Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-10-30
RELIGION OF JAPAN.
sHiNTolsm RESPONSIBLE FOR JAPA-
 HEsE uBERALlTY.

The National Religion Harmonizes Some what With Western Thought-The Spirit ofToIeration-Not Regularly Established Until 1868.
 A Japanese gentleman not long ago visited drug store on the Third avenue. in this city, and asked for a postage stamp. The stamp was duly supplied by the head of the drug store, who, wish ing to be pleasant and agreeable to the foreigner, said, Well, sir, which do you like better, America or China?"
 The Japanese gentleman indignantly replied: "May I suggest, sir, that 1t is your business to sell drugs and stamps, | and that you should confine yourself to | these duties? am not Chinaman, but | a native of Japan, and it is a mark of | your ignorance of geography that you | do not know the difference" Without apologizing for the rudeness | of the gentleman of Japan, we venture | to remark that western peoples, even | the most educated among us, do not seem to carefully distinguish between Japan and China. The Japanese have always regarded themselves as far in advance in civiliza- tion, and there is nothing which offends the native of the island of Japan more than to be taken for Chinaman. Very much of the liberal attitude of the people of Japan toward western thought and custom arises from the fact that its national religion is Shintoism. Most people imagine that Buddhism is the religion of Japan, and conse- ouently the national cult of Shintoism | is a religious belief which until the last 30 years had never been heard of in the western world.
 For centuries Japan was a terra ln- cognita to the rest of humanity, although its history dates from eco B. C., when | thinner Tenno was king, and Shintoism was his creed. Buddhism was not in- troduced into Japan until $50 of the | Christian era, when it came from India by way of Korea.
 | The term Shinto is of Chinese origin and is expressed by the almost unpro- | nounceable Japanese word of Kami-no- michi, the meaning of both words being "the way of the spirits" The essential principle of Shintoism is a combination of ancestor worship and nature worship, and it would seem that the latter of these clements is largely due to the con- tact of Japan with the Taoism of China Shinotism is therefore the veneration of the country's heroes and benefactors of every age, legendary, historical, an- cient and modern.
 | The essential feature of Shintoism is its liberal attitude toward other reli- gious beliefs, and when Buddhism was brought into tho country the priests of the ancient belief extended the right hand of fellowship toward its missiona- ries. But the same liberality has not always been returned by the clergy of Buddhism, and not very long ago one of the great temples at Tokyo was burned by the Buddhists to prevent its falling into the hands of the Shinto priests.
 Shintoism has been equally liberal to- ward modern Protestant missionaries, for before the Church of England edifice at Tokyo, now known as St. Andrew s church, was built the present Shinto government lent one of the Shinto tenn 1 pies for Church of England services Whenever opposition to Christianity has arisen 1t has come from the old nobili- ty, who are opposed to all change and are zealous supporters of Buddhism.
 Although Shintuism has been the an- cient religion of Japan for moro than 24 centuries, it had never been declared the established religion" of Japan un- til the year 1868, when for reasons wholly political it became the establish ed religion of the country. A grant of $500, QUO a year was made for the main tenance of the Shinto temples and shrines, which are said to be somewhere about 100, 900 in number.
 The Buddhism of Japan had been ex ceedingly aggressive and had almost sub 5 verted the ancient system of Shfntoism, but now when a child is born it is taker by its parents either to Q Shinto or { I Buddhist temple for dedication. Tuner als are now conducted by either ShintC or Buddhist priests, as the relatives may prefer.
 The first great god of the Shintos ii h Mingo no Mikoto, the remote ancestor of the priest mikado, who is said to hay, been descended from the god and god dess of the suIl. The mikado is knowl among tho Japanese as Teushi, or tn son of heaven, on account of his celes tial descent, the title of mikado mean ing very much the same as the sublim porte of the Ottomans-namely, "th presence" an expression so common il oriental lands for exalted personages It is said that when the goddess O the sun made the mikado's remote an cestor Mingo) sovereign of Japan sh delivered to him ''the way of the gods and decreed that his dynasty should b as immoyable as the sun and the moon hence the need for making Shintoisr the established religion. She also gay him a mirror as a sacred emblem, say ing, Look upon this mirror as my spir it, keep it in the same house and upo the same floor with yourself, and wor ship it as if you were worshiping m actual presence" The story is that thi sacred mirror is still in the Shinto tenl pie of Naiku, at Yamada, although has never been seen by a western tray cler.
 The rites of Shintoism for many year occupied a conspicuous place in the rule of the court of Japan. and there are te sections of the sacred book known e the ''Yengi Shiki" devoted to court cert , monies. It must be understood that. aS k cording to Shinto belief, the great incal nate god is the mikado himself, but th gods of Shintoism are numbered by thor sands. - Thomas P. Hughes in Ne' York Sun.
 The earliest reference to shaving found in the fourteenth verse of th forty-first chapter of Genesis.
 Cannot Convict . TfiIman Spy.
 CHARLESTON, Oct. 30.-The case again
 Tfllman's spy, who was charged wit murder in the Darlington riots was nol pressed by the solicitor in Darling gton b