T H E S HI N T O CU LT

A C HRI STI AN STUDY

OF

T H E A N C I ENT RE L I G I ON OF J A P A N

w
BY

MI L T ON S . T E RRY D , . D
Lec tur e r 0 m
n & fim Religio n in
G arrett Bii c al I n S ti tl:l t e
.

C IN C IN NATI : JENN I N GS AND G R AHA M

N E W YO R K : E A T O N A N D M A I N S
 C opyrigh t 1 91 0
, ,

By J e n nin gs a n d G r a h a m .
 NOT E .

The f ollowing pages are the substance of a

course of lectures on the old Shinto c u lt which
the author has been giving for a number of years
to his classes in Comp arative R eligion They are .

here condensed and adapted to the purpose of a

little manual which it is believed m ay interest
, ,

many readers and bring together within a small

,

space information gathered from many sources not

easily accessible to ordinary s tu dents At the same
.

time it is hoped that this li ttl e volume may serve

to su ggest some v aluable hints to the Christian

“
missiona ry who is to come face to face with the
Jap anese people in their beautifu l land of the
reed plains and the fresh ears of rice It is .

possible that some portions if not every j ot and

,

tittle of this ancient cult m ay like the law and

, ,

the prophets of Israel find a glorious fulfillment

,

in the pure gospel o f Jesus Christ The prin .

c ip al authorities r elied on in the preparation of

this essay are named in the Select B ibliog r aphy

gi ven at the en d.
 C ONT E NT S .

I s SH I N T O A

O R I G I N A N D RELATI V E A G E O F THE
P E O P LE
M E ANI N G O F THE T E R M S H INTO .

S OU R C E S O F
J A P A N E SE C OS M O G O N Y A N D M Y TH OL
OG Y

7 . THE J A P AN E SE A S E L F -
C E NTE R E D P E O

E SS E N C E O F THE S HINTO C ULT . .

T H E G R EAT S AN C TU A R I E S
F I V E N OT E W O R TH Y O B J E C T S C ON
N E C T E D W ITH TH E W O R S H I P

T H E A N CESTO R W O RS HI P
E LE M E NT S O F A N I M IS M .

T H E D O M E STI C C U LT .

T H E C O MM U NA L C ULT
T H E N ATION AL C ULT .

5
 C O NTENTS .

THE H A R V E ST S E R V I C E
T H E G R EAT P U R I F I C ATIO N
O TH E R R ITUAL S E R V I C E S .

I N FL U EN C E O F C HINA ON J A P AN E S E
T H OUG HT
I N F LU E N C E O F B U D D HIS M
R E V I V AL O F P U R E S HINTO
E S OT E R I C S HIN TO
M I N G L IN G O F S HINTO C O N FU C IAN I SM
, ,

AN D B U D D HI SM .

R O M ANC ATH OLI C IS M IN JA P AN

A LLEGE D P R E SENT R E LI G IO US I N D I F
F E RE N C E
C O N C LU D IN G O B S E RV ATIO NS
 T H E S H I N T O C U LT .

1 . Th e C ou nt ry
In taking u p the study .

of a religion which has n eV er extended beyond

the limits of an eas ily definedJ erritflry we may ,

appropriately first of all take a hasty glance

”
at the geographical outlines of the system we
call Shinto the primitive faith “o f “
,
a n :
the people
of Japan To appreciate the geographical posi
.
W u » um
. ”
w t n un
-
. ( v Mu-
n
Ia

tion of Japan on e needs to ha v e before him a

,

m ap of the world H e may then see at a glance

.

how remarkably the three“ “ w ““ w

thousand islands of M M —h bm a .

that Empire stretch for som e twen ty; five hun -

dred miles along K am

chatk a on the north to the is lan d o f F o rm os a on

the“ south which island is crossed

h r
,
tropic "H q " ‘

of Cancer It may be called the 10 11 est and the

- n u

M d It looks like an .

immense sea serpent with its northern tail twist

-

7
8 T HE SH I NT O C U L T .

ing toward the Aleutian I slands which ou r G o v ,

ern m en t acqu ired from R ussi a in 1 8 6 7 and its ,

s outhern head pointing toward the Philippine

Islands which we acquired from Spain in recent
,

”
years It seems to gu ard the whole eastern coas t

w
.

n a o n thw
of Asia and al ow n v
“g b v
ith C hi g e r nainl an d

b
, A r m h i ‘ ,

b “
is suspected an d feared y some Euro e an dip l o
w p
w
U m —K fi
r —F ’
. v fv
'

mats as gm o dyin g som e sort of a Yell o Peril

’ h fl
.

It may be that its notewor thy contiguity to our

Alaskan possessions at one extremity and our
Philippine wards at the other bodes some sort
of peril to any Western nation that may hereafter
presum e to enlarge its dominions in the Orient
by force of arms .

Attention has o ften been called to the fac t that

the B ritish Isles in the Atlantic off
’

the northwestern coast of Euro p e occupy a co r ,

responding geographical r elation to the Western

world The islands themselves are comparati v ely
.

sm all b u t their measuring line has gone out into

,

al l the earth and their civilization is dominating

,

the w orld Asia on the east of the Eastern hemi

.
,

sphere is a land of innumerable population ;

,

Eu rope on the w est is a land of ne w ideas and

, ,
 T HE I SLA N D E MP I R E . 9

of hope ful progress The United States r esting .

,

he r Atlantean shoulder on the island empire of -

Europe and her Pacific shoulder on the islan d

,

empire o f the Orient m ay be in the order of G o d , , ,

a mighty mediator possessed both of a great p o pu ,

lation and of ne w and commanding ideas and ,

destined to bring about the universal peace the ,

sound kn owledge and the highes t prosperity of ,

the w orld .

ww
We are told that Japan is a count ry gi diy gzrsi
fied beauty
“ w
Compassed round
.

M “
about
M m

ocean yet not far from the Asiatic mainland s up

with “ the vas t .
” W ‘
M

P
,
lii i fi lSQ iMA on derful _in 1and sea and with ,

lakes and ri v ers and fountain s of waters ; a land

“
o f mountains and v allel s and broad meadows
, ” e ,

”
s .
fi

and all manne r of trees and shrub s and f ruits and

” ”
f l owers w
and,
”w
charmin
l
“a
g la
nd
ndscap
- n,
esu
and
o
all v arieties ,

o
fg h m ate ; it is no wonder that the p eo ple and

”
“ “
their poets have called this group of islands fiche
’

”
“
sun s nest the c ountry of the sun goddess
, the -

“
i sIan ds of the

”
r egion between heaygp
W
m m
““ “ w
c ongealed drop the grand land , ,

M
‘

i sles “ dfl i l d of the ‘
, central land of i ce a f an

W
sm r flr f
‘

a g -Q‘

ears ° f
,
9 8 h rice “ ES
MM
 T H E S HI NT O CU LT .

”w
and other simila r names indicat ive of m anifgld

“
This island empire O f the Orient is the home-

of the religious cul t called Shinto a religion ,

which has ne v er tra v eled nor sought to

w prop agate
SK
T i n , ~ —
‘ f nfi h as A
h- M
-
fi g ~ fl fl u fl

itself Beyond the dominions of Japan It h as .

lfW
tut i tse in a hostile attitude toward any
M M A fi J N

except’ when a for seiign eult

M : fi fi
—‘
L W M Q’
f
ww
has
“ entered
z
W
its
hom e and s ought to meddle with a ffairs of fi a te
ancient
m
m ?
r t ag -W W‘ m

M
a n MW M ‘A D

or to I n e
t gers W
O p er or
g
.

2 I s Sh i n t o a R eli g i on ? At a m eeting
.

of the Society o f Science held at Toky o in ,

1 8 9 0 the president o f the Imperial Univer

,

sity expressed the opinion that Shi n to should

not b e regarded as a religion H e believed .

it to be an essenti al element in the existing na

Of
w
the ess ential qualities of a strictly religious
cult O ther s lTav
'

. e expressed a S imil ar op i n i on ;

The K ji ki (section X X X ) h as this r ema r kabl e combina

“
1 o—

”
—

ti on The l u x u riant ed p 1 i n s 1 and f fresh rice ears o i

-
re ~
a - -
O - - - - -
a

”
t ho u sand a u t umns o f long five h u ndred a u t u mns
“
R it u a l
"
- - -
Th e
- - -

of the Grea t P u ri fi cation and other ri tu als c al l Japan th e

l u x u riant reed plain r egion of fresh yo u ng spik es
“ T he
-
.

w o r d sp i ke s he r e is a sy n onym f o r ea r s o f r ice .
 S HIN T O A R EL I G I O N . 11

b u t we are disposed to think that this j u dgment

arises from an incorrect concept of religion and ,

a consequent defecti v e defin ition of the same A .

simila r denial has been made of the religio u s char

acter o f other cults and systems T aoism Con .
,

fu c ian ism and even Buddhism have been said to

,

lack the elements essential to a real religion B ut .

if h e s stern s dq n o

b
w w
-

ItRT
'
caSE ThEIT for “rele igion Any religion
su st e .

um al ff
_
- «
a .
-

a ..

or any form of religion may so invol v e its thought

w
and its practices with philosophical speculation ,

or with social customs or with the political man ,

ag em en t of the State as to ha v e the appearance ,

of a philosophical or a political system rather than ,

””
a form of religion But howe v e r it may in such
.
, ,

ways ignore the rel igLou s ideas and of

M
, n
m un

among the people the phil o sophy the ethical

“ W M -
W
,
W W
,
W W .

po r ilization and the n

t ant elemen t of the civ ational
life are as truly tantamo u nt to a religious cult
,

as any form of faith and practice h ich allm m If

' n ' w
agree to call religion .
12 T HE S HIN T O CU L T .

3 . Ori g in and R el ative Ag e of the P eopl e .

w e n-o ) :

surro undingM
ar

seas
m

B
”
m asters o f the grea L islnnds and the in land and
w wM
ut
fi'

their
flé M
-

origin and early his

w
“M
.

tory are i n volved i n They doubt

less brou ght with them from their earlier dwell

ne www According to a writer in the

i sl an ds es ld
1

w
g
.

”
Wes tmins ter R evie of July 1 8 7 8 Japan is yet , , ,

“
in more senses than o n e a yo u ng country Their , .

language and their institutions sho u s a people

”
still in a v ery early stage of de v elopment W G . . .

m m w
Aston h olds that the earliest date of acc ep ted
m v
Japanese chronol ogy i s A D 4 6 1 and he says that
‘k

. .
,

said to exist pre v io u s to A D . . 5 00 . H e r egard s

1
U nd e rsto o d t o be S i r E r n est S a to w .
14 T HE S HIN T O C U L T .

po w erful element in the pop u l ar life a m atte r o f ,

n o little interest at the presen t time

1
.

4 Meaning of th e Word Shinto T he wor d

. .

Shinto means the ads It c ame

w
.
b’ . a mine
.
gag. v 's

into u se when B ud dhism was introduced int o

Japan and designates the old ancestral wor
, ,
e M M n u - M A

ship as a way of the g ods distinct from the ay

o f the Ru ddhi sts or of any other r ival way of
,

religious life The Japanese name is K ami n o

.

mi chi I n its essenti al elements it is a com

.

only are the spg i s o f departedances tors reckoned

M

r e inn u merable deitie s

”
among the ds but ther
go , e wa
5
7 ‘ W " h
a 5 q’
m ’
v

of o ther kind and character T he mountains and .

“
v alleys, the rivers
“ and
4.
th
Emg sg
m a s
a
th“
,
e
m
treesm
thea
x
w i
“nd
i m
-
M fl fl , u p . 4‘ , n 0
,

1
It ma y n o t be im p ro pe r t o s u gg est th a t so m e o f the
no ti on s o f the We st e r n peopl e s a s to the b ack w ardness of
Japan in the p a st and t he rela t i v e s t ag e o f civ ili ation r eac he d
,
z

g e n e rat i ons ag o in the island empire may b e v e ry l u dicro us

t o t h e min d o f a self re sp e cting t h o u ghtf u l s on of J apan
-

, .

’
T he M ikado s m i n i s te r a t P ari s is r epo r ted to h a v e sai d
“ W e h a ve fo r many genera t ions sen t to E u rope ex qu isit e
l ac qu e r w ork deli cate l y c arv ed fi gu r e s b ea u tiful e mbroidery

w
, , ,

and many oth e r t hings w hich sho w o u r artis t ic ability and

”
a ccomp lis h m e nts but th e E ur opeans said w e w ere u nci v ili e d
,
z .

W e h a ve r e c e ntly k illed som e R u ssians and no w e v e r y ,

E u r op e an n ation i s w o nde r in g at the hi g h c i v ili z ation e

h a v e a t last att a i n ed !
 v
w
I

w
T HE K O JI K I - -
. 15

of sense are su o sed to ithin .

And these deities “

seem fo rw
th m os h pa rt
w te ha e

b
e m
s

M M e

been regarded as en eficen t owers an m or

W

J
5 . S ou rc es
The sources of of I nf o rmati on .

w
our knowledge of this ancien t cult are quite
numerous but not as accessible to English and
,

American students as is desirable T he oldes t .

existing monument o f wJaw anese

p “M -« W M “
W
r a

“
contains 1 8 0 short sections or chap
tEf é T he word K o ji k i means a R ecord of An
‘ ‘

- -
.

ci and appropriately designates this

oldest known record of the mythology his tory and , ,

customs of the people o f Japan It is the nearest

ww .

u r e of th n
-

h
‘

li tg a sa
gdsprip t eS i to cult
w
ap r
p gap -
’ gr fl fi fl ‘ n

which we t has been tran sl ated i nt o

and supplied with a learned introduction
and man y explanato ry notes by B asil H Chamber .

lain a distinguished scholar who has made th e

,
1
,

is p ublish e d as a S u pp le m e n t t o v o l x o f t h e
1
It
actions o i the As i a tic S oci ety of Japa n pp lx x v and
Yokohama 1 8 8 3 , .
,
” .

.
“
T r ans
369 .
16 THE SH I NT O CULT .

Japanese language literatu re an d arch aeology a

, ,

subj ect of extensive and minute rese arch .

”
Another and much larger work comp r ising
“
,

thirty books and containing a record of much o f

,

“
the same mythology an d history as the K o ji ki is - -

called the N ik o n or Chronicles o f Japan 1

.

It is a composite o f v arious elements de r ived from

nume r ous di fferent sources and while it reports in ,

substance the myths an d sto ri es of the gods as

they are found in the K o ji ki it makes no mention - -

of that older wo r k and omits some things which

the older work records It gives however a num
b
.
, ,

er and v ariety of reports of the myths and tra

ditio n s informing us how in one ancient writing

, , ,

it is so and so recorded ; in another wri ting it is ,

somewhat difi eren tly told This feature enha nces .

its v alue for purposes o f comparison among the

varying traditions .

T his late r production lacks the sim p licity an d

originality of the Ko ji ki and b ea r s ab u ndant evi
- -

dence of the Chines e infl u ences u nde r w hic h it

Ther e is an E ngli s h t r a n s lati o n of the Ni h ongi by

1
,

. .

“
W G Aston : 2 v o l s Lon d on 1 8 9 6
. I t i s pub l ishe d a s a
,

S uppl e men t t o T r a nsactions and P r oceedin g s o f the Japan

.

So ciet y London , .
 w
THE NIH ON GI
'
. 17

w
was composed It is r rt
b
.

in C hi nese an dexhi its , u

np ni erous exam p les of the

to certain well kw
g m fi
n o g rg hinese m i tin s
q
-

g As a spec a .

imen of this r ationalistic type of construing the

ancient myths of creation we here cite the o penin g ,

O f ol d Hea v en and E arth were not yet sepa

,

rated and the I n and Yo !or Yi n and Yang

, ,

female an d male principles ] not yet divided They .

formed a chaotic mass like an egg which was of , ,

obscurely de fin ed limit s and contained germ s The .

purer and clearer part was thinly drawn out and

formed Heaven while the hea vie r and grosser
,

element settled down and became Earth The .

fin er element easily becam e a u nited body but the ,

consolidation o f the heavy an d gross elemen t was

accomplished w ith di fficulty Heaven was there .

fore formed fir st and Earth w as established sub

,

sequently Thereafter Divine Being s were pro

.

du ced b etween them Hence it is said that when

.

the world began to b e created the soil of which , ,

lands were composed floated about in a manner ,

which might b e compared to the floating of a fish

2
 w
18 TH E SH I N T O CULT .

w
sporting on the s u rface of the w ate r At this time .

a certain thing as produ ced between H eaven and

Ea rt h I t as in form like a reed shoot Now
.
-
.

“
this became transfo r med in to a god and was called ,

K u ni tok o tachi n o Mik o to ! Land eternal stand

”
— - - -

“
o i august
—
Next there was K u n i n o s a - -

and next To yo
“
ts u chi ! land o f right soil - — -

”
k u mu n u ! ric h fo r m plain ] in all thr e e dei
- - - —
,

ties These were pure males spontaneously de

.
,

vel op ed by the operation o f the principle of

Hea v en !the Yo male principle ] , .

The K o ji ki was written about 7 1 2 A D and

- -
. .
,

the N iho ngi in 7 2 0 A D and they are both re . .

,

markable for the nai ve and p eculiar ma nn er in

w w
. .
,

which they unite to ge ther in their narratives m at

w
:

out apparent con scious n s of any note s s e

“
ort hy dif

feren ces betw een thet o B es ides these r emarkable .

b
books ther e is a Cod e o f c eremonial laws in fifty ,

v olumes kno w n as the Yengishiki which was p u

, ,

l ished A D 9 2 7 .It includes a l arg e num ber of

. .

ancient Japanes e rituals called N 0 7 13750 o f which , ,

several h av e been translated into English an d pro

v i ded w ith a c ommentary an d lea r ned n o tes y b
 T H E MAN Y O SHU . 19

E rn est S ato w and K arl F loren z There is also .

1

“
an interesting collection o f ancient poems called ,

the Manyos hu Collection of Myriad Leaves

, ,

which furnishes numerous pictures of the life of

the early Japanese both before and after the t ime

w
,

of the compilation of the K o ji ki and the N ik o n gi - -

.

There are also the v oluminous writings of the three

famous Shinto scholars Mab u chi Mo to ori and , , ,

Hirata who flourished between the middle of the

,

eighteenth and the middle of the nineteenth cen

tury and eflected an intellect u al r evol u tion and

,

a remarkable revival of the Shinto cult .

2

6 Jap an ese C o smog ony an d M

.
y t h o l o gy Our .

”
stu dy of Shinto m ay well begin by a brief notice
of Japanese cosmogony as presented at the 3 9 3 1
begi nning of the K E W
7 1 Y su m
b
”
a , ar o say : Now when chaos had e
,

1
Th e s e appea r i n v o l s v i x a n d x x v of t h e T r an s ac
. u , , u
“
t ions of t he Asiatic Society of Japan O v e r thirty fi ve v o l
.
-

u m e s of the s e Transactions ha ve app e a r e d and they are an ,

i n v a lu ab le r epository of i nfo r m a t ion on th e h istory cu s t oms

” ”
, ,

r eligion an d l it e rat ur e of Japan O th e r jo u rna l s of like

,
“ .

v al u e a r e the Transac ti ons and P r oceedings of th e Japan

“

w ”
Society of London and th e De u tsche Gesells chaft fii Nat ur r

u nd V 6 1k e k de O stasiens in Tokio
r un .

“
Sketches of these men and n um ero u s e xtracts from thei r
2

’
w o r k s may b e fo u nd in S at o s essay on Th e R ev i v a l of
“
Pur e Shin ta u -
p u blis h e d as App e ndix of v o l i i i o f the
,

Tr a nsa ctions o f the A s iatic So c iety of Ja p a n .

.
20 THE SHIN T O CULT .

w w
gun to condense but force and form we r e not
,

yet manife st and there was naught named n aught

, ,

done ,
ho could kno its shap e ? N e v ertheles s
Heaven and E arth first parted and the Three ,

Deities p erformed the commencement of creation ;

the Passive an d Active Essences then developed ,

and the Two Spirits became the ancestors of all

things . Therefore did he !Izanagi ] enter o b
s cu r ity an d emerge into light and the Sun and ,

Moon were revealed by the washing of his eyes ;

he floated on and plunged into the sea water and -

heavenly and earthly Deities appeared through the

ablutions of his per son So in the dimness of the
.

great beginning we by relying on the original

, ,

teaching learn the time o f the conception of the

,

”
earth and of the birth of isl ands ; in the remote
ness of the original beginning we by trusting the ,

”
former sages perceive the era of the genesis of
,

D eities and of the est ablishment of men .

This brief fragment fro m the compil er s ’

Preface furnishes a condensed outline o f what

we read in the first p art of the K o ji ki and it - -

indicates thew ecu l iar cosmogony of the

pM W
m W y a
g
w
J pgpgW
n-
(
se

m T h ea r ly section s o f the bo o k r eco r d

ytholggy .
m
e
22 THE SHINT O CULT .

s p ear became an i sl flg d Upon this island Izanagi g

and Izanami descended from the He aven above ,

and in course of time generated all the islands o f

the Japanese world Whe n they had finished giv .

ing birth to countries they proceeded to giv e

birth to deities and so by them were begotten
,

fou rteen islands and thirty five deities There -

.

is little room to doubt that Izan angi“and Izan .

ami are a mythological representation o f the

M
W va x M

w
u re in the Japan ese literat u r e has probabl
ww
re
v m mm

“w
fit-i ; ar -

ceived some colorin g from

“ Chinese influence
“ m 2 "a
an d

w
‘b at
H‘ y "
— ‘
m -
,
e ae
m a

thought .

I zanami died and her “brot her

, . J a r h d‘ N ‘

drawing his mighty sword he proceed ed to cut o ff

” ” b
upon, w ond erful to tell sixteen deities were born
bb
,

”
faem t e leednnd the diffef elil i fi i fi flfi y
.
i
w
“ “
o f th e
jgg g od Among .the n ames of these we

“
find su ch titles as R ock splitter R oot s plitter -

,
-

Bra v e snapping an d Posse ssor o f Mount ains ;

-

,
- -

and the name of the sw o r d w hich cleft the head

 I !A N AG I AND I !AN AM I . 23

of the fire god was Heavenly -

or ,
“
Maj estic
Point Blade Extende d

w
bw
- -
.

After the irth of thes e dei ties I z anan m .

, . on g ed

seek he r in th e m
H e called to her and a orl d .

asked her to com e back t o him She answer ed .

that such was her desire but she must consult the ,

deities of Hades and she bade him ““ , v vi , a v

Look not at me ’ One can not help comparing

.

Orpheus descended into the lower world charmed ,

Pluto with his lyre and obtained permission for ,

his wife Eurydice to return following behind him , ,

but only on condition that O rpheus should not

look back at her till they had both reached the
upper world He grew impatient looked back to
.
,

see if she were indeed following and she at once ,

vanished from his sight Agepr din g to $113 2 ap .

anese myth howe v er Izanagi gE T

, J i ifééof wait,

b
i
s ho ck ed to
fl ‘ wb
ol
eh d a m ggots
‘
w w
swarming over her ody 1
s an k -a 0 - 1 81 ! I W en -L V N r
a fl a " I
,

an d d her rotting
e ig ht th un er deities dwell g i
in n -

“
w w
n

'

td in
C N

form where they hw

" m a c -a M ad been
M
born g

“He ed and ail — m

.

e
 w
24 T HE SHINT O CULT .

of the M
W M He succeeded in driving them
b
M
.

all back an d itlr“

, a fi
m ig hty ro
gk l o ck ed,
p
p th e ffl m ‘ ‘ h

p ass of Hades Then he went to purify himself

.

by bathing in a stream and f r om his staff and , ,

girdle and bracelet an d v ario u s garments and

, , ,

from the filth which he contracted in the under

world were born a multitude of deities bearing ,

composite names of strange significance There

w
.

“
was also born as he washed his left eye a deity
, ,

”
“
who was called the H e aven Shining Great Aug ust - - -

One and from his right eye as born the Moon

”
“
Night Possessor and as he washed his nose there
-

was born S u s a n o Wo Impetuous M ale Deity

- -

,
- -
.

But we need not pursue further this seemingly

endless genealogy of the deities We are told
b
.

”
in section X X X that in a divine assepu lywof fi
fl

e i ght h undred rnyriad deities _ decided to ,

.

“
send on e o f their numb er _t_g_gpy ern jthe g en tral
.
‘

”
n

”
g

Land of R eed “ Plains and-

W
subdue
,
the sav
N a ge
,

Earthly D eities V arious deities were sent an

ww b
.

a , W N W

w d
””
at length “ a grandchild of the Sun Go dess e
1

r i t u a l s he i s often calle d
So v r an Grand “
The
“
1
In th e
child tho u gh an adopted son of the Goddess ; s o the so v
,

ran gr andchild is first applied to the fo u nder on earth of

’
the M ikado s dynasty and after w ard to eac h an d al l of h i s
,

s uc c e s s or s o n the t h r on e of Japa n .
 C OS MO G ON Y R EMA R K A B LE . 25

”
came the R uler of t ha E nmk e andh ggrfi lg £
, L 9 11 1 “

“
p o s i te name o f K '

commonly called by his canonical name J im m a , ,

a title given him long after his decease From .

'

such heaven ] o r
Japan and he,

cesso rs is thus conceived as an offs rin of Heaven

, p g ,

a d1 rect
ties The significance of this fact will appear con
.

sp icu ou sly when we come to notice more partie n

l arl y the essential element s in the Shinto cult .

On this r emarkable cosmogony and mythology

we do w ell at this point to offe r the following
observations
()1 These acco u nts of the origin of the J ap

One part s that the Emperor who ,

took pains to have the old records carefully looked

“
after employed a person living in his household
, ,

who was gifted wit h marvelous memory ; he could

repeat without mistake the contents of any docu
ment he had ever seen and never forgot anythi ng
,

that he had heard and from the lip s of this m an

 T HE SH IN T O CU L T .

of prodigious memory the scribe Yasu m aro wrote

w
down the contents of the X c ji k i l

w “
- -
.

()2 Notice in the next ,

place , that the island

”
world of J ap an is a ll the o r ld whic h these records
kno anything about The universe of thi s cos .

m o g o n y consists of the islands of the Central

”
Land of the R eed Plains with their inlan d and
-

surrounding seas and the Plain of High

,

H eaven which however was not conceiv ed as

, , ,

very far away above them .

()3 The entire description of the beginnings

w
”
of heaven and earth and gods and men accords
, , ,

with th e idea of a continuous rMo cess p fm

The first three heavenly deities were born alone
‘

“
fl r m"

and hid their p ersons or disappeared All the , .

othe r deities are spoken of as begotten or born , ,

and the deities give birth to the di fferent isl ands

of the earth .
2

’
See C ha mb erlain s E ngl i sh t r a nsla ti on of t h e K ji ki
1 o - ~
,

p i v I t is interesting t o co m par e th e story of E ra dictating

. . z

the los t s acred books of I srael from a m e m ory inspired s u per

,

nat u rally w hile five r apid s cribe s wr o te do w n w ha t w as told

,

them S ee 2 E sdras chap xi v

”
.
, . .

”
We may compa r e th e fac t th a t i n o u r b ook of Genesi s
“
2

the formation of t h e earth and the hea v ens is c alled th e

g en e ti on s of th e hea v ens and the earth (Gen ii In
ra
“
a paper of the Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan
.
,

(v o l x v
. i p art
, D r J E d kin s h a s an int e resting c om p a r
. .
 N O SUP R E M E G O D . 27

()
4 The world idea o f this old mythology
-

is in notable keeping with the ancestor worship ,

an d the Animism which enter so largely into the

9 3 “ When
a great council of the gods assembles
£3

in the bed of the Tranquil Heavenly R iver no one ,

deity is chief among them and we are at a loss to

,

imagine who has authority to call them together

or to preside o v er the assembly Izanagi seems for .

M
a while to be the chief creator and ruler but after ,

s
in

”
is 0

“
avenged by the heavenly assembly of gods who fin e ,

and punish the offender and expel him with a di

,

vine expulsion .S o the Sun Goddess maintains

i son of “
P ersian elem en t s i n Japanese l egends , in w hic h
he, sho w s analogi e s bet w een M ithra and Amateras u , the s e v en
Japanese d eities of w ood w ater fi, ,
w ind earth
r e, , , sea and,

mou ntain w ith the M a dean A m h p t s a d

z es a s -
en a ,
n analogie s
of th e u nder w or l d in se v eral other mythic c u lts .
28 THE SH I NT O CULT .

her dominion by the help of the eight hu ndred

myriad gods no one of whom is invested with
,

supreme power It appears from certain poems of

.

the Man yos hu that the moon as well as the sun

()
5 It acco rds ideas that the -

dev
ntees o f the Shi nto , . faith trac e a ll t heir
hi story gagg tei he the gods “and recognize ,

som e of, all pheno mena Japan . -

is the count ry of the gods ; every Japanese is a

w
descendant o f the g od s a n d th e ,

M a ia; 15 the dir e c t des cen dan t o f the impe r ial

b
.
, ,

line which has co n tin u ed in u n rok en su ccessio n

b
a

from the eg in ning o f th e o rl d J apani s, the re;

n
c t .

__

fore superior to all other countries and the J ap

, ,

anese being thus directly from the gods

,
are eu ,
~

p erior in e v ery r espect to other people Sprung .

from the gods theyM d n o codes of moral law

,

like the Chinese f h are n atu r ally p gm t

( ) fi i lfi e , ,

m w
fi v

”
and do the right t hings sp on tan e
“
”
W W W

See the v al u abl e paper on

1 B eginn i ng of Japanes eThe

”
H istory C i v ili ation and Art by the R e v I D o o m in
“ z ,
. . an ,
, ,

V O ] X X V of Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan ;

.

“
especially his chapter i v on Th e F u ndam e nta l R e l igi ous
,

I de as of t he E a r ly Japan e s e .
w“ THE SH I NT O CULT
30 .

o rs hip in g . And it is a common thought and

saying : Everything in the world depends on the

One of the rules which all

”
the ministers of the Mikado emphasized in the old

“
times b efore the introduction of B ud dhism into
,

J apan was First serv e the gods and afterwards

, , ,

deliber ate on matters of government 2

”
.

8 E ssen c e of th e Sh i nt o Cult F rom what

w
. .

we have now stated it is to b e seen that reverence

See S at o
1 ’
s
“
T he
R eviv a l o f P ur e S h in t au in Trans ,
~

ac t ions of th e Asia t ic So ciety of Japan v ol iii Appendix

, .
, ,

p 71 .

Lafcad io H ea r n puts this w h o le ma tte r ve r y te rse l y thus

2
,

T he ethics of Shinto we r e al l compr i sed i n the doc t rine of

u n qu ali fi ed ob edience t o u s t om s originating fo r th e mos t
c ,

par t in th e family c ult E th i cs w ere no t difi e en t from r e

,
. r

l ig io n ; r eligion w as no t di ff erent from go v ernment and t he ,

’
v ery w ord for go v ern m ent signi fi ed matters of religion
‘
Al l .

go v ernmen t ceremonies w ere preceded by praye r and sacri fi ce ;

and from the highes t r ank of society to the lo we s t e v ery per

” ”
son w as s u b ject to the la w of tradition To ob ey w as piety ;
.

to disob e y w as impio u s and th e r u l e of ob e di e n c e w as en

,

fo r ced up on each indi v id u al by the w il l o f the comm u ni t y

t o w h i ch he bel on g e d “ Japan an I n t e r p r et a ti on p 1 7 5
.
—
, , . .
 W
w M
the recognition of the wL
I MPE R IAL W O R SHIP

and orshi of the ancesto rs of the Ja an se

kadais d i v
tni ty W
n
.

w an

t he
31

d ,

”
1

“
cult All the Japanese are offsprings of the gods
.
,

but the imperial Sovran Grandchild of A m a t

eras u the Sun Goddess is pre eminently di
,
-

,
1 -

vine and worshipful The first Mikado however .

, ,

r di
was not the real son of A m a terp s abacgq ng il? M
w
x
r

” “
nephew ,
the son of whom she Os li i no m iW m i,
- - -

ar / 4 sa s - W

adOPtfli dt fl m r
But the title of Sovran
a n

Grandc hi ld ha ving been applied fir st to the

,

’
founder of the Mikado s dynasty came in time to ,

’
b e the common title of all the Mikado s successors .

tiem o n i i the S hin to cult

‘

most c onsp icuous na _

_
.

’
9 T h e G r eat S anct u ari es
. The Mikado s .

palace would accordingly b e the most holy

, ,

shrine of the national worship the private and ,

exclusive sanctuary of the imperial ancestors .

But the m o st notable shrine of the Sun Goddess -

1
This resp e c t fo r the S un Goddess points to an aborigina l
-

w o r s h ip o f the s u n among th e anc e stors o f th e J a p an e s e

p eop le .
32 T HE SHINT O CULT

is not now the residence of the Mikado On .

accou nt of some great calamity that occurred far

”
b ack in prehis toric times her worship was r e
,

moved to a separate temple and was finally estab

,

“
l ish ed in the province of I se in which the temple s
, ,

called the Two great divine Palaces are the r e ,

sort o f thousands of pilgrims every year an d , ,

though not the most ancient ar e regarded as first ,

among all the Shinto temples in the land These .

1

two divine p al aces or temples called G ekn and

, ,

N aikn are about three m iles apart and stand in

w
, ,

the midst of groves of aged cryptomeri a trees .

2

They are approached through archways (called

to r ii or tori i ) of simpl e const r u ction
,
The .

G eku temple is an irregular oblong structure 2 4 7 ,

feet wide at the front but only 2 3 5 feet wide in

,
’

the re ar ; while the side to the right of the entrance

is 3 3 9 feet and that on the left is 3 3 5 Within this
, .

large enclo sure are others of similar structure all ,

made of the wood of cryptomeri a trees and lef t ,

unpainted and without ornamentation The va .

Strictly speaking the Shin t o sanc tu a r ie s are shrin e s

1
,

r ath e r than te m ples so that the Japanese w o u ld al w ay s s pe a k

,

of Shinto shrin e s as distinc t from Bu ddhis t templ e s .

A k ind o f e v e r g r ee n li k e the p i n e and peculi a r to J a pan

2
, , .
 TE MPLES o r I sn .

b uildings of the temples are th u s f ashioned

rio u s

after the manne r of the simple huts or dw ellings ,

of the earliest inhabitants of these islands Some .

of the buildings are co v ered with thatched roofs

and have their walls and doors made of rough mat

temples of Ise ,
“ w
says that All the b o n
u 1 ld
m m fi g which
s

style that i s disa ppointing in i ts s implicity ap dp g g;

”
v
n a
-
tu r e None but those which are
roofed with thatch are entitled to b e considered as
being in strict confo rmi ty with the principles o f
genuine Shinto temple architecture The perish ll

b
.

able nature o f these temples is such that it e

comes necessary and ,

or
each temple are u sed alternatively ; they lie close to
each other so that the new building is constructed
,

and ready for use b efore the old one is remov ed .

The templ e which though less venerated than

,

those at I s e is the shrine center o f the more an

”
-

cient Shinto cult is the one at K itz u k i in the an X

”
, ,

1 “
The T e mples of
S h i n t au I se, The Transact i on s o f
t h e Asiati c Soc ie ty of Japan v ol
. . 11, p . 1 08 .

8
34

”
www
w
ne

of Shinto ; n am e fi i l‘i i
T H E SH I NT O CULT

cient prov ince of I dz u m o These famo u s shrine s

of I seand K itz u ki rep resw
M
ent the two se pprem
ifl
ar

b
e

ifii fiii fifi fi é

e cul ts

teras u and that of O no ku n i n ns hi offspring of the

o
g
,

brother of the S u n Go ddessm ho bec am e the ruler

-

t thp n s seann or ldnh thes pi rits oft hedead B u t

there are many other great temples maintained in
a h

-
a -

a
sa m
.

w
m a. dry -
(

,
M y
.

l s

i
w
w
w
.
‘
,

whole or in p art f rom the imperial revenu es Som e .

are o f greater sanctity and renown than others but

w
,

those of I se and K itz u k i are the most celebrated ,

and e v ery Shinto worshiper is expected at least ,

w
once in his lifetime to make a pilgrimage himself

w w
, ,

or send a deputy to on e o f th es e mos t famous

shrines
b
.

10 . F ive N ot e it ho rthy O j ect s C onnec t ed

th e Worsh ip One not eworthy fact is the absence
.

of images from thg p grp fi hintn terg plesh gat is g fl g ,

ir osed as obj ects of worship B ut there .

is a numbe r of obj ec ts connect ed with the se sacred

w
places which should receive brief notic e '

1 ) There is first the wooden archway (

,
called ,

torii or tori i ) through which one passes in ap

,

ro achin the temples It consists of “two upright

p g .

posts set in the gro u nd on the tops o f which is laid

 SA C R ED O B JE C TS . 35

w
a long straight beam the two ends of which proj ec t
,

a little beyond the u prights Under this top bea m

w
.

is another horizont al be am connecting the t o

“
side posts after the manner of a girder Accord .

ing to Sato w The tori i was originally a perch

,

for the fowls offered up to the gods not as food , ,

but to giv e warn ing at daybreak It was erected .

on any side o f the temple indi fferently In later .

”
times not improbably after the introduction of
,

B uddhism its original meaning was forgotten and

, ,

it was placed in front only and supposed to b e a

gateway 1
.

()
2 Opposite the various entrances to the tem
ples is placed a wooden screen or fence called B an , ,

ei which serves as in other dwellings to guard and

p ,

hide the privacy of the interior .

( ) Another obj ect of special interest is the

3

G o hei a slender wand o r igin all a ran ch of t he

-

, ,
b g g

sacred tree ca lle d s akaki From the G o hei hang .

-

”
two long slips of white paper notched on the o p
site sides These wands of un ainted wood are
p o
M
.

“ p m - It ma

suppo sed to rep resent o fferings of white cloth and

1 “
The T e mples of I
S h i n t au
at i c Soc iet y o f Japan v o l ii p ,
” . , .
s e.

1 04 .
T r ansac tio n s o f Asi
 36 THE SHI N T O CU LT .

to h ave the power of ttracti ng

a th e god s to the

(
4 consist of cups of
water and small v essels filled with rice v egetables , ,

fruits salt fish birds and o ther sim

, , p lg hp
s r
,od u% s , g fi
_

of the land and of the sea It is noteworthy that . .

we fin d n o bloody sacrificial rites in Shinto wor

s hip in which on e life an if
, i fi or human was m ade , ,

a vicarious substitute for a gu ilty soul .

()
5 The sacred m irr o r which figures in the ,

m ythol o ( f the Sun Goddess a n d 1 s said to ha v e

gy i
-

.
_
,“
.
h

been once used toen ti ce her from a cave into which

she had hid herself i n a s pell of a nger is carefully
w " t! 2
r t
,

gu ard ed in one of t hese temples an d also many

.
d V H

copies of the mirror E ac h mirror is contained m .

“ ,

a box which is furnished with eight handles four ,

on the box itself and four on the lid The box rests .

on a lo w stand and 1 8 covered with a piece of cloth

said to b e w hi te s ilk The mirror itself is wrapped .

in a bro cad e b ag which is never opened or re

b
,

newed but when it eg m s to fall to pieces from

,

ag e another bag is put on so that the actual cover

, ,

ing consists of numerous layers O ver the whole is .

placed a sort of cage of unpainted wood with o r n a

38 THE SH I NT O CULT .

Without here discussing this theory o f a orig b

inal religious thought and practice as applicable

w
,

to all peoples we may note that it accords with

,

the facts of Japanese history and civilization so

far as we can no trace them back into the mists
of prehistoric time 1
.

history and mythology ru n together and blend in

remarkable artlessness as they stand recorded in
theol de st l itera ture (6 g the X c ji ki an dthe N i
"

- -
. .
,

h o n gi ) Unthinkable monstrosities of the origin

.

of gods and lands and men are told with the same
s implicity as the unquestionabl e fact s of historic

times But taking the one leadin thpp ght which

.

runs through all these records and appears to be

www w
fundament al in the Jap anese civilization namely —
,

that all th etf ila lae éé ani emaerors an d shiefs a n d

.
. .

people are o flsp rin g p f the gods the very first of ,

ho m er
u
e s o m eh o s elf evol v ed fro m th e pri mor -

dial elements o i the uni v erse e look upon the —

Shinto worship as it exist s in its pures t form to

day and note the most apparent facts
, .

1
Acco r ding t o As t o n an ce sto r w o r s hi p in the s e n se o f a

”
, ,
’
dei fiéat io n and honoring of th e departed spirits of one s o w n
ances t ors w as no par t of the oldest Shinto c u lt b u t rather a
,

“
late r i mp or t ation from C hina See his S h in t o t h e Wa y o f
.
,

the Gods pp 4 4 4 7 L o n d o n 1 9 05
, .
-
.
, .
 ”
THE T H R EEF O LD CU L T . 39

M r Lafcadio Hearn in his attempt at an

.
,

interpretation of Japan has more clearly than , ,

any other writer I have consulted described the ,

Shinto ancestor worship under its three forms of -

D o m es ti c C o m m u n al and S ta te cults
,
In every ,
.

case it is a worshi p o f the dead but the indi X ,

vidual whether he b e the most obscure servant the

, ,

b
influential citizen the commanding C hieftain or

w
, ,

even the Mikad o is u twap art and p arcel of the

b
, m V 4 Q -W x

w
fi

od
y p
m
o l i ti c is a most remarkable
.

M
unity
(f
l p
d
p p u l ar and national life Go v ernment and re .

l ig io n are virtually identical and there is no dis ,

w w
the customs of society and the re quirements of the
S tate these are the simple sum total of Shinto
— -

law and gospel T h e in di vi dnsl mm t al ays stand

bw
. a
‘

munity or of the S ta ts r
yth p g “M
i is to “r e;
be .
i fl m ?

garded as pub lic and must serve th ep u lim eal ,

.

“ ”
There i s no such thing as“p ri vacy and o dditi es
c an

h ave no respectable standing

;

Tradition and cus .

,
.

tom“ seem to con stitin e the essence o f relig ion“as

” b
g g
I . su n -s

w ell as of“f amily commu nal an dpn og g p u m m

u m . m u n -
_ q
,
fl
m .
.
,
.
40 T HE S H INT O C UL T .

There is no men fi moral l ane; there is nothing

n i n

in the worship that is fairly comparable to what

we understand by dogma creed or Church , ,
.

Strictly speaking this system has no he aven or

,

hell no dp e
, pn p and no conce i a m , m
to rial r egp mp ti o n from sin and evil The dead .

all the dead of all the ages are conceived as some —

how living in the u nseen v acancy around above , ,

below they are present at the worship ; they haunt

the tomb s ; they are interested in the life and -

works of their descendants ; they v isit their former

homes and attend the family worship there ; their
hap p iness in fact depen ds
, the h on orw
,
and
_ .

wor ship t ich “ th eir liv

ing deseendan ts p ay th em , ll i , ~

an d also the happiness and pros eri y of the l i v

p t
ing is believed to depend u p on their sense of fili al
duty and proper reverence toward the dead Fur .

thermore,all th ede a
-

"

d are supposed to become gods

and attain to sup ernatu ral power But t hegei s h a .
-
,

one S u p r eme Dei ty ; no central thron e o f Gp dg w

i no

p arad is e of heavsnly blessedness So far as any

n m -
m -
A m i v
-h nu c
.

ideas of this kind obtain among the p eopl e they ,

may b e r egarded as later conceptions introduced

by m ission arl es o r adh erents o f othe r r eligiou s sys
 AN I M I SM . 41

tem s . B ut the cult implies beyond q u estion a be

W
”
li e The Yo mi or .
,

“
Hades of Shinto mytholo gy into which Izanag i
, ,

went to seek his lost sister was conceived a s a ,

hideous and polluted land an d even the realm of ,

the unseen heavenly deities was never longed for

w
by the devotees of Shinto D o om an observes that .

see that evpil id h w

than those livin g in the tr an sc eg len t re gions We
o is sent from heaven to
b
.

back once
scended
12 .
”
,
1
m g e to
fl

E l emen t s
The ancestor
the p lac e from which he de

of Ani mi sm .

worship of Shinto can not be disassociated al

”
together from the elements of Animis m which
-

“
appear in the n ames and titles of certain dei
ties an d also in the fact that there are evil
,

gods an d demons w ho are capabl e of work

”
ing mischief and calamity in the family the com ,

1 “
Japanes e H is to ry of Civ il i z ation an d A r ts . Tr ans
ac ti on s of t h e A sia t ic Soci e t y o f Japan v ol xx v p
, . , . 89 .
42 T HE S H I N T O CUL T .

munity and the State How these evi l deitie s

,
.

o riginated is matter of myth legend and sp ecu , ,

lation B ad men would naturally be supposed to

“
.

“
carry their evil character with th e
W
m ifito film
M m
" ‘ n ‘
M
J ' M « 1 1 .

seen world of the dead and to have the same

y‘fi d

power to worka“
ha
‘r
rm amo n
u
g
a .
the l i ving
i
as th e goo d

would hardly b e supposed to become deities of th e

W W W W W M '

mountains ; of and the fire a n d 1 h e s un , ,

-
,

“ w
y - ‘
I

”w
and the moon and the autumn and the food of , ,
m m
2
m m a nna
!
m

men H e . re the ol d mytholo gy of the K o ji ki - -

comes in to tell us of a prehistoric and cosmical o r1

gin of evils WhenWI z an ag 1 en tw
. to fi nd h i s mster a

M
Izan ami in the hideous and p olln ted underworld fi n ,

and found her body swarming with maggots and

w
ment and a e and she in a rage of sham e pur
s u ed him with all the horr1 dforces of that nether
,

,
“

s
phgn a H e escaped but not without contracting ,

much pollution on his august person an d when he ,

sought to w ash and cleanse himself in the waters

of a ce rtain ri v er there w ere born f rom the filth ,
 ”
S P I R I T S G O OD AND E V I L . 43

” “
of his person two deities named the wond r ou s ,

deity of eighty evils an d the wondrous deity o f

,

great evils rT hese e v

. il gods afterwards multi
plied and may be supposed to b e the authors of
,

all the demons goblins and mischievous spirits

, ,

of evil that disturb the world and its inhabitants

w
.

But there are also good spirits innumerable that

animate all moving things The winds and the .

a g rs the s ong s _of_hi rds an d

t ,

and move in them are to b e r ecognized and rev

T he spirits of dead ancestors and the power

ful spirits of the w inds and the storms and the
growths of nature may or may not have been
supposed to have concert of action understood e b
tween them The JapaneseM mind “seems n ey en j o
.
r .

have elaborated 5537 formal W e

or any specific theories of the life to come .

13 T h e D omesti c Cul t
. The simplest and .

— W W ”
"

of every hom e there is a high shelf against

44 THE SH I N T O CUL T .

the wall called the Shelf of the August Spi r it s .

”
Upon it is placed a miniature temple in which
,
,

”
are deposited little tablets of white wood bearing

“
the names of the deceased members of the house
hold These are often spoken of as spirit sticks
.

and spirit substitutes Before these household

shrines s1 m p l e o fferings are offered daily and a
few words of prayer are spoken The ceremony is .

a very short one but as regular as the coming of ,

”
the day It is usually performed by the head of
.

the family but it frequently devolves upon the

,

“
woman the m other or the grandmother rather
, ,

(P
than the father No religion says Hearn i s .
, ,

more sincere no faith more touching than this ,

domestic worship which regards the dea d as con ,

tinn ing to form a part of the household life and

'
needing still the affectio n and the respect of their
childre n and kindred “e
.
ty n- M74

ages when fe ar was stronger than love ,

ww
f’ectio n ,mand
this it yet remains The belief that
ww w ww
.
W ’
y ‘f y
i t E u -
m

the dead need a ffection that to neg ect them is a

m e
a m e fi mm ea m
,
IOU
e
e:

in es s
46 T HE SH I NT O CULT .

each section or distric t has its publi c shrine in ,

which the whole commu nity honor the deified ah

c esto rs of certain noble families of ancient time

w
,

or
i l “sp irit
l? of the firs
t g f a p aiij wu
i t a rch o he h fi w
fl
m

clan T he farmers or those who till thefiel ds

.
,
, ,

usually dwell in a village on the principal high

,

way and go out thence to work the rural dis

,

tricts round about So the villages v ary in si z e

.

”
from fifty houses set on a singl e stree t half a

“
w
mile long to a large town o f many hundred ho u ses .

’
I n Simmons and Wigm o re s Note s on Land Ten ~

u re and Local Institutions in Old J apan 1

e ,

read that thi g ap an esew

“
r uraL p o p n l ati
a
q n 1s as a
W
,
W
N

£1 1
1 9 ,
exceedingly stable T h e villagers are f o
r.
the p

most part engaged wholly p artially as cu lti , _ z m _

and ha v e died on the same sp ot m F rom the almost .

.
.

numberless replies to inquiries the answer usu ally ,

is We do not know where our ancestors came

,
‘

from o r when they came to live on this spot O u r

,
.

temple register may tell but we have ne v er tho u gh t ,

about the matter ’ .

1
v o l x i x p t I of
1n .
, .
, th e
“
T r ansactions of th e Asiati c
Soc ie ty o f Ja p an p p 9 3
, .
, 94 .
 THE U JI G A MI . 47

The deity hg p o red

‘r - M N u
at these h
v
illage temples is

X
and tut elary f the comm unity Just
9 ‘
-
m
.

stor df thg firs t

u -

whethe r he w ere the cl an : ah c

. fl

e
s ettlers in that particular parish or the spirit of ,

some mighty ru ler of that district at a former

time or the patron god o f some noble family once
,
-

resident there is as uncert ain as the knowledge

,

of the common villagers touching their earliest pro

genitors But in every class these Ujiga m i were
.

w orshiped as the tutel ar deity of the community

in w hi ch the t emple stood Also in the larger .
,

to wn s there are Shinto temples dedicated to cer

tain p atron gods of other localities
-
.

a most intimate relation t o the life of the com

mu nity about it Thither every child born in the
.

pa ri sh is taken w hen a month old and formally

, ,

named and placed under the protection of the an

o estral deity .As it grows up it is re gularly taken
to obser v e all the festivals and the processions and
ceremonies and the temple groves and gardens e
,
b
com e its common playground T here is ens uring .

s omber or solemn about this rel igi ous cul t i o scare u

fi
48 T HE SH I NT O C U L T .

a h
'p i
l d, b u t r atherm v er m ch to attract and in
terest 1
E v e ry v illagetemple has its appointed
.

days of public worship and neighboring districts

,

vie with each other in making their great fes tival

days occ asions of popular delight{ T o thes e j oy
-

o u s festi v al s eve ry family contributes according to

ability and the w orship is accomp anied by public

,

amusements of v ari ous kinds athletic sports and , ,

the sale of toys for children The temple worship .

consisted in the presentation of offerings of cloth ,

herb s fru its and other of the most common

, ,

products o f the co un try and in a ritu al prayer

,

”
enu merating the v arious gi fts: and supplicating for
prospe r ity an d su ccess in all commu nal a ffairs ,

for protection against sickness pla gu e and f amine , , ,

and fo r the t riumph o f their C hieftains in tim e

of wa r I n this way the Ujigami was recognized

w
.

as the tutelar deity of the community and the

his chee r y and jub ilan t asp e c t o f S hi n t au or s hip o u gh t
‘

1
T
no t t o b e d eem e d an ob ject i onal elem e n t o f tr ue religion .

R at he r t h e opposit e id ea th at religion is a ma t te r of so u l
,

pe r il an d se r i o u sness so gr a v e a s to pro du c e f ea r or drea d of

t h e dei t y is a p er v ersion of t h e tr u th T r u e lo v e of God (o r
, .

of t he gods ) m u st needs ha v e w holesom e re v eren c e for w hat

is ado r a b l e but als o o u gh t t o i nsp ir e a w armth of aff ection
,

and a c onfi de nce t hat dri v es o ut supers t it i o u s fea r an d b eget s

ex q ui s ite del ig ht in the hea r t a nd s o ul and m ind o f the t r ue
w o r shipe r .
 THE NAT I ONAL W O R SHIP . 49

dist r ict the abiding friend and helpe r of his o ff

,

that man could liv e un to h ims elf a lo n e

no

w
.

15 T h e N ati on al C u lt
. But it is in the .

w
. _

State orwNatip n al Obse r v an ces of the great

Il u
" A

i o r ship fl
u
seen
is “ ,
n

E W QL f o rm The substance and .

manner of this w orship may b e learned from

the ancient Japanese ritu als which make mention ,

of the chief deities enumerat e the offerings that ,

“
are presented at the sacred shrines and furnish —
,

us the v ery lan guage employed ih the presence .

of the so vr an gods How early these rituals of .

worship were comm itted to writing is an open

question but it is altogether probable that in
,

substance they had been transmitted orally through

m any generations before they were put in writ ten
form F r om these rituals and the practices of
.
,

the worship as they may b e observed at the present

time w e are able to learn the chief features of
,

the service .
1

Se e Ancien t Japan e se R itu als t r an sl a ted a n d a nn o

“
1
,

t at ed b y E Sato w in Transactions of the Asiatic Soci e ty of

.
,

J apan v o l v ii p a r t I I and part I V ; v o l i x pa r t II Al so

, .
, ,
.
,
.

4
50 THE SHINT O CULT .

In connection with this national worship we

m ay here not e ( 1 ) that the great festivals and

occasions of worship were observed in all the prin

c ip al temples at the sam e tim e ; (2 ) the Yen gis hiki

mentions shrines distinguished as great and

small ; ther e were 4 9 2 great shrine s and ,

small ones But besides these ther e were m any

.

thousands of smaller undistinguished temples scat ,

ter ed all over the lands ()

3 These v arious shrines .

w
were dedicated to a great number of deities ,

an d there were many gods who received worship

“
in a numb er of t emples at one an d the same time .

()4 T he ofieri gg
n
g ere m ade in the nam e of the ,

sun was the ear l 1 est

« W W
m on g thep owers p f nature
a“ G i g
_

the cosmogony of the X c -

ji k—
i

names to have been m ere ‘ fl a ’m fl w

n m an m m w in

by Kar l F loren in v ol zv part I

, .I n v ol v pa r t II
xx u ,
. . 11, ,

pp . 1 06 1 0 8
-
S a t o w gi v es a lis t of t h e Norito r itu als con
,

t a in ed in t h e Y en g i s h i k i t o t h e nu m be r o f t w enty se v en Of -
.
,

the s e he t ra n s l a tes on l y ni n e .
 ”
P R IE STS AN D P R I ESTESSES . 51

W T he ()
5
priesthood seems to have b een for the most part
h“er editar
A
yg w
an d many priests claimed descent fro m
- l t

the chief deity to whom the templ e was dedicated .

The reader of the r i tual was a member of the

priestly t r ibe w hich t r ac ed its origin to G ho
n akato mi chie f of the whole N ak atom i family
-

,
.

Another priestly family is the Imbibi tribe ()

2
6

the great
m
ceremonies
a m
of State . Princesses of the
e

also While som e of the priestesses are virgin

.

princes ses some of them also are yo ung not yet

, ,

h av ing reached the nubile age and when they ,

reach that age they cease to be priestesses With .

others the office is hereditary as it is with men , ,

1 “
T r ansac tio n s o f the Asi a tic S o c i ety Of Japan , 7 01 ° W"
par t II p 1 2 7
“
”
, . .

2
The pr ie s t s who o ffici ate d at t h e c hi e f festi v als belonge d
excl u si v ely to t w o fa m ilies the N k t o m i and the I m bibi both
,
a a ,

of w hom w er e descended from i nferio r deiti e s w ho a c o m p a ,

c
‘ ’
n ied t he So v ran Grandc h ild w hen h e came do w n t o e a r t h .

~
Sato w in W est m i ns te r R e v ie w fo r Jul y 1 8 7 8 p 1 6
, , ,
. .
52 T HE SHINT O CULT .

and the women of this class retai n and exercis e

their priestly o ffice after marriage .

16 . T h e H arvest Ser v i c e As an example.

o f public w orship of exceptional interest we ,

take the r itual ceremony fo r Harvest which ,

is celebrated once a year the f ourth day o f —

the second month The chief ser v ice is at the

.

c apital but the festival is obser v ed in all the

,

provinces under the direction of the local r ul ers .

Preparations go on for a fortnight beforehand ,

an d the ser vice begins twenty minutes before seven

in the morning At the capital in the large co u r t

.
,

used for the worship of the S hi nto gods the min ,

i ster s of State assemble along with the pri es ts

,

and priestesses of many temples w hich are sup

’
ported from the Mikado s treasury When all .

things are in readiness the ministers p r iests and

, , ,

priestesses enter in s u ccession and occupy the

places assi gned them The v a rio u s offerings are
.

duly presented a n d the r itual is read At the con .

“
elusion of each section of the ritual as recit ed

by the re ader all the priests r espond O

, (Yes , ,

or Amen ) .

The follo w in g is a po r ti on o f the ritu al u s ed on

 T HE H A R V E T R I TUA L . 53

"
one th es e oc ca sions : Hear all o f yo u as
of , ,

sembled priests o f higher nd lowe r order I d e .

cla r e in the presenc e o f li e so vr an go ds w hose 1

i eav
'

praises are ful fil led as en ly temples and

co u nt ry temples I fulfi y ou r praises by setting
.
2

’
u p the great offe ri ngs 0 13he sovran gr andchil d s
au gu stin ess m ad e wit h it en tion o f deigning to
,

begin the ha r v est in th ec on d month o f this .

yea r as the mo rn ing su n r es in glory I d ecla r e

,
.

in the presenc e o f the scr an gods o f the ha r

w
bw
'

v est : I f the so vr an god m ll b esto w in m any ‘

b u n dled ea r s and in lux u rmt ea r s the la te ripen -

'
ing har v est which they i es to the l at e ripen
bthe dripp ng
-

ing har v est w hi ch w ill b e In d u ced y i

of f oam from the a r m s an bdr wing the mud
y a

togethe r betw een the o p po t e thighs then I will ,

f ulfil l their praises by s et ng u p the fir st fruits

in a tho u san d ears and mnvhun dred ears rais

w
, ,

ing hi gh the bee r j ars fil h g them and ranging

-

, ,

them in r ows ’ T he ri t i ; g o e s speci fy on to

.
,

“
among the o ffer ings s s : an d bitte r herbs, ,

things w hi c h dwell in the u e sea plain clothes

T

bright and glitter ing an so ft and co a r se ; a

, , ,

1
The r e a d e r o f t he r it u a l h e e er s o n at es t he Mi k ado
r .

2 T e mples he r e use d by m otonuy for de i t i es .

54 T HE SH I NT O CULT

””
.

b
white ho r s e a white ear and a white cock T he
“
.
, ,

”
“
names also of m any deities are decl ared : the di

”
v ine Producer the great Goddes s of Food
“ “
, ,

”
w onderf u l roc k Gate th e fro m h e av en shining
“
- - - -
,

”
“
great Deity w ho sits in I se so v ran gods who sit ,

“
in the F arms so v r an gods w ho sit in the mouths
,

o f the mo u ntains and thos e w ho dwell in the ,

p art ings of the w aters .

As soon as the reader had finished the words

of the ritual he retired and the pri ests distributed
, ,

the v ario u s o fferings an d present ed them to the

gods for whom they were set ap art .

”
17 T h e G r eat P u rific at i on
. B u t the r itual .

o f the Great o r General Purification is said

to be one o f the most important an d most
solemn ceremonies of the Shin to religion Pro .

fesso r K arl Florenz who h as gi v en u s a trans ,

lation of this ritual informs us that it“ by

1
,

mean s

”
whole country from the princes and minister s
,

1
Inv ol . vn pa r t I o f
xx , T ransact i on s of th e A s iat i c
,

S o ciet y of Japan F rom th is o u r extracts a r e t a ken Fl o r

. .

en z gi ve s i n g r eat det ail t he v ario u s practices a n d t he anc ie nt ,

a nd mo d e rn fo r ms of the r itu al and the cu stoms a t di ffe r e n t ,

sh r ines H e als o discus s es the question o f th e o r i g in and ag e

.

o f the c e r e mon y .
 w
THE G R E AT P U RIF I C A T I O N . 55

down to the common

fr om
m
peoplea l www
w
is u r ified an d freed
p m
fl
,

It is cele
m i

b
“
rated twice a year ,
on the thirtieth day of the
sixth and twelfth months The chie f ceremony
. .

was performed in the capital near the south gate ,

of the imperi al p alace and might b e styled the

,

p u rification of the court because it was to purify

,

”“
all the higher and lower official s of the imperial

”
court In a similar way the ceremony was c ele
b
.

r ated also at all the more important public shrines

of the whole country . Besides the re gular semi

annual celebration of the G reatfl ri fication
( called O h-
O k ar a h a),
it is also performed 0

sp g al occasions as at the accession o f a new em

ei

was chosen as a vir gin priestess and sent tog he

temple of I se
“
.

WI thdiit detailing the movements positions

M fl

, ,

and practices of the assembled priests officials , ,

and common people at the service of the General

Purification we simply cite a few extracts from
,

the ri tu al which may serve to show us the under

lying concept o i purification W hile the ritual is .

only a part of the entire ceremony of the occa

56 THE SH I NT O CULT .

sion we ar e told that it is not infrequ ently re c ited

,

without performing the ceremony Mo r eo v er .

,

while in ancient times the reader was always a

membe r of the priestly N ak atom i tribe at the ,

present time the ritual is read by the o fii ciating

priest of each p articula r temple T he following .

’
“
excerpts are made from Florenz s translation :
H ear all of you assembled princes of the
, ,

blood princes high dignitaries and men of the

, , ,

hundred o ffices Hear all of you that in the Great

.
, ,

Purification of the present last day of the sixth

”
month of the current year ! he S o v l g i
t M
r an g p g ,
ma g esia -
n
r

m”
to p u r1 fy, gn d dei gpg to cleanse the
m - J. v
«
v
a"
ar i ous o f
1 «
a s g
a _$ r
r W m t W5 »m - r
.
_ _
lii li l i 5 i 3

fen ses which m ay hav e been committed eithe r i n

b
h m

advertent ] o r deli eratel , especially by the per

_ 9

son sservin g in chejmp er ial court : (viz ) the scarf

p m
‘
c fl

wearing attendants the sash wearing attendants ,

-

”
(of the kitchen ) the attendants who carry ,
qui v ers
on the back , the attendants who gird on swords ,

the eigh ty attendants of the attendants and more , ,

ove r by the p eopl e serving in all o ffices

, .

The ritu al goes on to declare how the So vr an s ’

dea r p rogenito rs in a divine as s embly “ord ai ned , ,

that tlrefi S o v
’
ran Grandchild s Au g ustin ess should
 TH E G R E AT PU R I F I CATI ON . 57

pi p la
tranq u illy ru le the lu xm ian g re in m egigp p f
‘
pr

frgsh young spikes as a p eacefu lw

”
n tr fi how
cp g y

w
,
'

v
“ ine m
they _expg ll ed y ith a_di
fl
m o g
d sim i ha s ay ag e

”
deiti s and silenced the rocks and trunks of
they let him go down from his b
e,

“
trees ; ho eav
en lyplace and di viding a road through the eight
,

fold hea v enly clouds they sent him do wn and ,

”
gave the land into his peace ful keeping The .

”
r i tu al also make s mention of v arious kinds of o i

“
fen ses w hich need to b e cleansed an d purg e d away , ,

an d dis tin gu ishes them as h eavenly o ffenses and

“ W
“

” “ ”
earthly offenses Among the former are break
.

ing down the divisions of the rice fields filling up ,

the irrigating channels and opening the flo o d ,

’
gate of sluices and the e v acuation of one s bowels
,

in improper pl aces Among earthly offenses .

are the cutting the skin o f the living or the dead

body so a s to become defiled by blood being af ,

”
fected w ith corns bunions boils or proud flesh ;
, , ,
-

sins of adu ltery the offense of u sing incantations

, ,

“
and v a r ious kinds of personal calamity
It is expected the ritual adds that the , ,

heavenly gods will b e favorably disposed by reason

of these offerings c eremonies and ritual of the
, ,
58 THE SH IN T O CUL T .

Great Purification and will deign to purify an d

,

”
cleanse and make all the specified o fi en ses dis
,

appear even as the clouds o f heaven and the dense

,

morning and eve ning mists disappear b efore the

“

”
blowing winds It is expected that the goddess
.

who resides in the current of the rapid stream th at

comes boiling down the ravines from the tops of ,

the mountains and the goddess who r eside s in

” ”w
,

“
the currents of the briny ocean will carry them

“
away an d swallow them down with gurgling
,

sound and they shall b e u tterl y blo wn away

, ,

w
banished and got rid of so that frpm I f l fl gay
w
, , g

”
onward s there will bme no of fense in th e fo u
r uar

w
m m n m m a a m t h an as :»

ww
regar d to all people o f all o ffices h o r es p ectfull y
.
,
s
e

s er v e in t he co ur t o f the S emen T he o ffenses

- .

w ere thought of as so m eho s ept a ayn h y i h e s

m
a

Wi nds and the waves an d then sw allowed into ,

the depths of the sea and s o c ast dom , 3 the , z

M .

u nde rworld the realm of death and poll u tion

, ,

wh ence all defil em en ts were supposed to h ave orig

in ated So they
.

w hence they c am e fo rth

«
.

The concluding words o f this ritual are a com

60 TH E S H INT O CULT .

purging away is that of outward physical“p oll u tion

and da mag e
fl

They are all offenses committed

.
# v
i ”
a 6 ‘ "fl i t /v fl »
‘
, u 1

again st the interests of the community an d likely

to bring som e kind of calamity upon the people .

”
()
4 We shoul d also remark that while acco r d ,

“
ing to the r itual of the Great Purification it is ,

expected that from th at day forwards no offense

w
which is called offense will occur again in the
four qu arters of the whole region under heaven ,

the same ceremony of purification is repeated every

six months year in and year o u t
—
.

() T
5 hes e facts serve to show a moral and re

l igiou s basis for thei ap anese do v

n ewo f cl eanli g ss
g g

the lu x u r ian
tw
g n tr al
i
lf
fgfi i i fiifi m
fresh

temples and their whole dom ain free fr om all

,

manner
18 . Oth er R it u al S ervi ces Other rit u al s f o r
.

other occasions and purposes furnish nothing

of a different character o r o f exceptional
importance that we need here give fu rther
attention to their v arious contents and sug
gestions .There are in the v olu m i no u s Yen
,
 C E R EM ONIAL DISPL AY . 61

g is hik i,
rituals for the service of the gods of
K asuga fo r the service of the goddess of food
, ,

and of the gods of the wind and for the service ,

of particular temples Some of these services are

.

occasions of grand ceremonial d isplay The place .

,

the day the hour and all the details of the service
, ,

are arr anged beforehand The procession of those

.

who take part is ordered with extrem e precision

and made in every way magnificent V arious o r .

ders o f o fficials move along in sep arate ranks The .

priestess accompan ied by many mantled attend

,

ants is drawn in a car and on either side four

, ,

men in scarlet coats c arry a silk um brel l a and

a huge long handled fan The femal e attendants
,
-
.

and servants of the priestess each a lady of rank , ,

follo w in se v en carriages Chests filled with sacri

.

fici al utensils and food offerings the messenger of ,

the Mikad o and his attendants of ran k h ave thei r ,

assigned places in the procession Upon arriving .

at the temple enclosure the priestess alights from

b
,

her car or p alanquin passes into the courtyard e

,

hind cu rtains so held by her attendants as to hide

her from the gaze of the crowd enters her private ,

room and changes her traveling dress for the sac

62 THE SH I NT O CULT .

r i ficial r obes
’
M eantime the Mikado s p r esent s
.

and all the other offerings are duly placed on the

tables and in the v arious chapels prepared for
them and the high o fficers o f State take thei r seats
with in the temple enclosure All the prescribed .

forms are observed with scrupulou s care and the ,

ta sks At the conclusion of the services the com

.

w
p any clap thei r hands an d then sep arate The .

priestess c hanges her robes again for her traveling

w
dress and r etu rns to her lodging in like stately
,

b ”
procession as she cam e to the shrine .

The mi rro r s p pd o and spear w hich are

, , , ,

mentioned in the rituals as presents o ffered to the

go ds at festiyal s doubtless have their
b
.
,

sym o lical s igni fican ee and like the three divine

,

insignia Bffl QI Q: PEfiEfQE?

.
and mirror the —

have doubtless their my thi c connection w ith pre

historic traditions ; but these belong to the st u dy
of Japanese antiq u ities r athe r than to the religious

”
elements of Shinto 1

”
.

Se e th e i n te r e s ti n g ar ticl e b y Th oma s R H Mc C l at chi e

“ “
1
. .

on The S w o r d of Japan in Transactions of t he Asia tic

,

So ciety o f Ja p an v o l ii p p 5 0 5 6
, .
, .
-
.
 C HI NE SE I NFLUEN C E . 63

19 . I nfl u enc e of C hin a on Jap an es e T h ou gh t .

So far we have spoken only of what m ay be

called the original or pure Shinto cult as the re
l ig io n of the ancient Japanese But it is im .

portant t o observe that the moral and religious

fu m mmmm mym mam eem afim fing

th el ife and tif flfifj of the Japanese pm pl e One
M M W
.

w
.

noteworthy foreign influence cam e in from China ,

and as early as the first century of the Christian

s
m
gdqhgir y
'
t a i
n
n td lma p an This
a was very natu .

ral for the proximity of Chin a favored inter

,

cours e between the two n ations and Confucian ,

ism was at the beginning of our era five hundred

w
years old Ancestor worship was common to the
.
-

people of both lands and the arts and industries

,

o f the t o co untries might have found affiliation

in many ways we can not now determine That .

such a leavening Chinese influence was early in

tro du c ed into Japan is simply matter of fact The .

Preface of Yasu m aro the compiler of the most

,

ancient r ecords of the K o ji ki shows the e ffect of

- -

Chines e philosophy in its incidental mention of

64

r“
the P
atedw at the eg mmww
ctiye w

ng q b
T HE SHINT O CULT

v nn d
as s i er E which co ope
fj h g creatign and Cham
s sen ces
” .

b
g y m a v
N M -A

“
erl ain in his Introdu ction to hi s English trans
,

l ation of the K o ji ki observ es that at the very

- —

earliest period to which the twilight of legend

stretches back Chinese influenc e had already e
,
b
gun to make itself felt in these isl ands communi ,

cating to the inhabitan ts both implements and

ideas T hen it is to b e further remarked tha t
the N ik ongi completed in 7 2 0 A D although es
,
. .
,

s en ti ally a parallel chronicle of Japanese tradi

tions is in thought an d style consp i cuously

,

Chinese It is made in every asp ect and element

.

of its composition to resemble as far as possible

a Chinese history .

20 I nfl u en ce of B u ddh i sm
. B ut a deeper .

and more widespread influence than that of

anything of Chines e origin was the in tro du c
tion into Japan of B uddhism which was first ,

brought in about A D 5 5 2 but did not suc . .

,

es ed in leavening the whole country until the

middle of the ninth c entury I t was qu ietly p rq pa: .

gated by leaders of various Buddhist s ect s which .

-

differ in minor pra c tices an d slowly it gained as ,

 JAPANE SE B UDD H I SM . 65

but its first more notable triumph fol

c en den cy,

lowed the teaching o f Kukai founder of the Shin

” ,

gon sect who so a

,
d
“ p
‘
a te
c.
d Buddhist
“W doctrines
-a t .
to . n nn u l v' "m ac‘ s “

and cunning a n ew interpretation wa s given to

,

ancient myths and n e const ructions were put

,

upon old beliefs The Shin to gods rit es cus

.
w , ,

death were ex plained in a manner so simp le “

W ~
and * ” W '

l
W an d
W
inChina the clever art of
ap p r o p ri atin
1 01 9. t ”
cu sto m s L 1

fu cian i sm
itself had al ready in par t prepared the
way for Buddhism in Japan and the successf u l ,

Buddhist propagandist s were wise enough to sup

press or keep out o f sight all that might b e o f
fensive in their syst em and to teach only such ,

forms of doctrin e as could b e made attractive

to the masses of the people Kuk ai thus suc .

5
66

c eeded
THE SHINT O CULT

in conve rt ing the Mikado to his n e in

.

w
”
terp retation s of the Shint o beliefs and the new ,

Shinto ,
which means two p arts or the double ,

the g ods or the twofold divine teaching

b
,
.

So complete and general did this R iyo u Shinto

becom e in its spread throughout Japan that fo r
a thousand ye ars it dominated the civili z ation of
the E mpire I t had its priests its gorgeous
.
,

w
temples and ritual services its philosophy an d its , ,

d ivers sects an d it is said that there are at least

,

“”
twelve distinct B uddhist sects in Japan to day -
.

According to Lafcadio Hearn the religion “

of the , a n ‘
,
7
Q a n »

hum i
an z
fi
ing m mg
z
i gospelwof tenderness
u en c e—
”
a p e

—
together with a multitude of new beliefs tha t
were able to accommod ate themselves to the old in

w
,

spite o f fundamental dissimilarity In the high .

Besides teac e r espect for life the dut p f

b
,

kindness to animals as well as to all human e

ings the consequences of all pr esent acts w
, up onwt h e
m fl " w
” , N e »

conditions of a future existence, the duty of

resignati on to pain as the ine v i table resu lt of for
M il . m sfi u ‘
 THE SHINT O C ULT .

The Shingon sect of Bu ddhists in Japan of which ,

Kukai was the founder has taken up int o itself ,

many ide as which are neither p u rely B u ddhist nor

purely Shintoist Superstition s alien to b o th cults
.

are likely to have found their way among the

peopl e and to have ex erted in fluences on the p epu
lar cult and no man is now able to point out their
,

origin or their hi story 1

.

21 R evi val of P u re Sh i nt o We are not here

. .

concerned however with Japanese Buddhism

, ,
.

Our inquiry is after the facts and the significance

b
o f the essential Shinto cult A great an d rp marm

w
ww
.
g
i ‘
h

able revival of the o l der S hin toi e

g n r thg
fl

a
— ‘

”
e a n , l
g

b eginning of the eighteenth c entury and p ersi ste d“

‘
’

ith great success for more than one hundred years .

w
The most distingu i she dscholars o f Japan were the
chief leaders in this reform We have already had .

occasion to mention the names of the three most

famous men among them M abuchi M o tg or i —
, ,

and H i rata These by their expositions of the

.

1
i s ad m itted b y al l w riters on Japan tha t the practica l
It
et hic s of C onf u cianism has fro m the first largely n u lli fi ed the
mor e s u btle and dreamy ele m ents of B u ddhis m The common .

s ense of the Japanese p eople in S pite of all pec u liarities h as

, ,

mad e it ne c e ssa r y fo r Bu dd h ism t o ad ju s t it s e lf t o the p op u lar

mind .
 R E V I V AL O F SH I NT O 69

w
.

ancient scriptures and traditions tu rned the tide

of popular thought against Buddhism and Chinese
philosophy It is quite interesting to note in some
.

o f their writings the antip athy and hostility to

C hi nese teachings M etgyvornh a r emg rkg le b

w
.

answer

knows n o moral code H eW m

w
.
.

l oyal Jap anese subj ect as concerned to do was

b
“
8 11 11 !I _ _
obe th f fi er is coipwm an ds-
s
a . 4 33 ; a
a

1
31n I ig htn n
_
‘
ro n g H e maintained that morals .

were invented by the Chinese because they were

an 1 m m o ral p eop e ; but i Wn Japan there was n o

anese acted arigli t if h e only“

heart Whatever we m ay think or say of such
.
1

s l f co m p l acen c
—
it accords well with Japanese r e
l igion m y thology and history and it is a simple
, , ,

fact to b e noted that in 1 8 7 1 B u ddhism in J ap ai i

wa s disestablished an d disendowed and the old _ fi l m q u a. ,

Shinto was declare d to _b e the nM ati“ ial relig io n

oi . a
O
.

Percival Lowell observes that this reinstatement

w
S ato w in
Transactions of Asiatic Soci ety of Japan
”
1

”
, ,

v o l ii p 1 2 1 C o m pare the state m ent of M ab u chi as gi v en

.

’
, .

“ .

in S at o s paper on The R e v i v al of P u re Shin ta u i n A p

“
-

pen di to v ol iii of Transactions of th e Asiat i c So ci e ty o f

x .

Jap a n p 1 4
, . .
70 T HE S HIN T O C ULT .

of the Mikado and the ol d na tional f aith is a

curious instance of a religiou s revival du e to a r
ch aeo l o g i cal not to religious z eal But while the 1
.
,

old Shinto is at present the o ffici al cult o f J ap an ,

it appears to ha v e little life or forc e Jap anes e .

B uddhism is said to be showing sign s o f r enewed

activity an d is l ikely to prov e a p o werful ant ah
,

o n i st of Christianity I t is cert ainly a questio n

.

of v ital importance to the future civilizatio n o f

Japan which o f these migh ty ri v al s shall gai n
ascendency o ver the pop ul ar mind

w
.

22 . Es ot er i c Sh i n t o Shinto did not continu e

.

w
the State r elig i on I ts o n m os t dev o ted ad
. . .

h er en ts and leader s f elt th at i ts hi gh es t i n terests -

u
- . .

w ould be best serv ed ithout o fficia l asi d g o v w .,

. -
.
-

ern m en t al prest g fi A wise and prudent State

i
m
e

policy deter ined that its permanenc e and suc

cess should be left to care fo r themselves and
to depend u pon the merits of its teachings and
its histori c and popular hold upon the national ,

the communal and the f amily life As a cu lt,

.

it is deeply ro oted in the civilization of t he em

_
fl l ~s

pire, and its pilgrims swarm along the h ighw ays

l “
Th e S o ul o f th e Far E a st , p . 1 66 .
 E S O TE R I C SH I NT O . 71

of tr avel and at the historic shr ines They are .

found j ou rn ey i ng to the summits of sacred moun

tains and there performing esoteric r ites which ih
,

duce mystic divin e possession The performance of .

such mystic rites and incantation s seem s to b e no

modern innovation It m ay ha v e its connections
.

”
with Buddhist counting of rosaries and possibly ,

other foreign influences have helped to cultiva te its

“
somewhat mantic f orms but it s origin is from a r e ,

mote an tiquity This eso teri c Shinto i s es sen

.

which exhibits itself in many lands and in conn ec ~

”
tion w ith v ariou s cults and is of ten seen amon g the
“ ,
M v

“
n . - m

Mohammedan
M
d nc
a i ng and “
howling
‘ Q'W
der v ishes Its o
&
.

existence_ an d its p ractiq

fi m ~
es
l “ a
n Jap n r e fu te the
m _fl a
a

acte r of a n ut
The excrescences and ex
trav ag an cies of religious f ervor must have some

sort of a religion to inspire them .

23 Min g lin g of Shint o Confu ci ani sm an d

.
, ,

B u ddh i sm The noteworthy fact that Shinto Con

.
,

fu c ian ism and B uddhism ha v e for more than a

”
,

F or interesting infor m ation on t hi s mystic p has e o f

“
1

Sh i nto se e the articl e s of P erci v al Lo w ell on E sot e ric Shinto

“
i n Transac ti ons o f t h e Asiatic Soci e ty o f Ja p an v ols xx i
"
, .
,

a n d x xii .
72 T HE S H I N T O C UL T .

tho u sand years mixed w ith each othe r in Jap an

demonstrates the suscept ibility of the Japanese peo

ural hospitality toward the v arious relig io u s c ults .

The ethical t e achings o f Confucius prep ared the

w ay for B uddhism an d in spite of an tipathy and
, ,

wars between the nations maint ain a powerfu l ,

hold upon the thoughtfu l Jap an ese to day Still -

.

more remarkable is it that m illion a o f th e J ap o a

anese appea r to accept both Shintoism and Bud

”
dhism and good Shinto is ts a
M

n d goo d Bu dd
0

,
hi sts
may be found worshiping in some temples at one

“
an d the same time A Japanese scholar speaking
.
1
,

“
at the Chicag o Parliament of R eligions o n the

“
Fu ture of R eligion in J ap an decl ared that the ,

three syst ems n amed are not only living together

“
Th e god s of Japan wr it es G ul i c k a r e i nn umerab l e

”
1
, ,

i n the ory and m u ltit u dino u s i n practice N o t only are there .

gods of goodn e ss b u t a lso gods of l u st and of ev il to w ho m

, ,

r obb ers and h arlots may pray for s u ccess and blessing B ut .

in al l t his m u ltit u dino u s panth e on t here is no one S u p r em e

D e i ty .
“ Ther e i s no w ord in the Japan e s e langu age corre
s p o n di n g t o th e E nglis h term God The nearest approach t o
.

it a r e th e C onfu cian t erm s Jo t e i S u preme E mperor ; Ten’

”
-
‘
, ,
’ ’
‘
H ea ve n and Ten tei H e a ve nly E mp e ro r ; b u t al l of these
‘

”
-

, ,

t erm s a r e C hinese ; t hey are t h erefore of lat e appearance i n

Japan and repres ent rathe r concep tions of e d u cated and C on
uc
,

f i an class e s than t he ideas o f the mass es E v olution o f .

— “
t h e Jap an e s e p 31 1
, . .
 R O MAN I SM I N JAPAN . 73

on friendly terms with one another u t in f act ,

b , ,

they are blended together in the minds of the peo

ple One and the same Japanese is at once a Shin
.

'

toist a C o n fudanist an da uddfiist Our religion n m

.

m ay be likened to a tri angle One an gle is Shinto

”
.

0 t b

”
ism another 1 s Confucianism , and a third 1 s Bud
,

”
dhi sm all of which make up the religion of the
m b
,

w
g . W

ordinary Ja panese S hintois furnishes the o .

j ec ts Confucianism
, o fi ers the r ul es o f life while ,

Buddhism supp lies “ “ “

the ay of salvation m 0 fi n
.

24 R oman C at h o lici sm in Jap an

. We must .

n o t omit altogether a notice of the introduction of

R om an Catholic Christianity into Japan about the

middle of the sixteenth century It was in 1 5 4 9 .

that the famous Jesuit Francis X avier landed at , ,

K agosh im a and began his marv ,

elous missionary
w ork through Japanese interpreters and in two ,

years of strenuous toil he succeeded in winning

m any con v erts from all classes of the people Fifty .

years thereafter the Christian converts throughout

the country are said to have numb ered nearly a
1 “
Th e ’
World s P arl i am e n t of R eligions v o l p 1 2 82 , . 11, . .

We m u s t not o v erlook th e fact that the mode rn Shintoism has

its s ects as w ell as B u ddhism Ther e is the sect called
, .

T e n R i K y o ( H ea v en R eason
- -
"
A l so t h e K u ro
-

z u m i sect p u t t i ng not ew or t h y e mphasis on mo r ality

,
.
74 T HE S HI N T O CUL T .

million B ut the Jesuit habit and policy of med

.

dlin g with afi air s of State t h eir intolerance of ,

other cults and at length their c ru sade against the

,

ancient national faith and their burning of Bud

w b
dhi st temples and slaughter of Buddhist priests ,

aroused the itter r eaction and bloody persecutions ,

hich after som e forty year s of struggle suc

, ,

ceeded in obliterating every public sign of Chris

w
tian ity from every province of th e empire And .

for over two hundred years Japan closed her doors

to all foreign influ ences and appeals It as not .

until 1 8 7 3 that the edicts against Chri sti anity

were withdrawn O f the Protest ant missionary
.

m o vements in the island empire since that dat e ,

it is not the purpose of this essay to speak

w
.

25 P r esen t R eli g i ou s I ndi ffer en c e Much is

. .

s aid nowadays abou t the apparent religious in

difference o f the Japanese Sp ma ritelzfi fieem to .

p
t a ,

think that jthe g ag

~ p
fi
an es e and the Chinese peop l e
d fl ‘
“ “

zg
fi e

g io r and defective in r el igio us j atd

n
“
ar e al ikej nfe
m
K

M r G u lick in his Evolution of the Jap anese

.
, ,

’
“
rep o rt s Marquis I to J ap an s most illustrious,

statesman as having said : I regard religion it

,

’
self as quite u nnecessary for a nation s life ; science
 ”
76 T HE S HIN T O C U L T .

fold facts of the Shinto cult such as the ,

“
god
shelf the ancestral tablets the daily offerings
, , ,

and the fam ily worship in almost every household

of th at Eastern island empire What mean the
-
.

hundr eds of thousand s of white robed pilgrims who

-

annually v isit the n umerous sacred shrines ? And

”
is there no element of religion in the devout p a
trio tism that is ever ready to sacrific e life and all

”
“
that men hold dear for th e faith and inheritance

“
of the 1 r beloved central land of R eed Plains -

given long ago to the care of the So vran Grand

child by the celestial deities ?
It is only a one sided concept of religion and
-

a too prevalent failure to distinguish between its

local t emporary phases and its deeper essentials as
grounded in the spiritual nature of man that have ,

led superficial observers to deny the profound r e

l ig io u s element in the Shinto and Buddhist wor

”
ship of Japan If Paul waiting at Athens an d
.
, ,

beholding the city full of idols could truly say , ,

I perceive O Athenians that in all things ye are

, ,

v ery religious just as truly may we say in View

, ,

of the temples and the innumerable deities

of the Shinto cult that the Jap anese are exceed
,

in gly religious .
 F AM I LY R ELI GI ON . 77

“
m e add the testimony of Mr Gulick him
L et .

self who spent years in the country : The uni

,

versality of the tokens o f family religion and the ,

constant and loving care bestowed upon them are ,

striki n g testimony to the universality of religion

in J apan The pathos o f life is often r evealed by
.

the family devotion of the mother to these silent

representatives of divine beings and departed an ,

c es to r s or children I have no hesitation in saying

.

that so far as external appearances go the average

, ,

home in Japan is far more religious than the aver

age home in enlightened England or America es ,

p ec i all y when compared with such as have n o

family worship There may b e a genuin e religious
.

”
life in these Western homes but it does not appear ,

to the casual v isitor Yet no casual visitor c an

.

enter a Japanese home without seeing at once the ,

e vi dences of some sort of religious life .

1

It is to b e remarked that in the history and

’
G u lick s E v ol u tion of t he Japanese p 2 9 4 What
1
, . .

e v er m ay be the defects of Japanese character in general it is ,

co mm on for nearly all tra v elers who ha v e v isited the co u ntry

and st u died the habits of the people at their ho m es to speak ,

of them as mild co u rteo u s cleanly fr u gal intelligent qu ick

, , , , ,

t o learn and gift e d w ith a geni u s for i m itation Their sol

, .
~

diers ha v e pro v e d the m sel v es a m atch for the mos t reno wn e d

w arriors and are ma r v e l o u sly ap t to mak e t h e mo st o f op
,

p o r tu n i t i es .
78 T H E SH I NT O CULT .

e volution o f r eligion whe r e ther e has b een ob v io u s

,

e volution periods of long pe ace and r epose marked

, ,

by formalism skepticism an d indifference to re

, ,

l ig io u s obligation are generally followed by gre at

,

r evivals and reforms Some new light breaks in ; .

some gr eat prophet appear s ; new idea s an d hopes

take hold on the popul ar mind and thereupon a ,

n ew er a opens in civiliz ation The renaissanc e in .

Jap an of the last fifty years may b e the prelude

to an epoch m aking revival o f the Orien t
b
-

26 . C on c l udin g O servati o n s an d Su gg esti ons .

O u r study of Shinto has led us over a s omewha t

unfami l iar field of thought The mythology an d .

the records of the K o ji k i an d the N ihong i are - -

far apart from all our Western legends and ide als
of the early world and in great part seem like mon
,

stro siti es of fantastic speculation It is afiirmgd

” b
.

by some that the Japanese P¢9 P19 h &YQ een halti ng m fi m

.
»

N u t s- W M " fl u

for two ifi llenn iu m s in a state of

ing nothing from Confucianism or from Buddhis m

int roduction of Western thought and enterprise

they h av e suddenly leaped into comparative m a
tu rity and th eir ne w d e
,
parture fr om a d r e amy past
 D EF E C T S OF SH IN T O . 79

is lik ely to astonish the whole world I t is v ery .

obvious that th e introduction of modern science

into her thousan ds of elementa ry schools mu st
sooner or later undermine all faith in the tradi
tio n al co smogony and along with that a whole
, , ,

world of notions bound up with the Shinto cult

b
must needs e overthrown Eminent J ap anese .

scholars say that Western learning has sounded the

knell and signed the death warrant of the ancient
r eligion of their island world -
.

It is for u s very easy in the light of our

,

New T estament revelation to point out defects in

,

the Shinto system S ome four or five of thes e

.

we m ay briefly m ention as m atters which a

Christian missionary should keep in v iew as
evincing the need of preaching among these peo
ple the deeper demands of the religion of Jesus
Christ (1 ) The first and fundamental defect in
.

Shinto as a religious system is its lack of any

clear or helpful concept of one Go d and Fathe r
of all The doctrine of God is fundamental in
.

any cult and where the idea is vague and im

,

perfect the entire system of doc trine and practice

must needs possess an element of uncertainty
80 T HE SH I NT O CULT .

and w eakness ( ) Another defect is its want

2 .

of a clear concept of sin as a mor al dise ase of

the heart The Japanese mind needs to b e
.

turned inward to a deeper sense of the real sinful

ness of sin ()
3 Anothe.r serious fa u lt in the
Jap anese civilization is its low estimate of woman
1

hoo d _Here as in Chin a woman has not étfaias a

‘ ‘

her proper sphere She is subj ected to three forms

.

o f obedience which in actual life are too abj ect

,

f or her higher development she mus t bow to her —

p arents to her husb and and to her son in a manne r

, ,

that involves w hat we should call a humiliating

fo rm of domestic slavery Japan needs the prae .

tice of a monogamy of the highest Christian typ e

in order to rectify this inferior and one sided view -

o f the mal e and fem ale constitution of humanity .

thn ate ofw

hu m an dife
fi
It is probably due largely
s
.

tothe communal an d feudal system which has for

a long tim e r ul ed the people The individu al is .

nothing ; th e comm unity is everythin g T hese and .

.

other defects show our grounds for bel ie v ing that

the old order and system must sometime change .

Bu t it is n o strange or u nheard of thing in our

 O LD O R DE R C HAN G I N G . 81

w o rld for an old order to change and give pl ace to

something ne w and higher Western civilization
.

has seen not a fe w examples o f su ch changes ; but

w
,

as touching r eligious e volu tion what a monu

,

mental example we ha v e in the transition from the

Old T estament J u daism to the N e Testament
kingd om o f hea v en ! The main content s and scop e
of the Epistle to the Heb r ew s poin t o u t the fact

w
that the old co v enant w ith its sanctuary and
,

altars and tables an d s ac rific es an d priests could ,

not make thei r w orshipers perfect N o t ithstan d

.

ing its long and glorio u s his tory it waxed old , ,

and w hen the Epistle was w ritten it was nigh unto

vanishing away (Heb v iii .
,
It did pass away
and give place to a more spiritual c ult the gospel of ,

peace on ea rth and u ni v e r sal lo v e M ay not the na

.

tio n al cult of J ap an with its faith in the unseen

—
,

its rituals of purification its concepts of a heavenly

,

ancestry and its intimations of deificatio n after

,

ve the wisdom to o ffer a higher

ever m en may think or say about the mystical and

6
82 T HE S HIN T O C U L T .

legendary elements in the Heb r ew Sc r ipt ur e s n o

w
,

one famili ar w ith the lit eratu res of the n ations can
hesitate for a moment to ackno wledge the immense
superiority o f the Old Tes tament l a an d prophets
b
55 d psalm s o v e r the an tefftf dfd he if efii ke an d
‘

r
e
s

the N iho é l f then the

q g
fl u
, ,

”
r itu als of J u daism w axed old and v anished a w ay
before the cleare r light an d t ru th of the teachings

“
of Jesu s Christ m u ch more sho uld w e expect that
,

the same superio r Light o f the w orld m u st

needs s ometime s u p ersed e and su ppl ant the rit
, ,

u al s o f the Shinto cult .

Accordingly I shall v ent u r e to speci fy su ndry

,

elements o f ancient Shinto w hich to u se the lan

, ,

guage o f Jesu s are not to b e des troyed b u t rather

, ,

f fi ed in the highe r and more u ni v ers al t ru ths

u l l l ,

of the kingdo m of Christ F u lfilled I say ; for

. ,

I look u pon all the religio u s longings and prayers , ,

and penitential ps alms o f the n ations and their ,

inqu iries after the Unseen and Eternal as so many ,

foregleams o f a coming Light destin ed to enlighten

,

e v ery man th at cometh into the w orld .

We h av e seen that one o f the most conspic u ou s

aspect s of the Shinto c u lt is its ceremon i al of the
84 T H E S HI N T O CU L T .

dam en tal tru th

the Shinto w o r shipe r w hich
sho u ld lea rn from the teaching s o f ou r Lord The .

clean body an d the p u re white r obes a r e eminently

”
proper and b e autiful in thei r w ay ; but they should

“
symbolize the consciousnes s o f a pure hea rt and ,

a bl am el ess life that keep s itself unspotted from

the world Shinto purification needs the supple
.

ment o f a deeper knowledge of spiritual defil em en t

in orde r to a deeper knowledge o f purity .

Presenc e c on c ealed in all p henomena There has

m
.

been an d is to day a ong all peoples a belief in-

many in v isible spirits that ha v e some sor t of powe r

o ve r the clouds the winds the waters the earth , , , ,

an d all its teeming growths We call it Animism

w
.
,

Sham anism and in a certain specific form F etish

, ,

ism B elief in a countlg s s mnHi tudQ

. t m
M
ho c an influence the elgmmmam

w
u ui s fpr g m d or
W

w
M
for evil is firmly rooted in all the ancientp ggp l es
“ “ w
, W W
W
W ‘ v' M —
F i

o f E as é f l d l We have
tenwsiah
r
u
gg r
o
n n i a t o
'
a pa n m
f m

seen ho w deep a hold it had upon the earliest

Shinto c u lt and the later infl u ences of Co n fu cian
,

ism and Bu ddhism in Japan ha v e t end ed r ather

 T R UT H I N ANIMISM . 85

to str engthen than to supp r ess it in the popular

w
m ind .

These animistic concep t ions have played a note ~

rthy rt in conn ection wi th m o s tL if all

g _p a
_ nq tM y g , ,

the religi o ns e i mankind When combined wit h

.

a groveling f ea r of the spirits and with the prae

,

tic e of magic rites and incantations to propitiate

them as so m any evil demons the belief has ru n
,

into the lowest forms of superstition B ut is

w
.

there n o element of truth in Animism ? Why

should we speak disparagingly of the old J apanese
o r ship er h earin g the voices o f unseen spirits
‘

in the m ean in g winds in the sounding waterfalls

, ,

in the rolling thun der ? Why should he not adore

the S un as the heavenly Benefactor and see in ,

waving trees and blooming flowers and drifting

clouds the presence and acti v ity of beings per ,

haps sometimes a Being Superna tural ? One

sided def ective puerile notions co p trollad, no
b
, ‘ fl ‘

d oubt his thin kin g u t t ha o na supr em and fun

, ,

d amental i ac i hat he fel t himself i n the

a

presence of the Supern atu ral And tha t primeval

.

conc ept is the one most essential truth of all re

l ig io n We ha v e only to divest it of s u ndry errant
.
,
86 THE SHINT O C U L T .

non essential interpretations in order to come f ace

-

to face with the grandest noblest and most affect

, ,

ing theism and monoth eism as well For mono

, .

theism finds its most advanced expo sition in the

doctrine of the uni v ersal immanenc e of God one —
,

God the Etern al Spirit in all through all ove r

, , , ,

all How far from such a concept of u niversal

.

“
An 1 m 1 sm was the old Hebrew psalmi st who san g ,

of Jeho v ah laying the beams o f H is chambers in

the waters making the clouds His ch ariot walking
, ,

u pon the wings of the wind sending forth springs

,

into the v alleys causing the grass to grow u pon the

,

“
mountains and receiving tribute of praises fro m
,

the sea monsters and all deeps ; fire and hail

-

”
snow and v apor ; sto rmy wind p erforming His
word ; moun tains and all hills ; fruitful trees and
all cedars ; beasts an d all cattle ; creeping things
and flying birds T o such a worshiper the
.

”
world was all al ive w ith God And Jesus added
‘

“
an inten sity and an affecting beauty to thi s whole

”
concept of an imman ent God when H e s aid : My
Father w orketh hi therto and I work and not
, ,

one sp arrow falleth on the ground without your

Father I can concei v e no An i m l sm and n o
.
 D I V I N E I MMANEN CE . 87

”
Supernaturalism more minute or more adorable

“
than the ever acting and ever continuous presence

w
o f an unseen but all observant Father in the
heavens . The heavens in which H e dwells are
above belo within and all around us
, , ,
.

And this is the higher Animism which ough t

to be welcomed by the Shinto pilgrims of Japan as
the beautiful fulfilling o f their ancient dreams .

Not so many gods not a multi tude of unfriendly

,

spirits that need propitiation by our gifts of food

and clothing but O NE Heavenly Father immanent
, ,

in e v ery plant that grows and in every dewdrop on

the flowers forever working for our good caring
, ,

for ev ery birdling and numbering th e v ery hairs

,

of our head .

With such a monotheistic conception of the

world all mythologic and polytheistic notions of
deity and the rule of the spirits of the dead mus t
sooner or later disappear Jap anese scholars of
.

high ran k are telling their p eople and others tha t

the modern Western learning has already destroyed
the cosmogony of the Shinto cult What is now
.

most needed is a class of teachers straightforward

an d b r oad enough to sho w these people a nobler
88 T HE S HI NT O CUL T

and t ru er concept of the w orld The new concep

.

tion need have no conflict w ith the b elief that the

w
spirits of the dead are all abo u t u s and are deeply
,

interested in u s still The family cult may adjust

w
.

itself to the n e and higher doctrines and los e ,

none of the b eauty and tenderness and sanctity

which old affection conn ect s i th the domestic
t ablets o f the honored and belo v ed dead Herei n .

the ne w faith is to f u l fil l rather than destroy the

ancient rites o f lo v e Such a monotheistic cu lt
.

will find n o r e ason or occasion to commit the

blunder o f the Jesuit missionaries an d seek in ,

ter fer en ce with the government o f th e land T he .

Mikado may still command the r e v e r ence and the

love of the peo pl e and b e rationally honored as a

“
child of hea v en Loyal Christians do that u nde r
.

every form of go v ernment .Fear G o d; honor the

king ; for there is no power but God and the po w ,
“
ers that b e are ordained of God ; for they are the
’
m in isterso f God s ser v ice these are the precepts
—

of the earliest apostolic gospel and the modern,

missionary of Christ is bound to obser v e and teach

them He shou ld exhibit common sense and dis
.

cretion in f o reign p olitic s r ecogni z e and hono r the

,
 w
T H R EE C O MMAND MENTS 89

”
.

legitimate power and like the Great Teacher

“ ,

’
render unto C aesar the things th at are C aesar s
,

”
and unto God the things that are God s ’ .

The Shinto “cult is e“sMsen tiall ig ioa of race

N a " u m . I '

and national patriotism It is the secret of J ap .

He counts it sweet and glorious to die for his

country H e is not his own ; he belongs to the
.

State We are told that the three princip al com

.

m an dm ents of the public and offici al Shinto faith

“
are these :
1 . Thou shalt hono r the gods an d love thy

“
country .

”
2 Tho u shalt clearly understand the principles

“
of Heaven and the du ty of man
, .

3 . Tho u shalt r evere the empero r as thy

sovereign and obey the will of his court
, .

w
p hle of easy
a ad u stm en t
j to any form o f national

in fu nda m en tal accor d ith

But how can the Christi an religion with its ,

monotheistic worship adjust itsel f without an ,

t ag o n ism to the ancesto r w orship of Jap an ? Many

90 TH E S H IN T O CULT .

seem to thin k that in this particular there must

b
n e e d s e an irrep r essibl e c onflic t fo r th e w or s hip
,

of ancestors is central and fundament al in the

Shinto faith and the most preciou s and hallowed
,

bond that holds the f amily the comm un ity and the
, ,

State togeth er .

In this matter w e do w ell to observe a number

of r ele v ant facts Ances tor wo rship has existed
.

in a variety of forms among many peoples It has .

undergon e v arious modifications in difi er en t cou n

tries and it appears to h ave ceased among some
,

peoples and given place to other ideas and forms of

worship The Jap an es e conception is that their
.

M ikad o and all his people are o ffspring of th e gods ,

and each one when he di es become s a deity but

, , ,

does not cease to have interest in the rel atives and

companions of his earthl y life During the si ege
.

of Port Arthur T ogo s ent the Mikado a mess age

,

in which he expressed the thought that the p atri

oti c m emes of the fallen hero es might hover over
the battlefield for a long tim e and give unseen
protecti on to the Imperi al forces Such a faith .

and such inspiration from the dead are things

w hich a pro u d n ation does not easily let die .
92 T H E SHINT O CULT .

By some such suggesti ons by such friendly , an d

and persuasive appeal to larger truths it wo uld ,

seem that a higher and purer faith may commend

itself to the adherents of Shinto w i thout provoking ,

their hostility and without the compromise of

,

any essential Christian truth As surely as self .

evidencing science wins her onward way among the

nations so surely will self evidencing truths of
,
-

religion win the hearts o f men We are fam iliar

w ”
.

with the Christian congregations singing :

F a ith fat h ers , h o l y fai th !
b
of ou r

We il l e t r u e t o t h ee t il l dea th .

w
”
Bu t Christian and Shin toist should note the f act

“
that the fathers and the sons are greater th an the
faith As the Sabbath as made for man and
.
,

not man for the Sabbath so the faith the forms , ,

of worship the aesthetic arts the cu lture the learn

, , ,

ing and all the ennob ling elements of the highest

,

civilizatio n are made for man not man fo r them ,

.

Being therefore not an end in themsel v es but a

, , ,

means to the attainment of some higher boon they ,

“
must all be judged according to the broad and
noble pro v erb : Whatsoever things are t rue wh at ,

soeve r things are h onorable wh atso ev e r things are,

 H O P E F UL F UTU R E . 93

”
j u st whatsoever thin gs are pure whatsoe v e r things
, ,

are lovely wha tsoever things are of good repo rt if

,

there b e any virtu e and if there be any praise take

, ,

account of these things (Phil 4 : .

I t may be that ancestral shrines will become

more sacred and more heavenly when light ed with
the glim mer of immortal hopes o f blessed r eu nion
in the unseen world and our f orms and ma n ner
,

of honoring father and mother an d friends that

pass out from o ur homes m ay b e safely l eft to
adjust themsel v es to an uplifting faith that lives
in the heart and ever longs for all that is holiest
and best .

The whole w orld looks with admiration u pon

that isl and empire of the Orient that has shown
-

”
withi n thirty years such m arvelous cap acities of

“
adaptation and improvement I f she thus go on
.

to prove all things and hold fast to that which is

good who knows but her brilliant rising to great
,

power and influence among the nations m ay mark

the beginning of world wide reform s ? He r tre
-

“
m en dou s bloody battles sho u ld s ay to all m an
,

kind : L et u s have n o more of this Let u s .

establish great t ru stw orthy trib un als o f arbitra

,
94 T HE SH I NT O CULT .

tion and settle our rights and difler en ces ther e

, .

Let us beat our swords in to plowshares and our

spears into pruning hooks Such triumph s of
-

peace and righteousness might well bring to pas s

the old Shinto ideal of a code of morals so deeply
written in the hearts of m en and of rulers that
they spontaneously do that which is obvi ously right .

For is not this lofty ideal in accord with that of

“
the Hebrew prophet who descried a coming golden

”
age when they should te ach no more every man
his neighbor and every m an his brother saying
, , ,

K now the Lord ; for they shall all know the Lord ,

from the least of them unto the greates t (J er .

31 34 )

On the assumption that the highest form of

religion must needs respond to the highest moral
b
b
“
test the edito r of T h e H i er t J ca r na l propounds
,
l

”
the following startling qu es tion How would the ,

general status of Christianity be afifected by the

appearance in the world of a religion which should
stand the test better than herself ? That is a ,

religion or people th at should present an exhibition

of moral excellence superio r to that seen among the
1 Vol i v
.
, 1 9 06 , pp . 19 41 .
96 THE S H I NT O CUL T .

We Americans ha v e dreamed and s ometimes

boasted that our great R epublic of freedom has
proven a mighty evangel of hum an liberty and
rights . I t is a luminous star of the first mag
n itu de and it arose in the Western hemisphere
, .

B ut this brilliant star of the West has cast its

b
h elp fu l eam s acro ss the P acific Ocean upon the
.

blooming ric e fiel ds o f Japan It may be that

b
-
.

those gran dchildren o f the sun goddess may y -

their skill and prowess flash upon the w orld a light

so strong as to eclipse to som e extent ou r own ,

an d b e so self evidently excellent that all mankind

-

“
will bid it welcome It m ay or may not b e that

w
.

all will acknowledge the radiant Evangel as the

root and the o ffspring of David With the Jap .

a nese it may for long be insisted that this n e

Light is the r oot and offspring of the Mikado and

the Goddess o f the Dawn B ut we can waive that
.

point and all of us cry out Let the tru e Light

,

”
come If it make for r ighteo usness and love and
.

“
the peace of the world we shall hail its r1 sm g 1 11
,

”
the far East as the light of the bright the Morn ,

“
ing Star ; for there is no other that can ulti
mately prove itself to b e the true Light that light
eth e v ery man that cometh into the w orld .
 SELE C T B I B L I O G R APHY . 97

SELE C T B I B LI O G R AP HY .

A STO N W G Shinto The Way of the Gods

,
. .
,
.

London 1 9 05 ,
.

B R IN K L E Y F Japan and China 1 2 v olumes

, . . .

London 1 9 03 ,
.

C H A M B ERLA I N B H Thi ngs Japanese Lon ,

. . .

don 1 9 02 ,
.

D Y E R H EN R Y Dai Nippon A Study in Na

, . .

tio n al Evolution London 1 9 04 .

,
.

’
GR IF FI S W I LL IA M E LL I OT The Mikado s Em .
,

pire New York 1 8 7 6

.
, .

R eligion s of Japan from the Dawn of History ,

to the Era of Meij i New York 1 8 9 5 .

, .

G U L IC K S I D NE Y L Evolution of the Japan ese

w
,
.
,

Social and Psychic Chicago 1 9 03 .

,
.

H E AR N L A FC AD IO Jap an An At temp t at I n
, . .

terp r etatio n N e York 1 9 04 .

, .

K O J I KI or R ecords of Ancient Matters T rans

- -

,
.

“
lated by Basil H Chamberlain
b
. .

P u lis hed . a S up p l em en t to V o l X . o f the

T rans a c tio n s o f the As ia tic S o ciety o f J ap an .

Yokohama 1 8 8 3 ,
.

L O W E LL P E R C IVAL , . The Soul of the Far East .

Bo ston 1 8 9 6 , .
98 THE SHINT O CULT .

M A C LAY ART H U R C A B udget of Letter s from

, .

J apan R emini sc ence s of Work and Tr av el in

.

Japan New York 1 8 8 6

.
,
.

N I H O N G I Chronicles of Japan from the E arlies t

,

Times to A D 6 9 7 Translated fro m the

. . .

original Chinese and Japanese by W G Aston . . .

2 v ols London 1 8 9 6
b
. .
,

P u lis hed as a S up p lem en t to the T ran sac tio n s

an d P r o ceedin gs o f th e J ap a n S o ci ety, L o n do n .

R EE D, E DWA RD J Japan : Its History Traditions

.
, ,

“
and R eligion London 1 8 8 0
.
,
.

T ransactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan .

F rom 1 8 7 2 to the present time .

Transactions and Proceedings of the Jap an S o

ci ety London
,
From 1 8 9 2 to the present time
. .

These separate series o f volumes of T ran sac

tions of Japanese So cieties running through ,

many years are an invaluable repository of

,

inform ation on the history customs religion , , ,

and literature of Japan .