The Hawaiian gazette., 1906-01-26
JAPAN's WAR STARTED
A REVIVAL or RELIGION

deeply Significant thanksgiving pl.
| grimage Of the Emperor. the coming
Of the special envoy from the court OF
| the Vatican and hnally the quiet but
| epoch making revolt OF the japanese
Congregationalists and PreHbyterians
| from the control of the American mis-
sionaries are each and all events which
open an interesting vista into the com
| ing years. The first illustrates the
power OF Japan's primitive religion as
II now appears. vastly strengthened
by hero making war: the two others
show interesting phases OF the reli-
| gious life OF new Japan.
The visit OF Bishop OConnell of
Portland. Me. bearer Of the Pope's au-
tograph letter TO the Mikado, has been
quiet in the extreme Historically.
however. It Is projected against a back
ground OF intense interest.
Away at the other end OF Japan, In
Nagasaki, stands the little church with
its wonderful picture OF the hills just
across the landlocked harbor bristling
with martyr laden crosses. Xavier was
one of the mightiest missionaries the
world has seen. yet his great work in
| Japan was wiped out by an almost
volcanic outburst. precipitated by the
| suspicion that II aimed to make Japan
vassal state TO Portugal.
Now when Japan. after the three GEN.
turtles of isolation which followed
Xavier, after the forty years of quiet
and submissive tutelage in our days
| and after the bloody examination at
its end, has her diploma as a first class
Power, to her comes the Papal Nuncio
restoring ancient relations with all the
tact that is so characteristic of the
Vatican's diplomacy.
Exactly what Bishop o'Connell's
mission included, II is of course impos-
sible to say. Interviewers, even those
of japanese journals have been court
eously asked TO accept the assurance
that the Nuncio HAD been received by
their imperial Majesties with much
| cordially, but that the extremely deli
cate nature of his mission forbade
even the vaguest hints at it's character.
1t has, however. been stated by the
| Japanese press that the Pope's letter
was an expression of thanks for the
| protection of Roman Catholic Chris
| tians in Korea and Manchuria during
the war. The Mikado's reply is stated
| to have been:
You may rest assured that I shall
protect followers of religion, whatever
their nationality, to the fullest extent
of my sovereign power.
1t further remains fact that while
the Court extended many courtesies to
/ 4 AAl l,t
with the first class Order of the Sacred
| Treasure, he was nevertheless kept
waiting quite two weeks for his audi
ence, ostensibly because the depart
ments We're too busy in preparation
for the despatch of the high commits
sioners, Marquis Ito and Baron Ko-
mura, to Seoul and Picking, respectively.
It was also interesting to note that
| while the envoy was most careful to
deal directly with the Imperial Court
| and to avoid formal relations even of
a social character with any of the le-
| cations, even stating that the dinners
given him by the American and Ger
man Ministers were strictly personal
and unofficial, yet on the other side
the Japanese Court did not entertain
him in the Imperial Palace, but de-
puted Prince Fushimi to give him q
luncheon on the following day at the
Shiba detached palace, which was the
residence of Secretary Taft during his
entire visit in July
The ultra conservative Nippon, in Its
article on the Archbishop's visit, said:
The Roman Catholics have the largest
number of converts of any foreign faith
In Japan, namely 10000, but where the
propagandism is going on and what
the propagandists are doing, no one
knows, in fact the while thing produces
| scarcely a bubble on the surface of the
nations life.
But such remarks unqualified are
misleading, for the method of evangei-
ization by the French fathers is wholly
Of an unobtrusive kind. RecognizirA)
that the family, not the individual, is
the social unit in Japan, they have
always aimed at the conversion of
heads of families.
This has been done, not by public
evangelistic addresses. but quietly, and
it has brought into the Church, not
solitary men and women liable to be
seduced from their faith by influential
members of their family or clan, but
Il "iicAS iethiiiASS' W bioW pulttly intO lhN
new belief. Whatever then, may ap-
pear to be signified by the quiet char
acter Of Bishop O'ConnelTs visit, 1t
must be remembered that It is quite
In accord with the spirit of the work
he came to strengthen.
The Protestant phase of the months
work has likewise been quietly done,
but 1t will probably be looked back up
on as marking distinct epoch in the
history of Protestant missions in ia
pan. The two largest sections of the
Japanese Professionals, the Presbyteri-
ans and Congregtionalists, have prac-
tically given notice to the American
missionaries that they are no longer
needed.
The decisions reached by the Pres.
byterians on October II and by the
Congregationalists on November II
bring to a close an agitation OF nearly
twenty years duration. The strong OBJ
lection OF Japanese Protestants to mis-
sionary control has given rise to prob
lens familiar to every student or
modern missionary work.
| Briefly the situation has been this:
The same resentment against foreign
control that led TO the determination
OF Xavier's followers has never been
4 aNa