The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-02-04

tillers Of the soil. II was probably be-
cause Of the contempt in which they
were held that so low a standard OF
| integrity existed among them-at least
! this is the explanation usually given.
Even now Japanese as well as foreign
ers complain that the merchants i'm
pose upon their customers, but here,
also, change is taking place, and a
new order of things is being inaugu-
rated. There are in every city mer-
chants Of honor and responsibility, who
are redeeming trade from the stigma
which it so long bore. Still, unless the
stranger knows with whom he is deal
ing, it is well to have a Japanese ad-
wiser, for we found by experience that
the price named to foreigners was
sometimes considerably above the reg
ular price.
For centuries Japan lived an isolated
life, and developed herself according to
her own ideas. OF her native religion,
ShtntOlsm, of the Introduction of Budd-
bism and Of the first Christian mission
aries I shall speak in d later article.
She repealed an attack of MOngolS
which might have been disastrous to
her but for the fact that a. timely storm
destroyed the invading fleet, much as
the Spanish armada was destroyed.
She has from time to time attempted
the invasion of Korea, the last attempt
being made about 800 years ago. A lit
tie later the shotgun, Iemitsu, alarmed
by the spread of the Christian religion,
introduced by Catholic missionaries
from Spain and Portugal, shut the
country up, and for two and one-half
centuries no foreigner was admitted,
and no citizen of Japan was permitted
to go abroad. .
To more surely keep his people at
home. the shotgun prohibited the build
ing Of any but small sailing vessels. It
is almost incredible that so large a
group Of people could have enjoyed the
civilization which existed here. and still
concealed themselves so completely
from the outside world and remained
so ignorant of the mighty movements
in Europe and America. In 1853 Com
modore Perry arrived with an Amer
lean fleet and a treaty was finally en-
tered into which opened the country to
foreign intercourse. Japan was ripe for
the change. While there was at first
an anti-foreign sentiment which af-
fected domestic politics, and at one
time resulted in an attack upon a. for
eign vessel, the assimilation OF western
civilization was rapid and constant
Young men began to go abroad, foreign
teachers were sent for, and the Japan
csc people began to manifest a wonder
full aptitude for the adaptation of for
eign ideas to local conditions The
army ana navy were reconstructed
upon European models, and a public
school system largely like our own was
established.
In most countries reforms have come
UP from the masses through more or
less prolonged seasons of agitation but
in Japan the higher classes have been
the leaders and have extended in
creased social and governmental adj
vantages to the whole people without a
struggle In every department of
thought there has been progress, and
in every line OF work there have been
leaders whose ambitions and ideals
have been high and noble
To illustrate the change that has TAX
en- place, Count Okuma cites the case of
the famous military genius, the present
Marshal Yamagata. When a. very
young man Yamagata was a spearman
in the army organized by the daimios
of Choshu to attack the foreign ships
at the ShimonOseki straits. He was so