The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-10-09

position Tn some chapel connected Wltn the temple Every one of them Is com posed Of tresses of jet-black hair shorn from the heads of the women and girls of Japan, A piece of one of the ropes was sent to the National Museum in Washington some years ago as evi- dence of the devotion of the Japanese to their religion,
 MT, Akamatzu was educated in Flu rope, He spent some years in England, and afterward went to Germany, where he was a pupil of the famous Max Mul- Ter. The latter alludes to him in, one of his books. I asked him the other day If he desired to say anything concerning the anti-foreign crusade that now pre- vails in Japan, which is popularly at tributed to the Buddhist priests and their desire to drive Christian mission aries out of the empire.
 q think" said he in reply, "the anti foreign feeling that has sprung up so suddenly and has extended so rapidly over Japan is due more to the develop ment of national pride and indepen- dence than to any religious prejudice. Our people are naturally vain of their own achievements, and have reached a point now when they consider them selves able to get along without foreign assistance They want to throw away their crutches and walk alone, and you can scarcely blame them for such an ambition. It is the natural and logical consequence of their advancement In knowledge. No doubt many priests of my own church and the Shinto faith have taken advantage of this national spirit of independence to promote the interests to which they are devoted. It would be natural and logical for them to do so, but think there is more libe- rality and religious tolerance among the people of Japan, particularly among the younger generation, than ever be- fore.
 ''We recognize Christianity as q per manent institution. I think, judging from observation alone, that the Chris tian church here can get along without aid from abroad. Formerly there was a great deal of friction and distrust. The Buddhist did not know what Chris tianity is, and very few Christians now understand what Buddhism is. They came here with violent prejudices, which have been exaggerated by con- tact with indiscreet and unreasonable persons, but many of the ablest of the Christian teachers and many of the ablest of the Buddhist priests recog- nize that there is merit in both reli- gions, and that both are capable of do- iT1D Dr i- pna nbaT Buddhism and Christianity cannot ex- ist in Japan without friction, because both appeal to the hearts and minds of men, and there are those who would be better satisfied with one than with the other. The Christians have gathered in a great many Japanese who had left the Buddhist church and were without religion. Religion has become a mat ter of individual opinion among the ed ucated people of Japan, as 1t is among similar classes in other countries, and they should study both and find out which is more suitable to their wants. "
 S'You believe that Buddhism is the only true religion2"
 No. I am not so bigoted as that. do believe, however, that it is the most suitable religion for this people It is impossible to say that one religion is better than another. They are all based, more or less, upon faith and mysteries, and every one has his own tests as he has his own wants. The ef- feet of all religions should be to make men good, just as the effect of science is to make them clever. Individually, believe that Buddhism is better for the Japanese than Christianity, and it is probable that any Christian you might ask would express the same belief re- garding his own religion as applied to America and Europe. At the same time, I fancy an impartial and disin- terested man might say that both have their value and usefulness, because the human mind is so constituted that diff ferent principles and dogmas are ac- cepted by one and rejected by another. Just as among Christians believers are divided into different seets, such as Presbyterians, Methodists and Catho- lies on the line of their natural tenden- cies and their individual interpreta- tions of the teachings of Christ. Bud
 
 manner over differences of opinion re- garding the meaning of the teachings of Buddha, but all genuine religions and all honest sects have the same pur- pose and the same tendency, and sup pose that all good men will enjoy i'm mortality together in the place where the souls of the good will spend eterni- ty, call it heaven or Nir-vaEa.
 T encourage all of my students and friends to study Christianity and other religions, because it makes them broad-minded. It can do no harm to any intelligent man to investigate oth- CT religions than his own. I do not be- lieve in proselyting. I would never ask a Christian to become a Buddhist, but if he should come to me and ask me to explain the creed and the principles of my religion I should take great pleas ure in doing so. Thus far I approve of missionary work. I believe, too, that it is fair and proper for the different churches to send out missionaries ca- pable of teaching the principles upon which they are based, but I do not think 1t is right for a. Buddhist or a Christian missionary to try and coax people to leave one religion and accept another. I should simply encourage all men to study all religions and adopt that which is most suitable to their tastes, just as travel develops man and enables him to choose the most agreeable country to live in. l have travelled in the United States and Flu