The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-03-07

we have just little more than 100000 church organizations, and these include Catholics and Protestants, Monrovians and Dunkards and also the AT Chinese Buddhist and the nine Japanese Buddhist and Shinto establishments Here there are GOO shrines alone and more than 150 GOO temples There are more than 1000 temples in the city of Kyoto, and some of them are far more grand and more cost ly than any church of the United States. Our National Library, which is perhaps the finest building of its kind in the world, cost just $600O,000. The Hgashi Hong wanji temple of Kyoto cost $S00o,0oo, and it was about II years in building. 1t covers about as much ground as the capitol at Washington and its great audi ence room takes 950 yards of mating to carpet it.
 The temple is an immense building with a ridge roof. which slopes downward in the shape of bow, overhanging the walls. The roof is upheld by mighty beams and the interior is mass of carV- ing The walls are made of sliding screens upon which are paintings by old Japanese masters, and the ceilings are or richly painted panels framed In lacquer, with brass lanterns. each as large as hogshead, hanging from them. During recent visit to the temple I saw 1000 men.
 
 heels listening to a bald-headed priest reading a sermon, and as they went out saw each of them throw one or two coins into the great money chest which stands there always ready for contributions. This temple has an income of about $ZO0,- GOO year, and a celebration which it had a few years ago, in honor of the death of one of it's. patriarchs. cost almost mil lion. At one time the temple needed loan nf SS0 00O for a of six months and it is said that one of the Japanese banks advanced the money, taking the key of the contribution box for security. At the end of every week the bank sent an official to the temple. and he had back all of that money, including the in terest upon 1t, long before the note was due
 Gave Their Hair to Buddha.
 Buddhism as a religion has little esteem for women. One of the sects has a say ing that the sins of any good woman are greater than those of the thousand worst men who have ever lived Nevertheless Buddhism came into Japan through a woman and it is supported largely by women. The woman who brought 1t here was the Empress lingo, who conquered Corea centuries ago, and in consequence introduced the religion of that country. The women who are supporting 1t form large proportion of the Japanese people. I see them tramping in crowds on pilgrim ages to the various shrines, l find them praying by the roadsdes, and they are in evidence in every temple. One of the most remarkable examples of theft faith is shown in the Higashi Hongwanji struc- ture to which have just referred. The building was made largely of voluntary work on the part of the people, and wom- en by the hundreds aided in it. They not only gave their work, but thousands or them cut off their hair as an offering to Buddha, and this hair was twisted and braided into great cables to drag the logs of which the temple is built. big coil of these ropes now lies outside the tenn pie door, and I had chance to carefully examine them. Some were so large that