this point of view we might
argue that, because of the deficiency of her personal pro-
nouns, the Japanese nation has advanced far beyond any
other nation in the process of self-consciousness. But
this too would be an error. Nevertheless, so far from say-
ing that the lack of personal pronouns is a proof of the
" impersonality " of the Japanese, I think we may fairly
use it as a disproof of the proposition.
The argument for the inherent impersonality of the
Japanese mind because of the relative lack of personal
pronouns is still further undermined by the discovery, not
only of many substitutes, but also of several words bearing
the strong impress of the conception of self. There are
said to be three hundred words which may be used as
personal pronouns — " 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 the
370 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
first and second persons. " Omayc," " honorably in
front," is used both condescendingly and honorifically ;
" you whom I condescend to allow in my presence," and
" you who confer on me the honor of entering your pres-
ence." The derivation of the most common word for I,
" Watakushi," is unknown, but, in addition to its pro-
nominal use, it has the meaning of " private." It has be-
come a true personal pronoun and is freely used by all
classes.
In addition to the three hundred words which may be
used as personal pronouns the Japanese language pos-
sesses an indefinite number of ways for delicately sug-
gesting the personal element without its express utterance.
This is done either by subtle praise, which can then only
refer to the person addressed or by more or less bald self-
depreciation, which can then only refer to the first person.
" Go kanai," " honorable within the house," can only
mean, according to Japanese 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
such as " somatsu na mono," " coarse thing," and
" tsumaranu mono," " worthless thing," according to the
genius of the language can only refer to the first person,
while all appreciative and polite terms can only refer to the
person addressed. The terms, " foolish," " swinish," etc.,
have lost their literal sense and mean now no more than
" my," while the polite forms mean " yours." To trans-
late these terms, " my foolish wife," " my swinish son," is
incorrect, because it twice translates the same word. In
such cases the Japanese thoui^ht is best expressed by using
the possessive pronoun and omitting the derogative ad-
jective altogether. Japanese indirect methods for the
expression of the personal relation arc thus tuimberless
and subtile. May it not be plausiblv argued since the
European has onlv a few blunt pronouns wherewith to
state this idea while the Japanese has both numberless
pronouns and many other delicate ways of conveying the
same idea, that the latter is far in advance of the
European in the develi-ipment of personality? T (.\o not
use this argument, but as an argument it seems to me
THE JAPANESE NOT IMPERSONAL 371
much more plausible than that which infers from the
paucity of true pronouns the absence, or at least the defi-
ciency, 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 " (the Chinese pro-
nunciation of " watakushi," meaning private) are Sinico-
Japanese words, that is, Chinese derived words. These
Sinico-Japanese terms are in universal use in compound
words, and are as truly Japanese as many Latin, Greek
and Norman-derived words are real English. " Ji-bun,"
" one's self " ; " jiman," " self-satisfaction " ; " ji-fu,"
" self-assertion " ; " jinin," " self-responsibility " ; " ji-bo
ji-ki," "self-destruction, self-abandonment"; " ji-go ji-
toku," " self-act, self-reward " — always in a bad sense ;
" ga-yoku," selfish desire " ; " ga-shin," " selfish heart " ;
" ga wo 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 the concep-
tion of self, can hardly be explained by the " impersonaj,"
" altruistic " theory of Japanese race mind and language.
In truth, if this theory is unable to explain the facts it
recognizes, much less can it account for those it ignores.
To interpret correctly the phenomena we are consider-
ing, we must ask ourselves how personal pronouns have
arisen in other languages. Did the primitive Occidental '^' '-^^
man produce them outright from the moment that he dis-.
covered himself? Far from it. There are abundant rea-
sons for believing that every personal pronoun is a de-
generate or, if you prefer, a developed noun. Pronouns
are among the latest products of language, and, in the
sphere of language, are akin to algebraic symbols in the
sphere of mathematics or to a machine in the sphere of
labor. A pronoun, whether personal, demonstrative, or
relative, is a wonderful linguistic invention, enabling the
speaker to carry on long trains of unbroken thought. Its
invention was no more connected with the sense of self,
than was the invention of any labor-saving device. The
372 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
Japanese language is even more defective for lack of rela-
tive pronouns than it is for lack of personal pronouns.
Shall we argue from this that the Japanese people have
no sense of relation? Of course personal pronouns could
not arise without or before the sense of self, but the prob-
lem is whether the sense of self could arise without or
exist before that particular linguistic device, the personal
pronoun? On this problem the Japanese language and
civilization throw conclusive light.
The fact is that the ancestors of the Anglo-Saxon and
Japanese peoples parted company so long ago that in the
course of their respective linguistic evolutions, not only
have all common terms been completely eliminated, but
even common methods of expression. The so-called Indo-
European races hit upon one method of sentence struc-
ture, a method in which pronouns took an important part
and the personal pronoun was needed to express the per-
sonal element, while the Japanese hit upon another method
which required little use of pronouns and which was able
to express the personal element wholly without the per-
sonal pronoun. The sentence structure of the two lan-
guages is thus radically different.
Now the long prevalent feudal social order has left its
stamp on the Japanese language no less than on every
other feature of Japanese civilization. ISIany of the quasi
personal pronouns are manifestly of feudal parentage.
Under the new civilization and in contact with foreign
peoples who can hardly utter a sentence without a per-
sonal pronoun, the majority of the old quasi personal
pronouns are dropping out of use, while those in con-
tinued use are fast rising to the position of full-fledged
personal pronouns. This, however, is not due to the de-
velopment of self-consciousness on the part of the people,
but only to the development of the language in the direc-
tion of complete and concise expression of thought. It
would be rash to say that the feudal social order accounts
for the lack of pronouns, personal or others, from the
Japanese language, but it is safe to maintain that the
feudal order, with its many gradations of social rank,
minute etiquette, and refined and highly developed jxt-
sonal sensitiveness would adopt and foster an impersonal
THE JAPANESE NOT IMPERSONAL 373
and honorific method of personal allusion. Even though
we may not be able to explain the rise of the non-pro-
nominal method of sentence structure, it is enough if we
see that this is a problem in the evolution of language,
and that Japanese pronominal deficiency is not to be at-
tributed to lack of consciousness of self, much less to the
inherent " impersonality " of the Japanese mind.
An interesting fact ignored by advocates of the " im-
personal " theory is the Japanese inability of conceiving
nationality apart from personality. Not only is the Em-
peror conceived as the living symbol of Japanese nation-
ality, but he is its embodiment and substance. The Jap-
anese race is popularly represented to be the offspring
of the royal 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 his will
alone. A single act of his could in theory abrogate the
constitution promulgated in 1889 and all the popular
rights enjoyed to-day by the nation. The Emperor of
Japan could appropriate, without in the least shocking the
most patriotic Japanese, the long-famous saying of Louis
XIV., " L'etat, c'est moi." Mr. H. Kato, ex-president of
the Imperial University, in a recent work entitled the
" Evolution of Morality and Law" says this in just so
many words : " Patriotism in this country means loy-
alty to the throne. To the Japanese the Emperor and the
country are the same. The Emperor of Japan, without
the slightest exaggeration, can say, ' L'etat, c'est moi.'
The Japanese believe that all their happiness is bound up
with the Imperial line and have no respect for any system
of morality or law that fails to take cognizance of this
fact."
Mr. Yamaguchi, professor of history in the Peeresses'
School and lecturer in the Imperial Military College, thus
writes in the Far East: " The sovereign power of the
State cannot be dissociated from the Imperial Throne.
It lasts forever along with the Imperial line of succession,
unbroken for ages eternal. If the Imperial House cease
to exist, the Empire falls." " According to our ideas the
monarch reigns over and governs the country in his own
374 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
right. . . Our Emperor possesses real sovereignty
and also exercises it. He is quite different from other
rulers, who possess but a partial sovereignty." This is
to-day the universally accepted belief in Japan. It shows
clearly that national unity and sovereignty are not con-
ceived in Japan apart from personality.
One more point demands our attention before bringing
this chapter to a close. If " impersonality " were an in-
herent characteristic of Japanese race 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 ex-
ists a subtle something which leaves its impress indelibly
upon the consciousness of all who come in contact with
them. This something is a power, but a power of so
indefinable a description that we beg definition by calling
it simply the personality of the man. . . On the other
hand, there are people who have no effect upon us what-
ever. They come and they go with a like indifference.
. . And we say that the difference is due to the per-
sonality or the want of personality of the man."* The
first thing to which I would call attention is the fact that
" personality " is here used in its true sense. It has no
exclusive reference to consciousness of self, nor does it
signify the effect of self-consciousness on the conscious-
ness of another. It here has reference to those inherent
qualities of thinking and feeling and willing which we
have seen to be the essence of personality. These qual-
ities, possessed in a marked way or degree, make strong
personalities. Their relative lack constitutes weak per-
sonality. Bare consciousness of self is a minor evidence
of personality and may be developed to a morbid degree
in a person who has a weak personality.
In the second place this distinction between weak and
strong personalities is as true of the Jai)anesc as of the
Occidental. There have been many comiuanding persons
in Japanese history ; they have been the heroes of the land.
There are such to-day. The most commanding person-
ality of recent times was, I suppose, Takamori Saigo.
whose very name is an inspiration to tens of thousands of
* P. 20I.
THE JAPANESE NOT IMPERSONAL 375
the choicest youth of the nation. Joseph Neesima was
such a personaHty. The transparency of his purpose, the
simpUcity of his personal aim, his unflinching courage,
fixedness of behef, lofty plans, and far-reaching ambitions
for his people, impressed all who came into contact with
him. No one mingles much with the Japanese, freely
speaking with them in their own language, but perceives
here and there men of " strong personality " in the
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 psy-
chic being, then the occurrence of so many commanding
personalities in Japan would be inexplicable. Heroes and
widespread hero-worship * could hardly arise were there
no commanding personalities. The feudal order lent it-
self without doubt to the development of such a spirit.
But the feudal order could hardly have arisen or even
maintained itself for centuries without commanding per-
sonalities, much less could it have created them. The
whole feudal order was built on an exalted oligarchy.
It was an order which emphasized persons, not principles ;
the law of the land was not the will 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
develop strong personality among the masses, it is also
true that it did develop men of commanding personality
among the rulers. Those who from youth were in the
hereditary line of rule, sons of Shoguns, daimyos, and
samurai, were forced by the very communalism of the
social order to an exceptional personal development. They
shot far ahead of the common man. Feudalism is favor-
able to the development of personality in 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 the
personality of all.
In view of the discussions of this chapter, is it not
evident that advocates of the " impersonal " theory _ of
Japanese mind and civilization not only ignore many im-
* Cf. chapter vii.
376 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
portant elements of the civilization they attempt to in-
terpret, but also base their interpretation on a mistaken
conception of personality? We may not, however, leave
the discussion at this point, for important considerations
still demand our attention if we would probe this problem
of personality to its core.
XXXII
IS BUDDHISM IMPERSONAL?
A DVOCATES of Japanese " impersonality " call at-
i\ tention to the phenomena of self-suppression in re-
.XA^ligion. It seems strange, however, that they who
present this argument fail to see how " self-suppression "
undermines their main contention. If " self-suppression "
be actually attained, it can only be by a people advanced
so far as to have passed through and beyond the " per-
sonal " stage of existence. " Self-suppression " cannot be
a characteristic of a primitive people, a people that has
not yet reached the stage of consciousness of self. If the
alleged " impersonality " of the Orient is that of a prim-
itive people that has not yet reached the stage of self-
consciousness, then it cannot have the characteristic of
" self-suppression." If, on the other hand, it is the " im-
personality " of " self-suppression," then it is radically
different from that of a primitive people. Advocates of
" impersonality " present both conceptions, quite uncon-
scious apparently that they are mutually exclusive. If
either conception is true, the other is false.
Furthermore, if self-suppression is a marked character-
istic of Japanese politeness and altruism (as it undoubt-
edly is when these qualities are real expressions of the
heart and of the general character), it is a still more char-
acteristic feature of the higher religions life of the people,
which certainly does not tend to " impersonality." The
ascription of esoteric Buddhism to the common people
by advocates of the " impersonal " theory is quite a mis-
take, and the argument for the " impersonality " of the
race on this ground is without foundation, for the masses
of the people are grossly polytheistic, wholly unable to
understand Buddhistic metaphysics, or to conceive of the
nebulous, impersonal Absolute of Buddhism. Now if con-
377
378 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
sciousness of the unity of nature, and especially of the
unity of the individual soul with the Absolute, were a
characteristic of undeveloped, that is, of undifferentiated
mind, then all primitive peoples should display it in a
superlative degree. It should show itself in every phase
of their life. The more primitive the people, the more
divine their life — because the less differentiated from the
original divine mind ! Such are the requirements of this
theory. But what are the facts? The primitive unde-
veloped mind is relatively unconscious of self ; it is wholly
objective; it is childlike; it does not even know that there
is self to suppress. Primitive religion is purely objective.
Implicit, in primitive religion without doubt, is the fact
of a unity between God and man, but the primitive man
has not discovered this implication of his religious think-
ing. This is the state of mind of a large majority of
Japanese.
Yet this is by no means true of all. No nation, with
such a continuous history as Japan has had, would fail to
develop a class capable of considerable introspection. In
Japan introspection received early and powerful impetus
from the religion of Buddha. It came with a philosophy
of life based on prolonged and profound introspection.
It commanded each man who would know more than the
symbols, who desired, like Buddha, to attain the great
enlightenment and thus become a Tathagata, a Blessed
one, a Buddha, an Enlightened one, to know and conquer
himself. The emphasis laid by thoughtful Buddhism on
the need of self-knowledge, in order to self-suppression,
is well recognized by all careful students. Advocates of
Oriental " impersonality " are not one whit behind others
in recognizing it. In this connection we can hardly tlo
better than quote a few of Mr. Lowell's happy descriptions
of the teaching of philosophic lUiddhism.
" This life, it says, is but a chain of sorrows. . . These
desires that urge us on are really causes of all our woe.
We think they are ourselves. We are mistaken. They
are all illusion. . . This personality, this sense of self, is a
cruel deception. . . Realize once the true soul behind it,
devoid of attributes, . . an invisible part of the great
IS BUDDHISM IMPERSONAL? 379
impersonal soul of nature, then . . . will you have found
happniess in the blissful quiescence of Nirvana " [p. 186].
" In desire alone lies all the ill. Quench the desire, and
the deeds [sins of the flesh] will die of inanition. Get
rid, then, said Buddha, of these passions, these strivings,
for the sake of self. As a man becomes conscious that he
himself is something distinct from his body, so if he re-
flect and ponder, he will come to see that in like manner,
his appetites, ambitions, hopes, are really extrinsic to the
spirit proper. . . Behind desire, behind even the will,
lies the soul, the same for all men, one with the soul of
the universe. When he has once realized 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 of the individual self
with the universal is the result, according to Buddha, and
also according to the advocates of " impersonality," of a
highly developed consciousness of self. It is not a simple
state of undifferentiated mind, but a complex and deriv-
ative one — absolutely incomprehensible to a primitive
people. The means for this suppression of self depends
entirely on the development of the eonsciousness of self.
The self is the means for casting out the self, and it is
done by that introspection which ultimately leads to the
realization of the unity. If, then, Japanese Buddhism
seeks to suppress the self, this very effort is the most con-
clusive proof we could demand of the possession by this
people of a highly developed consciousness of self.
It is one of the boasts of Buddhism that a man's sa-
viour is himself; no other helper, human or divine, can do
aught for him. Those who reject Christianity in Chris-
tian lands are quite apt to praise Buddhism for this re-
jection of all external help. They urge that by the very
nature of the case salvation is no external thing; each
one must work out his ow^n salvation. It cannot be given
by another. Salvation through an external Christ who
lived 1900 years ago is an impossibility. Such a criti-
38o EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
cism of Christianity shows real misunderstanding of the
Christian doctrine and method of salvation. Yet the
point to which attention is here directed is not the cor-
rectness or incorrectness of these characterizations of
Christianity, but rather to the fact that " ji-riki," salvation
through self-exertion, which is the boast of Buddhism, is
but another proof of the essentially self-conscious char-
acter of Buddhism. It aims at Nirvana, it is true, at
self-suppression, but it depends on the attainment of clear
self-consciousness in the first place, and then on pro-
longed self-exertion for the attainment of that end. In
proportion as Buddhism is esoteric is it self-conscious.
Such being the nature of Buddhism, we naturally ask
whether or not it is calculated to develop strcMigly person-
alized men and women. If consciousness of self is the
main element of personality, we must pronounce Bud-
dhism a highly personal rather than impersonal religion,
as is commonly stated. But a religion of the Buddhistic
type, which casts contempt on the self, and seeks its anni-
hilation as the only means of salvation, has ever tended
to destroy personality; it has made men hermits and
pessimists ; it has drawn them out of the great current
of active life, and thus has severed them from their fel-
low-men. But a prime condition of developed person-
alities is largeness and intensity of life, and constant in-
tercourse with mankind. Personality is developed in the
society of persons, not in the company of trees and stones.
Buddhism, which runs either to gross and superstitious
polytheism on its popular side or to pessimistic introspec-
tion on its philosophical side, may possibly, by a stretch
of the term, be called " impersonal " in the sense that it
does not help in the production of strong, rounded per-
sonality among its votaries, but not in tlie sense that it
does not produce self-consciousness. Buddhism, there-
fore, cannot be accurately described in terms of personal-
ity or impersonality.
We would do well in this connection to ponder the fact
that although Buddhism in its higher forms does cer-
tainly develop consciousness of self, it does not attribute
to that self any worth. In consequence of this, it never
has modified, and however long it might be allowed to
I
IS BUDDHISM IMPERSONAL? 381
run its course, never could modify, the general social
order in the direction of individualism. This is one rea-
son why the whole Orient has maintained to modern times
its communal nature, in spite of its high development in
so many ways, even in introspection and self-conscious-
ness.
This failure of Buddhism is all the more striking when
we stop to consider how easy and, to us, natural an in-
ference it would have been to pass from the perception
of the essential unity between the separate self and the
universal soul, to the assertion of the supreme worth of
that separate soul because of the fact of that unity. But
Buddhism never seems to have made that inference. Its
compassion on animals and even insects depended on its
doctrine of the transmigration of souls, not on its doctrine
of universal soul unity. Its mercy was shown to animals
in certain whimsical ways, but the universal lack of sym-
pathy for suffering man, man who could suffer the most
exquisite pains, exposed the shallowness of its solicitude
about destroying life. The whole influence of Buddhism
on the social order was not conducive to the development
of personality in the Orient. The so-called impersonal
influence of Buddhism upon the Eastern peoples, then, is
not due to its failure to recognize the separateness of the
human self, on the one hand, nor to its emphasis on the
universal unity subsisting between the separate finite self
and the infinite soul, on the other ; but only on its failure
to see the infinite worth of the individual ; and in con-
sequence of this failure, its inability to modify the gen-
eral social order by the introduction of individualism.
The asserted " impersonal " characteristic of Buddhism
and of the Orient, therefore, I am not willing to call
" impersonality " ; for it is a very defective description,
a real misnomer. I think no single term can truly de-
scribe the characteristic under consideration. As regards
the general social order, the so-called impersonal charac-
teristic is its communal nature ; as regards the popular
religious thought, whether of Shintoism or Buddhism, its
so-called impersonality is its simple, artless objectivity ;
as regards philosophic Buddhism its so-called imperson-
ality is its morbid introspective self-consciousness, leading
382 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
to the desire and effort to annihilate the separateness of
the self. These are different characteristics and cannot
be described by any single term. So far as there are
in Japan genuine altruism, real suppression of selfish de-
sires, and real possession of kindly feelings for others and
desires to help them, and so far as these qualities arise
through a sense of the essential unity of the human race
and of the unity of the human with the divine soul, this
is not " impersonality " — but a form of highly developed
personality — not infra-personality, but true personality.
We have noted that although esoteric Buddhism "de-
veloped a highly accentuated consciousness of self, it at-
tributed no value to that self. This failure will not ap-
pear strange if we consider the historical reasons for it.
Indeed, the failure was inevitable. Neither the 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 already far beyond the undifferentiated com-
munal life of the tribal stage. Castes were universal and
fixed. The warp and woof of daily life and of thought
were filled with the distinctions of castes and ranks.
Man's worth was conceived to be not in himself, but in his
rank or caste. The actual life of the people, therefore, did
not furnish to speculative thought the slightest suggestion
of the worth of man as man. It was a positive hindrance
to the rise of such an idea.
Equally opposed to the rise of this idea was the method
of that introspective thought which discovered the fact
of the self. It was a method of abstraction; it denied
as part of the real self everything that could be thought
of as separate ; every changing phase or expression 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 and
again not be? Feeling cannot be a part of the real self,
for sometimes I feel and sometimes I do not. Any par-
ticular desire cannot be a jxirt of my real self, for some-
times I have it and sometimes I do not. A similar argu-
ment was applied to every objective thing. In the famous
" Questions of King Melincla," the argument as to the
IS BUDDHISM IMPERSONAL? 383
real chariot is expanded at length ; the wheels are not the
chariot ; the spokes are not the chariot ; the seat is not
the chariot ; the tongue is not the chariot ; the axle is not
the chariot ; and so, taking up each individual part of the
chariot, the assertion is made that it is not the chariot.
But if the chariot is not in any of its parts, then they are
not essential parts of the chariot. So of the soul — the
self; it does not consist of its various qualities or attri-
butes or powers ; hence they are not essential elements
of the self. The real self exists apart from them.
Now is it not evident that such a method of introspec-
tion deprives the conception of self of all possible value?
It is nothing but a bare intellectual abstraction. To say
that this self is a part of the universal self is no relief, —
brings no possible worth to the separate self, — for the
conception of the universal soul has been arrived at by
a similar process of thought. It, too, is nothing but a
bare abstraction, deprived of all qualities and attributes
and powers. I can see no distinction between the absolute
universal soul of Brahmanism and Buddhism, and the Ab-
solute Nothing of Hegel.*
Both are the farthest possible abstraction that the mind
can make. The Absolute Soul of Buddhism, the Atman
of Brahmanism, and Hegel's Nothing are the farthest pos-
sible remove from the Christian's conception of God.
The former is the utter emptiness of being ; the latter the
perfect fullness of being and completeness of quality.
The finite emptiness receives and can receive no richness
of life or increase in value by its consciousness of unity
* It seems desirable to guard against an inference that might
be made from what I have said about Hegel's "Nothing."
Hegel saw clearl}' that his "Nothing" was only the farthest
limit of abstraction, and that it was consequently absolutely
empty and worthless. It was only his starting point of thought,
not his end, as in the case of Brahmanism and of Buddhism.
Only after Hegel had passed the "Nothing" through all the
successive stages of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis, and thus
clothed it with the fullness of being and character, did he con-
ceive it to be the concrete, actual Absolute. There is, therefore,
the farthest possible difference between Hegel's Absolute Being
and Buddha's Absolute. Hegel sought to understand and state
in rational form the real nature of the Christian's conception of
God. Whether he did so or not, this is not the place to say.
384 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
with the infinite emptiness; whereas the finite Hmited
soul receives in the Christian view an infinite wealth and
value by reason of the consciousness of its unity with
the divine infinite fullness. The usual method of stating
the difference between the Christian conception of God
and the Hindu conception of the root of all being is
that the one is personal and the other impersonal. But
these terms are inadequate. Rather say the one is per-
fectly personal and the other perfectly abstract. Imper-
sonality, even in its strictest meaning, /. e., without " con-
scious separate existence as an intelligent and voluntary
being," only partially expresses the conception of Bud-
dhism. The full conception rejects not only personality,
but also every other quality ; the ultimate and the absolute
of Buddhisni — we may not even call it being — is the ab-
solutely abstract.
With regard, then, to the conception of the separate
self and of the supreme self, the Buddhistic view may
be called " impersonal," not in the sense that it lacks
the consciousness of a separate self ; not in the sense that
it emphasizes the universal unity — nay, the identity of all
the separate abstract selves and the infinite abstract self ;
but in the sense that all the qualities and characteristics
of human beings, such as consciousness, thought, emotion,
volition, and even being itself, are rejected as unreal.
The view is certainly " impersonal," but it is much more.
My objection to the description of Buddhism as " im-
personal," then, is not because the word is too strong,
but because it is too weak ; it does not sufficiently char-
acterize its real nature. It is as much below materialism,
as materialism is below monotheism. Such a scheme of
thought concerning the universe necessarily reacts on
those whom it possesses, to destroy what sense they may
have of the value of human personality; that which we
hold to be man's glory is broken into fragments and
thrown away.
But this does not constitute the whole of the difficulty.
This method of introspective thought necessarily resulted
in the doctrine of Illusion. Nothing is what it seems to be.
The reality of the chariot is other than it appears. So too
with the self and everything we see or think. The igno-
i
IS BUDDHISM IMPERSONAL? 385
rant are perfectly under the spell of the illusion and can-
not escape it. The deluded mind creates for itself the
world of being, with all its woes and evils. The great
enlightenment is the discovery of this fact and the power
it gives to escape the illusion and to see that the world is
nothing but illusion. To see that the illusion is an illu-
sion destroys it as such. It is then no longer an illusion,
but only a passing shadow. We cannot now stop to see
how pessimism, the doctrine of self-salvation, and the
nature of that salvation through contemplation and as-
ceticism and withdrawal from active life, all inevitably
follow from such a course of thought. That which here
needs emphasis is that all this thinking renders it still
more impossible to think of the self as having any in-
trinsic worth. On the contrary, the self is the source of
evil, of illusion. The great aim of Buddhism is neces-
sarily to get rid of the self, with all its illusions and pains
and disappointments.
Is it now clear why Buddhism failed to reach the idea
of the worth of the individual self? It was due to the
nature of the social order, and the nature of its intro-
spective and speculative thinking. Lacking, therefore,
the conception of individual worth, we see clearly why
it failed, even after centuries of opportunity, to secure in-
dividualism in the social order and a general development
of personality either as an idea or as a fact among any
of the peoples to which it has gone. It is not only a fact
of history, but we have seen that it could not have been
otherwise. The very nature of its conception of self and,
in consequence, the nature of its conception of salvation
absolutely prohibited it.*
*I remark, in passing, that Western non-Christian thought
has experienced, and still experiences, no little difficulty in con-
ceiving the ultimate nature of being, and thus in solving the
problem, into which, as a cavernous tomb, the speculative re-
ligions of the Orient have fallen. Western non-Christian sys-
tems, whether materialism, consistent agnosticism, impersonal
pantheism, or other systems which reject the Christian concep-
tion of God as perfect personality endowed with all the fullness
of being and character, equally with philosophic Buddhism, fail
to provide any theoretic foundation for the doctrine of tlie value
of man as man, and consequently fail to provide any guarantee
for individualism in the social order and the wide development
of personality among the masses.
386 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
We have thus far confined our view entirely to philo-
sophic Buddhism. It is important, therefore, to state
again that very few of the Japanese people outside of the
priesthood have any such ideas with regard to the abstract
nature of the individual, of the absolute self, and of their
mutual relations as I have just described. These ideas
are a part of esoteric Buddhism, the secret truth, which
is an essential part of the great enlightenment, but far
too profound for the vulgar multitudes. The vast ma-
jority, even of the priesthood, I am told, do not get far
enough to be taught these views. The sweep of such con-
ceptions, therefore, is very limited. That they are held,
however, by the leaders, that they are the views of the
most learned expounders and the most advanced students
of Buddhism serves to explain why Buddhism has never
been, and can never become, a power in reorganizing so-
ciety 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 whether popular Buddhism
tended to produce " impersonality," and if so, in what
sense. The doctrine of " ingwa," * with its consequences
on character, demands fresh attention at this point. Ac-
cording to this doctrine every event of this life, even the
minutest, is the result of one's conduct in a previous life,
and is unalterably fixed by inflexible law. " Ingwa " is
the crude idea of fate held by all primitive peoples, stated
in somewhat philosophic and scientific form. It became
a central element in the thought of Oriental peoples.
Each man is born into his caste and class by a law over
which neither he nor his parents have any control, and
for which they are without responsibility. The misfor-
tunes of life, and the good fortunes as well, come by the
same impartial, inflexible laws. By this system of thought
moral responsibilit>- is practically removed from the in-
dividual's shoulders. This doctrine is held in Japan far
more widely than the philosophic doctrine of the self,
and is correspondingly baleful.
This system of thought, when aj^plicd to tlio details of
life, means that individual choice and will, and ihcir eft'ect
* CJ . chapter vi.
IS BUDDHISM IMPERSONAL? 387
in determining- both external life and internal character
have been practically lost sight of. As a sociological
fact the origin of this conception is not difficult to under-
stand. The primitive freedom of the individual in the
early communal order of the tribe became increasingly
restricted with the multiplication and development of the
Hindu peoples ; each class of society became increasingly
specialized. Finally the individual had no choice what-
ever left him, because of the extreme rigidity of the com-
munal order. As a matter of fact, the individual choice
and will was allowed no play whatever in any important
matter. Good sense saw that where no freedom is, there
moral responsibility cannot be. All one's life is prede-
termined by the powers that be. Thus we again see how
vital a relation the social order bears to the innermost
thinking and belief of a people.
Still further. Once let the idea be firmly grounded in
an individual that he has no freedom of belief, of choice,
or of act, and in the vast majority of cases, as a matter of
fact, he will have none. " As a man thinketh in his heart,
so is he." " According to your faith be it unto you." This
doctrine of individual freedom is one of those that can-
not be forced on a man who does not choose to believe
it. In a true sense, 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 be rammed down any
man's intellectual throat, for that very act would abridge
his real freedom. Man's real freedom is proved by his
freedom to reject even the doctrine of his freedom. But
so long as he rejects it, his freedom is only potential. Be-
cause of his belief in his bondage he is in bondage. Now
this doctrine of fate has been the warp and woof of the
thinking of the bulk of the Japanese people in their
efforts to explain all the vicissitudes of life. Not only,
therefore, has it failed to stimulate the volitional element
of the psychic nature, but in the psychology of the Ori-
ent little if any attention has been given to this faculty.
Oriental psychology practically knows nothing of per-
sonality because it has failed to note one of its central ele-
ments,' the freedom of the will. The individual, there-
fore, has not been appealed to to exercise his free moral
388 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
choice, one of the highest prerogatives of his nature.
Moral responsibility has not been laid on his individual
shoulders. A method of moral appeal fitted to develop
the deepest element of his personality has thus been pre-
cluded.
It thus resulted that although philosophic Buddhism
developed a high degree of self-consciousness, yet because
it failed to discover personal freedom it did not deliver
popular Buddhism from its grinding doctrine of fate,
rather it fastened this incubus of social progress more
firmly upon it. Philosophic and popular Buddhism alike
thus threw athwart the course of human and social evolu-
tion the tremendous obstacle of fatalism, which the Orient
has never discovered a way either to surmount or evade.
Buddhism teaches the impotence of the individual will;
it destroys the sense of moral responsibility ; it thus fails
to understand the real nature of man, his glory and power
and even his divinity, which the West sums up in the
term personality. In this sense, then, the influence of
Buddhism and the condition of the Orient may be called
" impersonal," but it is the impersonality of a defective re-
ligious psychology, and of communalism in the social
order. 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 concep-
tion of the inadequacy of the " impersonal " theory to ex-
plain Japanese religious and social phenomena. Further
considerations, however, still merit attention 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, yet it is a providential character-
Listic of our as yet defective nature; for thanks to it
few men or nations carry out to their complete logical re-
sults erroneous opinions and metaphysical speculations.
Common sense in Japan has served more or less as an anti-
dote for Buddhistic poison. The blighting curse of
logical Buddhism has been considerably relieved by vari-
ous circumstances. Let us now consider some of the
ways in which the personality-destroying characteristics
of Buddhism have been lessened by other ideas and in-
fluences.
First of all there is the distinction, so often noted, be-
tween esoteric and popular Buddhism. Esoteric Bud-
dhism was content to allow popular Buddhism a place and
even to invent ways for the salvation of the ignorant mul-
titudes who could not see the real nature of the self. Re-
sort was had to the use of magic prayers and symbols
and idols. These were bad enough, but they did not bear
so hard on the development of personality as did esoteric
Buddhism.
The doctrine of the transmigration of the soul was like-
wise a relief from the pressure of philosophic Buddhism,
for, according to this doctrine, the individual soul con-
tinues to live its separate life, to maintain its independent
identity through infinite ages, while passing through the
ten worlds of existence, from nethermost hell to highest
heaven ; and the particular world into which it is born
after each death is determined by the moral character of
its life in the immediately preceding stage. By this doc-
' 389
390 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
trine, then, a practical appeal is mac-le to the common man
to exert his will, to assert his personality, and so far forth
it was calculated to undo a part of the mischief done by
the paralyzing doctrine of fate and illusion.
But a more important relief from the blight of Bud-
dhistic doctrine was afforded by its own practice. At the
very time that it declared the worthlessness of the self
and the impotence of the wall, it declared that salvation
can come only from the self, by the most determined
exercise of the wall. What more convincing evidence of
powerful, though distorted, wills could be asked than that
furnished by Oriental asceticism ? Nothing in the
West exceeds it. As an idea, then. Buddhism interfered
with the development of the conception of personality ;
but by its practice it helped powerfully to develop it as a
fact in certain phases of activity. The stoicism of the
Japanese is one phase of developed personality. It shows
the presence of a powerful, disciplined will keeping the
body in control, so that it gives 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 the spread and dominance of Buddhism
has been the practical and prosaic Confucian ethics. Ap-
parently, Confucius never speculated. Metaphysics and
introspection alike had no charm for him. He w^as con-
cerned with conduct. His developed doctrine demanded
of all men obedience to the law of the five relations. In
spite, therefore, of the fact that he said nothing about in-
dividuality and personality, his system laid real emphasis
on personality and demanded its continuous activity. In
all of his teachings the idea of personality in the full and
proper sense of this word is always implicit, and some-
times is quite distinct.
The many strong and noble characters which glorify
the feudal era are the product of Japonicized Con-
fucianism, " Bushido," and bear powerful witness to its
practical emphasis on personality. The loyalty, filial'
piety, courage, rectitude, honor, self-control, and suicide'
which it taught, defective though we must |M-onounce them
from certain points of view, were yet very lofty and noble,
TRACES OF PERSONALITY 391
and depended for their realization on the development of
personality.
Advocates of the " impersonal " interpretation of the
Orient have much to say about pantheism. They assert
the difficulty of conveying to the Oriental mind the idea of
the personality of the Supreme Being. Although some
form of pantheism is doubtless the belief of the learned,
the evidence that a personal conception of deity is wide-
spread among the people seems so manifest that I need
hardly do more than call attention to it. This belief has
helped to neutralize the paralyzing tendency of Buddhist
fatalistic pantheism.
Shinto is personal from first to last. Every one of its
myriads of gods is a personal being, many of them deified
men.
The most popular are the souls of men who became
famous for some particularly noble, brave, or admirable
deed. Hero-worship is nothing if not personal. Fur-
thermore, in its doctrine of " San-shin-ittai," " three
gods, one body," it curiously suggests the doctrine of the
Trinity.
Popular Buddhism holds an equally personal concep-
tion of deity. The objects of its worship are personifica-
tions of various qualities. " Kwannon," the goddess of
mercy ; " Jizo," the guardian of travelers and children ;
" Emma O," " King of Hell," who punishes sinners ;
"Fudo Sama," "The Immovable One," are all personifica-
tions of the various attributes of deity and are worshiped
as separate gods, each being represented by a uniform
type of idol. It is a curious fact that Buddhism, which
started out with such a lofty rejection of deity, finally fell
to the worship of idols, whereas Shinto, which is peculiarly
the worship of personality, has never stooped to its
representation in wood or stone.
Confucianism, however, surpasses all in its intimations
of the personality of the Supreme Being. Although it
never formulated this doctrine in a single term, nor defi-
nitely stated it as a tenet of religion, yet the entire ethical
and religious thinking of the classically educated Japa-
nese is shot through with the idea. Consider the Chinese
expression " Jo-Tei," which the Christians of Japan freely
392 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
use for God ; it means literally " Supreme Emperor," and
refers to the supreme ruler of the universe ; he is here con-
ceived in the form of a human ruler having of course hu-
man, 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 to Earth."
This phrase has reference to the consciousness of one's
life and conduct, such that he is neither ashamed to look-
up in the face of Heaven nor to look about him in the
presence of man. Paul expressed this same idea when he
Vi^rote " having a conscience void of offense to God and
to man." Or take another phrase :
" Ten-mc kwaikwai so ni shite morasazu."
" Heaven's net is broad as earth ; and though its meshes
are large, none can escape it." This is constantly used to
illustrate the certainty that Heaven punishes the wicked.
" Ten ni kuchi ari ; kabe ni mimi ari."
" Heaven has a mouth and even the wall has ears," sig-
nifies that all one does is known to the ruler of heaven and
earth. Another still more striking saying ascribing
knowledge to Heaven is the " Yoshin no Shichi," " the
four knowings of Yoshin." This sage was a Chinaman of
the second century a. d. Approached with a large bribe
and urged to accept 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 say you that
none will know it?" This famous saying condemning
bribery is well known in Japan. The references to
" Heaven " as knowing, seeing, doing, sympathizing, will-
ing, and always identifying the activity of " Heaven "
with the noblest and loftiest ideals of man, are frequent
in Chinese and Japanese literature. The personality of
God is thus a doctrine clearly foreshadowed in the Orient.
It is one of those great truths of religion which the
Orient has already received, but which in a large measure
lies dormant because of its incomplete expression. The
advent of the fully ex]:)ressed teaching of this truth, freed
from all vagueness and ambiguity, is a caj)ital illustration
of the way in which Cln-istianit}' comes to Japan io fuUill
TRACES OF PERSONALITY 393
rather than to destroy; it bring-s that fructifyino- element
that stirs the older and more or less imperfectly expressed
truths into new life, and gives them adequate modes of
expression. But the point to which I am here calling at-
tention is the fact that the idea of the personality of the
Supreme Being is not so utterly alien to Orientalthought
as some would have us think. Even though there is no
single word with which conveniently to translate the term,
the idea is perfectly distinct to any Japanese to whom its
meaning is explained.
The statement is widely made that because the Japanese
language has no term for " personality " the people are
lacking in the idea ; that consequently they have difficulty
in grasping it even when presented to them, and that as a
further consequence they are not to be criticised for their
hesitancy in accepting the doctrine of the " Personality of
God." It must be admitted that if " personality " is to be
defined in the various ambiguous and contradictory ways
in which we have seen it defined by advocates of Oriental
" impersonality " much can be said in defense of their hesi-
tancy. Indeed, no thinking Christian of the Occident for
a moment accepts it. But if " personality " is defined in
the way here presented, which I judge to be the usage of
thoughtful Christendom, then their hesitancy cannot be
so defended. It is doubtless true that there is in Japa-
nese no single word corresponding to our term " person-
ality." But that is likewise true of multitudes of other
terms. The only significance of this fact is that Oriental
philosophy has not followed in exactly the same lines as
the Occidental. As a matter of fact I have not found the
idea of personality to be a difiicult one to convey to the
Japanese, if clear definitions are used. The Japanese lan-
guage has, as we have seen, many words referring to the
individuality, to the self of manhood ; it merely lacks the
general abstract term, " personality." This is, however,
in keeping with the general characteristics of the lan-
guage. Abstract terms are, compared with English,
relatively rare. Yet with the new civilization they are
being coined and introduced. Furthermore, the English
term " personality " is readily used by the great majority
of educated Christians just as they use such words as
394 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
" life," " power," " success," " patriotism," and " Chris-
tianity."
In the summer of 1898, with the Rev. C. A. Clark I was
invited to speak on the " Outlines of Christianity " in a
school for Buddhist priests. At the close of our thirty-
minute addresses, a young man arose and spoke for fifty
minutes, outlining the Buddhist system of thought ; his
address consisted of an exposition of the law of cause and
effect ; he also stated some of the reasons why the Chris-
tian conception of God and the universe seemed to him
utterly unsatisfactory ; the objections raised were those
now current in Japan — such, for example, as that if God
really were the creator of the universe, why are some men
rich and some poor, some high-born and some low-born.
He also asked the question who made God? In a two-
minute reply I stated that his objections showed that he
did not imderstand the Christian's position ; and I asked
in turn what was the origin of the law of cause and effect.
The following day the chief priest, the head of the school
and its most highly educated instructor, dined with us.
We of course talked of the various aspects of Christian and
Buddhist doctrine. Finally he asked me how I would an-
swer the question as to who created God, and as to the
origin of the law of cause and effect. I explained as
clearly as I could the Christian view of God, in his per-
sonality and as being the original and only source of all
existence, whether of physical or of human nature. He
seemed to drink it all in and expressed his satisfaction at
the close in the words, " Taihen ni man zoku shimashita,"
" That is exceedingly satisfactory " ; these words he re-
peated several times. This is not my first personal proof of
the fact that the idea of personality is not alien or incom-
prehensible to the Orient, nor even to a Buddhist priest,
steeped in Buddhist speculation, provided the idea is
clearly stated.
Ik'forc bringing to a close this discussion of the prob-
lem of personality in Japan, it would seem desirable to
trace the history of the development of Japanese person-
ality. In view of all that has now been said, and not for-
getting what was said as to the principles of National
Evolution,* this may be done in a paragraph.
* Foot of cliaiUer .\xi.\.
TRACES OF PERSONALITY 395
The amalgamation of tribes, the development of large
clans, and finally the establishment of the nation, with
world-wide relations, has reacted on the individual mem-
bers of the people, giving them larger and richer lives.
This constitutes one important element of personal devel-
opment. The subordination of individual will to that of
the group, the desire and effort to live for the advantage,
not of the individual self, but of the group, whether
family, tribe, clan, nation, or the world, is not a limitation
of personality. On the contrary, it is its expansion and
development. Shinto and Japonicized Confucianism con-
tributed powerful motives to this subordination, and thus
to this personal development. These were attended, how-
ever, by serious limitations in that they confined their at-
tention to the upper and ruling classes. The development
of personality was thus extremely limited. Buddhism
contributed to the development of Japanese personality in
so far as it taught Japanese the marvels revealed by intro-
spection and self -victory. Its contribution, however, was
seriously hampered by defects already sufficiently empha-
sized. Japan has developed personality to a high degree
in a few and to a relatively low degree in the many. The
problem confronting New Japan is the development of a
high degree of personality among the masses. This is to
be accomplished by the introduction of an individualistic
social order.
One further topic demands our attention in closing.
What is the nature of personal heredity ? Is it biological
and inherent, or, like all the characteristics of the Japa-
nese people thus far studied, is personality transmitted by
social heredity? Distinguishing between intrinsic or in-
herent personality,* which constitutes the original endow-
ment differentiating man from animal, and extrinsic or
acquired personality, which consists of the various forms
in which the inherent personality has manifested itself in
the different races of men and the different ages of his-
tory, it is safe to say that the latter is transmitted accord-
ing to the laws of association or social heredity. Intrinsic
personality can be inherited only by lineal offspring, pass-
ing from father to son. Extrinsic personality may fail
* Chapter xxxiii. p. 498.
396 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
to be inherited by lineal descwulants and may be inherited
by others than lineal descendants. It is transmitted and
determined by social inheritance. Yet it is through per-
sonality that the individual may break away from the
dominant currents of the social order, and become thus
the means for the transformation of that order. The
secret of social progress lies in personality. In proportion
as the social order is fitted, accordingly, widely to develop
high-grade personality,^'^ is its own progress rapid and
safe.
Does acquired personality react on intrinsic personality?
This is the problem of " the inheritance of acquired charac-
teristics." Into this problem I do not enter further than
to note that in so far as newly developed personal traits
produce transformations of body and brain transmittable
from parent to offspring by the bare fact of parentage, in
that degree does acquired pass over into intrinsic person-
ality and thereby become intrinsic. In regard to the de-
gree in which acquired has passed over into intrinsic per-
sonality, thus differentiating the leading races of mankind,
we contend that it is practically non-existent. The phe-
* It seems desirable to append a brief additional statement
on the doctrine of the " personality of God," and its accepta-
bility to the Japanese. I wish to make it clear, in the first place,
that the difficulties felt by the Japanese in adopting this doc-
trine are not due primarily to the deficiency either of the Jap-
anese language or to the essential nature of the Japanese mind,
that is to say, because of its asserted structural " impersonal-
ity." We have seen how the entire thought of the people, and
even the direct moral teachings, imply both the fact of person-
ality in man, and also its knowledge. The religious teachings,
likewise, imply the personality even of " Heaveii."
That there are philosophical or, more correctly speaking,
metaphysical difficulties attending this doctrine, I am well
aware; and that they arc felt by" some few Japanese, I also
know. But I maintain that these difficulties have been imported
from tlie West. The difficulties raised by a sensational philos-
ophy wliich results in denying the reality even of man's psychic
nature, no less than the' difficulties due to a tlioroughgoing
idealism, have both been introduced among educated Japanese
and have found no little response. I am persuaded thai the real
causes of the doubt entertained by a few of the Christians in
Japan as to the personality of God are of foreign origin. These
doubts are to be answered in exactly the same way as the same
difficulties are answered in other lands. It niusL be shown that
TRACES OF PERSONALITY 397
nomena of personality characterizing the chief races of
men are due, not to intrinsic, but to acquired personaHty ;
in other words they are the products of the respective
social orders and are transmitted from generation to gen-
eration by social rather than by biological heredity.
the sensational and "positive" philosophies, ending in agnos-
ticism as to all the great problems of life and of reality, are
essentially at fault in not recognizing the nature of the mind
that knows. The searching criticism of these assumptions and
methods made b}^ T. H. Green and other careful thinkers, and to
which no answer has been made by the sensational and agnostic
schools of thought, needs to be presented in intelligible Japanese
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 Jap-
anese thinkers in native garb. But, again I repeat, it seems to
me that the difficulty felt in Japan on these subjects is due not
to the "impersonality" of the language or the native mind, or
to the hitherto prevalent religions, biit wholly to the imported
philosophies and sciences. The individuals who feel or at least
express any sense of difficulty on these topics — so far at least as
my knowledge of the subject goes — are not those who know
nothing but their own language and their own native religions,
but rather those who have had exceptional advantages in for-
eign study, many of them having spent years abroad in Western
universities. They furnish a fresh revelation of the quickness
with which the Japanese take up with new ideas. They did not
evolve these difficulties for themselves, but gathered them from
their reading of Western literature and by "their mingling with
men of unevangelical temper and thought in the West.
XXXIV
THE BUDDHIST WORLD-VIEW
FULLY to comprehend the genius and history of
Japan and her social order, we need to gain a still
more thorough insight into the various conceptions
of the universe that have influenced the people. What
have been their views as to the nature of the ultimate
reality lying behind all phenomena? What as to the re-
lation of mankind to that Ultimate Reality? And what
has been the relation of these world-views to the social
order? To prepare the way for our final answer to these
questions, we confine ourselves in this chapter to a study
of the inner nature of the Buddhist world-view.
Since the Buddhist conception of the Ultimate Reality
and of the universe is one of the three important types of
world-views dominating the human mind, a type too that
is hardly known in Western lands, in order to set it forth
in terms intelligible to the Occidental and the Christian, it
will be necessary in expoiniding it to contrast it with the
two remaining types ; namely, the Greek and the Christian.
As already pointed out, according to the P)uddhistic
conception, the Ultimate is a thoroughgoing Abstraction.
All the elements of personality are denied. It is perfectly
passionless, perfectly thoughtless, and perfectly motion-
less. It has neither feeling, idea, nor wall. As a conse-
quence, the phenomena of the universe are wholly unre-
lated to it ; all that is, is only illusion ; it has no reality of
being. Human beings who think the world real, and who
think even themselves real, are under the spell. This
illusion is the great misery 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's skin, however
much he may fear the lion. This discovery secures the
dropping back frotu the little, limited, individual self-line.
398
THE BUDDHIST WORLD-VIEW 399
into the infinite passionless, thoughtless, and motionless
existence of the absolute being, Nirvana.
The Ancient Greek and not a little modern thought,
conceived of the Ultimate as a thorough-going intel-
lectualism. One aspect of personality was perceived and
emphasized. God was conceived as a thinker, as one who
contemplates the universe. He does not create matter,
nor force, nor does he rule them. They are eternal and
real, and subject to fate. God simply observes. He is
absolute reason. The Greek view is thus essentially
dualistic. Sin, from the Greek point of view, is merely
ignorance, and salvation the attainment of knowledge.
In vital and vitalizing contrast to both the Buddhist and
Greek conceptions is the Judseo-Christian. To the Chris-
tian the Ultimate is a thoroughgoing personality. To him
the central element in God is will, guided by reason and
controlled by love and righteousness. God creates and
rules everything. There is nothing that is not wholly sub-
ject to him. There is no dualism for the Christian, nor
any illusion. Sin is an 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 con-
ceptions of the Ultimate is that in Buddhism the effort to
rationalize and ethicize the universe of experience is aban-
doned as a hopeless task; the world entirely and com-
pletely resists the rational and ethical process. The uni-
verse is pronounced completely irrational and non-moral.
Change is branded as illusion. There is no room for
progress in philosophic, thoroughgoing Buddhism.
In the Greek view the universe is subject in part to the
rationalizing process ; but only in part. The effort at ethi-
cization is entirely futile. The Greek view, equally with
the Buddhistic, is at a loss to understand change. It does
not brand it as unreal, but change produced by man is
branded as a departure from nature. Greeks and Hindus
alike have no philosophy of history. In the Christian view
the universe is completely subject to the rational and eth-
ical process. God is creator of all that is and it is neces-
sarily good. God is an active will and He is, therefore, still
in the process of creating ; hence change, evolution, is justi-
400 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
fied and understood. History is rational and has a phi-
losophy. Evolution and revelation have their place at
the very heart of the universe. Hence it is that science,
philosophy, and history, in a word a high-grade civiliza-
tion, finds its intellectual justification, its foundation, its
primary postulates, its possibility, 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 the conception of God, so is the con-
ception and character of man. The two are so intimately
interdependent that it is useless at this time to discuss
which is the cause and which the result. They are doubt-
less the two aspects of the same movement of thought.
The following differences are necessary characteristics of
the three religions :
The Buddhist seeks salvation through the attainment of
vacuity — Nirvana — in order to escape from the world in
which he says there is no reason and no morality. The
Greek seeks salvation through the activity of the intellect ;
all that is needful to salvation is knowledge of the truth.
The Christian seeks salvation through the activity of the
will ; this is secured through the new birth. The Bud-
dhist leaves each man to save himself from his illusion by
the discovery that it is an illusion. The Greek relies on
intellectual education, on philosophy — the Christian
recreates the will. The Buddhist and Greek gods make
no effort to help the lost man. The Christian God is
dominated by love ; He is therefore a missionary God,
sending even His only begotten Son to reconcile and win
the world of sinning, willful children back to Himself.
In Buddhism salvation is won only by the few and after
ages of toil and ceaseless re-births. In the Greek plan
only the philosopher who comes to full understanding can
attain salvation. In the Christian plan salvation is for
all, for all are sons of God, in fact, and may through Christ
become so in consciousness. In the Buddhistic plan the
hopeless masses resort to magic and keep on with their
idolatry and countless gross sui^crstitions. In the Greek
plan the hopeless resort to the " mysteries " for the at-
tainment of salvalit)n. In the Christian plan there are
THE BUDDHIST WORLD-VIEW 401
no hopeless masses, for all may gain the regenerated will
and become conscious sons of God.
The Buddhist mind gave up all effort to grasp or even
to understand reality. The Greek mind thought it could
arrive at reality through the intellect. But two thousand
years of philosophic study and evolution drove philosophy
into the absurd positions of absolute subjective idealism on
the one hand and sensationalism and absolute materialism
on the other. The Christian mind lays emphasis on the
will and accordingly is alone able to reach reality, a
reality justifiable alike to the reason and to the heart. For
will is the creative faculty in man as well as in God. As
God through His will creates reality, so man through his
will first comes to know reality. Mere intellect can never
pass over from thought to being. Being can be known as
a reality only through the will.
In consequence of the above-stated methods of thought,
the Buddhist was of necessity a pessimist ; the Greek only
less so; while the Jew and the Christian could alone be
thoroughgoing optimists. The Buddhist ever asserts the
is-not ; the Greek, the is ; while the Jew and Christian
demand the ought-to be, as the supreme thing. Hence
flows the perennial life of the Christian civilization.
Those races and civilizations whose highest and deepest
conception of the ultimate is that of mere reason, no less
than those races and civilizations whose highest and
deepest conception of reality is that of an abstract empti-
ness, must be landed in an unreal world, must arrive at
irrational results, for they have not taken into account the
most vital element of thought and life. Such races and
civilizations cannot rise to the highest levels of which man
is capable ; they must of necessity give way to those races
and that civilization which build on larger and more com-
plete foundations, which worship Will, Human and
Divine, and seek for its larger development both in self
and in all mankind.
But I must not pause to trace the contrasts further.
Enough has been said to show the source of Occidental be-
lief in the infinite worth of man. In almost diametrical
contrast to the Buddhist conception, according to the
Christian view, man is a real being, living in a real world,
402 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
involved in a real intellectual problem, fighting a real
battle, on whose issue hang momentous, nay, infinite re-
sults. So great is man's value, not only to himself, but
also to God, his Father, that the Father himself suflfers
with him in his sin, and for him, to save him from his sin.
The question will be asked how widely the Buddhistic
interpretation of the universe has spread in Japan. The
doctrine of illusion became pretty general. We may
doubt, however, whether the rationale of the philosophy
was very generally understood. One Sutra, read by all
Japanese sects, is taught to all who would become ac-
quainted with the essentials of Buddhist doctrine. It is
so short that I give it in full.*
THE SMALLER-PRAGNA-PARAMITA-HRIDYA-SUTR.\
" Adoration to the Omniscient. The venerable Bodhi-
sattva 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 empti-
ness, 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 fault-
less and not faultless, they are not imperfect and not per-
fect. Therefore, O Sariputra, in this emptiness there is
no form, no perception, no name, no concepts, no knowl-
edge. 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 Nirvatia.
" A man who has approached ihe Pragna-paramita of
* " Sacred Books of the East," vol. .\li.\, jiart ii. p. 147.
THE BUDDHIST WORLD-VIEW 403
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-para-
mita, 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 un-
surpassed verse, the peerless verse, which appeases all
pain; it is truth because it is not false; the verse pro-
claimed 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 convince anyone that the ultimate conceptions
of the universe and of the final reality, are as described
above. However popular Buddhism might differ from
this, it would be the belief of the thoughtless masses, to
whom the rational and ethical problems are of no signifi-
cance or concern, and who contribute nothing to the devel-
opment of thought or of the social order. Those nobler
and more earnestly inquiring souls whose energy and
spiritual longing might have been used for the benefit of
the masses, were shunted off on a side track that led only
into the desert of atomistic individualism, abandonment of
society, ecstatic contemplation, and absolute pessimism.
The Buddhist theory of the universe and method of
thought denied all intelligible reality, and necessitated the
conclusion that the universe of experience is neither
rational nor ethical. The common beliefs of the unre-
fiective and uninitiated masses in the ultimate rationality
and morality of the universe were felt to have no founda-
tion either in religion or philosophy and were accordingly
pronounced mere illusions.
XXXV
COMMUNAL AND INDIVIDUAL ELEMENTS IN
THE EVOLUTION OF JAPANESE RELIGIOUS
LIFE
OUR study of Japanese religion and religious life
thus far has been almost, if not exclusively, from the
individualistic standpoint. An adequate statement,
however, cannot be made from this standpoint alone,
for religion through its mighty sanctions exerts a power-
ful influence on the entire communal life. Indeed, the
leading characteristic of primitive religions is their com-
munal nature. The science of religion shows how late in
human history is the rise of individualistic religions.
In the present chapter we propose to study Japanese re-
ligious history from the communal standpoint. This will
lead us to study her present religious problem and the
nature of the religion required to solve it.
The real nature of the religious life of Japan has been
and still is predominantly communal. Individualism has
had a place, but, as we have repeatedly seen, only a minor
place in forming the nation. F'rom the communo-indi-
vidualistic standpoint, in the study of Japan's religious
and social evolution, not only can we see clearly that the
three religions of Japan are real religions, but we can also
understand the nature of the relations of these three re-
ligions to each other and the reasons why they have had
such relations. Japanese religious history and its main
phenomena become luminous in the light of communo-
individualistic social principles.
Shinto, the primitive religion of Japan, corresponded
well with the needs of primitive times, when the develop-
ment of strong comnnmal life was the prime problem and
necessity. It furnished the religious sanctions for the
social order in its customs of worshiping not only the
404
JAPANESE RELIGIOUS LIFE 405
gods, but also the Emperor and ancestors. It gave the
highest possible justification of the national social order
in its deification of the supreme ruler. Shinto was so
completely communal in its nature that the individual
aspect of religion was utterly ignored. It developed no
specific moral code, no eschatological and soteriological
systems, no comprehensive view of nature or of the gods.
These deficiencies, however, are no proofs that it was not
a religion in the proper sense of the term. The real ques-
tion is, did it furnish any supra-mundane, supra-legal,
supra-communal sanctions both for the conduct of the in-
dividual in his social relations and for the fact and the
right of the social order. Of this there can be no doubt.
Those who deny it the name of a religion do so because
they judge religion only from the point of view of a highly
developed individualistic religion.
In view of this undoubted fact, it is a strange com-
mentary on the failure of Shinto leaders to realize the real
function of the faith they profess that they have sought
and obtained from the government the right to be con-
sidered and classified no longer as a religion, but only as a
society for preserving the memories and shrines of the
ancestors of the race. Thus has modern Shinto, so far as
it is organized and has a mouth with which to speak, fol-
lowing the abdicating proclivities of the ancient social
order, excommunicated itself from its religious heritage,
aspiring to be nothing more than a gate-keeper of ceme-
teries.
The sources of the power of the Shinto sanctions lies in
the nature of its conception of the universe. Although it
attempted no interpretation of the universe as a whole, it
conceived of the origin of the country and people of Japan
as due to the direct creative energy of the gods. Japan
was accordingly conceived as a divine land and the people
a divine people. The Emperor was thought to have de-
scended in direct line from the gods and thus to be a
visible representative of the gods to the people, and to pos-
sess divine power and authority with which to rule the
people. Whenever Japanese came into contact with for-
eign peoples, it was natural to consider them outside of
the divine providence, aliens, whose presence in the
4o6 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
divine land was more or less of a pollution. This world-
view was well calculated to develop a spirit of submissive
obedience and loyal adherence to the hereditary rulers of
the land, and of fierce anta^i^onism to foreigners. This
view constituted the moral foundation for the social order,
the intellectual framework within which the state devel-
oped. Paternal feudalism was the natural, if not the
necessary, accompaniment of this world-view. Even to
this day the scholars of the land see no other ground on
which to found Imperial authority, no other basis for
ethics and religion, than the divine descent of the
Emperor.*
The Shinto world-view, conceiving of men as direct off-
spring of the gods, has in it potentially the doctrine of the
divine nature of all men, and their consequent infinite
worth. Shinto never developed this truth, however. It
did not discover the momentous implications of its view.
Failing to discover them, it failed to introduce into the
social order that moral inspiration, that social leaven
which would have gradually produced the individualistic
social order.
No attempt has been made either in ancient or modern
times to square this 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 and
human, are all destructive of the primitive Shinto world-
view. It would not be difficult to show, however, that in
this world-view exists a profound element of truth. The
Shinto world-conception needs to be expanded to take the
universe and all races of men into its view, and to see that
Japan is not alone the object of divine solicitude, but that
all races likewise owe their origin to that same divine
power, and that even though the Emperor is not more
directly the offspring of the gods than are all men, yet in
the providence of Him who ruleth the affairs of men. the
Emperor is in fact the visible representative of authority
and power for the people over whom he reigns. With this
expansion and the consequences that flow from it. the
world-view that has cradled Old Japan will come into
* Cf. chapters xiii. and xxxi.
JAPANESE RELIGIOUS LIFE 407
accord with the scientific Christian world-view, and be-
come fitted to be the foundation for the new and individ-
uaHstic social order, now arising- in Japan, granting full
liberty of thought and action, knowing that only so can
truth come out of error, and assured that truth is the only
ground of permanent welfare.
Throughout the centuries including the present era of
Meiji, it is the Shinto religion that has provided and that
still provides religious sanctions for the social order —
even for the new social order that has come in from the f
West. It is the belief of the people in the divine descent yj
of the Emperor, and his consequent divine right, that to-
day unifies the nation and causes it to accept so readily
the new social order; desired by him, they raise no ques-
tions, make no opposition, even though in some respects
it brings them trouble and anxiety.
Our study of Buddhism has brought to light its ex-
tremely individualistic nature, and its lack of asocial ideal.
Its world-view we have sufficiently examined in the pre-
ceding chapter. We are told that when Buddhism came
to Japan it made little headway until it adopted the Shinto
deities into its theogony. What does this mean? That
only on condition of accepting the Shinto sanctions for the «
communal order of society was it able to commend itself^
to the people at large. And Buddhism had no difficulty
in fulfilling this condition, because it had no ideal order
of society to present and no religious sanctions for any
kind of social order ; in this respect Buddhism had no
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 its doctrines of incarnation and transmi-
gration, according to which noble souls might appear and
reappear in different worlds and different lands, Bud-
dhism could identify Shinto deities with its own deities of
Hindu origin, asserting their pre-incarnation. Having
accepted the Shinto deities, ideals, and sanctions for the
social order, Buddhism became not only tolerable to the
people, but also exceedingly popular.
The Shinto-Buddhistic was in truth a new religion,
each of the old religions supplying an essential element.
4o8 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
One real reason, beside its accommodation to Shintoism,
why Buddhism was so popular was that it brought an in-
dispensable element into the national life. For the first
time emphasis began to be laid on the individual. Intro-
spection and deliberate meditation were brought into play.
Arts demanding individual skill were fostered. A
gorgeous ritual, elaborate architecture, complex religious
organism, letters and literature, all gave play to individual
activity and development whether in manual, in mental,
or in aesthetic lines. The hitherto cramped and primitive
life of the Japanese responded to these appeals and oppor-
tunities witli profound joy. The upper classes especially
felt themselves growing in richness and fullness of life.
They felt the stimulus in many directions. The reason,
then, why Buddhism flourished so mightily, and at the
same time caused the nation to bloom, was because it
helped develdj) the individual. The reason, on the other
hand, why it failed to carry the nation on from its first
bloom into full fruitage was because it failed to develop
individualism in the social order. Its religious indi-
vidualism was, as we have seen, in reality defective. It
was abstract and one-sided. It did not discover the
whole of the individual. It did not know anything of
personality, either human or divine. It accordingly could
not recognize the individual's worth, but only his separate-
ness and his weakness. It taught an abstract impover-
ished idea of self, and made, as the whole aim of the sal-
vation it offered, the final annihilation of all separatencss
of this individual self. We can now see that its indi-
vidualism was essentially defective in that it poured con-
tempt on the self, and that if its individualizing salvation
were consistentl}- carried out, it was not only no help to
the social order, but a positive injury to it. Its indi-
vidualism was of a nature which coukl not become an in-
tegral part of any social order.
This character led to another inevitable difficulty.
Although Buddhism ostensibly adopted Shinto deities and
the Shintoisanctions for the social order.it could not whole-
heartedly accept the sanctions nor take the deities into full
and legitimate partnership. It found no place in its circle
of doctrine to teach tlie imi)ortanl tenets of Shintoism.
JAPANESE RELIGIOUS LIFE 409
It left them to survive or perish as chance would have it.
In proportion as Buddhism absorbed the life and love of
the people, Shinto fell into decay and with it its sanctions.
Then came the centuries of civil war during which Im-
perial power and authority sank to a minimum, and
Japan's ignominy and disorder reached their maximum.
What the land now needed was the re-introduction, first,
of social order, even though it must be by the hand of a
dictator, and second, the development of religious sanc-
tions for the order that should be established. The first
was secured by those three great generals of Japan, Oda
Nobunaga, the Taiko Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa leyasu.
" The first conceived the idea of centralizing all the au-
thority of the state in a single person ; the second, who has
been called the Napoleon of Japan, actually put the idea
into practice," but died before consolidating his work ; the
third, by his unsurpassed skill as a diplomat and admin-
istrator,' carried the idea completely out, arranging the
details of the new order so that, without special military
genius or power on the part of his successors, the order
maintained itself for 250 years.
Yet it is doubtful if this long maintenance of the social
order introduced by leyasu would have been possible had
he not found ready to hand a system of essentially religious
sanctions for the social order he had established by force.
Confucianism had lain for a thousand years a dormant
germ, receiving some study from learned men, but having
no special relation to the education of the day or to the
political problems that became each century more press-
ing. In the Confucian doctrines of loyalty to ruler and
piety to parents, a doctrine sanctioned by Heaven and by
the customs of all the ancients, leyasu, with the insight
of a master mind, found just the sanctions he desired.
He had the Confucian classics printed — it is said for the
first time in Japan — " and the whole intellect of the coun-
try became molded by Confucian ideas." The classics,
edited with diacritical marks for Japanese students,
" formed the chief vehicle of every boy's education."
These were interpreted by learned Chinese commentators.
The intelligence of the land drank of this stream, as the
European mind refreshed itself with the classic waters of
410 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
the Renaissance. The Japanese were weary of Bud-
dhistic pueriHties and transcendental doctrines that led
nowhere. They demanded sanctions for the moral life
and the social order; in response to this need Buddhism
gave them Nirvana — absolute mental and moral vacuity.
Confucianism gave them principles whose working and
whose results they could see and understand. Its sanc-
tions appealed both to the imagination and to the reason,
'antiquity and learning and piety being all in their favor.
The sanctions were also seen to be wholly independent of
;pucrile superstitions and foolish fears. The Confucian
ideals and sanctions, moreover, coincided with the essen-
tial elements of the old Shinto world-view and sanctions.
In a true sense, the doctrines of Confucius were but the
elaborated and succinctly stated implications of their
primitive faith. Confucianism, therefore, swept the land.
It was accepted as the groundwork and authority for the
most flourishing feudal order the world has ever seen.
Japan bloomed again.*
This difference, however, is to be noted between the
Shinto ideal social order and the Confucian, or rather that
development of Confucian ethics and civics which arose
during the Tokugawa Shogunate ; Shinto appears to have
been, properly speaking, nationalistic, while feudal Con-
fucianism was tribal. Although in Confucian theory the
supreme loyalty may have been due the Emperor, in point
of fact it was shown to the local daimyo. Confucian
ethics was communal and might easily have turned in the
direction of national communalism ; it would then have
coincided completely with Shinto in this respect. But for
various reasons it did not so turn, but developed an in-
tensely local, a tribal communalism. and pushed loyalty to
the Emperor as a vital reality entirely into the background.
This was one of the defects of feudal Confucianism which
* It is not stran52:e that in all the centers of this new learning:
Confucius was deified and worshiped. In connection with
many schools established for the study of his works, temples
were built to his honor, in which his statue alone was
placed, before which a stately reliijious service was performed
at retjular intervals. Thus did Confucianism become a livinc:
and vitalizinjj, although, as we shall soon see, an incomplete
religion.
JAPANESE RELIGIOUS LIFE 411
finally led to its own overthrow. Shinto, as we have
seen, had long been pushed aside by Buddhism and was
practically forgotten by the people. The zeal for Con-
fucian doctrine brought, therefore, no immediate revival to
the Shinto cultus, although it did revive the essential ele-
ments of the old communal religion. We might say that
the old religion was revived under a new name ; having a
new name and a new body, the real and vital connection
between the two was not recognized. We thus discern
how the religious history of Japan was not a series of
cataclysms or of disconnected leaps in the dark, but an
orderly development, one step naturally following the
next, as the sun follows the dawn. The different stages
of Japan's religious progress have received different
names, because due to specific stimuli brought from
abroad ; the religious life itself, however, has been a con-
tinuous development.
Another difference between Shinto and Confucianism
as it existed in Japan should not escape our attention,
namely, in regard to their respective world-views. Shinto
was confessedly a religion ; it frankly believed in gods,
whom it worshiped and on whose help it relied. Con-
fucianism, or to use the Japanese name, Bushido, was con-
fessedly agnostic. It did not assume to understand the
universe, as Buddhism assumed. Nor did it admit the
practical existence of gods or their power in this world, as
Shinto believed. It maintained that, " if only the heart
follows the way of truth, the gods will protect one even
though he does not pray." It laid stress on practical
moralities, regardless of their philosophical presumptions,
into which it would not probe. When pressed it would
ascribe all to " Heaven," and, as we have seen, it had
many implications that would lead the inquiring mind to
a belief in the personal nature of " Heaven." Had it de-
veloped these implications, Bushido would have become a
genuine religion. It was indeed a system of ethics
touched with emotion, it was religious, but it failed to be-
come the religion it might have become because it insisted
on its agnosticism and refused to worship the highest and
best it knew.
It is interesting to observe that the ideals and sanctions
412 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
of Confucianism produced effects which proved its ruin.
They did this in two ways ; first, by developing the pro-
longed peace necessary for a high grade of schohirship
which, turning its attention to ancient history, discovered
that the Shogunate was assuming powers not in accord
with the primitive practice nor in accord with the theory
of the divine descent of the Imperial house. Imperialistic
patriots arose, whose aim was to overthrow^ the Shogunate
and restore the Emperor. They felt that, doing this, they
were right; that is to say, they became inspired by the
Shintosanctions for a national life. They thus discoverd
the defcKTt of the disjointed feudal system sanctioned by
feudal Confucianism. The second cause of its undoing
grew out of the first. The scholarship which led the
patriots against the usurper in political life led them also
against all foreign innovations such as Buddhism and
Confucianism, which they scorned as modern and anti-
imperial. The Shinto cultus thus received a powerful re-
vival. With the overthrow of the Shogunate in 1868
Confucianism naturally went with it, and for a time
Shinto was the state religion. But its poverty in every
line, except the communal sanctions, caused it in a short
time to lose its place.
The two causes just assigned for the fall of Bushido.
however, could hardly have wrought its ruin had it been
more than a utilitarian and agnostic system of morality,
calculated to maintain the social ascendency of a small
fraction of the nation. As a religion, Bushido would
have secured a conservative power enabling it to survive,
by a(lai)ting itself to a changed social order. As it was,
Bushido was snuffed out by a single breath of the breeze
that began to blow from foreign lands. As an ethical
system it has conferred a blessing on Japan that should
never be forgotten. But its identification with a class
and a clan social order rendered it too narrow for the
national and international life into which the nation was
forced by circumstances beyond its control, and its agnos-
tic utilitarianism did not provide it with sufiicient moral
power to cope with the problems of the new individualistic
age that had suddenly burst U]'»nn it. In all Japan there
remains to the present day only one of those old Con-
JAPANESE RELIGIOUS LIFE 413
fucian schools with its temple to Confucius. All the rest
have fallen into ruins or have been used for other pur-
poses, while the gold-covered statues of the once deified
teacher have been sold to curio-dealers or for their bullion
value. In the worship of Confucius, Bushido almost be-
came a religion, but it worshiped the teacher instead of
the Creator, maintaining its agnosticism as to the Creator,
as to " Heaven," to the end, and thus lapsed from the
path of religious evolution.
Ihis brings us down to modern times — into the seven-
ties. Already in the sixties Japan had discovered herself
in a totally new environment. She found that foreign
nations had made great progress in every direction since
she shut them out two hundred and fifty years before.
She discovered her helplessness, she discovered, too, that
the social order of Western peoples was totally distinct
from hers. These discoveries served to break down all
the remaining sanctions for her particular type of social
order — Confucianistic feudalism. The whole nation was
eager to know the political systems of the West. So long
as the Shinto ideal of nationalism was not interfered with,
the nation was free to adopt any new social order.
Japan's political and commercial intercourse being with
England and America, the social order of the Anglo-
Saxon had the greatest influence on the Japanese mind.
Japan accordingly has become predominantly Anglo-
Saxon in its social ideas. Much has been made of the
fact that the new social order has come in so easily ; that
the people have gained rights without fighting for them ;
and this has been attributed to the peculiarity of Japanese
human nature. This is an error. The real reason for
the ease with which the individualistic Anglo-Saxon social
order has been introduced has been the collapse of the
sanctions for the Confucian order. No one had any
ground of duty on which to stand and fight. The na-
tional mind was open to any newcomer that might have
appeared. I am referring, of course, to the thinking
classes. All the rest, accustomed to submissive obedience,'
never thought of any other course than to accept the will
of superiors.
Furthermore, the new social order in one important re-
414 EVOLUTION OP^ THE JAPANESE
spect fell in with and helped to re-establish the old Shinto^
ideal, that, namely, of nationalism. In the treaty negotia-
tions, the West would deal with no intermediaries, onlv
with the responsible national head. Western ideals, too,
demanded a strong national unity. In this respect, then,
the foreign ideals and foreign social order were powerful
influences in building up the new patriotism, in re-enforc-
ing the old Shinto social sanctions.
Thus has Japan come to the parting of the ways. What
Japan needs to-day is a religion satisfying the intellect as
to its world-view, and thus justifying the sanctions it holds
out. These must be neither exclusively communal, like
those of Shinto, nor exclusively individual, like those of
Buddhism. While maintaining at their full value the
sanctions for the social life, it must add thereto the sanc-
tions for the individual. It must not look upon the indi-
vidual as a being whose salvation depends on his being
isolated from, taken out of the community, as Buddhism
did and does, nor yet as a mere fraction of the community,
as Confucianism did, but as a complete, imperishable unit
of infinite worth, necessarily living a double life, partly in-
separable from the social order and partly superior to it.
This religion must provide not only sanctions, but ideals,
for a perfect social order in which, while the most complex
organization of society shall be possible, the freedom and
the high development of the individual's personality shall
also be secured.
The fulfillment of such conditions would at first thought
seem to be impossible. How can a religion give sanctions
which at the very time that they authorize the fullest
development and organization of society, apparently mak-
ing society its chief end. also assume the f idlest lib-
erty and development of the individual, making him and
his salvation its chief end? Are not these ends incom-
patible? What has been said already along this general
line of thought has prepared us to see that they are not.
The great, though unconscious, need of the ages, and the
unconscious efifort of all religious evolution has been the
development of just such a religion. As the " cake " of
social custom was at first the great need for. and after-
wards the great obstacle in the way of, social evolution, so
JAPANESE RELIGIOUS LIFE 4^5
the sanctions of a communal religion were at first the
great need for, and afterwards the great obstacle in the
way of, religious evolution and of personal development.
Through its sanctions religion is the most powerful of all
the factors of the higher human evolution, either helping
it onward or holding it back.
Has, then, any religion secured such a dual development
as we have just seen to be necessary? As a matter of
fact, one and only one has done so, Christianity. This
religion clearly attains and maintains the apparently im-
possible combination of individualism and communalism
by the nature of its conception of the method of individual
salvation. Its communalism is guaranteed by, because
it rests on, its individualism. At the very moment that it
pronounces the individual of inestimable worth, — a son of
God, — it commands him to show that sonship by loving all
God's other sons, and by serving them to the extent of
self-sacrifice, and of death if need be. Its communalism
is thus inseparable from its individualism and its indi-
vidualism from its comnumalism.
Christian individualism embraces and includes
thoroughgoing communalism. True and full Christians
are the most devoted patriots. As the acorn sends forth
far-reaching roots into the soil for moisture and nourish-
ment, and a mighty trunk and spreading branches upward
for air and sunlight, so the seed of Christian life develops
in two directions, individualism as the root and commun-
alism as the beautiful tree. They are not contradictory,
but supplementary principles. 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 gain of all ; and even the
individual gain, he well knows, can be secured only
through the communal principle, through service to his
fellow-men. His own welfare, whether temporal or eter-
nal, is inseparably bound up with that of his fellows.
The Christian religion finds the sanctions for any and
every social order that history knows, in the fact that all
physical and social laws and organisms are part of the
divine plan. Because any particular social order is the
association of imperfect men and women, it must be more
or less imperfect. But the Christian, even while he is
4i6 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
seeking to reform the social order and to bring it up to
his ideal, must be loyal to it. And for this loyalty to fel-
low-men and to God, the highest conceivable sanctions are
held out, namely, an endless and infinite life of conscious,
joyous fellowship with souls made perfect in the Kingdom
of God, and with God himself.
A comprehensive study, therefore, of the real nature
and the true function of religion in relation to man's de-
velopment, whether individual or communal, shows that
Christianity fulfills the conditions. A comparative study
would show that, of all the existing religions, Christianity
alone does this. It alone combines in perfect i)roportion
the individual and the communal elements, and the
requisite sanctions.
An expansion of communal religion is taking place in
modern times. The community now arising is interna-
tional in scope, interracial and universal in character.
Cultivated men and women the world around are begin-
ning to talk of national rights and national duties. Eu-
rope is thought to be justified in suppressing the slave
trade and its accompanying horrors in Africa, and con-
demned for not preventing the Turk from carrying on his
wholesale slaughter of innocent Armenians. The Span-
iard is despised and condemned for his prolonged inhu-
manities in Cuba and the Philippines, and the American
is approved in warring for humanity and justified in 'in-
terfering 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 only measured by righteousness. International right-
eousness, duty and rights, regardless of military power,
are coming to the forefront of the thinking of advanced
nations.
Looked at closely, and studied in its implications, what
is this but a developing form of communal religion ? No
nation is conceived as existing apart ; each exists as but
one fraction of the world-wide community ; in its rela-
tions it has both rights and duties. Does this not mean
that appeal has been made from the communal sanctions
of might to the supra-comnumal sanctions of right ? W'c
do not simply ask what do other nations think of this or
JAPANESE RELIGIOUS LIFE 417
that national act, but what is right, in view of the whole
order of the nature which has brought man into being and
set him in famiHes and nations. In other words, national
rights and duties are felt to flow from the supra-mundane
source, God the Creator of heaven and earth and all that
in them is. The sanctions for national rights and duties
are religious sanctions and rest on a religious world-view.
Now the point of interest for us is the fact that Japan
has entered into this universal community and is feeling
the sanctions of this universal communal religion. The
international rights and duties of Japan are a theme of
frequent discourse and conversation. Japan stoutly main-
tained that the war with China was a '' gi-sen," a right-
eous war, waged primarily for the sake of Korea. Many
a Japanese waxes indignant over the cruelty of the Turk,
the savage barbarity of the Spaniard, and the impotence
and supineness of England and Europe. I have already
spoken of the young man who became so indignant at
England's compelling China to take Indian opium, that
he proposed to go to England to preach an anti-opium
crusade. Japan is beginning to enter into the larger com-
munal 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 old religious conceptions, and that many
moral and social evils are entering the land, who yet does
not see that the wide acceptance of some new religion by
the people is important for the maintenance of the nation.
Some earnest Japanese thinkers are beginning to realize
that religion is, indeed, needful to steady the national
life, but they fail to see that Christianity alone fulfills the
condition. Many are saying that a religion scientifically
constructed must be manufactured especially for Japan.
The reason why individualistic religion takes such an
important part in the higher evolution of man is, in a
word, because the religious sanctions are so much more
powerful than all others, either legal or social. For the
legal sanctions are chiefly negative ; they are also partial
and uncertain, and easily evaded by the selfish individual.
The social sanctions, too, are often far from just or im-
partial or wise. Furthermore, the rise of individualism
4i8 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
in the social order secures privacy for the individual, and
so far forth removes him from the restraints and stimuli
of the social sanctions. It is the religious sanctions alone
that follow the man in every waking moment. Not one
of all his acts escapes the eye of the religious judgment.
He is his own judge, and he cannot escape bearing witness
against himself.
Now, it is manifest that where superior beings and
man's relation to these and the corresponding religious
sanctions are defectively conceived, as, for instance, quite
apart either from the individual or the communal life,
they are valueless to the higher evolution of man and have
little interest for the student of social evolution. In pro-
portion, however, as man advances in intellectual grasp
of religious truths and in susceptibility to the moral ideas
and religious sanctions they provide, conceiving of moral-
ity and religion as inseparable parts of the same system,
the more powerfully does religion enter into and promote
man's higher evolution. An individualistic social order
demands the religious sanctions more imperatively than
a communal social order ; for, in proportion as it is in-
dividualistic, the social order is weak in compelling,
through the legal and social sanctions alone, the communal
or altruistic activity of the individual. Altruistic spirit
and action, however, are essential to the maintenance even
of that individualistic order. The more highly society
develops, therefore, the more religious must each member
of the society become.
The same truth may be stated from another standpoint.
The higher man develops, the more impatient he becomes
with illogical reasonings and defective conceptions ; he
thus becomes increasingly skeptical in regard to current
traditional religions with their crude, primitive ideas ; he
is accordingly increasingly freed from the restraints they
impose. But unless he finds some new religious sanctions
for the comnumal life, for social conduct, and for the in-
dividual life, — ideals and sanctions that command his as-
sent and direct his life, — he will drop back into a thorough-
going atomic, individualistic, selfish life, which can be
only a hindrance to the higher development both of society
and of the individual. In order that men advancing in
JAPANESE RELIGIOUS LIFE 419
intellectual ability may remain useful members of society,
they must remain subject to those ideals and sanctions
which will actually secure social conduct. While disre-
garding the chaff of primitive religious superstitions and
ceremonials man must retain the wheat ; he must feel the
force of the religious spirit in a deeper and profounder,
because more personal way than did his ancestors. In-
creasing intellectual power and knowledge must be
balanced by increasing individual experience of the re-
ligious motives and spirit. This is the reason why each
advancing age should study afresh the whole religious
problem, and state in the terms of its own experience the
prominent and permanent religious truths of all the ages
and the sanctions that flow from them. Hence it is that
a religion only traditional and ceremonial is quite unfitted
for a developing life.
Japan is no exception to the general laws of human
evolution. As her intellectual abilities increase, the forms
of her old religious life will become increasingly unac-
ceptable to the people at large. If, in rejecting the obso-
lete forms of religious thought, she rejects religion and its
sanctions altogether, atomistic individualism can be the
only result, and with it wide moral corruption will eat out
the vitality of the national life.
That Christianity alone, of all the religions of the world,
fulfills the conditions will not need many words to prove.
As a matter of fact Christianity alone has succeeded in
surviving the criticism of the nineteenth century. In
Christendom, all religions but Christianity have perished.
This is a mere matter of fact. As for the reason, Chris-
tianity alone gives complete intellectually satisfactory
sanctions for both the communal and the individualistic
principles of social progress. Christianity, as we have
sufficiently shown, has both principles not unrelated to
each other, but vitally interrelated. For these reasons it
is safe to maintain not only that Japan needs to find a new
religion, but that the religion must be Christianity in sub-
stance, whatever be the name given it.
The Japanese have been described as essentially irre-
ligious in nature. We have seen how defective such a
description is. But have we not now traced one root of
420 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
this seeming characteristic of New Japan? The old re-
ligious conceptions have been largely outgrown by the
educated. They have come to the conclusion that the old
religious forms constitute the whole of religion, and that
consequently they are unworthy of attention. The spirit
of New Japan is indifferent to religion ; but this is not due
to an inherently non-religious or irreligious nature, but
to the empty externalism and shallow puerilities of the
only religions they know. How can they be zealous for
them or recognize any authority in them? Those few
Japanese who have come within the influence of the larger
conception of religion brought to Japan by Christianity
are showing a religious zeal and power supporting the
contention that the generally asserted lack of a religious
nature is only apparent and temporary. Preaching the
right set of ideas, those which appeal to the national sense
of communal needs, by supplying the demand for sanc-
tions for the social order ; ideas which appeal to intellects
molded by modern thought, by supplying such an intel-
lectual understanding of the universe as justifies the
various supra-communal sanctions ; and ideas which ap-
peal to the heart, by supplying the personal demand of
each individual for a larger life, for intercourse with the
Father of all Spirits and for strength for the prolonged
battle of life — preach these and kindred ideas, and the
Japanese will again become as conspicuously a religious
people as they were when Buddhism came to japan a thou-
sand years ago.*
But if the real nature of a full and perfect religion is
to save not only the individual, providing sanctions for
* Writers on the history and philosophy of religion have much
to say about the differences between national and universal
religions. The three religions which they pronounce universal
are Mahomedanism, Buddhism, and Christianity. The ground
for this statement is the fact that each of these religions has
developed strong individualistic characteristics. They are con-
cerned with individual salvation. The importance of this ele-
ment none will deny, least of all the writer. But I question the
correctness of the descriptive adjective. Because of their indi-
vidualistic character they are fitted to leap territorial boundaries
and can find acceptance in every community; for this they are
not dependent on the territorial expansion of the communities
in which they arose.
JAPANESE RELIGIOUS LIFE 421
his conduct, but also to justify the social order, and to pro-
vide sanctions that shall secure its maintenance, any re-
ligion which fails to have both characteristics can hardly
claim the name universal. We have seen that Buddhism
lacks one of these elements. In my judgment it is not
properly universal. So long as it exists in or goes to a
land already provided with other religions securing the
social order, it may continue to thrive. But, on the one
hand, it can never become the exclusive religion of any
land for it cannot do without and therefore it cannot de-
pose the other religions; and, on the other hand, it must
give way before the stronger religion which has both the
individual and communal elements combined. Buddhism,
therefore, lacks a vital characteristic of a universal re-
ligion. It may better be called a non-local, or an inter-
national religion. We now see another reason why Bud-
dhism, although found in many Oriental lands, has never
annihilated any of the pre-existing religions, but has only
added one more to the many varieties 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 to classify the various religions, seem to the writer
defective through lack of the perception that social and
religious evolution are vitally connected. From this point
of view, the classification of religions as communal, indi-
vidual, and communo-individual, would seem to be the
best.
XXXVI
WHAT ARE THE ESSENTIAL CHARACTERIS-
TICS OF THE ORIENT?
W:
E have now passed in rather detailed review
the emotional, zesthetic, intellectual, moral, and
religious characteristics of the Japanese race.
We have, furthermore, given considerable attention to the
problem of personality. We have tried to understand
the relation of each characteristic to the Japanese feudal
system and social order.
The reader will perhaps feel some dissatisfaction with
the results of this study. " Are there, then," he may say,
" no distinctive Japanese psychical characteristics by
which this Eastern race is radically differentiated from
those of the Occident ? " " Are there no peculiar features
of an Oriental, mental and moral, whicli infallibly and
always distinguish him from an Occidental ? " The reply
to this question given in the preceding chapters of this
work is negative. For the sake, however, of the reader
who may not yet be thoroughly satisfied, it may be well
to examine this problem a little further, analyzing some of
the current characterizations of the Orient.
' That Oriental and Occidental peoples are each possessed
of certain unique psychic characteristics, sharply and com-
pletely differentiating them from each other, is the opinion
of scientific sociologists as well as of more popular
writers. An Occidental entering the Orient is well-nigh
overwhelmed with amusement and surprise at the antip-
odal characteristics of the two civilizations. Every visi-
ble expression of Oriental civilization, every mode of
thought, art, architecture ; conceptions of God, man, and
nature ; pronunciation and structure of the language — all
seem utterly different from their corresponding elements
in the West. Furthermore, as he visits one Oriental
422
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ORIENT 423
country after another, although he discovers differences
between Japanese, Koreans, Chinese, and Hindus, yet
he is impressed with a strange, a baffling similarity.
The tourist naturally concludes that the unity character-
izing the Orient is fundamental ; that Oriental civilization
is due to Oriental race brain, and Occidental civilization
is due to Occidental race brain.
This impression and this conclusion of the tourist are
not, however, limited to him. The " old resident " in
the East becomes increasingly convinced with every added
year that an Oriental is a different kind of human being
from a Westerner. As he becomes accustomed to the ex-
ternals of the Oriental civilization, he forgets its comical
aspects, he even comes to appreciate many of its con-
veniences. But in proportion as he becomes familiar
with its languages, its modes of thought and feeling, its
business methods, its politics, its literature, its amuse-
ments, does he increasingly realize the gulf set between
an Oriental and an Occidental. The inner life of the
spirit of an Oriental would be utterly inane, spiritless to
the average Occidental. The " old resident " accordingly
knows from long experience what the tourist only guesses
from a hasty glance, that the characteristic differences
distinguishing the peoples of the East and the West are
racial and ineradicable. An Oriental is an Oriental, and
that is the ultimate, only thoroughgoing explanation of
his nature.
The conception of the tourist and the " old resident "
crops up in nearly every article and book touching on Far
Eastern peoples. Whatever the point of remark or criti-
cism, if it strikes the writer as different from the custom
of Occidentals, it is laid to the account of Orientalism.
This conception, however, of distinguishing Oriental
characteristics, is not confined to popular writers and un-
scientific persons. Even professed and eminent sociolo-
gists advocate it. Prof, Le Bon, in his sophistic volume
on the " Psychology of Peoples," advocates it strenuously.
A few quotations from this interesting work may not be
out of place.
" The object of this work is to describe the psycho-
I
424 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
logical characteristics which constitute the soul of races,
and to show how the history of a people and its civiliza-
tion is determined by these characteristics." * " The
point that has remained most clearly fixed in mind, after
long journeys through the most varied countries, is that
each people possesses a mental constitution as unaltering
as its anatomical characteristics, a constitution which is
the source of its sentiments, thoughts, institutions, beliefs,
and arts." f
" The life of a people, its institutions, beliefs, and arts,
are but the visible expression of its invisible soul. For a
people to transform its institutions, beliefs, and arts it
must first transform its soul." |
" Each race possesses a constitution as unvarying as its
anatomical constitution. There seems to be no doubt that
the former corresponds to a certain special structure of
the brain." §
" A negro or a Japanese may easily take a university
degree or become a lawyer; the sort of varnish he thus
acquires is, however, quite superficial and has no influence
on his mental constitution. What no education can give
him, because they are created by heredity alone, are the
forms of thought, the logic, and above all the character
of the Western man." ||
" Cross-breeding constitutes the only infallible means at
our disposal of transforming in a fundamental manner
the character of a people, heredity being the only force
powerful enough to contend with heredity. Cross-breed-
ing allows of the creation of a new race, possessing new
physical and psychological characteristics." ^
Such, then, being the opinion of travelers, residents, and
professional sociologists, it is not to be lightly rejected.
Nor has it been lightly rejected by the writer. For years
he agreed with this view, but repeated study of the prob-
lem has convinced him of the fallacy of both the concep-
tion and the argument, and has brought him to the posi-
tion maintained in this work.
The characteristics differentiating Occidental and
* P. xvii. f P. xviii. 1 P. 19.
§P.6- IIP. 37. HP. 83.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ORIENT 425
Oriental peoples and civilizations are undoubtedly great.
But they are differences of social evolution and rest on
social, not on biological heredity. Anatomical differences
are nataT,' racial, and necessary. Not so with social char-
acteristics and differences. These are acquired by each
individual chiefly after birth, and depend on social en-
vironment which determines the education from infancy
upward. Furthermore, an entire nation or race, if sub-
jected to the right social environment, may profoundly
transform its institutions, beliefs, and arts, which in turn
transform what Prof. Le Bon and kindred writers call
the invisible " race soul." Racial activity produces race
character, for " Function produces organism." I cannot
agree with these writers in the view that the race soul is
a given fixed entity. Social psychogenesis is a present
and a progressive process. Japan is a capital illustration
of it. In the development of races and civilizations in-
volution is as continuous a process as evolution. Evolu-
tion is, indeed, only one-half of the process. Without
involution, evolution is incomprehensible. And involu-
tion is the more interesting half, as it is the more signifi-
cant. In modern discussion much that passes by the
name of evolution is, in reality, a discussion of involu-
tion.
The attentive reader will have discovered that the real
point of the discussion of Japanese characteristics given
in the preceding chapters has been on the point of involu-
tion. How have these characteristics arisen? has been
our ever-recurring question. The answer has invariably
tried to show their relation to the social order. In this
way we have traversed a large number of leading char-
acteristics of the Japanese. We have seen how they arose,
and also how they are now being transformed by the new
Occidentalized social order. We have seen that not one
of the characteristics examined is inherent, that is, due
to brain structure, to biological heredity. We have con-
cluded, therefore, that the psychical characteristics which
differentiate races are all but wholly social.
It is incumbent on advocates of the biological view to
point out in detail the distinguishing inherent traits of the
Orient. Let tliem also catalogue the essential psychic
426 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
characteristics of Occidentals. Such an attempt is sel-
dom made. And when it is made"1t is singularly uncon-
vincing. Although Prof. Le Bon states that the mental
constitution of races is as distinctive and unaltering as
their anatomical characteristics, he fails to tell us what
they are. This is a vital omission. If the differences are
as distinct as he asserts, it would seem to be an easy
matter to describe them. Whatever the clothing adopted,
it is an easy matter for one to distinguish a European
from an Asiatic, an Englishman from an Italian, a Japa-
nese from a Korean, a Chinaman from a Hindu. The
anatomical characteristics of races are clear and easily
described. If the psychic characteristics are equally dis-
tinct, why do not they who assert this distinctness describe
and catalogue these differences?
Occasionally a popular writer makes something of an
attempt in this direction, but with astonishingly slight re-
sults. A recent writer in the London Daily Mail has
illustrated afresh the futility of all attempts to catalogue
the distinguishing characteristics of the Oriental. He
names the inferior position assigned to women, the licen-
tiousness of men, licensed prostitution, lack of the play in-
stinct among Oriental boys, scorn of Occidental civiliza-
tion, and the rude treatment of foreigners. Many of his
statements of facts are sadly at fault. But supposing
them to be true, are they the differentiating characteristics
of the Orient? Consider for a moment what was the
position of woman in ancient times in the Occident, and
what was the moral character of Occidental men? Is
not prostitution licensed to-day in the leading cities of
Europe? And is there not an unblushing prostitution in
the larger cities of England and America which would
put to shame the licensed prostitution of Japan? Are
Orientals and their civilization universally esteemed and
considerately treated in the Occident? Surely none of
these arc uniquely Oriental characteristics, distinguishing
them from Occidental peoples as clearly as the anatomical
characteristics of oblique eyes and yellow skin.
Mr. Percival Lowell has made a careful philosophical
effort to discover the essential psychic nature of the
Orient. He describes it, as wc have seen, as " Imperson-
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ORIENT 427
ality." The failure of his effort we have sufficiently con-
sidered.
There remain a few other characterizations of the Ori-
ent that we may well examine briefly.
It has been stated that the characteristic psychic trait
distinguishing the East from the West is that the former
is(^ntuitive, while the latter is logical. In olden times
Oriental instruction relied on the intuitions of the student.
No reliance was placed on the logical process. Religion,
so far as it was not ceremony and magic, was intuitional,
" Satori," " Enlightenment," was the keyword. Each
man attains enlightenment by himself — through a flash of
intuition. Moral instruction likewise was intuitional.
Dogmatic statements were made whose truth the learner
was to discover for himself ; no effort was made to explain
them. Teaching aimed to go direct to the point, not
stopping to explain the way thither.
That this was and is a characteristic of the Orient
cannot be disputed. The facts are abundant and clear.
But the question is whether this is a racial psychic char-
acteristic, such that it inevitably controls the entire think-
ing of an Oriental, whatever his education, and also
whether the Occident is conspicuously deficient in this
psychic characteristic. Thus stated, the question almost
answers itself.
Orientals educated in Western methods of thought ac-
quire logical methods of reasoning and teaching. The old
educational, methods of Japan are now obsolete. On the
other hand, intuitionalism is not unknown in the West.
Mystics' in religion are all conspicuously intuitional. So
too are Christian scientists, faith-healers, and spiritual-
ists. Great preachers and poets are intuitionalists rather
than logicians.
Furthermore, if we look to ancient times, we shall see
that even Occidentals were dominated by intuitionalism.
All primitive knowledge was dominated by intuitions, and
was as absurd as many still prevalent Oriental conceptions
of nature. The bane of ancient science and philosophy
was its reliance on a priori considerations ; that is, on in-
tuition. Inductive, carefully logical methods of thought,
of science, of philosophy, and even of religion, are rela-
428 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
tively modern developments of the Occidental mind. We
have learned to doubt intuitions unverified by investiga-
tion and experimental evidence. The wide adoption of
the inductive method is a recent characteristic of the
West.
Modern progress has consisted in no slight degree in
the development of logical powers, and particularly in the
power of doubting and examining intuitions. To say that
the East is conspicuously intuitional and the West is con-
spicuously logical is fairly true, but this misses the real
difference. The West is intuitional plus logical. It uses
the intuitional method in every department of life, but it
does not stop with it. An intuition is not accepted
as truth until it has been subjected by the reason to the
most thorough criticism possible. The West distrusts the
unverified and unguided intuitive judgment. On the other
hand, the East is not inherently deficient in logical power.
When brought into contact with Occidental life, and
especially when educated in Occidental methods of
thought, the Oriental is not conspicuously deficient in
logical ability.
This line of thought leads to the conclusion that the
psychic characteristics distinguishing the East from the
West, profound though they are, are sociological rather
than biological. They are the characteristics of the civi-
lization rather than of essential race nature.
A fact remarked by many thoughtful Occidentals is the
astonishing difficulty — indeed the impossibility — of becom-
ing genuinely and intimately acquainted with the Japa-
nese. Said a professor of Harvard University to the writer
some years ago : " Do you in Japan find it difiicult to be-
come truly acquainted with the Japanese ? We see many
students here, but we are unable to gain more than a su-
])erficial acquaintance. They seem to be incrustetl in a
shell that we are unable to pierce." The editor of the
Japan Mail, speaking of the difficulty of securing " gen-
uinely intimate intercourse with the Japanese people,"
says : " The language also is needed. Yet even when the
language is added, something still remains to be achieved,
and what that something is we have never been able to
discover, though we have been considering the subject for
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ORIENT 429
thirty-three years. No foreigner has ever yet succeeded
in being admitted into the inner circle of Japanese inter-
course."
Is this a fact? If not, why is it so widespread a be-
Hef ? If it is a fact, what is the interpretation ? Like most
generahzations it expresses both a truth and an error. As
the statement of a general experience, I believe it to be
true. As an assertion of universal application I believe it
to be false. As a truth, how is it to be explained ? Is it
due to difference of race soul, and thus to racial antipathy,
as some maintain? If so, it must be a universal fact.
This, however, is an error, as we shall see. The explana-
tion is not so hard to find as at first appears.
The difficulty under consideration is due to two classes
of facts. The first is that the people have long been taught
that Occidentals desire to seize and possess their land.
Although the more enlightened have long since abandoned
this fear and suspicion, the people still suspect the
stranger ; they do not propose to admit foreigners to any
leading position in the political life of the land. They do
not implicitly trust the foreigners, even when taken into
their employ. That fojei^ners should not be admitted to
the inner circle of Japanese political life, therefore, is not
strange. I^or is it unique to Japan. It is not done in any
land except the United States. Secondly, the diverse
methods of social intercourse characterizing the East and
the West make a deep chasm between individuals of these
civilizations on coming into social relations. The Oriental
bows low, utters conventional " aisatsu " salutations,
listens respectfully, withholds his own opinion, agrees
with his vis-a-vis, weighs every word uttered with a view
to inferring the real meaning, for the genius of the lan-
guage requires him to assume that the real meaning is not
on the surface, and chooses his own language with the
same circumspection. The Occidental extends his hand
for a hearty shake — if he wishes to be friendly —
looks his visitor straight in the eye, speaks directly from
his heart, without suspicion or fear of being misunder-
stood, expresses his own opinions unreservedly. The Oc-
cidental, accustomed to this direct and open manner, spon-
taneously doubts the man who lacks it. It is impossible
430 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
for the Occidental to feel genuinely acquainted with an
Oriental who does not respond in Occidental style of
frank open intercourse. Furthermore, it is not Japanese
custom to open one's heart, to make friends with every-
one who comes along. The hail-fellow-well-met char-
acteristic of the Occident is a feature of its individualism,
that could not come into being in a feudal civilization
in which every respectable man carried two swords with
which to take instant vengeance on whoever should ma-
lign or doubt him. Universal secretiveness and conven-
tionality, polite forms and veiled expressions, were the
necessary shields of a military feudalism. Both the social
order and the language were fitted to develop to a high
degree the power of attention to minutest details of man-
ner and speech and of inferring important matters from
slight indications. The whole social order served to de-
velop the intuitional method in human relations. Reliance
was placed more on what was not said than on what was
clearly expressed. A doubting state of mind was the nec-
essary psychological prerequisite for such an inferential
system. And doubt was directly taught. " Hito wo mircba
dorobo to omoye," " when you see a man, count him a rob-
ber," may be an exaggeration, but this ancient proverb
throws much light on the Japanese chronic state of mind.
Mutual suspicion — and especially suspicion of strangers —
was the rule in Old Japan. Among themselves the Japa-
nese make relatively few intimate friends. They remark
on Occidental skill in making friends.
That the foreigner is not admitted to the inner social
life of the Japanese is likewise not difficult of explanation,
if we bear in mind the nature of that social life. Is it
possible for one who keeps concubines, who takes pleasure
in geisha, and who visits houses of prostitution, to con-
verse freely and confidentially with those who condemn
these practices? Can he who stands for a high-grade
morality, who criticises in unsparing measure the current
morality of Japanese society, expect to be admitted to its
inner social circles? Impossible. Flowever friendly the
relations of Japanese and foreigners may be in business
and in the diplomatic corps, the moral chasm separating
the social life of the Occident from that of the Orient ef-
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ORIENT 431
factually prevents a foreigner from being admitted to its
inner social life.
It might be thought that immoral Occidentals would be
so admitted. Not so. The Japanese distinguish between
Occidentals. They know well that immoral Occidentals
are not worthy of trust. Although for a season they may
hobnob together, the intimacy is shallow and short-lived ;
it rests on lust and not on profound sympathies of head
and heart.
And this suggests the secret of genuine acquaintance.
Men become profoundly acquainted in proportion as they
hold in common serious views of life, and labor together
for the achievement of great moral ends. Now a gulf sep-
arates the ordinary Japanese, even though educated, from
the serious-minded Occidental. Their views of life are
well-nigh antipodal. If their social intercourse is due only
to. the accident of business or of social functions, what
true intimacy can possibly arise? The acquaintance can
only be superficial. Nothing binds the two together be-
yond the temporary and accidental. Let them, however,
become possessed of a common and a serious view of life ;
let them strive for the attainment of some great moral re-
form, which they feel of vital importance to the welfare
of the nation and the age, and immediately a bond of
connection and intercourse will be established which will
ripen into real intimacy.
I dispute the correctness of the generalization above
quoted, however, not only on theoretical considera-
tions, but also as a matter of experience. Among Chris-
tians, the conditions are fulfilled for intimate relations
between Occidentals and Orientals which result, as a mat-
ter of fact, in genuine and intimate friendship. The rela-
tions existing between many missionaries and the native
Christians and pastors refute the assertion of the editor
of the Japan Mail that, " no foreigner has ever yet suc-
ceeded in being admitted into the inner circle of Japanese
intercourse." This assertion is doubtless true in regard
to the relation of foreigners to non-Christian society.
The reason, for the fact, however, is not because one is
Occidental and the other Oriental in psychic nature, but
solely because of diverse moral views, aims, and conduct.
432 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
It is not the contention of these pages, however, that
intimate friendships between Occidental and Oriental
Christians are as easily formed as between members of
two Occidental nations. Although common views of life,
and common moral aims and conduct may provide the
requisite foundations for such intimate friendships, the
diverse methods of thought and of social intercourse may
still serve to hinder their formation. It is probably a
fact that missionaries experience greater difficulty in mak-
ing genuine intimate friendships with Japanese Christians
than with any other race on the face of the globe. The
reasons for this fact are manifold. The Japanese racial
ambition manifests itself not only in the sphere of
political life ; it does not take kindly to foreign con-
trol in any line. The churches manifest this character-
istic. It is a cause of suspicion of the foreign mis-
sionary and separation from him; it has broken up
many a friendship. Intimacy between missionaries and
leading native pastors and evangelists was more common
in the earlier days of Christian work than more recently,
because the Japanese church organization has recently
developed a self-consciousness and an ambition for organic
independence which have led to mutual criticisms.
Furthermore, Japanese Christians are still Japanese.
Their methods of social intercourse are Oriental; they
bow profoundly, they repeat formal salutations, they re-
frain from free expression of personal opinion and prefer-
ence. The crust of polite etiquette remains. The for-
eigner must learn to appreciate it before he can penetrate
to the kindly, 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 pene-
trate to the kindly, sincere, and earnest heart of the Occi-
dental, he must abandon the inferential method ; he must
not judge the foreigner by what is left unsaid nor by
slight turns of that wliich is said, but by the whole thought
as fully expressed. In other words, as the Occidental
must learn and must trust to Oriental methods of social
intercourse, so the Oriental nuist learn and must trust to
the corresponding Occidental methods. Tlie difficulty
is great in either case, though oi an opposite nature.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ORIENT 433
Which has the greater difficulty is a question I do not
attempt to solve.
Another generalization as to the essential difference
marking Oriental and Occidental psychic natures is that
the former is meditative and appreciative, and the latter is
active. This too is a characterization of no little truth.
T-he easy-going, time-forgetting, dreaming characteristics
of the Orient are in marked contrast to the rush, bustle,
and hurry of the Occident. One of the first and most
forcible impressions made on the Oriental visiting the
West is the tremendous energy displayed even in the ordi-
nary everyday business. In the home there is haste ; on
^the streets men, women, and children are " always on the
Vun." It must seem to be literally so, when the walk of
the Occidental is compared with the slow, crawling rate
at which the Oriental moves. Horse cars, electric cars,
steam cars, run at high speed through crowded streets.
Conversation is short and hurried. Visits are curtailed —
hardly more than glimpses. Everyone is so nervously
busy as to have no time for calm, undisturbed thought..
So does the Orient criticise and characterize the
Occident.
In the Orient, on the contrary, time is nothing. Walk-
ing is slow, business is deliberate, visiting is a fine art of
bows and conventional phrases preliminary to the real
purpose of the call ; amusements even are long-drawn-out,
theatrical performances requiring an entire day. In the
home there is no hurry, on the street there is no rush. To
the Occidental, the Oriental seems so absorbed in a dream
life that the actual life is to him but a dream. _
irthe characterization we are considering is meant to
signify that the Orient possesses a power of appreciation
not possessed by the West, then it seems to me an error.
The Occident is not deficient in appreciation. A better
statement of the difference suggested by the above char-
acterization is that Western civilization is an expression
ot.Will, whereas Eastern civilization is an expression of
subordination to the superior — to Fate. This feature of
Oriental character is due to the fact that the Orient is
still as a whole communal in its social order, whereas the
Occident is individualistic. In the West each man makes
434 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
his own fortune ; his position in society rests 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 and advances them in political, in business, in
social, and in academic life. The energetic, active char-
acteristics of the West are due, then, to the high develop-
ment of individualism. The entire Occidental civiliza-
tion is an expression of free will.
The communal nature of the Orient has not system-
atically given room for individual progress. The inde-
pendent, driving man has been condemned socially. Sub-
mission, absolute and perpetual, to parents, to lord, to an-
cestors, to Fate, has been the ruling idea of each man's life.
Controlled by such ideas, the easy-going, time-ignoring,
dreaming, contemplative life — if you so choose to call it —
of the Orient is a necessary consequence.
But has this characteristic become congenital, or is it
still only social? Is dreamy appreciation now an inborn
racial characteristic of Oriental mind, while active driv-
ing energy is the corresponding essential trait of Occi-
dental mind? Or may these characteristics change with
the social order? I have no hesitancy whatever in ad-
vocating the latter position. The way in which Young
Japan, clad in European clothing, using watches and
running on " railroad time," has dropped the slow-going
style of Old Japan and has acquired habits of rapid walk-
ing, direct clear-cut conversation, and nunctuality in busi-
ness and travel (comparatively speaking) proves con-
clusively the correctness of my contention. New Japan
is entering into the hurry and bustle of Occidental life,
because, in contact with the West, she has adopted in a
large measure, though not yet completely, the indi-
vidualism of the West.
As time goes on, Japanese civilization will increasingly
manifest the phenomena of will, and will proportionally
become assimilated to the civilization of the West. Rut
the ultimate cause of this transformation in civilization
will be the increasing introduction of individualism into
the social order. And this is possible only because the
so-called racial characteristics are sociological, and not
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ORIENT 435
biological. The transformation of " race soul " therefore
does not depend on the intermarriage of diverse races, but
only on the adoption of new ideas and practices through
social intercourse.
We conclude, then, that the only thoroughgoing inter-
pretation of the differences characterizing Eastern and
Western psychic nature is a social one, and that social
differences can be adequately expressed only by contrast-
ing the fundamental ideas ruling their respective social
orders, namely, communalism for the East and individual-
ism for the West.
The unity that pervades the Orient, if it is not due to
the inheritance of a common psychic nature, to what is it
due? Surely to the possession of a common civilization
and social order. It would be hard to prove that Japa- /
nese, Koreans, Chinese, Siamese, Burmese, Hindus (and /
how many distinct races does the ethnologist find in 1
India), Persians, and Turks are all descendants from a \
common ancestry and are possessed therefore by physical 1
heredity of a common racial psychic nature. Yet such is
the requirement of the theory we are opposing. That the
races inhabiting the Asiatic continent have had from an-
cient times mutual social intercourse, whereby the civili-
zation, mental, moral, and spiritual, of the most developed
has passed to the other nations, so that China has domi-
nated Eastern Asia, and India has profoundly influenced
all the races inhabiting Asia, is an indisputable fact. The
psychic unity of the Orient is a civilizational, a social
unity, as is also the psychic unity of the Occident. The
reason why the Occident is so distinct from the Orient in
social, in psychic, and in civilizational characteristics is
because these two great branches of the human race have
undergone isolated evolution. Isolated biological evolu-
tion has produced the diverse races. These are now fixed
physical types, which can be modified only by intermar-
riage. But although isolated social evolution has pro-
duced diverse social and psychic characteristics these are
not fixed and unalterable. To transform psychic and
social characteristics, intimate social intercourse, under
special conditions, is needful alone.
If the characteristics differentiating the Eastern from
r':
436 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
the Western peoples are only social, it might be supposed
that the results of association would be mutual, the East
influencing the West as much as the West influences the
East, both at last finding a common level. Such a result,
however, is impossible, from the laws regulating psychic
-'^and social intercourse. The less developed psychic nature
can have no appreciable effect on the more highly devel-
oped, just as undeveloped art cannot influence highly de-
veloped art, nor crude science and philosophy highly
developed science and philosophy. The law governing
the relations of diverse civilizations when brought into
contact is not like the law of hydrostatics, whereby two
bodies of water of different levels, brought into free com-
munication, finally find a common level, determined by the
distance between them and their respective masses. In
social intercourse the higher civilization is unaffected by
the lower, in any important way, while the lower is
mightily modified, and in sufficient time is lifted to the
grade of the higher in all important respects. This is a
law of great significance. The Orient is becoming Occi-
dentalized to a degree and at a rate little realized by trav-
elers and not fuily appreciated by the Orientals them-
selves. They know that mighty changes have taken
place, and are now taking place, but they do not fully rec-
ognize their nature, and the multitudes do not know the
f source of these changes. In so far as the East has sur-
/ ' ( passed the West in any important direction will the East
\ influence the West.
V In saying, then, as we did in our first chapter, that the
Japanese have already formed an Occidento-Oriental
civilization, we meant that Japan has introduced not only
the external and mechanical elements of Western civiliza-
tion into her new social order, but also its inner and deter-
minative principle — individualism. In saying that, as
the Ethiopian cannot change his skin nor the leopard his
spots, so Ja])an will never become thoroughly Occident-
alizcd, we did not intend to say that she was so Oriental
in her physiological nature, in her " race soul." that she
could make no fundamental social transformation; but
merely that slie has a social heredity that will always and
inevitably modify every Occidental custom and conception
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ORIENT 437
that may be brought to this land. Although in time Japan
may completely individualize her social order, it will never
be identical with that of the West. It will always bear
the marks of her Oriental social heredity in innumerable
details. The Occidental traveler will always be impressed
with the Orientalisms of her civilization. Although the
Oriental familiar with the details of the pre-Meiji social
order will be impressed with what seems to him the com-
plete Occidentalization of her new civilization and social
order, although to-day communalism and individualism
are the distinguishing characteristics respectively of the
East and the West, they are not necessary characteristics
due to inherent race nature. The Orient is sure to be-
come increasingly individualistic. The future evolution
of the great races of the earth is to be increasingly con-
vergent in all the essentials of individual and racial pros-
perity, but in countless non-essential details the customs of
the past will remain, to give each race and nation dis-
tinctive psychic and social characteristics.
XXXVII
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS
THE aim of the present work has been to gain in-
sight into the real nature of both Japanese char-
acter and its modern transformation.
In doing this we have necessarily entered the domain
of social science, where we have been compelled to take
issue with many, to us, defective conceptions. Our dis-
cussions of social principles have, however, been narrowly
limited. We have confined our attention to the interpre-
tation of those social and psychic characteristics differ-
entiating the Japanese from otiier races. Our chief con-
tention has been that these characteristics are due to the
nature of the social order that has prevailed among them,
and not to the inherent nature of the people ; and that the
evolution of the psychic characteristics of all races is due
to social more than to biological evolution.
This position and the discussions offered to prove it
imply more than has been explicitly stated. In this clos-
ing chapter it seems desirable to state concisely, and there-
fore with technical terminology, some of the more funda-
mental principles of social philosophy assumed or implied
in this work. Brevity requires that this statement take
the form of dogmatic propositions and unillustrated ab-
stractions. The average reader will find little to interest
him, and is accordingly advised to omit it entirely.
Let us first clearly see that we have made no effort to
account for the origin or inherent nature of psychic life.
That association or the social order is the original jirotluc-
ing cause of psychic life is by no means our contention.
Given the psychic nature as we find it in man, the prob-
lem is to account for its diverse manifestati(~>n in the dif-
ferent races and civilizations. This, and this alone, has
been our problem.
438
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 439
Psychic nature is the sole and final cause of social life.
Without psychic nature there could be no association.
Personalized psychic nature is the sole and final cause of
human social life. Numberless conditions determine by
stimulation or imitation the manifestation of psychic life.
These conditions differ for different lands, peoples, ages,
and political relations, producing diverse social orders for
each separated group. These diverse social orders de-
termine the psychic characteristics differentiating the
various groups. Social life and social order are objective
expressions of a reality of which psychic nature is the
subjective and therefore deeper reality. The two cannot
be ruthlessly torn apart and remain complete, nor can they
be understood, or completely interpreted, apart from each
other. They are correlative and complementary expres-
sions for the same reality.
Similarly physical and psychical life are to be conceived
as profoundly interrelated, being respectively objective
and subjective expressions of a reality incapable of sepa-
rate interpretation. Yet each has markedly distinct char-
acteristics and is the subject" of distinct laws of activity
and development.
Heredity is of two kinds, biological heredity, transmit-
ting innate characters, and social heredity, transmitting
acquired habits and their physiological results.
The innate characters transmitted by biological heredity
are either physiological, anatomical, or psychical.
The acquired habits transmitted by social heredity are
essentially psychical: but they may result in acquired
physiological, or even anatomical, characters. Here be-
long the physiological effects of diet, housing, clothing,
occupation, education, etc., which have not yet been taken
up and incorporated into the innate physiological consti-
tution by biological heredity. The physiological effects
of social heredity are through the daily physical life and
activity of each individual, in accordance with the require-
ments of the social order in which he is reared ; and these
are reached through its influence on the acquired psychical
habits, which are transmitted through association, imita-
tion, and the control of activities by language and edu-
cation.
440 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
In biological heredity the transmission is exclusively
prior to birth, while in social heredity it is chiefly, if not
entirely, after birth.
In social heredity the transmission is not determined by
consanguinity, and therefore extends to members of alien
races when they are incorporated in the social organiza-
tion.
While the transmission of biological inheritance to
each offspring is inevitable and complete, that of social in-
heritance is largely voluntary. It is also more or less com-
plete, according to the knowledge, purpose, and effort of
the individuals concerned. The transmission of acquired
social and psychic characteristics even from parents to off-
spring depends on their association, and the imposition on
their offspring by parents of their own modes of life.
Sharing with parents their bodily activities, their lan-
guage and their environment, both social and psychical, the
offspring necessarily develop psychic and social character-
istics similar to those of the parents.
Evolution takes place through the transformation of
inheritance. The evolution of innate physiological,
anatomical, and psychical characters takes place through
the transformation of biological inheritance ; and the evo-
lution of society and of acquired characters chiefly through
the transformation of social inheritance.
Nearly all biologists admit that change in the form of
natural selection is one of the principles transforming
biological inheritance; but whether the acquired char-
acters of parents are even in the least degree inherited by
the offspring, thus becoming innate characters, is one of
the important biological problems of recent years. Into
this problem we have not entered, though we recognize
that it must have important bearings on sociological
science. Briefly stated, it is this : Do social and psychic
characteristics, acquired by individuals or by groups of
individuals, affect the intrinsic inherited and transmissible
psychic nature in such ways that offspring, by the mere
fact of being offspring, necessarily manifest those char-
acteristics, regardless of the particular social environment
in which they may be reared? Into this problem, thus
broadly stated, we do not enter. Limiting our view to
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 441
those advanced races which manifest practically equal
physiological development, we ask whether or not their
differentiating psychic characteristics are due to modifica-
tions of their inherited and intrinsic psychic nature, such
that those characteristics are necessarily transmitted to
offspring through intrinsic biological heredity. Current
popular and scientific sociology seems to give an affirma-
tive answer to this question. The reply of this work em-
phasizes the negative. Although it is not maintained that
there is absolutely no difference whatever in the psychic
nature of the different races, or that the psychic differences
distinguishing the races are entirely transmitted by social
heredity, it is maintained that this is very largely the case
— far more largely than is usually perceived or admitted.
Such inherent differences, if they exist, are so vague and
intangible as practically to defy discovery and clear state-
ment, and may be practically ignored.
The only adequate disproof of the position here main-
tained would be about as follows. Let. a Japanese infant
be reared in an American home from infancy, not only
fed and clothed as an American, but loved as a member of
the family and trained as carefully and affectionately as
one's own child. The full conditions require that not only
the child himself, but everyone else, be ignorant of his
parentage and race in order that he be thought to be, and
be treated as though he were, a genuine riiember of his
adopting home and people. What would be the psychic
characteristics of that child when grown to manhood? If
he should manifest psychic traits like those of his Japa-
nese parents, if he should think in the Japanese order, i£
he should have a tendency to use prepositions as post-
positions, if he should drop pronouns and should use
honorific words in their place, if he should be markedly
suspicious and inferential, if he should bow in making his
salutations rather than shake hands, if he should show
marked preference for sitting on the floor rather than on
chairs, and for chopsticks to knives and forks, and if
developing powers as an artist he should naturally paint
Japanese pictures, Japanese landscapes, and Japanese faces,
finding himself unable to draw according to the canons of
Western art, if on developing poetic tastes he should find
442 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
special pleasure in seventeen syllable or thirty-one syllable
exclamatory poems, finding little interest in Longfellow
or Shakespeare, if, in short, he slioukl develop a predilec-
tion for any distinctive Japanese custom, habit of thought,
method of speech, emotion or volition, it would evidently
be due to his intrinsic heredity. If in all these matters,
however, he should prove to be like an American, acquir-
ing an American education like any American boy, and if
on being brought to Japan, at, say, thirty years of age,
still supposing himself to be an American, he should have
equal difficulty with any American in mastering the lan-
guage and adapting himself to and understanding the
Japanese people, then it would follow that his psychic
characteristics have been inherited socially and he is what
he is, nationally, because of his social heritage. Such a
result would show that the psychic traits differentiating
races are social and not intrinsic.
We have limited our discussion to the advanced races
because the problem is then relatively simple, the material
abundant, and the issue clear. ]\Iuch discussion in the-
ology, psychology, and sociology is futile because it con-
cerns that practically mythical being, the aboriginal man,
aboutwhose social and psychic life no one knows anything,
and any theorizer can say what he chooses without fear
of shipwreck on incontrovertible facts. Whether the low-
est races known to-day are differentiated from the highest
only by acquired social and psychic characteristics, or
also by differences of psychic nature, may perhaps be an
open question. However this may be, the case is fairly
clear in regard to the higher races inhabiting the earth.
Their differentiating psychic characteristics are, for the
most part, not due to diverse psychic nature, but to diverse
social orders, while the transmission of these character-
istics takes place, as a matter of observation, through
social heredity.
The discussions of this work are exclusively concerned
with the evolution of society and of psychic characteris-
tics. But even in this limited field we have not attempted
to cover the whole ground. We have given our chief at-
tention to the interdependence of social phenomena and
psychic characteristics. The causes of evolution in the
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 443
social order have not been the main subject under dis-
cussion.
Segregation is the essential condition on which diver-
gent evolution is dependent. Many forms of segrega-
tion may be specified, under each of which evolution pro-
ceeds on a different principle. In brief, it may be said
that biological segregation prevents the swamping of in-
cipient organic divergences, by preventing the inter-
marriage of those possessing such divergences, while
social segregation prevents the swamping of incipient
social divergences and their corresponding incipient
psychic characteristics by preventing the inter-association
of those having such tendencies.
Biologically segregated groups undergo divergent bio-
logical evolution through segregated marriage, producing
distinct physiological unities or racial types. These racial
types are now relatively fixed and can be appreciably
modified only by the intermarriage of different races.
Socially segregated groups undergo divergent social
evolution through the segregated social intercourse of the
members of each group, producing distinct civilizational
and psychic unities. The differences between these social
or psychic groups are relatively plastic and are the sub-
ject of constant variation. The modification of the social
and psychic characteristics of a group takes place through
a change in the physical or social environment of the
group, or through the rise of strong personalities within
the group.
Biologically distinct groups may thus be unified bio-
logically only by intermarriage, while socially physically
distinct groups may be unified socially and psychically
without intermarriage, but exclusively through associa-
tion.
The psychic defects of the offspring of interracial mar-
riages may be largely due to the defective social heredity
transmitted by the parents, rather than to mixed intrinsic
inheritance.
The term " race soul " is a convenient, though delusive,
because highly figurative, expression for the psychic unity
of a social group. The unity is due entirely to the more
or less complete possession by the individual members of
444 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
the group, of common ideas, ideals, methods of thought,
emotions, volitions, customs, institutions, arts, and beliefs.
Each individual is molded psychically to the type of
the social group in which he is reared. The " race soul ''
is thus imposed on the individual by conscious and uncon-
scious education.
The psychic evolution of social groups is divergent so
long as isolation is fairly complete, but becomes con-
vergent in proportion to association. Perfect association
produces complete psychic unity, though it should be
noted that perfect association of geographically separated
social groups is practically unattainable.
The essential elements constituting national unity are
psychic and social, not biological. Racial unity is bio-
logical. The same race may accordingly separate into
different social and psychic groups. And members of
different races may belong to the same social psychic
group.
The so-called " race soul " of many sociologists is,
therefore, a fiction and indicates mental confusion. The
term refers not to the racial unity of inherent psychic
nature, but only to the social unity of socially inherited
psychic characteristics. Groups thus socially unified may
or may not be racially homogeneous. In point of fact no
race is strictly homogeneous biologically, nor is any social
group completely unified psychically.
In sociology as in biology function produces organism,
that is to say, activity produces the organ or faculty fitted
to perform the activity.* The psychic characteristics dif-
ferentiating social groups are chiefly, and perhaps exclu-
sively, due to diverse social activities. 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 the infant mind and brain, whicli is wonderfully capable
of acquiring the language, thought forms, and differenti-
* Whether or not the activity modifies the transmissible nature
is the problem as to the inheritance of acquired characteristics.
The dictum that function produces organism does not say
whether that organism is transmissible or not, either in biology
or sociology.
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 445
ating characteristics of any g-roup in which it may be
reared. To what extent this plasticity extends only care-
fully conducted experiments can show. In the higher
Asiatic and European races we find it to be much greater
than is generally supposed to be the case, but it is not im-
probable that the lowest races possess it in a much lower
degree.
The relative fixity of a psychic group is due to the fact
that in full-grown adults, who form the majority of every
group, function has produced structure. Body, brain, and
mind have "'set " or crystallized in the mold provided by
the social order. Influences sufficiently powerful to trans-
form the young have little effect on the adult. The rela-
tive fixity of a psychic group is also due to the difficulty
— well-nigh impossibility — of bringing new psychic influ-
ences to bear on all members of the group simultaneously.
The majority, being oblivious to the new psychic forces,
maintain the old psychic regime. The difficulty of re-
form, of transforming a social order, is principally due to
these two causes.
The " character " of a people (psychic group) consists
of its more or less unconscious, because structuralized
or incarnate, ideas, emotions, and volitions. Chief among
them are those concerning the character of God, the nature
and value of man and woman, the necessary relation of
character to destiny, the nature and meaning of life and
death, and the nature and the authority of moral law. In
proportion as the social order incorporates high or low
views on these vital subjects, is the character of the people
elevated and strong, or debased and weak.
The destiny of a people, and the role it plays in history,
are determined not by chance nor yet by environment, but
in the last analysis by its own character. Yet this char-
acter is not something given it complete at the start, an
intrinsic psychical inheritance, nor is it dependent for
transmission on biological heredity, passing only from
parents to offspring. Character belongs to the sphere of
social psychic life and is the subject of social heredity.
Through social intercourse the moral character dominat-
ing a psychic group may be transmitted to members of an
alien psychic group. This usually takes place through
446 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
missionary activity. The moral character of a psychic
group may in this way be fundamentally transformed,
and with character, destiny.
Floating ideas, not yet woven into the warp and woof
of life, not yet incarnate in the individual or in the social
order, have little influence on the character of the indi-
vidual or the group, however beautiful, true, or elevating
such ideas may be in themselves. The character of a
people is to be judged, therefore, not by the beauty or ele-
vation of every idea that may be found in its literature,
but only by those ideas that have been assimilated, that
have become incorporated into the social order. These
determine a people's character and destiny. According as
these ideas persist in the social order, is its character
permanent.
Progress consists of expanding life, communal and in-
dividual, extensive and intensive, physical and psychical.
True progress is balanced. High communal development,
that is, highly organized society, is impossible without the
wide attainment of highly developed individuals. Pro-
gressive mastery of nature likewise is impossible apart
from growing psychic development in all its branches,
emotional, intellectual and volitional, communal and
individual.
Historically, communalism is the first principle to
emerge in consciousness. To succeed, however, it must
be accompanied by at least a certain degree of individual-
ism, even though it be quite implicit. The full develop-
ment of the communal principle is impossible apart from
the correspondingly full development of the individual
principle. These are complementary principles of prog-
ress. Each alone is impossible. In proportion as either
is emphasized at the expense of the other, is progress im-
peded. Arrested civilizations are due to the dispro-
portionate and excessive development of one or the other
of these principles.
Personality, expressing and realizing itself in com-
munal and individual life, in objective and subjective
forms, is at once the cause and the goal of progress.
Social and psychic evolution are, therefore, in the last
analysis, personal processes. The irreducible and final
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 447
factor in social evolution and in social science is person-
ality; for personality is the determinative factor of a
human being.
Progress in personal development consists of increas-
ing extent and accuracy of knowledge, refinement and ele-
vation of emotions, and nobility and reliability of voli-
tions. Progress in personal development requires the indi-
vidual to pass from objective heterocratic to subjective
autocratic or self-regulative ethical life. He must pass
from the traditional to the enlightened, from the com-
munal to the individualistic stage in ethics and religion.
He must feel with increasing force the binding nature of
the supra-communal sanctions for communal and indi-
vidual life, accepting the highest dictates of the enlight-
ened moral consciousness as the laws of the universe.
But this means that the individual must secure increasing
insight into the immutable and eternal laws of spiritual
being and must identify his personal interests, his very
self with those laws, with the Heart of the Universe, with
God himself. Only so will he become completely autono-
mous, self-regulative. Only thus will the individual be-
come and remain an altruistic communo-individual, fitted
to meet and survive the relaxation of the historic com-
munal and supra-communal sanctions for communal and
individual life, a relaxation induced by growing political
liberty and growing intellectual rejection of primitive or
defective religious beliefs.
Progress in personality is thus at bottom an ethico-
religious process. The wide attainment of developed per-
sonality permits the formation of enlarging highly organ-
ized psychic groups, accompanied by increasing specializa-
tion of its individual members. Tliis communal expan-
sion, ramifying organization and individual specialization,
secures increasing extensive and intensive intellectual
understanding of the universe, and this in turn active mas-
tery of nature, w^ith all the consequences of growing ease
and richness of life.
Ethico-religious, autonomous personality is thus the
tap-root of highly developed and permanently progressive
civilizations. Personality is, therefore, the criterion of
progress. Mere ease of physical life, freedom from anx-
448 EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE
icty, light-hearted, care-free happiness, mastery of nature,
material civilization, highly developed art, literature, and
music, or even refined culture, are partial and inadequate,
if not positively false, criteria.
Personality, as a nature, is an inherent psychic heritage
shared by all human beings. It is transmitted only from
parents to offspring, and its transmission depends only
on that relation. Personality, as a varying psychic char-
acteristic, is a matter of social inheritance, and is pro-
foimdly dependent, therefore, on the nature of the social
order and the social evolution.
Religion, as incorporated in life, is the most important
single factor determining the personality and character
of its adherents, either hindering or promoting their
progress.
Japanese social and psychic evolution have in no re-
spects violated the universal laws of evolution. Japanese
personal and other psychic characteristics are the product
not of essential, but of social inheritance and social evolu-
tion. Japan has recently entered into a new social inherit-
ance from which she is joyfully accepting new concep-
tions and principles of communal and individual life.
These she is working into her social organism.
Already these are producing profound, and we may be-
lieve permanent, transformations in her social order and
correspondingly profound and permanent transformations
of her character and destiny.
THE END*
INDEX
" Abdication ": in church work,
84 ; due to past social condi-
tions, 86 ; explains promi-
nence of young men, 86, 161,
Esthetic characteristics: de-
velopment unbalanced, 174;
speech and conduct, 178; de-
velopment of masses, 180; de-
velopment, social not racial,
188
Adoption: family maintained,
215
Affection: post-mantal, 102; its
expression, 105
Agnosticism, old not new, 247
Alcock, Sir Rutherford: quota-
tion misleading, 172; on un-
truthfulness, 255
Altruism, social or racial? 365
Ambition, 137
Ancestral worship and the im-
portance of sons, 98
Apotheosis, 147; "Divine right
of kings," 151; in Japan ex-
presses unity, 152
Architectural development and
social heredity, 188
Arisaka, Colonel, inventions,
207
Arnold, Sir Edwin, 16, 17
Art: simplicity its character-
istic, 173; lacking the nude,
175-177; its ideal in represent-
ing gods and men, 174; de-
fects, 184; original or imita-
tive? 203; not "impersonal,"
351 . .
Artistic and inartistic con-
trasts, 184
Aston, Mr. W. G.: on poetic
form, 187; intellectual inferi-
ority of Japanese claimed,
218, "Japanese Literature,"
228
Baelz, Dr. E., measurements of
skull, 191
" Bakufu," " curtain govern-
ment," 214
Bargaining, a personal experi-
ence, 212
Baths, public, 274; cleanliness,
316
Birthday festivals, 349; method
of reckoning age, 350
Brain weights, comparative fig-
ures, 190
Brown, Rev. S. R., 90
Buckley, Prof. E., Phallic wor-
ship, 325
Buddhism: relation to the fam-
ily, 112; suppression of
emotion, 166; modified in Ja-
pan, 197; early influence, 204;
teachings about woman, 259;
lack of moral teachings, 269;
rehgious ecstasy, 297; nature
and history, 306, 307; terms
"ingwa" and "mei," 319;
" impersonal " ? 377-38S; intro-
spection, 378; salvation
through self, 379; conscious-
ness of self, highly devel-
oped, 379-380; attributes no
worth to self, 380; failure of
its influence, 381; mercy to
animals and shallow reason-
ing, 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 philo-
sophical, 386; not logically
450
INDEX
carried out, 389-390; appeal to
personal activity, 390; con-
version of a priest to Chris-
tianity, 394; conception of
God, 398; the universe char-
acterized, 400 ; Nirvana, 400;
supplementary to Shintoism,
407; popularity explained,
408; individualism defective,
408; not exclusive in any
land, 421
Buddhistic doctrines and socio-
logical consequences, 388
Caricature in art: its promi-
nence, 177
Cary's, Rev. Otis, "Japan and
Its Regeneration," 10
Chamberlain, Prof. B. H., 17,
55. 159; quotation on imita-
tion, — over-emphasis, 196;
people irreligious, 287
Character and destiny, 445 ;
how judged, 446
Children: their festivals, 96;
love for the young in Occi-
dent and Orient compared,
97; infanticide, 100
Chinese characters and the
common schools, 192
Chinese philosophj^ not ac-
cepted without question, 200
Christianity : relation to the
family, 111-114; the support
of new ideals, 112; fluctuating
interest in, 162, 163; influence
on woman, 16S; criticised by
a Japanese, 231; relation to
new social order, 282; its
growth in Japan, 308; mono-
theism, its attraction, 311;
its view of the universe, 399;
involving communalism and
individualism, 415
Civilization: two types in con-
flict, 13; social not racial, 28;
its rapid modernization, 30
Clark. Pres., 90
Cleanliness: exaggerated repu-
tation, 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 reli-
gious elements, 414; Japan
appreciates its spirit, 417
Comte, 22
Conceit, 139; not the only con-
ceited nation, 142
Concubinage: children of the
Emperor, 151; Buddhistic
and Confucian teaching, 259;
its sociological interpreta-
tion, 260; increase of, 278;
statistics of, 279
Confidence and suspicion, 120;
feudal explanation, 121
Confucian ethics: leave gods
alone, 2S6, 287; antidote to
Buddhism, 390
Confucianism: its relation to
the family, 112; modified in
Japan, 197; metaphysical
foundation of, 228; its rela-
tion to moralitj', 269; nature
and history of, 307, 30S; its
doctrines restored, 409; its
limitations, 410; not a reli-
gion, 411; cause of failure,
412
Confucius and Lao-tse about
returning good for evil, 128;
influence opposed to prog-
ress, 204
Constitution, authority from
Emperor, 149
Conversation: realistic bald-
ness, 179
Courtesy: conventional not ra-
cial, 182; phrases of, 211; not
proof of " impersonality,"
362, 363
Culture: more apparent than
real, iSi
Curiosity: real though con-
cealed, — illustration, 166
" Curtain government." its sig-
nificance, 214
Daimyo, a figurehead, 214
INDEX
451
Darwin, 22
Decoration of rooms, 171
Dening, Mr. Walter, lack of
idealism, 233
De Quatref ages, African brains,
Deity: conception of, 310; mon-
otheistic jterms, 311; com-
mon people, 391
Disposition; apparently cheer-
ful, 115; pessimists out of
sight, 116
Divorce: grounds for, 56; fre-
quency of, 99; Civil Code of
189S, 265; statistics, 267; di-
vorce 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 civiliza-
tions blending, 30-32
Educational Department and
Imperial Edict, 32S
Emotional nature, 82-84; due
to social order, 169
Emperor: concubines and chil-
dren of, 151
English study and methods of
thinking, 212
Ethics: pivotal points, 283
Etiquette: superficial not radi-
cal requirements, 183; its col-
lapse explained, 183; relation
to imagination, 235
Evolution: real explanation of
progress, 24-27, 33-34; na-
tional, 332-343; intellectual,
419; Involution one half the
process, 425; defined, 440
Express train, " nominal " des-
tination, 216
Fairbanks, Prof., 20
" Falling in love " not recog-
nized, 102
Family life: false registration
checks affection, 107
Far East : quotation from,
adaptation of foreign sys-
tems, 208
Farmer, higher rank than mer-
chant, 257 (note)
Fate: " Ingwa," in develop-
ment 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, ap-
parent not real, 161
Filial obedience: extreme ap-
plication, 263; piety, moral
ideal, 249; piety and religion,
322
Fiske, 22
Flexibility of mental constitu-
tion, 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 con-
cubinage, 279; on religion,
287
Furniture: recent introduction,
181
Future life: Shinto, Confucian,
318; Buddhistic, 319
" Geisha," dancing girl, vivac-
ity, 168
Generalization, capacity for,
220; use of philosophical
terms, 221
Giddings, Prof., 19, 22
"Go-between," illustrations,
210; advantages, 211
God: Greek, Buddhist, Chris-
tian, 399; conceptions com-
pared, 400
Governmental initiative: ex-
plains rapid reforms, 201
Gratitude: religious sentiment,
323; ingratitude shown, 324
452
INDEX
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 trans-
lation of New Civil Code of
Japan, 86; on woman's posi-
tion, 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 physiolog-
ical 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 dis-
ease, 314
Honesty: decline of, 280; expla-
nation, 282
" Honorifics," shades of cour-
tesy, 179; indefiniteness of
speech, 211
Houses, privacy impossible,
273
Housewife, simple require-
ments, 181
Idealizing tendency, 94, 236
Idols, imported feature of Jap-
anese religion, 174
Ikeno, Mr., scientific discovery,
207
Illusion, 393
Imagination: is it lacking ? 233;
shown in etiquette, political
life, ambition, self-conceit,
etc., 235; seen in optimism,
240; related to fancy, — cari-
cature, 241; not disproved by
imitation, 242; sociological
explanation, 243; construc-
tive, 246; suppression of, 246
Imitation in Japanese progress,
78-81; creditable characteris-
tic, 196
Immorality, increase of, 261
Impassiveness, "putty-face,"
164
Imperial and popular sover-
eignty, conflict between,
152-153
Imperial Edict, 328
Imperialists during the Shogun-
ate, 146
Imperial succession of Orien-
tal type, 150
" Impersonality" : Hegel, 345:
definitions contradictory, 347,
348; related, to art, 351; fam-
ily life, 352; divorce, 352;
" falling in love," 354; defini-
tion, 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 ele-
ments analyzed, 381; objec-
tion to term, 3S5
" Impersonality " and altruism,
365
Impractical idealism: claimed
by Japanese, 236; illustra-
tions, 237, 23S
"In," and "Yo," significance
of, 221
India and Japan contrasted,
32-34
Indirectness, 210
Individual, small value, 25S
Individualism: expressed, 245,
246; changing social order
INDEX
453
and honesty, 282; importance
of, 334; how possible, 335;
defined, 361; easy acceptance
explained, 413
Individualistic religion as a so-
ciological factor in higher,
human evolution, 418
Infanticide, loo-ioi
" Ingwa," fate, 386
Inouye, Dr. T., Japonicized
Christianity, 39; claims for
Japanese, 205; philosophical
writer, 229
Intellectual characteristics, so-
cial, 244
Inventions: originality, 207
Irreligious phenomena ex-
plained, 302, 303
Ishii, Mr., father of orphan
asylums in Japan, 94, 131,
145
Isolation of nations impossible,
71
Ito, Marquis, on religion, 288
lyeyasu: 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 ac-
quaintance with, 429, 430;
secret of acquaintance, 431
Japan Mail: quotation, 130;
originality of Japanese art,
203: on wealth, 277; on hon-
esty, 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 re-
search, 207
Knapp, Mr. A. M., 16
Knox, Dr. G. W., quotation,
199; "A Japanese Philos-
opher," 228; translator of
Muro Kyuso, 249
Ladd, Prof. G. T., 94; senti-
mentality'of Japanese, 234
Language: its acquirement and
Japanese students, 194; di-
versities of, not due to diver-
sities in brain type, 195
Lao-tse, on doing good in re-
turn for evil. 128
Le Bon's physiological theory
of character inadequate, 13-
20; quotation, 51; dissent
from opinion, 188; quotation,
424
Le Conte, 22
Literature, ancient, its im-
purity, 252
Lowell, Mr. Percival, " The
Soul of the Far East," 102,
344; Japanese unimaginative,
234; opinion criticised, 241;
" sense and incense," 286;
pilgrimages, 291; "imperson-
ality," 359, 363, 374; teaching
of philosophic Buddhism, 37S
Loyalty and religion, 322; sen-
timental, 148, 149
Lunatics and lepers, cruel
treatment, 130
Magic formulae, 320
Man and nature: differing ar-
tistic treatment of, 175
Manners: influenced by West-
ern ways, 182
Marriage, Civil Code of 1898,
265
Marsh, Prof., size of Japanese
brain, 190
" Matter-of-factness " explain-
ed, 245
Memorizing: mechanical, 222;
defective method, 223; as re-
lated to higher mental
powers, 223
Memory: power overrated, 192;
in daily affairs not exceed-
454
INDEX
ing Occidental, 193; charac-
teristics sociological, not bi-
ological, 194
Mnemonic power and social se-
lection, 193
Mencius, teaching, the " Way "
of Heaven and Earth, 250
Mental faculties: are the Japa-
nese 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 persecu-
cution, 156; illustration, 158;
discrimination developed,
249; parents, children, pa-
triots, 249; ideals communal,
255; standards differing for
men and women, 263; teaching
focused on rulers, 270; Im-
perial Edict, 271; standards
of, and individualism, 275,
276; social, not racial, 283; on
authority, 2S4; morality and
Old Japan, 261, 264
Motora, Prof. Y., 229
Miiller, Prof. Max, statement
about Vedas, 193
Murata rifle, invention of, 207
Muro Kyuso, philosopher, 249;
ancient books condemned,
252; on immoralit3^ 2S6;
teachings, 299, 300
Music, Japanese deficiency, 185
Nakashima, Prof. Rikizo, 229
Nash, Prof. H. S., on Apothe-
osis 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 aeon, 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 in-
tercourse and mutual in-
fluence, 436
Occidental civilization; a de-
fect in, 71
Ohashi. Junzo, opposed to
Western thought, 254
Old Japan, 35-37; its oppres-
sion, 53, 54; emptiness of
common life, 54; condition of
W'oman, 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; gen-
eral opinion of, 423; view of
author, 425; social, not racial,
425. 434
Originality in art, 203; judi-
cious imitation, 209
Orphan asylums, 131
Oyomei, 228
Patriotism, 48-51; relation to
apotheosis, 144, 15S; to war,
145; Christian orphans, 145
Peasants, stolidity, 165
Pedigree, "nominal" not ac-
tual ancestry, 215
INDEX
455
Peery, Dr., Japanese philo-
sophical incompetence, 225
Personality: 21-22; importance
of, 342; defined, 356-357; char-
acteristics of, 358; " strong "
and "weak," 374, 375; Con-
fucian ethics, 390; Supreme
Being, 391; gods of popular
Buddhism, 391; idea grasped
by Japanese, 393; sketch of
development, 394; racial or
social inheritance, 395; prog-
ress in ethico-religious proc-
ess, 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 de-
ficiency of Japanese, 286
Phallicism: its suppression, 325;
Western influence, 326
Philosophy: Occidental igno-
rance of its history in Japan,
200; terms used, 221; Japa-
nese students of, 229; indi-
viduals interested, 229
Philosophical ability, 225-232;
Japanese claims, 225; con-
structive 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 character-
istic, 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; imita-
tion. 78-81; passion for it, 143
Psychic nature and social
life, 439
Psychic evolution, 444
Psychic function and psychic
organism, 445
Psychological similarities, Jap-
anese and Anglo-Saxon, 189
Public speaking, fluency, 219
" Putty-face," 164
" Race-soul," 444
Ranaome, Mr. Stanford, quot-
ed, 51; "Japan in Transi-
tion," 46
Reforms, governmental initia-
tive, 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; Bud-
dha-shelves, God-shelves,
293; emotion and social
training, 296; emotion shown
in abstraction, 297
Religious life, 404, 421; com-
munal, 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": charac-
teristic of speech and action,
211; recent improvement.
212
Sadness and isolation of many,
116
Sage of Omi, see " Omi Sajin."
Salvation and sin, 314; Bud-
dhist and Christian, 379
456
INDEX
Samurai: high mental power,
social leaders, impractical,
U244; their relation to trade,
252; iiew ideals, 256; revolt
from religious forms, 2 ^
egregation and"dtv«rg^ent evo-
lution, 443
Self-confidence not without
grounds, 141, 143; reorgani-
zation by 3'oung men, 141-
142
Self-control: moral teaching,
250; Kujuro, the self-con-
trolled, 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" Bud-
dhism, 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; con-
sciousness of, 317; instance
of conversion, 318
Shusi, 228
Social evil, the, 261 (note)
Social segregation and social
divergence, 21
Social and racial unity dis-
tinguished, 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: charac-
ter, 14, 446; pride, 20; fear
of ridicule. 73; cruelty, 135;
kindness, 136; stolidity, 163;
power of generalization, 222;
philosophical development,
231; apparent deficiencj' in
imagination, 236; differences
characterizing Eastern and
Western psychic nature, 247,
435; untruthfulness, 256; con-
cubinage, 260; religious char-
acteristics, 309, 321; the sup-
pression of Phallicism, 327;
religious tolerance, 329; di-
vorce and "falling in love,"
355; courtesy, 363, 364; the
personal pronoun, 372; the
failure of Buddhism, 3S5;
the conception of Fate, 3S7
Sociology and individual re-
ligion, 405; and Shintoism,
407
Southerland, 22
"Soul of Japan," the, 144
" Soul of the Far East," quota-
tion, 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; pro-
hibitive of progress, 204; last
of " Curtain governments,"
214
INDEX
457
Torture, in Japan, 132; in
Europe, 133
Toys and toy-stores, 96
Trade estimates, 256; Old Ja-
pan, 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
Unaesthetic 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,
III, 113 (note); Buddhist and
Confucian teaching, 112, 259;
jealousy, 127; her position,
258; influenced by Hindu
philosophy, 258; improve-
ment, 268
Writing, a fine art, 173
Xavier, Francis, 308
Yamaguchi, Mr., quotation.
149; the Imperial throne,
373
" Yamato Damashii,"i'^^ "The
Soul of Japan."
" Yumei-mujitsu," see " Nomi-
nality."
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