Chapter VII: Religions of Japan

The Japanese are by nature a religious people. In the earliest times a conglomerate mass of superstitions and mythological ideas was made to do service as a religion. Fetishism, phallicism, animism, and tree- and serpent-worship were very common. The line of distinction between the Creator and the creature was not clearly marked; gods and men mingled and intermingled, and were hardly known apart. But it is not our purpose here to trace the ancient religious ideas of Japan, but rather to give a short account of contemporary religions. Therefore we cannot dwell on these unwritten mythological-religious systems.

The religions of contemporary Japan are four--Shinto, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Tenrikyo. Shinto and Tenrikyo are indigenous; Buddhism and Confucianism have been imported from China and Korea. Tenrikyo is of recent origin and has {123} not yet the influence and standing of the others. Shinto, Buddhism, and Confucianism have existed here side by side for centuries. There is no great antagonism between them, as there is between Christianity and the ethnic religions. Many of the people are disciples of all three at the same time, taking their theology from Shinto, their soteriology and eschatology from Buddhism, and their moral and economic ideas from Confucianism. No inconsistency is felt in thus believing all three religions and worshiping at their shrines. Indeed, these three faiths have so commingled, the ideas and practices of one have so filtered into the others, that it is hard now to distinguish the pure teachings of each. In the minds of the masses they are not distinguished in detail. And yet as regards origin, history, and teachings they are separate and distinct faiths.

_Shinto_

Shinto may be called the national cult of Japan. The word "Shinto" means "the way of the gods." This system hardly deserves the name religion. It has no moral code, no dogmas, no sacred books. Originally it consisted chiefly of ancestor- and nature-worship, and of certain mythological ideas. A chief feature of it still is the worship of ancestors, who are exalted to a high pedestal in thought {124} and worshiped as gods. The divine origin of the imperial family, and the obligation to worship and obey it, was a prominent teaching of Shinto. The ancestors of the imperial family were to be held in supreme reverence and were the objects of especial worship.

According to the Shinto of this period, there was neither heaven nor hell, but only an intermediate Hades. There was a sort of priesthood, but its duty was to watch over particular local gods, not to preach to the people. Pure Shinto taught that a man's whole duty lay in absolute obedience to the mikado and in following the natural promptings of his own heart.

Shinto was very much affected by the introduction of Buddhism, about the middle of the sixth century, and its further growth was checked. Buddhism adopted and largely absorbed it. Shinto gods were given a place in the Buddhist pantheon, and many of the Shinto ceremonies were adopted. But Shinto was completely overshadowed by Buddhism, and lay in a dormant state from the year 550 to 1700, a night of more than a thousand years.

Since the beginning of the eighteenth century a revival of Shinto has sprung up. Native scholars tried to call up the past, to find out what pure Shinto was before its corruption by Buddhism, and to teach it as the national faith. In this effort {125} they were partially successful. The old Buddhistic accretions were largely thrown off, and many of the temples, stripped of their Buddhist ornaments, were handed over to the Shinto priests. Buddhism was disestablished, and Shinto again became the religion of the state. A Shinto "Council for Spiritual Affairs" was appointed, which had equal rank with the Council of State. This, however, was reduced gradually to the rank of a department, then to a bureau, later to a sub-bureau. At present Shinto is the state religion, in so far as there can be said to be any state religion; but in reality there is no established religion. The connection of the government with Shinto extends no further than the maintenance of certain temples and the attendance of certain officials on some ceremonies. Shinto enjoys a large amount of popularity because it is indigenous, while Buddhism and Confucianism labor under the disadvantage of being of foreign origin. The majority of the upper classes in Japan who to-day have any religion at all are Shintoists.

_Buddhism_

The religion founded by Buddha in India is six centuries older than Christianity. Its nominal adherents comprise almost one third of the human race. Its philosophical precepts are deep {126} and profound, while its ethical teachings are, for the most part, lofty and ennobling. This religion is worthy the careful study of any man who has the time and inclination.

We cannot attempt to give a full exposition of it, but will have to content ourselves with a bare mention of its more prominent teachings. Certain resemblances to Catholicism in ritual, ceremony, and ornamentation strike one very forcibly in observing Buddhist rites. The candles, the incense, the images and processions, all resemble Rome. But this resemblance extends no further than ritual and ceremony. In point of doctrine Buddhism is widely separated from every form of Christianity. In Buddhism the condition on which grace is received is not faith, but knowledge and enlightenment. Salvation is accomplished, not by the vicarious sufferings of a Redeemer, but by self-perfection through self-denial and discipline.

Dr. Griffis, a man who has written much and well on Japan, has pronounced the principal features of Buddhism to be atheism, metempsychosis, or the transmigration of souls, and absence of caste.

Buddhism knows nothing of the existence of a supreme God who created the world. It inherited ideas of certain gods from Brahmanism, but these are made secondary to the _hotoke_, or buddhas, {127} who are simply men who have finally reached the calm of perfect holiness after toiling through endless ages and countless existences. It teaches that existence itself is the chief of all evils. Instead of longing for eternal life, the Buddhist longs for annihilation. Happy, well-fed Western people, to whom existence is a delight, can hardly understand how any one can really desire its cessation. But the life of the lower classes in many countries of the East is one daily struggle for bread, so full of sorrow and misery that it is not unnatural they should desire to end it.

This religion teaches that the evil of existence springs from the double root of ignorance and human passions, and is to be overcome by knowledge and self-discipline. The heaven it offers is absorption in the Nirvana--the loss of personal identity and practical annihilation.

Buddhism numbers more devotees and exerts a greater influence than any of the other religions of Japan. It was received from Korea about the middle of the sixth century. After it had been transplanted and had grown into popular favor, many Japanese were sent to Korea and China to study its doctrines more fully; and they brought back with them not only Buddhism, but also Chinese literature and civilization. At first Buddhism encountered fierce opposition, but it was fortunate in securing court patronage, and {128} very soon the opposition entirely ceased, so that in two or three centuries it spread itself throughout the whole empire. If ever a nation was ripe for the introduction of a foreign religion, that nation was Japan at that time. The national cult was silent, or almost so, in regard to the destiny of man and many other questions which religion is expected to answer. The religious nature of the people was asserting itself, and they were longing for more light on the great questions of life--its _whence_, _why_, and _whither_. Buddhism gave this light, and therefore was warmly welcomed. It had the whole field to itself, and took complete possession of it.

From the time of its introduction into Japan down to the present, Buddhism has enjoyed a wide popularity and exerted a powerful influence. It is not too much to say that Buddhism has largely formed Japanese civilization and national life. In the words of Professor Chamberlain, "All education was for centuries in Buddhist hands. Buddhism introduced art and medicine, molded the folk-lore of the country, created its dramatic poetry, deeply influenced politics and every sphere of social and intellectual activity. In a word, Buddhism was the teacher under whose instruction the Japanese nation grew up."

Buddhism has by no means lost its hold in Japan. It still has great life and power. Some {129} writers have said that they have never seen a new temple in Japan--only old ones falling into decay. Their experience must have been limited. I see plenty of new temples, some of which are very costly.

Buddhist temples are numerous, and many are of imposing architecture. Being generally surrounded by tall trees, they have a lonely, mournful appearance. Hideous beasts, dragons, and serpents are carved upon them, and large, fierce-looking stone lions guard them, the effect being to awe and terrify the beholder. Some are furnished with gorgeous altars covered with beautiful flowers, images, and statues. Besides the temples there are everywhere little shrines. The religious spirit of the people prompts them to dedicate the most beautiful spots and nooks to the gods, and there to erect shrines and idols.

Buddhist priests dress in robes not very unlike the official robes of the Episcopal clergy. Their heads are always close-shaven, a mark by which they are easily distinguished. Forbidden to marry, they are expected to lead lives of purity and chastity. They have greatly degenerated, a large per cent. being illiterate and immoral. Their lives will not bear comparison with those of the Christian evangelists. That nearly all the cemeteries of Japan are in their hands gives them great influence.

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Japanese Buddhism is divided into numerous sects, chief of which are the Tendai, Shingon, Jodo, and Zen, of Chinese origin, and the Shin and Nichiren, of native origin. The latter two are most prosperous.

Buddhism has profited by its contact with Christianity. As the reaction of Protestantism upon Catholicism was beneficial to the latter, so the reaction of Christianity upon Buddhism has been healthful It has forced a revival and purification of the Buddhist faith, and to-day it is better and more active than before it encountered Christianity. Still, Christianity is gradually encroaching upon its domain and is crippling its influence. That Buddhism is bound to perish in its encounter with Western civilization and Christianity seems a foregone conclusion.

_Confucianism_

Confucianism is even less deserving the name of a religion than Shinto. It consists chiefly in a set of moral teachings, of narrow application and mostly of a political nature. Confucius, avoiding all metaphysical abstractions and devotional rhapsodies, confined himself to the much more practical field of morals and politics. But his disciples and commentators, especially during the middle ages, expanded his doctrines and added ideas {131} more or less religious. Thus developed, it became a sort of religious system, the only one believed by the old samurai or warrior classes.

Confucius, its founder, was born in the year 551 B.C., in the state of Lu, province of Shantung, China. He was an earnest student of the older Chinese classics, and one of the most learned men of his time. He gathered round him a circle of young men, whom he instructed, like Socrates, by questions and answers. He died in 478 B.C. No other human teacher has had more disciples or exerted a wider and stronger influence.

From its birthplace in China Confucianism spread to Korea, where it soon became, and still continues to be, the predominant faith. From Korea it advanced to the Japanese archipelago, where for many hundred years it has had much to do with shaping and molding the character of the people. Confucianism has undergone many modifications. At first a comparatively simple system of ethics and politics, it has expanded until to-day it is a complicated philosophico-religious system.

The basal principles of Confucian ethics are the "five relations." These are: sovereign and minister; father and son; husband and wife; elder brother and younger brother; friend and friend. I have named them in the order of their importance. The duty of loyalty is above that of filial {132} obedience, while the relation of husband and wife is inferior to both of these. We will briefly consider each of these relations separately.

The duty of a minister, or servant, to his prince, or sovereign, is the first duty of man, and is emphasized to an extreme degree. In order to discharge this obligation to the feudal lord or emperor, one must, if necessary, give up everything: house, lands, kinsmen, name, fame, wife, children, society--all. And Japanese history is filled with instances of retainers who have counted their lives, their families, their all, as less than nothing when compared with their duty to their lord. Loyalty is the one idea which dominates all others in the Confucianism of Japan. Thus it has exerted an influence hardly second to Shinto in inculcating loyalty to the emperor and to Japan, and making the people fanatically patriotic.

The second relation is that of father and son, or parent and child. My readers perhaps would consider the relation of husband and wife the first of all human relations, but not so the Oriental. With him the family is of far more importance than the individual, and the chief aim of marriage is the maintenance of the family line. If the wife becomes a mother she is honored because she assists in perpetuating the family line; if she is childless she is probably neglected. Where there are no children adoption is the universal practice. {133} The one adopted takes the family name and perpetuates it. No greater misfortune can be conceived than for the house to become extinct.

The relation of parent and child is very different from that to which we are accustomed. Mutual love hardly exists. The parent feels compassion and love for his child; the child reverences the parent. To speak of a child's love for his father, or a man's love for God, is repugnant to the Confucianist. It is thought to be taking an undue familiarity, and the proper relation is considered one of dependence and reverence. In old Japan the father was absolute lord and master, and had power over the life and death of his child. In recent times his power is more limited, and the idea is beginning to dawn upon thinking natives that children have rights as well as duties. A Japanese child feels more reverence for its parents, or at least for its father, than does the average child reared in the Christian homes of the West.

The third relation is that of husband and wife. On this point the teaching of Confucius is very different from that of Christ. Instead of having two parties bound together by mutual love, with equal rights and duties, we have the relation of superior and inferior, of master and servant. The husband precedes the wife in all things. She must serve him and his family zealously and {134} uncomplainingly. She must be especially on her guard against the foolish sin of jealousy, and is not to complain if her husband introduces a concubine into the same house in which she resides. She is to yield absolute obedience to him in all things. She can be divorced for very slight reasons, and divorces are matters of every-day occurrence. Statistics show that the annual number of divorces is about one third the number of marriages. Sentiment is gradually changing in this regard, and marriage and divorce laws are becoming more strict.

Confucius condemned adultery as a heinous crime, but this teaching is made to apply only to the wife. She must remain true to her husband, but he is not considered under the same obligation to her.

The fourth relation is that of elder brother and younger brother. This is evident from the language used to express the relation of children of the same household to one another. The word for brother or sister is seldom used; in fact, there is no word to express just that idea. In its stead we hear "elder brother," "elder sister," and "younger brother," "younger sister." The children of a household are not considered equals; the elder ones are given the preference in all things. Especially does the eldest son hold a position of prominence far above that of the other children. {135} He is looked upon as the perpetuator of the family line and is given especial honor. His younger brothers and his sisters, and even his mother, must serve and obey him.

The younger sons are subjects for adoption into other families, especially into those where there are daughters to be married and family names to be perpetuated. This is in accordance with the Eastern idea that the house is of more importance than the individual. Confucian ethics largely overlooks the idea of personality.

The fifth relation is that between friends. Some writers have spoken of this as that of man to man, and have thus read Christian ideas into Confucianism; but this relation as taught by Confucius is only between friends. As regards man and man, Confucius taught the duties of courtesy and propriety, but no others. He taught the duty of kindness to strangers, but most students of his writings are of the opinion that he did not include foreigners among strangers. The nearest approach to Christianity in Confucianism is the negative of the golden rule, "Do not do unto others as you would not have others do unto you." This approaches the teaching of Christ very nearly, but only in a negative form. Some have thought that Confucius taught the duty of returning good for evil, but this is a mistake. One of his contemporaries, Lao-tse, did teach {136} this duty; but when Confucius was asked about it he replied, "What, then, will you return for good? Recompense _injury with justice_, and return good for good."

Certain it is that this relation, as understood in Japan, does not apply to foreigners. How the Japanese treated foreigners in former times is well known. Foreign sailors shipwrecked on her coasts were tortured and executed. Ships from abroad, bringing shipwrecked Japanese back to their own country, were met with powder and ball and repulsed. Commodore Perry, in attempting to establish a treaty with Japan, justly complained to the native authorities that the dictates of humanity had not been followed, that shipwrecked men were treated with useless cruelty, and that Japan's attitude toward her neighbors and all the world was that of an enemy and not of a friend. The fifth relation did not teach a common brotherhood of men and obligations of kindness to foreigners. It applied only to the charmed circle of friendship.

On these five relations rests the whole Japanese social and moral structure. Family and national life has been shaped and molded by them. They are the ten commandments of the East. How very different from the principles which have determined our own family and social life!

Confucianism in Japan has been developed into {137} a highly complicated religious system, and in this form is believed by large numbers of high-class, educated Japanese. It is wholly pantheistic in its teaching, having points of resemblance with German pantheism. It knows no such thing as God as a separate existence. Rather, all is God. Dr. Martin, of China, has well styled it "a pantheistic medley."

Although Confucianism has long had a strong hold upon Japanese minds, its influence is waning. The ancient classics are little studied, and the younger generation knows almost nothing of them. The great temple of Confucius in Tokyo, the Seido, has been changed into an educational museum.

_Tenrikyo_

Perhaps some will think that Tenrikyo does not deserve mention along with the before-named great religions. Certainly it is not worthy of the respect accorded to them, and has not exerted such an influence as they have. It is of very recent origin and is as yet confined to the lower strata of society. But its disciples constitute one of the most vigorous and active religious bodies in Japan to-day. Its growth has been remarkably rapid, especially during the past five years. Government recognition has been already gained, and it is gradually making a place for itself among {138} the religions of Japan. Some authorities place the number of its adherents as high as 5,000,000, but these figures are probably too high.

Tenrikyo is a missionary religion, having very earnest representatives in almost every district in Japan. These men rely almost exclusively upon preaching for the propagation of their doctrines, and their efforts are generally successful.

Space permits us to say only a few words in regard to the origin of this religion. Its founder was a peasant woman named Nakayama Miiki, popularly called Omiiki, who was born of a very poor family in the province of Yamato in 1798, There was nothing remarkable about her life until her fortieth year, when she fell into a trance. While in this state one of the old Shinto deities, Kuni-Toko-Tachi No Mikoto, appeared to her, and, after causing her much distress, left her for a short time undisturbed. After this brief interval of quiet she again fell into a trance, and was visited by a large number of gods, some of them the greatest of the Shinto pantheon. These gods revealed to her the substance of her teaching, representing it as the only true doctrine and the one which would ultimately triumph over all others. They also informed her that she was the divinely appointed instrument through whom this revelation was to be given to the world. From {139} this time forward Omiiki devoted herself to the propagation of this revelation.

Not wishing to break entirely with the old religions, she represented her revelation as having been received from the Shinto gods, and gave a place in her teaching to some prominent Buddhist elements. By this means she won popular favor and gained an earnest hearing.

The term "Tenrikyo" signifies the "Doctrine of the Heavenly Reason." While many of its teachings differ but little from current Shinto and Buddhistic ideas, its more prominent tenets are radically different.

In the first place, Tenrikyo tends much toward monotheism. Omiiki herself accepted polytheism, but taught that man's real allegiance is due to the sun and the moon. These she regarded as the real gods; but as they always work together, and as the world and all things therein are the product of their joint working, they are practically one. Since her death the teaching has become more and more monotheistic in tendency, and some of its preachers teach explicit monotheism.

Omiiki taught a new relation between the gods and men--a relation of parents to children. The gods watch over and love their children just as earthly parents do. The emperor is the elder brother of the people, who rules as the representative of the divine parents.

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Faith-healing formed a prominent part in the original teaching of Tenrikyo. It asserted that neither physicians nor medicine was needed, but that cures are to be effected through faith alone. Marvelous stories are told of the wonderful cures it has accomplished, many of which seem well authenticated. But while there seems no good reason for doubting the genuineness of some of these cures, the power of mind over mind, and the influence of personal magnetism in certain kinds of nervous disorders, are so well known that they can be easily explained without any reference to the supernatural. The faith-cure feature of this religion is now falling into disuse.

Tenrikyo makes very little of the future state, although Omiiki assumed its reality. In one passage she refers to the soul as an emanation from the gods, and says that after death it will go back to them. She teaches that the cause of suffering, disease, and sin is found in the impurity of the human heart, and that the heart must be cleansed before believers can receive the divine favor. She insists over and over again that no prayers nor religious services are of any avail so long as the heart is impure.

The aim of Omiiki and her followers seems to be a worthy one. The movement is highly ethical, and there is little doubt but that the adherents of the Tenrikyo are superior in morals to {141} the rest of their class. Some features of this new religion are, however, looked upon with suspicion, and it is being closely watched by the government. Charges of gross immorality have been preferred against it, especially in reference to the midnight dances, in which both sexes are said to participate indiscriminately; but these charges are made by its enemies and have never been proved.

In many respects Tenrikyo materially differs from the other religions of Japan. Its adherents assemble at stated times for worship and instruction, while the Buddhists assemble in the temples for worship and preaching only three or four times a year, and the Shintoists seldom, if ever, assemble. The worship of Tenrikyo, for the most part, consists of praise and thanksgiving by music and dancing; but prayer is also practised.

Another distinguishing characteristic of Tenrikyo is that it is exclusive. The other religions of Japan are very tolerant of one another; one may believe them all. But Tenrikyo will not tolerate either Buddhism or Shinto. Its adherents must give their allegiance to it alone.

It is interesting to conjecture as to the influence Christianity has had upon Tenrikyo. It does not seem probable that Omiiki was at all influenced by it, unless the traditions of the Catholic Christianity of some two or three hundred years previous reached her in some way. But the expansion {142} and development of the system by its later teachers have been very much affected by Christianity. Some of its present preachers, in constructing their sermons, borrow largely from Christian sources. In the minds of the common people Tenrikyo is generally associated with Christianity.

There are several other small religious sects in Japan, such as the Remmon Kyokwai, Kurozumi Kyokwai, etc., but they are not of sufficient importance to command notice here.

Any statement of the religions of contemporary Japan would be incomplete without notice of Christianity, but that will be reserved for another portion of this book.

The three great religions, Shinto, Buddhism, and Confucianism, are completely woven into the warp and woof of Japanese society. As Christianity has shaped the political, social, and family life of the West, so these ancient faiths have that of the East. The laws, the morality, the manners and customs of these peoples all have been determined by their religions. And to-day the masses of the people look to them for principles to guide their present life, and for their future spiritual welfare, with just as much confidence and trust as my readers look to Christianity. The missionary, in his work, must encounter and {143} vanquish all of these religions, which is no light task. They all have elements of superstition, and their origin and supernatural teachings will not bear the search-light of the growing spirit of criticism and investigation. Each one of them is even now modifying gradually its doctrines in some features, so as to bring them into harmony with true learning and science; and as the nation progresses intellectually the hold of these ancient faiths upon the common mind will become more and more precarious. We expect to see them gradually retreating, though stubbornly resisting every inch of ground, until they shall finally leave the field to their younger and more vigorous antagonists, Christianity and civilization.

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