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FUJI, JAPAN’S BEAUTIFUL MOUNTAIN. 
 
Progress in 
 
 The Mikado’s Empire 
 
 By 
 
 Robert Cornell Armstrong, M.A., Ph.D. 
 
 Dean of the Union Methodist College (Kwansei Gakuin) of Commerce 
 and Literature, Kobe, Japan. 
 
 Author of 
 
 Just Before the Dawn : The Lite and Work of Ninomiya Sontoku, 
 the Peasant Sage of Japan ; ” 
 
 “Light from the East; A Study in Japanese Confucianism.” 
 
 TORONTO : 
 
 THE MISSIONARY SOCIETY OF THE METHODIST 
 CHURCH 
 
 THE YOUNG PEOPLE’S FORWARD MOVEMENT 
 
 F. C. STEPHENSON, Secretary 
 
Copyright, Canada, 1920 
 by Frederick Clarke Stephenson 
 
^ hvv« a, 
 
 DEDICATED 
 
 TO 
 
 YOUNG PEOPLE 
 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2016 
 
 https://archive.org/details/progressinmikadoOOarms 
 
Preface 
 
 HIS book has been prepared in response to a 
 
 request from Dr. F. C. Stephenson, the secre- 
 
 tary of The Young People’s Forward Move- 
 ment for Missions in the Canadian Methodist 
 Church. It is intended to be studied in Mission 
 Study Classes in order that young people of to-day 
 may be led to the conviction that no matter how 
 much good there is in J apanese beliefs, customs, and 
 modern progress, the one power which will save 
 Japan, Canada and the rest of the world in this age 
 of world-wide reconstruction is the control of human 
 character and life by the Holy Spirit as revealed 
 in the mind of Christ. 
 
 The missionary movement is the one great spir- 
 itual force which has come through from the age 
 before the Great War stronger than it entered. Men 
 are surely convinced that the world cannot be saved 
 by armies nor by partisan politics. The Great War 
 was won by arousing the feeling of international 
 responsibility in all allied nations for the future 
 welfare and liberty of mankind. For the sake of 
 these ideals millions have made the supreme sacri- 
 fice. From Canada alone nearly seventy thousand 
 of our brightest young men have laid down their 
 lives in Flanders Fields. Nothing remains for us 
 but to dedicate ourselves to the ideals and principles 
 for which they fought and bravely died. Christians 
 in the United States, Britain and Japan must trust 
 each other fully and appreciate the unfinished task 
 which lies before them of establishing the Kingdom 
 of God throughout the world. It is the author’s 
 hope and prayer that these studies may assist our 
 
2 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Canadian young people to understand some of the 
 modern mission problems in The Mikado’s Empire. 
 
 In the preparation of these studies, the author is 
 indebted to so many who have written on Japan 
 that he finds it impossible to acknowledge them all. 
 But special indebtedness is due to Mr. James Mur- 
 dock, M.A., and Captain Brinkley, for their valuable 
 histories, to Professor Clement for his books, to the 
 late Dr. DeForest and to several volumes of ^^The 
 Christian Movement.” For the material dealing with 
 the social, economic and religious conditions 'of 
 modern Japan the author is especially indebted to 
 Professors Oiwa and Murakami of the Union Meth- 
 odist College, Kobe, and to ‘Tifty Years in Modern 
 Japan,” by Count Okuma. The author wishes to 
 record his hearty appreciation of the assistance ren- 
 dered by those who have read the manuscript and 
 proofs of this book. 
 
 R. C. Armstrong. 
 
 Toronto, April, 1920. 
 
Introduction 
 
 HE present volume is illuminating and timely. 
 
 In brief compass it brings before its readers 
 
 the results of the wide experience, the deep 
 and fruitful study of one of the foremost missionary 
 leaders of the day in Japan. 
 
 The Church is honoured in having a man of Dr. 
 Armstrong’s intellectual and moral stature to repre- 
 sent her in so important a field of labour. He com- 
 bines in an admirable way generous appreciation of 
 whatever is worthy in the history, institutions, ideals 
 and life of the Japanese people with the insight, con- 
 victions and devotion of a Christian apostle. 
 
 This book will be best appreciated by those who 
 are best informed. It must not be measured by its 
 size, for it has been compressed deliberately. In 
 eight tightly-packed chapters. Dr. Armstrong has 
 managed somehow to place before us in a clear, vivid 
 and living way the story of Japan from those semi- 
 mythical, semi-historical times when Japan began to 
 be, down to these aspiring, expanding, mighty, and 
 yet dangerous days of the present. 
 
 We get from these pages clear evidence that Japan 
 has not reached her present position of world in- 
 fluence by accident. Japan has a soul. We see, too, 
 the contribution which Shintoism, Confucianism and 
 Buddhism have made to the moulding of that soul, 
 while we also see how essential the Gospel is if 
 Japan is to reach her highest goal. 
 
 There is sketched for us the romance of Christian 
 Missions in Japan, and our faith is strengthened 
 in regard to the future as we witness the rare 
 
4 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 fidelity and unconquerable courage of the early 
 converts to the Christian faith. 
 
 To many of the readers of this volume Dr. Arm- 
 strong’s presentation of the industrial situation in 
 Japan to-day will make a most poignant appeal, and 
 will perhaps constitute the strongest argument in 
 the book for an immediate, adequate and resistless 
 advance by the Church to the Christian conquest of 
 Japan. 
 
 James Endicott. 
 
 Methodist Mission Rooms, 
 
 Toronto, Ont., April, 1920. 
 
Foreword 
 
 I N the following pages Dr. Armstrong has accom- 
 plished a difficult and important task. He has 
 interpreted our ally — Japan — to us and, at the 
 same time, has written a book which will make clear 
 the Christian viewpoint to the many Japanese 
 who read English. 
 
 ‘‘Progress in the Mikado’s Empire” is opportune. 
 The interest in Japan is keen, but to the great ma- 
 jority she is a question mark. While the world mar- 
 vels at her progress, it does not take time to read 
 the many illuminating books dealing with her politi- 
 cal, economic, social and religious history. Even 
 those who try to make a careful study of Japan are 
 in danger of getting a one-sided view. They may 
 happen to read books which are over-sympathetic but 
 lacking in trustworthy information; or they may 
 read books which lack sympathy and are misleading 
 in their teaching; but those who study this book 
 have before them the well-balanced, simple statement 
 of one who knows, and who by training and sym- 
 pathy is able to make a careful study of the whole 
 life of Japan. Dr. Armstrong has spent fifteen years 
 in the closest study of the history of Japan and the 
 life of her people. 
 
 After graduating in Arts and taking his Theology 
 at Victoria College, Toronto, Dr. Armstrong went to 
 Japan in 1903. He had always been a hard worker. 
 From his early boyhood he had worked among young 
 people in his home church. He was one of those who 
 did campaign work in the early days of the Young 
 People’s Forward Movement. The young people of 
 the Woodstock District undertook to support him. 
 
6 
 
 FOREWORD. 
 
 He has through the years kept in touch with the 
 Young People^s Forward Movement through his let* 
 ters in The Missionary Bulletin, They show that 
 his habits went with him. Upon reaching Japan, he 
 immediately applied himself to the study of Japanese 
 ideals and identified himself with students and 
 young people. This gave him the advantage of look- 
 ing at things Japanese from the student’s standpoint 
 and facing the problems of the young people. It 
 was not long until he was called to the staff of the 
 Union Methodist College (Kwansei Gakuin), Kobe, 
 Japan, of which institution he is now Dean. 
 
 He continued his post-graduate studies in phil- 
 osophy during his first term, and on his return home 
 on furlough he continued his post-graduate work 
 at the University of Toronto, taking the degrees of 
 M.A. in 1912 and Ph.D. in 1914. During these years 
 he wrote two books, the first, ^^Just Before the 
 Dawn,” a biography of Ninomiya Sontoku, the 
 farmer sage of Japan. This is a popular study 
 of the social and economic life of Japan immedi- 
 ately preceding the opening up of the country to 
 other nations. Just Before the Dawn ” reveals 
 to us some of the secrets of Japan’s progress, 
 emphasizing the fact that the foundation of her 
 prosperity is intelligent industry. His second book, 
 
 Light From the East,” a study in Japanese Con- 
 fucianism, will be found in the libraries of the lead- 
 ing universities of the world. It is a work of refer- 
 ence, and has brought much credit, not only to Dr. 
 Armstrong, but to the Methodist Church, Canada. 
 
 While on his second furlough. Dr. Armstrong has 
 renewed his contact with the young people and with 
 Methodism at large, having taken an important part 
 in the National Campaign in connection with the 
 Interchurch Forward Movement. This, his third 
 book, Progress in the Mikado’s Empire,” is, there- 
 
FOREWORD. 
 
 4 
 
 fore, the result of years of careful study and patient 
 work. It has been written after mingling freely 
 with the constituency which will study it and with 
 a clear vision of conditions in Japan, The book is 
 loyal and outspoken in its allegiance to Christ and 
 yet it is respectful to the noble elements in Japanese 
 thought and religions. It acknowledges the good, 
 the true and the beautiful wherever they are found. 
 It honours the universal working of the Holy Spirit. 
 It points out weaknesses, denounces wrongs, and 
 confidently proclaims the Gospel of Christ as the 
 only power to establish peace and righteousness 
 within and among the nations. 
 
 F. C. STEPHENSON. 
 
 Toronto, April, 1920. 
 
 Methodist Mission Rooms, Toronto. 
 
Contents 
 
 Chapteb Page 
 
 One: Outline of Japanese History 11 
 
 Two: The Modern Development of Japan 25 
 
 Three: The Modern Industrial Revolution and its 
 
 Problems in Japan 41 
 
 Four: The Religious Situation in Modern Japan.... 64 
 
 Five: Christianity and Buddhism 79 
 
 Six: Christianity in Modern Japan 98 
 
 Seven: The Canadian Methodist Mission in Japan. . . . 115 
 
 Eight: The Missionary and His Task 130 
 
 Suggested Outline of Study of Chapters 149 
 
 Analytical Index 151 
 
 Alphabetical Index 160 
 
 Bibliography 164 
 
Illustrations 
 
 Facing Page 
 
 Fuji, Japan’s Beautiful Mountain Frontispiece 
 
 A Knight of Ancient Japan 18 
 
 Men who Helped to Open Japan’s Closed Doors 
 
 Commodore Perry. Townsend Harris 26 
 
 Roadside Edict Board, Prohibiting Christianity 26 
 
 A Glimpse of the Parliament Buildings, Tokyo 38 
 
 A Popular Theatre, Tokyo 38 
 
 Japan’s Changing Industrial Conditions 
 The Modern Cotton Factory, 
 
 When Weaving was done in the Home 54 
 
 Gateway of a Buddhist Temple 76 
 
 The Entrance to a (Shinto Shrine 76 
 
 One of the Oldest Buddhist Temples, near Nara 90 
 
 An Ancient Castle at Nagoya 90 
 
 Students of the Kwansei Gakuin, Kobe, Assembled to 
 
 Listen to an Address by Baron Morimura 112 
 
 Bishops of the Japanese Methodist Church 
 
 The late Rev. Y. Honda. The Rev. T. Hiraiwa 116 
 
 Canadian Methodist Pioneer Missionaries to Japan 
 The Rev. Davidson Macdonald, M.D. 
 
 The Rev. George Cochran, D.D 116 
 
 The Methodist Church, Shizuoka 120 
 
 The Academy, Kwansei Gakuin (Union Methodist 
 
 College), Kobe 120 
 
 Missionaries of the Methodist Church, Canada, in Japan 138 
 Missionaries of the Methodist Church, Canada, in Japan 148 
 
Chapter One: Outline of 
 Japanese History 
 
 I N order to understand the Japanese people it 
 is necessary to understand the ever-develop- 
 ing history of the Japanese Empire. In this 
 brief chapter only a general outline of her history 
 can be attempted. It may be conveniently 
 divided into five periods, as follows : 
 
 I. The Ancient Period (660 B.C. — 600 A.D.). 
 
 The ancient period opens in prehistoric times 
 and many interesting stories describe the primi- 
 tive Japanese people and their Imperial rulers 
 as they first appear in history. They landed in 
 Kyushiu and gradually spread north over the 
 main island, which is significantly described as 
 The-Great-Reed-Orowing-Plain. They are prob- 
 ably a composite race of hardy sea rovers, not 
 unlike the early settlers in Britain. Their expe- 
 riences made them brave and warlike and fitted 
 them to drive back the Ainos, the aborigines of 
 the land, who fought with great determination 
 to keep out the invaders. 
 
 A form of communal life based upon blood 
 relationship existed. The head of the clan was 
 its official representative in all dealings with the 
 Emperor, who was probably the head of the 
 strongest group, with more or less power over 
 the rest of the people. Gradually these clan 
 leaders reclaimed the land and built up their 
 
12 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 estates. Besides this there were Imperial ser- 
 vants incorporated under chiefs for the purpose 
 of supplying the Imperial household, after the 
 manner of ancient Rome. These guilds included 
 carters, seamen, mountain wardens, farmers ; and 
 later a company of foreign scholars who inter- 
 preted all oflScial messages from China and Korea 
 and kept an account of the taxes, which were 
 paid in kind and stored in storehouses. Gradu- 
 ally the heads of the clans and the chiefs of these 
 guilds gained power, and from this was evolved 
 the feudal system in Japan. 
 
 The ancient religion of the Japanese was a 
 form of Animism not unlike that which prevailed 
 everywhere in primitive times. It consisted of a 
 worship of nature, spirits, and ancestral deities. 
 The mysterious or the unusual was believed to 
 possess or to reveal a spirit — either good or evil. 
 These spirits were everywhere — in heaven, in the 
 air, in natural phenomena and in men who mani- 
 fested extraordinary power. The early myth- 
 ology resembles the ancient Indian accounts of 
 creation. Out of infinite space sprang the 
 Eternal-Ruling-Central-God of the Universe, 
 followed by the High-Producing and the 
 Divine-Producing Gods, who are sometimes 
 regarded as the male and female principles. 
 These are followed by several pairs of gods who 
 are generated separately in similar manner to 
 the first triad. Then came Izanagi (The-Male- 
 who-Invites) and Izanami (The-Female-who-In- 
 vites) from whom the islands of Japan were 
 
OUTLINE OF JAPANESE HISTOEY 13 
 
 generated. Then the female became the spirit of 
 death, and from the male alone are born the 
 Heavenly Shining G-oddess of light and culture 
 and her brother the God of Darkness and Out- 
 rage, who together became the ancestors of 
 the Imperial family.* In addition to these 
 great nature gods, every tribe or clan had 
 its own ancestral deity, which was either a 
 hero, a quality of nature, or a fetish. The great 
 tribal leaders and national heroes were wor- 
 shipped after death. Thus early, ancestral 
 worship became mixed with nature worship 
 These spirits were worshipped in their places of 
 abode. Offerings of food, hemp and wine were 
 made. Prayers and ritual were recited before 
 the shrines, in which the gods were represented 
 in mirrors and other sacred objects. 
 
 The harvest festival and the feasts of purifi- 
 cation resembled those of the ancient Jews. The 
 primitive ideas of morality and the soul were 
 very crude. They had the Land of Gloom, 
 where Izanami presided over the spirit of death, 
 and the High-Heavenly-Plain, where the goddess 
 of light and culture resided. The soul was com- 
 posed of wind, which was of two kinds ; one mild 
 
 * These gods are national. In modern times many 
 educated Japanese regard most of them , as mythical, 
 national heroes and not as God in the Christian sense. 
 Dr. Kakehi, of the Imperial University, has related the 
 Imperial family to the Eternal-Ruling-Central God and 
 the Sun Goddess by a combination of absolute idealism 
 and a theory resembling the Apostolic Succession which 
 was possibly suggested by a study of German philosophy 
 and Harnack’s History of Dogma. 
 
14 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 and refined, the other wild and raging. The idea 
 of the soul related to vapour is illustrated by an 
 interesting story of the Japanese Rip Van 
 Winkle, Urashima Taro, who because of his 
 kindness to a turtle, was taken to the house of 
 the Sea Dragon. Centuries after, he wanted to 
 return to his own home. When the princess 
 bade him farewell she gave him a little box 
 which was not to be opened. Failing to find any 
 friends in his native place he became lonely, and 
 contrary to instructions he opened the mys- 
 terious box. Immediately a whiff of smoke 
 arose from it which caused him to wrinkle up 
 and die. 
 
 In the fourth century A.D. Chinese learning 
 and culture were introduced into Japan. Con- 
 fucian scholars from Korea brought a written 
 language, and Chinese civilization rapidly 
 gained in influence and power. The Emperor 
 in 506 A.D. is described as making a garden 
 with artificial lakes, and birds and animals. His 
 Majesty passed the time hunting, racing horses 
 or enjoying the entertainment of his court 
 dwarfs and musicians. With the introduction 
 of Buddhism industries greatly increased. In 
 addition to the early pursuits of fishing, hunting, 
 cattle-raising and agriculture, the people now 
 learned to build temples, to make tiles, and to 
 make images and paint them. In this way the 
 economic life of Japan gradually became more 
 complex and important. 
 
OUTLINE OF JAPANESE HISTORY 15 
 
 II. The Period op Centralization (600 — 
 1200 A.D.). , 
 
 When in 602 a Korean priest presented, along 
 with the annual tribute, Chinese books dealing 
 with calendar making, astronomy, geography 
 and magic, the Crown Prince, Shotoku Taishi, 
 determined that the time had come to enter into 
 direct communication with China; from 608 
 A.D. many Japanese scholars began to go to 
 China for study. In 640 A.D., after thirty 
 years’ absence. Bin, a Buddhist priest, and 
 Kuromaro Takamuku returned filled with the 
 spirit of reform. They found the central govern- 
 ment very weak and dominated by the Soga 
 family. The clan chiefs and the heads of the 
 guilds had become so strong they threatened the 
 supremacy of the central government. 
 
 Bin and Kuromaro began at once to institute 
 great reforms : officials iw’ere appointed, and 
 the Chinese zodiac was adopted. Governors 
 were sent out to represent the central govern- 
 ment in the outlying districts and to make a 
 register of all the citizens and those under their 
 control. Armouries were built and everyone 
 was ordered to store his arms. When the people 
 w'ere disarmed more radical and aggressive 
 reforms were introduced. The people were 
 given the right to appeal to the central govern- 
 ment against any supposed injustice from the 
 chieftains, who were now regarded as district 
 governors subordinate to the provincial gover- 
 
16 PEOGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 nors. Chieftains were forbidden to increase 
 their territory at the expense of their weaker 
 neighbours. The Imperial guilds were disorgan- 
 ized and the officials sent elsewhere. Barriers 
 were established between the provinces after the 
 Chinese plan ; these were military stations, 
 intended to assist in keeping down rebellion and 
 to prevent peasants from escaping from taxa- 
 tion. Military outposts were also established 
 and regular means of communication opened 
 with the central government. Mountain passes 
 and rivers were made passable and the whole 
 country developed. In 710 Nara became the 
 capital of the Empire. Here large storehouses 
 and granaries were erected to store the taxes, 
 which were paid in kind. Land was distributed 
 among the free peasants and the serfs, who were 
 given between one and two acres each. Peasants 
 owning private slaves received one-third of a 
 share for each slave in their possession. The 
 large land owners retained their land, and from 
 them the officials were chosen, provided they had 
 proper educational qualifications. A system of 
 government schools was established in order to 
 provide education for officials and others. The 
 school fees consisted of a bale of cloth and some 
 wine and food, which was divided among the 
 professors. Students were enabled to support 
 themselves by cultivating certain lands which 
 were given to the schools for this purpose. 
 
 During this period Buddhism reached the 
 height of its power. Many great priests arose 
 
OUTLINE OF JAPANESE HISTORY 17 
 
 and made a valuable contribution to the nation. 
 The leading spirit in the Great Reform was 
 Prince Shotoku, the Constantine of Buddhism 
 in Japan. He was not only an able statesman 
 but a great thinker and a pious believer in the 
 Indian faith. He frequently gave public lec- 
 tures on the sacred books. In this age Buddhist 
 priests performed many works of benevolence, 
 established charity hospitals and medical dis- 
 pensaries after the Chinese type. They intro- 
 duced carving, sewing, making lacquer, making 
 glass and paper, and improved the methods of 
 weaving. By their efforts. Buddhism at this 
 time absorbed the ancient cult of Japan and 
 became supreme. 
 
 In order to provide for public funds and the 
 maintenance of an army, various methods were 
 adopted. Men were forced to give their labour 
 on the roads. In the ninth century we read of 
 from twenty thousand to sixty thousand men 
 being maintained by forced labour, building em- 
 bankments and waterways for the system of irri- 
 gation which was then introduced. Taxes were 
 paid in kind, either from the produce of land, 
 the chase or the loom. Every one hundred 
 houses were expected to provide a horse for the 
 army, in addition to swords, armour, bows, 
 arrows, flags, drums and two coolies. But in 
 some cases, for convenience’ sake, rice or silk 
 could be given in lieu of these. The village chief 
 was expected to represent the farmers before the 
 central government. His seal was attached to 
 
 2 
 
18 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 all bills of sale, and he had general oversight 
 over the work of the farmers, advising them as to 
 seeding and harvest, collecting taxes and becom- 
 ing responsible for all unpaid taxes. 
 
 During this period the wealthy landowners 
 became feudal lords, with a large number of 
 retainers who quickly developed a class spirit 
 of knighthood not unlike western chivalry. 
 Their skill in fencing and horsemanship, and 
 their loyalty and devotion to their lord soon 
 gave these retainers a special place in Japan, 
 and many deeds of heroism are related of them. 
 On the other hand, their fellow-servants who 
 remained on the farm, bearing the burden of 
 taxation, living on simple food and becoming 
 mentally inactive, soon developed into another 
 distinct class. Thus, in a very natural way, 
 from one parent stock several different classes 
 developed in Japanese society: the nobles, the 
 military class, the industrial, the agricultural 
 and the mercantile. Special mention ought to 
 be made of the swordsmiths, who are said to 
 have produced as fine blades as have ever been 
 produced. This special task was regarded as a 
 religious rite, because the sword represented the 
 soul of Japan. 
 
 III. An Age op Political and Religious Stripe. 
 
 The supremacy of the Emperor did not con- 
 tinue long. From the time of the Emperor 
 Nimmyo (834 — 850) the power of the Fujiwara 
 family gradually increased and remained su- 
 

 
 
 
 'hm-. 
 
 A KNIGHT OF ANCIENT JAPAN 
 

 
OUTLINE OF JAPANESE HISTORY 19 
 
 preme for about two centuries. They exploited 
 the government and the Imperial office for their 
 own selfish ends. They would place a minor on 
 the throne, and then the head of the Fujiwara 
 would become his regent. The retired Emperor 
 used his influence from a monastery behind the 
 scenes, thus preparing the way for the position 
 the Emperor was to hold during the reign of the 
 great military rulers and again when in modern 
 times he granted constitutional government. 
 But while the Fujiwara family were powerful 
 in the city, the great military families in the 
 country were gaining power and influence, espe- 
 cially the Minamoto (Gen) and the Taira 
 (Hei). 
 
 The military spirit in Japan was very old, but 
 about this time it began to take definite form. 
 It centred around the Emperor. It was the duty 
 of a true knight to die for his sovereign. His 
 great virtue was loyalty, and for the sake of his 
 sovereign, his parent, wife or child must be sac- 
 rificed. When force was required these knights 
 could be depended upon, and so by degrees 
 knighthood became better defined, and was later 
 known as Bushido. It emphasized death and 
 honour rather than surrender. The true Eiight 
 bore poverty and hardship and did not rest till 
 vengeance was obtained. He did not lightly 
 draw his sword, but when drawn did not set it 
 aside till he had attained his purpose. Later, 
 through the influence of Confucian and Buddhist 
 doctrines, he practised immobility of mind. 
 
20 PKOGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 Even in tlie stress of battle he must remain quiet 
 and self-possessed, maintaining his self-respect 
 at all times. From the middle of the eleventh 
 century began the great civil strife between these 
 two great military families, Minamoto (Gen) 
 and Taira (Hei). Many wonderful stories are 
 related of heroism and romance connected with 
 these wars, which resemble the Wars of the Roses 
 in England. 
 
 After Yoritomo’s death (1147-99) the Hojo 
 family ruled Japan until 1333. During this 
 period Kublai Khan with his Mongol army 
 invaded Japan (1281), but a great typhoon 
 destroyed his ships and the army of Japan 
 destroyed his men. During the Ashikaga period, 
 for about two hundred years, Japan was con- 
 tinuously engaged in war, society was confused, 
 and except in a few Buddhist temples education 
 and literature were entirely neglected. 
 
 The one bright spot in the early part of the 
 age was a reformation of Buddhism. When the 
 older sects of Buddhism so forgot their relig- 
 ious vows that their priests fought like knights, 
 two or three great priests came forth with a new 
 message. Honen Shonin (1133-1212) began to 
 preach a simple faith of salvation through call- 
 ing upon the name of Amida, the Buddha of 
 Boundless Light and Life. This was still further 
 developed by his disciple Shinran Shonin (1173- 
 1262) into a doctrine of salvation by faith in 
 Amida’s vow. He and his disciples went so far 
 as to make the home the centre of religious life. 
 
OUTLINE OF JAPANESE HISTOEY 21 
 
 and even the priests of this sect married. The 
 result of t-hese new messages was wonderful. 
 Great masses of men were converted. Nobles 
 and knights gave up their warfare and entered 
 monasteries, or sought to enter the bliss and joy 
 of Amida’s paradise. Another strong priest, 
 Nichiren (1223-1282), warned the other sects 
 against their evils and rebuked the government 
 on more than one occasion, foretelling the com- 
 ing of the Mongolian. This fiery prophet 
 resembles Amos, John the Baptist or Martin 
 Luther. At the same time Zen Learning, another 
 simple, direct method of salvation through intui- 
 tion and meditation, was introduced. As the 
 political world became more and more confused 
 and darkened, these Zen temples and priests 
 kept the candle of philosophy and learning 
 burning. 
 
 IV. The Last Age op the Shoguns or the 
 Great Military Eulers (1585-1868). 
 
 Immediately before the Tokugawa age Japan 
 had three famous warriors : Nobunaga, who per- 
 haps did more to bring order out of chaos than 
 any other man; and his faithful general and 
 successor Hideyoshi, the nurse-boy who became 
 one of the greatest national heroes, sometimes 
 called the Napoleon of Japan, who planned 
 great conquests but died before his dream was 
 realized. His empire and military power were 
 seized by lyeyasu Tokugawa, the founder of the 
 last great line of military rulers. lyeyasu encour- 
 
22 PKOGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 aged learning and introduced the most brilliant 
 and prosperous age of old Japan. Great Con- 
 fucian scholars arose. Industry prospered and 
 many new industries were introduced from 
 China: such as making lenses, making lime by 
 burning oyster shells, constructing stone bridges, 
 putting gold and silver designs on porcelain and 
 lacquer. Thatched roofs were replaced by tiled 
 roofs. Regular communications with all parts 
 of the Empire increased the internal trade of the 
 land. Sugar cane was introduced and sugar was 
 imported via Nagasaki. 
 
 In 1598 a code of laws was issued to village 
 officials, ordering taxes to be paid promptly; 
 laws and ordinances were to be obeyed with due 
 respect. That evil sect, Christianity, was for- 
 bidden, and anyone belonging to it was to be 
 reported. Gambling, acts of violence against 
 shrines or temples, and trespassing on moun- 
 tains, rivers or forests owned by the gov- 
 ernment were forbidden. Roads, bridges and 
 aqueducts were to be kept in repair by local 
 authorities. Farmers were to devote their 
 energies to their work, working with diligence 
 and making provision for the future. The whole 
 community was held responsible for the conduct 
 of all its members. 
 
 Toward the end of the Tokugawa Age the con- 
 dition of Japanese peasants was very bad. 
 Farms were neglected, mountain villages were 
 deserted, and the country people flocked to the 
 cities, where idlers abounded. The Dutch w’ere 
 
OUTLINE OF JAPANESE HISTORY 23 
 
 draining the country of its gold and copper, and 
 the coinage was debased to about two-thirds of 
 its original value. As the country was largely 
 closed within itself great poverty prevailed. The 
 estates of the lords were burdened with debt, 
 and famine after famine swept over the land, 
 leaving the people in abject poverty. Many 
 efforts were made to help the villagers. Among 
 these Miura Baien and Ninomiya Sontoku are 
 notable illustrations. The former organized vil- 
 lages for mutual self help; the latter adopted 
 methods of thrift and industry which caused 
 many deserted fields to yield once more, and 
 saved many lords from bankruptcy and ruin. 
 
 During this age Buddhism had everything her 
 own way. On account of the opposition to 
 Christianity every family was registered in a 
 Buddhist temple. As a result the priests became 
 indolent and immoral and religion degenerated. 
 Then for a time Confucianism prospered, until 
 the government attempted to make, everybody 
 follow the teachings of the authorized school. 
 After that no more great Confucian scholars 
 appeared. In the early part of the age a revival 
 of pure Shinto took place, when great Japanese 
 scholars revolted against the undue emphasis 
 placed upon Chinese ideals. This was a renewal 
 of Japanese spirit and loyalty which prepared 
 the way for the overthrow of the military rulers 
 and the restoration of the Imperial house. The 
 greatest of these scholars were Motoori Norinaga 
 (1730-1801) and Hirata Atsutane (1776-1843). 
 
24 PEOGEESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIEE 
 
 The latter was a very interesting and heroic 
 character who thought of his own people and of 
 Shinto as the peculiar gifts of the gods to Japan, 
 the specially favoured land. He regarded all 
 other religious teachings as deteriorated forms 
 of the Way of the Gods (Shinto). 
 
 A Japanese poet once said : “ As we walk 
 through the dead autumn leaves, kicking them to 
 each side, we discover the footprints of the 
 God of Heaven.” As we walk through the 
 dead leaves of the past in Japan we dis- 
 cover traces of living truths. We are convinced 
 that there have been great forces at work 
 making for human progress, for the kingdom of 
 righteousness and love. This brief account of 
 the race history of Japan bears remarkable 
 resemblance to that of any western race. The 
 man who goes into the interior of Japan and 
 associates with the people in any capacity what- 
 ever cannot but be delighted with their kindness 
 and hospitality. As the Christian worker comes 
 to understand the Japanese people he finds them 
 responsive to spiritual ideals and capable of 
 grasping and appreciating truth and righteous- 
 ness. 
 
 “For mankind are one in spirit and an instinct bears 
 along 
 
 Round the earth’s electric circle the quick flash of right 
 and wrong.” 
 
 — Lowell, “ Present Crisis.' 
 
Chapter Two : The Modern 
 Development of Japan 
 
 F oe over two hundred years (1638-1854) 
 Japan was practically closed to the outside 
 world. Dutch merchants were permitted to 
 call once a year and to live on a secluded island 
 near Nagasaki. In 1853 Commodore Perry with 
 an American fleet steamed into Tokyo Bay, and 
 by the roaring of cannon and the display of force 
 made such an impression upon the Japanese 
 authorities that he obtained a respectful hear- 
 ing. He placed before the military rulers the 
 letter of President Fillmore requesting that the 
 Japanese enter into friendly relations with the 
 United States of America. He then quietly and 
 astutely withdrew to give them time to consider 
 the proposal, promising to return the following 
 year for their reply. In February, 1854, he 
 returned with a much larger fleet and succeeded 
 in making a treaty of peace and friendship with 
 the Japanese Government. 
 
 In that treaty, which was signed on March 
 31st, 1854, he refrained from any reference to 
 trade or commerce. He made an appeal to the 
 humanity of the Japanese nobles who were all 
 so versed in Confucian ethics that they could not 
 well argue against this first treaty. It opened 
 up to the United States of America two ports, 
 Shimoda and Hakodate, and provided that the 
 citizens of both countries should carry on 
 
 25 
 
26 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 friendly intercourse on equal and uniform terms 
 for all classes. They agreed to assist ships in 
 distress, to protect the crews and passengers, and 
 to grant the privilege of purchasing provisions 
 and other necessities of life. Russia, England 
 and Holland soon obtained similar concessions. 
 The United States of America followed up their 
 advantage by appointing Mr. Townsend Harris 
 Consul-General to Japan. He arrived in August, 
 1856, and in March of the following year obtained 
 permission for American citizens to reside in 
 Shimoda and Hakodate and to trade in Naga- 
 saki. The Japanese, however, refrained from 
 trade with America for economic and other 
 reasons, but with great diplomacy and patience 
 Mr. Harris, in July, 1858, succeeded in opening 
 Yokohama and several other ports to Western 
 commerce and trade. This treaty was also con- 
 tracted with other Western nations. 
 
 The signing of all these treaties without the 
 consent of the Emperor was the beginning of an 
 open campaign for the restoration of the Em- 
 peror. The liberal statesman li Kamon-no-Kami 
 was an efficient, fearless statesman who took 
 such a strong stand in favour of opening the 
 country that he was assassinated on March the 
 24th, 1860. This act was followed by a wave of 
 great distrust and hatred of the foreigner. A 
 campaign for expelling the western barbarians 
 went too far and some French, Dutch and 
 American ships off Shimonoseki were fired upon. 
 England joined these countries in destroying the 
 
Commodore Perry. 
 
 Townsend Harris. 
 
 The first representative of the United 
 States Government to visit Japan 
 (1853; 
 
 The first Consul-General of the 
 United States to Japan 
 (1856) 
 
 MEN WHO HELPED TO OPEN JAPAN S CLOSED DOORS. 
 
 LAW 
 
 CONCEftNtNG THE RlT£S OF THE CHRISTIAN SECT 
 STmcrUY OBEYED 
 
 It.THE.RtTES OF THE DEPRAVED RELIGIOUS SECT ARE STRICTLY FORBiOOEN 
 ^^KEI 0 RE I ON or HAPPY ENDEAVOR 
 fourth YEAR THIRD MONTH A 0 lS<* 
 
 - ^HIGHEST GOVERNMENT COUNCIL 
 
 THE above prohibit ion A3 ANNOUNCFO MUST NOT BE OtSOSEYEO 
 ^ KEt 0 RE ION OF HAPPY ENI^aVOR 
 FOURTH YEAR THIRD MONTH A. D. 18« 
 
 KYOTO niTY GOVERNMENT. 
 
 ROADSIDE EDICT BOARD, PROHIBITING CHRISTIANITY 
 (Date 1866). 
 
MODEEN DEVELOPMENT 
 
 27 
 
 Japanese forts and in imposing a fine upon the 
 government for permitting them. The Satsnma 
 clan had already been bombarded by the British 
 fleet for refusing to surrender the knights who 
 had assassinated some British subjects. These 
 events showed the Japanese how helpless were 
 the old weapons and methods of warfare, and 
 did much to convince the nation of the necessity 
 of adopting more progressive ideas. 
 
 On October 14th, 1867, the military ruler vol- 
 untarily resigned his position. Some of his fol- 
 lowers continued to resist, even proclaiming a 
 Japanese Republic, but the restoration of the 
 Emperor became an accomplished fact almost 
 without a struggle. This took place at the time 
 of the death of the Emperor Komei (1846-1867) 
 and the accession to the throne of Mntsuhito 
 (1867-1912), a boy of fifteen. 
 
 January the first, 1868, marks the beginning of 
 the great Age of Enlightenment. The new gov- 
 ernment began its foreign policy by inviting the 
 representatives of Western nations to the capital. 
 The young Emperor condescended to receive 
 them in audience. This was followed by an 
 Imperial edict in which he declared his purpose 
 to be friendly with foreign nations and forbade 
 any of his snbjects to treat the foreigner with 
 violence. It is difiicult to understand this rapid 
 change. But the men who were mostly responsible 
 for it were young knights trained in Confucian 
 philosophy. Of these young men only a very 
 few belonged to the nobility. In the next thirty 
 
28 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 years these young statesmen, assisted by expert 
 Westerners, who laboured as teachers, engineers, 
 army and navy instructors, advisers in finance 
 and politics, were able to make a new Japan. To 
 safeguard the country against ambitious leaders 
 who might wish to grasp power, the young Em- 
 peror took an oath declaring that “ State affairs 
 shall be decided by a deliberative assembly ” and 
 “ Knowledge shall be sought for throughout the 
 whole world.” Whether they so intended it or 
 not, this was the first step toward constitutional 
 government in Japan. 
 
 From 1871 to 1875 rapid changes of great 
 political and social significance took place. 
 Prince Iwakura, with several nobles and a few 
 Japanese ladies, visited Europe and America on 
 a tour of investigation. At the suggestion of 
 these men the edict boards against Christianity 
 were taken down in 1872; feudalism was abol- 
 ished and prefectural government was estab- 
 lished, although the new government was obliged 
 to incur a public debt of several million dollars 
 in order to remunerate the disbanded samurai, 
 nobles, and princes; the outcasts were admitted 
 as citizens of the Japanese Empire under the 
 name “New Commoners”; newspapers sprang 
 up; universal compulsory education and uni- 
 versal military service were adopted ; post offices 
 were established and the first few miles of rail- 
 road were laid ; the Christian calendar was 
 adopted ; the first deliberative assembly was 
 called and a banking system was organized. 
 
MODERN DEVELOPMENT 
 
 29 
 
 Thus in a remarkably short time great strides 
 toward modern civilization were made by these 
 wonderful young statesmen of Japan. 
 
 Growth of Democracy and CoNSTiTuxioNAii 
 Government. 
 
 Your salary and your rice constitute the 
 blood and sweat of the people. You can easily 
 oppress the lower people, but you cannot deceive 
 the Heavenly Lord.” These words carved on a 
 rock in one of the feudal castles of Japan by 
 Iwaita Toneri, an ancient scholar, indicate some 
 appreciation of democratic ideals long before the 
 opening of modern Japan. Sakura Sogoro and 
 his family being crucified because he dared to 
 appeal to the military ruler in behalf of the 
 peasants in his neighbourhood against the 
 oppression of their feudal lord is another of 
 several instances of the spirit of democracy in 
 ancient Japan. 
 
 But no one can fully appreciate the state of 
 modern democracy in Japan who fails to under- 
 stand the mystical sentiments and traditions 
 which have gathered around the Imperial family. 
 Throughout the ages of Japanese history the 
 Imperial family have been wonderfully respected. 
 Even when they were neglected and almost pov- 
 erty stricken, their dignity and social standing 
 were maintained. The unpardonable sin against 
 the nation would be to think of wiping out this 
 great institution, around which cluster the 
 deepest religious instincts of the Japanese 
 people. Japanese democracy therefore differs 
 
30 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 from that of the great republics of the world. 
 The Imperial family is the genius of the Japanese 
 national life and can perhaps be best under- 
 stood by those loyal British subjects who, loving 
 their liberty and their free institutions, yet at 
 the close of the great world war gathered around 
 Buckingham Palace crying, “ We want King 
 George ! We want King George !” As Japanese 
 democracy develops it will more and more re- 
 semble that of the British Empire. 
 
 The Emperor and his people are one in their 
 ideals and interests, and the equilibrium between 
 them must long be maintained if Japan is to be 
 saved from confusion and disorder. The great 
 military rulers obtained their power and exer- 
 cised it for centuries through the Imperial sanc- 
 tion, and there were always those who jealously 
 upheld the dignity of the Imperial family. In 
 modern times military rule was abolished and 
 deliberative assemblies established through the 
 name and power of the Emperor. So also, all 
 the movements toward democracy and consti- 
 tutional government have been made public in 
 the name and with the sanction of H. I. M. the 
 Emperor. 
 
 In early days the people were ignorant but 
 teachable, loyal, industrious, and ready to sacri- 
 fice their lives for the national good. The Em- 
 peror and his advisers began training them for 
 nation-wide public service from the day the 
 Emperor Meiji ascended his throne. The diffi- 
 culties they contended against must not be over- 
 
MODEEN DEVELOPMENT 
 
 31 
 
 looked ; they had to harmonize and conciliate all 
 the various opposing clan factions which 
 remained long after feudalism had been abol- 
 ished ; they had to educate the people to a nation- 
 wide loyalty and devotion scarcely dreamed of by 
 the various classes in feudal times; they had to 
 impart to state administration sufficient power 
 to combine all the disintegrated units of the 
 former age into one national life of co-operation 
 and mutual trust; they had to safeguard the 
 country against extremists who advocated a type 
 of democracy which would destroy rather than 
 build up national life. 
 
 The first movement toward democracy and 
 constitutional government was the fulfillment of 
 the Emperor’s coronation oath by the convening 
 of deliberative assemblies and the organization 
 of a universal system of education from primary 
 schools to university. The latter was so well 
 performed that it is said that less than five per 
 cent, of the people are now illiterate. In 1880 
 steps were taken to organize the prefectures, the 
 country and town communities, upon a basis of 
 self-government, thus developing interest in 
 public institutions and the administration of 
 public affairs. In 1881 the Emperor gave notice 
 of the coming of constitutional government and 
 the necessity of educating the people to take 
 their place in representative government. Dur- 
 ing this period of preparation, various reforms 
 were introduced in methods of carrying on the 
 business of the State. Courts of Justice with 
 
32 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 educated judges were established. Political 
 parties were organized and public discussions 
 were more and more frequent, although some- 
 times under the eye of the police. Every young 
 man taking military training was given a manual 
 on national ethics and trained in his duty as a 
 citizen. Thus the policy of the Emperor was to 
 prepare his people to accept the best products of 
 modern civilization, and fit the nation to enter 
 the comity of nations on an equality with other 
 modern nations. 
 
 In 1882 Prince Ito was ordered to draw up the 
 text of the constitution. He took several bright 
 young statesmen with him and made a tour of 
 investigation throughout the countries of the 
 world. In the following autumn he returned 
 and set to work on the first draft of the con- 
 stitution which was finally promulgated in 1889 
 as law. By this constitution the people were 
 granted many rights and privileges. The article 
 which interests Christians most is Article 
 XXVIII : “ Japanese subjects shall, within 
 
 limits not prejudicial to peace and order and 
 not antagonistic to their duties as subjects., enjoy 
 freedom of religious belief.” 
 
 It has sometimes been said that the Japanese 
 constitution resembles that of Imperial Ger- 
 many. But a little thought over the peculiar 
 circumstances under which it was given will con- 
 vince one that at that time it was scarcely 
 possible for it to be otherwise. The Japanese 
 constitution was not forced from the Imperial 
 
MODEKN DEVELOPMENT 
 
 33 
 
 hands, but was a gift apparently freely given 
 for the nation’s good at a time when a strong 
 conservative element was blocking the wheels of 
 progress. On the other hand every student of 
 Japan knows that there is a certain immature 
 modern type of man who cries for liberty and 
 freedom, not knowing the meaning of these great 
 ideals. The statesmen of Japan have therefore 
 been forced to proceed slowly. The great thing 
 to their credit is that they have made such mar- 
 vellous and steady progress in so short a time. 
 
 The abolition of feudalism in Japan broke up 
 the old class organizations and made each man a 
 citizen of a much wider community than for- 
 merly. Necessarily they had to break with many 
 of the old traditions which gave ballast to their 
 conduct under feudalism. When traditions and 
 ancient class and family sentiments are de- 
 stroyed, democracy becomes a great menace to 
 society unless there is some steadying ideal to 
 take their place. This is especially true of the 
 Orient, where the emotions, once aroused, are 
 very intense and tend to increase in intensity 
 very rapidly under the collective suggestion of 
 the masses. The Tokyo riots and the rice riots 
 revealed the potential danger of an ignorant and 
 uncontrolled democracy. 
 
 Unless democracy is permeated with the spirit 
 of the Christ life it is not really safe. If Japan 
 ever loses the traditional ties which bind her to 
 her past or breaks up fixed customs handed down 
 from ancient times, nothing will save her society 
 3 
 
34 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 from anarchy and confusion but the impelling 
 power of love for God and love for man, as 
 revealed in the religious faith and teachings of 
 Christ. Japan is especially in danger because 
 many of the traditions on which patriotic senti- 
 ment is based are not able to stand the scrutiny 
 of modern historical methods. 
 
 The Activities of Japan in the Outside 
 World. 
 
 The exhibition of force in Kyushiu and Shi- 
 monoseki on the part of the Western powers in 
 1863 and 1864 opened the eyes of Japanese 
 leaders to their helpless condition in the presence 
 of modern weapons of warfare, and led them to 
 adopt a sudden change of policy in regard to 
 their relations with foreign countries. Old 
 methods gave place to modern, up-to-date meth- 
 ods. The policy of exclusion was abandoned and 
 Japan, with wonderful courage and efficiency, 
 entered upon a period of great activity in the 
 outside world. In 1872 she released a Peruvian 
 shipload of Chinese slaves who were being 
 cruelly treated in Tokyo Bay. In 1875 the 
 United States of America, in response to her 
 appeal, recognized her prior claim to Agasawara 
 Archipelago, which lay on the sea route between 
 America and South China. The following year 
 she annexed Loo Choo and pensioned its former 
 king. She also sent an expedition to punish the 
 savage tribes of Formosa for injury done to a 
 shipwrecked vessel. China finally paid an 
 
MODERN DEVELOPMENT 
 
 35 
 
 indemnity to settle the affair. In this way the 
 hermit nation very suddenly became active and 
 capable of making her influence felt in the out- 
 side world. 
 
 In 1886 Japan was formally received into the 
 Red Cross Union of the World. Previous to that 
 time she had her “ Society of Universal Love,” 
 but after certain of her military men had visited 
 the manoeuvres of the Red Cross Ambulance 
 Corps and the Red Cross exhibits in Vienna in 
 1873, they decided to become a part of the world 
 organization. 
 
 But the “ White Peril” was menacing her 
 economic life by carrying off her gold coins with- 
 out giving proper value in retnrn. The country 
 would soon have been without gold had she not, 
 in harmony with British advice, recast her gold 
 coin and saved the situation. Russia, on the other 
 hand, was not so considerate. Without any jus- 
 tiflcation she seized the Saghalien Island and it 
 was several years before Japan recovered her 
 loss. 
 
 The early treaties with Japan opened up cer- 
 tain “ Treaty Ports ” : Yokohama, Kobe, Osaka, 
 Nagasaki, Niigata, Hakodate, along with Tokyo, 
 the capital, to residence and trade. The Japanese 
 granted extra-territorial jurisdiction, or exemp- 
 tion of foreigners from the jurisdiction of 
 Japanese law courts. They also maintained a 
 very low scale of import duties. Japanese 
 leaders soon saw that they were being discrim- 
 inated against, and began an agitation for the 
 
36 PKOGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 revision of these unjust treaties. They wished to 
 recover their autonomy over their own tariff, to 
 abolish consular jurisdiction and to prohibit 
 their coastal trade to foreigners. Naturally the 
 powers were slow to give up these advantages 
 which they had forced upon Japan. But finally 
 in 1894 the British Government took the initia- 
 tive and revised her treaty with Japan. From 
 this date Japan took her place in the world as 
 one of the great and rising powers in the Far 
 East. Events soon took place which were to 
 make the power and chivalry of the Japanese 
 known throughout the world. These were the 
 Japan-China War in 1894-95, the Boxer uprising 
 in China in 1900, and the Russo-Japanese War 
 in 1904-05. 
 
 In 1902 on January 30th, the Anglo- Japanese 
 Alliance was formed for the purpose of main- 
 taining peace in the Far East. This treaty, 
 which has since been revised and extended, has 
 grown in importance. At the beginning of the 
 great European War Japan interpreted it in 
 such a liberal manner that she entered the war 
 on the side of the allies in August, 1914; her 
 munition factories helped to supply arms and 
 munitions; her fieet protected all allied com- 
 merce on the Pacific from the German “ pirate 
 ships ” and submarines, convoyed troops from 
 the East to Europe and did great service at the 
 mouth of the Suez Canal ; her trained Red Cross 
 nurses and doctors went to Russia to care for the 
 wounded and her armies drove the Germans out 
 
MODERN DEVELOPMENT 
 
 37 
 
 of their fortress in China and co-operated with 
 the allies in Siberia. In short, Japan took a great 
 place in the World War from beginning to end. 
 Thus within a few decades the “Hermit King- 
 dom ” has become one of the strongest world 
 empires of modern times. 
 
 This rapid rise in world affairs has caused 
 some anxiety and alarm lest the Japanese should 
 become a menace to the world’s peace. But 
 apart from an ultra-Shinto faction which theor- 
 etically exalts the Emperor as Lord of the 
 Universe, such fears are ungrounded. Japan 
 has not the resources to warrant any such am- 
 bition. On the other hand, Japan has some 
 reason to fear that the idealism which helped win 
 the war is nothing more than a device to appeal 
 to the ignorant masses and that as a matter of 
 fact in the process of attempting to abolish war 
 both the United States of America and Great 
 Britain have themselves become infatuated with 
 the need of maintaining an army and a navy of 
 unnecessary proportions. The Japanese would 
 like to see those ideals for which our men bled 
 and died realized in the life of the world. They 
 would welcome a League of Nations they could 
 really trust. If such a world-parliament can be 
 successfully carried out no nation will be more 
 ready to co-operate than the Japanese. Recently 
 the Japanese Foreign Minister said, “ The Jap- 
 anese Government, always anxious as they are 
 for the consummation of a universal peace and 
 the furtherance of international co-operation. 
 
38 PROGltESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 are determined that right and justice shall be 
 their guiding principle in their dealings with 
 other nations.” Speaking of the League of 
 Nations he said, “ With the establishment of the 
 League of Nations the position of our country 
 in the family of nations has gained in import- 
 ance, while relations with other countries have 
 grown in intimacy and opportunities have be- 
 come far more numerous for making our con- 
 tribution to the portion of the general welfare 
 of all the inhabitants of the globe. At such a 
 momentous time as this the Japanese Govern- 
 ment are happy to believe that with your support 
 they will be enabled to secure the fulfillment of 
 this mission of the Empire.”* Such noble words 
 can be spoken only by a Minister who has caught 
 somewhat of the Christian ideal. When the 
 public opinion of Japan and Europe is Chris- 
 tianized the difficulties which now exist will 
 pass away. 
 
 But there remains the question as to Japan’s 
 right to a place in the world. While Japan slept. 
 Western nations under the domination of the 
 white race gradually acquired control of the 
 major portion of the earth’s surface, leaving no 
 place for Japan to colonize. She has about sixty 
 millions on an area a little over half the size of 
 Ontario and her people are increasing every year 
 at the rate of eight hundred thousand. Natur- 
 
 ♦Quoted from Viscount Ucliida’s address, puljlished in 
 Toronto Glole, January 31, 1919. 
 
A GLIMPSE OF THE PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS. TOKYO. 
 
 A POPULAR THEATRE. TOKYO. 
 
1 
 
MODERN DEVELOPMENT 
 
 39 
 
 ally this is a serious problem for Japan. She 
 must find an outlet for her population. 
 
 Australia (area 2,974,581 square miles) is 
 somewhat larger than the United States Of 
 America (area 2,973,890 square miles, not 
 including Alaska, Hawaii and Porto Rico), 
 and has a population of less than five million 
 (census 1911). But wor^ than that, a large por- 
 tion of Australia cannot be so well managed by 
 white men as by Japanese. Canada has a still 
 larger territory very sparsely settled ; it is, how- 
 ever, too cold for most Japanese to enjoy. But 
 surely it is possible to give the Japanese a place 
 in which to live. In view of these facts have we 
 a right to condemn Japan in China and yet see 
 England and France remain undisturbed? In 
 the words of a recent Japanese writer,* “ Such 
 denunciation inspires, if anything, a suspicion 
 of conspiracy by the white races. Japan cannot 
 be disarmed except by liberating China from the 
 clutch of Europe. Japan will endure the burden 
 of armament as long as there is fear of Western 
 aggression upon China.” In fact she must do so 
 until the international relationships are put 
 upon a Christian basis in which men are surely 
 bound together by common ties of humanity and 
 brotherhood. The only solution for these world 
 problems is a League of Nations which shall be a 
 reality spiritually, as well as politically. To 
 
 t Quoted from Viscount Uchida’s article, published in 
 Asia, December, 1919. 
 
40 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 realize the spirit of such a federation is a relig- 
 ious problem based upon the great principle of 
 God’s common fatherhood and man’s brother- 
 hood. It is a matter of no small satisfaction and 
 encouragement to the realization of the League 
 of Nations on Christian principles, that in the 
 words of Prince Katsura, a great modern states- 
 man of Japan, “ Japan is no longer Japan of the 
 Far East but Japan of the World.” 
 
Chapter Three: The Mod- 
 ern Industrial Revolution 
 and Its Problems in Japan 
 
 The Modern Industrial Eevolution. 
 
 F ifty years ago Japanese industry was 
 entirely accomplished by domestic manu- 
 facturing under the patronage of the 
 upper classes, and was merely intended to 
 supply the necessities of home consumption. 
 There was no modern machinery, no steam 
 or electric power used. Even division of 
 labour on any extensive plan was not known. 
 To-day everything is completely changed. It is 
 no exaggeration to say that Japan has become 
 not only the leading industrial nation of the 
 Orient but one of the foremost countries of the 
 whole world in industry and commerce. To de- 
 scribe this industrial revolution, which has been 
 accomplished in less than fifty years, surpasses 
 the powers of imagination ; but to attempt to do 
 it should awaken keen interest in the Japanese 
 people and their destiny. 
 
 The industrial revolution in Japan resembles 
 that which took place in England after the inven- 
 tion of machinery and the discovery of steam 
 power. The importation of foreign products very 
 quickly affected the customs and habits of the 
 Japanese people, who adopted foreign fashions 
 
 41 
 
42 PEOGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 both in wearing apparel and in architecture. It 
 was quite a common thing in the transition 
 period to see curious combinations of Japanese 
 and Western styles of dress, such as wooden 
 clogs, red flannel underwear, a frock coat and 
 silk hat. This remarkable change in the customs 
 of the people called for changes in their indus- 
 trial life, and led to the organization of industry 
 on a modern basis which allowed for perfect free- 
 dom of action and initiative in manufacturing, 
 and liberty in travel and commerce. The coinage 
 was unified and systematized on a gold standard. 
 A national system of paper money was estab- 
 lished and national and private banking concerns 
 were organized. The Yokohama Specie Bank 
 was founded in 1879 and the Bank of Japan in 
 1882. 
 
 From 1872 the Imperial Government began to 
 take an active part in encouraging industry and 
 trade. Exhibits to be sent to the Great Inter- 
 national Exhibition at Vienna the following year 
 were sanctioned and assisted by the government. 
 About seventy prominent Japanese attended the 
 exhibition, after which they visited all the 
 Western countries, studying methods of industry 
 and commerce. They returned to Japan with all 
 kinds of samples of both raw and manufactured 
 materials. They imported modern tools and 
 machinery and subsidized a company to export 
 Japanese products and wares. As a result Jap- 
 anese lacquer wares, metal work, textile fabrics 
 quickly became known throughout the world. 
 
MODERN INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 43 
 
 The ancient industries of Japan were rejuven- 
 ated and again began to prosper. In 1877 they 
 held a National Industrial Exhibition in Tokyo 
 in order to educate the masses of the people and 
 to encourage modern industries. This was fol- 
 lowed by a great boom in industry. Model silk 
 factories and experimental factories were organ- 
 ized under government direction and control. 
 Manufacturers were called together and given a 
 chance to exchange ideas and stimulate greater 
 endeavour. Local prefectural industrial exhi- 
 bitions were held and judges were appointed by 
 the central government. Provincial museums 
 for exhibiting various products of industry were 
 established and encouraged by the government. 
 
 Technical education was organized. An en- 
 gineering college to teach all the applied sciences 
 was established in Tokyo. Faculties of applied 
 science were also introduced into the Imperial 
 Universities in Kyoto and Tokyo. Later, higher 
 technical schools were established in many of 
 the large cities and were supported by a large 
 number of preparatory technical schools. Thou- 
 sands of young men were trained in this way and 
 entered various industrial enterprises. Many of 
 the brightest graduates were sent abroad for 
 study and investigation, with the idea of return- 
 ing to become captains of industry and commerce. 
 In 1888 the government passed regulations relat- 
 ing to patents and trade marks. Special recog- 
 nition was given to inventors of new machines. 
 In this way the Japanese have clearly proven 
 
44 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 that they are not mere imitators but that they 
 possess initiative, originality and inventive 
 ability. 
 
 After the war with China (1894-95) a great 
 boom took place in manufacturing. Joint stock 
 companies were formed and many manufacturers 
 became independent of government subsidies. 
 Business men upon their own initiative made 
 tours of the world to study the needs of the 
 foreign markets. They also turned their atten-. 
 tion to Australia, the South Sea Islands and 
 South America. After the Russian War (1904- 
 1905) industry again flourished and about one 
 thousand new companies were organized. About 
 this time the government began to organize 
 national industries in order to raise the national 
 revenue. The Crude Camphor and Camphor Oil 
 Monopoly was organized in 1903, the Salt Mon- 
 opoly in 1905, the Tobacco Monopoly in 1904, 
 and many of the railways were nationalized in 
 1906. 
 
 The manner of assisting these various com- 
 panies showed great business foresight and 
 ability, especially in a country where for so long 
 the higher classes had despised commerce. Bank- 
 ing corporations for the special purpose of 
 lending money at a low rate of interest were 
 organized. Banks like the Agricultural Banks, 
 the Hokkaido Colonial Banks or the Industrial 
 Banks were intended to assist men of enterprise 
 in their work of organizing industry. Most of 
 these banks made long loans at low interest on 
 
MODEEN INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 45 
 
 immovable property. The Industrial Bank made 
 loans on local loan bonds and reliable companies’ 
 debentures and shares. It gave mortgages on 
 ships and ships under construction. It even took 
 shares in companies approved by the government 
 and made loans for fixed terms on sites and build- 
 ings belonging to large industries, provided 
 always that these loans did not exceed one half 
 the amount of paid-up capital. The Hokkaido 
 Colonial Banks, as the name implies, were in- 
 tended to assist the people who were opening up 
 industries in the north country. Japan’s success 
 in modern industry was thus very greatly influ- 
 enced by her organization of finance under 
 reliable government supervision. 
 
 Just before the World War, trade and indus- 
 try were suffering a reaction from the activity 
 following the Russian War. The government 
 opposed any further foreign loans, and the 
 balance of trade was decidedly against Japan. 
 Every effort was being made to assist the people 
 in their burden of taxation. Then in 1914, Japan 
 entered the war on the side of the allies and sent 
 an expedition to capture Tsintao. But in spite 
 of the expense involved, it was soon found that 
 Japan was so far from the main theatre of the 
 war that her trade and her industries were not 
 going to suffer from her share in the world con- 
 flict, but rather she began almost immediately to 
 reap rich benefits from it. 
 
 In the remaining years of the war, but especi- 
 ally in the second year, Japan enjoyed unpre- 
 
46 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 cedented commercial and industrial activity. 
 Large orders for munitions and other orders 
 from India, China and the South Seas made 
 export trade prosper. The scarcity of shipping 
 and the abnormal price offered for Japanese 
 ships abroad brought unprecedented activity in 
 ship building. Then the embargoes placed on 
 Western products led Japanese to attempt to 
 manufacture machinery and chemico-industrial 
 products in Japan. The presence of large sup- 
 plies of money in the country made trade and 
 industrial expansion comparatively easy. At 
 this time there were over two hundred and 
 twenty-five million pounds sterling (yen, 2,200, 
 000,000) invested in the creation of new, and 
 the development and expansion of old industries, 
 mostly manufacturing and mining. This unex- 
 pected progress enabled her to invest in bonds to 
 support the allied cause to the extent of nearly 
 one hundred and twenty million pounds sterling, 
 or nearly all of her favourable trade balance. 
 
 During the last four years factories have 
 sprung up everywhere, the streets and the trains 
 have been continuously crowded with traffic. 
 New industries never heard of before in Japan 
 have sprung up with magic rapidity. “ In 1917 
 Japan was the greatest exporter of low-grade 
 toys. In 1910 their value was £150,000, in 1913 
 £250,000, and in 1917 £830,000. Her trade with 
 India, China and the South Seas has advanced 
 by leaps and bounds. In 1913 India imported 
 only about eight million yards of Japanese 
 
MODERN INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 47 
 
 cotton piece-goods; in 1917, nearly ninety -three 
 million yards.”* Japan sent purchasing agents 
 to India to secure the very best varieties of 
 cotton and to sell her manufactured cotton goods. 
 In this way she has been able to produce a much 
 finer cotton article to compete with those pro- 
 duced in Manchester and in the Bombay mills. 
 But another serious side of this competition is 
 that Japan can import Indian cotton, manufac- 
 ture it, and flood the Chinese markets at a lower 
 rate than the Indian mills can possibly do under 
 existing circumstances. Another fact which 
 shows the enterprise of the Japanese business 
 man is his plan to build railroads in South 
 Manchuria to a near Korean port and in this way 
 enable his manufactured goods to reach the 
 central Asiatic markets at a minimum cost for 
 transportation. Some of these facts explain why 
 foreign business men might not like these bright, 
 active, industrious traders of Japan. In other 
 cases the lack of any strong sense of individual 
 responsibility has given the Japanese business 
 man a bad name. Individuality is only produced 
 in its highest form by the practice of Christian 
 principles, but even in the so-called Christian 
 countries much lack of individual reliability 
 exists. However, general statements such as are 
 so frequently made against Japanese commercial 
 ethics are not true simply because they are based 
 on single instances, or experiences of some 
 
 The London Times Trade Supplement, Sept. 6, 1919. 
 
48 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 unfortunate foreigner who got hold of the wrong 
 man. But even if they are mostly true, then, all 
 the more reason why Christian propagandism 
 should be systematically pushed. 
 
 On the other hand it is well for us to realize 
 that we British are allied to a wide awake and 
 very energetic race, who will no doubt become 
 more and more like British people in their poli- 
 tical ideals, while in their industry and com- 
 merce they are bound to become more and more 
 our rivals. They are increasing very rapidly in 
 population and will naturally spread out over 
 the Far East and the islands of the sea. For the 
 first time in modern history a coloured race has 
 arisen which is sufficiently alert and astute to 
 beat the white races at their own games. Unless 
 the Anglo-Saxon race abandons its race suicide 
 and British labourers endeavour to increase 
 their industrial products they will be surpassed 
 in the economic race by the Japanese. 
 
 Labour Problems op Modern Japan. 
 
 The natural outcome of this rapid development 
 of industry in Japan has been the rise of social 
 and economic problems which press for solution. 
 These problems are not so advanced as they are 
 in Western countries. In fact it is nearer the 
 truth to say that they resemble those of England 
 one hundred years ago. Even as late as 1882 the 
 number of factories using modern machinery 
 was only about eighty-four. But to-day there are 
 several thousands of them. During the past four 
 
MODERN INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 49 
 
 years alone about nineteen thousand factories 
 were either built or very greatly enlarged, while 
 the increase in the number of employees reached 
 over four hundred thousand. This explains some 
 peculiar characteristics of the labour problem in 
 Japan. 
 
 Factory law in Japan is still one hundred 
 years behind that of the most advanced Western 
 nations, and public opinion is so poorly educated 
 upon these questions that even the agitation for 
 the improvement of the condition of the labourer 
 is often looked upon as a dangerous thought or 
 as something to be opposed. The law-makers in 
 their factory laws are attempting to raise the 
 ideals of the public within the next fifteen years. 
 The Canadian Methodist Mission has a standing 
 committee investigating the social problems of 
 Japan. From their annual report the following 
 account of the factory law is quoted : 
 
 (a) Children under fifteen, and women must 
 not work more than twelve hours a day. 
 
 (b) Children under fourteen, and w'omen must 
 not work at night between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. 
 
 (c) No child under twelve years shall be per- 
 mitted to work in a factory, but easy work may 
 be permitted by the administrative authorities 
 to children as young as ten. This law is not to 
 become actual law for fifteen years. In the mean- 
 time (o) the twelve hour daily limit may be ex- 
 tended to fourteen hours by the authorities; 
 ( 5 ) night work may be permitted to women and 
 children w'hen there is : ( 1 ) A special reason for 
 
 4 
 
50 PEOGEESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIEE 
 
 working in one spell. (2) A special reason for 
 night work. (3) Alternative sets of operatives. 
 These provisions, Mr. Price points out, corres- 
 pond to the English law of 1819. In each case 
 the ages given are Japanese ages, which count 
 the child as one year old at birth and increase 
 every year at New Year, so that the above ages 
 must be reduced a year at least to get the equiva- 
 lent foreign age. In 1833, English law forbade 
 night work to women and children, and in 1891 
 it prohibited work to children under eleven years 
 of age. The Japanese law prohibits women and 
 children working around dangerous machinery, 
 and in the presence of poisonous gases. But with 
 the exception of this last point the whole law is 
 made for the factory owner, and may be set aside 
 in cases of extraordinary necessity. It is diffi- 
 cult to harmonize the factory law with the state- 
 ment so often made that over ninety-two per cent, 
 of the children of sichool age are actually in 
 school. 
 
 The committee were able to investigate the 
 largest factories and received information which 
 the factory owners seemed pleased to give, be- 
 cause their factories were really superior in 
 many ways. But as the conditions come to be 
 known it is evident that industrial conditions in 
 Japan differ from those of the West in several 
 important respects. (1) There is a larger per- 
 centage of young female labour employed, since 
 more than one-third of the workers are girls 
 under nineteen years of age. (2) The term of 
 
MODEEN INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 51 
 
 service is much shorter, and skilled labour is 
 more difficult to obtain. This may be due to the 
 sudden manner in which industry has gone for- 
 ward. But already, since the war, many of the 
 temporary factories have closed down, and those 
 who rushed from the farms to the factories, 
 attracted by high wages, are experiencing great 
 difficulty. (3) The law is not sympathetic witli 
 the labourer in his effort for freedom. If he 
 attempts to instigate a strike he may be punished 
 by imprisonment with hard labour for from one 
 to six months, or by a fine of from three yen to 
 thirty. (4) Japanese workers do not observe 
 one day of rest in seven, and they work from 
 twelve to fourteen hours a day. In some cases 
 they work even for a longer period. In some of 
 the more up-to-date business concerns the West- 
 ern eight-hour day is now being introduced, but 
 the great majority of the factories continue 
 working overtime. 
 
 * The following digest of an address by Osamu 
 Ishihara, M.D., delivered before the National 
 Medical Society in October, 1913, gives an 
 account of Japanese labouring women which still 
 holds true except that the numbers are greatly 
 increased r 
 
 “ In private factories alone the number of 
 workers in 1910 was 800,000. Among these 
 300,000 are men and 500,000 are women. Of the 
 
 * This is part of the material gathered by “ The Com- 
 mittee of the Canadian Methodist Mission in Japan on 
 Social Conditions,” of which the Rev. Percy G. Price, Kana- 
 zawa, is chairman. 
 
52 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 500.000 women 300,000 are under twenty. Those 
 over twenty are made up chiefly of women be 
 tween twenty-one and twenty-four. Therefore, 
 one-third of the total manufacturing population 
 of Japan, both public and private (900,000), 
 that is 300,000, consists of female workers under 
 twenty. In Western factories female workers 
 under twenty are assistants, but in Japan they 
 are the principal workers. Out of the 500,000 
 female workers, 190,000 are engaged in raw silk, 
 
 80.000 in cotton spinning, and 120,000 in Aveav- 
 ing, making a total of 400,000 in the textile 
 industries. Among these, 70 per cent, live in 
 dormitories and the very large proportion are 
 girls under twenty. Factory owners do not use 
 the villagers, but recruit girls from far away 
 districts. According to my opinion, living in 
 dormitories is a system of slavery. 
 
 ‘‘ In the raw silk industry they are made to 
 work from thirteen to fifteen hours. In the 
 weaving industry some work twelve, but the 
 majority from fourteen to sixteen hours. It 
 would seem that the public countenance these 
 things because Japanese civilization has not yet 
 made sufficient progress. 
 
 “ The meal hour is from twenty to thirty 
 minutes. But if the worker thinks she can rest 
 for thirty minutes she is making a mistake. If 
 she does the foreman is displeased. But if she 
 shortens her meal hour the foreman is pleased. 
 There are some factories where they spin yarn 
 and weave cloth while eating rice balls. 
 
MODERN INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 53 
 
 “ The factories are generally dark, and the 
 raw silk factories are filled with steam. In such 
 places girls not yet full grown must work. It 
 would be surprising if healthy conditions were 
 maintained in these places. 
 
 “ The physical condition of women under 
 twenty is conspicuously bad. The longer they 
 work the worse their condition becomes. If we 
 examine the girls who are seventeen years old 
 we find that those who entered at fifteen are 
 worse than those who entered at sixteen and 
 those who entered at fourteen still worse. 
 
 “ The cotton spinning industry is not native 
 to Japan and depends upon the use of machinery. 
 When the machinery stops all must stop. They 
 strictly observe a rest period of thirty minutes 
 at noon, and thirty minutes in the afternoon. 
 The first class factories are splendid, but the 
 second and third rate factories are like those of 
 the raw silk above described. They are usually 
 filled with cotton dust and are exceedingly hot 
 and damp. The machinery never rests. There 
 are day and night shifts. They exchange at 6 a.m. 
 and 6 p.m. The shifts themselves are changed 
 every seven or eight days so that the former day 
 workers become night workers. A great number 
 of girls of twelve and thirteen are employed. 
 Making young, innocent girls, who have not yet 
 experienced the impulses of womanhood, work 
 from evening till morning, rubbing their sleepy 
 eyes under the electric light, is a problem of 
 humanity. 
 
54 PKOGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 “ The decrease in weight due to night work 
 in one cotton-spinning factory examined was 
 170 momme ( 120 momme equal one pound) . The 
 amount recovered during the next period of day 
 work is 101 momme. The net loss in weight dur- 
 ing one week of day work and one week of night 
 work is 69 momme. Those who work continu- 
 ously in such a way will be reduced to skin and 
 bones. Grown-xip people might be able to main- 
 tain a balance of bodily condition, but as these 
 workers are not full grown, they cannot do it. 
 So they receive a double injury. They grow 
 daily weaker and become stunted. To treat 
 girls in that way is an act of murder, though 
 slow and indirect. The employers are saved 
 from actual murder because the girls, not 
 being able to stand it any longer, run away. 
 The consideration of such a deliberate course of 
 action being pursued toward innocent children 
 gives one a very uncanny sensation. Night work 
 has a great deal to do with the death rate due to 
 consumption. 
 
 “ In cotton spinning and weaving half of the 
 workers leave within less than a year. Of those 
 who leave within the year half stay for less than 
 six months. In cotton spinning the percentage 
 of those who leave after three months and before 
 six is very great. The reason they leave is that 
 the work is not suitable for human beings and 
 destroys the human body. A factory which 
 employs 1,000 hands cannot continue business 
 unless at least 800 new workers are employed 
 every year. 
 
The Modern Cotton Factory. 
 
 When Weaving Was Done in the Horne. 
 JAPAN’S CHANGING INDUSTRIAL CONDITIONS. 
 
MODEEN INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 55 
 
 “ In small factories the second story, and in 
 large factories a separate building, is used for 
 dormitory purposes. In new factories of large 
 capital the plan of the dormitory is perfect, but 
 in the ordinary factory the rooms which have suf- 
 ficient light are few. In small factories the dor- 
 mitories are surprisingly poor and wretched. 
 On an average each worker has one mat. But 
 there are some places, such as in Nagano Ken, 
 where there are many factories in which each 
 worker has not even one mat.* Even worse con- 
 ditions exist in the smaller factories. 
 
 “ Usually one set of bedclothes is given to two 
 workers. In some raw silk and weaving fac- 
 tories under middle grade, in which the dormi- 
 tory is small and bedclothes insufficient, they 
 put the under quilts close together, and then 
 lying as closely together as possible, they have 
 the caretaker cover them with the upper quilts. 
 On account of frequent change of workers one 
 set of bedclothes is used by several different per- 
 sons. The clothes are not even aired when they 
 change their owners. This is a powerful factor 
 in the spread of consumption. In some cotton- 
 spinning factories, where there is night work, 
 the night workers lie down in the beds which are 
 still warm because the day workers have just 
 vacated them. In order to sleep they make the 
 room dark, so that the clothes never see the 
 sunlight,” 
 
 3 ft. by 6. ft. 
 
The following statistics for 191G, for which I am irulebtwl to Mr. Ilarada 
 of the Kwansei (laknin, show a very great increase in the iinniher of women 
 and children workers. 
 
 50 PROGRESS IN ]dIKADO'S EilPIRE 
 
 Totals 
 
 639,438 
 
 149,477 
 
 125,780 
 
 54,779 
 
 102.499 
 
 23,328 
 
 1,095,301 
 
 Total 
 
 Women 
 
 542,418 
 
 10,190 
 
 39,233 
 
 8,910 
 
 33,900 
 
 2,018 
 
 636,669 
 
 Men 
 
 97,020 
 
 139,287 
 
 86,547 
 
 45,869 
 
 68,599 
 
 21,310 
 
 458,632 
 
 Under 12 
 
 Women 
 
 LO oc « oo o 
 
 C5 iO ^ 
 
 CO OO CM 
 
 5,571 
 
 Men 
 
 t— CM O O ^ 
 
 CM r— 1 1— ( 
 
 1—1 OC T-1 
 
 CO 
 
 o 
 
 CM 
 
 1^ 
 
 12 ~ 14 
 
 Women 
 
 77,288 
 
 842 
 
 4,867 
 
 532 
 
 4,154 
 
 26 
 
 87,709 
 
 Men 
 
 o O ;C rH 
 
 lO o iO OO 
 
 1—1 lO 
 
 19,964 
 
 Over 15 
 
 Women 
 
 460,735 
 
 9,340 
 
 33,513 
 
 8,371 
 
 29,448 
 
 1,982 
 
 543,389 
 
 Men 
 
 92,286 
 
 135,049 
 
 80,177 
 
 45,107 
 
 64,024 
 
 21,222 
 
 437,865 
 
 JO -0^ 
 
 CM CC O 05 CM 
 
 C5 UO CD OC 50 CO 
 
 CO OO CM O CM 
 
 iO tH CM CM CO 
 
 19,299 
 
 
 Silk Spinning, 
 Cotton Spinning, 
 Weaving, etc.. 
 Machinery 
 
 and Tnnlic! 
 
 Chemist 
 
 Food & Drinking. 
 Miscellaneous . . 
 Special Industry , 
 Gas, Electricity, 
 and Metal 
 
 Refininer 
 
 [ 
 
 1 1 
 1 G 
 
 1 
 
 » 
 
 1 
 
 Besides these there are also mention ed about 00,000 women coolies who 
 work in the mines with men who are veiy close to the “ missing link ” be- 
 tween men and animals. 
 
MODERN INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 57 
 
 In December, 1918, the leading daily paper of 
 Osaka took up the question of the condition of 
 women workers in three successive issues of the 
 paper, and called attention to facts very similar 
 to those mentioned by Dr. Ishihara. It quotes 
 Prof. Masai, of the Osaka Medical College, who 
 points out the dangers to public health arising 
 from the method of treating the girls in factories. 
 In the February number of the Taiyo Magazine 
 there is an article on “ Women’s Place in Japan- 
 ese Industry,” which calls for improvement in 
 the physical welfare and comfort of the women 
 workers. It describes girls of adolescent age, 
 most of whom cannot write their own names, 
 living together in large numbers, and calls atten- 
 tion to the problem of reform as one which claims 
 the immediate attention of the Japanese public. 
 Books like that of Prof. Ab6, of Waseda, an 
 earnest Christian man, on “ The Latest Social 
 Problems,” deal with modern social problems 
 which have arisen since the introduction of mod- 
 ern civilization. Dr. Hajime Kawakami, of 
 Kyoto Imperial University, discusses ‘‘ The 
 Social Problem as Looked at Through a Pipe.” 
 He also deals with the problem of female labour 
 in Japan. He points out the fact that the intro- 
 duction of machinery, electric lamps and water 
 supply has helped to emancipate women. But 
 the increased cost of living makes it necessary 
 for them to work. At present six times as many 
 women are working in the cotton and silk mills 
 as men. He quotes Mi\ Nikaido, an oflftcial of 
 
58 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 the Statistics Bureau, to show that in recent 
 years the death rate among babies, young men 
 and women has greatly increased, due as he 
 supposes, in part at least, to the way young girls 
 are forced to labour in factories. He quotes the 
 results of Dr. Ishihara’s investigation, and con- 
 cludes that “ Machinery is eating the flesh of our 
 young women while we are in bed.” In addition 
 to facts quoted above. Dr. Kawakami shows that 
 out of 200,000 young women coming out from 
 the country every year, 80,000 return home, and 
 that a large percentage of the returned opera- 
 tives are victims of tuberculosis. The introduc- 
 tion of one such victim into a village where there 
 is no attention to sanitation will eventually mean 
 the destruction of the village. In this strong 
 way he points out the danger to national life, 
 and calls upon the public to help reform these 
 terrible conditions. In this way great scholars 
 and editors are endeavouring to create a public 
 conscience on this great question of women 
 labouring for long hours in factories, under im- 
 proper conditions of sanitation and morals. 
 
 The conditions which <have just been described 
 resemble similar conditions in England shortly 
 after the introduction of machinery. The situa- 
 tion was met by men who, like the Earl of 
 Shaftesbury, and Howard, gave their lives un- 
 selfishly for the betterment of society. They 
 were impelled to do so by their religious faith 
 and conviction. In Japan, while the attitude of 
 Shinto towards women has been better than that 
 
MODEEN INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 59 
 
 of Buddhism, the combination of the two reli- 
 gions has not been very satisfactory. The more 
 popular sects of Buddhism hold out hope for 
 woman to enter Paradise provided she is reborn 
 a man. Woman is depraved, and because of sin 
 in past births she has to suffer the humiliation 
 of being a woman. A religion whose histori(* 
 attitude makes woman “ a messenger of hell ” is 
 not likely to be a powerful influence in her 
 redemption. Even Confucianism as it has been 
 handed down in popular thought, degrades 
 woman to an inferior position to man, and in 
 many cases makes her his tool. Popular theatres 
 sometimes laud the loyalty and devotion of 
 a woman who sells her chastity to save her hus- 
 band from debt, or more commonly to help her 
 parents financially. A popular Japanese pro- 
 verb expresses the thought that a woman is not 
 to be trusted even after she has borne you seven 
 children. With such a traditional attitude 
 toward woman there is no power sufficiently 
 strong in Japan to cope with the situation and 
 bring about reform except the power of the 
 Gospel of Christ and of the Holy Spirit. In 
 fact, public opinion in Japan is already being 
 transformed by its direct or indirect influence. 
 It is very difficult to estimate to what extent 
 the Christian message has already changed the 
 traditional ideas and ideals of Japan. It is 
 being received in so many different ways ; 
 through English literature ; through the general 
 education of woman; and in many other ways 
 
60 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 too difficult to analyze. In short, there are 
 greater forces at work making for the Kingdom 
 of God in Japan than most men dream of. We 
 are co-workers together with God, and God’s 
 ways are innumerable. 
 
 It is no exaggeration to say that the general 
 labour situation in Japan, even among the men, 
 is also one hundred years behind the West. 
 Many of them can still look back to feudal times 
 when their fathers were more like serfs than 
 modern labourers of the West. Up to 1882, little 
 or nothing had been done to improve the condi- 
 tion of Japanese labourers. In Count Okuma’s 
 “ Fifty Years of New Japan,” Volume II, Pro- 
 fessor Isao Ab6, of Waseda University, gives a 
 very interesting account of early labour move- 
 ments in Japan. In 1885 the Azuma newspaper 
 began to draw public attention to the needs of 
 the labouring classes, and in 1892, the editor, 
 Mr. Kentaro Oi, organized a party to protect the 
 poor labouring classes, and the first Labour 
 Union was formed. In 1884 a Printers’ Union 
 was formed, assisted by Mr. T. Sakuma, the head 
 of a printing house. In 1889 an iron workers’ 
 league was formed to establish a co-operative 
 iron foundry. In 1890 several Japanese in San 
 Francisco organized a Labour Association to 
 study the labour problems in the West and then 
 return to help labour in Japan. Seven years 
 later the Workmen’s Society, backed by several 
 prominent Christians, was organized in Tokyo, 
 
MODERN INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 61 
 
 and a magazine called The Labourer’s World 
 was edited by Mr. Sen Katayama, who has writ- 
 ten an excellent article on “ The Japanese 
 Labourer” in the January (1920) number of 
 Asia. 
 
 In 1898 a field day for labourers was planned 
 in Tokyo, but the police, fearing trouble, forbade 
 it. In 1901 a local newspaper sold thousands of 
 tickets for another Labourer’s Society gathering 
 in Tokyo. The police became alarmed and tried 
 to limit the crowd to five thousand, who should 
 come without sticks or weapons and not be 
 allowed intoxicants. The result was that on the 
 day appointed over five thousand gathered early 
 in the morning and the gathering ended in a 
 mob. In 1898 the Railway Engineers in Northern 
 Japan united to ask for higher wages. The com- 
 pany sent a representative to the scene of the 
 trouble, and ten men suspected of being 
 ringleaders were dismissed. Then several hun- 
 dreds threatened to strike, organized on a more 
 secure basis against the oppression of the em- 
 ployers and for a time the union was powerful. 
 Mr. Abe, who is himself an earnest Christian, 
 points out that five of the ten suspected ring- 
 leaders were Christians, and that they after- 
 wards organized a Temperance Society among 
 the engineers, and two hundred of them became 
 teetotallers. But capital, assisted by the police, 
 broke up this organization. The police became 
 very nervous after the disgraceful conspiracy of 
 
62 PEOGEESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIEE 
 
 Kotoku and his friends against the life of the 
 Emperor, and for a time labour and other social 
 movements were dropped. 
 
 In recent years Mr. Bunjiro Suzuki, a loyal 
 and respected Christian, has organized the (Yu 
 ai Kai) Friendly-Love Society for the purpose 
 of assisting the labouring classes. Mr. Suzuki 
 is president of the association, and being very 
 sane and Christian in his methods, is doing 
 great service, not only for the labourers them- 
 selves but also for the employers. The member- 
 ship now numbers over thirty thousand and the 
 society bids fair to be an ideal union of labouring 
 men. During 1917 there were 367 strikes 
 reported in Japan. This number is unprece- 
 dented and is one of the natural results of the 
 industrial revolution and the unsettled condition 
 of the Japanese labourer, who is almost entirely 
 at the mercy of the employer, who practically 
 dictates the terms of employment and very often 
 dismisses him without consideration. Although 
 the law formally makes provision for the work- 
 man in case of accident or sickness during his 
 employment, and orders two weeks’ pay in case 
 of sudden dismissal, yet the unscrupulous em- 
 ployer can easily find some reason for evading 
 the law. In an address before a learned society 
 in Tokyo Mr. Suzuki draws attention to the great 
 disrespect for labour on the part of the masters 
 of factories, and deplores the fact that so little 
 consideration is given to the welfare and interest 
 of the working man, either by government or 
 
MODEKN INDUSTEIAL EEVOLUTION 63 
 
 private employers. Mr. Suzuki also points out 
 the remarkable progress which has been made in 
 enlightening employers and employees. There 
 is a healthy dissatisfaction among the labourers 
 with their present position, and the Japanese 
 capitalist must not only “ sit up and take notice,” 
 but must do something to remedy existing evils. 
 
 The remedy is not merely economic. It must 
 be sought for in the religious attitude of man 
 to man. It calls for a recognition of the funda- 
 mental ideals of Christianity in regard to per- 
 sonality. Christ’s attitude toward the least of 
 men, toward the individual soul, is the founda- 
 tion for the solution of the labour problem in 
 any country. It is not a class problem; it is 
 a problem of humanity. The Christian must be 
 greater than a class. He stands for the brother- 
 hood of all men, impelled by the resistless love 
 of our common Father, God. In this day of 
 economic and social upheaval, Christ and His 
 Gospel of love is the only foundation for any 
 remedy for the ills of society. The Christian 
 worker is a propagandist for world citizenship 
 and world-wide brotherhood in Christ. 
 
Chapter Four: TheReligious 
 Situation in Modern Japan 
 
 Histoeical. 
 
 T he religious upheaval which accompanied 
 the restoration of Imperial authority in 
 1868 resembles similar events in the his- 
 tory of the Jewish people. Shinto, the national 
 religion, had great influence with the govern- 
 ment, which took steps to wipe all trace of 
 Buddhist influence out of the Shinto shrines; 
 Buddhist priests were driven out of these temple- 
 shrines; Buddhist idols, hangings and scrip- 
 tures were torn out and burned; special privi- 
 leges which had been granted to Buddhism were 
 withdrawn. Most of the princes who had be- 
 come Buddhist priests retired from their office. 
 A Department of this National Cult (jijikwan) 
 was opened, and the following year officials of 
 the government were appointed to teach pure 
 Shinto. Edicts called attention to the facts that 
 Japan was the land of the gods, that H.I.M. the 
 Emperor and his loyal subjects were alike the 
 sons of the gods, and that in ancient days the 
 government and the religion of Japan had been 
 identical; lyit for a time the way had been 
 clouded by darkness and the Emperor’s author- 
 ity lost. With the restoration of the Emperor 
 it was only natural for the people to return to 
 the right way, the way of the gods, Shinto. Even 
 64 
 
THE EELIGIOUS SITUATION 
 
 65 
 
 cremation was forbidden, as being a Buddhist 
 or foreign method of burial. 
 
 At this time, and for some years during these 
 early days of the new era, Shinto began to 
 give birth to many superstitious sects. As the 
 country became more and more enlightened these 
 superstitious sects assimilated much that is 
 Western and Christian, and systematized their 
 doctrinal standards in a more modern form. 
 The following list gives some idea of their num- 
 ber and importance. 
 
 Sect 
 
 Date of 
 Organization 
 
 No. of 
 Believers 
 
 Preaching 
 
 Places 
 
 Teachers 
 
 1. 
 
 Tenrikyo 
 
 Circa 1870 
 
 3,109,892 
 
 2,834 
 
 21,250 
 
 2. 
 
 Konkokyo 
 
 Circa 1861 
 
 562,378 
 
 436 
 
 1,150 
 
 3. 
 
 Kurozumikyo 
 
 Circa 1870+ 
 
 488,509 
 
 476 
 
 4,090 
 
 4. 
 
 Ontakekyo 
 
 Circa 1870 
 
 964,605 
 
 589 
 
 9,069 
 
 5. 
 
 Jikkokyo 
 
 Circa 1875 
 
 385,388 
 
 157 
 
 2,757 
 
 6. 
 
 Fusokyo 
 
 Circa 1870-75 
 
 186,238 
 
 233 
 
 2,927 
 
 7. 
 
 Misokyo 
 
 Circa 1873 
 
 123,092 
 
 30 
 
 621 
 
 8. 
 
 Shinshukyo 
 
 Circa 1880 
 
 918,454 
 
 278 
 
 3,739 
 
 9. 
 
 Taiseikyo 
 
 Circa 1882 
 
 4,131,856 
 
 180 
 
 5,277 
 
 10. 
 
 Shindoshu 
 
 Circa 1870-75 
 
 1,591,751 
 
 505 
 
 8,564 
 
 11. 
 
 Shinrikyo 
 
 Circa 1880 
 
 1,521,516 
 
 176 
 
 2,176 
 
 12. 
 
 Taishakyo 
 
 Circa 1870+ 
 
 718,291 
 
 270 
 
 3,310 
 
 13. 
 
 Shuseikyo 
 
 Circa 1871 
 
 485,447 
 
 346 
 
 8,582 
 
 In 1871 A.D. the National Cult Department 
 became a bureau of the gods, and administration 
 was separated from religion altogether. The 
 custom of performing religious ceremonies by 
 Imperial order was given up ; the palace Buddha 
 was removed; the land bestoAved upon priests 
 5 
 
66 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 was taken away; women were now allowed to 
 visit the mountain tops and enter other sacred 
 places freely. In 1873 the Bureau of the Gods 
 became a Department of Shrines and Temples, 
 which had charge of teaching only, while the 
 religious festivals were placed under the Depart- 
 ment of Rites and Ceremonies. At this time 
 they emphasized reverence for the gods and care 
 for the country. Heavenly reason and Heavenly 
 virtue must be made known. Respect and rev- 
 erence for the Emperor, and obedience to his 
 every wish must be observed. Officials were 
 appointed to teach these moral, patriotic prin- 
 ciples; they were recruited from former priests 
 of Buddhism and Shinto. Year by year the edu- 
 cational standards were raised. The first school, 
 the Dai Kyomi, was founded, subjects were given 
 to each sect for study, and a monthly sermon 
 was requested. These were of a national char- 
 acter: (1) The Grace of the Gods and the Em- 
 peror. (2) The Immortality of the Soul. (3) 
 The Creation of All Things by the Gods. (4) 
 Life, Heaven, Hell. (5) Patriotism. (6) The 
 Festival of the Gods. (7) Prayer for the long 
 life of H.I.M. the Emperor. (8) The Relation 
 of Lords and Retainers. (9) The Relation of 
 Parents and Child. (10) The Relation of Hus- 
 band and Wife. (11) Festivals of Purification. 
 All Buddhists who could conform to these ideals 
 were allowed to teach. Gradually, however, 
 suitable men were chosen as instructors in 
 
THE RELIGIOUS SITUATION 
 
 67 
 
 National Ethics, and were respected as officials 
 of the government rather than as priests. 
 
 In 1873 several Buddhist priests visited the 
 West and reported in favour of separating Bud- 
 dhism and Shinto. The Dai Kyomi was discon- 
 tinued and each sect was permitted to establish 
 its own school. In 1877 the Board of Shrines 
 and Temples was changed to a Bureau for the 
 purpose of superintending them. Then for a 
 time Buddhism again received many favours. 
 The moral-teaching officials were abolished and 
 each sect was permitted to fix its own standards. 
 The temples and shrines were very well organ- 
 ized and regulated at this time. In 1899 the 
 government completely separated Shinto shrines 
 from Buddhist temples. The latter were put 
 under a Bureau of Religions, while the former 
 were under a Bureau of Shrines. At this time 
 even the great Ise shrine became a secular organ- 
 ization, because “ Shinto is merely a mechanism 
 for keeping generations in touch with genera- 
 tions, and preserving the continuity of the 
 nation’s veneration for its ancestors.” Shinto 
 was no longer a religion but the embodiment of 
 the national life. 
 
 With the separation of Shinto from religion 
 Buddhism and Christianity w'ere placed in the 
 same category, and were, as religions, opposed 
 to the irreligious attitude of the government. 
 In 1890 the Imperial Edict on National Ethics 
 to be taught in schools was issued by the 
 
68 PROGEESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 Emperor. This is a very carefully thought out 
 system of ethical ideas intended to create a 
 national ethical spirit. It reads as follows : 
 “ Our ancestors founded the State on a vast basis 
 while their virtues were deeply implanted; and 
 our subjects, by their unanimity in their great 
 loyalty and filial affection, have in all ages 
 shown them in perfection. Such is the essential 
 beauty of our national polity and such, too, is 
 the true spring of our educational system. You, 
 our beloved subjects, be filial to your parents, 
 affectionate to your brothers, be loving husbands 
 and wives and truthful to your friends, (^^^on- 
 duct yourselves with modesty and be benevolent 
 to all. Develop your intellectual faculties and 
 perfect your moral powers by gaining knowledge 
 and by acquiring a profession. Further pro 
 mote the public interests and advance the public 
 affairs; ever respect the national constitution 
 and obey the laws of the country; and in case 
 of emergency courageously sacrifice yourselves 
 to the public good. Then offer every support to 
 our Imperial dynasty, which shall be as lasting 
 as the universe. You will then not only be our 
 most loyal subjects but will be enabled to exhibit 
 the noble character of your ancestors. 
 
 “ Such are the testaments left us by our ances- 
 tors which must be observed alike by their 
 descendants and subjects. These precepts are 
 perfect throughout all ages, and of universal 
 application. It is our desire to bear them in our 
 heart in common with you, our subjects, to the 
 
THE RELIGIOUS SITUATION 
 
 69 
 
 end that we may constantly possess these 
 virtues.” 
 
 For years the live question in Japan was 
 whether it was necessary to have religion at all. 
 Ethics was all that was necessary. Buddhist 
 and Christian alike emphasized the importance 
 of having religious faith and practice. One ultra- 
 national party tried to invent a new religion 
 based on emperor worship, or something very 
 akin to it. Their theory would make Japan as 
 great a menace to mankind as the pan-German 
 ideal, since the Emperor of Japan w’ould then 
 rule the world. Others tried to exalt the work 
 and life of Ninomya to a position of eminence, 
 and to make the Hotokusha society, founded by 
 his followers, a substitute for religion. 
 
 After the conspiracy against the Emperor the 
 need of religious faith to strengthen the moral 
 ideals of the nation was more fully recognized by 
 many. After the Russian War prophets claiming 
 to have had visions of gods or Buddhas attempted 
 to reveal new ideals of truth. The younger 
 Buddhists made a very sincere effort to revive 
 Buddhism. A great deal of light has been 
 received by Buddhism from modern thought, 
 on the one hand, and from Christianity on the 
 other. One movement styling itself “ Living 
 Buddhism ” was championed by Dr. Enryo 
 Inoue, who felt that Buddhism must be harmon- 
 ized with Western science and philosophy. 
 With the assistance of Western science they 
 attacked Christianity. The other movement of 
 
70 PROGEESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 young Buddhists has given up its intolerant 
 attitude toward Christianity and adopted a 
 method of appreciating the good in Christianity 
 but finding it in Buddhism. Over and over again 
 one is told that Buddhism is like Christianity, 
 differing only in some non-essentials. There is 
 scarcely any valuable method used in Christian 
 work which has not been imitated by these Neo- 
 Buddhists. Many sects have printed their 
 sutras and other standards of doctrine in sep- 
 arate volumes and bound them in soft leather 
 resembling the Christian Bible. Even the Zen 
 sect, which depends so much upon the unwritten 
 intuition, has such a book. The Christian Hymn 
 Book has not only been imitated but in many 
 cases the hymns have been adapted to Buddhist 
 use for the praise of Amida, “ The Buddha of 
 Measureless Light and Life,” for they sing — 
 “ Oh for a thousand tongues to sing my blessed 
 Buddha’s praise.” In some cases the organ is 
 being used in Buddhist temples. Sunday 
 schools, summer schools. Young Men’s Buddhist 
 Associations, and classes for special religious 
 experience and culture have been adopted. Ben- 
 evolent social work has been re-established. In 
 some cases the old unintelligible, mechanical 
 funeral services have been replaced by more up- 
 to-date methods. One of the most interesting 
 things is the New Nichiren Church in Tokyo, 
 with its modern methods of evangelism. Mod- 
 ern tracts showing the superiority of Nichiren 
 and his doctrine are used. 
 
THE RELIGIOUS SITUATION 
 
 71 
 
 At the time of the coronation of the young 
 Emperor a great revival took place in Shinto as 
 a religion of Japan. School children were 
 ordered to visit the shrines, in which the local 
 official W'as very often the priest of some 
 sect of Shinto. For a time this attitude caused 
 considerable uneasiness, both among Buddhists 
 and Christians. As a matter of fact, however, 
 the reaction was little more than the patriotism 
 of the people expressing itself in these ancient 
 ceremonies, which should be preserved and, if 
 possible, assimilated as peculiar expressions of 
 the aesthetic nature of the Japanese people. 
 
 The result of Buddhism fraternizing with 
 Western materialistic science, with agnosticism 
 and even with atheism, was to destroy the spiri- 
 tual life of religion. Many Buddhist priests have 
 come to have little or no genuine faith in Buddha, 
 and they frankly say so. A few years ago the 
 religious world w^as shocked by the Hon Gwanji 
 scandals. The chief abbot resigned his position 
 and became as a private man. He was a great 
 traveller and a modern scholar, and during his 
 absence the temple was neglected. The news- 
 paper said, “ Taking advantage of the oppor- 
 tunity of lax control, the higher priests em- 
 bezzled the money of the temple and lived profli- 
 gate lives.” Whatever happened, the religious 
 life of the leaders was not very strong. Such 
 tendencies are not corrected by modern science, 
 agnosticism or atheism. The result of the spiri- 
 tual movement in Buddhism was more encour- 
 
72 rROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 aging. Theistic faith was deepened, and there 
 was a tendency to abandon historic Buddhist 
 tenets and become more and more like Chris- 
 tianity. If Sakyamuni were to awaken and 
 visit Japan he certainly would find it difficult 
 to recognize some of those who think they are 
 following him. He would probably recognize 
 that the historical movement of Buddhism from 
 his original atheism toward God represents the 
 real need of the human heart, which cannot be 
 satisfied with negatives, nor with devices of a 
 temporary nature. 
 
 The Present Religious Situation. 
 
 When the late Emperor lay seriously ill, 
 crowds of middle-class people gathered before his 
 palace praying to him for his own recovery. Var- 
 ious methods were employed; some worshipped 
 his picture; others, with their hands full of 
 vegetable oil, in which they placed little burning 
 torches, prayed very earnestly, while still others 
 , repeated the sacred name of their scripture. 
 All of them were actuated by a sincere love for 
 their Emperor, and though their religious faith 
 may be difficult to analyze, the incident reveals 
 very clearly the religious need of the masses in 
 Japan to-day. As the Emperor’s body was 
 carried to its last resting-place thousands of 
 worshippers clapped their hands and repeated 
 their prayers. No modern man witnessing 
 either of these incidents could help being moved 
 to compassion for the masses. The great body 
 
THE RELIGIOUS SITUATION 
 
 73 
 
 of common people are religious and have a 
 religious need. They may not be willing to 
 admit it, yet their religious nature is feeling out 
 after God if haply they may find Him. 
 
 Some more intelligent Japanese say that as a 
 nation the Japanese are not given to religious 
 feeling or emotion; in fact, they affirm that 
 Japanese lack the religious sense and are in a 
 state of comatose indifference to religion. So 
 true is this that the priest only visits the homes 
 of the people when someone is dead or when he 
 wishes to receive a gift for his temple, on which 
 occasions the well-side gossips say, “ What is 
 gone wrong at the neighbour’s home? Is any 
 one dead?” Religion is thus something for the 
 dead or dying, and the priest is a bad omen and 
 not by any means a welcome guest. If you point 
 them to the ever-present temples or shrines they 
 reply, “ Yes, religion has been encouraged by 
 the ancient military rulers and officials in order 
 to further their selfish ends, but religion is not 
 i-eally natural to the Japanese people;” it is a 
 luxury which can just as well be dispensed with. 
 In this way one very often hears religion dis- 
 counted, but the truth is, the common people are 
 greatly influenced by religious people. This was 
 the case when Hideyoshi led his troops to pray 
 before going into battle, and at a given time 
 caused a white dove to fly over the praying 
 troops. Seeing this good omen they rejoiced in 
 the victory, which they felt was as good as won. 
 
 There is a tendency among educated Japanese 
 
74 PROGEESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 to separate religion and philosophy, or religion 
 and ethics. Over and over men say Buddhism 
 is of first importance as a philosophy and is 
 superior to Christianity, while as a religion 
 Christianity is superior ; in other words, religion 
 is a device for ignorant people. Consequently 
 there is a tendency to destroy deep religious con- 
 viction. As a result, conviction, so essential to 
 great personality, is being destroyed by this 
 thoughtless attitude toward religion. Equally 
 serious is the custom of separating religion from 
 ethics. A writer in the “ Japan Evangelist ” 
 quotes a Buddhist who said, “ Religion is a 
 device that gives peace of mind in the midst of 
 conditions as they are.” When pressed for a 
 statement as to the relation between religion and 
 personal or social ethics he replied, “ My religion 
 has nothing to do with morals. My religion is 
 pure religion,” and he proceeded to criticize 
 Christians for their activity in social and moral 
 reform. The strength of Christianity lies in the 
 fact that its spiritual and ethical ideals are 
 inseparable from religion. It therefore works 
 for social reform, while the Buddhist public 
 opinion is so dead to the ethical and social needs 
 of the people that the temple grounds in Asakusa 
 have, in the past, been the centres of unlicensed 
 prostitution. Christianity is strong because it 
 comes to bring more abundant life to the masses. 
 
 The religious condition of the lowest classes 
 is even more discouraging. According to Mr. 
 Kagawa’s study of this question, out of many 
 
THE RELIGIOUS SITUATION 
 
 75 
 
 pauper families in a certain district of Tokyo, all 
 of them have some form of religion, but only a 
 very few have religious faith. Their religion is 
 a kind of magic or superstition. In West Japan 
 the fox god is their favourite, while in East 
 Japan many worship the Buddhist god of deter- 
 mination (Fudo). The yearly offerings at the 
 fox shrine amount to nearly twenty-five thousand 
 dollars. Many who are not low-class w'orship 
 such gods. 
 
 Most of these people feel no need for religion 
 so long as things are going well. But like 
 human nature all the world over, they seek the 
 god in times of distress, disease or w^ar. “ Their 
 religion is a matter of material calculation.” It 
 helps cure disease, win in gambling and even 
 gives satisfaction in love. 
 
 Divination is believed in all over Japan. In 
 Tokyo alone there are said to be over three thou- 
 sand diviners making a good living. This is the 
 material result of Animism found everywhere in 
 the Far East. They consult the diviner when 
 they go on a journey; if the east is closed they 
 had better not go east. They consult a diviner 
 and receive explanations for calamities which 
 befall them. A certain house belonging to a 
 noble has two fronts. The reason given is that 
 the additional front was put on at the suggestion 
 of a diviner who found the first front very unfor- 
 tunate. The presence of the diviner proves the 
 religious need of the people. It is very impor- 
 tant, in the opinion of Mr. Kagawa, a Christian 
 
TO PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 worker among the lower classes, that Christian- 
 ity should reach the children and young men of 
 the slums. In this, surely, mankind is one 
 solidarity. 
 
 In the West it has sometimes been said, “ All 
 Japanese are philosophers or scientists.” This 
 is a great exaggeration. True, some of them are 
 philosophers, but in Japan as everywhere, the 
 great masses of the people are simple-minded, 
 kind-hearted, hospitable people moved by religi- 
 ous impulses rather than by science. They 
 believe in the spiritual and invisible, and when 
 they come to understand the Christian message 
 they hear it gladly. Christianity must perfect 
 and fulfil their religious experience. 
 
 From ancient times Japanese have believed 
 that they were the chosen people of the gods. 
 Their great Shinto scholars have taught that Em- 
 perors and also the people are the children of the 
 gods. In other words, the Japanese nation is of 
 divine origin. This tradition is very strong in 
 the masses of the people. Thus the sanctions for 
 their laws and national forms are religious. 
 They resemble the Jewish race and would no 
 doubt have developed along similar lines had 
 Shinto not been absorbed by Buddhism. On one 
 occasion when a class of students was discussing 
 Darvvdnian evolution one of them said, “ The 
 foreigner may have descended from an ape-like 
 ancestor, but we Japanese come from the gods 
 and are therefore a superior race.” Certainly it 
 ought to be a better preparation for Christian 
 
GATEWAY OF A BUDDHIST TEMPLE. 
 
 THE ENTRANCE TO A SHINTO SHRINE. 
 
J 
 
THE EELIGIOUS SITUATION 
 
 77 
 
 ideals to say that man is made in the image of 
 God. But as the Pantheism of Buddhism, the 
 Universal Law of Confucian scholars, the unity 
 of truth in modern thought and the God of the 
 Christian have influenced Japanese ideas, the 
 polytheistic explanation of the gods has given 
 way in favour of a kind of idealism or mono- 
 theism in which the Emperors are related to the 
 Sun goddess by a theory not unlike that of the 
 Apostolic Succession in some forms of Christi- 
 anity. These ideas form a splendid starting 
 point for the Christian message. It was a great 
 thing that Japanese in the past felt they were 
 the specially favoured nation of the gods. But 
 to-day, in her world relations, it is necessary 
 even for success in commerce, that Japan should 
 come to understand the Christian ideal, that 
 every nation has its divine mission to perform 
 and its contribution to make to the general wel- 
 fare of humanity. 
 
 Japanese believe that those who die in a great 
 cause become gods after death. During the war 
 this idea was not confined to Japan. On one 
 occasion Ninomya Sontoku said : “ We Japanese 
 think that when we die we become gods or 
 Buddhas. But I am sure it is impossible for a 
 man to become a god or a Buddha when he dies 
 if he is not one when he is living. It is just as 
 impossible for a mackerel to become a dried 
 flounder when it is dead, or for a cedar tree to 
 become a pine tree when it is cut down, as it is 
 for a man to become a god or a Buddha when he 
 
78 PROGEBSS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 dies, if he is not one when he is living.” Here 
 again we have something in common between 
 their popular religious ideas and Christianity. 
 All men may become conscious of being sons of 
 God through the wonderful personality of Christ, 
 who had such profound insight into the nature 
 of God and man that he could say, “ He that hath 
 seen me hath seen the Father.” This contains a 
 philosophy of life and the universe much more 
 profound than that contained in Tennyson’s 
 “Little flower in the crannied wall ” : 
 
 ‘‘ Flower in the crannied wall, 
 
 I pluck you out of the crannies, 
 
 I hold you here, root and all, in my hand, 
 liittle flower — hut if I could understand 
 What you are, root and all, and all in all, 
 
 I should know what God and man is/’ 
 
 — Tennyson. 
 
 Every man who catches the spirit of Christ 
 must be able to realize within himself the deep 
 religious experience contained in his words, “ I 
 am the way, the truth and the life.” 
 
Chapter Five : Christianity 
 and Buddhism 
 
 HE attitude of the Christian propagandist 
 
 to the older religious systems in Japan is 
 
 a very important problem. Some think that 
 we are iconoclasts, and that our attitude must be 
 one of intolerance and opposition. Christ said, 
 “ Woe unto you . . . for ye compass sea and 
 land to make one proselyte and when he is made 
 ye make him twofold more the child of hell than 
 yourselves.” This is his attitude toward a cer- 
 tain Pharisaical kind of mission work. But on 
 the other hand he said, “ Go ye into all the world 
 and preach the gospel to all creatures.” This is 
 the divine commission. 
 
 In Japan there are three systems to be con- 
 sidered. There is Confucianism of the highest 
 type. It has produced some of the mountain 
 peaks in Japanese civilization and thought. As 
 it is known in Japan, Christianity can afford to 
 leave it alone. It has been a valuable prepara- 
 tion for Christian teaching, and is fast becoming 
 a thing of the past as a living influence in the 
 nation. The modern world is so much greater 
 and more extensive than that described in the 
 five relations* that Confucianism needs no refu- 
 tation. Its strong points are all fulfllled in 
 
 *The five relations are: those between friend and 
 friend, between brother and brother, husband and wife, 
 father and son, and ruler and subject. 
 
 79 
 
80 PEOGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 Christian thought and spirit. It may be neces- 
 sary to oppose it actively in China, where the 
 worship of Confucius and other practical cere- 
 monies are still in force. But in Japan the situ- 
 ation is quite different. When Nakae, the sage 
 of Omi, says, “ There is no God in the shrine to 
 which people come to worship. God dwells in 
 the human heart;” or his disciple Kumazawa 
 says, “ The shrine to which people come to wor- 
 ship is like the moon. God shines through it 
 upon those who come there to worship,” we can 
 fully appreciate their vision and insight without 
 being under any necessity of trying to refute or 
 belittle their splendid personalities. 
 
 The case with Shinto is somewhat different. 
 The superstitious mother of several sects in 
 Japan may be overlooked because she is not a 
 dangerous enemy. As the people grow in wis- 
 dom and intelligence the difficulties will natur- 
 ally melt away like a midsummer night’s dream. 
 But Shinto as a national cult, or as the embodi- 
 ment of the national spirit and ideal, must be 
 assimilated by the greater spirit of Christ. 
 Christianity will not be the power it ought to be 
 in the life of the nation if it does not perfect and 
 fulfil the ancient spirit of Japan and reinterpret 
 the history of Japan from a Christian point of 
 view. This task yet remains to be done by the 
 Japanese Christians, w’ho alone are capable of 
 doing it. We come not to destroy but to fulfil. 
 
 In the case of Buddhism the situation is again 
 different. The present-day Buddhist apologetic 
 
OHEISTIANITY AND BUDDHISM 81 
 
 is subtle and dangerous and must be opposed. 
 A Buddhist teacher once said : “ Christianity is 
 very fine teaching, but it is just like Buddhism. 
 Christianity has God, Buddhism has Amida. 
 Christianity has Christ, Buddhism has Gotama. 
 Both of them have heaven and hell. Both teach 
 salvation by faith, one in Christ, the other in 
 Amida’s vow. They are fundamentally the same, 
 only different in name.” Or again, when Budd- 
 hism is summed up in the phrase, Doing no 
 evil, striving after all good,” they certainly 
 appear to be very much alike; and in too many 
 cases the Christian worker, not familiar with 
 Buddhism, must be content to accept the exposi- 
 tion of some non-Christian who makes the 
 similarity appear more or less strikingly like 
 some forms of Neo-Hegelian Christianity ex- 
 pounded by some of our Western philosophers 
 for student consumption. A Chinese dressed in 
 a frock coat may resemble a Japanese in the 
 similar dress, but their national characteristics 
 are nevertheless very different. So the ideals of 
 Buddhism presented in modern Neo-Hegelian 
 dress may appear to resemble Christianity, but 
 in reality they are fundamentally different. 
 
 It is commonly said in Japan that Buddhism 
 has the last word in philosophy even if it 
 is not the highest type of religion. This is not 
 true. Buddhist philosophy resembles Greek 
 philosophy to such an extent that, even were they 
 not historically related to one another, their 
 conception of reality is fundamentally the same. 
 
 6 
 
82 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 Buddhist philosophy came into contact with 
 Christian thought and life in the early centuries 
 of the Christian era and was assimilated by it. 
 The battle with Buddhist philosophy has already 
 been fought and w’on, when Christianity super- 
 seded the philosophy of the Neo-Platonists and 
 the Gnostic heresies. There is nothing good in 
 Buddhist philosophy which was not assimilated 
 by Christian theologians before the end of the 
 fifth century. The fifth century is mentioned 
 because it marks the age of St. Augustine who 
 died in 430 A.D. 
 
 Buddhist philosophy has not had the last word 
 in India, in China, or in Japan. In India the 
 philosophy of Hinduism and in China and Japan 
 the philosophy of the Confucian scholars have 
 superseded it. The reason for this weakness is 
 that it is built upon abstract assumptions into 
 which Buddhist scholars force the facts of life 
 even by the unscientific process of explaining 
 them away. The method of Buddhist philosophy 
 is very primitive. It is the outgrowth of Hindu 
 religious tradition which traced reality back 
 to the empty Absolute, which existed before 
 Brahma was born. Some Buddhist scholars 
 even speak of it as “The Void,” “The Unborn,” 
 or as “ Pure Subjectivity,” which are even 
 assumed to be so profound that none but the initi- 
 ated can comprehend them. Even though Chris- 
 tian ideas are placed side by side with those of 
 Buddhism it must be clearly understood at the 
 outset that the Christian method and truth is 
 
CHRISTIANITY AND BUDDHISM 83 
 
 entirely opposed to that of Buddhism. Christi- 
 anity does not depend upon any such primitive 
 metaphysics. It depends upon the simple but 
 profound fact of Christ, His life, work and 
 spirit. The Christian Gospel is simple in the 
 sense that “ he that runs may read and the way- 
 faring man, though a fool, need not err therein.” 
 It is profound in the sense that it meets the 
 needs of world-wide humanity and is not ex- 
 hausted until the relation of man to his fellow- 
 man, the universe and God the Father are fully 
 and satisfactorily solved. 
 
 Northern Buddhist doctrine has no historical 
 holy personality as its centre. It is a com- 
 posite teaching composed of several kinds of 
 doctrine chiefly taken from Hindu and Greek 
 thought which cannot be proven to be the teach- 
 ing of Gotama at all, except through a false 
 interpretation of history for the purpose of 
 impressing ignorant people. The fact that it is 
 said to be Gotama’s teaching is the result of a 
 false device intended to impress people who do 
 not know better. On the other hand, Christ is 
 an historical person, tempted in all points like as 
 we are, yet living a life of triumph over sin. In 
 Christ’s consciousness, we are introduced to a 
 new conception of both man and God. In him 
 we see the humanity of God and the divinity of 
 man. It is very difficult to believe in an imagin- 
 ary, supramundane, abstract ideal; but it is not 
 difficult to believe in Christ’s divinity because it 
 is historical and practical. In him we see 
 
84 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 ourselves, our own natures and also the nature 
 of universal reality. We are able to love, adore 
 and worship Christ because he is at once the 
 perfect man and the Son of God. A religion the 
 historical, personal centre of which is the result 
 of either imagination or device is certainly at a 
 great disadvantage in a struggle with one in 
 which its historical personality stands, even for 
 a modern philosopher like Hegel, as “ the axis 
 around which the history of the world turns.” 
 Buddhism does not teach that a holy God and 
 Father of mankind is reality. In the four 
 fundamental teachings of Gotama there is no 
 place for God the Father; the highest aim of 
 life and existence is annihilation. In later Budd- 
 hism, Nirvana is empty reality. It is without 
 distinction or parts; all separation is levelled 
 down to an equality in the subjectivity of the 
 absolute which may be described as subjectivity 
 without objectivity. In the highest form of 
 Northern Buddhism this absolute includes all 
 form and activity. It is compared to a great 
 rain cloud which nourishes everything and pro- 
 motes the well-being of all things ; or to the rays 
 of the sun impartially leading all things, creat- 
 ing all things. But after speaking of it in this 
 beautiful, almost Christian way, all things are 
 described as melting into one, without distinc- 
 tion. It resembles the God of Neo-Platonism 
 which though a unity without any parts, yet 
 produces both intelligence and the intelligible 
 world. In this way they are enabled to say.^ 
 
CHRISTIANITY AND BUDDHISM 85 
 
 “ Human passion is itself an enlightenment ; 
 birth and death are Nirvana.” That which 
 Buddhism regards as resembling God is in 
 reality Schelling’s “ Indifference,” which Hegel 
 described as “ The night in which all cows are 
 black.” 
 
 Christianity differs from these conceptions of 
 reality in one important respect; its reality is 
 the Holy Personality of God the Father. Pure 
 subjectivity, pure form, pure reality, which is 
 without distinction, are mere abstractions; no 
 such thing exists apart from objectivity. But 
 what is objectivity? If you say matter, then 
 you must assume, as Plato and the Neo- 
 Platonists assumed, that matter is non-being, 
 and this world in which we live is an evil. But 
 it is an emanation from reality. How can this be 
 explained? At every stage in the process of 
 Buddhist enlightenment, there is a similar diffi- 
 culty. How can man rise from the world of lust 
 to the world of form? How can man rise from 
 the world of form to the world beyond form? 
 What is lost at each stage, and where does it go? 
 How is this extraneous matter accounted for, 
 and how can it be even assumed without doing 
 injury to all reason and common sense? 
 
 Such an abstract world is the creation of 
 imagination and does not explain things as they 
 are. All subjectivity, however, involves objec- 
 tivity. There is no need to explain them away, 
 for subjectivity and objectivity are not separ- 
 able. They are two phases of personality, which 
 
86 PEOGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 is the only unity we know which satisfactorily 
 solves our problem. Wang Yang Ming, the 
 Chinese Confucian sage, criticized Buddhism for 
 having subjectivity without objectivity — an in- 
 ternal world without an external. But pure 
 subjectivity is an impossibility. It is another 
 way of asserting annihilation, although popu- 
 larly denying it. People can not be satisfied with 
 such a negative conception of a god who is 
 neither holy nor personal. 
 
 The Christian conception of reality is very 
 different. It explains the Universe by Holy 
 Personality and for Holy Personality, which 
 alone gives meaning to existence. In Holy Per- 
 sonality, the subjective and the objective are 
 united into one. The universe does not need to 
 be explained away ; its laws are laws of thought ; 
 it stands as the realization of God’s thought. In 
 other words, the universe is God’s experience, 
 the objectivication of His thought and nature. 
 God’s Holy Personality is implied in everything ; 
 but made explicit in nothing. In Christ alone 
 does He perfectly reveal His holiness and love. 
 In Christ we find the desire and satisfaction of 
 our hearts and minds ; for He was what we must 
 strive to become. 
 
 Reality composed of six elements taught by 
 the Shingon sect and the Amida conception of 
 the true sect, resembles personality ; but in both 
 cases personality is a means toward an end. The 
 ultimate reality is described not as holy person- 
 ality, but as an absolute reality without parts, or 
 
CHRISTIANITY AND BUDDHISM 87 
 
 as the unknown original source of all things. In 
 every case Holy Personality is lost sight of, as 
 the means drops out when the end is attained. 
 
 In Buddhist scripture there is a story told, 
 which illustrates this conception of personality. 
 A man’s enlightenment is compared with a man 
 who suddenly realizes that his house is on fire. 
 He rushes out leaving his children to follow ; but 
 they are at play, and although he invites, scolds 
 and urges them, they continue to play. Finally, 
 in desperation, he tells them that he has three 
 carts — an ox-cart, a goat-cart and a deer-cart — 
 which he will give them, if they come out. They 
 at once drop their play and rush out of the 
 house. When they come out of the house he 
 gives them one cart only. The cart or one- 
 Buddha-vehicle is itself but a device, a mealis 
 to lead men to some higher, impersonal nothing. 
 It resembles the Jesuit method of teaching that 
 the end justifies the means. The implication is 
 that all personality is merely a device to lead 
 ignorant people. In Christianity, the holy per- 
 sonality of God the Father is the only possible 
 explanation of the universe. He alone can ex- 
 plain our struggle and striving for higher things. 
 The universe, and all that it involves, exists that 
 Holy Personality may be possible. The God and 
 Father of Mankind is an end unto Himself ; He 
 alone gives meaning to life and its struggle. 
 
 The Buddhist conception of human nature 
 differs from the Christian conception of man. 
 In Buddhism man is bound by iron fate in the 
 
88 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 twelve-linked-chain of causation. He is destined 
 to be born and reborn in a whirlpool of suffering 
 and transmigration from which he finds great 
 diflSculty in escaping. This pessimistic concep- 
 tion of man is very greatly modified in certain 
 sects by the mercy of Amida, which is, however, 
 regarded by Buddhist scholars as a means which 
 does not alter the fundamentally wretched con- 
 ception of the individual man. To Kenko Hoshi, 
 an ancient Japanese author, individual life was 
 so unbearable that he thought it was sad to see a 
 woman loving the children she had borne. How 
 different from the conception of Him who said, 
 “ Suffer the little children to come unto me and 
 forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of 
 Heaven.” 
 
 In most Buddhist sects, woman is an object of 
 scorn. It is definitely taught that unless woman 
 is reborn as a man, she cannot expect to enjoy 
 the joys of Nirvana. Only one Japanese sect 
 teaches that even a woman is composed of the 
 six elements which constitute absolute reality 
 and is therefore capable of entering Nirvana. 
 The real spirit of Buddhism was expressed in the 
 prohibition of women from the mountain tops 
 and from sacred places. In fact she was 
 regarded as scarcely human. Hence even the 
 man who lived with her was cursed with her to 
 an endless period of religious austerity in order 
 to wipe out the evil effect of her baneful influ- 
 ence. In the Amida doctrine, woman had more 
 hope, but even there she did not enter imme- 
 
CHRISTIANITY AND BUDDHISM 89 
 
 diately into Buddhahood. Contrasted with this 
 disparaging attitude toward woman which ied 
 even Gotama and many others to renounce their 
 homes, the spirit of Christ may be shown by 
 many instances in His life which reveal His 
 reverence and respect toward the personality of 
 women. His filial devotion to His mother 
 throughout His whole life, and especially that 
 touching scene on Calvary when he commended 
 to that beloved disciple the woman who gave 
 Him birth ; His loving sympathy with the mourn- 
 ing sisters ; His talk with the woman at the well ; 
 His patience with the woman accused of sin, are 
 some instances which reveal His attitude toward 
 women. The Gospel message is free to all, men 
 and women alike. “ Whosoever will may come 
 and partake of the Water of Life freely.” In 
 fact, all the advantages which modern women 
 enjoy are the direct or indirect influence of 
 Christian teaching. In no Buddhist country 
 have questions of woman’s education, woman’s 
 rights and woman’s suffrage or woman’s person- 
 ality become live questions. 
 
 Buddhism explains individuality and the 
 human soul as mere illusion from which man 
 earnestly longs to escape. His desires are not to 
 be cultured, but wiped ou{ entirely. But if man 
 is thus explained why does he worry about 
 abstract assumptions like Nirvana, or a supra- 
 mundane Buddha or God? It is man’s individu- 
 ality and the problems arising out of it that lead 
 him to assume a universal Buddha or God. But 
 
90 PEOGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 \ 
 
 if the facts of our individual soul are explained 
 away there is no need for the assumptions which 
 have arisen to explain existence. But what is 
 still more absurd is the fact that Nirvana and 
 Buddha are conceptions made by the individual ; 
 if the individual is an illusion so is Buddha. 
 
 Christianity has a very different conception of 
 man. Its central thought is in man and the 
 infinite worth of human life. The result of this 
 conception is that it has a high appreciation of 
 the worth of education and culture for their own 
 sake. Although it values the individual life, it 
 is not selfish individualism, since the individual 
 realizes himself and his highest life in the ser- 
 vice of others. This is an important difference 
 between these two religions. An ancient Con- 
 fucian scholar compared it with the difference 
 between public spirit and private spirit, a differ- 
 ence between righteousness and gain. Con- 
 fucianism is tMs-worldly; Buddhism is other- 
 worldly. It separates men from society; each 
 man seeks his own gain, eternal peace and free- 
 dom from suffering. To obtain this, he is willing 
 to forsake his own family, and human society. 
 Thinking only of the future, he struggles after 
 paradise or Nirvana. 
 
 The individuality of Christianity, however, is 
 not purely selfish. It teaches self-denial and 
 self-sacrifice, and shows a man that his mission 
 is to men in society. Only by losing his life for 
 others can he gain life. Confucianism is an 
 ethical system which is intended for this world. 
 
ONE OF THE OLDEST BUDDHIST TEMPLES. NEAR NARA. 
 
 AN ANCIENT CASTLE AT NAGOYA. 
 
t, / 
 
 
CHEISTIANITY AND BUDDHISM 91 
 
 Its view of man is practical. Buddhism is for 
 the future life and is not particularly ethical. 
 Christianity combines these two into one system, 
 which is at once spiritual ethics and religion. 
 
 The Christian conception of salvation differs 
 from that of Buddhism. According to the four 
 fundamental truths of Buddhism, salvation 
 means salvation from suffering. This same 
 pessimistic conception runs through all Northern 
 Buddhist sects. Even the great Shinran, 
 founder of the True sect in Japan, wrote as if 
 this life were merely a vale of tears, and as if 
 salvation were for the after-life rather than for 
 this life. “ To think to-morrow is, is folly ; the 
 cherry blossom may be suddenly blown away in 
 the midnight storm.” 
 
 On one occasion some one said to Wang Yang- 
 Ming, the Chinese Confucian sage, “ Buddhists 
 appear to be unselfish in that they do not follow 
 passion. That they do not teach the human way 
 is the only point they lack; is it not?” He 
 replied, “ In both cases they seek satisfaction 
 for their selfish hearts. Since Buddhism does 
 not believe in good or evil it takes no interest in 
 anything else. It can not govern the world.” He 
 rejected Buddhism because he regarded it as 
 selfish in its aims. The Christian conception of 
 salvation is very different from that we have 
 described. It is a salvation from sin, immorality 
 and impurity. The Buddhist aims to get away 
 from life ; but Christ said, “ I am come that ye 
 might have life, and that ye might have it more 
 
92 PROGEESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 abundantly.” Christian salvation is unselfish. 
 If a man will save his life he must lose it in the 
 service of men. Not even a cup of cold water 
 given in the right spirit but has its reward. 
 
 The more pantheistic and philosophic sects 
 explain sin away, as a process not unlike some 
 forms of Hegelian philosophy in the West. They 
 teach that all things constitute the absolute. If 
 so, good and evil are merely illusions, or mere 
 appearances. Christianity, however, has no un- 
 certain message in regard to evil. The possi- 
 bility of evil is not itself evil. It is not only 
 not necessary to commit evil, but the real evil 
 lies in the evil will. Sin is here to be overcome, 
 and by the grace and power of a Holy God, by 
 the infiuence of Holy Personality, evil can and 
 ought to be overcome. 
 
 The methods of salvation in each case are 
 similar. There are two great methods in Budd- 
 hism; salvation by one’s own effort, and salvation 
 by the efforts of another. Each of these is sub- 
 divided into sudden enlightenment and gradual 
 enlightenment. Instantaneous enlightenment is 
 the result of man’s realization that he has within 
 himself the nature of Buddha; while the gradual 
 process of enlightenment is obtained by an 
 almost unlimited process of transmigration. 
 These two forms are strikingly like that of Neo- 
 Platonism ; by religious austerities, by crucifying 
 the flesh, one attempts to free himself from par- 
 ticipation with the body. Such a process is long 
 and unending. But the soul by meditation may 
 
CHRISTIANITY AND BUDDHISM 93 
 
 be enabled to rise at once with the ideal world 
 into immediate union with God, in whom it loses 
 its individuality and becomes buried and 
 absorbed. 
 
 The method of salvation by the help of Amida 
 is also subdivided into sudden enlightenment and 
 gradual enlightenment, according as one repeats 
 the phrase, “ Hail, Buddha of Measureless Light 
 and Life ” as a religious work or as an expression 
 of gratitude for the wonderful power and mercy 
 of Amida, who has saved the believer by his one 
 act of faith. 
 
 In Christianity the method of salvation is at 
 once, salvation by one’s own power and by the 
 power of God’s love, which finds its highest 
 expression in the life and death of Christ. Sal- 
 vation by one’s own power and salvation by that 
 of another are one and not two. The Christian 
 believes that a man who is truly saved himself 
 not only helps himself but must help others. The 
 real motive of Christian salvation is love. It is 
 love that lifts man above law into the highest 
 life. It is the love of Christ that becomes the 
 constraining, helping infiuence and power of the 
 Christian. Christianity demands that the human 
 will under the influence of Divine love, become a 
 creative force in the world, for good. 
 
 The method of salvation in one Buddhist sect 
 is peculiarly attractive. The doctrine that the 
 power of the universal essence of Buddha should 
 be impressed upon men’s mouths, hearts and 
 bodies, and blend with them to save them from 
 
94 PROGRESS IN MIKADO'S EMPIRE 
 
 evil, is known as adding and holding the invs- 
 terious power of Buddha's month, heart and 
 body within ns in a mystical, snl>conscions union 
 with him. Just as a new-born babe does not 
 know the mother who nourishes it, so man is 
 unconsciously nourished by the heart, body and 
 work of the omnipresent Buddha, who sheds his 
 light just as the sun brightens and enlivens this 
 dark world. 
 
 The Christian salvation lays stress on a differ- 
 ent idea from that of Buddhism. It is pre- 
 eminently ethical in its method and purpose. Its 
 salvation is not from the evil of existence, but 
 from the impurity and immorality which com- 
 bine to rob men of their personality and indi- 
 viduality. The man who really receives the 
 salvation of Christ remains in the world, but 
 rises above its temptations to evil. His piirpose 
 is not to escape from life, but to receive the more 
 abundant life with inward spiritiial power. For- 
 saking all evil and immoral relations, he becomes 
 an active member of society, and endeavours to 
 bring about a better state of society. If suffering 
 comes, he is happy in spite of it, realizing that 
 suffering is turned to good, since to know God is 
 life eternal. He knows that all things work 
 together for good to those who love Grod. 
 
 Finally the Christian conception of the king- 
 dom of God is very different from the Pai'adise 
 of Amida or the Nirvana of all Buddhism. As 
 we have already seen, these conceptions are 
 other-worldly. Buddhist Western-pure-land is 
 
CHRISTIANITY AND BUDDHISM 95 
 
 an imaginary land of the blessed which like the 
 Greek “ Isles of the Blest ” is situated far away 
 in the West and is associated with the glory of 
 the setting sun. In the Buddhist scripture that 
 land is described as a place where there is neither 
 bodily nor mental pain; a place adorned with 
 seven terraces, with seven palm trees, with 
 strings of bells, precious stones; and adorned 
 with all the excellencies peculiar to Buddha. It 
 is merely a poetic fancy of the Oriental mind; 
 and contains little apart from an optimistic out- 
 look on the future. 
 
 Nirvana also is largely a future ideal in which 
 all individuality is wiped out. The Northern 
 Buddhist conception of Nirvana is more optim- 
 istic and hopeful than that of Southern Budd- 
 hism; but after we have estimated it by its 
 logical necessity, its end is little better than 
 nothing; because pure thought, pure reality 
 robbed of individual distinction is not true to the 
 fact of things as they are known. They are mere 
 abstractions. In this way Nirvana is not a very 
 satisfactory conception of things as they are or 
 as they ought to be. It is merely a creation of 
 imagination which can not be related to the acts 
 of life, nor can it explain them. 
 
 The Christian conception of the Kingdom of 
 God contains just as much hope for the future 
 life as Buddhism. At times it has even been 
 guilty of being other-worldly. But Christianity 
 is a religion for living men. It has a message 
 for the present life which is much superior to 
 
96 PROGEESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 that of Buddhism. “ The Kingdom of God is 
 within you,” says Christ. It is described by Paul 
 as not a material kingdom of meat and drink, 
 “ but of righteousness and peace and joy in the 
 Holy Ghost.” This kingdom is realized in the 
 individual because of the infinite value of the 
 individual life; it is also realized in society and 
 in the home. The greatest contribution Christi- 
 anity has to make is the Christian home, where 
 righteousness, joy and peace reign in each heart 
 separately and collectively. 
 
 But since Buddhism seeks the extinction of the 
 individual self and not its realization, it logically 
 seeks the extinction of society and the home. 
 These institutions are based on the individual. 
 This unnatural conclusion led Wang Yang-Ming 
 to give up Buddhism. He tried to banish all 
 worldly thoughts but he could not banish his 
 filial affection. On the other hand Myocho, 
 hoping to escape from passion, put his own child 
 to death and tried to eat its flesh. He then fled 
 from his home and lived for years as a Buddhist 
 pilgrim under the Gojo Bridge. Ikkyu Zenshi 
 in a poetic manner praised him, saying, “ As 
 compared with other priests who strive for 
 popularity, Myocho spending twenty years under 
 the bridge unknown to any one, eating the wind 
 and sleeping in the dew, is like the brightly shin- 
 ing sun as compared with lamp-light.” In de- 
 serting his home he was probably trying to 
 imitate Gotama himself, who deserted his young 
 wife and newly born son. Buddhism cannot 
 
CHRISTIANITY AND BUDDHISM 97 
 
 logically establish society or a home. As Kenko 
 Hoshi says in Tsure-Zure-Gusa, “ If you know 
 that the world is full of sorrow and your heart is 
 bent on deliverance from birth and death, what 
 time have you to serve your lord or regard your 
 home?” These ancient Buddhists living apart 
 from society and their home life, were true to 
 the traditional spirit and example of Gotama. 
 It is interesting to see how the Buddhists of to- 
 day have changed. They have practically for- 
 gotten the fundamentals of historical Buddhism, 
 and without acknowledging their error, are 
 reading into it all the latest ideals and ideas 
 which logically give the lie to every one of the 
 fundamental principles of historical Buddhism. 
 They are only laying up difficulties for them- 
 selves, since modern historical criticism will 
 certainly undermine such methods and destroy 
 the foundations of their faith. 
 
 7 
 
Chapter Six : Christianity 
 in Modern Japan 
 
 I N the middle of the sixteenth century Portu- 
 guese seamen and traders wandered around 
 the world and landed at a small island on the 
 south of Japan, where they were entertained in a 
 hospitable manner by the Japanese, who were 
 greatly interested in them and what they had 
 for sale. August 15th, 1549, is a red letter day 
 in the history of Japanese Christianity, for on 
 that day the great Jesuit priest and world- 
 famed missionary Xavier landed for the first 
 time in Japan and was welcomed as a guest. 
 After a brief but very stormy period of about 
 twenty-seven months in the country he died ; but 
 he was so successful in implanting his teaching 
 that at one time the early Christians numbered 
 nearly one million. 
 
 In 1600 lyeyasu gained military supremacy, 
 and in 1603 was officially recognized by the Em- 
 peror as military ruler of all Japan. At first he 
 was quite tolerant of the Christians, for political 
 reasons. He wished the Europeans to send him 
 shipbuilders and architects instead of Roman 
 priests. Then the Dutch arrived in Japan, 
 accompanied by an Englishman named Will 
 Adams. The Portuguese denounced these men 
 as pirates, but lyeyasu was attracted by the 
 Englishman, whom he appointed master ship- 
 builder. Adams remained in Japan for nearly 
 98 
 
CHRISTIANITY IN MODERN JAPAN 99 
 
 twenty-five years. His letter of 1611 describes 
 the Japanese as “ good of nature, courteous 
 above measure, and valiant in war ; their justice 
 is severely executed without any partiality upon 
 transgressors of the law.” He said that there 
 was “ not a land better governed in the world.” 
 lyeyasu having sent an envoy to Europe, was so 
 displeased with what he heard of Christianity 
 at that time that he changed his attitude and 
 prohibited the Jesuits to remain in Japan; and 
 hearing from Adams that the conduct of the 
 Spaniards and Portuguese toward Japan would 
 not be tolerated in England, he decided to pro- 
 hibit them entering Japan. He, however, fav- 
 oured the Dutch by allowing them to establish a 
 factory on the island of Hirado. The English 
 also received special treatment. In 1612 and 
 again in 1613 he issued orders for the Jesuits to 
 leave Japan, but these orders being disregarded, 
 in January, 1614, he ordered all Christian 
 churches destroyed. Japanese Christians were 
 to recant their faith and the foreign priests 
 were to be deported. In November of the follow- 
 ing year the Pope received a deputation of 
 Japanese Christians at Rome, a fact which still 
 further aroused the anger of the ruler, who was 
 warned against the Jesuits. Then all Christian 
 priests were banished and many of their fol- 
 lowers were put to death or persecuted. Will 
 Adams died in 1620 and the East India Company 
 left Japan in 1622, leaving the Dutch in pos- 
 session of the trade. In 1636 the country was 
 
100 PEOGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 entirely closed by an edict from the military 
 ruler, who made it a capital offence for a Jap- 
 anese to leave the country; Spanish and Portu- 
 guese were expelled ; ocean going vessels were no 
 longer to be built in Japan. In 1637 the “ Chris- 
 tian Rebellion of Shimabara ” took place on the 
 west of Kiushiu. The Dutch were asked to 
 assist in destroying the followers of the Portu- 
 guese, the place was stormed and most of the 
 besieged were put to death. This aroused such 
 feeling against the Portugnese that an edict was 
 passed forbidding them to enter on penalty of 
 death. In 1640 a Portuguese ship called at 
 Nagasaki and most of the men were put to death. 
 Those who escaped carried away the threat, “ So 
 long as the sun warms the earth let no Christian 
 be bold enough to enter Japan. Even if he be 
 King Philip or the God of the Christians, he shall 
 pay for it with his head.” From that time all 
 Europeans were forbidden to trade with Japan ; 
 only the Dutch were assigned the privilege of 
 living on the little island of Deshima, near 
 Nagasaki, and from 1790 even they were allowed 
 but one vessel a year. 
 
 The country was thus closed for over two hun- 
 dred years, during which time it was a criminal 
 offence to become a Christian. All the people 
 were forced to register in Buddhist temples. The 
 head of each family had to make a yearly state- 
 ment, countersigned by the Buddhist priest, to 
 the effect that there were no Christians in his 
 home. If a man were suspected he was impris- 
 
CHRISTIANITY IN MODERN JAPAN 101 
 
 oned and forced to trample upon the crucifix 
 carved in stone in order to prove his innocence. 
 At one time as many as thirty were crucified 
 together. In these terrible persecutions, when 
 these early followers of Christ were thus tested, 
 it was discovered that Japanese Christians would 
 face cruel persecution or death with a strength 
 of conviction characteristic of Christian martyrs 
 in any country. 
 
 Two centuries elapsed before Japan was again 
 faced with the problems of Christianity on her 
 shores. The first Americans who came to Japan 
 were noble Christian men, worthy representa- 
 tives of a modern country. Sunday, July 10th, 
 1853, is the second red letter day in the history 
 of Christianity in Japan. On that day Commo- 
 dore Perry refused to continue his business or to 
 receive guests on ship board because it was his 
 custom to conduct divine worship on Sunday. 
 That day in Tokyo Bay his crew sang, under 
 conditions never to be forgotten: 
 
 “ Before Jehovah's awful throne. 
 
 Ye nations bow with sacred joy; 
 
 Know that the Lord is God alone, 
 
 He can create and he destroy.” 
 
 Townsend Harris, the first ambassador of the 
 United States of America, was also a Christian. 
 In his first treaty with Japan in 1858 he obtained 
 the right for Americans to erect their own places 
 of worship and preach their own forms of 
 religious faith, and he secured the abolition of 
 the practice of trampling upon the crucifix. 
 
102 PROGEESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 In 1859 the first modern Christian mission- 
 aries entered these open ports and preparations 
 were made to evangelize the land as soon as it 
 opened. The first Protestant missionaries were 
 the Rev. J. Liggins and Rev. C. M. Williams, of 
 the American Episcopal Church; Dr. J. C. Hep- 
 burn, of the Northern Presbyterian Church; 
 Rev. S. R. Brown, Dr. D. B. Simmons, and Rev. 
 G. F. Verbeck, of the Dutch Reformed Church; 
 and in 1860 the Rev. Jonathan Goble, of the 
 American Baptist Free Missionary Society, 
 arrived in Japan. 
 
 The Roman Catholics returned, and in 1862 
 dedicated a church at Yokohama, and in 1865 
 another in Nagasaki. When the church was dedi- 
 cated in Nagasaki, several thousands of Roman 
 Catholics, who had kept their faith in secret 
 during the years when Japan was closed, made 
 themselves known. In one village several thou- 
 sands of Christians were discovered. The Jap- 
 anese Government banished them and confiscated 
 their goods, but the more they were persecuted 
 the bolder they became in advocating their 
 religious ideals. Finally, through the inter- 
 cession of the French ambassador, they were 
 restored to their native village in 1870. The 
 Pope commemorated this event by a special feast 
 called “ The Finding of the Christians.” TFe 
 incident showed how strong and fearless Jap- 
 anese Christians could be in face of opposition. 
 Even young girls did not hesitate to die rather 
 than sacrifice their convictions. 
 
CHEISTIANITY IN MODERN JAPAN 103 
 
 Among the early missionaries four names de- 
 serve especial mention. Father Nicolai, who 
 came to Japan in 1864, was one who ranks with 
 Xavier. His work for the Greek Church is un- 
 paralleled. J. C. Hepburn, M.D., who first 
 published a dictionary of the Japanese language, 
 was a man whose gentleness and tact, combined 
 with his skill as a physician, have endeared him 
 to the Japanese people. He was decorated by 
 the Emperor on his eighty-eighth birthday. The 
 Rev. S. R. Brown, who opened an English 
 school in Yokohama, had a powerful influence 
 upon young men; many afterwards became lead- 
 ing Christian ministers and laymen. Dr. G. F. 
 Verbeck, one of the earliest instructors in the 
 Imperial University, Tokyo, was honoured and 
 trusted by all classes of Japanese, and has the 
 honour of being the first missionai’y to be decor- 
 ated by the Emperor with the decoration of “ The 
 Rising Sun.” 
 
 While Prince Iwakura was travelling through 
 Europe investigating conditions, he discovered 
 that there was great displeasure felt at the anti- 
 Christian placards which were posted all over 
 Japan. He cabled to his government to remove 
 them, and on February 19th, 1873, they came 
 down and a great step was taken toward free- 
 dom of conscience. The year preceding the 
 official removal of the anti-Christian edicts the 
 first Japanese prayer meeting was organized in 
 Yokohama, to pray that the first Christians in 
 Japan should possess the spirit of the early 
 
104 PROGEESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 church. The first Japanese Christian church 
 was organized in Yokohama in March of 1872, 
 although the first Christian was baptized as early 
 as 1864. During the year 1873 no less than 
 twenty-nine new missionaries arrived in Japan. 
 
 About this time Captain Janes was invited by 
 the Lord of Kumanoto to teach in his clan school. 
 This layman had a very fine Christian person- 
 ality and soon made his influence felt upon the 
 sons of the samurai. He taught them English 
 and also Christianity with such effect that they 
 became intensely interested in Bible study. A 
 revival broke out, and finally about forty of them 
 gathered together upon Hanaoka (fiower) hill 
 and vowed that they would give themselves to 
 the spiritual reformation of Japan. From that 
 group were developed some of the most powerful 
 preachers of modern Japan. The Rev. Hiromichi 
 Kozaki, speaking of this event, says that they 
 took the following oath : “ If we engage in 
 politics or military affairs we may probably 
 attain to positions of eminence, yet those will 
 be quite unimportant in their nature when 
 regarded as life work, and besides there are 
 many who engage in such pursuits. Had we not 
 therefore better devote ourselves to what others 
 cannot so easily do, and let the sphere of our 
 life work be the spiritual one. Thus we will 
 turn the human mind from superstitions, and 
 recall it to the true and the right way. We are 
 ready to face whatever hardships and difficulties 
 may overtake us.” As a result of this the school 
 
CHRISTIANITY IN MODERN JAPAN 105 
 
 was closed and the young men sent home to face 
 persecution. Speaking of this, the Rev. Danjo 
 Ebina, a member of the band, once said, “ They 
 persecuted us because they loved us.” One 
 mother threatened to take her life because her 
 son had become a Christian. A father un- 
 sheathed his sword in the presence of his son, 
 who quickly offered his head, preferring to die 
 rather than prove faithless to his convictions. 
 Mr. Kanamori, who recently visited Canada and 
 the United States, was another of this famous 
 band. For years he struggled against difficulties 
 caused by the extremes of modern scholarship. 
 Finally he was again restored to faith and during 
 the last four years he has gone everywhere 
 preaching his one sermon entitled, “ God, Sin 
 and Salvation ” ; he preaches for three hours and 
 repeats the sermon night after night with grati- 
 fying results. 
 
 One of the most important Christian move- 
 ments in these early days was that led by 
 President Clark of the Sapporo Agricultural 
 College in 1876. He was called to found the 
 college, and he desired to teach Christian Ethics 
 with the Bible as a text-book. General Kuroda, 
 vice-governor of Hokkaido, objected to Christian 
 influence and literature. Dr. Clark then began 
 teaching the young men about the heroes of 
 Western civilization. After some time he met 
 the General and suggested that he choose some 
 one else to teach Ethics. But this time the Gen- 
 eral consented to permit Dr. Clark to teach 
 
106 PKOGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 Ethics any way he wished. The Bible was then 
 put into the hands of the twenty-four young men. 
 For less than six months he worked with them, 
 but at the end of that time he had the joy of 
 seeing several staunch young men started on 
 their way in the Christian life. All the men in the 
 first class of thirteen and several of the second 
 class were baptized. His work is still going on 
 and that Government College has been noted for 
 its pro-Christian spirit ever since. Dr. Sato, a 
 staunch Methodist, is president of the Univer- 
 sity; Dr. Nitobe, another very loyal Christian 
 man, is president of the Christian University for 
 Women; Mr. Uchimura, the author of that well 
 known book, “ How I Became a Christian,” is an 
 independent evangelistic worker with powerful 
 Christian influence; others are still doing good 
 work for Christ in Japan and Korea. 
 
 The missionary body early realized the neces- 
 sity of translating the Bible into Japanese, and 
 appointed a committee who began work on the 
 New Testament in 1872 and completed it in 
 1880. In 1886 they had a translation of the 
 entire Bible. On February 24th, 1917, the revi- 
 sion of the Nerw Testament, begun in 1910, was 
 completed. The work was very thoroughly done, 
 and a version of the Japanese Bible has been 
 produced which will no doubt be more readily 
 understood than the work of the earlier scholars, 
 who were forced to labour under much greater 
 difficulty. 
 
 Christian missionaries were the pioneers in 
 education in Japan. But later the government 
 
CHRISTIANITY IN MODERN JAPAN 107 
 
 adopted universal education, and the government 
 schools were so well supported that the mission 
 schools fell to second place. Up to 1899 Chris- 
 tian schools enjoyed large freedom from govern- 
 ment interference, and all the privileges which 
 were given to other schools. Military conscrip- 
 tion was postponed, and the graduates were per- 
 mitted to go on to the Higher Schools and Uni- 
 versities. In 1900 the Minister of Education 
 issued the following instruction : “ It being 
 
 essential from the point of view of educational 
 administration that general education should be 
 independent of religion, . . . instruction in 
 
 religion shall not be given or religious services 
 held at government schools, public schools whose 
 curricula are regulated by provisions of law, 
 even outside of the regular course of instruc- 
 tion.” 
 
 This instruction made it so clear that no reli- 
 gious instruction should be given, even outside of 
 school hours, that most schools gave up their 
 privileges. Since that time these privileges 
 have gradually been restored. No doubt the 
 government was influenced by anti-Christian 
 prejudice, but we must not forget that there are 
 two sides to this question. Even in Canada the 
 question of religious education is very difficult, 
 and it is almost impossible to find a standard for 
 religious education in government schools upon 
 which even all Christian denominations can 
 unite. 
 
 In Japan this question is still more difficult 
 because there are so many different religious 
 
108 PEOGEESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIEE 
 
 bodies to consider. Little by little, most of the 
 Christian schools fell below the government 
 schools in efficiency, methods, standards and 
 equipment. In fact, many of them were little 
 better than low-grade evangelizing agencies 
 rather than effiicient educational institutions. 
 A Christian school cannot have the greatest 
 influence for Christ if it is not up to standard 
 educationally. Eecently the Christian schools 
 have been greatly improved and many of them 
 are unable to provide accommodation for all who 
 apply for entrance. The greatest need to-day 
 is for two Christian Universities, one situated in 
 the commercial centre, Osaka or Kobe, and the 
 other in the political centre, Tokyo. The new 
 government regulations have made these institu- 
 tions a possibility, and it is to be hoped that 
 sufficient Christian unity can be secured to sup- 
 ply both of these institutions with their much 
 needed equipment and endowment. In 1900 the 
 following report of Christian schools was given 
 in the Year Book ; 
 
 Kindergartens 
 
 Kindergarten Teachers’ 
 
 Training Scho,ols 
 
 Primary Schools 
 
 Industrial & Art Schools . . 
 English Night iSchools. . . 
 
 Sundry unclassified 
 
 Girls’ Schools (including 
 
 'Oolleges) 
 
 Boys’ Schools (Middle 
 Schools and Colleges) . 
 Bible Women’s Training 
 
 Schools 
 
 Theological and Bible 
 (men’s) 
 
 200 schools with 9,635 enrolment 
 
 8 “ 
 
 153 
 
 28 “ 
 
 “ 3,001 
 
 22 “ 
 
 “ 1,162 
 
 35 “ 
 
 “ 8,810 
 
 13 “ 
 
 748 
 
 56 “ 
 
 “ 11,146 
 
 20 “ 
 
 “ 11,432 
 
 17 “ 
 
 “ 334 
 
 22 “ 
 
 498 
 
CHRISTIANITY IN MODERN JAPAN 109 
 
 Splendid work is being aecomplished in sev- 
 eral of the great centres by the Young Men’s 
 Christian Association, the Young Women’s 
 Christian Association and the Women’s Chris- 
 tian Temperance Union. The Christian Litera- 
 ture Association has been doing effective work, 
 especially in translating foreign books into Jap- 
 anese. It is to be hoped that Christian litera- 
 ture from the heart and religious experience of 
 Japanese Christians will more and more appear, 
 and that in the near future Japanese Christians 
 will be making a contribution to the world’s 
 store of Christian thought. 
 
 From October 5th to 10th, 1909, the Semi-Cen- 
 tennial Conference was held to commemorate the 
 planting of Protestant Christianity in Japan. 
 The reports up to this period, given in “The 
 Christian Movement in Japan ” for 1910, were 
 most gratifying and encouraging. “ The Pro- 
 testant Christians in Japan then numbered sev- 
 enty-five thousand, with many more allied to 
 them by conviction if not by profession. The 
 number of men ordained to the ministry was 
 more than five hundred, the number of students 
 preparing for the ministry more than three hiin- 
 dred. There were nearly two hundred congre- 
 gations financially independent and paying the 
 salaries of their pastors, more than five hundred 
 that were not entirely independent, and nearly 
 a thousand others not yet organized as churches. 
 There were nearly twelve hundred Sunday 
 schools with nearly ninety thousand teachers 
 
110 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 and scholars. The contributions of the churches 
 in 1909 were 260,000 yen.” The report also 
 showed a growing sense of responsibility on the 
 part of the churches, who were relating financial 
 independence to spiritual growth and vigour. 
 
 The development of the Japanese Church since 
 that time may be estimated from the reports for 
 the year 1918 in the Year Book for 1919. There 
 are 527 foreign missionaries, 2,124 Japanese 
 workers in evangelistic work, 120,328 members, 
 358 churches entirely self-supporting, 466 organ- 
 ized and partly self-supporting, and 546 unorgan- 
 ized preaching places. There are 2,516 Sunday 
 schools, with an enrollment of 152,245 Sunday- 
 school scholars. The Japanese have contributed 
 Yen 1,126,028, while from the Mission Boards 
 Yen 634,399 is reported. In fact the day is 
 quickly coming when the Japanese Church will 
 be able to carry on all its Christian work in an 
 independent, self-supporting manner. The pro- 
 gress made in nine years is very hopeful and 
 gives reason for gratitude to God. 
 
 As a result of the 1913 Mott Conference, the 
 great Interchurch National Evangelistic Cam- 
 paign was opened in the spring of 1914 and con- 
 tinued for three full years. It was the greatest 
 campaign in the history of Christian work in 
 Japan, and was characterized by a greater spirit 
 of unity, co-operation and zeal than any previous 
 effort. The whole Empire was visited by depu- 
 tations with a view to strengthening every 
 Christian community in the Empire. It was 
 
CHRISTIANITY IN MODERN JAPAN 111 
 
 conducted largely by voluntary effort, with com- 
 paratively little expense, but the results were 
 very encouraging. During the three years 3,232 
 meetings were held, 604,763 people attended, and 
 of these 21,136 persons became enquirers. 
 
 During the year 1914, at the time of the Tokyo 
 Exhibition, 1,242 meetings were held, which were 
 attended by 123,638 people, 1,080,300 tracts were 
 distributed, and 4,733 enquirers were reported. 
 During the Coronation festivities at Kyoto, other 
 meetings were held which were attended by 9,935 
 people, and at which 1,202 enquirers were re- 
 ceived. In 1915 a special series of tent meetings 
 were held in Tokyo by Evangelist Kimura; an 
 average attendance of 1,000 people were present 
 and here again 1,300 enquirers were obtained. 
 In this way, by the direct work of the campaign 
 and by these other movements, the spiritual life 
 of the church was greatly quickened and inspired 
 for future work. 
 
 At the close of the campaign a representative 
 Conference was held in Gotemba for the purpose 
 of gathering up the lessons of the Campaign and 
 to consider the future work of the Church in 
 Japan. This Conference was one of great inspi- 
 rational value; the addresses by the Japanese 
 Christian leaders were powerful appeals for 
 Christianity and gave promise for the days to 
 come. 
 
 Christianity is now past the experimental 
 stage in Japan. Japanese Christian workei’s 
 have been severely tested during the past four 
 
112 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 years by the unprecedented High Cost of Living. 
 Very few of them have gone into the more lucra- 
 tive positions offered by the commercial world. 
 For example, from the Union Methodist College, 
 Kobe, graduates of the commercial department 
 received from the commercial world from two to 
 three times as much remuneration as graduates 
 who entered the ministry. But during these 
 years some of the best class of young preachers 
 have gone out into Christian work without a 
 murmur. The very fact that our preachers are 
 well trained in two languages, especially in Eng- 
 lish, would give them a great opening into com- 
 mercial life; but the number who have gone is 
 not large. This is a hopeful sign for Christian- 
 ity in Japan. 
 
 When the Christian cause has so many men in 
 public life helping to influence the public spirit 
 of the nation and to mould the ideas and ideals 
 of Japanese literature and science, as she has 
 to-day, surely the Christian cause cannot be 
 accused of being made up of “ rice Christians.” 
 Men like Baron Morimura, Mr. Tagawa, Hon. 
 Shimada Saburo, the former Speaker of the 
 House, Hon. S. Ebara, Hon. Ando Taro, Hon. 
 Sho Nemoto, Hon. Ozaki, ex-Minister of Justice, 
 Mr. Sato, President of Sapporo University, Dr. 
 Nitobe, President of the Woman’s Christian 
 University, and thousands of others who might 
 be named, would die rather than betray their 
 Lord, their principles or their convictions. 
 Many of these men have faced opposition 
 
STUDENTS OF THE KWANSEI GAKUIN, KOBE, ASSEMBLED TO LISTEN TO AN ADDRESS 
 BY BARON MORIMURA (Seated in Centre oflGroup). 
 
■ LloiAAuf 
 
 UNIVtRSlTV OF ILLINOIS 
 URKANA 
 
CHRISTIANITY IN MODERN JAPAN 113 
 
 for the sake of their convictions and have 
 triumphed over their dififtculties for Christ’s 
 sake. These Japanese Christians have been 
 strengthened and their lives made unique 
 by their individual experience of Christ. In 
 Japan, as elsewhere, religious experience is 
 of vital importance. An intellectual assent 
 or a philosophic conception of religion does 
 not satisfy the soul or strengthen the char- 
 acter. Argument seldom makes Christian be- 
 lievers, but when by sympathetic intuition men 
 and women come into living relation with Christ 
 old things pass away and they become “ new crea- 
 tures in Christ Jesus.” For example, the late 
 Mrs. Hirooka, one of the most prominent Chris- 
 tian women in modern Japan, once said that she 
 had always been fond of reading and discussing 
 philosophy and that she was very proud of her 
 attainments in these lines ; but it was the earn- 
 est prayer of Pastor Miyagawa that impressed 
 her with the power of the Christian life and led 
 her to a lonely mountain top at Karuizawa w'here 
 she wrestled with God in prayer until her soul 
 was flooded with divine light and life. 
 
 The Japanese Churches are no longer mission 
 churches. The greatest churches in Japan are 
 self-supporting, self-propagating, self-governing 
 bodies with high Christian purposes and ideals. 
 
 The missions co-operating with them are con- 
 scious that the foreigners have already begun to 
 decrease while the Japanese are on the increase. 
 Even the financial reports of these churches show 
 s 
 
114 PROGEESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 a very satisfactory state of affairs. It is true, 
 the native church is still very small; but small 
 as it is, it has all the members of a perfectly 
 formed child and if assisted for a generation will 
 no doubt grow into the likeness of the perfect 
 stature of the Christ man. Then the foreign 
 missionaries can sing the doxology and go on to 
 other needy fields. 
 
 Meanwhile the work in Japan must be pushed 
 to a successful issue, realizing the deep meaning 
 of the prophet’s words, I will “ save them by the 
 Lord their God and will not save them by bow, 
 nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses nor by 
 horsemen.” In other words, I will save them by 
 the Lord their God and not by their armies; 
 realizing jbhat it is “ not by might nor by power, 
 but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.” 
 
Chapter Seven : The Can- 
 adian Methodist Mission 
 in Japan 
 
 F rom the founding of the Methodist Mission- 
 ary Society of Canada in 1824 to the open- 
 ing of their first foreign mission, almost 
 fifty years had elapsed. The church had taken 
 an active part in the early days of Canada and 
 had made an enviable contribution to the politi- 
 cal, educational and religious life of the young 
 nation. In 1873, when the interior of Japan 
 became open to Christian propaganda, the mis- 
 sionary thought and feeling of the Canadian 
 Methodist Church was awakened to a sense of 
 obligation to carry the Gospel message to “the 
 uttermost parts of the earth.” The Spirit of 
 God was moving upon the church and burning 
 into her life a feeling of international responsi- 
 bility for the Kingdom of God. The preceding 
 year had been a very successful one for the 
 society, and showed considerable increase over 
 any former year. When the Council meeting, 
 held in Brockville on October 8th, 1872, heard 
 that there was a surplus in the hands of the Mis- 
 sionary Treasurer, it was moved by Mr. John 
 MacDonald, seconded by the great Rev. Dr. Pun- 
 shon, and unanimously carried: “That we de- 
 voutly record our gratitude to God for the tokens 
 of His blessing upon this society in the past 
 115 
 
116 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 year ; we view our spiritual success and enlarged 
 income as encouragements to our faith in the 
 Divine promises and as a stimulus to our earnest 
 and humble endeavours to spread the knowledge 
 of salvation beyond the boundaries of our own 
 nationalities, as the liberalities of the church 
 and the openings of Providence may indicate 
 our obligations and duties.” In harmony with 
 the spirit of this resolution a challenge was 
 thrown out to test the devotion of the church, 
 which was asked to contribute to a special fund 
 of ten thousand dollars to equip a party of mis- 
 sionaries to Japan. 
 
 Then, on May 9th, 1873, a special meeting was 
 held to set apart to this great work in Japan the 
 Rev. George Cochran, D.D., the successful pastor 
 of the Metropolitan Church, Toronto, and the 
 Rev. Davidson MacDonald, M.D., pastor of the 
 Davenport and Seaton Village circuit. One 
 week later the messengers of the gospel left 
 Canada, arriving in Yokohama the last week of 
 June. The very first letters which were received 
 from these two men urged the necessity of buying 
 property in Tokyo for our mission headquarters. 
 Here in Tsukiji, property was finally secured; 
 and ever since Tokyo has been the centre of the 
 Canadian Methodist Mission in Japan. 
 
 The Tokugawa family, the late military rulers 
 of Japan, and their retainers were living in 
 Shizuoka, where it was planned to open a school 
 for them. When Dr. Cochran was out on a three 
 weeks’ tour of the interior he was asked to 
 
The late Rev. Y. Honda 
 (First) 
 
 The Rev. T. Hiraiwa 
 - (Second) 
 
 BISHOPS OF THE JAPAN METHODIST CHURCH. 
 
 The Rev. Davidson Macdonald. M.D. The Rev. George Cochran. D.D. 
 
 CANADIAN METHODIST PIONEER MISSIONARIES TO JAPAN. . 
 
library 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLiWOJo 
 liRF^ANA 
 
CANADIAN METHODIST MISSION 117 
 
 become the teacher, but as Dr. MacDonald had 
 no family it was agreed that, shonld the way 
 open, he would go and begin work among these 
 young men who were among the brightest of the 
 empire. After considerable difficulty, permis- 
 sion was obtained for him not only to reside in 
 Shizuoka and teach English, but also to teach 
 the Gospel of Christ. His medical work and 
 his great personality soon gave him a place of 
 influence in the life of the city. In September, 
 1874, he formed his first Bible class with eleven 
 of his students, and by the end of a year these 
 were increased to twenty-six. In this way the 
 work was opened up in Shizuoka. Several 
 strong laymen of that gronp were spared to the 
 church for years. Among them w’ere several 
 local preachers, one bishop and several leading 
 pastors. Shizuoka is still one of the strongest 
 and most prosperous churches of the Japan 
 Methodist Church. A few years ago the mem- 
 bers celebrated the founding of the church by 
 unveiling an enlarged photo of Dr. MacDonald, 
 who was always greatly beloved and appreciated 
 by his brethren. 
 
 Dr. Cochran had attracted the attention of Mr. 
 Nakamura, the principal of a school in Tokyo, 
 and was invited to conduct daily chapel and 
 Bible study with the students. Already both 
 Dr. Cochran and Dr. MacDonald had rejoiced 
 over their first tv^o converts. The first was 
 a young man of twenty-five who had become 
 Dr. Cochran’s teacher, and whose knowledge of 
 
118 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 the truth and faith in God had gradually grown 
 under the magnetic personality of Dr. Cochran. 
 He offered to devote his life to the work of pro- 
 pagating the Gospel of Christian love. The 
 other was Mr. Kiyohiko Yoshitomi, a young man 
 well educated in the Confucian classics. At first 
 he was well satisfied with the teaching of Con- 
 fucius; but as he resided under Dr. Cochran’s 
 roof and became impressed by the deep, myste- 
 rious workings of the Holy Spirit, he too gave 
 Christ the glory and became an earnest Christian 
 man. 
 
 In 1876, in response to an appeal from the 
 mission, the Canadian Church sent out Dr. Eby 
 and Dr. Meacham. They arrived on September 
 9th, just in time to attend a District Meeting at 
 which three promising young men were received 
 on trial for the ministry. At that time they also 
 reported a membership of seventy-eight baptized 
 converts in the young Church. The work having 
 been opened among students, many of them were 
 ready to become active workers. “ At this time 
 fully a score were local preachers, most of whom 
 would, if opportunity were given, become evan- 
 gelists and preachers of a most promising class. 
 Most of them were graduates or undergraduates 
 of the Imperial University; but, while men of 
 great learning in the Chinese classics, they had 
 need of teaching of the most thorough kind in 
 theology before they could be sent out to do the 
 best kind of evangelistic work among their coun- 
 trymen.” In order to teach these young men, 
 
CANADIAN METHODIST MISSION 119 
 
 theological classes were opened on Wednesday 
 and Saturday afternoons, and some progress was 
 already reported. 
 
 Dr. Meacham went to Numadzu, another city 
 of Shizuoka prefecture, to work in the Academy 
 of which Mr. Soroku Ebara was principal. Dr. 
 Meacham’s kindly spirit and untiring patience 
 soon won for him a great place in his new home. 
 The year after his arrival he had the joy of seeing 
 six persons baptized. Among these was the prin- 
 cipal of the school, Mr. Ebara, who was destined 
 to become a man with a national reputation and 
 following. His personality was that of a hero, 
 and his uncompromising devotion to and faith 
 in Christ soon won the respect of all who knew 
 him. He has since been honoured several times 
 by the Emperor and is still a source of strength 
 and power in the growing Church of Christ in 
 Japan. 
 
 In the province of Yamanashi, near the city 
 of Kofu, several young men of the village of 
 Tamba formed themselves into a club and re- 
 quested that a missionary come to instruct them 
 in the Gospel message. In 1877 Dr. Eby spent 
 a month in the province and held several very 
 enthusiastic meetings, after which he was invited 
 to settle among them permanently. Dr. Eby 
 agreed to consider it if they would open his way 
 to residence in the prefectural centre, Kofu, a 
 city of nearly forty thousand. In Kofu, a group 
 of young men who had formed a club for their 
 own education took up the matter; and after 
 
120 PKOGEESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 the usual difficulties were overcome Dr. Eby ob- 
 tained permission to begin the work of preaching 
 the Gospel throughout this central province. 
 This was the third centre opened in Japan during 
 the first decade, by the end of which the member- 
 ship of the church was two hundred and eighty- 
 two. 
 
 The Canadian Methodist Church, both in Can- 
 ada and in the mission field, has always recog- 
 nized the value and importance of Christian, as 
 well as general, education. In 1883 the Mission 
 Board authorized the purchase of a site for a 
 school in Tokyo. The following year, in Decem- 
 ber, the Toyo Eiwa Gakko began its work with 
 Dr. Cochran as its principal. In 1879 Dr. 
 Cochran had been forced by his wife’s condition 
 of health to withdraw, but by 1884 the way was 
 again open for his return to the work. His asso- 
 ciates in this work were the Rev. R. Whitting- 
 ton and a staff of Japanese teachers. The fol- 
 lowing year the Rev. T. A. Large, B.A., was 
 appointed specialist in mathematics and natural 
 science. Other men were afterwards appointed 
 to this work as it developed. 
 
 In 1899, when the reaction against mission 
 schools took place, the Academy at Azabu had an 
 enrollment of five hundred, and a theological 
 department with five students for the ministry. 
 The government action in forbidding religious 
 instruction, even outside the regular school 
 hours, closed up our Azabu school. The Hon. 
 S. Ebara, the principal of the school, and Mr. 
 
THE METHODIST CHURCH. SHIZUOKA. 
 
 THE ACADEMY. KWANSEI GAKUIN (UNION METHODIST 
 COLLEGE), KOBE. 
 
L»BRA.Ty 
 
 WEusmof iiu„o; 
 
 UHEAm 
 
 
CANADIAN METHODIST MISSION 121 
 
 Muramatsu, the manager, took over the student 
 body, erected new buildings and have ever since 
 carried on an independent school. The dormi- 
 tories, however, continued to be used for Mr. 
 Ebara’s students, and regular religious services 
 and Bible classes were conducted by him and 
 by our missionaries for their benefit. The 
 Azabu school thus formed won a national Chris- 
 tian reputation, and by living in the dormitories 
 Mr. Ebara and some of his staunch Christian 
 teachers were able to do a splendid work for 
 Christ in spite of the government restrictions. 
 Dr. Borden co-operated with these dormitory 
 services while he lived in Azabu, and was greatly 
 encouraged by the opportunities for Christian 
 services thus afforded. 
 
 In 1910, the buildings and property at Azabu 
 having been sold, the Canadian Mission united 
 in educational work with the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church, South, in the city of Kobe, in what 
 is known in Japan as the Kwansei Gakuin. At 
 that time the school had less than three hundred 
 students and teachers; in 1919 it had over six- 
 teen hundred teachers and students, and was 
 making plans to take out a university charter 
 in harmony with the new government regulations 
 by which a university of good standing may be 
 founded with one or two departments. 
 
 The religious work in the school is organized 
 with a view to inspiring Christian leadership on 
 the part of the young men. For half an 
 hour every morning from nine o’clock cultural 
 
122 PEOGKESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 religious services are held in all three depart- 
 ments. For several years Mr. Zentaro Ono has 
 devoted his whole time to the religious work of 
 the school. There has been organized a school 
 church into which the students are received on 
 confession of faith. Some years, as many as 
 fifty have been baptized by our energetic chap- 
 lain. Regular Bible instruction is given in both 
 the Academy and the College. A students’ 
 Y.M.C.A. is organized among the students, and 
 every year evangelistic bands of Christian mem- 
 bers of the College and the Theological Depart- 
 ment, led by Christian teachers, go out for short 
 series of meetings at such places as may be 
 opened to them by the church or mission. In 
 all agencies which promote religion, moral 
 suasion and not force is used, and the students 
 respond to these ideal appeals. 
 
 In the early days of the mission Dr. Eby 
 organized in Canada a Student Volunteer 
 Band, the members of which were intended to 
 become self-supporting by teaching in Japanese 
 government schools. At the same time they 
 could spend their spare time in evangel- 
 istic work. The first members of the band 
 arrived in Japan in 1887. Those who went 
 to Japan in this way were Messrs. Dunlop, 
 McKenzie, Craig, Gauntlett, Coates, Ayers, 
 Chown, Brown, Bick, Elliott, Tuttle, and one 
 lady. Miss Cushing. When the band broke up 
 in 1891 several of its members entered the Cana- 
 dian Mission and continued to do excellent work 
 for the mission. Among those who have con- 
 
CANADIAN METHODIST MISSION 123 
 
 tinued with us to the present day are Dr. D. R. 
 McKenzie and Dr. H. H. Coates. This self-sup- 
 porting band was a great scheme. It has since 
 been carried on in a modified form by the 
 Y.M.C.A. of Japan. In this way many bright 
 young men have come to Japan and entered 
 Christian work among the students of govern- 
 ment schools. 
 
 From 1883 to 1885 Dr. Eby found a 
 unique opportunity in meeting the great wave 
 of intellectual inquiry which swept over 
 Japanese young men in their desire for modern 
 learning. Several lectures were given in 
 the Science Department of the Tokyo Uni- 
 versity which were afterwards published under 
 the title of “ Christianity and Humanity.” This 
 gave Dr. Eby an opportunity open to few 
 missionaries, and he went everywhere preach- 
 ing and lecturing throughout the country. 
 The possibilities of this work for students 
 led him to devise the plan of what is now 
 the Central Tabernacle in Tokyo. Speaking of 
 this institution, Mr. Clement, in his “ Christian- 
 ity in Modern Japan,” says, “ The Central Taber- 
 nacle in Tokyo is a veritable hive of Christian 
 activity, a sort of institutional church.” This 
 great institution has recently been reorganized 
 under the leadership of the Rev. Dr. C. J. L. 
 Bates, and it is hoped that a great work may 
 result among the thousands of students of Col- 
 lege grade who live in that neighbourhood. 
 
 In 1886 the first Japan Council was formed by 
 the General Conference. On June 23rd, 1888, 
 
124 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 twenty-three ministers and laymen met in 
 Tsukiji church, Tokyo, and the first Japanese 
 Annual Conference was organized with Dr. Mac- 
 Donald as president, and the Rev. J. H. Cassidy 
 and Mr. Kobayashi as joint secretaries. From 
 that time the Council and the Conference existed 
 together until the union of all the Methodist Mis- 
 sions in Japan. 
 
 At the General Board meeting in Winnipeg 
 in 1888 it was ordered : “ That in view of the 
 proposed expenditure in the matter of the Cen- 
 tral Mission Hall, Tokyo, and the present atti- 
 tude of the union question, it is advisable that 
 the General Missionary Secretary at some time 
 before the next General Conference visit that 
 country in the interests of our work.” On May 
 6th, 1889, Dr. Sutherland left for Japan, return- 
 ing on August 6th, rejoicing in what his eyes had 
 seen and in the consciousness of having travelled 
 over the Japan Mission lecturing and preaching 
 to the people. One result of his visit and the 
 deliberations which took place at that time was 
 the decision to open up work on the Kanazawa 
 District. The Rev. J. W. Saunby was set apart 
 for this work, and the four provinces on the west 
 coast were organized into a District. Mr. 
 Saunby went to Kanazawa, the Rev. J. G. Dun- 
 lop went to Nagano, Mr. Kato, a probationer of 
 promise, was placed at Toyama, and the Rev. 
 D. R. McKenzie at Fukui. The work was so suc- 
 cessful that many enquirers were organized into 
 Bible classes, and by the end of the first year 
 nineteen baptisms were reported. 
 
CANADIAN METHODIST MISSION 125 
 
 On the night of April 4th, 1890, occurred one 
 of the most tragic events in the life of the mission 
 — the Rev. T. A. Large was cut to death by bur- 
 glars who entered his house in Azabu. Mrs. 
 Large was also severely wounded in the face and 
 right hand. In July, 1916, while summering at 
 Karuizawa, the Rev. and Mrs. Flint Campbell 
 were also cruelly murdered by a Japanese robber. 
 These two murders shocked the whole foreign 
 community. The Japanese people showed their 
 sincere sympathy and regret at these outrages 
 upon innocent benefactors of their native land. 
 
 In 1878 the missionaries in Japan placed a 
 request before the General Conference that spe- 
 cial work be commenced among women in Japan. 
 The General Conference referred the request to 
 the Mission Board, which put it into the hands 
 of the General Secretary with instructions to 
 organize a movement among the women when- 
 ever a suitable opportunity arose. At the time 
 of the General Conference in 1880 the General 
 Secretary laid the matter before the Methodist 
 women of Hamilton, who took steps that same 
 Autumn to organize the Woman’s Missionary 
 Society. The following Spring their proposed 
 constitution was approved and a provisional 
 Board of Management was appointed. In Nov- 
 ember representatives from various local auxil- 
 iaries which had also been formed met in Ham- 
 ilton, and the society was formally organized. 
 In 1882 the first annual report showed that 
 twenty auxiliaries had been formed, with a mem- 
 bership of about eight hundred women ; an 
 
126 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 income of almost three thousand dollars was 
 reported, from which the first appropriation for 
 Japan was made when Miss Cartmell was sent 
 to the field to investigate conditions and begin 
 work for Japanese women. After consultation 
 with Dr. MacDonald she decided to open a girls’ 
 school in Tokyo, having the girls pay tuition fees. 
 In 1884 the first boarding-school for girls was 
 opened in Azabu, Tokyo, and a very desirable 
 class of girls was thus reached. In 1885 Miss 
 Spencer and Dr. Cochran’s youngest daughter 
 entered the woman’s mission. The following 
 year Miss Wintemute arrived, and in 1887 Miss 
 Cunningham and Miss Lund were added to this 
 growing group of lady missionaries. That year 
 Shizuoka girls’ school was opened by Miss Cun- 
 ningham, and two years later Kofu girls’ school 
 was opened by Miss Wintemute, accompanied by 
 Miss Preston. These schools have been very 
 successful and are still doing excellent work for 
 the girls of Japan. 
 
 In 1891 new work was opened at Kanazawa 
 for girls. Here an orphanage, two industrial 
 schools and a hostel for girls have since been 
 opened. In 1897 work was also opened in 
 Nagano and Ueda. In this way the work of our 
 Canadian Methodist Woman’s Missionary So- 
 ciety has been growing in Japan. Splendid 
 work is being done in the industrial centres. 
 Our women, accompanied by their Bible women, 
 are going about doing good. Their work for 
 factory women, their Sunday schools, their tract 
 
CANADIAN METHODIST MISSION 127 
 
 distribution and their personal evangelistic 
 work in the homes of the people must surely 
 have a great influence in establishing the King- 
 dom of God throughout Japan. The leaders of 
 this movement at the home base deserve special 
 credit for their care and tact in the choice of 
 candidates for the mission fleld. The character* 
 and educational status of the women who have 
 been sent to the fleld will compare favourably 
 with any other group of women anywhere. 
 
 In 1893 the yearly report for the mission again 
 showed steady increase in membership, which 
 now numbered 1,987. But just about that time 
 unfortunate events, too ditficult to explain, 
 occurred within the mission, leaving it Anally 
 with but two missionaries, Drs. Coates and Mc- 
 Kenzie, who carried on the work until reinforce- 
 ments arrived. Dr. Carman’s visit in 1898 and 
 Dr. Sutherland’s second visit in 1902 were events 
 of great interest. Meanwhile reinforcements 
 had been sent out — Dr. Borden, Dr. Scott, the 
 Rev. D. Norman, the Rev. Robt. Emberson and 
 the Rev. W. W. Prudham — and very soon the 
 mission again took on new life and hope. In 1902 
 the Rev. C. J. L. Bates was added to the force, 
 and since that time the numbers have slowly 
 been increased, until to-day we have flve men 
 engaged in educational work and twelve in 
 country and village evangelism. 
 
 In 1907 the Japan Methodist Church was 
 organized. It gathered together the results of 
 the three largest Methodist Missions at work in 
 Japan and aimed to organize a self -propagating, 
 
128 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 self-supporting and self-governing Methodist 
 Church, stretching from one end of the Empire 
 to the other. Bishop Honda, the beloved disciple 
 of Japan, was chosen as the first presiding officer. 
 At his death a few years later Bishop Hiraiwa, 
 one of the early converts from Shizuoka, took 
 his place and filled it with efficiency and dignity 
 for several years. In 1919 he was succeeded by 
 Bishop Uzaki, one of the first graduates of the 
 Kwansei Gakuin, in the early days when the 
 Methodist Episcopal South Mission first opened 
 up their educational work at Kobe. This union 
 has been a huge success and the missions co- 
 operating with it have had no reason to regret 
 their generosity in handing over their work to 
 the Japan Methodist Church, which is slowly 
 but surely becoming a tower of strength in the 
 Japanese Empire. 
 
 The union has had two very important effects 
 upon the work of the Kingdom in Japan. It has 
 clearly defined the work and responsibility of the 
 native ministers, who on the whole have become 
 second to none throughout Christendom for 
 intellectual ability and devotion to their ideals. 
 On the other hand, the work of the missionary 
 has been clearly defined. Before the union any 
 mere hireling of the conference could, if he were 
 so disposed, keep the experienced missionary out 
 of the preaching places, which were supported 
 by mission money. The missionary had merely 
 an advisory relation to the native church. By 
 the union the duties and responsibilities of the 
 native church were fixed, and the missionary was 
 
CANADIAN METHODIST MISSION 129 
 
 free to go out into the villages and towns and 
 organize pioneer work for which he alone was 
 responsible. As such work becomes self-support- 
 ing it is handed over to the Japan Methodist 
 Church, which thereafter becomes entirely re- 
 sponsible for it. 
 
 The Canadian Methodist Mission never en- 
 joyed greater opportunities for work and was 
 never so bound together in Christian love as it 
 is to-day. The pastors of the Japan Methodist 
 Church are very cordial in their relations to the 
 missionaries who are engaged in the great work 
 of village evangelism. These two bodies are col- 
 laborating together with God for the complete 
 conquest of Japan for Christ. 
 
 But lest we should be over sanguine, it is well 
 to remember that the yearly natural increase in 
 the population of Japan is greater than all the 
 membership of the Christian Churches put to- 
 gether. Still greater efforts must be put forth; 
 more sacrifices must be made before Japan is 
 completely evangelized. Let us to prayer and 
 work. Pray that the agencies at work may be 
 blessed to the saving of the Empire from mili- 
 tarism, from sensualism and from materialism; 
 these three evils threaten modern civilization 
 everywhere. Pray that God may thrust workers 
 and other forces into the harvest that the ripen- 
 ing grain may be gathered. 
 
 “ More things are wrought by prayer 
 
 Than this world dreams of 
 
 For so the whole round world Is every way 
 Bound by gold chains about the feet of God.” 
 
 9 
 
Chapter Eight: The Mis- 
 sionary and His Task 
 
 LL missionary work is a unit centring 
 
 in the unique personality of the Christ. 
 
 Its essential aim is to reveal the Christ 
 character and life to men, to establish the 
 Kingdom of God throughout the uttermost 
 parts of the world, and to see Jesus crowned 
 King of every human life and every social 
 order through the manifestation of the rul- 
 ing of His spirit in the individual and social 
 life. In this sense, the missionary is engaged 
 in establishing a Christian world - social - 
 order by winning each social individual to 
 allegiance and loyalty to the highest human 
 ideal, the God-man. The missionary is a world 
 citizen, working to create a world public opinion 
 which shall seek to save even the least of men 
 and to lead them to the highest good, and which 
 shall unite all classes and all races in one com- 
 mon spirit of Divine love that finds the source of 
 its inspiration and power in the fathering spirit 
 of the one true God and Father of mankind. 
 
 The various activities ot the missionary body 
 are like so many members in one body — “ As we 
 have many members in one body, so we being 
 many are one body in Christ,” with gifts differ- 
 ing according as God has dealt to each the gifts 
 of His grace and love. Only in this sense can 
 we describe the various activities of the different 
 
 130 
 
THE MISSIONARY AND HIS TASK 131 
 
 types of missionaries. Whether we speak of the 
 language student as he tarries in Jerusalem 
 until he receive by dint of hard work and appli- 
 cation, the gift of tongues and the knowledge of 
 history and customs necessary to begin work; 
 or whether we speak of the veteran missionary 
 out on the firing line, enduring the heat and 
 pressure of trench warfare; all are one in their 
 great purpose and aim. In the missionary field 
 there are no distinctions drawn between the 
 various types of missionaries at work. Every 
 man is expected to do his bit for the Kingdom of 
 Christ, and to that end he is granted consider- 
 able freedom to initiate new methods of work 
 and to make his own peculiar contribution to the 
 task. The man is greater than any method. He 
 serves because he is capable of efficient leader- 
 ship, and if he would lead he must efficiently and 
 tactfully serve. 
 
 The missionary in Japan must be capable of 
 finding a sympathetic point of contact with the 
 people for whom he is working ; if he cannot he 
 is disqualified for Christian work, and had much 
 better return to his own people. Love is the 
 compelling power without which the Gospel can- 
 not be transmitted to other nationalities; it is 
 love which overcomes and conquers the world. 
 The missionary is not an iconoclast, but is sent 
 to fulfil and perfect. He begins with the point of 
 view of the people for whom he works, and is only 
 capable of leading them as he is able to show the 
 way to the perfection and fulfilment of what 
 
132 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 they already have. For example, a missionary 
 saw some peasants worshipping before a temple. 
 When they had passed by, he drew near and dis- 
 covered a hideous giant. He asked himself. How 
 can any intelligent Japanese worship such a 
 monster? An old farmer teacher said to him, 
 “Without that spirit no young man can succeed.” 
 Here is the key from the point of view of an 
 intelligent old farmer sage. Again he drew near 
 and studied what he had been about to dismiss 
 as “ a heathen idol.” There stood a strong man 
 with determination written on every line of his 
 face, standing unmoved in the midst of fire, with 
 a sword in his right hand to cut out evil and a 
 rope in his left to bind it up. Without that spirit 
 no young men can succeed. Here is an idol 
 which has become a symbol of strength. Van- 
 dyke expresses this idea in “ The Story of the 
 Other Wise Man.” After he describes the fire 
 worshipper, he says : “ The enlightened are never 
 idolaters. They lift the veil of the form and go 
 into the shrine of the reality, and new light and 
 truth are coming to them continually through 
 the old symbols.” Just as God was able to use 
 the crude fetish which Moses set up in the wil- 
 derness, so God has used even these crude sym- 
 bols to strengthen character. “ And the times of 
 this ignorance God winked at, but now com- 
 mandeth all men everywhere to repent; because 
 He hath appointed a day in the which He will 
 judge the world in righteousness by that man 
 whom He hath ordained ” — ^even Jesus Christ. 
 
THE MISSIONARY AND HIS TASK 133 
 
 The first and all-important qualification for 
 mission work is a right spirit toward the 
 Japanese, a spirit which so partakes of the 
 Christ character that it will turn the other 
 cheek, go the second mile, or serve the very man 
 who is trying to do him up in a coal deal or in 
 some ordinary business transaction. The love of 
 Christ alone overcometh the world. 
 
 The compelling power of Christian love deter- 
 mines the method. It was Christian love which 
 enabled Dr. Clark of Sapporo to inspire the 
 students under his care. It was this same power 
 which enabled Dr. Neeshima to choose to be a 
 “ slave for Jesus Christ ” rather than enter the 
 government circle. He desired to impress his 
 great personality upon the young men who 
 gathered around him in Doshisha University. 
 The educational missionary must not allow him- 
 self to become an intellectual machine controlled 
 and impelled by the tyranny of the school bell. 
 But while the great aim and purpose of his work 
 is to create leaders of the Christian movement, 
 this can only be done in proportion as his 
 methods and standards of education are second 
 to none. Careless pedagogical methods in 
 Christian education are sinful barriers to the 
 accomplishment of its purpose. If Christian 
 education is worth doing, it is worth doing in 
 the best possible manner. Otherwise it defeats 
 its purpose, ceases to lead and becomes an expen- 
 sive cumberer of the earth. 
 
 In the same spirit the missionary goes into the 
 
134 PKOGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 villages and towns of Japan. His work is the 
 same as that of the missionary in the school, 
 though less intensive and more extensive. The 
 country missionary meets large numbers of 
 young men who intend to seek higher education. 
 He sends them up to the educational missionary 
 with introductions, and in this way every year 
 the Christian school is strengthened by the 
 united work of the mission. Too much cannot 
 be said for the missionaries in the towns and 
 villages, who are influencing bright young men 
 and sending them to Christian schools for train- 
 ing. In the history of Christian work in Japan 
 there was never so much co-operation of this 
 kind as there is to-day. The work which is being 
 done in this way for boys and young men in a 
 quiet, unobtrusive way is most encouraging and 
 inspiring. In a similar manner young men are 
 being sent every year from the country towns 
 and villages to city churches, to the Central 
 Tabernacle in Hongo, or to the Y.M.C.A. in 
 Kanda, and thus the spirit of unity and co- 
 operation is maintained by the spirit of the 
 Christ. 
 
 In the Tokugawa days, when famine after 
 famine occurred in Japan, men, women and 
 children starved by the wayside, although the 
 neighbouring lord had rice in his storehouses. 
 Occasionally a Buddhist priest exerted himself 
 for his own people. But there was no spirit of 
 sacrifice for all Japan, let alone for all the world. 
 
THE MISSIONARY AND HIS TASK 135 
 
 *In 1902, when similar conditions existed in the 
 north, a Roman Catholic priest made known the 
 sufferings of the people and received a ready 
 response of 25,000 yen from the foreigners in 
 Japan. Then the Japanese caught the spirit 
 and contributed. The Emperor gave 22,000 yen ; 
 two millionaires gave 10,000 yen each, and pub- 
 lic appeals Tvere made through the press. A 
 few years later, when a second famine occurred 
 in the north, the Japanese Government handled 
 it very successfully. Missionaries also appealed, 
 and gifts of about one million yen came to Japan 
 from all parts of the Christian world. This 
 work is a type of various kinds of Christian 
 work which are being done. The Okayama 
 Orphanage, the Home for Destitute Children in 
 Sendai, the Kanazawa Orphanage and the 
 Shizuoka Home are types of purely benevolent 
 work which give a practical illustration of the 
 Spirit of Christ. 
 
 Other forms of benevolent work are carried on 
 for various classes of unfortunate people. Miss 
 Caroline MacDonald, of Toronto, has been doing 
 most unselfish work for prisoners and their 
 families. Mr. Hara has had a Home for Dis- 
 charged Prisoners. Mr. K. Tomeoka is in charge 
 of a Reformatory or “ Family School ” in Tokyo. 
 Mr. Kagawa is doing a most unselfish work in the 
 slums of Kobe for the outcasts. These unfor- 
 
 See “ Sunrise in the Sunrise Kingdom,” De Forest. 
 
136 PKOGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 tunate people, when touched by the power of 
 the Christ, become splendid citizens of the King- 
 dom of God. A few years ago one such young 
 man graduated from the College Department of 
 Kwansei Gakuin, Kobe, and went out into busi- 
 ness with every prospect of becoming an influen- 
 tial and prosperous Christian business man. 
 This kind of work is being carried on in various 
 parts of Japan by those who have been directly 
 or indirectly touched by the hem of the Master’s 
 garment. 
 
 The same spirit is the moving force behind the 
 work of providing Christian literature. The 
 Christian Literature Society, under the able and 
 efficient management of Dr. Wainwright, has 
 done much to supply Christian tracts and books 
 for the workers who are engaged in direct evan- 
 gelistic work, either in the schools or in the 
 villages and towns. 
 
 Closely allied with this kind of work, and yet 
 distinct from it, is the work of Newspaper 
 Evangelism which has very recently come into 
 prominence. The specialist in this work is the 
 Rev. Albertus Pieters, of Oita, Japan. In his 
 paper on “ Seven Years of Newspaper Work at 
 Oita ” he outlines the general principles on which 
 this method is based : “ Faith cometh by hearing;” 
 The modern method of getting a hearing is 
 through the newspaper. Government proclama- 
 tions are thus published broadcast; and in the 
 same way, in a country where the daily paper is 
 so prominent as it is in Japan, it is very import- 
 
THE MISSIONAEY AND HIS TASK 137 
 
 ant that its columns should be used to create a 
 demand for the Gospel supply which is unlim- 
 ited. In the great inter-church Forward Move- 
 ment which is now going on in Canada, the daily 
 press is being used in a marvellous way to help 
 on the good work. So in Japan, more and more 
 the daily papers are open to our material, and it 
 is only reasonable to expect that funds should be 
 available for making use of this powerful method 
 of propagandism. By using the newspapers and 
 paying for the space, systematic series of relig- 
 ious instruction can be given and applications 
 can be received for further instruction. When 
 these applications are received Christian litera- 
 ture can be judiciously sent, and where a pastor 
 is living near the applicant introductions can be 
 given and the work followed up by personal 
 interviews. 
 
 The results of this method are given by Dr. 
 Pieters through carefully tabulated reports. 
 The total number of applicants for seven years 
 was 7,111, or over one thousand a year. He also 
 reports one hundred and sixteen baptisms during 
 the same period. But the results which cannot 
 be tabulated are written in the effect upon public 
 opinion, upon moral, religious and social prob- 
 lems. To obtain the greatest results in this 
 method, as in all the others, the dominant note 
 again must be the spirit of Christian love for 
 the Japanese. To antagonize uneducated public 
 opinion may sometimes be necessary, but to influ- 
 ence men they must be loved into the Kingdom. 
 
138 PKOGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 The work of general evangelism is in some 
 respects the most important and the most diffi- 
 cult, but in Japan the missionary must be a 
 leader in Christian work, a teacher of evangel- 
 ists and pastors, working in season and out to 
 inspire Christian leadership on the part of the 
 Japanese. In many country towns the mission- 
 ary’s home is the only example of what the 
 Christian home ought to be. The late Robert 
 Emberson, of sainted memory in the Canadian 
 mission, made his home the centre of his work. 
 It was open to all classes of J apanese, and many 
 learned to love and trust Christ because they 
 understood and appreciated the missionary’s 
 home life. In the Canadian Mission each mis- 
 sionary in the country work is supplied with 
 several young Japanese helpers and funds for 
 efficient work. Every week or month, as the 
 case may be, the missionary and his helpers meet 
 together in close and helpful consultation on 
 methods and problems. They go out inspired 
 and encouraged for their work of evangelization, 
 and good progress is made. The method may 
 vary in some details, but essentially the mission- 
 ary is a maker of Christian leaders. 
 
 In the Union Methodist College, Kobe, the 
 administration is still largely in the hands 
 of missionaries. The method is very democratic. 
 Every student is expected to be loyal to his con- 
 victions and to be sincere in his thought and con- 
 duct. When the students enter the school they 
 do not understand the method, and need more 
 
 I 
 
Top Row— Rev. H. W. Outerbridge. B.A.. Mrs. Outerbridge: Rev. H. F. Woods- 
 worth. B.A.. Mrs. Woodsworth. 
 
 2nd Row— Rev. W. R. McWilliams. B.A.. B.D.. Mrs. McWilliams: Rev. C. J. L. 
 Bates, M.A . D.D.. Mrs. Bates. 
 
 3rd Row — Rev. A. T. Wilkinson. B. A.. Mrs. Wilkinson: Rev. C. P. Holmes. B.A.. 
 Mrs. Holmes. 
 
 4th Row — Rev. F. Ainsworth. M.A.. B.D.. Mrs. Ainsworth: Rev. E. C. Hennigar, 
 B.A.. B.D.: Mrs. Hennigar. 
 
 5th Row — Rev. D. Norman, B.D., D.D.: Mrs. D. Norman. 
 
 missionaries (AND WIVES) 
 OF THE 
 
 METHODIST CHURCH. 
 CANADA. IN JAPAN 
 

THE MISSIONARY AND HIS TASK 139 
 
 restraint than later. But before long student 
 leaders begin to appear, and outstanding men 
 are soon prominent in student activities. These 
 men are the key men. They must be won, in- 
 structed and enlisted in the work of creating an 
 ideal spirit. In almost every case they respond 
 to kindness and confidence. For example, one 
 year the tennis team were victorious throughout 
 the district. The fencing team were very strong. 
 The jujitsu team had done well, and the baseball 
 led through the district. When the baseball 
 team won the final victory, they celebrated by 
 a dinner to which they invited the foreign dean. 
 The next morning the leader came and said: 
 “ We would like to have a dignified, sacred cele- 
 bration of our victory. May we have half an 
 hour after chapel for that purpose?” Needless 
 to say, they were allowed to take chapel hour. 
 That morning the teachers gave up their usual 
 seats on the platform to the baseball players, 
 who appeared dressed in their baseball suits. 
 The leader in a dignified, gentlemanly manner 
 opened the meeting by announcing the doxology, 
 “ Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.” 
 After a Christian student had read a suitable 
 Scripture passage another led in a very appro- 
 priate prayer, thanking God for the physical 
 power which had enabled them to win, but more 
 especially for the spirit of the school, to which 
 he ascribed their victories in athletics. Then 
 the dean had an opportunity of pointing out 
 that Christianity stood for all-round manhood. 
 
140 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 It was not for the mountain top nor for death 
 alone, but to help men be nobler and better on 
 the baseball field. After the spirits of the play- 
 ers were greatly cheered by the college song and 
 the usual rooting which manifested their good 
 feeling and spirit, the meeting was closed in a 
 dignified way. Japanese young men are very 
 interesting and most regular teachers in Chris- 
 tian schools love them. In fact every individual 
 student is the object of special interest and care. 
 
 Finally, it is well to bear in mind that these 
 Japanese are all very human; there is no special 
 psychology for the Japanese; they are just like 
 other men; they respond to the same feelings 
 and desires. An old story told by a blind Con- 
 fucian teacher to illustrate Filial Piety will 
 illustrate this fact. An old man and woman had 
 an only son, a youth of about eighteen years. 
 Unfortunately he was a very bad boy. He used 
 to spend his parents’ money on geisha and in 
 places of questionable amusement, drinking 
 wine. The family connection were outraged by 
 his conduct, and threatened to disown the par- 
 ents if they did not disinherit the boy. ( Accord- 
 ing to ancient law this was possible, but not in 
 modern times.) They therefore called the fam- 
 ily council together for an evening meeting to 
 disinherit their boy. Downtown, his compan- 
 ions got wind of it and twitted him about the 
 meeting. He threatened to break up the gather- 
 ing and teach his relatives a lesson. On the 
 night of the meeting the boy crept stealthily up 
 
THE MISSIONARY AND HIS TASK 141 
 
 to the paper doors and punched a little hole in 
 the paper with a toothpick, in order to witness 
 what was going on in the room and hear what 
 decisions were reached. 
 
 One after another of the relatives spoke 
 against him. They told of incidents in which he 
 had brought disgrace upon them, and generally 
 ended up their speeches by saying, “ He is a bad 
 boy and if he is not disinherited the parents 
 must be disowned.” 
 
 Outside, the boy was very angry. He could 
 hardly refrain from breaking in the door, but 
 something restrained him; perhaps it was the 
 influence of his mother’s face, which was turned 
 so that he could occasionally see the pale, wor- 
 ried look as she listened to what they said. 
 
 Finally, they decided to disinherit him and 
 the legal document was presented. One after 
 another of the friends put their official seals to 
 it. Then it came to his mother. The boy, with 
 a beating heart, watched his mother’s face. Her 
 hand trembled as she raised the seal, and the 
 great tears rolled silently down her cheek as she 
 turned to his father and said : “ Father, shall 
 we send our own boy away? He is bone of our 
 own bone and flesh of our own flesh. Shall we 
 send him away?” His father dropped his chin 
 on his breast, which seemed to heave with emo- 
 tion and grief as he said, “ It’s very hard ! It’s 
 very hard !” Then his mother spoke : “ If we 
 send him away we will have to adopt another 
 in order to keep up the family name. Will he 
 be any better?” 
 
142 PKOGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 Then, as his father remained silent and appar- 
 ently grief-stricken, she continued : “ Father, I 
 think we had better sink with our boy. We had 
 better go down and out with him.” As the old 
 man agreed she turned to the company, who 
 were silently watching this part of the proceed- 
 ings, and said, “ Friends, you can disown us if 
 you will, but we will sink with our boy.” 
 
 The anger of the boy outside was all gone. He 
 was broken down by his mother’s love. He drew 
 back the paper doors and stepped into the room 
 and, humbly bowing, confessed his wickedness 
 and sin, saying : “ Give me another trial ; if I 
 am not a better man then you can disinherit me.” 
 The story ended : He came to his true self. The 
 mirror of his soul which had been dust-covered 
 became polished bright. He became a noble son 
 of a noble mother. Truly this story reveals the 
 solidarity of the Japanese with the rest of the 
 race. It teaches us that criticism and fault- 
 finding are not to be used in mission work. It 
 is love that melts the hardened heart. This is 
 the greatest force in the world. “ For God so 
 loved the world that He gave His only begotten 
 Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should 
 not perish, but have everlasting life.” 
 
 The power of Christian work is only in pro- 
 portion as the power of Christian love is revealed 
 in the worker’s life and thought. Criticism and 
 sarcasm antagonize, but love overcometh the 
 world. “God sent not His Son into the world 
 to condemn the world, but that the world 
 
THE MISSIONARY AND HIS TASK 143 
 
 through Him might be saved.” All men are 
 debtors to the love of Christ which constrains 
 them and inspires them in the upward struggle 
 to the God of all truth and love. 
 
 “ O love that will not let me go, 
 
 I rest my weary soul in thee; 
 
 I give thee back the life I owe. 
 
 That in thine ocean depths its flow 
 May richer, fuller be.” 
 
 The missionary task in Japan is the most im- 
 portant and at the same time the most difi&cult 
 ever undertaken by the Christian Church; it 
 demands a high standard of Christian culture 
 and missionary statesmanship if it is to succeed. 
 In Protestant Europe and America, in spite of 
 the rush and roar of modern industrial life, men 
 of science are constrained to search for the 
 causes of disease and death ; statesmen are seek- 
 ing to raise the ideals of their own and other 
 nations; humanity is struggling toward high 
 spiritual ideals of democracy; and all their 
 efforts are assisted by the religion of Christ, 
 which stands for the all-round development of 
 man, physical, mental and spiritual. In Asia 
 and in other less favoured parts of the world, 
 sanitation, health, education, democratic ideals 
 and free institutions are being largely neglected. 
 Only a small fringe of humanity who have come 
 directly or indirectly under the influence of mod- 
 ern civilization have any idea of progress at all. 
 The great masses of humanity are still under the 
 narcotic of their religious superstitions and 
 
144 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 philosophies, which aim at their redemption 
 from all kinds of social service and activity and 
 their absorption into a state of annihilation. In 
 Japan alone, the progress of materialistic forces 
 has been almost miraculous; there is no need 
 to propagate the ideals of sanitation, health, 
 education or democracy. The Japanese people, 
 under able statesmen, are fully awake to the im- 
 portance of materialistic values. But the fact 
 that religious faith is not keeping pace with this 
 materialistic progress means certain calamity; 
 and social disorder will eventually fall upon 
 them unless the Japanese Christian Church and 
 its missionary co-workers can gain a hearing and 
 avert disaster. 
 
 Most Japanese leaders and people are asleep 
 to the peril in which their social life stands as 
 a result of accepting modern civilization without 
 the spirit of Christ. They are quite frequently 
 suspicious of Christian influence, failing to see 
 that modern scientific progress without Christ 
 is a menace to humanity. The atrocities and 
 cruelties of the late war, where Nietsche w'as 
 exalted and Christ forgotten, would make an- 
 cient barbarism with its primitive faiths blush 
 for shame. So Japan is in danger from the loss 
 of living faith in the old religions which, how- 
 ever much they lack regenerative power, have 
 assisted in restraining unbridled individualism. 
 Within this modern period of progress Japanese 
 leaders almost universally belittled the need of 
 religion, until they were somewhat awakened to 
 
THE MISSIONARY AND HIS TASK 145 
 
 their peril by the shock of the plot against the 
 late Emperor. Since then they have admitted 
 the need of religion, but with too little religious 
 conviction or practice. Some have tried to 
 invent a new religion as superstitious and as 
 inadequate as that of ancient Rome or Babylon. 
 Meanwhile, modern progress moves on. People 
 are growing away from and becoming indifferent 
 to the superstitious beliefs of the past, and the 
 nation is facing the evils of a most truculent 
 materialism which carries with it certain anarchy 
 and confusion. If the Japanese leaders persist 
 in rejecting Christ they will have to take the 
 responsibility for the confusion and disorder 
 which will inevitably follow. 
 
 One illustration will suffice to show the speed 
 with which these changes have come. The late 
 Professor Lloyd translated the poems of the late 
 Emperor of Japan — one of the greatest sover- 
 eigns of modern times. These poems illustrate 
 the ancient soul of Japan and reveal spiritual 
 ideals of a very high order. When the Emperor 
 declared war on Russia he wrote : “ We have 
 tried to be sincere in word and in deed and have 
 exhausted every means to state a clear and truth- 
 ful case. Now may the great God who sees the 
 hearts of men approve of what we do.” When 
 his troops went to the front he wrote : “ The foe 
 that strikes you, for your country’s sake strike 
 with all your might; but when you strike him, 
 forget not still to love him.” During the Rus- 
 sian war the world admired the chivalry of the 
 
146 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 Japauese offioei* who raised the head of a 
 wounded Russian soldier crying for water, and 
 gave his own supply to his enemy to drink. 
 
 Japan has accepted modern civilization without 
 the spiritual ideals of Christ, and materialism 
 has made such headway that even the signifi- 
 cance of the Eternal, the sanctity of human life 
 and the high ethical ideals of Bushido are being 
 set aside in the mad rush after materialistic 
 values. These are the facts which have made 
 possible the revolting cruelties of militarism in 
 Korea, and the organized centres of prostitution 
 for which the Japanese colonies are so often 
 criticized. But these evils will not be remedied 
 by mere criticism or political talk, they will con- 
 tinue to increase unless the missionary task is 
 faithfully and sy'mpathetically performed. In 
 contrast to the darkness and inhumanity of mod- 
 ern materialism and militarism which made such 
 evils possible, we would hold up the light and 
 humanity of Christ, who calls to all mankind to 
 follow him. All the spiritual power of the Jap- 
 anese churches and of the missionary forces in 
 Japan will be required to cope with the task of 
 saving Japan from the dangers of modern 
 progress. 
 
 Finally, the missionary is engaged on an inter- 
 national problem. His field is the world. He 
 is a propagandist for the Kingdom of God among 
 men. He is struggling to realize ideals which 
 alone will eventually win “Peace on earth among 
 men of good will.” In order to win the war, 
 
THE MISSIONARY AND HIS TASK 147 
 
 ^statesmen in the allied countries tried to arouse 
 these feelings of responsibility for humanity, for 
 liberty, for righteousness and to end all war. 
 These ideals won the war; thousands of our 
 brightest Canadian young men gave their lives 
 for them. Now we see that the realization of 
 these ideals is essentially a religious task, the 
 task which the Christian missionary is strug- 
 gling to achieve. Christians in Japan, Canada 
 and throughout the world must understand one 
 another and stand or fall together. They must 
 dedicate themselves to this unfinished task for 
 which so many have made the supreme sacrifice ; 
 that they who died may not have died in vain. 
 
 Recently Dr. George A. Vincent, Chairman of 
 the Rockefeller Foundation, electrified an audi- 
 ence in Toronto by an account of how Americans, 
 British, Japanese, South Americans and other 
 races were uniting to destroy the mosquito 
 responsible for the spread of yellow fever. His 
 address was a most inspiring and encouraging 
 account of a great work for the good of human- 
 ity, in which a distinguished Japanese bacteri- 
 ologist played a prominent part. It was, in 
 fact, a great missionary effort to fight disease 
 of the body. In Japan the missionary task is to 
 combine to save men from moral and social dis- 
 eases which threaten to destroy the historic soul 
 of Japan and the Japanese. This work affects 
 the welfare of the whole race even more than the 
 destruction of yellow fever, for the threatening 
 germs of moral and spiritual disease are more 
 
148 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 widespread. This great task of saving Japan 
 must be pushed energetically and quickly or the 
 opportunity will pass. 
 
 The old religions are powerless to perform the 
 task. The lack of regenerative power in Japan- 
 ese Buddhism may be imagined from the fact 
 that the Asakusa temples are helplessly sitting 
 in stagnant pools of immorality. Popular 
 Shinto religious beliefs are too superstitious to 
 command the respect of modern men and too 
 ultra-national to bring a message to this age of 
 world-wide human relationships, while Confu- 
 cianism in Japan disclaims religion altogether. 
 
 Christ alone can save Japan. After years of 
 investigation of the old religions and in spite of 
 a high appreciation of the work they have 
 already done, the author is prepared to reaffirm, 
 in the words of the Apostle Peter, who being 
 filled with the Holy Spirit, told the rulers of 
 his people that Christ was the “ stone which was 
 set at naught of you builders, which is become 
 the head of the corner. Neither is there 
 salvation in any other; for there is none other 
 name under Heaven given among men whereby 
 we must be saved.” 
 
 This task is involved in the remarkable mani- 
 festo recently addressed to British people by six 
 great * prime ministers of the Empire when they 
 
 * Hon. D. Lloyd George of Great Britain, Hon. R. L. 
 Borden of Canada, Hon. Louis Botha of South Africa, Hon. 
 R. A. Squires of Newfoundland, Hon. W. M. Hughes of 
 Australia, and Hon. W. P. Massey of New Zealand, quoted 
 hy the Christian Guardian, March 3, 1920i. 
 
CANADA, IN JAPAN. 
 
 Top Row — Rev. R. C. Armstrong, M.A., Ph.D., Mrs. Armstrong; Rev. P. G. Price, 
 B.A., Mrs. Price. 
 
 2nd Row — Rev. W. J. M, Cragg, B.A., Mrs. Cragg; Rev. J. W. Saunby. B.A., D.D., 
 Mrs. Saunby. 
 
 3rd Row — Rev. M. M. Whiting, B.A., Mrs. Whiting: Rev. W. O. Fryer, B.A.. Mrs. 
 Fryer. 
 
 4th Row — Rev. H. H. Coates, M. A., D.D., Mrs. Coates: Miss Lucy Norman; Mrs. 
 Ethel Misener, B.A. 
 
 5th Row— Rev. D. R. McKenzie. B.A., D.D.. Mrs. D. R. McKenzie. 
 

 
THE MISSIONARY AND HIS TASK 149 
 
 point out that “ Neither education, science, 
 diplomacy nor commercial prosperity when 
 allied with a belief in material force as the 
 ultimate power are real foundations for the 
 ordered development of the world’s life; and that 
 the League of Nations will be a failure unless 
 men are possessed by the spirit of good will.” 
 “ The spirit of good will among men rests upon 
 spiritual forces; the hope of a ‘ brotherhood of 
 humanity ’ reposes on the deeper spiritual fact 
 of ‘the Fatherhood of God.’ ” They also urge 
 that all men of good will “ should consider also 
 the eternal validity and truth of those spiritual 
 forces which are in fact the one hope for a per- 
 manent foundation for world peace.” To pro- 
 mote the spiritual reality of world-wide human 
 brotherhood under the common “ Fatherhood of 
 God ” is in fact the stupendous task of the 
 modern Christian missionary movement — the 
 greatest moral, social, spiritual movement of the 
 modern world. 
 
V 
 
Analytical Index 
 
 CHAPTER ONE: OUTLINE OF JAPANESE HISTORY 
 
 I. The Ancient Period, 660 B.C. — 600 A.D. 
 
 Origin of Japanese race: early form of society; clan 
 and guild systems basis for feudal system. Page 11. 
 
 Early religion — Animism: the early gods and an- 
 cestors of Imperial family; ancestor worship 
 becomes mixed with nature worship. Page 12. 
 
 Early ideas of the soul: story of Urashima Taro, 
 the Japanese Rip Van Winkle. Page 13. 
 
 Chinese learning introduced into Japan, 4th cen- 
 tury A.D.: brings written language, Buddhism, 
 new industries — tile making, image making, etc. 
 Page 15. 
 
 II. The Period of Centralization, 600^1200 A.D. 
 
 Communication with China introduces new learning 
 and reforms. Page 15. 
 
 The Great Reform: Chinese zodiac, governors ap- 
 pointed to outlying districts, people registered, 
 armouries built, people disarmed, private rights 
 protected, guilds disorganized, military stations 
 established, distribution of land, education of 
 officials, schools established. Page 15. 
 
 Contribution of Buddhism to the period: the best 
 age of Buddhism, priests introduce new indus- 
 tries and forms of benevolence. Page 17. 
 
 Resources of the central government: forced labour, 
 taxes in kind, military levies. Page 17. 
 
 Rise of the feudal system through development of 
 four classes of society: nobles, military, industrial, 
 agricultural and mercantile. Page 18. 
 
 III. An Age of Political and Religious Strife, 1200- 
 1585 A.D. 
 
 Politically: increasing power of the nobles ends in 
 strife and confusion; the Fujlwara family, the 
 Minamoto, the Taira, the Hojo, the Ashikaga. 
 Pages 19-21. 
 
 151 
 
152 PROGEESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 Morally: the age of knighthood; formation of 
 
 Bushido as the national spirit. Page 20. 
 
 Religiously: reformation of Buddhism and great 
 revival under Honen Shonin, Shinran Shonin and 
 Nichiren. Page 21. 
 
 IV. The Last Age of the Shoguns or the Great Military 
 Rulers, 1585-1868. 
 
 1. Political. 
 
 Order brought in the government by three great 
 warriors, Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, lyeyasu. Page 21. 
 
 The Tokugawa Age, the most brilliant of old Japan, 
 an era of prosperity and industrial expansion. 
 Page 22. 
 
 Thoroughness of the civil administration: Chris- 
 tianity, gambling, trespassing, etc., forbidden. 
 
 Decay of the Tokugawa rule: poverty, bankruptcy 
 and famine. Pages 22, 23. 
 
 2. Religious. 
 
 Buddhism becomes compulsory, degenerates. Page 
 23. 
 
 Reaction toward Confucianism. Page 23. 
 
 Revival of pure Shinto regenerates the nation and 
 prepares the way for overthrow of the Shoguns. 
 Page 23. 
 
 V. Conclusion. 
 
 History of Japanese similar to that of any Western 
 race, similar spiritual development — are responsive 
 to spiritual ideals and appreciate righteousness. 
 
 CHAPTER TWO: THE MODERN DEVELOPMENT 
 OF JAPAN 
 
 I. Opening of Japan to outside world. 
 
 Perry visits Tokyo, 1853, 1854. Page 25. 
 
 Japan’s first treaty and its terms. Other treaties 
 with other countries. Page 26. 
 
 Anti-foreign reaction: assassination of liberal states- 
 man; campaign for expelling Westerners brings 
 reprisals — iSatsuma clan bomibarded. Page 27. 
 
 Necessity for progress evident to Japanese through 
 their helplessness against punishment, bringing 
 about 
 
INDEX 
 
 153 
 
 II. The Age of ENLIGHTE^'AIEXT. 
 
 Restoration of the Emperor and progressive admin- 
 istration, aided by Western experts. Page 27. 
 
 Rapid changes, political and social, through intro- 
 duction of Western knowledge: edict boards 
 
 against Christianity removed, feudalism abolished, 
 outcasts become citizens; newspapers, compulsory 
 education, military service, post office, railways, 
 banking system established, etc. Page 28. 
 
 III. Growth of Democracy axd CoxsTirunoxAL Govern- 
 
 ment. 
 
 1. Forms and ideals of modern democracy shaped 
 by: (1) the democratic spirit in ancient Japan; 
 (2) the sentiments and traditions surrounding the 
 Imperial family. Pages 29, 30. 
 
 2. First movements toward constitutional govern- 
 ment: deliberative assemblies convened; universal 
 education, local self-government. Courts of Justice. 
 Page 31. 
 
 3. The Japanese Constitution: drawn up by Prince 
 Ito, after investigation of constitutions of Western 
 countries; promulgated 1889; necessarily conserva- 
 tive at its inception but gradually becoming more 
 democratic as the people are prepared for it. 
 Page 32. 
 
 4. The future of democracy: dangers of too rapid 
 break with old traditions; spirit of Christ is 
 needed to make Japanese democracy safe. Page 33. 
 
 IV. The AcnviTiES of Japan in the Outside World. 
 
 A. Past. 
 
 1. New policy toward the world induced by Kiushiu 
 and Shimonoseki episodes; new territory acquired 
 — Agasawara, Loo Choo, Formosa, etc. Page 34. 
 
 2. Revision of the treaties of 1854 makes Japan a 
 great power. Page 36. 
 
 3. The Anglo-Japanese Alliance, 1902: Japan main- 
 tains peace and later represents the allies in the 
 Far East. Page 36. 
 
 B. Future. 
 
 1. Western distrust of Japan has no better founda- 
 tion than Japan’s distrust of Great Britain and 
 United States. Page 37. 
 
154 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 2. Japan would welcome an effective League of Na- 
 tions, because of 
 
 (a) Japan’s limited land area: must have an 
 outlet for surplus population — large areas of 
 Canada and Australia lying idle. Page 38. 
 
 (b) Japan’s fear of Western aggression in China. 
 Page 38. 
 
 3. Realization of a real League of Nations is a 
 
 religious problem based on God’s common 
 fatherhood and man’s brotherhood. Page 39. 
 
 CHAPTER THREE: THE MODERN INDUSTRIAL REV- 
 OLUTION AND ITS PROBLEMS IN JAPAN. 
 
 I. Progress of the Industrial Revolution. 
 
 1. From a mediaeval civilization to a leading place 
 in modern industry in fifty years: changed cus- 
 toms and habits, foreign fashions; changed indus- 
 trial life — machinery and manufactures, model 
 factories, technical education, inventions encour- 
 aged. Page 43. 
 
 2. Successive periods of industrial activity, unpre- 
 cedented trade during the world war. Page 44. 
 
 3. Present Status: 
 
 (a) Japan competes successfully with British 
 trade. 
 
 (b) Cultivation of foreign markets, India, South 
 Seas, etc. 
 
 II. Labour Problems. 
 
 1. Distinctive features of Japanese situation: fac- 
 tories a new thing, skilled labour scarce, large 
 percentage of female labour. Page 49. 
 
 2. Stage at which progress has now arrived: the 
 Factory Law. Page 49. 
 
 3. Women in the industrial world: 
 
 (a) Large numbers; hours, shifts, surroundings, 
 dormitory system — effect ,on public health. 
 Pages 51-56. 
 
 (b) Public opinion on above conditions: efforts of 
 leaders and public men to arouse civic con- 
 science. Page 57. 
 
 (c) The remedy: only the power of the Gospel 
 can raise woman’s position. 
 
INDEX 
 
 155 
 
 4. Men in the industrial world: 
 
 (a) History of organized labour: first Labour 
 Unions, early strikes, present conditions. 
 Page 62. 
 
 (5) The remedy: religious attitude of man to 
 man, and Christian ideals of personality. 
 Page 63. 
 
 CHAPTER FOUR: THE RELIGIOUS SITUATION IN 
 MODERN JAPAN. 
 
 I. Historical. 
 
 1. Beginning of modern period, Buddhism State re- 
 ligion; Shinto becomes dominant — regulated by 
 government; sects of modern Shinto; Shinto sep- 
 arated from religion; State teaching of Shinto. 
 Pages 64-66. 
 
 2. Government irreligious — Christianity and Bud- 
 dhism equally discouraged; the Imperial Edict 
 on National Ethics. Page 67. 
 
 3. Reaction toward religion — revival in Buddhism. 
 
 (a) Two trends of modern Buddhism: (1) to- 
 
 ward modern agnostic and atheistic philosophy, 
 (2) borrowing from Christianity. 
 
 (b) Results of above movements: in the first 
 case (spiritual) disaster, in the second, move- 
 ment toward God. Page 71. 
 
 II. Present Religious Situation. 
 
 1. Religious Need of the masses: Japanese are in- 
 tensely religious. Page 74. 
 
 (a) Upper classes attempt to dispense with re- 
 ligion, to separate religion and philosophy, re- 
 ligion and ethics — result is atrophy of public 
 conscience. Page 74. 
 
 (b) Lower class religion has become superstition 
 — divination, etc. Their need of religion very 
 great. Christianity must particularly reach 
 the slums. Page 75. 
 
 2. Opportunity and preparation for Christianity: 
 traditions and national ideals a starting point for 
 Christian message; Japan now ready for forward 
 step. Page 76. 
 
 A point in common between popular religion and 
 Christianity. Page 77. 
 
150 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 CHAPTER FIVE: CHRISTIANITY AND BUDDHISM. 
 
 I. Necessity for opposing Buddhism; Confucianism and 
 Shinto may be ignored, Buddhism subtle and dan- 
 gerous — argues that Christianity is just like Bud- 
 dhism. Pages 79-81. 
 
 II. How Christianity is not like Buddhism. 
 
 1. Buddhist philosophy simi- 
 lar to Greek, based on 
 assumptions. 
 
 2. Buddhism: 
 
 (a) Conception of real- 
 ity — nothingness. 
 
 (b) Conception of salva- 
 tion — annihilation, 
 escape from suffer- 
 ing and life — is for 
 next world only. 
 
 (c) Conception of sin 
 — an illusion, to be 
 explained away. 
 
 (di) 'Methods of salva- 
 tion— 
 
 (1) By our own 
 efforts. 
 
 (2) By efforts of 
 another. 
 
 (e) Conception of Para- 
 dise and Nirvana — 
 Other - worldly, es- 
 cape from trans- 
 migration, loss 
 of individuality. 
 
 (/) The home — 
 
 Highest ideal in- 
 cludes extinc- 
 tion of self, of 
 society, of 
 home. 
 
 1. Christianity absorbed all 
 
 that was good in Bud- 
 dhist philosophy before 
 4 th century; not de- 
 pendent upon abstract 
 metaphysics — the fact of 
 Christ essential. 
 
 2. Christianity: 
 
 (a) Conception of real- 
 ity— God’s Holy Per- 
 sonality. 
 
 (b) Conception of sal- 
 vation — to attain a 
 more abundant life, 
 to help live this 
 ethical ideal. 
 
 (c) Conception of sin — 
 evil to be overcome. 
 
 (d) Methods of salva- 
 tion — 
 
 Both our own effort 
 and another’s 
 required — 
 neither suffi- 
 cient. 
 
 (6) Conception of King- 
 dom of God — 
 
 For both this world 
 and the next, 
 realized in the 
 indiv i d u a 1 — 
 “ Kingdom o t 
 God within you” 
 and in society. 
 (/) The home — 
 
 The foundation of 
 society, the 
 foundation o f 
 right living. 
 
INDEX 
 
 157 
 
 OHAPTEH ISIX: CHRIISTIANITY IN MODEiRN JAPAN. 
 
 I. Early Jesuit Mission. 
 
 1. Landing of Xavier, 1549; Christians tolerated at 
 first. Page 98. 
 
 2. Jesuits ordered to leave Japan, Christian churcUea 
 destroyed, priests banished. Page 98. 
 
 II. Japan Closed to Foreigners, 1686-1853. 
 
 Rebellion of Shimabara; Christianity a criminal 
 offence; widespread persecution and attempted ex- 
 tinction of Christians. Page 100. 
 
 III. Foundations of Present Missionary Enterprise. 
 
 First Americans in Japan, worthy Christian repre- 
 sentatives; first modern Christian missionaries; 
 return of the Catholics discloses thousands of se- 
 cret Christians; four great pioneers — ^Nicolai, Hep- 
 burn, Brown, Verbeck; removal of the notice boards 
 against Christianity. Pages 101-103. 
 
 First Japanese Christian Church organized, 1872. 
 Page 104. 
 
 Captain Janes* Bible Class and Us outcome — the most 
 powerful modern preachers. Page 104. 
 
 Work of Dr. Clark in Sapporo College. Distinguished 
 disciples. Page 105. 
 
 Translation of the Bible, 1872-1880-1886. Revised, 
 1917. Page 105. 
 
 IV. Christian Education. 
 
 1. Early schools: missionaries the pioneers in educa- 
 tion, but quickly superseded by government; spe- 
 cial privileges of Christian schools withdrawn, but 
 later gradually restored; no religious instruction 
 in schools. Page 107. 
 
 2. Present Need of Christian Education: efiicient 
 higher schools, two Christian universities. Page 
 108. 
 
 3. Report of Christian Schools, of Y.M.C.A., W.C.T.U., 
 Christian Literature Association, etc. Page 108. 
 
 V. Summary of First Fifty Years of Modern Missions. 
 
 Page 109. 
 
 VI. Development of Japanese Church Since 1910. 
 
 1. iStatistics of the period. Page 110. 
 
 2. Interchurch National Evangelistic Campaign and 
 its results. Page 111. 
 
 3. Japanese Christianity a success: high quality of 
 disciples; testing of Christian loyalty — students 
 
158 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 withstand great attractions of commercial life. 
 Page 112. 
 
 Outstanding examples of Christian leaders and reli- 
 gious experience. Japan Church still needs help 
 but gives promise of becoming a well-developed, 
 perfect Church. Page 113. 
 
 CHAPTER SEVEN: THE CANADIAN METHODIST 
 MISSION. 
 
 I. The Beginnings of the Japan Mission. 
 
 1. Founding: Canadian Church ready for expansion; 
 interior of Japan newly opened; special appeal to 
 Church. Page 115. 
 
 2. Sending the first two missionaries, Drs. Cochran 
 and Macdonald. Page 116. 
 
 3. Opening work: headquarters in Tokyo; the school 
 in Shizuoka; Dr. Cochran’s teaching in Tokyo; the 
 first converts. Pages 116-117. 
 
 4. Expansion: two more missionaries; opening sta- 
 tions in Numadzu and Kofu; results of four years’ 
 work. Page IIS. 
 
 II. Progress of Educational Work. 
 
 1. The first school, Toyo Biwa Gakko: opened 1884; 
 fifteen successful years; closed 1899; taken over 
 by Mr. Ebara. Page 120. 
 
 2. Kwansei Gakuin: united educational work of Cana- 
 dian Methodists and Southern Methodists; organi- 
 zation, progress and Christian spirit of the school. 
 Page 121. 
 
 III. Growth of Evangelistic Work. 
 
 1. Missionary reinforcements: the Student Volun- 
 teer Band; its members enter Canadian Methodist 
 Mission; origin of the Central Tabernacle, Tokyo. 
 Page 122. 
 
 2. The first Japan Council, 1886; first Annual Con- 
 ference, 1888. Page 123. 
 
 3. Further changes in staff: The General Secretary 
 of Missions visits the mission: opening the Kana- 
 zawa district; murder of three missionaries; resig- 
 nation of others and later reinforcements. Pages 
 124-127. 
 
 IV. The Woman’s Missionary Society. 
 
 Organization: request for special work among wo- 
 men; response of Canadian women; first mission- 
 aries; first girls’ school, Tokyo; work for girls at 
 Kanazawa, Nagano and Ueda; special credit due 
 to workers of W.M.(S. Pages 125-127. 
 
INDEX 
 
 156 
 
 V. The Japan Methodist Church. 
 
 Organization; officers, personnel; effects of the union 
 — clearly defined spheres of native workers and of 
 missionaries — missionaries free for extension work. 
 Page 127. 
 
 VI. Opportunities of the Mission. 
 
 A very gratifying position; successful work and great 
 opportunities — yet greater effort necessary — a criti- 
 cal time for modern civilization. Page 129. 
 
 CHAPTER EIGHT: THE MISSIONARY AND HIS TASK. 
 £. Nature of the Missionary Task. 
 
 1. Aim: establishment of Christian world-social-order; 
 various forms of activity leading to this end. 
 Page 130. 
 
 2. Qualifications for successful workers: love; sym- 
 pathetic point of contact; fulfilment of the good the 
 Japanese already have; a right spirit toward the 
 Japanese. Page 131. 
 
 3. Methods of work: 
 
 (a) Determined by Christian love; in educational 
 work; in rural evangelism; in famine relief; 
 work for prisoners and outcasts; supplying Chris- 
 tian literature. Pages 133, 134. 
 
 (&) Newspaper evangelism and its results. Page 
 136. 
 
 (c) General evangelism: the missionary and his 
 helpers. Page 136. 
 
 id) Etvangelism in educational work; method of 
 winning students; their response, as seen in 
 baseball celebration. Page 138. 
 
 (e) Japanese psychology similar to Western — re- 
 spond to same feelings; story of filial piety; love 
 the greatest force in the world. P. 140. 
 
 II. Importance and Difficulty of the Task. 
 
 1. Japan, unlike other mission fields, has borrowed 
 results of Western civilization and material pro- 
 gress; unless she has religious faith she is facing 
 calamity. Page 143. 
 
 2. Perils of accepting modem civilization without 
 spirit of Christ; even Japan’s ancient ideals being 
 lost; militarism in Korea and organized prostitu- 
 tion can only be cured by faithful performance of 
 the missionary task. Page 144. 
 
 3. Christ the only power that can save Japan and 
 the world: helplessness of old religions; “none 
 other name, whereby we may be saved”; the mod- 
 ern missionary movement the greatest moral, social, 
 spiritual movement of the modern world. Page 147. 
 
Alphabetical Index 
 
 A. 
 
 Ab6, Professor, 57, 60, 61. 
 Absolute, 82. 
 
 Adams, Will, 98, 99. 
 
 Ainos (Aborigines of Ja- 
 pan), 11. 
 
 Allies, 36. 
 
 Amida, 20, 21, 81. 
 
 Anarchy, 34, 145. 
 
 Anglo- Japanese, 36. 
 
 Animism, 12, 75. 
 Annihilation, 144. 
 
 Armouries and Army, 15, 
 17, 28, 37. 
 
 Ashikawa, 20. 
 
 Assembly, 28, 31. 
 
 Atheism, 72. 
 
 Apostolic, 77. 
 
 B. 
 
 Bank, Banking, 28, 44. 
 Baseball, 140. 
 
 Bible, 106, 122. 
 
 Bin, 15. 
 
 Borden, Dr., 121, 127. 
 Boxer, 36. 
 
 Britain, 11, 37. 
 
 British, 30, 35, 36>, 48, 149. 
 Brotherhood, 39, 40, 63, 149. 
 Buddhism, 14, 16, 17, 19, 20, 
 23, 59, 64, 65, 66, 68, 69, 
 70, 72, 74, 76, 77, 79-97, 
 100, 147. 
 
 Bushido, 19. 
 
 C. 
 
 Canadian Methodist Church, 
 49, 115-129, 138. 
 
 Central Tabernacle, 123, 127, 
 134. 
 
 Chieftain, 15, 16, 17. 
 
 China, Chinese, 12, 14, 15, 
 16, 17, 22, 23, 34, 37, 39, 46, 
 47, 81, 82. 
 
 Christ, 33, 34, 59, 63, 77, 83, 
 86, 130, 137, 138, 147. 
 
 Christian, Christianity, 22, 
 28, 39, 40, 47, 48, 57, 59, 
 60, 61, 63, 65, 68, 69, 70, 
 71, 73, 74, 77, 78, 79, 80-97, 
 98-149. 
 
 Civilization, 14, 32, 144, 146. 
 
 Clan, 11, 27, 31. 
 
 Clark, President, 105, 133. 
 
 Class, Classes, 18, 26, 63. 
 
 Coates, Dr. H. H., 122, 127. 
 
 Cochran, Dr., 116, 117, 118, 
 120 . 
 
 Commerce, 25-42, 43. 
 
 Confucian, 19, 22, 23, 25, 37, 
 59, 79, 86, 91, 140. 
 
 Constitutional, 28, 29, 30, 31, 
 32. 
 
 Creation, 12, 66. 
 
 D. 
 
 Darkness, 13, 64. 
 
 Darwin, 76. 
 
 Death, 13, 19, 73. 
 
 Democracy, 29, 30, 31, 33. 
 
 Divination, 75. 
 
 Dutch, 22, 25, 26, 98, 99, 
 100 . 
 
 R 
 
 Early Settlers, 11. 
 
 Ebara, Soroku, Hon., 119, 
 120 . 
 
 Eby, Dr., 119, 120, 122, 123. 
 
 Economic, 14, 35, 63. 
 
 Edicts, 28, 64, 67, 103. 
 
INDEX 
 
 161 
 
 Education, 43, 6^, 107, 121, 
 133 148. 
 
 Emperor, 14, 18, 26, 27, 30, 
 31, 37, 62, 64, 69, 72, 98, 
 135. 
 
 England, 26, 39, 41, 48, 58, 
 99. 
 
 Enlightenment, 27, 85, 91, 
 92. 
 
 Europe, European, 28, 36, 39, 
 98 
 
 Evangelistic, 110, 136, 137, 
 138. 
 
 Exhibition, 42, 43, 111. 
 
 F. 
 
 Factory Law, 49. 
 
 Faith, 17, 58, 71, 72, 101. 
 
 Fatherhood, 49, 83, 130, 149. 
 
 Festival Feast, 13, 66. 
 
 Feudal, Feudalism, 12, 17, 
 31, 33. 
 
 Finding of the Christians, 
 107. 
 
 Flower in the Crannied Wall, 
 78. 
 
 Force, 17, 24, 34, 60, 149. 
 
 G. 
 
 Germany, 32, 36. 
 
 Gloom, 13. 
 
 God, 24, 34, 40, 60, 73, 78, 83, 
 127, 130, 148. 
 
 Gods, 12, 13, 64, 66, 77. 
 
 Government, 21, 25, 27, 28, 
 36, 38, 42, 64, 67, 103. 
 
 Great-Reed-Growing Plain, 
 
 11 . 
 
 Guilds, 12, 16. 
 
 H. 
 
 Harnack, 13 (footnote). 
 
 Harris, Townsend, 26, 101. 
 
 Harvest, 13. 
 
 Heavenly, 13, 24, 29, 66. 
 
 Hideyoshi, 21, 73. 
 
 Hiraiwa, Bishop, 128. 
 
 Hirata, Atsutane, 23. 
 Hirooka, Mrs., 113. 
 
 Holy Spirit, 69, 96, 147. 
 Honda, Bishop, 128. 
 Hospitality, 24, 76. 
 
 Hospitals, 17. 
 
 I. 
 
 Ideals, 24, 33, 37, 38, 81, 148. 
 Idol Worship, 132. 
 li, Kamon No Kami, 26. 
 Imperial, 11, 12, 16, 19, 23, 
 29, 30. 
 
 Industrial, Industry, 14, 17, 
 22, 23, 42, 43, 45, 46, 48, 
 52. 
 
 India, Indian, 17, 46, 47. 
 International, 39, 148. 
 Ishihara, Osamu, Dr., 51, 57, 
 58. 
 
 Isles of the Blest, 16. 
 Iwakura, Prince, 28, 103. 
 Izanami, 12, 13. 
 
 Izanagi, 12. 
 
 J. 
 
 Japan China, 36, 44. 
 
 Japan Methodist, 127 
 Janes, Captain, 104. 
 
 Jesuit, 98, 99. 
 
 Jews, 13, 36. 
 
 K. 
 
 Kagawa, 74, 135. 
 
 Kakehi, 13 (footnote). 
 Kawakami, Higime, Dr., 57, 
 58. 
 
 Kingdom, 24, 34, 60, 95, 96, 
 128, 130, 131, 148. 
 
 King George, 30. 
 
 Korea, Korean, 12, 15, 47, 
 146. 
 
 Kublai Khan, 20. 
 
 Kuromaro, 15. 
 
 Kwansei Gakuin, 56, 136, 
 138. 
 
162 PROGRESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 L. 
 
 Labour, 48, 60, 61, 62. 
 Land of Gloom, 13. 
 
 Large, Rev. T. A., 120, 126. 
 Law, 49, 60, 57, 76. 
 Lectures, 17, 66. 
 
 Liberty, 33, 42. 
 
 Light, 13, 20, 71, 93, 94. 
 Literature, Christian, 100, 
 136. 
 
 Loo Choo, 34. 
 
 Love, 143. 
 
 M. 
 
 Macdonald^ Rev. Davidson, 
 116, 117, 118, 124, 126. 
 Machinery, 41, 48, 52, 53, 58. 
 Manufactures, 42, 43, 44. 
 Materialism, 179. 
 
 McKenzie, Rev. Dr., 122, 
 123, 124, 127. 
 
 Meacham, Dr., 118, 119. 
 Military, 16, 19, 21, 23, 28, 
 29, 32, 98, 129. 
 
 Minamoto, 19, 20. 
 
 Mind, 19. 
 
 Missionary, 102, 103, 107, 
 125, 128, 130, 143, 148. 
 Miura Baien, 23. 
 
 Miyagawa, Pastor, 113. 
 Mongol, 20, 21. 
 
 Motoori, Norinaga, 23. 
 
 N. 
 
 Nakae, 80. 
 
 Napoleon, 21. 
 
 Nara, 16. 
 
 Nature, Natural, 12, 32, 44, 
 64, 66, 66, 67, 68, 76, 80, 
 106, 110. 
 
 Navy, 28, 37. 
 
 Neo-Hegelian, 81. 
 I^o-Platonism, 82, 84, 85, 
 92. 
 
 Nichiren, 21, 70. 
 
 Nietsche, 144. 
 
 Ninomiya, 23, 77. 
 
 Nirvana, 84, 85, 95. 
 
 Nitobe, Dr., 106. 
 
 O. 
 
 Offerings, 13. 
 
 Okuma, Count, 60. 
 
 Ono, Zentaro, 122. 
 
 Outrage, 13. 
 
 P. 
 
 Paradise, 59. 
 
 Peace, 25, 37, 96, 149. 
 
 Perry, 25, 101. 
 
 Personality, 63, 77, 85, 92, 
 130. 
 
 Philosophy, 21, 27, 74, 76, 81, 
 82. 
 
 Portuguese, 98, 99, 100. 
 Prayer, 13, 66, 129. 
 
 Priest, 15, 21, 64, 98, 99. 
 Prodigal Son, 140, 142. 
 Progress, 24, 33. 
 
 Public opinion, 35, 59. 
 
 R. 
 
 Reality, 84, 86. 
 
 Red Cross, 35, 36. 
 Restoration, 64. 
 
 Revision, 36. 
 
 Revolution, industrial, 41. 
 Russo-Japanese, 36, 44. 
 
 S. 
 
 Sacred, 13, 17. 
 
 Sakura iSogoro, 29. 
 Salvation, 21, 91, 92, 93, 147. 
 Sato, Dr., 106. 
 
 Shaftesbury, Bari, 58. 
 Shelling, '85. 
 
 Shinto, 13, 23, 24, 37, 68, 64, 
 65. 
 
 Shinran, 20. 
 
 Shotoku Taishi, 15, 17. 
 
 Soul, 13, 14. 
 
 Spirit, spiritual, 13, 21, 39, 
 74, 114, 115, 116, 135, 149. 
 
INDEX 
 
 163 
 
 T. 
 
 Taira, 18, 20. 
 
 Taxes, 17, 18. 
 
 Temperance Society, 61. 
 Temples, 14, 21, 22, 66, 67. 
 Trade, 25, 26, 46. 
 
 Tradition, 33, 34, 69, 76. 
 Treaty, 25, 26, 35, 36. 
 Tuberculosis, 68. 
 
 Tsure zure gusa, 97. 
 
 U. 
 
 Uchimura Kanzaki, Mr., 106. 
 Union Methodist, 112, 138, 
 139. 
 
 United States, 26, 26, 28, 34, 
 37, 101. 
 
 University, 108, 112. 
 Urashima Taro, 14. 
 
 Uzaki, Bishop, 128. 
 
 V. 
 
 Vapour, 14. 
 
 Virtues, 68. 
 
 Vincent, Dr. George A., 146. 
 Vow, The, 82. 
 
 W. 
 
 Wang Yang Ming, 91, 96. 
 War, Warfare, Wars, 20, 34, 
 36, 37, 45. 
 
 Way, 64, 91. 
 
 W.C.T.U., 109. 
 
 Whittington, Rev. R., 120. 
 Woman’s Missionary So- 
 ciety, 125-127. 
 
 Women, 51, 52, 53, 56, 5<7, 
 59, 66. 
 
 X. 
 
 Xavier, 98. 
 
 Y. 
 
 Yellow fever, 146^147. 
 Yoritomo, 20. 
 
 Y.M.C.A., 109, 122, 123, 134. 
 Y.W.C.A., 109. 
 
Bibliography 
 
 Cloth. Paper. 
 
 Armstrong, R. C. 
 
 Just Before the Dawn $1 50 
 
 The Life and Work of Ninomiya 
 Sontoku, the Peasant Sage of 
 Japan. (Macmillan.) 
 
 Special Forward Movement F'^ition., 0 60 $0 40 
 
 ( Illustrated. ) 
 
 Light From the East 3 00 
 
 Studies in Japanese Confucianism. 
 
 (University of Toronto Press.) 
 
 (Illustrated.) 
 
 Aston, W. G. 
 
 A History of Japanese Literature 1 50 
 
 (Appleton.) 
 
 Shinto 2 50 
 
 Bacon, Alice Mabel. 
 
 Japanese Girls and Women 1 25 
 
 (Houghton Mifflin.) , 
 
 Blakeslee, Prof. G. H. 
 
 Japan and Japanese American Rela- 
 tions 2 50 
 
 (Stechardt & Co.) 
 
 Brinkley, Captain. 
 
 History of Japan, 1 vol 2 50 
 
 Burton, Margaret B. 
 
 The Education of Women in Japan . 1 25 
 
 Cary, Otis. 
 
 A History of Christianity in Japan, 
 
 2 volumes. (Revell.) 5 00 
 
 Japan and its Regeneration 50 35 
 
 (New York Student Volunteer Move- 
 ment.) 
 
 164 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 165 
 
 Chamberlain, Basil Hall. Cloth. Paper. 
 
 Things Japanese 4 00 
 
 ^ (John Murray, London.) 
 
 Clement, Ernest Wilson. 
 
 Christianity in Modern Japan 1 00 
 
 (Illustrated.) 
 
 A Handbook of Modern Japan 1 40 
 
 (Illustrated.) 
 
 A Short History of Japan 1 00 
 
 (University of Chicago Press.) 
 
 Davis, J. Merle. 
 
 Davis: Soldier Missionary 1 50 
 
 (Illustrated.) (Pilgrim Press.) 
 
 Deforest, John H. 
 
 Sunrise in the Sunrise Kingdom .... 50 35 
 
 (M. E. M.) 
 
 Deforest, Charlotte B. 
 
 The Evolution of a Missionary 1 50 
 
 A Biography of her father. Dr. 
 DeForest, of Japan. (Revell.) 
 (Illustrated.) 
 
 Dennett, Tyler. 
 
 A Democratic Movement in Asia .... 1 50 
 
 (Illustrated.) 
 
 Eddy, George Sherwood. 
 
 The New Era in Asia 60 40 
 
 Griffis, Wm. Elliott. 
 
 Hepburn of Japan 1 50 
 
 (Westminster Press.) 
 
 Japan in History, Folk Lore and Art 90 
 4 (Houghton Mifflin.) 
 
 The Religions of Japan 2 00 
 
 (Scribner.) 
 
 Verbeck of Japan: A Citizen of No 
 Country. (Illustrated.) 150 
 
166 PROGEESS IN MIKADO’S EMPIRE 
 
 Gumck, Sidney L. Cloth. Paper. 
 
 American Democracy and Asiatic Citi- 
 zenship. (iScribner.) 1 75 
 
 Evolution of the Japanese — Social and 
 
 Psychic. (Revell.) 2 00 
 
 Working Women of Japan 50 
 
 (M. B. M.) 
 
 Hagen, Feed Eugene. 
 
 The Cross in Japan 1 50 
 
 (Revell.) (Illustrated.) 
 
 Habada, Tasuku. 
 
 The Faith of Japan 1 26 
 
 (Macmillan.) 
 
 Habbis, Bishop Mebeiman C. 
 
 Christianity in Japan 35 
 
 Heaen, Lafcadio. 
 
 The Japanese Letters of Lafcadio 
 
 Hearn. (Illustrated.) 4 00 
 
 Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan, 2 vol- 
 umes 5 00 
 
 Imbbie, William. 
 
 The Church of Christ in Japan 90 
 
 Kawakami, K. K. 
 
 Japan in World Politics ! 1 50 
 
 (Macmillan.) 
 
 Knox, Geobge W. 
 
 The Development of Religion in Japan 1 50 
 (Putnam.) 
 
 Little, Feances. 
 
 The Lady of the Decoration 1 00 
 
 Lloyd, Arthub. 
 
 The Creed of Half Japan 3 00 
 
 Every-Day Japan 4 00 
 
 (Cassell.) 
 
 Lowell, Pebcival. 
 
 Occult Japan: The Way of the Gods . . 2 00 
 
 (Illustrated.) 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 16 T 
 
 Masaoka, N. Cloth. Papor. 
 
 Japan to America . . 1 25 
 
 Mills, il. H. 
 
 The Japanese Problem in the U.S 1 50 
 
 (Macmillan.) 
 
 MiLi-mn, B. Bruoe. 
 
 Japan’s Inheritance 2 50 
 
 (Unwin.) 
 
 Murdock, James. 
 
 History of Japan, 2 volumes 5 00 
 
 Newton, J. C. C. 
 
 Japan, its Country Court and People . . 1 00 
 
 Nitobe, Inazo. 
 
 The Japanese Nation: Its Land, Its 
 
 People and Its Life 1 50 
 
 Bushido: The Soul of Japan 1 25 
 
 Noss, Christopher. 
 
 Tohoku, The Scotland of Japan 60 
 
 (F. M. Ref. Church in U.S.) 
 
 Okakura, Kakuzo. 
 
 The Awakening of Japan 1 25 
 
 Okuma, Count Shigenobu. 
 
 Fifty Years of Modern Japan, 2 vol- 
 umes. (Smith, Elder & Co., London.) 5 00 
 
 POOLEY, A. M. 
 
 Japan at the Cross Roads 3 50 
 
 (Dodd, Mead & Co.) 
 
 Porter. 
 
 ♦ Japan, the Rise of a Modern Power. . . 2 00 
 
 (Clarendon Press.) 
 
 Redesdale, Lord. 
 
 Tales of Old Japan 1 00 
 
 (Macmillan.) 
 
 Reischaueb, a. K. 
 
 Studies in Japanese Buddhism 2 00 
 
 (Macmillan.) 
 
168 PROGRESS IN MIKADO^S EMPIRE 
 
 Shebeab, James A. B. Cloth. Paper. 
 
 Young Japan 1 50 
 
 ( Illustrated. ) 
 
 SCHWABTZ, HeNEY B. 
 
 In Togo’s Country 1 50 
 
 ( Illustrated. ) 
 
 Tayloe, S. Eael. 
 
 The Christian Crusade for World De- 
 mocracy 75 50 
 
 Tristram, Rev. Canon A. B. 
 
 Rambles in Japan: The Land of the 
 Rising Sun. (Illustrated.) 2 00 
 
 Wain WRIGHT, S. H. 
 
 Campaigning for Christ in Japan .... 75 
 
 N.B. — The above books and all other missionary literature and 
 accessories may be ordered from F. C. Stephenson, 
 Methodist Mission Rooms, Toronto, Ont. 
 
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