The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-03-29
WHY 1T LACKS SWEAR WORDS.
MiIdness of Japanese Language Due Il
Won1an's Influence.

4 uCs y q pdilGS0 ldlSudSS WdS I1lO1Q-
ed into its literary form by the touch
of a woman" said Dr. Toyokichi Iye-
naga at the Brooklyn Institute recent
~. "As Dante fixed the classic form of
italian, so the court ladies of the six
teenth century, the most cultivated in
f1uence then existing, fixed the literary
standards of japanese.
Perhaps to this formative feminine
influence is due the chief deficiency of
the language-its lack-of good, strong,
virile swear words" said the lecturer,
rate, this deficiency is at times a dis
advantage. It4eompels a Japanese to
learn English If he is going to play
golf or football 'sti
The subject of the lecture, the fifth
IN the course, says the New York
Tribune, was Retrospect and Prospect
of Religion in Japan" DR.. Iyenaga,
who is a lecturer in the university ex-
tension course Of the University of
Chicago, said in retrospect that Shinto-
ism. the ancient native religion, was a
compound of nature worship and an
cestor worships TT is held now only by
very old-fashionea conservative folk,
who dislike and deprecate the age of
modern ,progressE in Japan. But
Buddhism is ESSENTIALLY the Japanese
religion. Buddhism has priests and pill
grims, monks and nuns, confession and
penance, saints and a savior.
I'm fact" said the speaker, "the more
one knows Of Buddhism the better he
realizes the truth Of the saying,
Buddhism is the DEVILS imitation of
Christianity For instance, there is
the sect Of the Shin 1lu. They believe
in salvation by faith. They believe
that the spirit ofsBuddha GENES to
dwell in the heart of the believer.
You.-ssee, these doctrines sound
somewhat familiar You have heard
Something like them before. In fact.
the. Shin -Shu are called the Protest ants
of Buddhism. hey dosznet believe In
fasting or doing pepance. or i'm mo-
nastic life. In fact, the chief repreach
against them Isl that they are SO much
like the: Christians that they might as
we'll be Christians sout and out.
DR.. Iyenaga gave yard long list of
scots Of Buddhism, all of which sound
ed like the nafnes Of the generals and
battlefefds of the present war,
I'm afraid you won't remember all
those" said he, demtrely. TT S like
the Japanese when he Begins to learn
the different Christian sects. He finds
them hard to aremember.o - Most of
these sects rose and hoJlrished in the
thirteenth;c century, which was the gold
how many seets or doctrines may DE
found in Japan none of them strike
very deep, according to the speaker of
the day.
Japan could never produce a Pu-
ritan, Covenanter or an Inquisition,"
said he with conviction. Religious
fanatacisrn is unknown. Bigotry is not
in the genius Of the race. Religious
gloom does not enter into the lives of
the people.
Their religion does not prescribe
austerity of Hferor manner"
DIR. Iyenaga * described Buddhist
saints day cefebra ton out of the city.
The people ge&in vast crowds to a
lonely spot among beautiful gardens,
surrounded by lovely scenery. Every
species of travelling Show and refresh
ment booth cheers the scene.
IF you could see the tiny company
that gathers in7 the temple, said he.
"and the enormous throngs that keep
the day of the good saint by enjoying
themselves outside, it would be sug-
gestive of the character of the people.
But in addition the whole side of the
temple is removed, so that the Wor-
shippers are really part Of the crowd
without. The effect is almost as IT you
were to see acrobats and trained birds
performing in a acathedral
After the revolution OF 1868 the ra-
tionalistic tendencies of the japanese
broke out with marvellous force 1t
was like the effect of the French Rev
olution on the religious thought of Eu-
rope.
"a wave of rationalistic thought
swept over the country" he said The
professors of the universities led 1t.
Shintoism was seen to be dead. Even
Buddhism became Incredible 1t came
to be a mark of ignorance to believe In
religion; a mark of intelligence to de
spise it. Leaders Of Japanese thought
shook it off as tradition OF the past
and reached out for what they belleveo
the solid fruits of thought, science, arr
and literature.
sBut a nation cannot exist without
religion. There are today In Japan
both Christianity sand Buddhism.
is a question If Christianity will to-
tally eradicate Buddhism from Japan
It is a question if either Professionalism
or Catholicism will become the national
religion of Japan. Prophets are In
poeS repute; but if I were to venture
to 4rophesy would say that the Iu-
ture religion of Japan would pc eltneI
greatly modified Buddhism or a
Christianity entirely Japanlzed.
In conversation with the audilofs
who gathered around him at the close
of the decture, DR. Iyenaga stated that
the general trend of religious thought
in Japan was toward Unitarlanlsln.
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