The Virginia enterprise., 1907-06-21

=|#=|||='= tk
,l..ll ..:., = :
Bronze 8uddha Holding Baby with
Bonnet.
conversation. At this service a native
Christian woman, who had moved tEto
the village from another town, took a
Bible Society's colporteurs was also
present; and, in general, Shibu seemed
somewhat more familiar with Chris.
tianity than did Kusatsu, although
there are no Christian services held
there.
Where Religion is Cheap.
The next morning the Americans,
who were quite accustomed to creating
stir by their appearance in native
villages, went to Nagano, where is one
of the most celebrated Buddhist tenn.
pies in Japan, dating back to $40 A. D..
although the oldest portion of the pres.
ent structure is only six centuries old.
The high priestess of this temple is an
aunt of the emperor. The temple area
is crowded with statues and buildings
of absorbing interest: I noticed one
bronze Buddha of heroic size holding
a baby, and some devotee had put a
modern bonnet of cheap calico, on
the latter's head! On several occa'
sions I have seen images thus incon.
gruOusly adorned.
Thousands of deyout pilgrims visit
this temple, and the emperor himself
has a sunlptuous suite of apartments
therein, although the Shintoists claim
him as one of their number. In fact,
he has rather impartially patronized
both faiths; and thousands of his sub.
jects do likewise. Ordinary pilgrims
to the temple are kept outside the
wire screen before the altar, but the
missionaries, by the application of the
silver key which unloclzs doors the
world over, were omitted to closer
were even taken down through the
absolutely dark underground passage
where the keys of paradise may be
found, attached to a huge paddock.
And assuredly those young Americans
found them, and ratified them loudly
enough for all the celestial doorkeep-
ers to hear. This trip in the dark is
supposed to purge the soul of sin.
though, paradoxically enough, the
priest who was our guide warned us
that if we had any evil in our hearts
when we entered we would come out
changed into dogs, which is the com
mon belief. OF course this party
emerged barking and growing like
cslrs with tin cans to their tails.
It must not be inferred that the mis-
sionaries were disrespectful to the
temple. or it's worshippers. They
moved about, uncovered and unshod
and were genuinely interested in the
bewildering explanations of who's who
| in this sect of Buddhism. Among the
more than 10000 ancestral tablets
placed in one apartment, noticed one
chat was surmounted by the Harvard
| H.
AS souvenirs of this trip I have a
written token from the high prizes;
that l have performed an early morn
| ing devotion at certain shrine, and
have received absolution from him in
person-although as a matter of fact
it was nearly noon when we were in
the temple, and I never saw the high
priest. l bought the document from
a priest in the temple office for one
and half cents sSimilarly,sI have E
brass charm. from the imperial high
priestess (whom did not meet, ! an
sorry to say), guaranteeing protection
to my body from every kind of harm
and all for the sum of eight cents
Religion comes cheap in Japan. saw
priests emptying the money boxes
which stand before each shrine,s anC
later stringing the coins together
These are all of copper, and Of the
lowest denominations, t&o sen, one
sen, half sen, rim and half rim. = The
last two are the commonest, and are
worth respectively, one twentieth anG
one fortieth of an American cent
These are now seldom used in com
merce, and are called temple
money The sen is worth one-hal
cent. =. ..' q4tt.
The elaborate and costly. Buddhist
temple and its ritual and priests. was
in sharp contrast with the impover
ished simple services which these ,un
uniformed missionaries had been hold
ing; but the latter had confidence
and q vitality which made one foresee
the possibility of the overthrow 81
Buddhism BY the plain gospel q TIL
i Nazarene. IS 80 81 IL,