Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-11-03
FAITH CURE IN JAPAN.
A Buddhist Sect That Believes Not in
Medicine, but in Prayer.

From the New York Sun.
Faith cure as remedy for the ills of the
flesh is by no means confined to Christen-
dom. In Japan one of the numerous sects
Of Buddhists has as its distinguishing ar
ticle of faith that all human ills may be
cured by prayer
This sect and it's belief were the topic of
discussion before meeting of the Asiatic
Society of Japan at Toxic in the latter part
of March, and what was said on that occa-
sion Is printed in the last transactions of
the society.
The gist of the addresses was to the effect
that the believers are firmly convinced that
they know by experience of many marvels
wrought by the exercise of their faith
They say. therefore, not only that their
faith is trus, but also that they have thou
sands of indubitable proofs of its truth.
In their form of Buddhism much less
stress is land upon a future life than upon
the necessity of faith in order to secure
ease. health and happiness in the present
world.
The sect was founded by a man named
Yanagita, born in 179S whose character
was simple and studious who spent most
of his long life in the service of religion.
He died in 1877. Early in his religious work
he claimed to have attained to the certain
knowledge that all good things were the re-
ward of faith.
One day he met woman named Shima-
mura Mitsu. who suffered from a malady
apparently incurable, but was restored to
health by his prayers. She became his dis
ciple, and together they carried a reg
ular propaganda of their religion.
A great temple was built at Kokura as
the abiding center for thesfaith; and after
Yanagita'S death the woman went to Toxic
to spread her doctrines; and in the later
years of her life she wrongly pretended to
be the founder of the faith.
The followers of this faith call themselves
by name, meaning Lotus Gate teaching"
They adopted this name, as they. say. be-
cause just as the lotus, rooted in mud, at
tains to spotless purity, those who fol-
low the faith of the Lotus Gate attain to
purity In the midst Of an evil world.
Charges of immortality and other evil
deeds have been brought against this sect,
and some of them appear to be true. The
teachers of the faith from this woman,
Shimamura MItsu, downward have been
ignorant persons, whose ignorance Is not
counterbalanced by superior Sancthy.
The sale of charms is a great source of
profit to the sect. Prayers should always
be made through priest, and there are
fixed charges for priestly intercession
The special assertion made by the priests
Is that diseases, whatever their nature, are
healed summarily in response to prayer.
On the ethical side the teaching of the sect
Is essentially the popularized Confucianism-
The priests have at their tongues end
many hundreds of stories OF alleged mir
acles wrought as a result Of the prayers OF
the faithful They tell, for example. Of the
case of poor lunatic in Osaka, who was
ment to herself and Indebtedness to her
family.
The sect Is large. but. in the opinion of
the gentleman who described 1t, there are
unmistakable signs of decay. One gentle
man expressed the view that ''such super
stition as this sect involves cannot much
longer Withstand the common school and
the public press"