Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1909-06-04

DEMENT'S to the living and safety to the
dead.
AT the temple at Shiogama, for In
stance, there is one idol who is the
particular friend of lovers. The
screen about his pedestal is covered
with hundreds of wisps of twisted pa
per- The idea is that IL one will write
the name of the person whom he or
she wishes to marry on a slip of paper
and then tie it with one hand to the
screen, the prayer vii be granted. If
the one-handed feat cannot be per-
formed, then the coveted object will
not be attained. The sight is more
pathetic than curious when one re-
members what little part either the
directions or desires of the individuals
most concerned play in a Japanese
marriage.
Spit-Ball Prayers.
Akin to this is the practice of
writing out prayers and then chewing
them into spit balls and throwing
them at the idol. If they adhere, the
prayer is answered. One rather hand
some idol that l recently noticed had
a large spit ball in his eye, seriously
marrlng his good looks. 1t is com
mon to throw stones into the laps of
the idols, or into the big stone lanterns
at temples, and if they land safely, the
prayer is heard At Nikko is a small
shrine the roof of which is covered
to the breaking point with wooden
slabs on which are written prayers for
an easy childbirth. Shrines especially
devoted to wives desiring children are
abundant and popular all over the
islands. And, judging from the num-
Der of children that swarm in every
village and city, these prayers are
fully answered.
One OF the most pathetic temples /
have visited is the chi1dren's- temple
at Osaka, which is filled with the
clothes and toys of dead children,
given as votive offerings by bereaved
parents. The humdrum, mechanical
manner in which the attendant priest
droned out prayers and rang the bell
in behalf of two parents who brought
an offering while l was there made
one want to lay hands on him. Near
by is peculiar device for offering
prayers for the dead. The name Is
written on a thin shaving of wood, and
then placed in large stone cistern in
the form of turtle, into which sacred
water is constantly running. Devotees
taEn fn hn
thoroughly drenched, for thus the
prayer is born to the god.
The Largest Bell in the World.
At the Tennoji temple at Osaka are
a number of interesting sights. In the
first place, the temple courts are a
regular bazaar filled with a display of
secondhand goods. Scores of dealers
have their wares spread about and
lively business is done with pilgrims
and others.
The largest whole bell in the world
is being hung in this temple area 1t
was cast at the time of the Osaka ex-
position, two years ago, and 10000
Buddhist priests were present, which
is about One-tenth of the total number
in the empire. Report went forth
that, following an ancient custom, a
young maiden was wanted to propiti-
ate the gods by throwing herself into
the molten metal; and young woman
really presented herself as an offering,
but of course the authorities would
not permit the sacrifice. This bell,
which is second to the broken bell at
Moscow in size, was made of gifts of
swords and ornaments and money,
and has a tone of more than ordinary
richness All Buddhist temples con-
tain large bells and their sound is soft,
deep and musical.
One other phase of worship at this
temple is the pond full of sacred tur-
ties. 1t is a pious act to feed these
with the pink rice balls which a priest
sells. Here l enjoyed the sensation of
being an Andrew Carnegie, for the
purchase of half a nickels worth of
the food (about a quarter of a peck
caused the wondering natives to ex-
claim, "Oh, see! He is a very rich
mani" The hundreds of turtles race
and fight for the bouyant balls and
then beg for more. This feeding of
the living creatures that are called
sacred is a pleasant form of religious
devotion. l have fed wriggling cells to
sacred cranes (the cells were not
sacred, and had no rights, beans to
hnrcnc v.inn n EChA
and have paid a few coppers to see
dancing priestess go through her slow,
graceful posturing and gesturlng, with
out moving her feet. Certainly worship
at a popular shrine or temple can
scarcely be called monotonous with
all these diversions, and the various
booths for the sale of souvenirs be-
sides.
My candid opinion is that, while the
sincerity of many Buddhists and Shin
toists may not be questioned, the one
vital and increasing religious force in
Japan is Christianity. While visiting
Ise | attended a missionary preaching
service, and among more than 100 per-
sons present was an old woman who
had been IS years Christian. She
told how the missionary had formerly
been stoned when he went there, and
how she herself had been bitterly per-
secuted. Now all is changed. At the
seat of the imperial shrines Christian
ity is listened to respectfully and ac-
copied by an increasing number. That
same sort of thing is going on all over
Japan. Priests and priests families
are becoming Christians and even
preachers The Christian propaganda
is carried on at the big temple festi-
walls. Hundreds of school teachers and
other government officials have be-
come Christians. The student class
seems to be giving more attention to
Christianity than to any other religion.
The native believers whom have met
manifest happiness and earnestness
which are conspicuously lacking in the
case of adherents of the other creeds.
In a word, there is life apparent in
the western faith which Buddhism and