Chapter XIX

A BUDDHIST CEREMONY.

When the priest of Shinto had bowed before the shrine and the last offering had been made, the soldiers marched away. But the service for the dead was not ended. Out of the little sacristy came a priest in robes of shimmering silk, and placed upon the altar flowers and a censer. The pine branches were removed, and, behold, the sanctury of the Sun Goddess became the shrine of Buddha. There was a time within the memory of men still young when they were worshipped in the same temple, for the Chinese missionaries who entered Japan in the Sixth Century accepted the Shinto deities as avatars or incarnations of Buddha, and the two faiths were so fused that the number of pure Shintoists and pure Buddhists was very small. By its doctrine and by its ritual Buddhism appeals to the heart and conscience, and for many generations it was the popular religion. But with the restoration of the Emperor the position was changed. If Japan had to adopt a foreign civilisation, she had, at any rate, a religion that was indigenous, and suited to the political conditions of the moment. Shinto proclaimed the divine origin of the Emperor, and its doctrine was implicit obedience to his decrees. Therefore, Shinto was made the national religion, and the temples were cleansed of idols and incense and gorgeous vestments.

The priest gave no heed to the soldiers, who moved away company after company, and squadron after squadron, until there remained near the sanctuary only the officers of the staff and the foreign _attachés_. The Shinto priests stood on the right of the altar, silent and reverent spectators. Making obeisance to the shrine the priest recited the prayer invoking the presence of Buddha, while an assistant, who acted as precentor, muttered the responses. Then the priest drew near to the altar, and, taking in the fingers of his right hand some fragments of incense, dropped them into the censer, out of which arose a tiny cloud of white vapour. Thrice he made this offering, and, retiring three steps, took from the folds of his green and purple silk robes a scroll, from which he read:--

“On this the 19th day of June, in the 37th year of the Meiji, I, Nagao Reirzu, a Priest of Buddha, despatched by the Central Homgwanji (Temple) and attached to the Second Division of the First Japanese Army, set up a shrine at the foot of Mount Teisan, outside the walls of Feng-hoang-cheng, invoking the presence of Buddha and offering incense and flowers in order that he may comfort the noble spirits of the loyal and gallant soldiers who fell in the battle of the Yalu. His Imperial Majesty, our august sovereign, has sought peace by every art of civilisation and has striven to cultivate the friendship of civilised nations since the early days of the Meiji era. His efforts have been especially directed to securing the peace and happiness of the East by guiding and aiding the countries of China and Korea. But Russia, insolent and ravenous, taking advantage of the weak and defying the strong, has trampled justice under foot and has departed from righteousness. To gratify her greed for territory her troops have overflowed the plains of Manchuria and Korea. The sins of Russia have offended Buddha and the gods and have caused our sovereign to issue his Imperial decree proclaiming war. Thus we come to cross swords with her. You, precious souls, bore many hardships and privations after leaving your native land. Difficulties of every kind confronted you. Yet amidst these trials you did your duty and won the admiration of all who were witnesses of your noble sacrifice. At last the moment came for the clash of arms. Shielded behind defences strengthened by nature and art, the enemy confronted you. Without hesitation you braved the dangers of shot and shell and charged onward against lines of bayonets until the enemy’s forts were captured and Chiu-lien-cheng was won--thereby achieving an unparalleled feat of arms in the eyes of the world. Such brilliant exploits are to be ascribed chiefly to the virtues and grace of his Imperial Majesty, but your strength and your self-sacrifice in the interests of your country did much toward securing the victory. Alas! you have fallen in battle: shot and shell did not spare you because of these noble qualities. When my thoughts turn to the field of that great fight my flesh burns and my senses grow faint. But man is mortal: the living shall die: those who meet shall part: such is the law of life. Who can escape the clutches of death: death steals into every man’s home. But you leave behind you a name that shall be a glory to your parents. You are good sons and brave men whose dauntless deeds will inspire with a strong sense of loyalty all who read the story of your death. Noble men and gallant soldiers! The destiny of a nation rested upon your shoulders. You knew how to die: you have done your duty as loyal subjects and dutiful sons and have manifested that spirit of self-sacrifice and of unflinching bravery which are among the beautiful traits of the Japanese character. Your deeds shall be an example to generations to come. Your name shall ring through the groves of time as long as the waters of the Yalu flow toward eternity. Your fame will never die: it will be eternal as the snow on the summit of Fujiyama. This knowledge will console you for the sacrifice you have made for your native land. In our Buddhist philosophy loyalty, truth, filial love and fraternity are counted chief among the graces and the root of all god-like work. By sincerity one may enter the temple of stoicism and by love one may dwell in the realm of perpetual peace. These are the workings of the natural law. From the secular point of view your death was noble: from the philosophic point of view it was grand. I recite the sublime words of Buddha, burning incense with sincerity that I may appeal to Buddha and the gods seated amidst the coloured clouds above and to the gods who are in the depths of the earth, invoking their protection, and in order that I may offer to your souls a taste of the Manna of Heaven.”

If you will contrast this sermon, instinct with patriotism and the destiny of man, with the formal and uninspired words of the Shinto priest you will understand something of the difference between the Shinto and Buddhist religions. After the sermon came the reading of the Sacred Books, and then the offering of incense by the officers and _attachés_. Each in his turn strode into the sanctury, stood by the side of the priest, raised his hand to salute the shrine, and stepping forward dropped a fragment into the censer until its fires were smothered and the thin cloud of vapour vanished. General Nishi, as Commander of the Second Division, was the first to make this offering to the spirits of his dead comrades, and after him came Prince Kunni, with other members of the Staff, and finally General Sir Ian Hamilton with his colleagues.