SHINTOISM AND THE JAPANESE NATION

In its essence Shinto' is strictly indigenous to the soil of Japan. It is first of all a system of ancestor worship. Shinto, which means literally "the ways of the gods," is the name given to the mythology' and ancestor and nature worship. "The floating legends, local traditions, and religious ideas of the aborigines, gathered up, amplified by the dominant race, transferred and made coherent by the dogmatics of theocracy, became the basis of Shinto, upon which a modified Chinese cosmogony and abstract philosophical ideas were afterward grafted." The chief features of the faith are the worship of ancestors and the deification of emperors, heroes, and scholars. The adoration of personified forces of nature enters largely into it. According to Shinto doctrine, ancestors are not thought of as dead; they are believed to remain among those who loved them. Unseen they guard the home and watch over the welfare of descendants. Hirata, the well-known expounder of Shinto, writes: "The spirits of the dead continue to exist in the unseen world, which is everywhere about us; and they all become gods of varying characters and degrees of influence. Some reside in temples built in their honor; others hover near their tombs; and they continue to render service to the prince, parents, wives and children, as when in body." The illuminating words of professor Hozumi, of the Imperial University in Tokyo, who is proud of being a Shintoist, are worthy of notice: "We firmly believe that our ancestors, other than their bodies, do not die.

1 The authoritative writings on Shinto in English are: W. G. Aston, Shinto; Ernst Satow, "The Revival of Pure Shinto" (Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Japan, 1874); P. Kemperman, "Shinto" (Japan Mail, August 26, 1874); Lafcadio Hearn, Japan, chapters 3-9 and 17.

'Many writers like Aston and Knox hold that ancestor worship was not original in Shinto, but came from China at an early date.

The whole mythology is contained in two books. The oldest is entitled "Ko-ji-ki," or "Records of Ancient Matters"; and it is supposed to have been compiled in the year 712 A. D. The other and much larger work is called "Nihongi," or Chronicles of Japan," and dates from about 720 A. D. 'W. E. Griffis, The Mikado's Empire, p. 88.

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They are immortal. The spirits of the fathers and mothers, who loved their children, even though their bodies have perished, still in the other world live and watch over their descendants."

Thus the relationship between dead and living is a mutually dependent one. The welfare of the living is contingent on the welfare of the dead. The worship of ancestors, therefore, becomes expedient and necessary. The reverential service to the dead, the gratitude of the present to the past, and the conduct of the individual in relation to the entire household are the chief duties of Shinto believers. "It is the duty of a subject," writes Hirata, "to be diligent in worshipping his ancestors, whose minister he should consider himself to be. The custom of adoption arose from the natural desire of having some one to perform sacrifices; and this desire ought not to be rendered of no avail by neglect. Devotion to the memory of ancestors is the mainspring of all virtues. No one who discharges his duty to them will ever be disrespectful to the gods or to his living parents. Such a man also will be faithful to his prince, loyal to his friends, and kind and gentle to his wife and children. For the essence of this devotion is filial piety."

It is a striking fact that the religion of Shinto provides no moral code. It depends solely upon the promptings of conscience for ethical guidance. In the earliest period of Japanese history the act of worship was that of government itself, the ancient term for government, matsurigoto, signifying literally "matters of worship." Thus government and religion were the same; neither was there any distinction between religion and ethics, nor between ethics and custom. Custom and law were identified the one with the other, so that the ethics of Shinto were all included in conformity to custom. Indeed, some Shinto writers claimed this feature of their religion as a merit. "When men's dispositions were straightforward," wrote Mabuchi, "a complicated system of morals was unnecessary. It would naturally happen that bad actions might be occasionally committed; but the straightforwardness of men's dispositions conquers the evil spirit. So in these days it was necessary to have a doctrine of right and wrong." Hirata said later: "Learn to stand in awe of the unseen, and that will prevent you from doing wrong.

Cultivate the conscience implanted in you; then you will never wander from the way." In short, pure Shinto teaches us to be true and genuine in heart, and clean in body; then gods will bless us abundantly.

"The god blesseth

Not him who prayeth

But him whose heart strayeth

Not from the way of truth.”

Shinto theology has no doctrine of original sin, hence there is no belief in the fall of man. The Shintoist believes in the innate goodness and godlike purity of the human soul; adoring it as the adytum from which divine oracles are proclaimed. One who visits a Shinto shrine observes that all the shrines are constructed of pure wood, are thatched, and are characterized by rigid simplicity. No paint, lacquer, gilding, nor any meretricious ornaments were ever allowed to adorn or to defile the sacred structure, and the use of metal was avoided. Within, the only object visible, is a plain mirror on the altar." "It typifies the human heart, which, when perfectly placid and clear, reflects the very image of the Deity." Indeed, the unseen spirit seems to whisper to a visitor when he stands before it, "Behold thy own image as reflected in the mirror, and know for thyself how it fares with thee!" Shinto furnishes no creed, no dogma, and no imperative rule about prayers, but leaves to each worshipper the formulation of his own creed and prayer. Dr. Nitobe rightly characterized Shinto as "a religion of suggestion by introspection."

One of the most remarkable features of Shinto is the special emphasis laid on cleanness. Indeed it regards physical impurity as identical with moral impurity, and intolerable to the gods. It has always been, and still remains, a religion of ablutions. The Japanese love of cleanliness, indicated by the universal practice of daily bathing, and by the irreproachable condition of our homes, has been maintained by this discipline of the faith and extended by degrees to all the conditions of existence.

"A poem by Michizane Sugawara.

The mirror is one of the "Three Utensils of the Gods." (See Aston, Shinto, p. 134.)

"Nitobe, Bushido, p. 11.

8 The Japanese Nation, p. 128.

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The intimate relation between Shintoism and the Imperial Family has made the faith characteristic as an original national religion of Japan. The Imperial Line is viewed as beginning with the sun-goddess, Tensho Daizin, and the people regard themselves as descendants of this line of gods. The pious reverence for our ancestors has necessarily emphasized a feeling of sincere gratitude toward and love for the emperor of the country and has finally culminated in an intense patriotism. Every Japanese is a Shintoist in this sense. In Shokon shrine, Tokyo, great paper rolls are deposited, which bear the names of the Japanese soldiers who were killed in war. Twice a year, in spring and fall, the Japanese nation, represented by the emperor, the state officials, the army and navy, goes to that shrine, and venerates the heroic dead whose names are recorded there. These men died for their country, therefore the nation, with religious solemnity and military pomp, venerates their souls. Needless to say, it is this spirit of patriotism that made Japan what it is to-day. The great Restoration of 1868-a revolution which restored the authority of the Mikado as supreme head of the nation-resulted in the awakening of this loyal adherence to the emperor, which was fostered by the revival of Shinto faith." The dramatic history of New Japan in the theatre of modern civilization is too well known to describe here. By strict obedience to our emperor's command, "Knowledge shall be sought for throughout the world, so that the welfare of the Empire may be promoted," the nation moved forward as one man, choosing its lines of development, selecting its methods and its tools, seeking knowledge wherever it could be found throughout the world, and with clear intelligence applying that knowledge to its conditions.

It has been said that Japan won her late war with Russia by means of her efficient instruments of war, and that the victory was the work of her modern school system. But these statements are not entirely true. It is the spirit of the Japanese nation that resulted in such a triumph. Undoubtedly, the most improved guns and cannon do not shoot of their own accord; the modern education does not make a coward a hero. No;

'See Hearn, Japan, p. 399 ff; Aston, Shinto, p. 372 ff.

what won the battles of Lioyang and at Port Arthur was our earnest loyalty to the emperor and our intense love for the fatherland. "Certainly," writes a beloved American teacher in Japan, "her power to accomplish what she has accomplished was derived from her old religious and social training: she was able to keep strong because, under the new forms of rule and the new conditions of social activity, she could still maintain a great deal of the ancient discipline." 10

What will become of Shinto in the future? If history can teach us anything, it shows that as a nation advances and knowledge increases, polytheism gives way to monotheism, national gods vanish before the coming of the One Universal God. The gods of national tradition are displaced by the one God of infinite power and knowledge. "A socialized world can no more have a dozen religions than it can have a dozen sciences in one field."" The Shinto gods, like the gods of China and India, will be displaced by the same process that has forced the Western world to accept a single supreme God. Already the process has begun. The introduction of modern civilization has brought into Japan an education that has increasingly tended to disintegrate older religious faiths, and has shaken the former religious foundation of the State. The old faiths, inherited from the past, have lost their power and vitality. Ethics based upon the native cult have been largely discarded; an attempt to found morality on patriotism has failed.

Will Shinto, then, disappear from the heart of Japan entirely? No; Shinto may vanish as a religion, but the spirit of the faith. will ever remain fresh in our hearts. The worship of our ancestors may be led into the worship of the great Father of all fathers; belief in the old gods may slowly pass away and the Shinto shrines may be left deserted; but we will not fail to maintain our undivided loyalty to our Mikado and sincere gratitude to the memory of those who gave us life!

University of Tokyo, Japan.

10 Hearn, Japan, p. 511.

11 Patten, The Social Basis of Religion, p. 229.

SHINJIRO KITASAWA.