CHAPTER XIV

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JAPAN.

As regards the beliefs of the ancient religion, Shintoism, it taught primarily the existence of gods, and in the division which it made of them into good and bad, recognized that fundamental and eternal distinction between right and wrong, the deep rooting of which in the human soul has been man’s safeguard against what is bad in religions and in everything else.--SIR EDWARD J. REED.

Japan is one of the most interesting of countries to the American people. It is our nearest neighbor on the west; and America was mainly instrumental in introducing Japan into the ranks of the nations of modern times. The present line of Mikados among the Japanese is the longest continued among existing nations. China has changed its dynasties many times, and has been twice subdued by foreigners, the Mongols and the Manchis; but the line of Japanese monarchs is an unbroken series from B.C. 660 to the present day. The Mongols sought to conquer the Island Empire in 1281 A.D.; but they were utterly defeated and driven away. The present emperor, Mutsuhito, is the one hundred and twenty-third Mikado of Japan.

The religions of this people are two, Shintoism and Buddhism. The tenets of Confucius have been introduced together with Buddhism, and Buddhist preachers of to-day take their texts from the classic Chinese books. Shintoism has been much mixed up with Buddhism. Many features of its worship have been changed in imitation of Buddhism, and some of its essential doctrines have been greatly modified. There has been some discussion as to whether Shintoism is really a religion or only a system of state-craft; but it is very generally believed to be a religion which has degenerated into a mere system of political machinery. Certainly it has gods and goddesses, and sacred symbols, legends, myths and religious notions which existed in Japan long before Buddhism came there. There are also sacred books which have no connection with the Buddhist writings. The temples and priests are an innovation of later days. Shintoism is and was the State religion; it is supported by the State; its head is the emperor, the Mikado; its sacred books are but the chronicles of its history, and the whole system is interwoven with the national life of Japan.

THE SACRED BOOKS OF JAPAN.

The _Kojiki_ and the _Nihonki_ are the two most sacred Shinto books. The one was written 711 A.D., the other 720 A.D. They were composed long before this. It always has been an Oriental practice to commit books to memory. Thus the Hindu and Parsee sacred books were preserved, and thus, too, the ancient Japanese books have been kept. Without being written out, these books were handed down from mouth to mouth. Soon after the invention of the Japanese written characters, these records were reduced to writing. The story of this is thus told: “As to the historical records of Japan, it is first mentioned that, under the twentieth emperor, in 415 A.D., officials were sent into the country to verify and describe the names of all the families. Later, a transcription of these records (originally written, in all probability, in the old Japanese letters, ‘the gods’ letters,’) in Chinese characters took place, and in 644 A.D. an historical account of the emperors, the country, the officials and the people is said to have existed, which was destroyed when Iruka was murdered, and his father’s palace, in which these records were kept, was burned. Only the history of the country was saved. From this work, as well as from what the old men of the whole empire remembered, a new compilation was made under the Emperor Temmu (672–686 A.D.), and in order that it might not be lost again, it was read to a peasant girl, named Aré, who was said never to forget anything she had once heard. From this record, and from what Aré still remembered, the first historical record of Japan known to us, the Kojiki, was compiled about thirty years later.”

These works, though histories, strictly speaking, are full of stories of mythology, describing the origin of gods and men. The mythology of Japan is superior to that of Greece. It contains but few or none of the horrible stories of the gods, or the voluptuous amours of gods and goddesses which so abound in Grecian mythology. Some of their myths are really beautiful, others are very extravagant. The origin of gods, of men, of the earth, are here all described. It begins with the time when

“Far in the deep infinitudes of space, Upon a throne of silence, Sat Ame-no-mi-naka-nushi-ro-kami.”

This strange name signifies The Lord of the Centre of Heaven. The heavens and earth were then joined together. There was nothing but chaos. Pairs of beings were then created, male and female. Last of all Izanagi and Izanami were created.

JAPANESE STORY OF THE CREATION.

It is said that the other pairs of beings before Izanagi and Izanami were only their imperfect forms or the processes through which they passed before arriving at perfection. These two beings lived in the heavens. The world was not yet well formed, and the soil floated about like a fish in the water, but near the surface, and was called “The Floating Region.” The sun, earth and moon were still attached to each other like a head to the neck, or arms to the body. They were little by little separating, the parts joining them growing thinner and thinner. This part, like an isthmus, was called “Heaven’s Floating Bridge.” It was on this bridge that Izanagi and Izanami were standing when they saw a pair of wagtails cooing and billing sweetly together. The heavenly couple were so delighted with the sight that they began to imitate the birds. Thus began the art of love, which mortals have practiced to this day.

While talking together on this Bridge of Heaven, they began to wonder if there was a world beneath them. They looked far down upon the green seas, but could see nothing! Then Izanagi took his long jeweled spear and plunged it into the turbid mass, turning it round and round. As he lifted it up, the drops which trickled from it hardened into earth of their own accord, and thus dry land was formed. As Izanagi was cleansing his spear the lumps of muck and mud which had adhered to it flew off into space, and were changed into stars and comets. It is also said that by turning his spear round and round, Izanagi set the earth revolving in its daily revolutions.

To the land thus formed, they gave the name “The Island of the Congealed Drop,” because they intended to create a large archipelago and wished to distinguish this as the first island. They descended from Heaven on the floating bridge and landed on the island. Izanagi struck his tall spear in the ground making it the axis of the world. He then proceeded to build a palace around the spear which formed the central pillar. The spot was formerly at the North Pole, but is now at Eshima, off the central eastern coast of Japan. They next resolved to walk around the island and examine it. This done, they met together. Izanami cried out, “What a lovely man!” But Izanagi rebuked her for speaking first, and said they must try it again. Then they walked around the island once more. When they met, Izanami held her tongue while Izanagi said, “What a lovely woman!”

Being now both in good humor, they began the work of creating Japan. The first island brought up out of the water was Anaji; and then the main island. After that, eight large islands were created, whence comes one of the names of Japan, “The Empire of the Eight Great Islands.” Six smaller islands were also produced. The several thousand islets which make up the archipelago of “Everlasting Great Japan” were formed by the spontaneous consolidation of the foam of the sea.

After the country was thus formed the divine pair created eight millions of earthly gods or Kami, and the ten thousand different things on the earth. Vegetation sprung up over all the land, which was, however, still covered with mist. So Izanagi created with his breath the two gods, male and female, of the wind. All these islands are the children of Izanagi and Izanami, and when first born were small and feeble, but gradually grew larger and larger, attaining their present size like human beings, which are at first tiny infants.

As the gradual separation of the land and sea went on, foreign countries were formed by the congealing of the foam of the sea. The god of fire was then born of Izanami, his mother. This god often became very angry at any one who used unclean fire. Izanami then created by herself the gods of metals, of clay, and of fresh water. This latter god was commanded always to keep the god of fire quiet, and put him out when he began to do mischief.

Izanagi and Izanami though married but a short time, began to quarrel. Izanami being very angry went down to the lower world of darkness and disappeared. In the dark world under the earth Izanami stayed a long time, and after wearisome waiting, Izanagi went after her. In the darkness of the under-world he was horrified at what he saw, and leaving his consort below he tried to save himself and make his escape to the earth again.

[Illustration: THE GOD CREATED FROM IZANAGI’S STAFF.]

In his struggles several gods were created, one of them coming out of his staff. When he got up to daylight, he secured a large rock to close up the hole in the earth. Turning this rock into a god, he commanded him to watch the place. He then rushed into the sea, and continued washing for a long time to purify himself. In blowing out from his lungs the polluted air inhaled in the under-world, the two evil gods sprang forth from his breath. As these would commit great harm and wickedness, Izanagi created two other gods to correct their evil. But when he had washed his eyes and could see clearly again, there sprang out two precious and lovely beings; one from his left eye being a rare and glistening maiden, whom he afterward named Amaterasu, or “The Heaven Illuminating Spirit.” From his right eye appeared Susa-no O, the “Ruler of the Moon.” Being now pure again, and having these lovely children, Izanagi rejoiced and said, “I have begotten child upon child, and at the end of my begetting, I have begotten me two jewel-children.” Now the brightness of the person of the maiden Amaterasu was beautiful, and shone through Heaven and earth. Izanagi, well pleased, said: “Though my children are many, none of them is like this wonder-child. She must not be kept in this region.” So taking off the necklace of precious stones from his neck and rattling it, he gave it to her, saying, “Rule thou over the High Plain of Heaven.” At that time the distance between Heaven and earth was not very great, and he sent her up to the blue sky by the Heaven-uniting pillar, on which the heavens rested as on a prop. She easily mounted it, and lived in the sun, illuminating the whole heavens and earth. The sun now gradually separated from the earth, and both moved farther and farther apart, until they rested where they now are. Izanagi next spoke to Susa-no O, the Ruler of the Moon, and said, “Rule thou over the new-born earth and the blue waste of the sea with its multitudinous salt waters.” Thus the heavens, and the earth, and moon were created and inhabited. And as Japan lay directly opposite the sun when it separated from the earth, it is plain that Japan lies on the summit of the globe. It is easily seen that all other countries were formed by the spontaneous consolidation of the ocean foam and the collection of mud in the various seas. The stars were made to guide warriors from foreign countries to the court of the Mikado, who is the one and only true son of heaven, before whom all should bow.

THE EMPERORS DESCENDED FROM THE GODS.

Amaterasu, on account of her bright beauty, was by her father made queen of the sun, and shared with the two creator-gods the government of the world. In sending her to her dominion, Izanagi gave her the necklace of precious stones from his neck, and told her to go up by way of the floating bridge. As the sun was then near, she ascended without difficulty. Desiring afterward to give the government of the earth to her grandson, Ninigi-no-mikoto, after considerable difficulty in getting the god in possession to make way for him, she was able to carry out her purpose and dispatch him to his post. She proclaimed him sovereign of Japan for ever and ever, and appointed his descendants to rule it as long as the heavens and the earth endure. Before starting he received from his grandmother, the sun-goddess, the Three Divine Insignia of the Imperial Power of Japan, namely, the Sacred Mirror, which is still worshiped at the Naiku Shrine in Isé as representative of the goddess; the Sacred Sword, which is still enshrined at the temple of Atsuta, near Nagoya, at the head of the bay of Owari; and the Sacred Stone, or “Magatama,” which is always in possession of the Emperor of Japan.

Possessed of these divine symbols, and accompanied by a number of inferior gods, Ninigi-no-mikoto descended upon the Floating Bridge of Heaven, or the “Ama-nouki-hashi.” Grains of rice were thrown broadcast in the air to dispel the darkness of the sky. Ninigi-no-mikoto was the god who was sent down from the Sun-goddess, whose grandchild he was, to take possession of the land, and it was his offspring, and the offspring of his suite, who peopled Japan. Ninigi-no-mikoto lived to the age of 310,000 years; his son Hohodemi lived to the still riper age of 637,892 years, and a grandchild of his, Ugaya, died at the remarkable age of 836,042 years. He was the father of Jimmu Tenno, first Emperor of Japan, who is, at the present time, very widely worshiped as a god.

[Illustration: JIMMU TENNO, FIRST EMPEROR OF JAPAN.]

THE SUN-GODDESS ENTICED FROM THE CAVE.

The young brother of the Sun-goddess so seriously offended his bright and beautiful sister that she went away and concealed herself in the cave of Ameno Tuaya, closing the entrance with a large piece of rock. From this time the entire country was dark, and was given up to the noise and disturbance of all sorts of inferior gods. This state of things was so distressing that all the gods assembled at the cave’s mouth, on the bank of the Yasukawa River, and deliberated upon the means to be adopted for inducing the petulant goddess to re-appear, for be it understood that after the birth of the Sun-goddess no light could be obtained except from her brightness, as she had been appointed to illuminate the space between earth and Heaven, and it was the brightness of her body that shone through the sun. At the council of the gods it was decided to entice the goddess forth by means of an image of herself, and one of the gods and a blacksmith made mirrors, in the shape of the sun, with iron brought from Heaven.

Japanese mirrors are always made of fine metal, not of glass coated with quicksilver. Those in common use are generally five or six inches in diameter, having the surface polished with great care and some figures or flowers stamped upon the back. The mirror is a Shinto symbol. In the centre of the Shinto shrine of Isé, in the “Holy of Holies” of that temple are found four boxes of unpainted wood, resting on low stands. These are the only objects to be found here. In each box, wrapped in a brocade bag, is a mirror. On festival days, these boxes--but not the mirrors--are exposed to view.

[Illustration: SHINTOISTS WORSHIPING THE RISING SUN.]

The first two mirrors produced by the blacksmith, as stated above, were unsatisfactory, but the third was large and beautiful, and is now the deity of the inner shrine of Isé. The gods also planted hemp and paper mulberry, and with their fibre and bark wove clothing for the goddess. They also cut down trees and built a palace. Magatama jewels (carved and polished pieces of stone, such as were worn in those days as ornaments) were also produced, and wands were made from sakaki branches and bamboo. One of the gods then pulled up a sakaki-tree by the roots, and on its upper branches hung the necklace of jewels; at the middle he hung the sacred mirror, and to the lower branches he attached both coarse and fine cloth. This formed a large _gohei_, which was held by Ama-no-futo-dama-no-mikoto, while he pronounced an address in honor of the goddess. And _goheis_ like this, with jewels, mirrors and strips of cloth cut zigzag, we still see in the hands of the young priestesses at the shrine of the goddess herself, and the simpler _gohei_ or wands, with strips of cloth or paper attached, are now to be seen, as they have for ages been, all over Japan, at every Shinto temple or shrine and in thousands of other places.

A number of young cocks were next collected, and set to crow in concert; a strong god was concealed by the door of the cavern, to wrest it open at the favorable moment; and a very renowned goddess, Uzumé, was set to dance, blowing music out of a bamboo tube pierced with holes, while the gods kept time to her performance by striking two pieces of wood together. A sort of harp was made, by placing six bows together, with the strings upward. This was played by the drawing of grass and rushes across it. Uzumé, who appears to have entered upon her task with great spirit, bound her sleeves close up to the arm-pits, and grasped in her hand a bundle of twigs and a spear wound round with grass and having small bells attached to it. Bon-fires were lighted and a circular box or drum was placed for her to dance upon. Then this young goddess commenced to tread with measure upon the hollow box and cause it to resound. She sang a six-syllable song or charm of numbers, and, gradually quickening her dance wrought herself up to such a pitch of excitement, or rather “such a spirit descended on the goddess,” that she loosened her dress, revealing more and more of her loveliness, and at last, to the intense amazement and delight of the gods, appears to have discarded her dress altogether. With the laughter of the gods the heavens shook. The address in her honor, the stirring sounds of the music and dancing, and the loud and joyous laughter of the gods was too much for Amaterasu, and slightly opening the door, she softly said from inside, “I fancied that because of my retirement both Heaven and Japan were in darkness! Why has Uzumé danced and why do the gods laugh?” Uzumé replied, “I dance and they laugh, because there is an honorable deity here” (pointing to the mirror) “who surpasses you in glory;” and as she said this, the mirror was pushed forward and shown to the Sun-goddess, reflecting her own radiant loveliness, of course, and her astonishment was even greater than before. As she peeped out of the cave to look around, the strong god pulled the rock-door open and drew the bright goddess forth. Then a rice-straw rope was passed behind her, and one of the gods said, “Go not back behind this.” As they were putting the mirror into the cave it was struck against the door, and received a flaw which remains to this day. They then removed the goddess to her new palace, and, as an expression of their kindly interest, they put a straw rope round it to keep off evil gods.

SHINTO WORSHIP.

Buddhism was introduced into Japan in 532 A.D. Up to this time Shintoism had continued to be the sole religion of Japan, during some twelve hundred years at least. It is called by the Japanese themselves, Kami-no-michi, or “The Way of the Gods.” The religion consists essentially, so they say, _in an implicit obedience to the Mikado_. He is the descendant of the gods, and his common designation is Ten-Shi, or “Son of Heaven.” The Mikado has two crests, one, representing the chrysanthemum, is used for government purposes. The other, representing the leaf and blossoms of the _Paulownia Imperialis_ (_Kiri_ in Japanese), is used in the business personal to the Mikado and his family.

[Illustration: THE MIKADO’S COAT-OF-ARMS.]

There were no creeds, nor elaborate systems of doctrines in their religion. The good gods were to be worshiped so that there might be an increase of good gifts; and the evil gods, so that they might be appeased. The people prayed for a sufficiency of food, clothing and shelter, and twice each year held festivals of General Purification, when the whole nation was purified of its sins and pollutions. The following prayer was to be used by the Mikado: “O God, that dwellest in the high plain of Heaven, who art divine in substance and in intellect, and able to give protection from guilt and its penalties, to banish impurity, and to cleanse us from uncleanness--Hosts of Gods hear us and listen to these petitions!”

[Illustration: RAIDEN, GOD OF THUNDER, WITH HIS STRING OF DRUMS.]

[Illustration: FUTEN, GOD OF WINDS, WITH HIS HUGE SACK.]

The emperor was the god dwelling in the flesh, and his ancestors were, of course, to be worshiped. The first emperor, Jimmu Tenno, receives especial worship and honor. Besides these gods--the deified emperors and heroes--there were hosts of gods who were the deified powers of nature. We have already spoken of the sun-goddess and moon-goddess. Besides these there were gods of storms, winds, rain, thunder, fertility, of mountains, fields, seas and rivers. Raiden, the god of thunder, is supposed to have a string of drums, which he beats when it thunders. The Japanese say that when he is angry, he throws from the clouds a terrible creature like a cat, with iron claws and a hairy body. Futen, the god of winds, carries a huge sack slung over his shoulders, the mouth of which is closed by his hand. It blows a typhoon, a gale, or a breeze, as he clinches his fingers little or much. Besides these gods are a number of gods of occupations, of the household, of the work-shop, the field and the store.

The sun is one of the most common objects of worship among the Shintoists. The country of Japan is often called “The Land of the Rising Sun.” Their national flag is of white with a large red sun in the centre. On the top of Fuji-yama, the famous sacred mountain, and on the sea-shore, pilgrims and priests often gather to offer their worship to the rising sun.

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