Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1894-12-20
RELIGION OF JAPAN.
sHINToIsM RESPONSIBLE FOR JAPA-
NESE LIBERALITY.

The National Religion Harmonizes Some
what With Western Thought-The Spirit
ofToleration-Not I;egularly Established
Until 1868.
A Japanese gentleman not long ago
visited drug store on the Third avenue,
in this city, and asked for 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 suggest, sir, that it 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 offen6s
the native of the island of Japan more
than to he taken for a Chinaman
Very much of the liberal attitude of
the people Of Japan toward western
hn 70 ok
that its national religion is Shintoism.
Most pecTie imagine that Buddhism
is the rehFion Of Japan, and corr
quently the national cult of Shintoism
is q religions belief which until the last
so years h never been heard of in the
western world.
For centuries Japan was terra in
cognita to the rest OF humanity, although
its history dates from 660 B. c., when
-Jimmer 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 combination
of ancestor worship and nature worship,
and it would seem that the latter of
these elements 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 the 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. Andrews
church. was built the present Shinto
government lent one of the Shinto tenn
pies for Church Of England services.
Whenever opposition to Christianity has
arisen it has come from the old nobili-
ty, who are opposed to all change and
are jealous supporters of Buddhism.
Although Shintoism has been the an.
cient religion of Japan for more than
"a centuries, it mad 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, 900 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.
verted the ancient system of Shintoism,
but now when child is born it is taken
by its parents either to Shinto or a
Buddhist temple for dedication. Funer-
ais are now conducted by either Shinto
or Buddhist priests, as the relatives may
prefer.
The first great god of the Shintos is
Mingo no Mikoto, the remote ancestor
of the priest mikado, who is said to have
been descended from the god and god
dess OF the sun. The mikado is known
among the japanese as Teushi, or the
son OF heaven, on account of his celes.
tial descent, the title of mikado mean
ing very much the same as the sublime
porte Of the Ottomans-namely, ''the
presence, an expression so common in
oriental lands for exalted personages.
1t is said that when the goddess of
the sun made the mikado's remote an.
eestor (Mingo) sovereign of Japan she
delivered to him "the way of the gods
and decreed that his dynasty should be
as immovable as the sun and the moon;
hence the need for making Shintojsm
the established religion. She also gave
him mirror as sacred emblem, say
ing, Look upon this mirror as my spir-
it, keep it in the same house and upon
the same floor with yourself, and wor-
ship it as if you were worshiping my
actual presence. The story is that this
sacred mirror is still in the Shinto tenn
pie Of Naiku, at Yamada, although it
has never been seen by western trav-
eler
The rites of Shintnism for many wears
q n y