The Oskaloosa herald., 1908-07-30
J: As An Army Officer Sees Japan. ::

"Mr. Loomis feels very hopeful OF
the ultimate conquest of Japan to the
truth of the gospel, but it seems to
me that it will be a long time yet be-
fore it is realized. These people are
thoroughly saturated with their own
civilization, which Ihasnifies fidelity to
family, ancestor worship, obedience to
parents, love of country and of race,
but the idea of honesty and veracity
in dealing is unknown to their cult,
and control of the family, /. g., as there
are no personal relations possible, 1t
seems thpt the religion of Christ will
be long time in winning them.
The Sacred Isle.
"We have been at Miyajima, the sa-
cred isle on the island sea, and thor
oughly enjoyed its enchanted hill and
glens. The summit is 1900 feet high,
the ascent to which is through a love
ly mountain path, built by Korean
prisoners of war. All along the route
are tea houses, where one can rest and
take cup of tea and waters and gaze
out upon the most beautiful view inn
aginable The summit is crowned by
temple, where tle priests have kept
the sacred fire burning for over LOO
years, and where the pilgrim Is allow
ed to write his name in a book and
subscribe a few sen for the building
of new temple. Everywhere one
goes he is solicited to drop a few pen
MES in the box for the maintenance
of the shrines. At Miyajima we also
witnessed a ritualistlc Shinto cere-
mony, where two girls (arrayed IN
white with red ribbons in their glossy
black hair) danced the sacred dance
to hideous music CD played by flut-
ist in most dolorous strain, accom-
panied by another priest who clapped
two wooden Stats forcibly together
and chanted weird hymn
But must not weary you with too
much religion. There ere many other
wonderful and interesting things to
study in this remarkable country Be-
fore dropping the temples, however,
will say that we visited the Daibut-
su at Kioto, and later spent day
at the ancient capital, Nara, twenty
six miles from kioto, where we saw
some wonderful avenues of lanterns
lover 5000 lanterns-1,0 900 iron and
1000 stone), and also saw the grea,
Daibutsu, over 5S feet high. There is
another staue of Buddha at Kamakura,
one hour by rail from Yokohama,
which we intend to visit in few
days. 1t is SO feet high and is 'ro-
nounced the most symmetrical in ex-
istence., The proportions, ornate dec
orations, expression, pose and general
fidelity to the ideal are certainly won
derful. The splendor of some of these
images may be imagined when one
recalls that they are. of bronze and
tin, weigh over thirtyTseVen tons, the
plates to 10 inches thick, the eyes
(two feet wide) of solid gold, etc., etc.
Think of the labor and treasure ex-
pended on these pitiable gewgaws!
The most splendid of the temples and
shrines we have yet to see at Nikko,
100 miles north and 1000 feet above
the sea, where the royal tombs are
located. We hope to go up there next
week.
No Chance For War.
Altogether, | think the people OF
Christendom have greatly misunder-
stood Japan, and all these dire preuIc-
tions of war are the widest vagaries.
There are many reasons why war is
improbable, and even quite impossible.
First, Japan is deeply mired In debt
and is at her wits end to pay even
groaning under tax tour times as
heavy as the heaviest in the United
States. Third, she has only about $l4
per capita of resources, while the
United States has over $244 per head.
Fourth, the United States is her great
est customer, taking nearly all her
tea and silk, as we'll as her, works OF
art. A war would paralyze and des-
troy all this at blow and thus lmpov-
erish the country. Fifth, the Japanese
do not want war. They have not yet
forgotten the loss of $4,000 men in
Manchuria, and the priyations and sui
ferings of the conflict there. They
are uneasy and apprehensive lest the
jingoes may try to stir up strife, but
they do not want it.
I'VE can certainly learn a great deal
from the Japanese; respect for par.
ents and family, loyalty to country
gentle treatment of young children,
politeness and uniform amiability,
etc, and they in turn can learn from
us to throw away their idols, turn to
the truth, and become honest in their
dealings with their fellow men"