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Full text of "Thoughts and essays"
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Thoughts and Essays
By
Inazo Nitobe
Tokyo :
Teibi Publishing Company
1909
^
(( , FEB 2 ? 1968
^"^^■'/r CF VOV
To
My Young Friknds
Whosp: Yearnings and Strivings
FOR
Higher Things
Have ever Won Mv Sympathy
I Dedicate
These Random Thoughts
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
PREFACE
Herewith, with all humbleness, do 1 offer to
the public an irregular bundle of fragmentary
thoughts and essays, which were jotted down from
time to time as " the spirit moved me."
I would not have been so bold as to put these
flitting thoughts into so permanent a form as a
book, if it were not for the fact that my friend
Mr. Sakurai had collected the Japanese transla-
tion into a volume, and if it had not been that re-
quests came from several quarters for the English
originals. I took occasion, in compiling them, to
add several pieces, long and short, which did not
appear in the translation. A great many of them
having been written with the idea of their being
perused by the young, the style may sometimes
savor of pedantry. Some of the essays were
written years ago -one in particular dates back
about thirty years, when I was myself a student.
When presenting any of my efforts in English,
I have not sufficient self-confidence to send them
into print without first submitting them to the
criticism of an English-speaking friend. In this
case I under obligation to two friends — Miss Anna
C. Hartshorne, whose suggestions I have ever found
helpful, and to the Rev. Benjamin Chapell D. D.
PREFACE
who has kindly and painstakingly given time with-
out stint to the supervision of the entire volume.
Last, but not least, to my wife, for her steadfast
interest and encouragement.
INAZO NiTOBE
Tokyo,
December 14, igog.
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
J0^
CONTENTS
The Uine i
Martyrdom and Success 4
My Religion 5
Heart to Conscience, 5
The Sakura 6
The Three Voices on the Text-Books
Scandal 11
A Place to See Things 13
Imitation 14
The Student 17
The Student's Summer Vacation 20
Hagi . 22
The Soul's Quest of God 23
The Soul's Quest of Self. 23
Introduction to " From the Eastern Sea " 24
What Carlyle Taught 28
Flesh Prostrate 33
The Real and the Ideal 34
Glories of Japanese Art 35
In a Hagi Garden in Kyoto 36
Being and Doing 38
Special Training and General Culture 39
Logic-Chopping , 40
The Soul's Eternal Quest 41
CONTENTS
Use of Gifts 42
Self-Mastery 42
A Grateful Heart 43
Hidden Angels 43
Life's Contradictions 44
Reflections on a Christmas Eve 46
A Flash of Thought 51
The Insular Spirit 52
New Years's Greeting and Resolutions... 54
Plebeianism 58
A Defect in Our Education 59
Prepare in Peace for War and in War for
Peace... 63
Americanism in the East. . 66
Two Standards 70
Our Manners and Customs 71
Approbation and Reproach of Conscience. 74
Slav Peril Versus Yellow Peril 75
Gratitute <So
Autumn Thoughts 82
Loneliness 85
Sadder Chants 87
Beware of National Conceit 88
Weeping Willow on the River's Brink 91
Heavenly Visitations 92
The Harvest 93
Preface for the Polish Edition of Bushido... 97
The Old and the New lOi
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
The Past and the Present 104
Children 105
Heavenly Visions 107
A Morose Spirit 108
Manifold Moons 109
Flying thoughts 110
Bereaved Families 1 1 1
Causes for Thankfulness... 114
Analysis 115
A Piece of Nature 1 16
Post-Bellum Work. . 117
Mental Indigestion. 124
Humility with Greatness 126
Summer Flights 128
Mother Love 129
Such Peace as the World Giveth 132
Summer Caution 134
Uses of War and Peace 135
A Cross 137
Japan's New Duties and Responsibilities . 138
What O'clock Is It in Japan ? 141
New Duties of the New Year V^lJ
A Winter Thought 151
In Hiraizumi 153
Spring Thoughts i 54
Ascent of Bushido 156
The Sword and the Pen 160
A Supplication 163
CONTENTS
On the Sea 164
Ruins of an Empire 166
At the Midnight Hour 168
Is China an Answer to Confucius? 169
The Growth of Japan 171
Commercial Morality 175
Culture and Restraint ... 184
Among the Tombs 188
Duties of the Present 1 8q
Silent Hours 191
Among the Kami 193
No Hero Among Us 195
The Lasting Friendship of School Days.. . 196
Student Imigration J99
Cheerfulness 203
The Uses of Sorrow 205
A Soul of Good in Things Evil 207
I Cannot Tell 209
A Decaying Nation 210
Primitive Life and Presiding Death in
Korea
Sorrow's Dispensation :
The Sentiment of the Season
Happiness for a Year
The Months of January
Where the Real Meets the Ideal
Androlatry
A Spring Thought
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
Crun Grano Salis 238
Under the Cherry 240
A Lesson of the Night 241
Practical Religion 243
Courtesy 244
Words and What They Stand for 245
Rural Virtues 246
Omission and Commission 248
Universal Harmony 249
What Success is Desirable 250
Life's Contrasts Contradicted 252
Offerings 256
The Christianization of Japan 257
Naturalism 261
" From Nature up to Nature's God " 262
Pilgrimage to Dazaifu 265
Religious Impressions of America 270
On Japanese Exclusivism 278
Our Recent Chauvinism 290
Origin of American-Japanese Litercourse. . . 306
Samuraiism : The Moral Ideas of Japan .. 324
Character of the Occidentalization of Japan. 364
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
THE UME
The lune season is here, and with it the
warbler's song and the stirring up of whatever
poetry hes dormant within us. I love the sweet
smelling time — the earliest of blossoms, opening
while the ground is still frozen, and the snowflakes
cover the trees and the piercing north wind howls.
I never look upon it without admiring its pluck.
How often have I wondered whether it owes its
beauty and its fragrance to its pluck, or whether
they exist despite the circumstances which are
felt dire adversities by other flowers.
There are flowers and flowers, and each has its
peculiar claim upon our affections ; each owns its
special lover. He who adores the nine is of a quite
different temperament from him who holds the
sakiira dear to his heart. The sakura is for the
many — it is democratic. Its charm is most strik-
ing when it is seen en masse. The jcme is for the
few, for the initiated, as it were. Its refinement is
felt most when we stand under a single tree, — it is
scholarly. It was the favorite flower of Michizane.
A gardener told me once that those who fre-
quent lime gardens are an eritirely different type
THE UME
from the crowds who flock to see the saknra ; and
he added that the time lovers make their ap- \
pearance again when the hagl and the maple are
in their sedate beauty and autumnal grandeur.
I hear that in Tsukigase, the classic grove of
the lime, the trees are being fast cut down. Heart-
less creatures they must be who commit ravages
like this upon trees so venerable and so adorable.
When I heard of this I felt like heaping curses
upon these vandal peasants. What have the iinie
done to deserve so hard a fate .'' Have they ceased,
like a certain fig tree of old, to bear fruit any
more .'* Have their flowers lost their color or their
perfume, or — have the people forgotten to share
the joys of their fathers as they sat under their
own lime and pine trees.'' Is it possible that
the taste of this nation has so changed that the
gnarled stem and the moss- covered bark appeal no
more to its aethetic sense .'' Not for any of these
reasons is the devastation going on in the unie
grove of Tsukigase. If you press me for an answer,
I would say — it is coal-tar that is at the bottom of
all the mischief. The black slimy coal-tar has
given to the Germans a red aniline dye, which
they sell to us at so low a price that the coloring
matter formerly extracted from the ume fruit for
the silks of Kyoto, no longer fetches enough to pay
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
for the care of the trees. lience this dilemma —
either to give up the unic or the red and pink
which add beauty to the grace of our maidens'
garments. Some will prefer a month of nine
bloom, while others — perhaps by far a larger num-
ber — the varied hues of a pretty garb. These will
say, let the transient pleasure of the tuiie season go,
rather than give up the bright colors of girlish
dresses. To this a few will reply, — if it is a ques-
tion of pigments only, we may be persuaded to
throw the whole Tsukigase grove into the furnace
as fuel, but how much more we shall miss it than
color ! The fragrance will desert us, for which no
other flower can make amends. The warbler will
not alight upon the ravaged stumps. The Muses
that are partial to the nine will no more favor the
simple minded swain or the schooled poet with
songs that move the heart of the people. We
shall be much poorer in soul as we grow rich in
gold by the importation of aniline colors. As for
me, I welcome the progress of commerce and in-
dustries, but when these must be purchased at the
price of the iimc, I have to think twice before I buy
a piece of red dyed cloth or a blue silk.
THE UME
MARTYRDOM AND SUCCESS
Success in life, says the world's wisdom, depends
on one's adaptation to social laws, on one's adop-
tion of the thonghts and manners of men around.
In a society of fops the foolishest fop rules. In a
community of rogues, the more roguish a rogue, tiic
greater his chance of success.
^lartyrs are anti-social : they conform not to the
ways of those about them : they are utter failures
in the world. The world's usage condemns them.
The world's judgment metes out to them the same
reward as unto thieves and murderers. To the
mediocre world, the saint and the criminal are alike
troublesome : for they live and act outside the pale
of its laws. Martyrs adopt higher laws of life ; the>'
adapt themselves to the demands and commands
of the spirit. Thus do they connect the world above
with our world, infusing our atmosphere with a
new spiritual essence, bringing into our existence a
new flavor of life. In a word, martyrs raise the
level of social laws. WY-re it not for them, how
much poorer this world of ours would be ! The
martyr's spark burns us not : it illuminates our
l)ath for ever.
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
MY RELIGIOiV > .
Leave mc to my rcli^^ion : disturb nic not. Vk
Leave my religion to me : take it not away. My
soul and my religion are one. Keep yours for
}'ourself as your own. Does yours face the sunrise
and mine the sunset, does mine look up and yours
down, what matters that ? Yonder is the peak,
the summit, our goal. We shall each pursue his
separate path. Anon we shall meet again to
clasp hands in mutual fellowsliip.
HEART TO CONSCIENCE
In thy sweet tremulous voice whisper in m)' ears
what thou fain wouldest have. • And the Heart
confided her secret of love to Conscience. Says
he in harsh tones of rebuke, " Thou most foolish
one ! Thy love is born of flesh. Thou shalt never
behold the face o{ thy beloved. Thou art utterly
corrupt. " The poor Heart wept its bitterest ; but
her sobs stern Conscience heeded not : they
rcach(xl the ears of angels onl)'.
THE SAKURA
THE SAKURA
1 r was only a few weeks aq^o tliat our licart w as
enlivenetl by the beauty and fraj^rance of the nuh^
and by tlie sonivs of warblers. The air was then
still chilly and the ci^round frozen. No other blos-
som dared to compete with this plucky jiioneer of
the floral world. The vine reicjned alone.
But times and seasons are nrnv changed.
X'anishcd alike are the beauty and the fragrance
of the nine. Wc watched its slow decline ; we
])ursued its last petal to its final bed of rest.
Ik'hold its lawful successor ! It is now the saknra
that holds undisputed sway. So gradual was this
change of floral dynasty that nothing like a revo-
lution has marked any step in the process. While
watchinc^ the fading of the nine, wc scarcely noticed
the transformation that the sun had been working
around us.
That we are now under a different regime, our
senses bear ample testimony. Instead of the calm
contemplation to which the nine disjiosed our mind,
the saknra gladdens our heart with its gaiety.
The age of cold Puritanism has given way to the
warm jubilance of the Restoration, As in history,
as in individual life, so in the seasons of the vear, I
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
believe there is in operation a sort of fatalism. Do
not misunderstand me. I do not mean by fatalism
a merely dark, pessimistic, foreboding conception
of life, that believes the world to be ruled by an
Evil One ; but a faith in the existence of alternat-
ing periods of prosperity and decay, as of ebb and
flow of tides, of psychological cycles of soberness
and ebullition. The sakiira follows the ume, soon
to be succeeded and outstripped by other soberer
compeers. Kach has its own day and it is wise
in man to make the i^est ol each as it comes.
When the sakiira smiles, when its blossoms dance
in the air, let us leave our gloomy tasks behind
and out into the open park and the forest. Let us
all go T^-sakura-XwwxWn^. Let stern age renew the
merriment of youth, let demure matrons grow light-
hearted anfl laugh ; let children run and shout for
joy.
I have said elsewhere that the sakura is for the
masses, the populace. It appeals more to sensibi-
lities than does the nine to the intellect. It has
this advantage over its cold sister, that its sway
falls in the season when all nature warms the
blood and sends it coursing quickly through the
veins. If the lune is for the brain, the sakura is for
the heart. That can be enjoyed standing single
and blooming alone, while this shows itself at its
THE SAKURA
best when it is grouped with several of its kind.
That endures Hngering for days and weeks, wdiere-
as this comes but for a Httle while. Let, then,
the people make the utmost of the short-lived
delight which the sakura affords. Let the inten-
sity of pleasure an.d its fulness compensate for its
brevity.
Possibly because of its popularity is the cherr>'
exposed to more dangers than its sister trees. Its
comeliness invites the cupidity of every passing ad-
mirer. An unknown verse-grinder, confident of his
art, bears home in triumph a twig decorated with
his production, regardless of the humiliation it
gives to the object of his song. A drunken rogue
turns a flower-laden branch into a pole to carry his
bottle by. Every sort of mutilation is committed
because of its attraction. Very truly did an
ancient ode lament the fatal fascination : —
" Blooms she not in her glor}',
Who'll care the Sakura branch to break ?
'Tis the Sakura herself
Doth bring to Sakura its saddest vnes."*
So conspicuously alluring to the commonest
eyes, the poor sakura has no weapon of defence,
and falls an easy prey to every passing stranger.
Unlike its European rival, the rose, it is not pro-
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
\'ided with thorns. These two flowers typify tlic
I^'ast and the West. There is earnestness in the
rose, but animation in the sakura. The rose holds
to life and weeps as it dies; the sakura disdains
death and dances in the breeze that wafts it from
its stem. The rose is individualistic ; it is self-as-
sertive ; a single flower can be appreciated by it-
self. The sakura is to be most enjoyed in clusters
each flower loses its individuality in the making of
the tree. The rose stands for rights, and has
organs to claim them ; it is an exponent of what
Nietzsche calls Master-morality : the sakura stantls
for duty : it submits to what it deems its fate; the
Cierman would call it a type of Slave-morality.
Still there i-s humility in the rose, which contents
itself with being looked down upon by its admirers;
for it rarely reaches the estate of a tree : the sakura
calls to its worshippers to look up, for it seldom is
a shrub.
As we stand under the frilling petals of the saku-
ra, our fancies take flight to regions beyond the
daily round. We forget old thoughts and feel new
impulses stirring within us. We forget for a time
that life is a serious struggle. We give ourselves
up entirely to living for the moment. The peasant
lays aside his plough, the oba-saii her spinning
wheel, the philosopher his book and the warrior
THE SAKURA
his sword. Let us tliink no tliought incongruous
with the spirit of this gala-day. Do you not hear
the maidens chiding ? —
" Wherefore lie lliy steed, O Sir Knif,dit,
To the blooming Sakura tree ?
See ! how it kicks and shakes the trunk,
And with its shaking scatters in the air
l^lossoms so tender and foir.'"'''
A warring instinct and a war-horse arc in no
harmony with our flower. Would you look up at
its grace, you must first take off yoiu" helmet.
The sahura has long been a recognized emblem
of the saviurai spirit, but that only shows that
the samurai was more than a mere warrior. The
sakitra betokened him as a character larger than
that of a fighter.
Reflections like these and man>- more arise w ith-
in us, as we saunter beneath the shade of the
clierry-trecs. V>v\\. to be true to the message which
the sakura conveys, it behooves us to leave re-
flections to other occasions ; say, to the sombre
autumn when the hagi waves to the chill wind ; or
to the cold winter when the 7iV2e turns to balm the
icy air — and for the present let us be off for gaiety
and joyous pleasure.
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
thr?:e voices on the ti^:xt
books scandal
The Voice of the Worhl
I [a, ha ! the Httle tlueves arc not caught fast
enough. Catch the little ones and let not the big-
ocr escape. Spread wide and close the net ot
law that none may slii) through its meshes !
Whether large or small, let all the guilty ones be
l:)rought to justice, regardless of person, position
or birth. We would see exact justice meted out
to each. We desire the law to be executed to its
\ cry letter. We care not how many the judge
condemns. We are better than they, thank
heaven ! We are not so easily bought or easily
caught. Are there not rascals many !
o
The Voice of Conscience
Alas ! alas ! What hast thou done, thou weak-
est, vilest of creatures ? despicable biped, art thou
corrupt to the core ? No more canst thou walk
erect in the light of day. Whoever sells his con-
science for money, is a brother to Judas and
should hang himself on a tree.
THE SAKURA
Is gold so dear that tliou offercst in exchan<j^c
thy all for its [flitter or its chink ? Where now are
thy pretensions, O thou Pharisee, that posed as a
teacher of Youth ? Bitter tears shalt thou shetl
and each drop will condemn thee tenfold more
than the slight of gold has ever i:)leased thy ej'cs.
Thou knowest I have often warned thee. At
the very moment thou didst fall, I raised my \'oice
to its highest and thou didst hear, but didst not
heed it. Know thou nr)w that I am thy judge;
that in me lies the power to punish thee to the
uttermost. Know that my condemnation is not a
mere scorn or a hollow menace as the World's, but
that it is exceedingly true, bitter and lasting.
<>•
A Higher X'oice
Oh thou poor suffering one ! lias the world left
thee friendless and unpitied and uncomforted.
Has thy conscience left thee with not one word of
solace, with not one look of cheer ? Come now
and be of good courage ! Thou hast not lost all.
Thy repentance is not unheard. There still re-
mains for thee a gift, more precious than con-
science, for thou canst still feel its pangs. T/w//
Jiast still a heart to weep, therefore, thou hast
not lost all. Take courage, then ! Honor thou
hast lost ; but it can be regained. There is no
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
depth too deep for the Sun of Righteousness to
illumine. Thou hast hurled thyself into iniquity ;
but there is no abyss without steps by which a
contrite heart may ascend. Be assured that man,
however low he may have sunken, is never so ut-
terly lost that he may not claim and make good
hi^
th
level.
I'eiurary, Jgoj.
(jiiy lusL LUciu iiu iiici^ iiuL uuiim iiiiLi iiiiiKC guuu
lis heavenly birth. Thou canst always make of]
hy dead self a stepping stone to rise to a higher /
J0^
A PLACE TO SEE THINGS
Near my native town of Morioka, soars into the
blue sky the comely form of Mount Iwate. One
rarely sees it entire, so often is its breast clouded in
dark angry clouds or its summit wrapped in glorious
lleecc. As you ride on the train, you skirt its
base for miles and have it in sight for hours ; but
the people say that there is only one spot from
which to behold it in all its splendor and majesty.
The Kitakami flows gently near, and in this river is
an islet formed by the shoals, and on this islet
stands a lone pine tree. It is under this solitary
pine tree that you must stand for the best view of
this Fuji of the North.
13
IMITATION
IMITATION
Imitation is education, and education consists
mainly of imitation. The Germans say, " Exercise
makes the Master," but exercise is largely imita-
tion, repeating over and over again to approach a
pattern. While too much value cannot be attach-
ed to originality, it is a dangerous gift for the
generality of mankind. Safer and more useful is
the power to imitate.
Do not be frightened by the shallow ridicule (A
so-called "slavish imitation," "apish mimicry"
and the like. I know there is such, but I also
know that there are other sorts of imitation, and
an adoptive power such as made the Normans
play their important role in the history of Europe.
They did not originate so much as they adopted
and transformed, and, so long as one grasps the
spirit and not the mere dead letter of what one
copies, there can be no mere " apish imitation."
" Follow me," said the great Model, and what is
foUowhig but imitation ? A humble recluse in the
small village of Kempen attained holiness by con-
stantly keeping before him as his ideal, the imita-
tion of Christ.
To address myself more directly to the students
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
of P^nglish, I would by all means recommend imita-
tion as an efficient means of mastering that
language. You have, no doubt, already learned in
the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin with what
diligence he used to imitate Addison's style, and
with what success he thereby improved his own.
Stevenson, too, imitated not only the best authors,
but the speech of all sorts and conditions of men,
that he might faithfully portray the types they
represented.
It is needless to insist that imitation, in order to
bo successful, must have right models. Imitate
the best and you can rise to be angels ; imitate the
worst and you sink lower than the very brutes. It
is just here, in its choice "of models, that imitation
must be judged. I may add that it need in no
wise have its bounds set by them. A disciple may
be greater than his master. Generations of artists
have held this true of Raphael and his teacher.
The dye that is made from indigo is bluer than the
plant from which it is extracted.
Imitation is more than education. It is a natural
method of self-preservation. In that phase of
imitation which naturalists call mimicry, we re-
cognize the process by which an organism deceives
or eludes its enemy and so continues its own ex-
istence. The most advanced of organisms, the
IS
IMITATION
State itself, may well resort to mimicry for its
preservation. Consider well where our country
would have been, were it not for its adoption
(imitation) and adaptation of Western civilization !
Do not be charmed by resounding praise of
originality, however attractive. It is a gift for the
elect few, whereas imitation is for all.
When one justly speaks of " aping," he means
that no discretion is used, that there is blind,
aimless imitation. A child resorts to apishness
because he lacks discretion. Even the pliability
which characterizes youth and which gives it the
advantage over maturer age, cannot always atone
by imitation for lack of the discretion and wisdom
which age possesses. But alas ! by the time we
become older an'd are advanced in wisdom and
discretion, our mental plasticity weakens and with
it our ability to imitate. Happy the man and
happy the nation that can combine mature judg-
ment with plasticity of mind, and thus retain a
capacity for perennial growth ! Such will both
make a judicious selection of models and follow or
improve upon them with facility : — a fortunate
union of powers best found amongst a rejuvenated
])eople.
Let us consider tiie Italians in the period of the
Renaissance and let us prayerfully meditate upon
ourselves of the present day.
i6
r
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
THE STUDENT
The student is born, the student is made. To
the one, knowledge comes as a reward of close ap-
plication, as strength is enhanced by exercise ; to
the other, it comes as a matter of course, with the
same facility with which we breathe the air. We
would think there is no work required of a born
student, for surely he can learn gracefully and
easily, and yet not all truth comes to him lightly.
Nature has in store for the highest genius secrets
which he can find out only by strenuous effort.
We admire him as a giant whose stature exceeds
seven feet; but in the land of pigmies or among
Liliputians, I am a giant for my five feet and four.
What is a height of seven feet compared with a
cedar of Lebanon and, what is a cedar of Lebanon
compared with the hills upon whose slopes it
grows ? A dwarf is a giant before a still smaller
dwarf and a giant is a dwarf before a still greater
giant. A student, however gifted by nature with
capacity to understand and to learn, finds, at each
step of his advancement, knowledge which is
beyond his present grasp. The greatest power of
the best of students is inadequate to the problems
which confront him at each stage of his progress.
Newton himself confessed that all his intellectual
'7
THE STUDENT
attainment was no more than a grain of sand on
the shore of the immeasurable sea of knowledge.
I pity a youth whom the flippant world calls a
born student and spoils with praise, just because
he can master a few simple truths with ease.
Such an one flatters himself with having a
capacity which he does not possess, and, contenting
himself with what little he can readily acquire,
neglects to exercise his more precious talents and
so, in the end, fails to perfect his powers. He
forgets that, for each question he disposes of, there
rise up ten new questions to answer. Learning is
thus an endless task, and the best " born " student
can enjoy no immunity from labor. He, therefore,
who relies upon his innate ability, and not upon
persistent effort, to become a scholar, forgets the
precious truth which Carlyle taught, namely
that genius is the capacity for taking infinite pains.
There is indeed "no royal road to learning;"
only, exertion itself is not incompatible with
royalty.
If thus the " born " student cannot escape
work, what must he do who tries to make
himself a student? Oh, despise not the smell of
midnight oil which he carries about him ! — Here
is a man who erects himself above himself On a
humble foundation he builds an edifice wherein
angels may rejoice to dwell. Brought forth into
i8
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
this mysterious world, with no special aptitude for
study, he perseveres in knocking at the portals or
wisdom, on whose lintel is clearly written, " Seek
and ye shall find." Behold how he seeks ! Is the
last drop in his lamp burned, he collects fireflies of
a summer-eve or heaps snow upon his desk in the
winter-night. Such an one is worthy, not only of
our sympathy, but of our highest respect. If a
born student evokes our admiration for his gifts,
the made student deserves it for his patience.
The praise we lavish because of talents is an
offering due not so much to their possessor as to
those from whom he inherited them, while that
which we should mete to the made student is
merited by. himself alone.
June, igoj.
19
THE STUDENT'S SUMIViER VACATION
-^
THE STUDENT'S SUMMER
VACATION
Another summer vacation is here. Mas it
found us in a jubilant mood, flushed with success
in our term's examination, or has it overtaken us,
burdened with the lieavy weight that a sense of the
failure brings ? This is no time for regret. This
is the season t) vegetate. Leave regret alone for
the time being. Shake tlic dust of the city from
off your feet, and wipe from off your forehead the
heat of the Tokyo sun and forth into the country
speed. It will do you good to breathe the fresh
air of your native hills and cool your brow in your
native stream. Inhale to the fullest capacity of
your lungs the balm of your pine-grove and brown
your sallow skin in the health-giving rays of the
summer sun. That is the way to regain the energy
spent in burning the midnight oil and to renew the
power which city-life has enfeebled. There is
health in rural air. There is vigor in rustic
living. Cities sap manhood and manliness. By a
constant stream of country-blood alone are the)'
kept up. All their glories are but flowers of the
social plant, whose root is nourished in the country
soil. Summer vacations are periodical returns of
the potted flowers to their native soil. The
2p
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
country is a storage of force. It is the invigorating
clement of the nation. It is the source of physical
well-being and mental sanity.
I wish all students could vacatti Tokyo and
other cities in the summer months. No other
seasons of the year are more detrimental to
soundness of body and brain. It is then that the
body is disposed to lethargy and to all the temj)-
tations that lethargy brings. It is then that the
brain is most prone to lose its balance. Hence
the summer months are most fruitful of crime and
suicide. I say, Students, leave your lecture notes
and your sooty lamps and hie forth to your native
hills and brooks. Then shall we have you with
us again in the autumn, ready for clear thought
and steady effort : those who have succeeded, for
greater success, and those who have failed, with
resolutions which will bring them a new record
and make the past a " stepping-stone."
August, I go J,
HAGI
HAG J
"r IS too early for the hagi ; but the more
aspiring of its kind have put forth their blossoms.
I saw them early in July in the Kwannon garden
at Kamakura. At sight of them I felt like singing,
but when I tried to raise my voice alas ! it only
trembled and gave forth no sound.
Already, at the height of summer, the promises of
autumn are given. In Nature's floral school one
learns to read, in the summer joy, indications of
autumn sadness, in the full tide of life, signs of
its decay. Ha ! did I say decay .'' A wise man
would have said maturity and perhaps — fruition.
Saint Paul saw in the decay of a grain of wheat
not corruption, but a new birth. A fool and
coward is he who despairs of life !
" Alas for him who never sees
The stars shine through his cypress-trees ! '
The hagi bears no fruit to feed mankind ; but I
thank it for being the reminder of a riper future.
When I learned the lesson it had in store for me,
the tremor in my voice ceased and I could sing of
the largeness of life — its broadening duties, its
deepening joys and its constant renewings.
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
THE SOUL'S QUEST OF GOD '"^
Oft have I asked the question, O God, Who art
Thou ? Where art Thou ? And each time the
answer comes in softest voice, Who art thou that
askest Who I am ? What thou art, that I am and
what I am that art thou. And where art thou that
askest where I am ? Where thou art, there I ana —
and where I am there art thou.
In worshiping God we worship ourselves, and
in worshiping ourselves we worship God. The
real self within us, the essence of the Ego, is
divine. We clothe it in the rags of flesh and of
fleshly desires, until the divine self is hid ; and we
call that self which does not strictly belong to it.
-^
THE SOUL'S QUEST OF SELF
Where art thou, O my Soul ? Art thou in thy
own abode, or, beguiled from thy proper home,
art thou wandering among companions unworthy
of thee } Thy home must be deserving of thy
celestial birth. Thy place should be among the
heavenly hosts.
25
INTRODUCTION TO "FROM THE EASTERN SEA"
INTRODUCTION
TO
" FROM THE EASTERN SEA "
"ArROPiiET is not without honor, save in his
bwn country." This saying which too many
examples in history have made trite, though
Universally true, is perhaps nowhere more so than
amongst ourselves. There is a dwarfing influence
in our air. The atmosphere of Japan is moist
enough as it is ; but whenever a youth " to
fortune and to fame unknown" happens to appear
with any definite message, mediocrity leagues and
intrigues to spread a wet blanket over him and
freeze " the genial current of his soul." That the
history of our literature counts among its beacon
lights so many recluses is, I can well imagine, due
in a large measure to the fact that they kept
themselves aloof from mediocre society — its petty
jealousies, envies, bickerings and snickerings.
Were I in the habit of giving unasked-for advice,
I would say to the aspiring genius of our land :
" Keep off the beaten paths of our literature and
fly to all points of the compass but here, or, if you
must stay, commune with Eternity and abide your
time, in peace possessing your soul." If this
sounds devoid of any affection for my own country
24
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
and people, my reply is that I would not utter
words like these unless I had unbounded faith in
the God-given gifts, the virile versatility and the
great vitality of our race. If we really possess
these qualifications of a developing nation, we
should have proofs thereof.
A scientific man, disposed to test Japanese
x'itality, might try an experiment by picking out a
normal young man from among us and, trans-
planting him to an alien soil, subject him to new
conditions and observe his growth. Such an
experiment is taking place on quite an extensive
scale on the Pacific Coast of America. If but one
out of a hundred thrives, it may prove the vitality,
not of the- particular individual only, but of the
whole race. We have a remarkable case of this
kind in the person of Yone Noguchi.
A mere stripling, our young friend drifted from
liis little village to the continent beyond the
Pacific. He left behind him a sleepy old town
to find himself in the rush and push of the city
of Saint Francis. He bade farewell to the
smiling, dainty bodies, O Hana San and O Cho
San, to associate with women of larger vision and
loftier mien. But the memories of his native land
never died within his ardent breast. All the
Sierras have failed to make him oblivious of
our peerless Fuji. In the clear transparency of
25
INTRODUCTION TO "FROM THE EASTERN SEA"
the California air, his fancy floats upon the strata
of crepuscular mists that rise above the rice-fields.
He turns from the stately sequoia to the graceful,
fantastic pine of fair Nippon. In the heaven and
earth-rending grandeur ot Yellowstone Park, he
dreams of gardens where the cherry blooms.
The practical bent of the people among whom
he dwells has not robbed him of the love of the
mysterious. His lines betray both the land of
his birth and the land of his sojourn. They are
the offspring of a happy union between the East
and the West, His dreams, which, had they been
uttered to his brethren might have brought him
no better fate than Joseph's, he can dilate upon
in a language, not his own by right of birth, but
which he threatens to appropriate for purposes
not hitherto attained. Not being trammelled by
any tradition or canon of diction and prosody, he
makes the most daring use of English, imparting
to his work now a bizarre quality, then a quaint
picturesqueness, and again a naive Japanesque
tenderness. There is color in his words, there is
fragrance in his phrases. Perhaps because he
writes in a foreign tongue, or perhaps because
his themes are often of an ethereal nature, or it
may be because his mood is more often too
dreamy for verbal expression, his lines give us a
felicitous impression of something felt but left
26
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
unsaid, something vaguely guessed but inex-
pressible. Hence his very inarticulateness has
indescribable charm, and his very incoherencies
span the space his spirit sweeps at one flight. " In
the mountains," says Nietzche, " the shortest way
is from summit to summit. But," he adds, " for
that thou must have long legs." Our poet,
unlike his brethren, is indisputably provided with
" long legs."
Here, then, is a poet whom we can proudly
claim as our kith and kin and yet who has shaken
off the cobwebs of our poetical tradition, who, in
fact, has freed himself from the narrowing influ-
ences at home and is singing with all his might in
the free open air of a mighty continent.
Here is a flower native to the soil of our
beloved land, which, like the chrysanthemum,
is developing into finer, larger bloom under new
culture and new surroundings. Is he a type of our
race or is he to be a solitary exception ? Does he
stand for the essence of our nation or for a mere
ncident .'* It may well behoove literary Japan to
ponder over these questions in the light of the
writings of Yone Noguchi.
Kayuizawa, 8 mo. 24, 1903.
27
WHAT CARLYLE TAUGHT
WHAT CARLYLE TAUCrHT
"Who is Carlyle ? " was a question on every
tongue six decades ago in England and a score of
years ago in Japan. Many a narrative of his out-
ward life in divers forms —books, pamphlets,
magazine articles and newspaper items — has
answered it. making the grim form of the man a
familiar figure not only in England but also here
at this long distance from his accustomed haunts.
As our knowledge of the man grows, the new
{[uery arises, " What is Carlyle ? " and it is this
which is being busily discussed in the world of
literature, ethics and philosophy.
Carlyle's works have become the common
property of the civilized world. His words, and
with them his ideas, are afloat in the air. We
may say, with some limitation, that he governs a
whole kingdom of thought. We think his
tlioughts, we cannot get away from them, so
fully has he been impersonated in our minds. He
is not only a mental and moral phenomenon of the
past century, but continues to be of the present.
To us whose interests are not exclusively or
even mainly of literary pretension, it is not need-
ful to speak much of his monumental productions.
It is the moral issues explicitly and implicitl)'
28
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
taught by him that now concern us most nearly.
Of all the phases of this prophet's many sided
influence, it is fit that we ponder here on its moral
character, as our age and generation stand most
in need of this.
When religious cant and social convention-
alities were rampant in Christian England, it was
Carlyle that raised his voice against shams of all
kinds and told his hypocritical people, in plain,
unmistakable terms, to act in conformity with
their individual consciences. When English pride,
flattered by enormous wealth and industries,
asserted itself, it was Carlyle who reminded
his countrymen that the greatness of a people is
not to be measured by the number of smoke-stacks
or gun-boats they command. When Englisli
covetousness was being fostered by its vast posses-
sions, well-gotten or ill-gotten, it was Carlyle who
taught his bretheren that all the area of Greater
Britain, upon which the sun never sets, cannot
counterbalance the loss of a Higher Britain.
Surely a man with messages like these deserves
a listening everywhere and at all times. Are we
not subject to cant and cojiventionalities, equally
with or more than the English ? Is not our pride
of heart worse than the English, inasmuch as it is
founded on no particular ground to boast of? Do
we not hunger and thirst for a possession beyond
29
WHAT CARLYLE TAUGHT
the seas, and do we not even fret that we cannot
get them by foul means or fair ?
Carlyle preached to mankind through the
medium of the English language, and he naturalh-
addressed himself primarily to the people of his
own race. The respect paid by the British public
to their railing prophet is a proof of their greatness.
When he spoke of the English nation as twenty-
five millions of fools, he certainly did not imply
that they were fools in contrast to the " Country of
the Wise " {Kmtshi-l'okii). It were well if we
heeded more earnestly his words and warnings.
We may not agree with his definition of History or
his estimate of Heroes ; but nobody will deny that
none can become good on shams, that cant can
never make one great. The first condition of
being good or great is to be sincere, to be true to
one's self, to follow one's best instincts.
"If in thy heart of heart
Thou stray not from the path of Truth,
Though voicing not thy prayers.
The gods will aye thee guard — forsooth."*
If from your innermost being you would act,
act then with all your might. " Out of the
abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh."
Out of our being's depth the hand strikes, the feet
30
THOUGHTS AND E33AYS
walk. One man may do much in this world, but
if he is not coi^.strained by his own honest con-
viction, all he does is but an idle puppet's play.
Sincerity of action is the gospel Carlyle preached
by word and life. For — remember, words are acts
and the pen in the hand of the good and the great
cleaves sharper than a two-edged sword. The
worth of any action is estimated by the motive
which lies behind it, by the sincerity which
animates it. Hence, in every act, howsoever
trivial or momentous, we see an idea put to work ;
we see an ideal in the process of realization ; we
see a spirit laboring. There is then spiritual
significance in all human activity, inclusive of the
very thinking of man. — The beginning of wisdom
is, therefore, to see with our own spiritual eye the
spiritual value of life. It is this which alone is
important ; all else is chaff by comparison. A
king without a royal mind, in all his paraphernalia,
may well be no better than a " forked radish ; "
a peasant with a spiritual message will not weed
his radish-patch without making life more beautiful.
Carlyle gives us a glimpse into esoteric ethics.
Considered in this light. Reality is elevated to its
true place as an embodiment of the Ideal, and
the Ideal is read in all Realities. Judged by
this standard, the commonly accepted Right or
Wrong, Great or Small, does not conform to the
3»
WHAT CARLYLE TAUGHT
/
Carlylean sense thereof. Hence the meanest day
teaches in its meanest duties the wisdom of the
past, and contains in its most commonplace chores
lessons for the wise. The Present is indeed the
conflux of two eternities, the Past and the I'uture.
One great evil of this age is discontent and
disdain of life. Immature youths, with a smat-
tering of elementary philosophy, feeding their
feeble brains on thirty-sen literature, biting a
morsel of Schopenhauer or a thin slice of Nietzche,
fall these in translations of literary hacks who
themselves comprehend them not wholly), hasten
to Kegon to offer their puny bodies a prey to fish
and crow, (fit end no doubt of cowardly spirits
who flee life's stern duties!) or else give them-
selves up to folly and dissipation that they may
stifle the awful voice of their own consciences, or —
be they better ones among these weaklings — crawl
on this solid earth, dejected, despairing, whining,
whimpering. Despicable bipeds all ! Can you not
read Carlyle ? Take Sartor Resartiis and learn
what living in earnest means. Take CromivcU
and know what a God-fearing man can do. Take
Frederick the Great and behold what mighty
power a strong will, regulated by severe disci-
pline, can wield. Take The French Revolution
and see that God judges righteously. Take ^///'//j*-
and understand that one in the humblest walks of
32
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
life can disclose to the world the beauties and
secrets of Nature, an open Book of God, that he
who runs may read, if he be not blind.
These then, and much more, are the messages
that Carlyle brought us. They have been scat-
tered far and wide ; they have become a force,
filling the air and making it, as does ozone,
fresher and more stimulating. For the aged and
the aging such air may be too bracing ; but for
youths in their most conceited period, the years
between fifteen and twenty-five, few teachers can
excel Carlyle. He can best help you in making
resolutions, in forming decision of character at this
great crisis ot life. Read him ! and whether you
outgrow hini or not, you will be forever thankful
for a sober and not a sombre, for a solemn and
not a sullen, view of Life, Nature and God. ^
FLESH PROSTRATE
O Joy ! The giant Flesh stands erect, exulting
in its right to claim its prey. That instant
Remorse strikes it to the ground half dead.
Slowly it recovers sense and kneels before the
throne of Grace for a new joy — the cup drained
from off the altar.
33
THE REAL AND THE IDEAL
THE REAL AND THE IDEAL
" The clouds that rise beyond those misty
heights of far Cathay, are they not the smoke that
curls from our humble hearth ? " * In every reality
lies the ideal, and each ideal gives us a glimpse of
the possibility of realization. The instant and
complete realization of an ideal is as impossible to
mortal man as the attainment of the absolute.
We climb one height, immediately another peak
towers before us. When a summit ceases to ap-
pear, in other words, when one's ideal is satisfied,
it proves the satiated poverty of one's spirit. The
ideal is the logical outcome of man's infinite nature.
It is the pledge of the Divine in man. It is fit
that man should ever pursue it, know as he may
that it is not attainable in its fullest. It is that
which keeps hope alive.
The antithesis between the ideal and the real is
not so great in life as it may seem when the terms
are used abstractly ; for, in the real, the sordid
actuality, the matter of fact, lies an infinite idea.
The fire over which I cook my meagerest meal
gives rise to the clouds which glorify the sunset.
If we only have eyes to observe, the whole plan of
creation can be read in a daisy growing by the
34
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
roadside. What depth there is in a pool of water !
^A wise man can learn more truth from an ant-hill
than can a fool from the summit of Fuji.
-^
GLORIES OF JAPANESE ART
How devoid of expression are our pictures !
Nay, not our pictures only, but our ideas of
beauty. Look at our painted types of masculine
perfection — long noses, small, slanting, sleepy
eyes, pursed lips Sci7is firmness : look at the
models of our feminine beauty — veritable dolls,
with no animation. Our portraits and our like-
nesses are as dead as still life. Read our literature
— smooth, silly rhymes about moonlight, drooping
lilies, gnarled pines, — spiritless, soulless.
We congratulate and shake hands with our-
selves over an item in a foreign paper to the
effect that we lead the world in art. As long as
the essence of art consists in graceful lines and
powerful strokes we may indeed be proud ; but, if
art should be the symbol of an idea, how little
does ours express the noblest of ideas, the moral !
Or has our art been refined and defined, until it
has become confined to mere lines and strokes— in
a word, has art been degraded into artificiality ?
35
IN A HAGI GARDEN IN KYOTO
IN A HAGI GARDEN IN KYOTO
The sun has turned its glaring face from us ; the
summer is going. The autumn has come ; but
ah ! already the glory of the Jiagi is passing
away. The moon, the sad autumn moon,
wreathes the drooping head of the flower with
dewy pearls, lending its own luster to the liquid
gems. What avail the lanterns, torches, bonfires
which they light in tliese gardens of Kodaiji and
Daikokuden ? They are an abomination, a
barbarian invasion into the sacred realms of moon-
light and hagi.
A child of the secluded hills, and untilled wastes
and craggy paths, my flower brings a message from
her retired home in a voice that I knew before
I ever saw hills, wastes or crags. To my many
queries she nods and waves her answers, and I
grow strangely wise by her lessons.
I visit the parks in the day-time to watch a
yellow butterfly and a white, a small brown one
and a still smaller blue, playing about the clusters
whose branches in conscious sport beckon and
tease these aerial creatures. I see numerous ants
busily climbing the stalks, seeking provender no
doubt. Bees and wasps help themselves to the
repast which the Jiagi prepares for them. The
* 36
I
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
fragrance of the flower is scarcely perceptible,
the color, too, is not striking ; but, in the great
economy of nature, varied forms of life scek
nourishment in her blossoms. But the nourish-
ment she gives to man is of an ethereal nature.
From the confused tissues of our present con-
sciousness, she spins out a tender cord of yearn-
ing, drawing us to the long- forgotten past and to
the far-off unknown future. Not of the horrid by-
gones which we would rather have buried in
oblivion, nor of the uncertain vicissitudes of coming-
years, but of the " fallings from us, vanishings,"
and of the vast possibilities of our soul's expansion,
of " the last of life, for which the first was made,"
— it is of these that our flower reminds us.
A mother's voice has she, recalling us to the
(.lays when we crept to her side and lisped our
first accents of love on her cheeks. Nay, she
carries me farther than my infant years, back to
the time when of earth I wot not, when of flesh I
])artook not, when of mother I heard not. Vague
memories haunt me, vaguest dreams of aeons past,
when I hung upon the hagi branch like a moon-
lit drop of midnight dew, or flitted like the tiny
butterfly sucking the nectar from her blushing
buds.
As I write these lines, seated in the midst of a
Kyoto garden, I catch a glimpse of a little child
37
BEING AND DOING
l)layinf;- with a pupi))', lialf hidtlen by a lon^-
branch of liagi. l^iit the chihl, tlic puppy and
tlie Jiagi liavc all become one in my mind, imap^es
of one harmonious life, planned and sustaincfl by a
sure thouoji invisible Ifand.
-^
REINC; AND DOING
A MISER may be generous in order that he may
obtain more money ; a coward may act bravel}-
from fear ; a liar may tell the truth from a l)'ing"
motive. It is dangerous to infer from a single
action the character of a man. A Kobo may
make a slip with his pen; a monkey may fall
from a tree. It is not fair to judge a man by an
isolated act.
To me a man's actions are valuable mainly as
indications of his character. The play of a good
man teaches me more than the wisest achieve-
ments of a fool. To be is of far more consequence
than to do. Be good, and whatever thou dost
undertake will be good. "This above all, to
thine own self be true, and thou canst not then
be false to an\' one."
3S
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
SPECIAL TRAINING AND
GENERAL CULTURE
A WITTY English saying, "Something of every-
thing and everything of something," expresses the
whole compass of education. It is well that we
choose a certain line of work and become master
therein ; but it is also well that one's intellectual
and moral sympathies should be broad enough to
touch ail the main concerns of human life. A
man of general culture is in danger of sinking into
" a Jack of all trades and master of none"; but a
specialist is in equal danger of running in a narrow
groove and severing himself from the larger
current that forms the stream of life. In short,
his range of vision becomes the proverbial outlook
of the frog in the well, whereas a man of general
culture may be lost in the limitless field of know-
ledge without a clearly marked trail.
General culture is the centrifugal force in edu-
cation, and special training its centripetal. Only
by the co-operation of the two in right proportion
can "you expect a well-balanced mind.
The same is true in the study of English.
Select one book and read it over and over again.
Make it your special book, mark its passages,
make marginal notes, commit its striking parts to
30
.LOGIC-CHOPPING
memory, study it until it becomes a part of your-
self. At the same time read what you can in or
from other books. Peep into philosophy, into
literature, into science, into religion.
To take a concrete example, I would advise a
young student to select some easy book — say
Longfellow, Washington Irving or Oliver Gold-
smith—and study it thoroughly; but all this
while, whenever occasion offers itself, get an idea
of Shakespeare, Bacon, Milton and Mill. Above
all, get their thoughts and not merely their words.
-^
LOGIC-CHOPPING
One great intellectual vice of our educated
class is to over-logicize. There is as much danger
in a loosely constructed syllogism as in carelessly
returned statistics. Both may pretend to prove
every thing, but neither can arrive at any truth.
With the same tools with which these syl-
logizers chop their logic or split a hair, they carve
an idol and infuse into it the spirit of a Frank-
enstein.
40
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
THE SOUL'S ETERNAL QUEST
TlIK swallows came, we know not whence. The
swallows went, we know not whither. We only
know that they came from the vague, undefined
North ; that they flew into the vague, undefined
South. We envy their wisdom and knowledge,
for tli£y certainly knew whence they came and
whither they went. How little does man know !
He only says he came here from his mother's
womb so many years ago ; but knows nothing of
the whole ocean of Eternity, vast as vague and
vague as vast, that lay beyond his earthly birth.
We wonder^ and cease not from wondering, where
our home may have been. Science points to the
earth and says — there lies your home ; Religion
points her finger above and tells us — there ! Take,
O Soul ! thy choice, and with thy choice wilt
thou descend unto the earth or mount unto the
skies.
4»
USES OF GIFTS SELF-MASTERY
USE OF GIFTS
I ADMIRE poverty when I see rich men
^rovehn^" in wealtli. I glory in ignorance when
I sec learned men showing off knowledge. I am
glad of ill health when I see strong men indulging
in excesses.
I should be thankful to have wealth that I
might spend it for worthy ends ; to be educated
that I might understand wisdom ; to be strong
that I might help the weaker better.
-^
sf:lf-masterv
A BRILLIANT victory crowned our war with
China : we are beating Russia to the amazement
of the West. But the greatest victory is yet t(^
be. Can we conquer ourselves .'' This last
conquest is what would make our nation truly
great. The bloodless warfare is the hottest and
hardest, and the sublimest victory \von by a spirit-
ual weapon against an invisible enemy entitles
the conqueror to a bound'less dominion of universal
respect and power.
November, igoj.
42
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
A GRATEFUL HEART
A CRKA r heart is ever full of gratitude, for it
cati comprehend the goodness of others. Marcus
Aureh"us begins his Meditations vvitli an ex-
jiression of his thanks for the debt he owes to
liis parents, teachers and friends. The confession
of his indebtedness shows the unbounded capaci-
ty of his mind to absorb what was good in these
benefactors. The ills which others.bring upon us
■ ue but a small fraction of our sufferings, ex-
ceedingly small, compared with the ills which we
cause ourselves.
HIDDEN ANGELS
In hidden nooks and obscure places, angels like
to sit or work. I have seen them in hovels of
poverty ; I have met them in houses dark with
sorrow. Their faces shine the more in the black-
ness ; they gleam the brightest under the thickest
shroud. They were best visible in the tomb
where "they buried Jesus," and where women,
weeping, sought for Him. Their mere presence
turns the haunt of misery or sorrow into a very
hieron.
43
LIFE'S CONTRADICTIONS
LIFE'S CONTRADICTIONS
So glaring arc life's seeming contradictions that
we are prone to despair of their solution and to
find a feeble comfort in agnosticism, pessimism, or,
sometimes, in abject abnegation of whatever rtiakes
life worth living. Are we not creatures of our
own notions ? Arc we not creators of our own
little world ?
There are problems which baffle the highest
energies of a Kant or a Newton. It is these
enigmas which are powerful enough to exalt a
saint into regions of spiritual ecstasy, or drive a
sinner below the level of a brute. They make of
a man a philosopher or a fool.
Man is a resultant of never so many forces,
social and physical, an average, we may say, of
many and large numbers. He is a pretty well
balanced existence, but his equipoise is easily
disturbed by whatever strikes him as inconsistent
with his little fancies and lesser experiences.
Would that man were large enough to perceive
a grand harmony ruling beneath the seeming
contradictions ! Would that man stood so high
that he felt not the petty, conflicting facts of ex-
istence ! Can he ever reach a height like this ?
We know of one who did reach it. He did not
44
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
FroLible himself with the small scrupulosities which
the world worships as consistencies, but which
arc, as Emerson has it, " the hobgoblin of fools
and little minds." Strict follower of old laws, he
did not hesitate to violate the letter of them.
Blameless in his morals, he associated with the
outcasts of society. Nothing was easier than
that its " fair-seeming respectabilities " should mis-
understand him.
The standard wherewith he judged men and
things was totally different from that which the
world uses. Man-made laws which are all and
everything for man, were nought for him.
He was large enough to comprehend extremes.
Delicately .poised as was his scalebeam, you
could put on one side a whole kingdom and on
the other a sparrow, and yet not derange its
balance.
What seem to our limited vision as contra-
dictions or opposing elements, on our level, find
harmony in a higher, and the higher we ascend
the fewer the contradictions which distract us.
And so, as we rise from one stage of mental being
to another, the less become the inconsistencies of
life, until we catch a glimpse of the Divine, in
whom all contradictions are solved, and all con-
flicts end, and all differences find a perfect adjust-
ment.
45
REFLECTIONS ON A CHRISTMAS EVE
-^
REFLECTIONS ON A
CHRISTMAS EVE
So much has been written on the significance
of this day and so much more has been thought
and felt in the English language, that the subject
may well be said to be exhausted, at least we,
on our part, despair of adding to it a single original
remark. Why then do I take up my pen ?
It is not the day that I revere. Historians are
not agreed that the tw^enty-fifth day of December
was the exact date when the man Jesus was born ;
and if we speak of the day, the year itself lies
under serious doubt. History is vague and in-
exact upon these points of high external im-
portance. But the main fact is past dispute
— that such a man as Jesus Christ did actually
live, and therefore must actually have been born,
some time within a decade of what is termed the
beginning of the Christian Era. The dates them-
selves may be said to be of minor concern.
Their intrinsic worth is nothing compared with
the event they commemorate, and tlierefore they
should sink into insignificance.
It matters little in what year or on what day
46
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
the man Jesus was born, compared with the
spiritual interest involved in the birth of Christ
in the Bethlehem of our heart : Bethlehem, the
House of Bread, and He Himself said, " I am
the bread of Life." Christmas should rather
be the day when angels proclaim the glad
tidings of great joy to each one of us.
The little town of Bethlehem was also called
I'Lphratah, the fruitful. Would we be worthy
of the nativity of so distinguished a Person (it was
not only once or twice that cities went to war to
secure the honor of having given birth to Homer,
and a greater than Homer is He of Whom we
speak) our Bethlehem should likewise be the true
ICphratah, bringing forth fruits in abundance.
Precious are the fruits of the Spirit ; but among
them all none exceeds love. There have been
and are trees which bear knowledge and wisdom ;
others, righteousness and liberty, music and poetry ;
others which bear life itself; but love, as taught by
Christ, is borne by no other tree than that on which
he hung. There have grown some trees symbolic
of liberty. Americans planted poplars during the
Revolution ; during the PVench Revolution there
were trees of liberty erected, and Italians planted
forests in rnemory of 1848. In the Arabian tale
47
REFLECTIONS ON A CHRISTMAS EVE
there was a singing tree, every leaf of which had a
mouth that joined in a concert ; in India was a
poet's tree whose foHage gave melody of voice
to whomsoever chewed of it. The Norse my-
thology speaks of the tree Igdrasil, the Ash-tree
of Existence, with its roots deep down in the
Kingdpms of Hela or Death, where sit three
Nomas, Fates — Past, Present and Future.
I am a great admirer of Buddhistic philosophy.
Little as I know of it, its scope and penetration
impress me as superior to the writings of the
Fathers and the Scholastics — a wonderful system
of thought, attempting to explain all phenomena,
mental and physical ; and yet — this also has im-
pressed me, that all the vast ratiocinations and
assertions of the Buddhists are, as it were, horizontal,
creeping, crawling, leaving not one small nook or
corner unprobed. It may well be called the
triumph of human intellect.
What simplicity itself are Christ's teachings ! He
did not construct any philosophical system. He
taught no science. He explained no sociological
law.. His logic is doubtful. His political ideas
are exceedingly primitive. And yet, with all
these apparent defects, what has He done — what
has He not done } System upon system of philoso-
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
phy has been based on His teaching. Science,
the latest-born of the ages, still flushed v/ith
youthful pride, is in a very materialistic stage,
but it already gives promises of the spiritual sig-
nificance which Christ long anticipated. Ot
sociology, lie has enunciated its premises, the
nature of man. His logic, though not of^the de-
ductive or inductive method, had a power to
convince, not solely the reasoning faculty of man,
but his whole being. It was categorical. It is no
wonder that He cared little for politics. Whether
He espoused republican or monarchical principles,
freedom or despotism, general suffrage or property
qualification, is a question of comparative indiffer-
ence. Interminable talk as there has been on
these questions, how much good has it done ?
The religious teaching of Christ is equally
simple. It requires no demonstration. Any sick
nature with the slightest remnant of health in it,
can accept it. It says — Dost thou feel within
thy heart any discomfort, is there any uneasiness
in thy mind, anything of which thou feelest the
least ashamed ? That is sin. Out with it by re-
pentance and faith ! This seems to me the gist of
Christ's religion. His appeal to the will and not
the intellect, to man's power to act rather than
his power to reflect, may be called a vertical,
49
REFLECTION ON A CHRISTMAS EVE
moral action, in contrast with the elaborate
philosophical arguments of Buddhism which we
termed horizontal in their reach.
The theology of Christ is not more complex.
] le taught what any one of open conviction can
accept without evidence or apology — that there is
God Who is the Father and Who is Love. He
does not take trouble to demonstrate the Divine
existence. The fact was so plain to Him. And
indeed, if we but retire to the chamber of our
own heart and commune within ourselves, the
discovery of a God requires neither logic nor
science.
I believe the tripodal doctrines of Jesus Christ
were the Fatherhood of God, the Divinity of Him-
self, the transcendent power of Love.
As regards the Divinity of Christ, what contro-
versies distract our poor minds ! What man, with
language which is no higher than the imagery of his
own wit, can convince his own spiritual nature of
things which surpass his earthly understanding ?
The tongue of man, as Kossuth says, is a poor
interpreter in the realm of emotions. We may
add, it is utterly inadequate in the realm of spirit,
in the kingdom of Heaven.
50
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
Ah, I wish I had with me a copy of Pascal as
I write these lines ! Of all the men I have read,
he seems best to express the subtleties of the
spiritual life.
-^
A FLASH OF THOUGHT
The Formosan savages, in their primeval forest-
home, read their fate in the flight of birds. The
Romans, masters of the world, in their Eternal
City did the same. The cloud, which fleets across
the sky, carries in it rain to succor the parched
soil. The lightest fancy which, for an instant,
darts athwart our brain, only to vanish as it came,
may bear momentous tidings.
5»
THE INSULAR SPIRIT
THE INSULAR SPIRIT
How often do \vc hear the disparaging term
SJiiniaguni konjd, insular spirit, appHcd to the
mental limitations and moral aberrations of our
own selves ! The expression has become a
liackneyed explanation of our lack of sympathy,
the restrictions of our intellectual horizon, the
smallness of our world-conception. Not only has
it become an explanation of, but a stereotyped
excuse for, our racial defects. This implies two
unfortunate ideas. One is that we make our defects
a natural and therefore unavoidable consequence
of our geographical location. The other is that we
make ourselves — I mean individuals, each one of
U5 — largely irresponsible for our frailties. Am 1
wrong in charging scholars who have over-read
Buckle or misread Wallace with beliefs like this .''
Island life cloes not necessarily act dwarfingly
upon the soul. Stand on the beach of a little
islet, turn your face landward and your vision
will be cut short by hills and trees, and your mind
may fail to reach beyond these barriers ; but turn
toward the sea — the boundless sea -whose liquid
surface encompasses the globe. What is there
to limit your sight or bound your thoughts ?
History's greatest achievements have been the
S2
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
work of insular peoples. Greece and Italy were
practically islands. Of England, why speak?
Professor Kirchoff has, in a recent speech, dwelt
upon the manifold influences of the sea upon the
peoples whose shores are washed by its life-giving
waves. He has told us of its unifying influence
upon the nations inhabiting islands. He has told
us of the advancement in handicrafts which sea-
faring demands. He has told us of the birth of
sciences, notably astronomy, among a navigating
folk ; but I should say that the most precious gift
which the sea dowers upon man is the broadening
of soul and growth in manliness.
Our so-called insular spirit, with its narrowness,
crookedness, suspicion, petty pride and bragging,
rigidity and over-strained sense of honour, is not
a product of our geography. I shall not be at all
surprised if, sometime, ethnologists shall demon-
strate that it is all due to a continental culture,
namely, the influence of Chinese studies.
53
NEW YEAR'SIOREETINC AND RESOLUTIONS
NiaV YEAR'S GREETING AND
RESOLUTIONS
To the thousands of readers of Tlic Stndoit,
whose olancc may now rest ui)on its pages — be
this in the Hght of the Hokkaido snow, or reading
it under the shadow of Fujiyama, or perchance,
perusing it where waves the Formosan palm — and
to otlier fellow-students of the P^nglish language,
we extend our heartiest greeting for the new year.
May it be an auspicious year for you and for the
nation at large, indeed for the whole world.
May it be above all a peaceful year. Long-
enough has the Far East been overcast by the
foreboding clouds of war. May the new year see
the Sun of I'eace dispel the darkness, or, if war
there must be, let it be an honorable and glorious
war and yet — can war ever be glorious .■* We are
reminded at this juncture of the words of the
purest of American statesmen, Charles Sumner,
whose admonitions deserve to be listened to by all
the nations of the world : " The most inglorious
peace," he said in his famous Boston oration. The
True Grandeur of Nations^ " is more glorious than
the most glorious war."
State affairsjand political problems are not our
direct concern. We allude to them only as they
54
I
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
relate to our intellectual and moral growth, and,
inasmuch as we take no active part in matters of
that kind, we may briefly dismiss them by ex-
pressing our sincere hope and earnest prayer that
the year just dawning may verily see peace es-
tablished under these far eastern skies.
Few may recognize any connection between
f>ur magazine and the large question above alluded
to ; but it is easy to see that two nations, forming
a political alliance, must already have had some
bond of sympathy and unity which they must
henceforth cultivate more closely. Such a tie
is not possible without mutual understanding,
which in turn is best realized by the study of the
language natural to each.
Grave as is this subject of a mutual under-
standing, I dare to say, without disparaging our
own literature, that we shall be more of gainers
than of losers in the present instance, though the
linguistic study be not mutual, though it be only
one-sided and that on our part ; for the study of
English is in itself an ennobling intellectual pursuit.
The treasures which English literature hoards are
beyond compute. Is there any thing in the
dominion of letters comparable to it .'' Greek
literature may indeed compare with or even
surpass it in beauty and force and originality ;
but, for us, English has advantages that Greek has
55
NEW YEAR'S GREETING AND RESOLUTIONS
not. It is the language of a living race. It has
imbibed the best of Greek thought, and added to
it Hebrew strength and Christian sentiment. It
is the language of commerce ; it is the medium
whereby the largest number of people on earth
can exchange ideas ; it is the language of the race
which, with all its faults, we must, willingly or un-
willingly, admit, is the chosen people of this
modern age.
My dear readers, I have strayed far from my
theme, our New Year's greeting ; but you have
no doubt heard " Akemashite omedeto ! " from
every passer-by in the street and every caller at
your door. You have no doubt received innumer-
able post-cards with " Kyoga Shinnen ! " from
your friends far and near. Pleasant as are the
friendly greetings, do they not disturb you in your
quiet reading amidst the Hokkaido snow, or
where looms the glory of Fuji, or under the palm-
tree ?
Our part shall be to do more than send a mere
formal greeting ; for a New Year should be an
occasion not only for official rejoicing and con-
ventional salutations, but a proper one for turning
a new page in our life. It is a peculiarly ap-
propriate time to make, afresh, good resolutions.
Do not laugh scornfully at the New Year's reso-
lutions, so often made and so often broken.
56
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
Never mind, dear friends, if your last year's
resolutions seem to have borne no fruit ; for be
assured that they have somewhere borne some
fruit, though it be here unseen and unknown.
We are indeed such poor creatures that what we
resolve to-day we break to-morrow. The promises
we make to ourselves are the easiest to violate,
and promises once violated are longest remem-
bered. Yet we are also strong enough to resolve
to rebuild again to-morrow that which we have
shattered to-day. Failure to carry out a decision
should be neither a discouragement nor an excuse
for not making it anew. If along the path of life
we stumble ten times, we have only to stand up ten
times. What distinguishes the great man from
his weaker fellows, is his decision of character. I
wish to say to my younger friends : Make for
yourselves the best, highest and strongest reso-
lutions on this New Year's day. Put them down
in black and white. Carry them in your pocket.
Gauge your daily conduct by therti as standards.
Every honest resolution, be it never so short lived,
leaves some impress upon the moral fibre. If a
scorner comes to you and says, " Thou fool !
Thou hast done the same thing before. Thou-
sands of people have done the same, but none
has ever fully carried them out;" then say,
" Get thee behind me, Satan ! Behind me ! Into
57
PLEBEIANISM
the years which arc behind. It is now an angel
that guides mc— an angel of a resolute will, and of
a pure heart."
January, 1904.
PLEBEIANISM
We have heard much of Busliido, or, as some
would rather have it, of Shi-do — ^the precepts ot
knighthood. It has been the foundation, the
corner-stone, the pillar, of our national morality ;
but the times are changing, and the savmrai are
no more, though the precepts which moulded their
character survive them still. These precepts must
find a new application to changed circumstances ;
they must be democratized. The light which
illumed the summit and the breast of society, must
now enlighten its broader basis. Shi-do must be
transformed into Min-do, the precepts of the
people. With advancing education, bushi, fighting
nobles, will recede and heimin (ordinary — or let
us rather translate it pcaccfn ' people) must come
to the front.
58
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
A DEFECT IN OUR EDUCATION
/ There is no denying that a great deal has been
done by our Government in the cause of education.
There is no denying that it has undertaken a
gigantic task, inasmuch as the education of the
Meiji Era is not a continuation of that of the prc-
Restoration period, but an entirely new divergence.
Tlicre is no denying that this new educational
system has succeeded too well. It has succeeded
in making machines of us ; in depriving us of the
sterner qualities — the love of righteousness ; in
one word, in depriving us of character, which
was deemed the highest aim of education by our
fathers.y What boots it all — the pride of intellect,
the acrobatic balancing of logic, the hair-splitting
niceties of logomachy, the endless researches of
science — ^if these only turn us into tliinking or
talking machines ? What avail the pedagogical
systems of Froebel and Herbart, if they make
spectacles of our eyes and not living organs ?
We make an idol of the head, forgetting that
only in cooperation with the heart can it grasp
higher truth. A pure heart and undefiled can
perceive more than a microscope and a dusty
tome.
I believe that there is in man, within his Holy
59
A DEFECT IN OUR EDUCATION
of Holies, the divine, which alone can recognize
and understand the hidden divineness of the
universe. It may be that truths of higher order,
even in the material world, are difficult to express
in words, though they may be clearly felt by a
responsive heart or perceived by a seeing eye.
It is here that science and philosophy, with their
interminably long words, come somewhat to help.
/It seems to me that all the wonderful dis-
coveries in science have long been anticipated.
In other words, that science has always lagged
behind human premonitions.
First, a Socrates, with a seeing eye, with noble
thoughts and a clean, pure heart, communing
directly with his Dcsmoji ; then a Plato, putting
into eloquent and stately words what lay inarti-
culate within his master's heart. Then comes an
Aristotle, arranging in formulas and systems what
his predecessors have comprehended and feelingly
uttered. If an Aristotle can follow his Dceinon
as faithfully as did Socrates ; if he can compre-
hend the mind of the master as sympathetically
as did Plato, there can not be the least objection
to his science and philosophy. If, however, he
must be scientific at the sacrifice of noble senti-
ment, or philosophical at the loss of spiritual
insight, it is a grave question whether he is the
superior product of human culture, culture in its
Co
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
fullest sense.
Our education has devoted all its energies to
making little Aristotles at the sacrifice of a
Socrates. This is selling our birthright for a mess
of pottage. This is proving disloyal to the best
traditions of our race/ This is a mere aping of
luiropean culture. This is a partial view, and a
very partial one at that, of the peoples whom we
now-a-days regard as our superiors ; for what
constitutes the greatness of the Anglo-Saxon race ?
What is the secret of its growth ?
You will scarcely admit that the Anglo Saxons
have produced the greatest or the most thinkers.
It is not a fact that science is most advanced
among them.; nor, with all its wealth, can English
literature claim superiority over the Greek .-* If, in
some respects, English science and English phi-
losophy and English literature are superior to the
science and philosophy and literature of the
Continent or of Asia, there is a deep cause lying
behind these intellectual manifestations, a cause
which can be summed up m one word — character.
Anglo-saxon superiority is not due to intellectual
superiority.
Mr. Kidd is right in insisting upon the pos-
session and exercise of plebeian, common, everyday
virtues, of diligence, truth-loving, honesty, as the
cause of the grandeur of his race. Little wonder
6i
A DEFECT IN OUR EDUCATION
that Monsieur Demolins should emphasize this
as the chief characteristic of the Anglo-Saxon
race.
If Japan is to be a country of art, as a whole
and in detail, as some sentimentalists would have
it ; if we desire to make the people themselves
as picturesque as the land itself; if we are to
accept it as our destiny to be toys for the rest of
the world, we may go on instructing our sons
and our grandsons ; not in the sterner qualities of
our fathers, but in the charm of grace, debonair
manners and thus make ourselves picturesque,
as are the Latin peoples in the present stage of
their decadence.
But this is no time to be posing or to be
grinding out mediocre poetry, or to be studying
stage gestures. " The next gale that blows from
the north, will bring to our ears the clash of
resounding arms." Manhood and manliness are
the chief inheritance left by our fathers and
mothers. It is therefore with profound interest
that we watch the development of an idea lately
made public by our Minister of Education — that
the guiding principle in our educational policy
henceforth should be the building of character.
62
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
PREPARE IN PEACE FOR WAR
AND IN WAR FOR PEACE
Indolence and lethargy may be sweet for a
time, but they soon exhaust their charms. They
contain within themselves seeds of self-destruction,
hence temptations to be idle cannot be permanent.
Man is never happy unless he is "up and doing,"
Both his mind and body are framed for work, and
activity alone accords with their nature. The
ease of peace, its indolence and lassitude, may
lull us to sleep for a while ; but it is well-nigh
impossible to slumber longer than our wonted
number of hours.
When the Samurai was warned not to forget
war in times of peace, it was not such an onerous
task to deprive himself of his full measure of
nightly repose, or to betake himself to a tournament
in the frost of the winter dawn. Exercise is in
itself exhilarating. When his comrades round
about him were astir, it required no special
incentive for him to rouse himself to further sedu-
lity. Add to his own animation the general
bustle of his surroundings, and he had more than
personal exhilaration to keep up his spirits.
Far more difficult is it to keep in mind peace in
the crisis of war than to remember war in times
63
PEACE AND WAR
of peace. There is no doubt that peace is our
ideal of existence. War is not an end ; it may be
a means, a road, to peace. In the course of
national as well as individual life, a state of peace
is the rule and war the exception. Peace is a
normal condition of existence, and war is but a
temporary device to make that condition sure.
Youth, however, is prone to forget, in the moment-
ary excitement of war, the more permanent inter-
ests of peace. When the blasts of war sound
in our ears, it takes great courage to curb our
swelling spirit within rational bounds. Reason
does not enjoin, much less emotion, that we be
somber over our victories. No ! No ! ! let us be
jubilant over every conquest we make ; let us
rend the air with our hurrahs and banzai, and yet
~ and yet — !
Think of the thousand issues which one victory
involves ! Of its price calculated in yen and
sen, I will not speak. Of the dead, however, and
of what their death entails upon those left behind,
we must not be unmindful. What our ultimate
triumph (of which we feel so sure; will bring in its
train, economically and morally, who can prog-
nosticate } Who can predict the full measure of
the responsibilities which will devolve upon the
coming generation } These are by far the greatest
issues of the war, of which every young man
6|
I
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
must feel the weight and for which he must
equip himself.
I appeal to the youth of our land ! Do you
hear the bells of the vendors of specials ? Get
your news, by all means ; read it well ; be well
posted about battles on land and sea ; mark on
the map where the fight took place and how the
army advanced ; do not omit to note the efforts
of the bravest regiments ; but all the while re-
member that the enemies, whom you will have to
combat, will be more formidable than the Rus-
sians, though their weapons may not consist of
rifles and torpedoes. Reserve your overflowing
energy for a more glorious warfare than that oi
the present. Store your mind with strategetics
for the coming contest, and burden it not with sham
fights on paper. Fortify yourselves with all due
equipment of knowledge and science. Sharpen
all your instruments of the spirit, and see that they
tarnish not before the appointed time. Thus
alone can you make yourselves ready for what-
ever may come to )'Ou and your fatherland at no
distant day.
April, I go 4.
65
AIVIERICANISM FN THE EAST
AMERICANISM IN THE EAST
Together with a newly coined phrase, " the
Morganization of industry," another, " the Ameri-
canization of the world," is afloat in the air. Though
it found its clearest spokesman in Mr. Stead,
the tendency which it denotes has become visible
and audible in many quarters of human activity.
The world tendency is American. We cannot get
rid of this fact. We see it in industries, in educa-
tion, in social manners, and in human thoughts.
But fifty years ago, at the time Perry came to
and upon us, the world pictured America as a
huge, unformed and unreclaimed prairie upon which
roamed, with their tomahawks, fierce savages, in
quest of scalps, while here and there stood towns
of frame houses, within which was heard the nasal
twang of the Puritans, reading aloud from the
Scriptures. In many a country-place in Europe,
there are still those who think of New York as a
hamlet of Indians and of Chicago as an outpost of
fur-traders. All the same, American wheat feeds
these identical people and American cotton clothes
them.
Only twenty years ago, few dreamed of America
as a land of art and science, of literature and
philosophy. We could not reconcile cities of a
66
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
few decades growth with collections of ancient art
or even with modern masterpieces. We believed
that the Muses would not inspire a nation so
earnestly bent upon earthly welfare. We thought
philosophy would scorn democracy. But the case
proved otherwise. The great Republic is appro-
priating all the gifts which grace our existence ;
it is making the world its very own.
Japan could not refuse the advances of the
United States. She had many, many times re-
pulsed the overtures of other nations, but when the
time came for America to represent the world-
spirit, we could no longer reject it. To have done
so would have meant disaster to us, if not ruin.
We glory in the thought that we have been divinely
guided at every momentous turning-point of our
career. At no time, however, has the guiding
hand of Providence been more manifest than it was
fifty years ago, upon the occasion of Perry's ex-
pedition to our shores. It was then that our Ship
of State launched into the world-current, that we
ourselves became an integral part of the modern
world. Russia, through her amiable Czar and her
whining diplomats, is trying to demonstrate that
we do not belong to the modern world, to modern
civilization. Mr. Brooks Adams evidently antici-
pated this charge of Russia, when he explained
that Japan is in the vanguard of the New Empire —
67
AMERICANISM IN THE EAST
an Empire not governed by a political sovereign^
but by irresistible forces and influences.
We represent in the Far East what may be
called American ideas, or, if you prefer to call it
so, Anglo-Saxon ideas. It is not only as a sea-
power, that we are allied with the Anglo-Saxons..
Freedom is more precious than power over all the
seas. Russia is trying her best to sever us from
our Anglo-Saxon friends, on the ground that she
belongs to the same Aryan stock as they, where-
as we are only Mongolians ! She forgets that
blood is not the only tie between kindred spirits,
that there are friends who stick closer than
brothers.
Whenever American influences have found their
way, be it among the savage Indians or the
Negroes ; be it in the semi-barbarous Hawaiian
Islands or in the Philippines, or in the Far
Eastern seats of alien and ancient civilization, they
have been mainly educational, and these educa-
tional influences have even existed, not unconsci-
ously as a necessary consequence of a policy
uneducational in its motive but consciously and
steadily. Columbia is the greatest school-mistress-
the world has ever seen. She knows how tO'
educate — that is, how to draw out the best in men.
A few years prior to Perry's arrival in Japan,
Creasy had prophesied that changes ofvastmagni-
68
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
tude would be wrought by the advance of American
power in the Pacific, and, even a generation before
the Enghsh historian wrote, Crawfurd had ex-
pressed a presentiment that the United States
would open Japan and China. Seward, too, foretold
that "the Pacific Ocean, its shores, its islands, and
the vast regions beyond, will become the chiel
theatre of events in the world's great Hereafter."
All these prophecies have been fulfilled by the
hand of America in the short period of half a
century. But nowhere has American enterprise
borne more fruit than amongst us. Only lately
has the greatest American authority on diplomacy
voiced the satisfaction of his people. In his new
work on "American Diplomacy in the Orient,"
Mr, Foster says, " It is especially gratifying to
Americans to note the triumphs of Japanese
Avisdom, persistency and patriotism — to feel that
they were instrumental in awakening that people
to the high ideal which they fixed for themselves,
and that they have stood by them as their adviser
and friend in their long struggle for regeneration
and independence."
It is a matter of happy augury that the waters
Avhich lave the shores of the two countries were
named Peace. May it bind the two nations in still
closer ties of friendship !
This year we celebrate the golden wedding of
69
TWO STANDARDS
America and Japan, and when, twenty-five years
hence, the diamond wedding comes, may we and
our sons and daughters not only rejoice in the good
will between the two nations, but may we also
invite the other nations to our banquet spread amid
the blessing of universal peace and friendship !
April, igo4.
TWO STANDARDS
Two standards we must possess — the one to
measure our neighbor's height and the other to
Fathom our own depth. Let that wherewith we
gauge our neighbors be short, and that wherewith
we try ourselves be long. The kane-shakn is for
others — the kujira-sJiakii is for us. Do our neigh-
bors possess virtues to the same degree as we,
count them in so many kane inches, and let us
admire and love them ; but, for ourselves, let us
reckon in kiijira inches and be ever conscious that
our stature falls far short of the mark.
70
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
OUR MANNERS AND CUSTOMS
Our manners and customs have been the subject
of too much praise by foreign tourists and friendly-
residents, though I dare say there is a refinement in
our manners which is rarely found in those of more
advanced peoples. At the same time, compliments
and flattery should not blind our eyes to some of
the grave defects which are perceptible even to
casual observers, much more to such as have been
among us long enough to learn the utter emptiness
of some of our social forms.
The disintegration of the social fabric of feudal-
ism and the simultaneous introduction of foreign
ideas, European customs and American manners,
have brought it about that we are now a nation
sans manners of our own, and — alas ! no manners
means rudeness. There is little ground for en-
comium. How, therefore, can we deserve it ?
When strangers from other lands speak well of us,
we must remember that the subject of their praise
is a relic of pre-Meiji training. The Meiji era, so
far as manners and customs are concerned, has
been a period of vandalism, of grossness, rudeness
and crudity. We began reforms at legal ends,
priding ourselves that we were forming a jural
state. We speak as though nomocracy were
71
OUR MANNERS AND CUSTOMS
the highest form of political organizations. A
government by law is a certain proof of civili-
zation. Its character is the measure of a nation's
enlightenment. But they are an utterly worthless
people who are ruled only by laws, who feel no
stronger or higher sanction than what is legibly
put in black and white on the pages of statute
books. Manners and customs should be the
original material from which laws are framed, for
these are the expression of the ethical status of
a nation ; but, in our haste to be jural, we have
reversed the natural order and are trying to evolve
ethics from laws. Whatever does not transgress
the letter of the law passes as harmless, legitimate
and, if not always exactly right, still never wrong.
Look at this man seated beside me in the car.
His dress almost stinks ; his cigar emits smoke of
vilest odor ; the coarse voice in which he reads
aloud his newspapers violates all laws of music.
He spits anywhere on the floor ; he leaves his
orange-skins on the seat ; now he stands up,
denudes himself entirely and puts on his night gown,
takes a drink of sake and belches in my face.
Obviously, none of these acts infringes upon a
single article in the six codes of the Empire ; he
feels that he has done no man wrong and that he
has only exercised his right to make himself
comfortable. He certainly is not a criminal in a
72
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
jural state ; but he is worse than a criminal in the
society of gentlemen and beyond pardon in that
of ladies. The respect we pay exclusively to laws
has deprived us of the reverence we should observe
towards culture, refinement and the genteel in-
stincts of men and women which are too subtle,
and I may say too high, for any code of laws to
touch.
Politeness is a virtue ; it is an attribute of the
soul. It is not a mere form ; it is not a gesture ; it
is not a pose. Jt is a manifestation of altruism ;
its ulterior motive is love. Take politeness from
your manners and they sink into mannerisn, a
hollow show.
I have nothing to say against teaching manners
to youths arid maidens in our schools ; but it is the
poorest sort of an education to pursue them as an
end in themselves or even as something in them-
selves invaluable.
Their value lies in being " the shadow of
virtues." Our manners should be, as Foster said,
a part of our soul, as is the style of a writer of
genius.
Unless real and substantial virtue is at the
bottom of the genteelest behavior, the most refined
manners do not save a man from being a boor and
a clown. A man may have solid virtues and
lack manners, and still remain a gentleman and
73
APPROBATION AND REPROACH
hero. Such a man has substance, not shadows
— he walks in the Hght of the sun when it is in the
zenith. His uncouth ways are forgotten ; his
social foibles are not noticed, as they dwindle into
obscurity in comparison with his larger nature.
The thousand little hints about propriety, the
thousand instructive " don'ts," the thousand pre-
cepts of the Chesterfields and the Ogasawaras are
as nought compared with the teaching of "Shi-
king," " Let no evil thought lodge in you."
-^
APPROBATION AND
REPROACH OF CONSCIENCE
When men praise me, I retire into my closet
and ask, " Is it Thy voice I hear in this ap-
plause.?" A calm comes over my soul and the
loudest adulation does not elate me.— When men
hate me and speak all manner of evil against
me, I front them boldly and say in my heart, •' Is
it Thy voice I hear in these reproaches ? " Strength
comes over me, as it were the strength of ten, and
the harshest tongue shall not harm my soul.
74
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
SLAV PERIL VERSUS
YELLOW PERIL
Strange that Europe — at least some ill-boding-
individuals in that part of the world — should have
nightmare over a new Mongolian invasion. Stran-
ger still that some accept the belief of its possibility,
and many blindly follow them.
I thought the West had more self-respect, a
firmer trust in its institutions, a deeper confidence in
the principles which underlie them ; for I remem-
ber having seen more than once, in books written
in different European tongues, mention made of the
stability of European society, and of so-called
Christian civilization being based on the eternal
and impregnable rock of truth. Was this the mere
bombast of a braggart ? Does Europe really be-
lieve that her civilization is a rickety framework to
be easily upset by a horde of Asiatics ? Go to ! It
is nonsense this, the whole gabbling and babbling-
about " The Yellow Peril ! "
I am of yellow blood, but I know there is a more
adhesive fluid than blood. " There is a friend that
sticketh closer than a brother." Remember it was
Solomon, a wise man, a clannish Jew, who said
this. They are sadly deceived who believe that
blood and race affinity are the strongest ties. Look
75
SLAV PERIL VERSUS YELLOW PERIL
at the European chess-board, and see how the
Slav intrudes between two Latin figures, tearing
the French from the Italian ; see how the Teuton
joins with the Roman against the Gaul ; see how
the English and the French combine with heathen
Turks against Christian Russia. Why, I have seen
my dog fight another dog to death on my account.
Our canine ally is more faithful to us than to his
kith and kin. Is our species less true ?
When Goethe is quoted, as he so often is, as
saying that blood is "a peculiar fluid," it is well
for us to remember that he puts it into the mouth
of Mephistopheles. "The Yellow Peril" is a Me-
phistophelian phrase, an utterance of "the spirit
that always denies," it is an invention of the Evil
One. It is well to remember, too, that the famous
picture representing the theme was the work of
Mephisto's countryman.
If there is danger of any race dominating all
mankind and using its predominance in a way
subversive of good order and law and altogether
opposed to the best social instincts and demands
of humanity, that race is the Slavic. I appeal to
facts. What is there in Russian history, not to
speak of the shameless and blood-stained private
annals of the Romanoffs, that raises in us any
hope that her domination will advance the welfare
of humanity ?
76
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
Simply because a narrow piece of her territory
adjoins Western Europe, has Russia adopted and
presented an appearance more like Europe than we
have. Pierce into the interior of the Empire of the
Czars — how far is it European ? It is not in the
blood but in the lay of the borderland that the
Slav Empire is called European and Christian. It
is ridiculous for a Russian to call himself a fellow-
bearer of the " White man's burden." Hegel is
not wrong when he sums up European history as
the progressive unfolding of liberty. Now, how
much of Russian history fits Hegel's description ?
Nor is it an accident ; for Russia makes it her
principle to wipe away liberty at any cost from the
face of the earth. It was said that where Tartars
trod, no grass grew ; Slavs make it their boast that
wherever they set their foot, freedom vanishes.
Here, choose, ye who so dread " The Yellow
Peril," between Mongolian and Slav invasions,
and say which ye prefer — Grass without Hberty,
or liberty without grass ! I have seen a people
in Montenegro inhabiting bare karst land without
grass, happy and strong in the love of liberty.
Horses alone prefer fodder to freedom !
Is the yellow race so hopelessly unresponsive to
European culture .■' Which is more European in
the best sense of the term, Hungary or Russia }
That Hungary is what she is, is the best proof that
77
SLAV PERIL VERSUS YELLOW PERIL
an alien people is capable of being Europeanized,
that European institutions and ideas, far from
being jeopardized by the admixture of a new ele-
ment, can even be made richer and fuller — provided
Europe is intrinsically superior in vitality. A really
superior culture has no respect of persons : it
makes converts of the most reprobate. What one
race attains, another can reach. Beware of
drawing too grave consequences from the dilettante
science of Anthropology. Neither Philology nor
Ethnology has yet said its last word ; it is doubt-
ful if it has said its second even. Many hasty
conclusions have been drawn from meagre premises
by these sciences, to make possible the belief that
an insurmountable barrier exists between Asia and
Europe, yellow folks and white, Christianity and
Buddhism. We know there are many valleys and
passes by which the Ural can be easily crossed ;
and the Caspian Sea is common to Europe and
Asia.
Attempts made to emphasize the two systems
of human thought — one white and the other
yellow — do no credit to the former. The Kaiser's
well-known picture shows but faint faith on the
part of the artist. He seems to be full of ap-
prehension lest Christianity succumb to Buddhism,
unless defended by the allied military forces of
Europe. What a far cry from Constantine ! The
78
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
Kaiser points out his Krupp gun to Christ and
commands, " Conquer by this sign ! " and his
fellow defenders of the faith say, " Amen ! " This
Hohenzollern who sounded loudest the alarm of a
" Yellow Peril " confesses in his picture his waver-
ing faith in the stability and vitality of Christendom.
Not so, we, who, while earnestly believing in
the possibility of Japan's future growth, accept
without stint European institutions as superior to
ours, and therefore highly worthy of adoption. I
repeat, there is no ground for a " Yellow Peril, "^ —
first, because Japan is sincerely convinced of the
superiority of the West ; second, because we be-
lieve that a truly superior culture is the common
property of all mankind; third, because ICuropean
civilization forms an invincible bulwark against
any Asiatic onslaught. I also repeat, if there is
any menace to Europe and to the rest of the world
from one dominant race, it is from the avowedly
enslaving power of the Slav.
August, I go 4.
79
GRATITUDE
GRATITUDE
We are too prone to forget the benefits which
others confer upon us and as prone to exaggerate
the Httle services we render. We do not calculate
all the sacrifices which others make to help us and
at the same time we count the smallest fraction of
our least favor bestowed upon them. We accept
kindness from others as though the world owes us
something, whereas we do what stern duty forces
us to do, as though none have claims upon us.
I say we must have two measures — one which
will magnify the virtues of others and another
which will minimize our own.
Man's unhappiness comes largely from applying
wrong measure to his own and others' conduct.
We complain that the world is ungrateful, and
behold, it is we who are more so. We blame
others for forgetting the good we do them, and lo !
'its we who do not remember. Yes, we too often
forget that we have no particular claims upon the
good -will of our friends. If a child gives us a cup
of cold water, it is folly to think that he does it
because the whole infantile community is under
obligation to us. If a stranger passing by greets
us with a gleam in his eye, it is ridiculous to think
that it is because we have a right to the homage
80
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
of mankind.
It would be ingratitude in us to regard the
death-struggles of our soldiers as something quite
apart from ourselves or as something to which we
are entitled simply because we pay a few dollars
for taxes to keep up the army. As far as possible,
we ought to requite their sacrifice with our prayers
and sympathy, their blood with our tears.
We must bear in mind that in the most menial
chores of our servitors, there is a spiritual element
we cannot repay with wages. All unpaid service
only puts us under further obligation to be grateful.
But is there any service for which one returns
the last farthing of its value ? Count for one day
all the benefits you have received, on the debit
side, and put down on the credit side every cent
you have paid. Calm reflection will soon convince
you that there still remains much for which you
have made no adequate compensation.
Kindly feeling or a sympathetic smile has no
equivalent in money. Gratitude alone can settle
the account for these.
81
AUTUMN THOUGHTS
AUTUMN THOUGHTS
" Where in early spring
Verdant blades alone we view
Autumn breezes bring
Flowers of many a hue."*
The sun has passed its zenith : the glare of the
summer sky fades into the gray of autumn : the
rosy blossoms of the crape myrtle wither one by
one, telling the world that its fervid labor of a
hundred days is drawing to a close : the shrill
note of the cicada tones down to the gentler chirp
of the cricket. Autumn proclaims her arrival
not only by the " single leaf that flutters down,"
but by many sounds and sights. Yes, she is here
— the beloved of the poets and the abused of the
sentimentalists !
I have been waiting for her all these summer
months. I have loved her from my early youth.
She must know that I am standing at the outer
portal of summer to welcome her return. More
than -forty years has she visited me. Never has
she failed to bring her cornucopia filled with
flowers to gladden and with food to feed poor
mortals,
*'?^4'^'J UZ — 5^ t ^•#it aL> m(t^ «0?Ei: f * ') IT
Z
82
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
Each year does my Aki come with gifts other
than those of food and flowers. Now again I hear
the soft traihng of her garments. She is near !
Again I Hsten to her gentle query, " Art thou still
here among thy mortal kind?" Then say I,
■" Thou findest me still among the living. Each
time thou leavest me, I face thy brother. Winter,
with some misgiving lest he take me away ; but,
here I am where thou last didst leave me." Autumn
fixes her steady gaze on me, and repeats the
question she has been wont to ask of me for many
years past, " I see in thy hair a few more streaks
of white than when I saw thee last, and is thy soul
whiter ? Thou hast grown older ; hast thou waxed
riper in wisdom as well ! " I dare not answer.
I hide my face for very shame.
Next year when she comes, I must be ready to
give her a more worthy reply than hiding my
face. I must exert myself to be better, to think
purer thoughts, to act more nobly.
Friends and fellow-students ! The summer
heat is behind us. The season propitious for work
is nigh at hand. There is no excuse for indolence.
To work then ! to earnest and serious work !
Autumn's melancholy is proverbial ; but to indulge
in it were a criminal luxury in times like these,
83
AUTUMN THOUGHTS
when our brothers are grappHng with death on
the plains of Manchuria. Let us each to his own
vocation or avocation.
Refreshed by a long vacation, we come to view
our responsibilities with clearer eyes. What in
early spring impressed us as vague and obscure
duties, have now assumed definite shapes and
vivid colors. Early this year we expressed our
hope that war-clouds might not overtake us : now
we are in their midst. Though we are lovers and
advocates of peace, we shall not be forgetful or
unmindful of the results which War in general, and
the present war in particular, brings in its train.
It is only meet that we should face facts manfully
and prepare ourselves to cope with their worst
consequence.
Yes, Aki brings not only food and flowers, but
sternest duties and the call to work. Let him
that hath ears, hear ; let him that heareth, obey.
September, i<)04.
84
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
LONELINESS — —
We cannot shake off at times that terrible sense
of being lonely which every one of us must have
felt and must ever and anon feel. It overtakes us
in the midst of the " madding crowd," as well as
when we are apart from our fellows. Sometimes it
visits us when we are most busily employed and
sometimes when our hands are folded for rest.
Visitor in woods and rural paths, it dogs our steps
in the forum and the market-place, and may assail
us most painfully when all about us are gayest.
It wakes us in the small hours of the night and
overtakes us in the broad light of day. It does not
get away from us, neither would it be well for us
to get away from it. As long as there is a vestige
of the spirit kindled within us, loneliness will at
times be our lot. One needs no mountain retreat
to commune with it or in it, for it is an attitude of
the soul. Only spiritual death will free us from it.
It is the soul's confession of its own greatness.
It is an assertion of that divine nature within us,
which the world does not silence nor satisfy. It is
an evidence of dissatisfaction with our own human
selves, and with our companions, animate or
inanimate. It is a passive revolt against the
dictates and trammels of the flesh. It is the
85
LONELINESS
yearning of the spirit for its rightful claims and for
conditions congenial to its heavenly nature.
Great souls have therefore often travailed in
loneliness. Perhaps it is not very far from the
truth to say that the greater the soul the greater
the sense of solitariness.
At certain periods of life — particularly I believe
at the period when youth merges into manhood —
in other words, when the soul, as well as the body,
is undergoing most radical changes, loneliness
takes possession of us most frequently and deeply^
That is the time when youths are called upon to
make a decision for life. They stand at the
parting of the ways. Some, in their attempt to
get away from painful feelings betake themselves
to gayety and frivolity, drowning the still, small
voice of their conscience in the jangling tunes of
the samisen. Little do they know that they
stifle thereby the first intimations of their great-
ness, nipping in the bud the tree of life.
Drain to its last drop, its bitterest dregs, the
cup of loneliness. The moments when you feel it
most, are the moments when your spirit is grow-
ing, or your energy waxing, or your thoughts
maturing. Every soul must be prepared to accept
loneliness as a necessary stage of its development.
Let it groan under, but not kick against it : let it
pass through it but not leap over it. Only in
86
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
Gethsemane is strength born for Calvary, without
which there is no uplifting of the race and no
emancipation of one's own soul. /
SADDER CHANTS
It was from a woman's throat and a woman's
lips that the heyday songs and careless laughter
came ; but to me they sounded far sadder chants
of dirges than the saddest breeze of autumn
sighing through weeping willows by the bridge
near by.
What deep sorrow lay concealed beneath her
gay apparel ! Behind loud merriment and mirth
what doleur lurked ! Her smiles bespoke more
clearly than tears of the pain of life. In all her
revelry I caught broken wails of woe. She knows
too well that hilarity is no nepenthe.
Strange that the sobs within her breast, as
they pass through her lips, turn to articulate
words of song : yet when they reach my ears,
they turn back into the plaints of a spirit.
87
BEWARE OF NATIONAL CONCEIT
BEWARE OF NATIONAL CONCEIT
Deliver us, O ye Powers, from untimely pride !
Cease your praise of us, O ye friends !
Foreign journals, especially American and Eng-
lish papers, have recently been filling their columns
with words that not only make glad our hearts
but that may elate them beyond reasonable limits.
Many a promising child is spoiled by excess of
love. Flattery is more fatal than censure. Adu-
lation elevates its victim for a while, only to
make his fall the greater.
Pleasant to our ears sound gilded phrases, —
such as "Japanese endurance," "Japanese pluck,"
" Japanese bravery," "Japanese heroism," "Japa-
nese foresight," and what not. Surely we deserve
most of the epithets. Sad it would be if we did
not. Let the world's praise go as far as it is
deserved, but no further.
When praise is loudest, when our virtues are
most known, then is the time to ponder most
deeply on our manifold weaknesses.
" Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty
spirit before a fall."
When Rikyu, master of aesthetic tea, taught
88
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
" 'T were better to praise
An undeserving deed,
Than to pass unpraised
A deed well deserving," *
he bespoke himself an artist and not a philosopher.
It is no wonder that Columbia and Britannia,
the two nurses and teachers who have helped us
at our birth and have watched us all along with
true maternal care and caresses, should be over-
joyed at the stature which we have now attained.
Accept their sympathy and their good wishes —
but beware of their praise.
Few peoples on the face of the earth are more
sensitive to others' opinions than we. A frown
that would escape the notice of an Englishman
cuts us to the core, and in the same proportion
does a sweet word, that would drop unheeded on
the ear of a German, elate us beyond reasonable
bounds. Woe unto him who inclines his ear only
unto sweet sounds !
" The way is long, and heavy the burden," as
lyeyasu said. How the phrase fits the present
war. Thus far we have done well ; I have but
89
BEWARE OF NATIONAL CONCEIT
little fault to find with my own people. But
should success thus far attained be made ground
for self-complacency — should it pander to our
ambition— should it magnify our estimate of our
own selves — should it bloat our self-confidence
into a notion of " Japanese superiority," — we
would soon be doomed to the same fate that befell
the mightiest monarchies of antiquity.
We are still far behind America and Europe
Instead of being self-satisfied, our duty still is, and
will be for some years to come, to be conscious
of our inferiority.
Realizing that we are still far short of our goal,
let us press on toward it in humbleness of heart,
but with steadfast purpose. Our ideal is neither
Anglo-Saxon civilization nor German culture ; it
is higher and further than either. So much the
more reason why we should strive the harder.
To reach the mark we have set before us, we
must not only rival but outrival them.
So far yet from our goal, it is no time to fill our
ears with words which may lull us to self-contented
repose.
October, I go 4.
90
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
WEEPING WILLOW ON THE
RIVER'S BRINK
" Wherefore with drooping head, so woe-begone,
Dost thou, O weeping willow on the river's brink,
Waste so unprofitably thy days —
And idly gaze upon the stream.
Its ceaseless course pursuing ? "*
As I sauntered one evening on the bank of the
Kamo, I heard a little boy, scarce six summers
old, singing at the top of his voice this well-known
ditty. To me the song was not new. In various
places and on widely differing occasions had I
heard it — bawled by drunkards in their gay mo-
ments, hummed by a solitary pedestrian on a
moonlight night, or set to music by a sweet-voiced
maiden to while away her melancholy ; but never
before had I heard it from the lips of a little
child, and the incongruity of the whole episode
impressed me strangely. A mere infant, to whom
just the pictures of the lay, the weeping willow
and the river's brink, were alone intelligible
because physical ; the boy's utter lack of compre-
hension of its real meaning ; the merry tune to
which he sang it ! After I had gone some dis-
tance, I could still hear him shouting, and the
*fnl^ < i < ifsjiSWP^ 7Jc<7)-^n^a-C < h-f
91
HEAVENLY VISITATIONS
burden of the poem, as it floated on the evening
air, forced itself upon me, emphasized the more
strongly by the contradictions of accompaniment.
The childish voice roused me from my sad
revery and made me shake myself free from
aimless dreams. So, often does Heaven speak
through the instrumentality of little children to
whom, in our self-sufficiency, we give but little
heed.
HEAVENLY VISITATIONS
Even as a rent in the storm-cloud gives us an
assurance of the sun, so a break that comes now
and then to one's darkest hour brings the promise
of heaven. This may come as a flash of lightning
to our soul, and, so often do we fail to catch its
meaning and make it a permanent possession,
that it flies past and leaves us poorer than we
were before its gleaming. How heedless we are,
and unresponsive to these rare celestial visi-
tations !
92
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
J0^
THE HARVEST
Tut: harvest is well-nigh over. From all
quarters of the Empire come reports that the crop
of the year is abundant. From an area of some
two-and-a-half million clio planted with rice we
gather nearly fifty million koku. A record-breaking
yield this ! Rejoicing is heard everywhere ; only,
it would be louder were it not for the war.
In many a country home is the voice of gladness
hushed. The old people talk of the plenteous
harvest in a whisper, for fear they may wake the
ashes of their sons just returned from Port Arthur.
Abundance does not call forth a smile from the
pale lips of the lovers and widows, while orphans
stand in vain at the wicket-gate to seek among the
reapers their loved father's face.
O, thou pale, cold moon, who hast seen the aged
toiling among golden sheaves, and hast the self-
same night shone upon the livid corpse on the
frosty plains of Manchuria, what thinkest thou of
carnage .-' Ah, I had almost hated thee for thy
cold, pitiless beams ! Why should I not ? No \
Why should 1 1
The night dew moistens the parched lips of
93
THE HARVEST
the wounded, the harvest moon awakens their
dim eyes ; they open them for the last time upon
its glorious light, and in its glory behold the
long past years of peaceful childhood. Once
more the hare is seen pounding the mocJii in the
mortar ; they read on its crystal face the forms of
their loved ones. They hear in the distant
shouts of victory the rustle of ripened stalks, and
in the clinking of horses' hoofs the merry and busy
sickles. They dream of home and of the dear
land they left behind. Happy visions flit before
them, visions of garnered grain and piles of straw.
Glad laughter and harvest songs faintly fall upon
their ears. They smile to Luna their joy and
affection and confide to her their last secret.
In the harvest moon gleams, not only a sickle,
but the scythe of the Dark Angel, Death !
Turn we from gloomy thoughts. Let the weary
reapers take for themselves a day of restj ere
Cometh the threshing. It is an auspicious time to
celebrate the birth-day of our beloved and august
Sovereign.
While the grain is drying, let the joy of the maple
season refresh the hearts of the toilers. While the
plain is yellow with rice, the hills are ablaze with
maple and icJio. Nature paints upon her canvas
94
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
a feast of colors, in which the poorest may revel
without stint. Children clap their dimpled hands
at the many-colored garments of the trees, and
maidens in their gay dresses vie with the brocades
of the forest. Age bends over the brook that
carries on its flowing breast the hues of autumn to
their unknown destiny. Never is Nature more
lavish of beauty, turning the very gutters into
filaments of gold and crimson.
Even here the Great Reaper has his reminder.
Unbidden comes to our lips an ancient ode : — ■
" More frail than the maple-leaves fluttering in
the wind, is the life we breathe."*
But let not our thoughts pause at this dismal
point. Frail beyond doubt are the maple-leaves,
and still more so is our life ; but they leave behind
them their beauty, and should not our life do
likewise .-*
To each created object comes a period of
greatest service, " the fulness of time." Such a
service is often synchronous with deepest sorrow
or harvest sacrifice. Of the maple in the height of
gaudy splendor, of the rice at its most golden
stage, it is required that they surrender their pride
and riches. Selbst-todtung, as Goethe taught, is
95
THE HARVEST
the beginning of all real life. Only thorugh
tribulation, that peculiarly Christian word and
sentiment, is " the fulness of time " attained.
While abundant harvests enrich our granaries
and the bright maple gladdens our eyes, we are
not unmindful that the rice must be brought to
the tribulujn and the maple-leaf must vanish in
the air. Men, too, nations or individuals, must
bleed under tribulation, to reach the measure of
the stature assigned to them. Let us then take
heart and let not affliction or trial quench our spirit ;
let us offer thanks for the harvest, bless the
autumn moon and rejoice in the wealth of color.
With a brave and thankful heart we will each and
all pursue our allotted tasks, so that, let the Great
Reaper come when he will, that day may be for
us " the fulness of time."
Takao, Formosa, Dexember, J<po4.
96
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
PREFACE FOR THE POLISH
EDITION OF BUSHIDO
The great Analects of Confucius opens with
the sentence, " Is it not deh'ghtful to have friends
coming from distant quarters ? " This is as true
now as in the days of the Chinese sage, and as
true in Japan or Poland as in the Celestial Empire.
The kinship of spirit, however, is now-a-days,
thanks to better means of communication, far more
easy to realize than in days of yore. If difference
of language is a barrier to the freest exchange of
thought and formation of friendship, even that
barrier is not insurmountable ; for, two nations, if
so debarred, can find a mutual linguistic com-
panion and intermediary. Japan can speak easily
with Poland through England or Germany, and
each can thereby draw near to the other in the
common bond of friendship.
That I should be given the privilege of a hearing
among so brave and gallant a people as the Poles,
is a most unexpected delight on my part, akin to
that of a call from a distant friend.
Twice have I had the pleasure of treading the
ancient dominion of Boleslas, Batory and Sobieski,
and each time, the second even more than the
first, was the impression strengthened which I had
97
THE POLISH EDITION OF BUSHIDO
obtained long before by reading the patriotic
history of Kosciuszko and Beniowski and the no
less patriotic songs of Niemcewicz and Mickiewicz.
A people so intensely loyal to the memory of the
past, so ardently attached to the land of their
fathers, so gifted with manly virtues and pos-
sessed of so chequered a history, will find many
points in common with us. Even our words, which
may at first strike the Poles as mere jargon and
barbarous, will, if their meaning is made clear,
find equivalents in their vocabulary and parallels
in their history. Such terms as daimio and
saimirai may convey no adequate sense of their
importance to Polish ears, unless they are per-
haps rendered respectively castellini and star-
osts. Likewise, the story of the Forty-seven Ronin
will contain no sense or romance unless the Polisli
readers are told that their career is as favorite a
theme with us as is that of the members of the
Convention of Bar with them. The very name
Yavtato will fall flat upon their ears without simul-
taneously recalling the heart-stirring name of
Sarmatia. I am well aware of all these and
many more difficulties which a translator has to
encounter.
I wrote Bushido originally tn English, while I
was spending a few months in America. This
fact will explain why I have drawn largely for
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
comparison on English and American literature
and customs. Had I written it in Polish, I should
have tried to study Polish history and literature.
But, as I have said, excepting a few extrinsic
hindrances, the Poles, known for their chivalry,
patriotism and bravery, will not find my feeble
presentation of our moral ideas strange or over-
drawn. I do sincerely hope that you may also
recognize in us a country and a race at once
intelligible and congenial, eagerly bent upon ex-
tending the sacred principle of liberty, pursuing
what is just and great, and ever emulating what
is noble and virtuous.
Now at this juncture of our history, nay of the
world's history, a mighty struggle is going on.
The whole world is witnessing another Hellas
grap[)ling with a Persia, yet geographically re-
versed, for it is the strange sight of a small Asiatic
folk fighting in the cause of Justice and Liberty,
against a gigantic power of European pretensions.
The near future will reveal on which side the God
of the Universe will smile — whether He is partial
to those who profess His Name only with outward
lips, but whose heart is set upon persecuting the
harmless and upon suppressing freedom, or whether
He is more truly the God of light and right, who
hath no regard of persons and races. Whether
the spirit of Bushido, which animates our people
99
THE POLISH EDITION OF BUSHIDO
from the lowest to the highest, from the least to
the greatest, is not more truly His Spirit breathed
into mortal flesh, waits to be seen. Let coming
events show what ground exists for the alarm of
a Yellow Peril ! Meanwhile I shall be thankful,
if the Polish public will indulgently study and
understand where the Japanese race stands morally
and spiritually.
My treatise is but a humble effort to interpret
in a measure my own people to Europe. The
subject it treats of may fitly be clothed in that
masculine language which, as Casimir Brodzin-
ski proudly said, " has the murmur of an oak
of three hundred years, and not the plaintive
and feeble cry of a reed swayed by every wind."
Dcceiiihcr, igo./.
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
THE OLD AND THE NEVY
The heritage of the Present — how vast and
glorious !
It is said mankind has not advanced much since
history began to take cognizance of it. On the
world-stage has been repeated over and over
again much the same drama. Surely in many
ways the record of humanity has been a dismal
repetition, and, while man has won at some points,
he has, too often, gone a few steps ahead only
to retrace them. Still, were it not for the past,
where would we be .-' Were it not for the gradual
— however slow — revelation by means of glorious
beacon-lights or of flickering lesser ones, could we
even know that we had retraced our steps .''
It is the past which pushes us forward, it is the
dead who lead us onward. Neither is all the past
dead, nor are all the dead past. The corridors
of the ages are lined with trophies that arouse a
feeling of emulation, and the dead still speak to us
and in us and for us. In every New is the Old
made alive, and in every Old is hidden the promise
of the New. Vast and glorious indeed is the heri-
tage of the Past !
We can summon at our will the ancient sages,
and make them repeat their wisdom ; or heroes
lOl
THE OLD AND THE NEW
of yore, and make them show forth their exploits.
Even as I write, Socrates sits beside my desk.
Strange ! — yet I can see the careless form of the
son of Sophroniscus seated in a rocking-chair,
his protruding eyes fixed upon these lines I am
scribbling and his bald head nodding assent. It
is not Socrates alone who is an inmate of my
study. All the heroes of Plutarch, not to mention
the more recent leaders of thought and men — and
of all nations — rise before me, to teach me how to
live worthy of their lineage or to avoid their faults
and mistakes.
We, too, are of the lineage of the great of all
ages and races. They have bequeathed to us their
deeds and their wisdom, a countless legacy in
sooth, — on which no inheritance tax is levied !
" I the heir of all the ages,
Foremost in the files of time."
For what are all those muniments ? Are they
there only to ornament the museum of History ?
Are they for idle spectators to gaze at ? Poor use
were this of the priceless treasures we hoard !
The heritage of the Past is open to all, but none
have right to it without claiming it. Like the
kingdom of heaven, free to all, it suffers violence
and the violent alone can take it. The dead do
not utter one word unless we listen ; the past is
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
hidden unless our hand lifts the veil. Wc our-
selves are the key to the past. " The present is
the conflux of two eternities." Only by our ex-
ertions can we unlock the riches of time ; only by
strenuous effort do we discover the New in the
Old. 'It is only for knocking that the gates of 1
wisdom will open. It is only by seeking that^
God can be found. -^
The passing year will leave no lesson for us if
we seek it not ; nor will the new year contain
any message unless we incline our ears to it.
" Pie is truly wise who keeps cherishing his old
knowledge so as continually to be acquiring new."
Such an one, Confucius said, " can be a teacher
of men."
Christmas is fraught with history. It stands
for the grandest event in the records of man, for
a world's tragedy, for a " divine comedy." It
marks the watershed of the spiritual experience
of the human race. We await with breathless
expectation the fall of Port Arthur, forgetting
that Christmas is the anniversary of the fall of the
strongholds of the power of Satan. The birth
of Christ — or, to make it m.ore real, the appear-
ance of the Nazarene Martyr, — is a historical
fact well worth pondering over : it is the most
precious boon that the past has bequeathed to us.
It were an abuse of treasure merely to put it in a
103
THE PAST AND THE PRESENT
historical show-case, when it contains within itself
lessons and powers of untold significance. Blind
is that man who sees in the Christmas season only
a time of jollity and merry-making, and deaf is he
who hears not the carol sung by an angel-choir.
He is wise who from its oft-told narration can
derive new lessons, who from " the old, old story "
can face the new year with new strength and new
spirit.
January, i(poj,
aHE PAST AND THE PRESENT
Him will I not hold blameless, who in moments
of bereavement forgets the favors of the past, nor
him who fails to remember, in the transient ecstasy
of delight, the bitterness of by-gone tears. Neither
do I blame such an one unduly. For human
memory is short. Each passing minute engrosses
the mind with its cares and duties, its pains and
sorrows, its pleasures and joys. The infinitesimally
short Present swallows the eternal Past. The
reveries and memories of the Past are only meat
to feed the Present. Old buildings totter, the
mahogany pillars and tokonorna ebony decay and
become only kindling wood to warm the Present.
104
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
CHILDREN
They govern us — these prattling little ones.
Our heart is subjected unto their sweet will and
our will is swayed by their humors. Strong men
fight and drudge for them and women spend
sleepless nights over their restless, slumbering
forms. The Czarevitch is not the only colonel of
a great army.
It is a moral law that these tender, weak ones
shall inherit the kingdom. Helpless infants are
rightful heirs, the crown princes of the Empire-to-
Come. " Of such is the kingdom of heaven ; " to
such also belong the kingdoms of the earth.
What is genius itself but " the power," according
to Coleridge " of carrying the feeling of childhood
into the powers of manhood ? "
It is a strange but an indisputable fact that,
in this world, where fraud and roguery seem to
have greatest power, mankind is never lastingly
duped by cant. The best in man and nature,
in the end, gets the better of what is base and
false. Goodness in the weakest is a strength no
giant can defy or withstand. The story of David's
killing Goliath is the expression of an eternal law.
The power of children is born of their genuine
goodness, their innate purity of heart, their unal-
105
CHILDREN
loycd sincerity. Such earnestness, too, is in all
their undertakings that we unconsciously make
way for them to march on.
Transparent their eyes — who can resist their
appeal .'' Celestial their dialect — who does not
feel the charm of its eloquence ? Heaven sanc-
tioning their right — who can resist their unutter-
ed claims ? Lords of the earth, future inheritors
of its treasures and duties, who denies them right
to creep or toddle Vvheresoever they list ? The}'
kick against all laws of propriety ; but neither
the Chesterfields nor the Ogasawaras can bind
them to any hard and fast rules. They them-
selves, being above petty social laws, offend not in
one iota of their requirements, conforming to that
higher and greater law — the law of Love. Herein,
indeed, lie the greatest charm and the greatest
power of the little ones. If anywhere on this wide
earth you find a permanent conquest of any sort,
one heart subjugated by another, a strong man
paying homage to a weaker, or warriors ready to
die for a woman, }'ou are sure to find, under the
rubbish of arms or constitutions, a genuine love,
working miracles. The perennial interest which
attaches to the Child Christ is not due to the
doctrines the Man Christ taught, nor even to the
divine sufferings of His later life, but to the re-
sponse which the Lamb of God awakens in our
1 06
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
affections. Theology and philosophy may busy
themselves with what He said and with what He
did not say ; but religion will be content with the
adoration of the Infant Savior.
I see in every child that prattles and toddles an
image of Heavenly pattern ; a newly created
form, full of celestial beauty ; a messenger from
above with ever fresh intructions for me. Yes, all
tliis is true, else why should I be moved to tears
by the little one's voice or touched to the core by
its radiant looks ?
Ensiiiko.
HEAVENLY VISIONS
At rare intervals, heavenly visions flit before me.
They vanish as quickly as they appear. Even as
a flash of lighting they come and go. Would that
they might stay longer, that they might perma-
nently abide !
But ah ! why should I measure the work of the
Spirit by seconds or years, any more than survey
the road to Heaven by chains or milestones.
As with God a thousand years are as one day
and a day as a thousand years, so a flash is as a
steady light and a long-enduring light is as a flash.
Tainoi
107
A MOROSE SPIRIT
A MOROSE SPIRIT
I MAKE it a matter of daily concern not to hate
or despise anything, for to do so is kicking against
reason, since everything is backed by reason. I
mean to say that nothing exists, the ughest object
or the most beautiful, without raiscn d'etre.
Only — there are some apparently harmless things
so radically harmful that in my heart I do despise
them. A morose spirit is one of these. Though
a man may suppose he has good reason for being
morose, I can but disdain that reason itself.
" To secure and promote the feeling of cheerful-
ness," says Schopenhauer, " should be the supreme
aim of all our endeavors after happiness."
It is every one's duty to be cheerful. It is his
privilege, too. It is criminal to be walking about
the streets of this small country town of Life
with a long face, spreading wet blankets on his
neighbors and fellow passers-b}-. Am an who
does not meet his fellows with a cheerful counte-
nance or a bright smile should be tabooed from
society. Such a man is as dangerous as pest ;
for one morose face infects the whole atmosphere
of his environment and makes it uninhabitable for
children and angels.
1 08
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
J0^
MANIFOLD MOONS
Our ship anchors off the harbor of Takao,
waiting for the tide. The deck is clear of men.
I lean against the railing, looking up at the moon
— singularly bright to night, then down upon the
sea — singularly calm.
The zephyr moves upon the face of the still
water and awakens it from its death-like sleep to
rise in dancing wavelets. The one moon shining
solitary above, sows its image broadcast on each
dancing crest.* My thoughts ascend above the
lustrous orb.
Adoration comes unbidden to my lips and I
kneel to say : — " O Thou great Unnamable One !
Thou alone art alive : Thou alone shinest. With-
out Thee the world were dead : without Thy
light the universe were dark. The frail life of a
worm, the fiery career of the sun, the luminous sea,
the feeble breath I draw, are all alike reflections
of Thy eternal Life ! "
I raise my head again to behold in the moon a
spirit akin to me, and I call her my sister.
Taktxo.
^
109
FLYING THOUGHTS
FLYING THOUGHTS
Why should my thoughts shoot off like sparks
from my little brain, darting in directions no
compass marks on its face and flying into regions
no geography mentions in its pages ?
My thoughts are beyond my control. Rest-
less, they start on expeditions to such distant
parts of the mental world that I have no con-
ception of their whereabouts. Sometimes they
come back with a handful o{ oniiyage — with mere
odors of incense and balsam that must abound in
those mysterious regions ; but oftener, alas ! they
come back empty-handed and exhausted by their
own exertions. The exhaustion is, however, but
for a moment — as, in mountain-climbing and in the
bath of healing springs, a sense of weariness ac-
companies the first few attempts ; but I am not
without hope that, some time, the farthest ex-
cursions of my soul may have more worthy reward
than fatigue or faintest puff of celestial flowers.
Kyoshilo.
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
BEREAVED FAMILIES —"
Empires are tottering ; empires are rising.
Dramas on the most gigantic scale are being
played in the world's history. Brave men shed
their life-blood in triumph and joy, and shout
" Victory ! " till they gasp their last breath. We
call them heroes, erect monuments to their memo-
ry and forget the cost of their heroism. For us
who, for one reason or another, do not join the
army at the front, it is well to remember what
unseen battles are fought in the home and what
unnamed victories are won. There are voices near
us sadder than the groans on the battle-field ; there
are hearts in stricken homes that are more heroic
than those beating under a soldier's uniform.
Hark ! even now I hear the deep sighs of a grief-
stricken mother. I thought her hard drudgery of
the day would give her, if not enough to eat, at
least enough of " tired nature's sweet restorer ; "
but, no, her slumber is disturbed by the storm
outside and the drops leaking through the thatch.
The night is chilly ; but she has not enough to
cover her or her little one, who, cold and hungry,
nestles close to her, feeling for her breast. Her
caresses soon lull him to sleep ; but she steals
from under the fiiton, trims the lamp, takes from
BEREAVED FAMILIES
out an old brocade bag, her husband's only legacy,
arrived but lately from the front.
Dimly burns the andon wick, but dimmer still
are the eyes of the widow — so frail and worn she
looks ; but the traces of her brush show a steady
hand, as she writes —
" This is the sword he wore ;
' Tis all that's left of him ;
And as upon its gleaming blade
Rest my sleepless eyes,
The midnight storm outside
Drains the torrents that gush
From my heaving breast."*
" Mamma, mamma ! "
" Hush, child ! What ails thee } Sleep on."
" Draw me closer to thy bosom. A man very
like papa, only awfully pale, and, mamma ! —
blood-stained — awoke me and spoke to me."
" What did he say ? "
" He called me by my name and said : ' I leave
thee a sword. Thy mother will keep it for thee ;
but my son, she will give thee a better sword oj
her own ! ' Was this a dream, mother ? "
" No, it was not a dream. Here is the sword
thy father left in trust with me. The morning he
started for the seat of war, he called me to his
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
study and took me by the hand, — the like of
which he had never done before— and said, ' I
expect never again to cross this threshold in the
flesh. I go to die for my Emperor and for my
country. I shall fight with sword and gun. I
leave in thy charge our precious boy. Teach hfm
to be as loyal to his own kokoro as to his Tenshi-
sama, to be as true to the Kingdom of God as to
Japan ; but, above all, to fight with the sword of
faith." He told me, too, to tell thee, that, when
thou growest older, enemies much stronger and
more numerous than the Russian will invade thy
land. Dost thou understand, my boy ? "
" Not all, mamma. Where is the other and
better sword papa said thou wilt give me ? "
" I have no other weapon than the spiritual. It
is not visible like this, but it neither rusts nor
breaks. It is called the sword of faith."
" Is it, then, the sword that I once saw in a foreign
picture, piercing through the heart of a mother } "
The wick is near its end. The light flickers
for the last time. The woman, the child, the sword,
the andon itself, are all blurred. In the darkness
is seen a halo, radiant round the mother's head.
My eye is fixed on that light, while my ears
forget to heed the crash of a falling and the shout
of a rising empire.
April, jgos.
1*3
CAUSES FOR THANKFULNESS
CAUSES FOR THANKFULNESS
Not at set hours of the day, nor in set seasons
of the year, does my heart offer its prayer to
Heaven. But it utters its thanks for each sparkle
of a child's eye, for a maiden's modest bhish, for
each kindly look of the aged, for every sign of man-
hood's strength, and for every noble word of
wisdom. The glorious sun and the melanchol}-
moon call forth gratitude. Often, at a beaming
smile or the slightest nod of a passer-by, have I
taken off my hat in reverent prayer. For words
of tested friendship I bow my knees to God. Ever}-
object of nature and every act of sympathy is an
occasion of thanksgiving.
Goodness is the manifestation of God. To me
every good thing is a proof of His character, of
His existence. We pass heedlessly by the good
that exists everywhere and in all things about us.
Arigatai — "hard to be!" It is not that good
things are hard to be : it is hard for things not to
be— indeed, not only not to be, but not to be
good also. The hardest thing for man is to see
that goodness is the soul of all things, and that in
the soul of goodness lies the Divine Spirit.
Nihiichi Sui.
114
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
ANALYSIS
Our first mental process is division. Our social
life begins with it. Before \vc learn that 1 + 1=2,
we know that 2-f-2=i. Look at infants sharing
their cakes, look at children distributing marbles ;
— their quotient rarely errs. Is this due to the
anatomical fact that our brain consists of two
lobes, and that our limbs are made in pairs ?
Whatever the reason, we cannot think without
distinguishing or separating the objects of our
thought. We begin logic with antithesis and
antinomy. Classification is nothing less than
dividing according to a set standard.
We carry division too far into things we ought
not to divide. Speaking of a man, we chop him
up into many pieces according to his mental
capacity or his height of stature, his moral qual-
ities or his color of skin, his religious faith or the
shape of his head, etc, etc., and then try to put
these into a scale-pan to weigh separately and
collectively, before we pass judment on him .as a
man. Speaking of God, we talk as though we
conceive of Him as the One ; but right away we
cut Him into three parts and then construct — with
what success I know not — out of these a Divinity.
What confused notions we have of God and man !
"5
A PIECE OF NATURE
We are at the mercy of our logical faculties.
The whole system of education has been made
to foster them. Perception — the power to see
things directly as a whole, the faculty to " look
through," to grasp the essence of a matter — has
been sadly neglected. Our education has been to
grind and polish spectacles, but the eye-sight
itself has been growing weaker and weaker.
IFozau.
A PIECE OF NATURE
I HEARD a lark. It sang high up in the air. I
listened with my eyes wide open to catch its song
and form.
A peasant maid of some eight summers stood
by and looked at me and then in the air. I asked
what that might be which she heard and saw.
" Nan-nimo " was her simple reply ; and she
gazed at me, turned and walked away with the
evening twilight.
I had forgotten that the maid, the maid, even
as the bird, was but a piece of nature.
Ii6
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
POST-BELLUM WORK
Tinklings of gogivai bells, banzais rending the
air, lantern processions marching through merry
streets, flags flying gaily at every entrance — all
tell, better than any words, that another victory is
won. All their speech, however, is but a feeble ex-
pression of what we feel at the bottom of our hearts.
Gratitude, even more than rejoicing, tries to voice
itself through the sounds we hear and in the colors
we see in the streets ; but neither the loudest
hurrahs nor the brightest lanterns do justice to what
the nation's heart feels in its deepest chamber.
While our bosom heaves with buoyant gladness
;ind our heart bounds in exultation, deep down we
know a more stable joy, a more sedate happiness
— the serene sense of gratitude. — O Heaven ! not
by might of our arms, not by brute force, not by
man's wisdom or craft, but by Thy power, do wc
advance from conquest to conquest.
As Napoleon was crossing the Alps, braving
the hardships of the mountains and the climate, —
as, after ascending one height, another appeared
before his toiling army, he uttered the memorable
words, "Alps beyond Alps ! " Yes ! There never
is an end to man's or to a nation's labors.
Ford a river and you come to a forest : struggle
117
POST-BELLUM WORK
through a jungle, and you come to a hill. One
victory never suffices to make men of soldiers.
Heiglit above height wc must scale. " A vic-
torious general ties again his helmet-cord." Rus-
sia's resources were not exhausted at Liaoyang,
nor in the Straits of Tsushima. As long as she
fights, we must, alas ! keep her company, whether
she enjoys this or not. Or, even supposing she
parts company with us on acceptable terms —
supposing this war comes to a close, what mightier
wars will ensue in its train ! It is appalling to
think of the demands which will be made upon us
after the war. The higher Alps, with well-nigh
unattainable passes, tower before us beyond the
present Alps. Courage ! my young friends, courage
equalling our brothers', shown on the frosty plains
of Manchuria and on the surging billows of the
Japan Sea, is required of you. Do not envy the
exploits of our army or navy ; for you will soon
be called out to fight in harder contests — you
who are now poring over your books at the
desk.
Post-bellum work will call for the best intellect
of our race and its highest exertions. How shall
wc pay back the money we have borrowed to
carry on the war ? What must we do for the
thousands of families left fatherless and widowed ?
Wherewith shall we reward the brave ones who
nS
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
have shed their blood or returned maimed and
crippled ? In what ways ought we to prepare for
new conflict with new enemies ? The present
army and navy have to take charge of half-a-
million or at most a million men. The post-bellum
battles of Peace will involve our fifty millions of
men, women and children. The army and navy
have to command only men, and these the same
order of men. The post-bellum leaders must
control all sorts and conditions of men, and these,
men who cannot be ordered about in military
fashion.
When I think of the mighty task which remains
for us after the war, the deafening sound of banzai
dies in the distance and the glaring torches pale
away.
A few points must ever be kept before us as we
study in our closets in these times of great ex-
citement.
First. — The care of the bereaved families. It
is not enough to contribute money for their
support. " The gift without the giver is bare."
There is propriety to observe in giving alms to a
beggar. But the help we extend to the families
of the soldiers is not charity : it should be in
large part an offering of thanksgiving as well as a
sacrifice to the dead. The Government itself has
a gigantic task in the distribution of awards and
1.19
POST-BELLUM WORK
pensions, and the people will find it no easy concern
to care for the deserving.
Secondly. — The settlement of Corea must be
given special attention. A poor effeminate people,
with no political instinct, with no economic
" gumption," with no intellectual ambition, is
become the Brown Japanese Man's burden. Some-
thing must be done to resurrect a dead nation.
Statesmen alone cannot do it. Teachers and agri-
culturists, preachers and engineers, can work more
wonders than diplomats and generals.
Thirdly. — The money we borrowed must be
returned with interest. We need, besides, money
for new works of divers kinds. Foreign loans
may be more fatal to the independence of a nation
than an invading army. No debt of ours can be
paid with anything else than the products of our
own soil, agricultural and mineral wealth or manu-
factured articles. The development of our physical
resources is a question of national life or death.
New mines must be discovered, and old ones better
utilized ; foundries must turn out iron, copper and
steel for home use ; factories must be started to
weave silk, cotton and wool for foreign export ;
the soil must be more deeply plowed and virgin
land opened ; bare mountain-slopes must be planted
with trees and grassy plains turned into pastures
for more cattle.
120
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
Fourthly. — As our industries advance, so must
our trade with the rest of the world augment. As
we shall have more to sell, so must we order more
things from abroad. As our commerce grows, so
must we increase our merchant marine. We must
have more ships, larger, swifter and better than
we have. As navigation of our coasts and rivers
improves, land communication must keep pace with
it. We cannot be moving at a half or a third of
the rate of American velocity.
Fifthly. — Our political relations with foreign
countries will become closer in every way. Russia,
which has been in the habit of despising us, has
now learned to do otherwise. Germany and
France, which have never taken us seriously, will
cease to look upon us as a joke, England and
America, which have patronized us as a child-
nation, will regard us as an adult. The whole of
Asia, which has looked upon us with suspicion and
condemned us as traitors to Asiatic tradition, will
follow us as their guide.
Sixthly. — The closer touch with Europe and
America, through diplomacy or commerce, neces-
sitates better acquaintance with the languages of
the West and especially with English, the most
common medium of international mercantile
dealings. With some pride we watch the progress
of our mother tongue in Corea ; but we must not
121
POST-BELLUM WORK
thereby allow ourselves to be deceived into
thinking that it will be universally used. Pride
and self-sufficiency should not blind us to the
utilitarian (not to speak of the moral) value of the
English language, for the peoples who use it will
be the best customers of our wares.
ScventJdy. — The more intimate our communi-
cation with the West, tlie freer must be the inter-
change of our ideas. We must know the West
better, and we must be better known. There is
still a wretched misunderstanding between the
East and the West. A thick barrier stands be-
tween the two, which unprejudiced study of each
other alone can penetrate. It is not enough that
we understand English sufficiently to transact
business at the counter ; we must be able to read
and enjoy Shakespeare and Milton, Scott and
Dickens, Darwin and Carlyle. Nor is reading
enough. We must learn to write and to write
well, in order to make our ideas intelligible and
clear to the West. We must be our own interpret-
ers, since we cannot look for a Lafcadio Hearn
at every tm-n ; nor can one Okakura do all that is
needed as a revealer of our own inner thoughts.
I might go on enumerating demands that will
be made upon us in the near future ; but this
cursory glance will give an idea of what the rest
may be. There have been, in history, nations that
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
became great by war, but greatness so won is
never enduring. No people can grow enduringly
great by sham, cant or sin. As Napier says,
" Success in war, like charity in reh'gion, covers a
multitude of sins." It only covers sins without
eradicating or even repenting them. A nation's
lasting happiness comes only by peace. But peace
has its dangers no less than war. Unfortunately it
is too true, that " war its thousands slays, peace its
ten thousands." Peace is not in itself an absolute
blessing. It is rather a condition of social and
moral wellbeing. To attain higher ends, there must
be strenuous effort and this is engendered by war.
A truly noble life is impossible without action, and
this too is learned in war. But neither is that end
high nor that life noble which consists in ceaseless
struggle without a purer motive or a broader view
than immediate victory. Success in war is but a
small beginning of the greater task of economic
prosperity, which in turn is but a means to a
closer bond of nations, the last being itself only a
step towards the realization of the Golden Age,
when men shall no longer regard their brother-
men as enemies on the field of battle or in the
marts of commerce, but "all men's good be each
man's rule."
Jtine, rgo^.
123
MENTAL INDIGESTION
J0^
MENTAL INDIGESTION
When I was studying Frcncli in Paris, I had a
teacher who used to brag of his mastery of different
languages. To my question how conversant he
was with Spanish, his reply was that he had paid
a couple of thousand francs for Spanish lessons.
When I asked him how much Italian he knew, he
told me he had spent five months in Genoa and
expended twelve hundred francs in studying the
lingua Italimio.
I had never before heard of measuring linguistic
acquisition in francs and dollars, but since then 1
have seen people who guage education by the
number of books they have read or even by the
length of the list of book-titles they have com-
mitted to memory.
It is ridiculous to reckon one's knowledge or
wisdom by pages or volumes. There is a greater
difference between mastering and understanding a
book than between understanding and reading it,
and there is a still greater difference between
digesting it and amassing knowledge. It is not
the amount of food we take, but what we digest,
that makes us strong ; it is not what we read, but
what we assimilate in our minds and character,
that makes us wise.
124
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
Our so-called education consists too much in
reading. Children are made to swallow things
their teachers themselves cannot masticate. Huge
volumes, beyond their power to comprehend are
assigned as text-books. Mental indigestion is the
malady of the day. Unfortunately, it is danger-
ously contagious. It attacks the old and the
young, men and women, the high and the low,
tliough it is particularly virulent among students
and teachers. Government and society in general
seem to spread the germs of this disease.
Greatly to be regretted is the school-system,
which, like a graphophone, simply grinds out
articulate sounds. Idly futile is the scheme of
education which displaces common-sense with
commonplaces. Fundamentally false is any theory
of pedagogics which stuffs the youthful mind with
information instead of drawing out the innate
powers of the soul.
There is much instruction for our teachers in the
Spanish proverb, which says, " I never saw a
man die of hunger, but thousands die of over-
feeding."
125
HUMILITY WITH GREATNESS
HUMILITY WITH GREATNESS
There is at present a general belief in the
public mind, a consciousness in the air as it were,
that Japan is on the verge of a great rise in power
and prestige. It is far from us to brag ; rather do
we bow our head in reverent gratitude for the rare
favor that is granted to our generation. If we are
destined to rise, let us rise with a humble and
grateful heart ; for nations have so often fallen
from pride of heart and abuse of divine favors.
Personal virtues elevate a nation's greatness,
as national virtues make more manifest personal
virtues. It is ruinous to a nation, fatal to its
promise, to boast of itself Many a people has
learned humility only at the cost of its pride —
that is through humiliation. We are no ex-
ception ; but we do pray that we may never taste
to the full the cup of humiliation, and, if we so
pray, we must warn ourselves against its very
cause, namely, undue pride.
Think not that the present war exalts our
nation greatly. War is a double-edged sword.
While it can kill one's enemy, it can wound one's
self.
Admit for once that this war will raise our
standing in the community of nations, I would fain
126
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
ask — How long will it keep us at a high level ?
Suppose we beat Russia, as I believe we must,
that will not be such evident proof, as is often
thought, of our great strength or power or disci-
pline. It will only show that Russia has not as
much strength or power or discipline as she
boasted of. She is now paying for her pride.
Let us not harp on our own superiority, because of
our enemy's inferiority. There are powers far
superior to Russia with which we have not crossed
swords. Moreover, Russia herself will not forever
remain weak. She has a noble folk and a land of
superb possibilities — only an exceedingly imbecile
government. Her malady is the incapacitating
dizziness of her leaders on their heights of self-
exaltation: This war would teach her humility.
Should she repent in sackcloth and ashes (and
she can repent and reform at any time) the
splendid qualities of her people will assert them-
selves, and a truly great future will greet her.
On the contrary, if we go on singing our own
praises ; if we beguile ourselves into the belief
that we are superior in power ; if we have fallen
into the flattering deception that ours is the
strength of giants, simply because we have caught
a sickly highwayman prowling about in the
millet-fields of Manchuria, we may rue the day
most awfully.
127
SUMMER FLIGHTS
We cannot help feeling our own growth. The
full warm blood coursing in our arteries betokens
it. The muscles tingle with power ; the feet will
not stand still ; but, let not energy lead us into
pride, lest we fall. August, igo^.
SUMMER FLIGHTS
Thoughts, strange and dreamy, haunt me in
the summer's broad daylight. They carry me
beyond the starry regions into the vastness that
knows no limit. For a moment the Me merges
into the Infinite. Soon the lower earth, with its
little cares and duties, calls me back to where I am.
But the momentary excursion, be it never so
short, into the empyrean, refreshes my soul to better
meet the cares and duties of this life. They shall
not disappoint me by their littleness. They reflect
in a small compass the heavenly images of the
upper places. "The meanest flower that blows"
gives a clue to the vegetation of the pre-glacial
age and to the solar systems of the universe.
" To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour."
{,Wm. Blake.)
138
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
MOTHER-LOVE
The mother-heart — who can plumb its depth ?
Science cannot measure it ; philosophy is impotent
to fathom its power. Most akin to the divine,
maternal love is the highest expression of human
affection. Sharing animal instinct, it is the most
natural of human emotions. The chain which the
mother's heart forges stretches from the lowest to
the loftiest of creation, and binds with its subtle
links one heart to another in bonds stronger than
even chains of iron or of law. A mightier and
purer love we cannot imagine. We are all par-
takers of it before we are born, and, far away as we
may drift from it, we can never entirely forget it as
long as we live. Can any mortal cut out his heart
and live ? Well, that heart is where " Mother " is
enshrined and no depth of degradation or degenera-
tion can rob it of her.
Fancy a world without mother- love ! Dante
himself could not conceive a more horrible hell.
The presence of Beatrice might make a paradise for
him ; but surely the absence of mother would
turn paradise to hell. If " be it ever so humble,
there's no place like home," it is equally true
be it ever so grand, no place is a home without
mother. If she is gone, we supply her absence
129
MOTHER-LOVE
with her image or imagination of her presence. It
is impossible for us — by delusion, or by whatever
name you may belittle it — to drive from our mind
the reality of her existence.
Ah ! my good Christian friends, accuse me not
of idolatry, if, on every recurring anniversary of my
mother's death, I place her likeness on the Toko-
noina and offer flowers in her memory and for
thanksgiving. Accuse me not of vile heathenism,
if, in the presence of her image, my head uncon-
sciously bows in reverent homage. Her spirit is
as real to me as if she were in the flesh. Have I
joy ? I rejoice in the belief that she is partaking of
it. Have I sorrow } Its bitterness is soothed by the
assurance of her tender sympathy. How often, in
moments of temptation, her face has flashed before
me and saved me. How many times, when cour-
age has failed, her form has roused my spirit to
work and action.
Once a year, at least, I open the scroll of all the
epistles she wrote to me. I find there an inex-
haustible fountain of genuine love, where I never
fail to quench the thirst of my spirit. Yea, it is a
Fountain of Perennial Youth, taking me back to my
boyhood's days. She tells me to be a good boy,
to become a better man, not to worry other people,
not to catch cold, to work hard — but not too hard.
" By becoming a good and great man, you can
130
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
best honor your parents. If you grow to be good
and great, people will say that you are a son
worthy of your father, and I shall be very proud
of him and of you. But if you turn out to be
bad and stupid, people will say that you are like
your mother, and your dishonor will be my
disgrace."
As I ponder over her words, I become more and
more aware of my shortcomings, for, without re-
proof, she ennobles me. As the scroll of letters
unrolls, the five and twenty years that have elapsed
since she last trod this earth merge into the living
present and I feel her soft hand, hear her sweet
voice and listen to her step on " the conscious
floor." The mysterious power of memory brushes
away not only the present but the last quarter of
a century, making me live again the time when
I was still a boy and my mother in the prime of
womanhood. Love knows not space nor time
— it can make the old young again ; death itself
receives no recognition. Such strange power
has a mother's love ! It at times seems to transcend
natural laws, assuming a superhuman proportion
and character. Victor Hugo has well compared
it to the miraculous bread which God distributes
and multiplies.
July, igoj.
131
SUCH PEACE AS THE WORLD CIVETH
-^
SUCH PEACE AS THE WORLD
GIVETH
Peace is come at last — but such peace ! There
is a peace of God which passeth all understanding.
There is a peace which only the world gives.
Peace in itself is a blessing ; but it is a low philoso-
phy which teaches that the end justifies the means,
and peace, itself so noble and so blessed, does not
wipe out the blot on the ways by which it has
been attained. Can there really be peace of any
permanency when it is bought at the price of
justice ? Peace may be but a makeshift, a tem-
porary device. It may even be a scaffolding built
by fools or a palace to be occupied by devils. I
have seen many a building apparently at peace with
itself, while all the time canker-worms were gnaw-
ing its foundation. I have seen a proud structure,
erected by artisans of rarest skill, fall under the
stroke of a careless hand ; — but peace reigned over
the debris ! What but peace can reign over an
inert mass, where there are no carpenters or masons
to disturb it more ? Such is the peace which the
world giveth.
As in the days of Jeremiah, the great ones of the
land may heal " the hurt of the daughter of my
people slightly, saying. Peace, peace ; where there
132
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
IS no peace.
Far different is the peace which the Savior
brings into the heart. No peace compact be-
tween the most Christian kingdoms can compare
in sweetness and durabihty, graciousness and
stabiHty, with tlie covenant of peace which God
makes with us.
To be concise, We must learn that there is a
national and a personal peace, a political and a
moral peace. When moral peace is broken, mobs
and riots and greater troubles are sure to follow
which no political power can calm. Only that
national peace is permanent which secures and
insures peace in the home and in each person.
Statesmen who force down the throats of an
unwilling people a wretchedly bought peace must
make up' their minds to make amends. At the
same time, those who look to national peace as the
sole guarantee of their happiness and progress
would better know that they are doomed to dis-
appointment. They will fare worst who sacrifice
an inward peace for the sake of an outward and
temporary peace.
Greatly to be pitied is the nation which peace,
instead of blessing, only demoralizes. For such a
nation, greater problems than the present peace
are in store.
The autumn sky is blue and high ; the moon
133
SUMMER CAUTION
never so serene ; the insects' hum stirs the dew-
wet grass, — but wo must be preparing for another
winter's storms.
September, i<)0^.
SUMMER CAUTION
Now, at this height of summer, when the earth is
covered with kixuriance of vegetation, and the air
is full of the busiest, the noisiest and the gayest of
winged creatures, man's place in nature seems to
dwindle into insignificance. The very sun threat-
ens to sap his energy. At no time of year does
man so frailly succumb to nature as at this
season. The ponds are ablaze with the pink and
white of the lotus, and the air is redolent of its
fragrance. The colors and the odors impart a
weary dreaminess to the languid air and make
these days seem " always afternoon." Man eats
of the fruit of the lotus and melts away into tropical
lethargy, dozes, slumbers, dreams. Our soul
hibernates in summer as some animals do in
winter. Only beware lest the dormant soul lapse
into eternal sleep.
August, igoj.
134
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
USES OF WAR AND OF PEACE
Life, like Sai-o's horse, now brings blessing and
now a curse. Joys and sorrows alternating make
up our life. Two threads, or rather innumerable
threads of two shades — somber and gay — are so
intricately intertwined that, while our eyes rest on
one, we lose sight of the other. He is a truly wise
man who estimates each at its right value. It is
no wonder that utilitarianism offers to disentangle
them, and put in one pan of the scale the somber
hues of pain and in the other the gay colors of
pleasure and strike a balance between them.
So with War. Is it a blessing or a curse ? A
question like this may shock the pious and stun the
timid, for it seems to be a self-evident truth that
War is a scourge and a curse. It no doubt is evil;
but an evil fruitful of manifold lessons. It has
often been asked whether adversity is a blessing or
a curse. In itself, even the most resigned will not
hail it as a. god-send. Whoever courts it for its
own sake is a fool indeed, but who can deny that
it can bring forth blessings. Adversity of itself has
no power to destroy or save a man. It is a nega-
tive power, or rather a negative condition of life.
It lies in the man himself what use he makes of it.
I have seen a rock which one builder rejected, as
I3S
USES OF WAR AND OF PEACE
being in his way, made in the hands of another
a corner-stone.
Life-swallowing War, grim and gory ; emitting
fire and blood ; beating down with one hand
vigorous manhood in its prime ; clutching with
the other the throats of frail women and
babies ; trampling under foot the aged in their
feebleness ; — terrible War ! — it too has its uses
in the Divine economy of the universe. Nations
have been wiped out by it, and nations have waxed
great by it. Some grew proud by conquest, only
to fall through haughtiness of spirit. Others have
been humiliated by defeat, only to rise from their
depths, higher than the conqueror.
We hail peace with all our heart and soul ; but
peace in itself is no more a blessing than adversity
or war. It has often sapped, worse than war ever
did, the sinews of a nation ; sucked its blood and
ruined its character. If it has not, like war,
destroyed the nation's sacred temples by fire, it has
not done better in desecrating them by a vile
worship. It has so weakened by disuse the arms
as to unfit them either for wielding the sword or
holding the plow.
As my pen traces these lines, I hear the crack-
ing of fire- works and the boom of cannon, and, in
the distance, the shouts of a vast concourse of peo-
ple. There is no warlike din in all t' n 'demon-
136
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
strations — they are the signal of peace and of joy.
The whole city of Kyoto is astir in its best attire ;
men in their robes of etiquette, girls in their
gayest dress, to welcome the hero of our day —
Togo. Let us all join in wishing him long life and
a useful career. Let us join with the crowd in
Bansai ! But — ^joy is transient and work is lasting.
This halcyon day passes with the night ; then will
follow days and years of sober work. Let then
the gleesome spirit which elates our bosom make
our future labors buoyant. Not with heavy heart
and dragging feet, but with a cheerful spirit and
light step, let us face the stern duties before us.
Kyoto. Deceviber, igo^.
A CROSS
Each bears his cross, be it large or small, heavy
or light. It never is so small or so light that it is
not felt : nor is it ever so large or so heavy that it
cannot be borne. Peace, joy and blessing are to be
sought only where the flesh is crucified.
Fling not the cross lightly away, lest we grow
light of heart by the loss of what will lighten our
load.
137
JAPAN'S NEW DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
JAPAN'S NEW DUTIES AND
RESPONSIBILITIES
" Die Weltgeschichte ist das Weltgericht."^ All
nations have to stand before the judgment-seat of
History, where verdicts are passed in the name of
God and of justice. The Past is our judge. The
deeds done in the body excuse or accuse us. We
may entertain the highest thoughts and noblest
sentiments, but, unless they are lived up to, they
will only be accusers at the bar of history. The
road which leads to the temple of success and
glory, is not paved with ideas but with deeds
actually accomplished.
Japan has made a record in the history of the
world — a record that is record-breaking. It is well
that a record disgracefully kept in letters of blood
— that Europe may take any liberty with the life
and land of Asiatics — should be broken. Mankind
has now opened a new page in the story-book of
European aggression in Asia, hitherto full of infamy
and injustice. Let now the sleeping millions of
Asia's children awake from their slumber of ages
and assert the birthright which God has given
them. Let them show themselves men and not
slaves. But before their birthright is claimed, let
* World-history is a world-tribunal— 5^/HV/^r.
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
them first see to it that it is deserved and that
they will not abuse it. The dazzle of Japan's
success should not blind their eyes and incite their
vanity. In soberness let them study the cause of
her rise and her victories.
And the while we teach our neighbors their
rights and their strength, their duties and their re-
sponsibilities, it is highly fitting that we ourselves
should, in all soberness, study the whereins and the
wherefores of our brilliant success on the field and
our sombre success in the halls of council. It is
imperative for us who pretend to teach that we be
first taught ourselves.
It is not enough that we have demonstrated our
military ability, neither is it sufficient to pose
solely as a military leader. Have we not ex-
perienced, more than is to our liking, that success
on the field alone does not carry us very much
nearer the goal we set before us ? We feel some-
thing is still lacking to make us what our instincts
murmur we may become. We have ideals after
which to strive and a strong impetus to urge us on.
The best in us is still latent in the breast. It still
remains for us to unfold our noblest gifts on the
world's stage, as we have so bravely unfurled our
sun-rise banner on the Manchurian plains.
The cause for which Japan stands in Asia, is not
that of the domination or aggression of a yellow
139
JAPAN'S NEW DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
race. Pigment is not a boon precious enough to be
exalted into a cause for martyrdom or warfare.
The race, irrespective of color — the whole human
race — in one word, humanity, is the one cause worth
fighting and dying for, and it is this humanity
which is suffering more in Asia than in Europe. If
our suzerainty over Korea fails to alleviate her
suffering, we have no right to claim any supremacy
over her. It is poor statesmanship and an ignoble
policy to exercise power over a weaker nation in a
way inimical to humanity. If Korea should lose
her political independence, her people should at
least be paid for it by better treatment from their
new masters ; but if instead they receive kicks and
blows, it is indeed sad proof that we are unworthy
the name and place of an expanding nation. If
our influence in China should foster a "yellow peril"
in its worst forms, to the menace of civilization
and to the detriment of humanity, it will only argue
that we have no right to hegemony over Asia.
Whether our coming record on the continent
will contribute to the progress of justice and liberty,
the sense of law and order, or whether it will end
in worse forms of despotism than Europe or native
tyrants would place upon it, let coming history
judge.
October, igo^.
140
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
J0^
WHAT O'CLOCK IS IT IN JAPAN?
Tell me, young men of Japan, What time is
it with you ? What hour is the clock of Japan
striking ?
We are so prone to forget the hour of the day.
\\\ these days, when watches can be had for
a yen, everybody has his own timekeeper ; but,
whatever their disparities, there is a standard-piece
to which they must all conform. And what does
this standard clock say of our time of day ?
The sun-dial marks for Spain five o'clock in the
evening. Spain had her noon-day some three
centuries ago, when Campanella wrote that it was
the will of God his country should govern the
world ; but God willed that the Spanish sun should
gradually sink and we now behold its winter
afterglow. The French dial points its finger at
three in the afternoon. It stood at twelve when
Louis Quatorze was at the height of his grandeur.
Since then, how speedily her sun has gone coursing
down, only to pause, as it were, for a moment to
look upon the unfinished career of Napoleon. In
England, the clock has just struck twelve. The
sun is right overhead, and, while we are watching,
we notice it slowly passing the meridian. In Ger-
many, it is not yet eleven in the morning, and her
141
WHAT O'CLOCK IS IT IN JAPAN?
people have just warmed to their work, while in
America, the Yankees have full two hours before
their sun will rcacli the zenith. In China, it is still
night, and, invisible to human eyes, the ravens are
flying in the darkness ; but the four hundred million
pig-tailed heads are resting on their pillows, dream-
ing of gold and a past millenium.
With us, the sun is just rising, or at most has just
risen. It is now five in the morning in this part of
the world, and the eastern horizon is aglow with
the splendor and freshness of dawn. The early
laborers have already left their warm beds. The
housewives are preparing the morning meal, and
the smoke curling from each hearth tells better
than words that the nation is up and astir. Don't
you hear the tap of the Jiataki on the shoji ? Wip-
ing and sweeping are vigorously going on. Chil-
dren are having their faces washed, while the older
ones are being equipped with bags and soroban
for school, as some must walk two hours to get
there.
How gloriously the sun rises ! It does not
menace, but the night-clouds flee before its rays.
It drives the spirit of darkness to the regions of
the past. The young day dawns. Fresh hopes
possess and new duties call. Awake, ye
who slumber ! Up, then, ye who are awaking !
To work, ye who are arisen ! The fairest land,
142
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
Nippon, invites every one of her sons to bring
his gift to her altar. Neither Togo's fleet nor
Oyama's army has wound up the history of our
nation. Far from being the finis, they are the first
paragraph in the history of New Japan. They
have opened a broadened vista for our eyes and
have widened the fields of labor for our hands.
What was good for the night avails no longer.
" Let the dead past bury its dead." Fold your
futons — taking care to air them first. Nay, take
up your beds and arise ! The little lights, the
smoking lamps, the flickering andons are utterly
useless now. Let us lay aside our nightgowns
and put on garments fit for the day and for its
work. New skins must be provided for the new
wine. Let feudal Confucius rest among the books
of antiquity. Let obsolete forms of biishido lie
with the bones of their followers. With spirit
new and renewed, let us hail the breaking day and
the task of the morning.
November, rgoj.
143
NEW DUTIES OF THE NEW YEAR
NEW DUTIES OF THE NEW YEAR
As the old year dies and the New Year is
born, my thoughts again Hngcr between the
dead and the Hving, between the gone and the
coming. As the infinitesimally short Present links
the two eternities, the past and the future, so does
Gtvanjitstt connect our two lives, the one belonging
to history and the other still unformed in the womb
of time.
The sun, in its fiery career, brings to earth the
seasons of the year, and each season, in its eternal
round, brings to mankind its special duties. In
their idyllic days, our fathers thought it sufficient
work if they followed the hints of the seasons.
They assiduously, but blindly, tilled in the spring,
weeded in the summer, reaped in the autumn and
hoarded in the winter.
The Pastoral Age is a theme of poets and we
think of it as one long continuous picnic, riding on
the back of a slow-pacing cow and tuning the flute
to the scarce audible music of the stars : but agri-
cultural life impresses us not much less favorably
as an easy comfortable existence, free from care
and from discordant notes.
Our fancy flies to pristine simplicity and our
144
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
heart sighs for it.
Part, as we will, with the Past, we are chained
and enchanted by it, and it attends us at every
step, now pulling, now pushing. " Man alone,"
says Wundt, " is conscious of his connection with
the past. The animal consciousness is continuous,
as a general rule, only from moment to moment ;
in any case its continuity is confined to the limits
of the individual life. The continuity of the human
consciousness, even at its lowest level, embraces
at least the tradition of several generations." We
are a product of the Past. Like fresh buds on old
branches, each generation shoots out on lichen-
covered branches of universal history, to grow
into twigs that shall bear fresher buds of fruits and
flowers. So, as grapes stick to the vine, does our
heart cling to the Past, and we long for the
legendary golden age of yore.
But our duties lie not in the Past. It belonged
to our fathers' fathers.
The never-resting sun has brought other times
and other duties for us.
Times are changed. Pastures are enclosed and
turned into furrowed fields. The ^fields them-
selves are fenced to make room for factories. The
cow-boy's flute is heard no more : the planting
145
NEW DUTIES OF THE NEW YEAR
songs and tick of flails are dying away in the
distance. Rural sounds grow fainter everyday
amongst the din of engines, and rustic sights
disappear behind the smoke from a thousand
chimneys.
With the change of times, our everyday duties
also change. Every generation, every year, every
season, has each its distinct demands. Wise is he
who can rightly read the signs of the times, and
happy he who fulfils its demands.
" The Present loads us with burdens too heavy
to bear : the Present is full of iniquities hard to
]xirdon : the Present stenches with wrong and
corruption." Such wailing and lamentation rise
from the lips of dark prophets. Ah, seers so-
stylcd ! Your gaunt figures stand between your
brothers and the sun ; and it is your own long
shadows cast on the ground that make the earth
so dark. Rob not poor Diogenes of his light and
warmth !
Nothing is wrong with the world, and as to
Man— he still remains the image of his Maker,
possibly better than when he was first created.
The light that was lighted in his breast has never
been entirely extinguished : perennially it burns ;
and when it only fliintly flickers, as though it had
146
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
been smothered, how often the fault Hes not in the
wick or in the oil, but in the atmosphere ! Either
the oxygen is not sufficient or the wind is blowing.
The human heart is not altogether gone astray ;
nor is the Present. The corruptions of our age do
not stifle a saint or overpower a sage. Its in-
iquities do not multiply except in the eyes eager
to search for them and in the ears bent to listen.
To a swine the world is a rubbish heap, and to it
a rubblish heap is as good as, if not better than, a
paradise. The pure in heart pass through the
world, finding all men noble, every woman pure,
and each place a temple. Such a heart endorses
the " cosmic emotion " of Marcus Aurelius, " I
am in harmony with all that is a part of thy
harmony. Great Universe ! For me, nothing is
early, and nothing late that is in season for thee.
All is fruit for me which thy seasons bear, O
Nature ! "
What is it that Nature's season is bearing for
us ? What is it that Nature's God requires of us
now in the fulness of His time ? What does the
world expect of us ? What does our heart
l)rompt ? What are the messages that we have to
deliver to humanity ?
If fighting is all or the best we can do, we are
147
NEW DUTIES OF THE NEW YEAR
not much better than Huns and Tartars. P2ven
Romans did more than mere fighting.
The work of the coming year and of the years
to follow will be largely of an economic and moral
character.
The main business of War is destruction. Its
destructive effects are not confined to its fields of
action. It acts, alas, disastrously on the thoughts
and morals of society. Lord Wellesley himself
has said that the standard of morality among
soldiers is and must be very different from that
whereby good citizens are judged. Peace must
have its heroes to worship. The period of re-
construction must engage a different set of workers
from that of the period of destruction. You will
not, certainly, hire a band of firemen to build your
house.
The War has left many a wound on our body
politic, and it will gape and smart worse if not
duly attended to.
Let us have heroes of manufacture, of com-
merce and of forming, — captains of industry and
knights of labor. Let us now beat the blood-
stained swords into plowshares and engines. Our
next fight is not with gun and cannon, but with
abacus and ledger : it is not in Manchuria, but in
14S
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
the markets of the world, not with Russians, but
with all the nations of the earth. Let the best
youths, the picked brains, join in the contest of a
threat and invincible industrial army.
This, then, is a duty that is newly laid upon us
— that we develop our natural and economic re-
sources. Failing in this, our victories over two
Empires come to nought.
Economic conquest is not enough to make us
great, nor can it be lasting without a more solid
foundation or a loftier idea than mere love of lucre
or of power. The commercial supremacy of Eng-
land is not based on a rickety pedestal of greed :
even Germany's recent rise does not rest on ava-
rice : much less is America's brilliant career due
to a mean worship of the "Almighty Dollar."
If there is anything astir anywhere, you may
be sure that there is a force working stronger than
that which is stirring. Have you seen a grain of
sand move on a beach .'' — there was a gale blowing
or a wave dashing, stronger than that grain of sand.
Have you seen a star fall through infinite space ? —
there was some gigantic power attracting or else
repelling that stellar body. Have you seen a
nation waxing great ? — there you may feel assured
some hidden mighty potency is to be found leaven-
ing the whole mass. Such a power is the moral
149
JOYS OF LIFE
character of the people.
As wc stand on the watcr-shcd of Time, — the
dividing h'ne of the Old and the New Year, — and
turn our eyes upon the former, \xc have every
reason to be thankful for our history, and as we
survey the latter, our heart rejoices at its promises,
and we feel like falling upon our knees to make a
solemn resolution to be and to do better, in order
that we may be more worthy of the heritage so
freely jiromised to us.
yanuary, igob.
JOYS OF LIFE
Wherever we roam, things beautiful and
gladsome surround us. When we are moody and
gloomily saunter along life's path, they overtake
us, pat us on the shoulder, and beaming upon us,
almost force their blessings upon our unheeding
souls. Yet we carelessly disregard them or else
carefully avoid them. Such fools we are !
ISO
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
A WINTER THOUGHT
It is now nearly ten years since I last saw a
northern winter. I had almost forgotten what it
was like. The chilling wind had long ceased to
blow in my cars ; the snow-clad hills had grown
dim in my eyes. For years Whittier's " Snow-
Bound " had lain unopened on my shelf.
Now I find myself again in the midst of a north-
ern winter. Its sharp blasts numb my limbs ; its
howl pierces my ears ; its storms blind my eyes.
But there is indescribable beauty and purity in
Winter's storms. All around me are hills white
to perfection and beyond tower mighty peaks sub-
limely without blemish. The crystal rivers lie
glistening on the bosom of the earth, like a diamond
necklace on the breast of Beauty. I ride on roads
paved with translucent marble, through forests
ablow with spotlessly snowy-petalled flov/ers. I
forget for a while that Winter can ever seem dismal
and dreary.
All life seems to be resting. In the plants the
sap stops flowing ; the wild animals hibernate ;
the birds have flown to a sunnier sky. But man is
more than a plant or a beast. He feels life stirring
within him. The coldest night does not check the
blood coursing through his veins. The sharpe.st
151
A WINTER THOUGHT
wind docs not blight his warmest hopes. Ruddier
and ruddier glows the hearth, around whicli
domestic joys gather.
Winter beckons us to work. Activity alone
imparts health and joy to our body and spirit.
Grimly and sternly does the hoary season say,
'* In my kingdom there is no other alternative
than to work or to freeze. The indolent shall
perish and only the hardy and the hard-working
shall survive. Make thy choice." If there is
nothing else to do, hew wood, fetch fagots, shovel
snow. In work is your salvation. Energy and
sturdy manhood are the gifts of the North ; they
outlive the lashings of the tempest and the icy
solitudes. Modern civilization was born and
nurtured in the North. The South gives its sons
food in plenty and time for contemplation.
Still I will not make man wholly subordinate
to nature. I will not term him a mere puppet in
her hands. Whether he nourish himself with the
food which the southern sun spreads before him
or bloat himself as a gourmand ; whether he obeys
the mandate of the North to be up and doing, or
cowers into the kotatsn ; whether he braves the
challenge of the storm or flees at its approach-
man must decide and act for himself It is in him
and not in nature to become his own master or the
slave of his surroundings.
152
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
Can philosophy never prosper where equinoctial
fervors glow ? Has poetry never graced the frigid
dales of Iceland or the frozen fiords of Scandi-
navia ? Must Formosa be forever doomed to
coolie culture and Saghalien to sordid fishery ?
No, no ! Man is greater than nature. He can
harness Winter and ride in the chariot of the storm;
he can defy the heat of the tropics and make it
turn his wheels.
Sakata. yatiiiary, igo6,
IN HIRAIZUMI
Mv thoughts are again with the dead, as my
feet wander among these fields on the banks of
the Kitakami and the Koromo. Why, indeed,
should I -call them dead, who teach me, more
vividly than the living, at once the glory and the
vanity of human life ? 'Even if the master epigram-
matist sings, —
" The summer grass ! —
'Tis all that's left
Of ancient warriors' dreams,"*
I will not believe that the waving weeds are all
that remain of strong men's aspirations and
endeavors. Their brave deeds are ours still.
IS3
SPRING THOUGHTS
SPRING THOUGHTS
The winter is past or passing; its cheerless
days and frosty nights, its winds howling through
leafless boughs, its rivers frozen rigid, are all gone.
Genial spring is come or is corning. At its ap-
proach the ice melts, the streams flow smooth, the
breeze blows fragrant, the brown sod turns verdant.
Every object in nature seems glad. The birds
chirp their welcome. The trees show their joy in
new buds and leaves.
The lime expresses in its quiet genteel manner
its satisfaction and the uguisii joins in it with its
notes of praise. The air is full of sweetest scent
and song.
Man, too, as a faithful child of nature should
join in the universal merriment of the season.
When the earth awakes from its wintry slumber,
to renew its task of the long year before it, shall
not man, too, be roused to labor and fresh ex-
ertion ?
We feel the warm blood coursing through our
veins ; we feel our hearts beat with fresh vigor.
New energy seems to seize our whole being. Wc
cannot sit still in our dingy rooms. We must go
out into the world and the fresh air.
I, for one, will not hold young spirits from frolic
IS4
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
and joy. I rejoice in their vigor and activity.
But take care lest you spend your energy in things
frivolous or harmful.
Pleasures, to be lasting and beneficial to body
and soul, must be of an innocent sort. Guilty
pleasure is for a moment. A poet says,
" How oft is transient pleasure the source of
lengthened woes ! "
Spring has just arrived ; it will advance day
after day, and, as it advances, it will unfold more
and more of its attractions, and these may lead us
into forbidden paths which are everywhere hidden
among its manifold beauties.
When the cherry season comes, the air is softer,
more birds sing with fuller notes, more flowers
blossom with richer colors, and — shall I say it ?
more youths go astray, carried away by their own
passions and appetites.
Spring bestows unrivalled pleaures in its brief
duration ; but remember it also offers innumerable
occasions for lasting griefs and regrets. Our
caution must be, in tasting of its sweets, to avoid
whatever may turn out to be sour or bitter.
155
ASCENT OF BUSHIDO
ASCENT OF BUSHIDO
BUSIIIDO is a gradually shaped mountain with
a slope of gentle gradation, not, however, without
some sudden breaks and steep paths here and
there.
This mountain may be roughly divided into
five zones, according to the character of the in-
habitants.
Along its base swarm rude boors with untamed
spirit and undisciplined physical vigor, who brag
of their possession of brute force and are anxious
to put it to the test upon the slightest provocation.
These arc what used to be called the " boar
samurai, " who formed in war the rank and file of
the army and in times of peace an unruly element
of society.
Higher up in the scale dwells another type of
men — a grade removed from the occupants of
the jungles at the base. It indulges no longer in
brute force. It delights, nevertheless, in the ex-
ercise of its limited power, though, unlike the boar-
tribe, it takes no pleasure in wanton cruelty or
practical jokes. It is proud and haughty, and is
fond of browbeating its subordinates. Nothing is
more to its taste than to feel its own importance,
to be obeyed. Nothing arouses its ire so much as
156
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
to have its authority trespassed upon, to be opposed.
In field action it furnishes efficient petty officers
and, in ordinary times, an exceedingly disagreeable
class of bureaucratic clerks.
Above the habitat of this type, lies a zone
whose denizens are neither brutish nor over-
bearing. They like more or less intellectual
pursuits, read books — mostly short courses in law
and political economy — and talk of big themes.
Outside of law and politics their vision does not
extend far. Their literature ceases with novels
and cheap poetry. For science they care nothing
beyond what they read in the daily papers. Their
manners lose the awkardness of " the boar " and
the rigidity of the class immediately below them.
They are easy in the company of their fellows ;
but one finds them stiff among their superiors and
domineering towards their inferiors. They may
be called novitiates of esoteric Bushido and their
number is large. From among them are recruited
officers for the army and civilians for the business
routine of government.
There is a region higher up where thrives a
nobler order of samurai, embracing generals in the
army and leaders of thought and action in every
walk of life. Affable to those below them, they
ever maintain their dignity. Civil to those above
them, they never lose their self-respect. Under
157
ASCENT OF BUSHIDO
their gentlemanly manners lies, however, more of
sternness than of meekness. In their kindness,
there is more of conscious condescension than
sympathy. In their loftiest spiritual mood, they
show more of pity than of love. They say kind
and wise things to you, and you understand their
meaning ; you hoard their words in your memory ;
but their voice does not live with you. They look
at you and you are struck with the clearness of
their gaze ; but the lustre of their eyes is gone
when they have passed from you.
Would you see the highest type oi Bttshi, ascend
by a steep, craggy path to the loftiest zone. Here
dwells and greets you, a gentler race of men — they
are unsoldierlike and almost feminine in ap-
pearance and behavior. You would hardly sus-
pect them to be samurai. You may at first even
take them for a very ordinary set of people, so
unpretentious are they. You can approach them
with case. You may think they are approachable
because liberty can be taken with them. After-
wards, you will realize that you drew near to
them because you were irrestistibly attracted.
They are at home in any company — high or low,
great or small, old or young, learned or ignorant.
There is something more than mere urbanity or
refinement in their manners. Affection beams
from their eyes and quivers on their lips. They
158
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
come, and a refreshing zephyr blows. They go,
and a warmth of the heart is left behind. Never
pedantic, they teach. Never patronizing, they
protect. Never proselyting, they convert. Of-
fering no service, they help. Without doling out
alms, they succor. Without herbs, they heal.
Without argument, they convince. They play
and laugh like children. Their play is more than
innocent, for it puts guilt to shame. Their laugh
is more than hearty, for it restores the weary soul.
Their childlikeness makes a sinful conscience
envious of purity. When they weep, their tears
wash away your heaviest load. The zone where
these samurai dwell is shared with the followers
of Jesus.
" Who is the Happy Warrior ? Who is he
That every man in arms should wish to be? —
It is the generous Spirit, who, when brought
Among the tasks of real life, hath wrought
Upon the plan that pleased his boyish thought ;
Whose high endeavors are an inward light
That makes the path before him always bright."
lVords7Liort/i.
'59
THE SWORD AND THE PEN
THE SWORD AND THE PEN
Sword ! What a train of brilliant deeds, of
historic fame and of chivalrous valor, is associated
with this single monosyllable ! It carries our
reflections far back into those by-gone days, when
Joshua drew his Sword for the cause of the Lord ;
through those warlike ages of Greece and Rome
down to the latest event, w'herein the sword was
the chief instrument. It brings fresh to our minds
the mighty deeds of Gideon and David, of Alex-
ander and Caesar, of Peter the Great and Napoleon.
In legends and traditions the sword is the deliverer
of princesses and virgins, and in real history, too, the
stories of magnanimity, of self-sacrifice, of justice, of
patriotism are often the story of the Sword. Often
as it is the emblem of authority, oftener still, alas !
does it tell doleful tales of sorrow and dreadful
tales of brutality. Just picture to your mind tens
of thousands of the suffering poor, of those that
are slain in the prime of manhood, of those that are
bereaved of their brothers, husbands, fathers and
sons, of those that are left naked and penniless !
Yea when we, even in imagination, dwell upon the
horrible scenes of bloodshed and its more horrible
consequences, we arc not at all surprised to see
brave Wellington wiping from the corner of his
i6o
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
eyes the tender drops of sympathy, as he, one
evening during one of his campaigns, surveyed the
battle-field and thought of the dead, the widows
and orphans. Carnage and famine attend the
footsteps of a misused sword. Famine is followed
by depopulation and this checks production, com-
merce, art and sciences, and with halt of these
civilization itself stops. This is an exaggerated
view of war, but not the less logical. Such is the
Sword, at once the power and the canker of state.
But free from blemishes of a bloody sort, what a
pure and lofty air does the pen breathe into the
breast of society ! P-E-N, easy for a schoolboy to
spell, what a mystic spell does the word convey?
Were it not for the pen, what were " the vast ac-
complishment and brilliant fancy of Cicero, the
withering fire of Juvenal, the plastic imagination of
Dante, the humor of Cervantes, the comprehension
of Bacon, the wit of Butler, the supreme and
universal excellence of Shakespeare " more than
a light under a bushel, unseen, unfelt ? Blind
Milton touches it, and before the astonished world,
in all its beauty, rises the Happy Land of Para-
dise. Wonderful power ! Civilization owes its
progress to thee ! Science adores thee ! Litera-
ture finds its life in thee ! •' The pen is mightier
than the sword " is an old adage and a true one.
But even the Pen is not without its abuses.
i6[
THE SWORD AND THE PEN
For if it bequeathes the life of one generation to the
next, it Hkewise perpetuates the vicious influences
of vicious productions : if it propagates right
principles, that is not all it can do and does ; it
also diffuses the baneful effects of injurious writings.
" One good, one evil." If Dante's " Divine Come-
dy " taught deep spiritual truth in its pictures of a
hell which lies not only under Florence, but yawns
at the feet of every one of us, if the Shakespearian
drama enriched the world, if the " Novum Orga-
num " changed the whole phase of philosophy, if
the " Principia " explained the complex problems
of nature, if " Pilgrim's Progress," and " Paradise
Lost " have done vast good in their several
spheres, equally vast if not vaster have been the
counter effects of the " Philosophical Dictionary,"
a storehouse of falsehood, of the " Age of
Reason ; " of " Decameron " and of other writings
akin to them. The circulation of obscene literature
pollutes many — ^who can estimate how many ? —
promising youths. Indecent novels and love stories
slowly but surely work their pernicious way into
the hearts of maidens, and like the termites of
Africa, undetected by any outside symptom, gnaw
the center of morality, religion and intellect ; and,
while their victims appear well and at ease,
stealthily comes the crash of their ruin. Such then
is the Pen—properly used, the benefactor of
162
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
nations, misused their enemy. Hence, mark it,
" the pen is mightier than the sword " is true only
in that sense, in which we speak of water as more
powerful than fire. Their actions are reciprocal.
Their fields of operation are totally distinct ; the
one deals with the physical, the other, with the
moral part of man.
ll'rittcii J 880.
A SUPPLICATION
I ASK for daily bread, but not for wealth, lest I
forget the poor. I ask for strength, but not for
power, lest I despise the meek. I ask for wisdom,
but not for learning, lest I scorn the simple. I ask
for a clean name, but not for fame, lest I contemn
the lowly. 1 ask for peace of mind, but not for
idle hours, lest I fail to hearken to the call of duty.
For these and much more, O Father, do I crave,
knocking at Thy door ; and, if I dare not enter,
yet Thou caust dole out the crumbs fallen from
Thy table.
'63
ON THE SEA
ON THE SEA
Since leaving Moji our ship has been rolling and
tossing in such a fashion that the dining-room looks
deserted, whenever the bell announces the meals.
Whether I will or not, I must fast, and hunger and
fatigue lulled mc last night into a deep slumber.
This morning I awake to a new world, and new
feelings come over me. The weather changed in
the night and with it the sea. The gloriously blue
sky is above and the smooth, mirror-like water
below. Never before has the ocean so impressed
me with the glory of creation ; never before has
navigation so impressed me with the triumph of
human invention. These words rise to my lips —
words which habitually come with similar emotions
— Marvellous are thy works, O God ! and what
wiliest Thou that I do on earth ?
In vain do I put forth my hand to grasp what
lies beyond the horizon, or even one inch beyond
the stretch of my arm. In vain do I strain my
eyes to catch a glimpse of what is hidden from
mortal ken. Only vaguely come to my mental
view the marks of an Almighty Power, which,
when traced, here grow faint and there clear.
164
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
The sea contains marks of such a twofold
character. Its vastness surpasses the ability of the
senses to comprehend ; its depth is deeper than
anything I can imagine ; nothing is calmer than its
placidity and nought more furious than its angry
billows. I behold the sea-gulls sport with the
sparkling \vaves ; but I can fancy leviathans
underneath. The aged fisherman in his fragile
craft plies his trade with his little daughter's help ;
they smile and float on the tranquil surface, little
recking what mighty forces and giant monsters
are below.
Peace and war, love and hate, gentleness and
ferocity make up the sea ; they make the world
and human life. Incongruity and inconsistency
are glaring to our limited vision. But somewhere
— deeper hi the scale of God's creation or higher
in the grade of His spiritual plan — there must be a
place where all incongruities cease and inconsis-
tencies no more exist.
As I stand on the deck of the steamer and look
upon the sea, my mind wanders from one theme to
another ; but as my gaze grows more intent and
my thought more intense, the questionings that vex
my soul vanish, and one consciousness remains —
God.
On board the Saikyo Maru,
February, igob.
'65
RUINS OF AN EMPIRE
RUINS OF AN EMPIRE
I STANl") among the rubbish of past splendor.
Around me are, in mouldering heaps, the palaces of
kings, whence were issued orders for the governance
of millions of human beings ; the chambers of
queens, gaudy with gold and brocade, where
jealousy, intrigue, romance and gayety, held their
court ; the temples where gods of many a mighty
religion — Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist — had
their seats and their rites ; libraries where, for
hundreds of years, the wisdom of the ancients was
kept in sacred awe and for blind reverence —all
these grand edifices arc now in different stages of
decay, some tottering and feebly leaning on pillars
worm-eaten to the core, ready to fall at any
moment under the weight of the shattered tiles
that form the roof ; some in complete collapse, a
mere heap of dust, from which trees large enough
to shelter you from the glaring sun are growing in
verdant luxuriance ; even the best preserved have
their venerable roofs overgrown with weeds and
shrubs, while their interior affords safe refuge for
birds and bats.
Not only the palaces of the founder of the
present ruling dynasty of China, but the sacred
town of Mukden where it arose to might and power,
i66
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
are in partial decay. Its outer walls are fast re-
turning to the element out of which they were
raised — namely clay ; its inner walls, a massive
and once impregnable pile of stones, show signs of
crumbling ; the turrets and gates stand roofless,
warning the passers below against falling frag-
ments of masonry.
If the courtiers swarm no more the corridors and
the pavements of the palaces, the denizens of the
town still carry on their ancient trades, unmolested
on the streets, buying and selling, haggling and
peddling. The princes and lords have departed,
leaving the people to go on as in days of yore,
" marrying and giving in marriage," trudging in
the ways of their fathers.
Gone to utter corruption is the government of
the land ; but in the people is living fire and
tremendous vitality. Never in history has a wor-
thier nation been ridden over by a worse administra-
tion. There is but little affiliation between the
governing and the governed. Like oil and water,
the lighter greasy fluid floats and presses upon the
heavier liquid ; the water feels the pressure but it
bears it so lightly that it moves and acts much as
if the pressure were not there.
The time is coming for the people to feel any
unnecessary burden irksome, and for the govern-
ment to find that corruption costs dear.
167
RUINS OF AN EMPIRE
As I stand here among the rubbish, rapt in
contemplation, I am aroused by the sound of
hammer, axe and saw. The carpenters and
masons are busy, plying their various crafts, in
bringing to order again the chaotic mass of ruins.
Not by slaves or by forced labor, but by free and
well-paid artizans, is the ancient splendor to be
restored, and, when the work is done, may no
despot occupy the throne, no illicit queen defame
the chamber, and no sycophants sit in the council
halls !
Miika\/!. May, igob.
AT THE MIDNIGHT HOUR
The last udonya has retired to his lair. The
hum of insects is hushed. No nightingale sings to-
night to keep a poet awake, nor does an ominous
raven disturb the unlucky in his sleep. To the ear,
the earth is as good as dead. I sit up alone to
watch the stars " climb the ancient sky." Wh}^
do I fail to catch the rhythmic cadences in which
the constellations march in their courses } I fain
would listen to the faintest notes ; but I only hear
my own poor heart beating : —
"The impatient ihrobs and lon-ings of a soul,
That pants and reaches after distant good."
I OS
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
IS CHINA AN ANSWER TO
CONFUCIUS ?
Since coming to China, the question has been
haunting my mind, " Is this the land of Confucius
and Mencius ? " This initial question has raised
others, " Is this government the moral result of
the precepts of these sages ? " " Is this people the
logical outcome of the principles which these wise
men taught ? "
If this country, this people, is the creation of
Confucianism, I am sorry I ever did him reverence.
What utter rottenness is hidden or manifest in
the whole fabric of this government ! What mean
characters sit in high places to dictate commands
to four hundred millions of people ! What unjust
creatures mete out '' Justice " to their fellow-
beings ! There is something disgustingly disap-
pointing in the whole structure of administration.
The root of the matter lies deeper than in the
system of government ; it lies deeper than in the
personnel of administration. Does it not ire in the
teaching of Confucius ? For, whatever he may have
taught, however he may have preached, there was
lacking a power, an impulse for action. He spoke
as one who had no authority. He spoke as an
outsider, as one who looked on life. One feels as
169
IS CHINA AN ANSWER TO CONFUCIUS?
though he sat on a perhaps slightly elevated
platform by the roadside, and talked in a fine,
resonant voice to the millions who passed by. But
many of his beautiful phrases, for lack of genuine
sympathy and heart-felt love, fall flat on the ears
of those who labor and suffer.
Hence a profound gap was formed between the
teacher and his hearers. These incline their ears
to the noble sound of his voice, little comprehend-
ing what he meant, but feeling that there must be
something back of grand and grandiose periods.
The teacher, a cool, shrewd Chinaman, very proper
and polite, strict and upright and righteous, utters
in short, pithy form, precepts of practical import.
The master piped to the people and they danced
— awkwardly enough : he mourned and they wept
— crocodile tears.
The mission of Confucius strikes me here as
a failure. His words may be intelligible to the
educated of his countrymen, appealing to their
intellect ; yet they are without power to convict
them of sin or convince them of responsibility.
As to the unlettered millions, he is a vague
personage, unreal to their imagination (of which
faculty they are but scantily possessed), pouring
forth a stream of golden words which they never
expect to translate into action.
Mukdm. May^ igob.
170
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
THE GROWTH OF JAPAN
How fast has our youthful nation been growing
of late years ! Not only in population but also
in territory, not only in industries and wealth, but
also in intellect and power.
Just think that at the time when the present
Emperor ascended the throne, even the Loo-Choo
Islands were not clearly his possession; the bound-
aries of Saghalien were not definitely settled ; on
Formosa we laid not the least claim ; Corea was
of course her own master ; the Liaotung peninsula
lay beyond any dream of our control.
As to population, we could scarcely count thirty-
five million, at the beginning of the Meiji era ; now
there are nearly fifty million. Forty years ago,
there were very few Japanese in Hokkaido, which,
under the uninviting name of Yezo, was considered
as an island cold in the extreme, and full of danger
from wild beasts. If you should go to Hokkaido
now — which you can easily in two days from
Tokyo — it would be hard to see an Ainu hut.
and so far as a bear or a wolf is concerned, I am
afraid you would never make his acquaintance
in his own home. The old haunts of these animals
are now turned into plowed fields ; and where they
once roamed in unmolested freedom, you find in
171
THE GROWTH OF JAPAN
their stead children playing ; where two decades
ago, you heard the hungry howl of wolves
and the angry growl of bears, you hear the sweet
notes of school songs. Nor is it in Hokkaido alone
that you meet your kith and kin, away from their
places of birth. You take a steamer at Kobe, and
after three short days' sailing, you land at Japan's
new possession, well known in ancient lore and
legend as the happy isle of Takasago. This is no
other than Formosa, so called by the Portuguese
because of its beauty. It lies near the tropics and
has naturally a very warm climate ; but here, too,
different as it is from Hokkaido in many respects
our race is thriving. Japanese children are as,
easily born under the shade of tall southern palms
as under the spreading branches of northern elms.
The Yamato race, thus far confined to an
insular life, has, within the last few months, taken
hold of a continental. A year and half ago>
a million sons of Japan, armed for the defence o
her rights, marched in battle array over the plains
of Manchuria. The war is over ; but her sons, not
armed indeed for fight, but provided with hoe and
abacus, are now going in crowds to the continent
for a more lasting conquest than by sword or gun.
Mere growth in population and territory means
very little, unless it is accompanied by growth in
wealth and intelligence. And how has Japan fared
172
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
in these respects ? Has she squandered her
money for wanton purposes and grown poorer ?
Does she, proud of her new territorial acquisitions
and her increasing population, neglect to attend to
her higher vocation ?
There are many proofs ithat our wealth has
grown with great rapidity. I need not enumerate
mines of gold and coal, as well as of other metals
and minerals, that have been opened in the last
forty years. You can see with your own eyes new
railways that are being built every day. Each
year sees thousands of acres newly broken and
won from wastes and underbrush. Shipping —
well, iew nations have made as much progress as
ours in this regard. New steamers have been con-
stantly bought abroad and new steamers made
in our own dock-yards. Russia has been generous
enough to make us a present of several men-of-
war !
We are glad we are richer now than we were ;
but wealth amounts to nothing unless it is put to
right use. Many a thoughtless son of a wealthy
father has become a profligate debauchee, because
of the money he could command. With nations,
too, it is true that wealth may prove detrimental
to their best interests. We must know what use
to make of money. Education, intelligence, intel-
lect and above all sound judgment and upright
17?
THE GROWTH OF JAPAN
hearts can teach best how to utihze wealth.
Nothing, therefore, gives us more satisfaction, in
reflecting upon the progress we have made as a
nation, than to see the increasing number of schools
that are built, of children that attend schools, of
students graduating from colleges and universities,
of books published, of periodicals issued, of news-
papers printed, of scientific discoveries and mech-
anical inventions.
A glance at the recent growth of Japan is
sufficient to make us proud and self-confident. But
we must always remember that as soon as pride and
self-confidence get the upper hand, we are doomed
to decay and possibly to destruction. We must be
conscious of our shortcomings ; we must remember
in how many points we are still behind the West.
Let us be grateful for what we could achieve thus
far, and, with a grateful heart, let us address
ourselves, without haste and witliout rest, to the
long path still lying before us.
M(xy, igo6.
174
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
COMMERCIAL MORALITY
In the first place, I must make an apology for my
great unwillingness to accept your invitation to
speak here this afternoon. That I was unwilling
to accept it is true, but as this is an honest con-
fession I know you will at least give me credit for
honesty. My reasons for this reluctance are, first,
that I was born a brown man and not a white man.
It is, in any case, awkward to speak in a foreign
language ; but it is specially difficult for a brown
man to speak in a white tongue to a brown
audience. In the second place I have lately been
closely occupied and had no time for preparation ;
so I came here with no paper, and without a single
idea in my head. My third reason — and this is
my last — is that it is my habit to take an afternoon
nap, and this being just the hour for that nap, I
must confess that my eyes are even more reluctant
than my mind to disclose themselves.
For these very good reasons, which you will all
accept, you will agree that it was proper that I
should have consented with a great deal of
unwillingness. Yet, when T came here and listened
to your orations, I felt amply paid for the sacrifice
of my afternoon nap. I listened to the different
* Address at the Kobe IIis;her Commercial School, May, iqoS-
175
COMMERCIAL MORALITY
speakers with great surprise, and wonder, and with
admiration of their abiHty to prepare such brilliant
addresses, and to stand before such a large audience
and speak out their mind. I was greatly pleased
with the progress that you have evidently made
in expressing yourselves in a foreign language ;
but, more than that, I was pleased with the strong
moral under-current that ran through all that you
said.
In view of this, I can see that the future of our
commercial community is bright. I have often
been ashamed of the absence of integrity, of the
utter lack of a sense of honor, on the part of many
of our merchants. I could boast to foreigners of
our country and its history ; I could boast of the
high ideals of our knighthood ; I could boast of our
triumphs on land and sea ; but, whenever con-
versation turned on commerce, there was not the
least occasion to boast. I often asked myself the
questions : " What will our young men do after
the war is over ? Where will they find an outlet
for their ability and energy ? " Some of you will
reply : " In commerce. Have we not ships to
carry on our trade ? Have we not succeeded
in borrowing millions of foreign capital to start
new enterprises ? " Yes, very true. But are ships
enough ? Is commercial knowledge enough ? Is
your capital enough ? Oh, no ! These things
1/6
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
are nothing compared with the one thing needful
— character. Honesty is all, all else are outcomes
from it.
As I thought on these things while sitting here,
you furnished me a subject to talk about. When
I entered this hall, I asked Prof. Kokubo if some
one would not suggest a subject, and a slip of paper
was handed to me on which I find " The Best
Way of Studying English ; " " The Distinguishing
Characteristics of English Literature Compared
with German and French ; " " Bushido and Mer-
chants." All these are highly interesting themes,
and if you would kindly allow me to speak in
Japanese I think I could speak for three hours on
any one of them ; but, my tongue being tied to
l<>nglish, I will conclude my discourse in about
fifteen minutes.
My speech will, however, comprehend all these
subjects. It is to be a very comprehensive one.
First, to continue the line of thought started while I
was listening to your orations, I understand from
what I heard that you all agree on the necessity of
a moral foundation for commercial progress. Our
nation, in her mad haste to catch up with the
progress of other countries, has only half under-
stood how the West has waxed great in material
civilization by more than material- means. In
striving to grapple with the competition of Europe
177
COMMERCIAL MORALITY
we have built up systems to secure this end. Japan
has endeavored to mould body and mind, and even
soul itself, into machines to produce gold, little
knowing that machines are not sufficient. To take
an illustration from agriculture, they tell us that
one who uses a plough must have ideas above a
plough.
Now, to make good merchants of you, they teach
you to be adept in calculation — I do not mean
your teachers here say so, but the spirit of the
age does, - forgetting that honesty and integrity
will make you adept in commerce. It is so, too.
in legal or any other career.
All tend at present to proceed in a mechanical
way. There is a general " mechanization " of life,
if I may coin the word, and the whole Empire is
about to be turned into a huge machine.
We boast of having conquered a mighty nation
and say that it was due to our system of education.
I beg to dissent from this opinion ; for if we had
had a really good system of education, we could
have beaten the Russians in two months instead of
in twenty. It is a surprise to me that with such an
imperfect, mechanical system as we have, we beat
them at all. It was not that we were so great,
but that Russia was so corrupt. But, I tell you, the
next war will demand much more of us.
I know not when the time will come when the
178
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
nation may call you into the battle-field, where
sword and gun will decide the fate ; but I know
that soon you will all be called into a more
peaceful but none the less strenuous battle-field, in
which it will never do merely to move like
machines. There you must have moral convictions
of your own. Not, as on the battle-field, can you
move at the word of command from a general, but
each must move at his own command. Now, are
you ready for this .'' What will help you to
prepare yourselves for such a conflict .'' For our
warriors there was a preparation made through the
precepts of Biishido. But in the new warfare you
need something better than Bushido.
In the coming warfare of commerce and trade, it
will never do to confine yourselves solely to com-
mercial morality; for it is too narrow and its limits
lie within those of a civil code It only says,
If you make contracts you must stick to them and
then you will be considered good merchants. A
very small thing that ! Think how low that
standard is.
Suppose an ohasan comes to your store, poorly
clad and shivering with cold, and wishes to buy
some stuff. You say that you have some at
two yen a tan, but she has only one yen and
eighty sen. You, as a merchant, can stick to
your price and say, "I'm sorry, Madam, not to
179
COMMERCIAL MORALITY
oblige you ; but this is a one price store and I can
not sell it for less ! " Every one would say that
this is perfectly correct, that as you do not change
your prices you are a reliable shop-keeper. Well,
you may be hard-hearted as a man, but as a
merchant you may thereby only enhance your
credit. This is commercial morality. But sup-
pose she continues, " I lost my son in the war and
though I got some money from the government I
was swindled out of it," will you give her the
stuff she needs ? Such charity is not required by
commercial morality at all, but it may be required
by a higher and wider law.
Commercial morality need not comply with
Christian demands. As far as business is concerned ,
if you stick to commercial ethics you will be
successful. " Honesty is the best policy," and
commercial morality is no higher than a policy. It
pays to be honest. Shall we then be satisfied
with it and with nothing more .'' Among no
people is it on so high a plane as among Anglo-
Saxons. But shall we be content with it, even as
it is shown by its best exponent ?
Here I come to a new question. Low as it is,
can commercial morality be successfully carried on
without something to back it ? Can a merchant be
really honest, simply because of a sordid purpose
to make money ? Is there not something higher ?
i8o
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
That is a question I wish to leave with you for
contemplation. For myself, I believe that there
must be some Power that can inspire a man with
higher ideals. If I see a grain of sand on the
seashore move, I know that some Power greater
than the grain of sand has moved it. If I see a star
fall in the sky, I know that some Power greater
than the star has moved it. If I meet a merchant
dealing always honestly and with high integrity, I
know that some Power greater than the man has
moved him. If the Anglo-Saxon is highly devel-
oped in his business dealings, I know that some
higher and stronger Power has moved him to this
higher level.
What is this Power .'' You may say that it lies
in the inborn genius of the Anglo-Saxon race.
There is a book called " Anglo-Saxon Superiority "
by Desmolins, a Frenchman, which ought to be a
text book in every school. If you read this book
you will get the idea that there is in the Anglo-
Saxon race something inborn that makes them
succeed so well in life. Though I believe that
a large part of their success is due to this inborn
genius, I also firmly believe that this race, unless
it had something to back it up, unless it had some
Power to push it forward, could not have moved as
it has.
I believe that the Anglo-Saxon race and the
COMMERCIAL MORALITY
Germanic race are by nature inferior to Oriental
races in the gentler virtues. It is no wonder that
all religions based on love and pity should be born
on Asiatic soil. No Occidental race could have con-
ceived the great pity of Buddha or the surpassing
love of Jesus. The Occidentals could not originate
such doctrines as theirs ; but, when once they
learned the greatness of the love of Christ, and
turned their hearts to follow him, then all their
brute forces were diverted in a new direction and
they came to combine manliness with gentleness,
all their stout manhood being made mellow by the
doctrines of the Son of Man.
I was one day talking with Count (Jkuma, who
is a great admirer of the Anglo-Saxon people. I
expressed regret that everything in Japan had
become Germanized. The University is German,
the army is German, the navy is more or less
German, the laws are largely German. And 1
asked him why it Avas that he admired the Anglo-
Saxon civilization more than the German. " If
you ask me why," he replied. " I can not give a
good reason, but my instinct tells me that their
ideas are in accord with those inculcated by
Bushido. What Bushido taught me to reverence,
I find the English and Americans reverence, and
with great earnestness. That which Bushido
taught me to despise, I find that they despise, and
1S2
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
that they despise it more heartily."
Instead of taking the Anglo-Saxon race merely
as a pattern of commercial morality, I wish you
would look deeper and search for a higher ideal in
their literature. Think high in your study ; feel
nobly in your closet ; speak gently in your family ;
— then in your transactions in the market, you
cannot be a bad merchant. Cicero taught long
ago, — " When a man descends from heavenly
things to human, he will certainly speak and feel
more loftily and nobly on every theme." Read
your Shakespeare, and read your Milton ; your
Carlyle and your Macaulay ; and know, through
all of these, that the Anglo-Saxon people, in all
their dealings with other races, have been moved
by some motive higher than sheer business calcula-
tion. If you desire to be good merchants, learn
from them something higher and grander than
commercial ethics. That is the message I wish to
share with you to-day. That is the thought which
has been haunting me for a long tim.e. It is my
sincere desire that, in the next step of our progress
as a nation — that is to say, in our coming stage
of economic evolution as a commercial and in-
dustrial people — we may not belie the high reputa-
tion we have won as warriors.
183
CULTURE AND RESTRAINT
CULTURE AND RESTRAINT
It is evident — too evident to require any proof
— that there is a tendency in us to hke and
follow evil. Unless this propensity is checked,
there is no telling where it will land us. St. Paul,
a man of deep intellectual insight and large spiri-
tual experience, said, " The good that I would, I
do not ; but the evil that I would not, that I do.'"
Constant effort must be made to eradicate the
noxious weed, as soon as it makes its appearance
in the soil of our mind, or else it will grow so fast
that it will in no time, not only outgrow the useful
herbs, but overshadow them so completely as to
kill them all.
Many saints and sages have struggled hard to
subdue the carnal element in our nature, so much
so that some of the more morbid among them
looked upon what they called " the natural man "
— that is one who was not converted to Christiani-
ty — as possessed of no redeeming feature in himself.
Hence they taught and practised self-denial and
often self-torture, believing that the subjection of
the flesh would bring about the enlightenment of
the soul.
Precepts and practices like these arc clearly
needed in our daily life ; yet they have naturally
184
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
their proper bounds, beyond which they entail
more harm than good. There is danger in bodily
pleasure ; but there is a certain degree which we
must observe when indulging in it; below this degree
it may be harmless, may even be beneficial, but
above it it may mean death of body and soul.
We must forget the enjoyment of the pleasures
of the flesh, if we would taste fully the fruit of the
spirit. Without renunciation and sacrifice, nothing
deep of life can be known. Carlyle calls Annihila-
tion of Self " the first preliminary moral act." Self-
denial is the beginning of true life. Selfishness is
not real life ; for, whereas it is a characteristic of
all sound life that it perpetuates itself, propagates
its like, imparts vitality to others, selfishness
deadens the spirit, begins and ends in itself.
But we must also keep in mind that self is not all
badness ; for within us dwells a noble element, a
divine essence, a heavenly light.
George Fox called it the Seed, by which he
meant the seed of goodness with a power of growth
— a power to grow into a large and fruitful tree.
At sight of the poor and the suffering, pity springs
involuntarily in our breast. At sight of noble
deeds of great men or pure women, admiration
comes unbidden over and within us. Whether we
will or not, we bow before " whatever things are
true, whatever things are honest, whatever things
185
CULTURE AND RESTRAINT
are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things
are lovely, whatever things are of good report."
There is an innate sense of righteousness and love.
Man is born with a heart to love, and with a mind
to perceive right. As says Mencius, " Who does
not rush to the well, when he sees a child in danger
of falling ? " Everybody does. Many a cold
hearted murderer sheathed his cold blade when it
could find no fitter object than a crawling babe.
This divine instinct of sympathy, deeply rooted in
our nature, is inseparable from it. It is an integral
part of our larger Self.
There are a great many people who refuse to
attribute anything worthy to human nature. They
insist that man is but a worm and dust, and if there
is a spark of divine flame, it does not properly
belong to him. To such people, man is vile and
vicious, hardly the equal of a brute.
It is not my purpose to discuss here the origin of
the moral sentiments. They may have come from
above, and from afar. Whencesoever they be, we
know they are here, alive and living, enshrined in
the holy of holies of each individual con-
science. These sacred instincts we must cherish
and nourish to the utmost. As they are tender
plants they must be tended with most delicate
care. Under proper culture they can thrive and
t^row unto tall trees with wide spreading branches
186
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
to shelter men and dcasts. These noble sentiments
being part of our self, they must needs grow
with our growth and decay with our decay, or
we shall grow with their growth and decay with
their decay. When they die, we are dead also,
living no more in spirit, though perchance we may
continue to breathe through our nostrils.
So, two natures are lodged within us. Two
principles are fighting one against the other on the
battle-field of our mind. The one —the evil one —
is strong enough to assert its power ; it can even
overpower us. The other — the good — is tender
and too tender to grow without care.
The act of resisting evil is called Restraint,
Self-abnegation, Renunciation, Self-repression. In
its philosophical and religious aspects, it becomes
respectively Stoicism and Asceticism. And, as
these teachings were most rigorously prescribed
and most rigidly followed by the Hebrews, under
the Mosaic law, they are also called Hebraism.
Opposed to the above is the art of encouraging
the growth of our better nature. Its advocates say,
" Develop your own self. Expand your faculties.
Give free play to all your inborn powers." This is
called Culture, Self-expression, and because it was
best exemplified in Greece, it is known as Hel-
lenism.
Both have their merits and dangers. Both have
187
CULTURE AND RESTRAINT
their places in the scheme of moral evolution.
They are not oppossed the one to the other. They
are complementary, and in their proper union lies
" the fT^oJdcn mean."
AMONG THE TOMBS
1 WANDER among the tombs. Time mocks
here the ambition of its sons to perpetuate their
memory. Ruthlessly it wipes their names out of
the crumbling stones or buries them under the
moss.
What is a name or fame ?
The deeds done in the body in the name of
righteousness and mercy, are the only lasting
souvenirs that mortals can leave behind them in
their pilgrimage here below. The faintest marks
scratched on a rock by a bleeding finger as a
warning for those " sailing o'er life's solemn main,"
the dimmest footprints left on the sands for forlorn
travellers to follow ;— they outlive all titles and
epitaphs carved on marble by the hand of pride.
iSS
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
J0^
DUTIES OF THE PRESENT
Have you seriously thought or deeply felt in
what a grand and critical moment of our history
we are now standing ? We so often forget the
Present and dwell upon the Past or yearn for the
Future.
" We look before and after,
And pine for what is not." |
The " Golden Age " is of our own making. Age
in itself is neither golden nor leaden. It becomes
either by our own thoughts and deeds. If we
think loftily and act nobly, we can make any
period of time " golden." Mean thoughts and base
actions render the best year inglorious. In old
Greek mythology, we are told of a god, Midas, who
possessed the mysterious power of turning every-
thing into gold by a mere touch. We, too, share
such a power ; for we can turn our own age into a
golden, if we only will.
Said an ancient Chinese sage, " Wc respect our
ears too much and despise our eyes ; " w'e think
that important of which we hear, such as the
events of the Past, but neglect to pay due attention
to that which we behold with our own eyes, such
as the common occurrences of every day.
DUTIES OF THE PRESENT
Our primary duty is to incline our heart to the
demands of the living generation, " the eternal
present," as Emerson calls it.
When we reflect upon the great events that have
transpired during the last twenty months, when we
meditate upon the unbounded possibilities of the
coming years, do not our hearts rejoice that we
are living iiozv ? Can our lips refrain from singing
and from uttering thanks for the duties that are
incumbent upon us ?
My young friends ! The Future, greater than
the Present, awaits the fruits of your present
endeavors : the deeds of your fathers urge you to do
the work of this day : the Present loudly call for
your earnest efforts. " The present," Goethe has
taught, " is a potent divinity ; learn to acquaint
thyself with her power." There is but one way of
learning the power of the present ; and that is, by
obeying its behests and doing its duties.
Happy and wise the man whose hands arc
engaged in the duties of the fiozu !
190
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
SILENT HOURS
There is a suggestion I wish to make to my
young friends, and that is to form the habit of
devoting some time every day to perfect silence;
Carlyle said very truly, " Bees will not work
except in darkness; Thought will not work except
in silence." It is in the hour of silence that we can
best know ourselves. It is well that each some-
times, indeed often, commune with his own spirit.
We should make it a rule to retire for even ten or
fifteen minutes each day and solemnly dwell in
the silence for a while.
We know how pleasant it is to make friends with
congenial souls ; but there is no friendship more
profitable or more lasting than that of our own
spirits. Shut the gate that opens to the noisy
world ; shut the fiisuma, asking your own people
in the house not to intrude, — then speak with your
own spirit. Ask, " Is this right ? " "Is that
mistaken } " " Am I honest ? " " Is my motive
sincere ? " — and your spirit will give you proper
replies.
Before he began to do, or after he finished doing,
anything, Socrates used to consult his spirit which
he called the dcBiiwn. In our soul dwells and
works a Power that can excuse or accuse us.
igi
SILENT HOURS
When tliis ceases to act, all is dark with us. The
Bible calls Him " the Light that lightens every
one coming into the world."
Because this Power has a capacity to grow, it
was called by George Fox " the Seed." He and
his followers also named it " the Inner Light."
Wang Yang Ming calls it the Conscience or
Inner Mind, and his Japanese disciple, Miwa, does
not hesitate to give to it the name of " a god in the
heart of man "
Thus it possesses many names. But these
various names mean one and the same thing. Only
this wonderful power is too often hidden and
crushed in ourselves. W^e do not cultivate this
seed with sufficient care. It is denied proper
occasions to show itself. We are prone to neglect
its voice. Wlien it calls aloud, we do not heed it.
It may give us the best advice and warning ; but
we do not listen; because our ears are either dinned
with other voices and noises or else pleased with
notes of alluring music.
It is well, therefore, that, we shut tight the gates
of our mind against the world now and then, and
listen only to what the dcetnon has to say to us
in the privacy of our communion.
192
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
AMONG THE KAMI
In the subdued light, under the fohage of ancient
trees, we walk. The blue of the sky is visible only
in specks from beneath the rich green of the leafy
boughs.
Almost with awe we tread the sacred precincts
of Yamada. Our voices are hushed, or, when we
do speak, it is in whispers. ' No music in the
shrines, no chant by the many pilgrims, not even
the shrill clarion of the cocks that roam unmo-
lested the courts dr perch among the tall cryptome-
rias, disturbs the silence of the place. Only the
Isuzu, just now swollen after several days of rain,
lends to the air the sound of impetuous waters.
Every thing and all things suggest the Past. I
am ashamed of my modern habiliments. Leather
shoes strike me as desecration : I ought to go
barefoot, or, at most, in straw sandals. A felt hat
is ridiculously unbecoming, — a fuki^ leaf would
give sufficient shade. It seems like dire sacrilege
to appear here in a cut-away and trousers, — a
hempen cloak of roughest weave should suffice to
cover my nakedness.
But the Kami know that I am their child.
Neither a Parisian cut of frock-coat nor the newest
* Pt'tii sites japouicits.
•93
AMONG THE KAMI
theory of sociology can efface the fact that they
are my fathers. Yes, the most heretical doctrines,
subversive of their authority or dubious of their ex-
istence--if I should happen to entertain such — will
give no cause of disruption between them and me.
And if they will not receive me as their own, I shall
insist upon my right of inheritance and shall appeal
to all mankind and to /ur/z/Z-kind for my claim.
Modern Japan is no bastard. She is the lineal
descendant of Pre-liistoric Japan. The flowers that
are blooming from day to day in our gardens have
been nourished by the humus accumailated for ages.
Primeval Japan belongs to the Past, and the
Kami too. Old things must go, leaving their
wisdom to the new ; old regimes must vanish,
imparting order to the new. Each age has its
new duties and our fathers left us spirits ever fresh
and young to meet them. It is vain to yearn for
the dead Past. If the Past is dear, let our hearts
be set upon the living Past — the Past which is
still alive and which deserves to live, which is
immortal and eternal. The Past should be no
burden to weigh us down, nor a cord to tie our
feet and hands.
Make the revered Past a new impulse — an
impetus to urge us on. Our fathers' voices must
stir us to fresher deeds and newer actions. The
Old calls us to the New. The terrestrial Kami in-
1^4
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
vite us to celestial gods. Our vision rises from one
existence to another. Through rifts in the thick
foliage of hoary ancient trees we see glimpses of
the boundless sky.
Yamnda, Is!. y""<', igob.
iNO HERO AMONG US
There is a discouraging feature in our national
psychology. It is that petty, peevish, hyper-
critical trait that marks the young and old of our
land. People delight to find faults and to magnify
them. Unworthy criticism is a characteristic of
fools and little minds ; because they can not sec
anything but faults, they themselves being all
faults. " Every boor," says a German proverb,
" can find -fault ; it would baffle him to do better."
They deem it beneath their dignity to admire
anything. They have no comprehension of great-
ness in the flesh or goodness in the concrete.
No hero is tolerated among us. We boast we
are a nation of heroes. Is a hero impossible among
heroes ? Is it not heroes that can raise up a hero ?
A nation that has no hero, can never be a nation
of heroes.
J95
THE LASTING FRIENDSHIP OF SCHOOL-DAYS
THE LASTING FRIExNDSHIP OF
SCHOOL-DAYS
There were times when hills and dales were
new to me, and, though those times are gone, the
hills and dales still remain. The memories of
childhood days come back like fanciful dreams of
a summer eve ; but the experience of those days
has sunk deep into] my soul, and I am largely now
what I then felt and thought and did.
Years ago I formed friendships with some choice
spirits, and, though those years have since rolled
away into the darkening past, yet the friends still
remain in their ardor and fidelity. Boys we were,
working side by side in the school, and though
our walk in life is now in different paths, still
remains strong " the blest tie that binds our
hearts in Christian love."
Our youthful talks were full of fun, but withal
earnest and serious. How often we used to gather
near the belfry in Uyeno Park (since no fee was
charged there) and, sitting under the shadow of
the spreading boughs in the mellow twilight,
boldly but gravely exchange our views on themes
from which philosophers would have shrunk in
dismay.
Life's greatest issues, men's noblest end, the
196
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
immortality of the soul, were discussed — to no
conclusion, and yet directing our thoughts beyond
our narrow every-da)' sphere. All through our
argumentation, justice was done the sumptuous
feast of roasted peas and senbci we had spread on
the sward. Another of our favorite resorts for
rendezvous and study was the Public Library,
the old Seido building, which, in those days, was
the only institution of the kind. That was in our
eyes a magnificent edifice ! The imposing flight
of stone steps leading to the entrance was solidly
built and always clean. Silence reigned in the
halls through which the cooling breeze blew, while
outside the cicadas, lodged among the branches
of the crepe-myrtle, reminded us that the dogs-tar
held sway.
Whenever I turn my thoughts back upon those
days, a sensation as of drinking at the fountain
of perpetual youth comes to me, with an enchant-
ment possessed by few other memories. Sincere
and early friendship, the congenial companionship
of school-days, have charm to change the very
sands of Gobi into the gold of El Dorado, the
eventless past into a glorious history. Ah friends !
Coming back to the haunts of my youth, I stretch
my hand across the space of three decades to
clasp your hands. We have traveled varied
paths. How wan and tremulous, brave Kan, are
197
THE LASTING FRIENDSHIP OF SCHOOL-DAYS
thy hands ! They show marks of a long struggle.
Thou hast fought well thy battles, — battles of
thy innermost soul and against the mockers of
thy faith. And, thou, dear Kin ! with what plod-
ding patience thou hast pursued the way thou didst
choose, and what as a boy thou dreamedst of, as a
man thou hast attained. Thy studies have
crowned thy name with honor and in the shrine of
Science thy name is inscribed. And thou, Isam !
with th)' many gifts of mind and with thy large
heart, thou didst for awhile wander in the fields of
human knowledge ; but, once fixed in thy life-
work, so steadily hast thou grown in service that
not only our Fatherland but the wide world re-
cognizes thy goodness and ability.
O my readers, forgive me ! I am cheaming of
times gone by. Could I do otherwise, seeing I
find myself among the surroundings of my youth .'*
As 1 take my seat under the crepe-myrtle and
hear the shrill cicadas repeating the old song and
sec the boys passing by in jolly comradeship or
serious converse, my old school-days loom up from
the past with a brightness and clearness, that sug-
gests the joyousness and celerity with which the
fire flies flit across the darkness of the night.
Septintihcr, igob.
198
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
STUDENT IMMIGRATION
With the return of a new academic year,
thousands of young men and young women are
again flocking to Tokyo — each to his or her school.
Each train brings hundreds from seashore and
countryside. They have left behind them in the
distant woods the smell of midnight oil ; they
have washed away their pallor in the surges of the
ocean. They bring with them, into the school-
room and the dormitory, the healthy incense of
their pine-clad hills and the salt vigor of the sea.
They carry into the heart of the city the vital
force bred of the country. Pure blood which is
more or less impoverished in the city, flows back
in trickling streams through youth and maiden.
It is well-nigh demonstrated, by vital statistics,
that the physical life of cities is ever refreshed and
replenished by the rural population. Were it not
for the immigration of the red-blanketed inaka-
mono, all the cities of the world would have been
turned long ago into a desert of tombs. It is
country blood that keeps a nation alive.
So far, well and good. But what about the
application of the newly won vigor .-' Vitality
is in itself a small fraction of human existence.
To be sure, it is the basis whereon life is built;
>99
STUDENT IMMIGRATION
but, with advancement in culture, the super-
structure waxes so great in. magnitude and im-
portance that mere health is regarded not as an
end but as a means to some higher object.
Professor Giddings' classification of men into the
fourfold grades of Vitality, Mentality, Morality
and Sociality is worthy of deep consideration and
we shall have frequent occasion to allude to it in
these pages. Vitality is not all. Its importance
is to be measured by the assistance it renders in
realizing the higher aims of existence.
The serious question which confronts us at this
moment concerns the influx of youths and maidens
into the metropolis. To these we should like to
refer this query ; — What use are you going to
make of the renewed energy, the strong passions,
the fresh courage, the new will-power which you
bring from your summer haunts .-' Are you going
to use them for the upbuilding of the life of the
city and the nation at large ? Or — are you going
to waste them in frivolous dissipation and selfish
indulgences ?
Vast opportunities await you here for good or
for evil. Japan's greatest gifts are offered to you.
You can study to your heart's content in the best
of libraries that the country affords, with the best
of teachers Japan furnishes, or — you can idle away
your life in the grossest of pleasures or the vilest
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
of enjoyments.
When you left your country home, you formed
resolutions to lead an unblemished life and ulti-
mately a brilliant career. Your decision was to
rise with the sun, bathe in cold water, take
morning exercise, and begin your day's task with
a clear head and a clean heart. You pictured to
yourselves spacious halls, packed with ambitions
young men— all eager to hear some renowned men
of learning ; then you fancied yourselves shut up
in a small room leaning over your desk in the
small hours of the night, delving in the wonders of
science, philosophy and history. Your imagi-
nation turned to new friends you would make — all
of noble aspirations and blameless character.
Your simple ideas ol student life were high and
pure. May you live up to them ! May no
tempter entice you away from the path of your
resolution. May you dedicate your bodily strength
to highest ends.
Brace up, boys and girls ! For the temp-
tations of a great city are everywhere — hidden
or manifest, and unless you pray every morning,
" Give us tJiis day our daily bread," the bread of
the spirit, you will fall an easy prey to them.
One by one your ideals vanish, your energy
slackens, your resolutions weaken. The things
you hated begin to grow less hateful. The sights
STUDENT I IVI MIGRATION
from which you turned in disgust gradually be-
come attractive. In the glance of an eye, where
your clear vision could before detect venom, you
think you discern a gleam of affection, and what
your best instincts deeply despised grows into an
object of admiration. As the light of your con-
science is dimmed, the palace is desecrated into a
den, — the den is elevated into a palace. Hobgob-
lins are transformed into angels, angels into
hobogoblins. Such reversion of judgment is not
uncommon among the young whose immediate
surroundings are changed from the peace of the
country to the excitement of the city. Only a
strong will, assisted by a sound body, a prayerful
heart and a pure mind, brought from rural retire-
ment, will arm the young to withstand the temp-
tations of the '• madding crowd,"
Septt'iiihcr, J gob.
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
J0^
CHEERFULNESS
Under the burdens which call forth groans from
weaker brethren, in spite of the loneliness that oft
overtakes him,, and in the heat' of battle which
distracts cowards, a great mind is always cheerful.
Circumstances which may justify peevishness in
smaller souls never occassion disturbance in the
serenity and placidity of a well balanced mind.
It is ever cheerful.
It does not laugh at sorrows, but sorrows fail to
deprive him of equanimity. It is never morose.
It is true that large souls are often wrapt in
lonelines, but it is more true that sickly and puny
spirits are apt to be gloomy. The pettier the
mind, the more easily is it overcast with little and
fleeting clouds.
Alone and lonely a good man may tread the
earth, but it furnishes him joy and companionship.
He talks, as with a friend, to the brook that
babbles by, hears the hymnal of praise in the hum
of bees and rustle of ripening corn. The gay
sakura and the sombre Jiagi are alike among his
dearest friends.
A truly noble soul comprehends messages of
nature and apprehends no evil from its many cata-
strophes. His thoughts are above calamities,
203
CHEERFULNESS
though at their coming his hands arc busy with
succor of the victims.
Cheerfuhicss is a characteristic of a loving spirit.
How else can he be but cheerful, whose heart
overflows with affection and enlivens with affection
all objects around him ? Such a man is supremely
happy. His whole being bubbles with love : it is
a fountain, whereof thousands may drink freely.
A real man of action is full of cheer. He can
afford no time for gloomy forebodings and dismal
fears. If the sword of Damocles hangs above his
head, he does not tremble. He knows his life is
insured against harm and pays his premium to
Heaven in noble deeds and noble thoughts.
Can you imagine a rose shorn of its thorns .-'
Sorrow, deprived of its pang and sting, is an up-
lifting agency in the hand of Providence. Hence
the religion founded upon the worship of sorrow
works wonders not explained by philosophy.
Instead of dejecting, it elevates the spirit. Instead
of furrowing the forehead with frowns, it sweetens
the lips with smiles. Instead of bedimming the
eyes with grief, it enlivens them with fresh lustre.
The clouds that darken the world of ordinary
mortals, only help to warm and brighten its
worshipper.
Thus does a trustful soul keep up its cheer,
joyous and rejoicing, pleased and pleasing.
204
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
THE USES OF SORROW
Is there a place where sorrow is not, where it
was not or where it will not be ? Is there a soul
whom sorrow has never visited, or whom it does
not or will not visit ? Unhappy the place or the
soul that has not at one time or other felt its
visitation. For Providence evidently wills it, as
the lot of all living creatures, that they taste of this
divine dispensation, in order that they may be
perfected. Bitter to the lips, it is medicine to the
soul.
He who has not drained its cup knows not half
the meaning of life. To each individual soul is
given a separate chalice, of which he alone is
required to drink. I can not exchange mine with
yours, as we do in a Japanese banquet. Some-
times, as in a feast among Formosan savages, two
or more may drink from the same vessel, thereby
feeling less the unpleasantness of its contents. But
common or communal sorrows do not stir our souls
to their depths. We must all suffer individually
and separately.
Of the many names that his followers have
given him, the one that endears Jesus most to our
hearts is, "the Man of Sorrows." He is not
capable of true joy who has not passed through
205
THE USES OF SORROW
tribulation ; for only he who has walked through
the valley of the shadow of death, can feel the
blueness of the blue sky.
But mind you ! Sorrow is not a blessing in
itself, any more than is the bitterness of herbs.
If pharmacy can distil from cinchona bark a sweet
essence of the same medicinal efficacy as quinine,
so much the better. The virtue of quinine lies not
in its bitterness, neither does that of sorrow in its
pangs ; hence he errs who, to avoid suffering tries
either to defy or flee from sorrow itself.
••' For sure, 'twere better to bear the cross,
Not lightly fling the thorns away,
Lest we grow happy by the loss
Of what is noblest in the mind."
There is a sweetness in sorrow which the world
does not dream of. Pleasure there certainly is
none in sorrow, but instead blessedness abounds
therein. If we manfully accept it and gracefully
bear it, its hidden meaning will become clear and
we shall grow wiser for the pains we endure. In
the mysterious chemistry of the spirit, pure cry-
stals and beautiful can be formed from bitterest
tears. Only, for such a chemical process there
must needs be a catalytic action, which is called
Divine grace. The uses we make of sorrow are
the measure of our spiritual growth.
206
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
J0^
A SOUL OF GOOD IN THINGS EVIL
There is no place so dreary but that some
verdure does not enliven it. There is no being so
dead but that some promise of life exists. There
is no creature so utterly corrupt but that reform is
possible. There is nothing so evil that it has not
some redeeming feature. Vou may give the worst
report of your enemy ; but 1 am sure you have
omitted something that can be asserted in his
favor. The devil himself is to be admired for his
patience and energy. When a man tells me that
his friend or his foe is so clean gone to the bad
that he sees not the least ray of hope, I begin to
suspect that the speaker himself is a case of greater
despair than the object of his solicitude. Says our
poet-Kmperor,
' ' Plant, and this for thyself know ; —
There's no land howe'er forlorn
Where flowers refuse to blow ;
For, 'tis from heart's core alone,
The baseness of flesh doth grow*."
This world is not the work of Beelzebub, nor is
it ruled altogether by His Satanic Majesty. God
is not dead, despite Nietzsche's repeated as-
207
A SOUL OF GOOD IN THINGS EVIL
sertions ; neither doth He sleep. Everywhere are
not only seen His old footprints but are heard His
living steps ; nowhere are lacking His finger
marks of not only olden days but of the present as
well. We can trace His goodness in the darkest
corner and in the gloomiest hour.
Are your burdens heavy ? They contain articles
of value, perhaps gold. Are the shadows dark.?
It is a proof that the light is strong. Do you
wander in a desert ? Look out for an oasis. Is
your lot cast in a wilderness ? Wait for the manna
to fall. Roam where you may, green mountains
are before you, if you have a mind to discover and
enjoy them.
A hopeful spirit, bright and cheerful, never fails
to find in things evil a soul of goodness. Wher-
ever he goes, he carries light to brighten not only
his own narrow path but a broad highway that
skirts it. By the sick bed he sees the hour of
recovery. Under the thickening clouds he catches
glimpses of their golden lining. In the wretch
that cringes and crouches by the gutter, he still
descries a divine spark. To him " all men are
heroes, every woman pure, and each place a
temple." Without grumbling, without groaning,
he pursues the even tenor of his way, making
glad the while the hearts of his fellow-men, light-
ening their burdens and flavoring the bitterest life
208
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
with sweetness. He accomplishes more than all
the reformers can achieve with their noisy blasts
of trumpet and their nasty pryings into evil and
exposures of shame.
A pure heart and guileless, shedding rays of I
love and illuminating with sympathy the cham- ;
bers of sorrow, bringing by its mere presence I
repentance into the dens of sin, is the nearest ap-
proach to God. _--'
In a Sanyo train near Miyajima, October, /905.
I CANNOT TELL
I BOW my head, — and yet I can not tell what
presence demands my reverence. I bend my
knees, — and yet I can not tell what power claims
my adoration. I utter my prayer, — and yet I can
not tell who hears my supplication.
I can not tell all that I know. I can not know
all that I feel.
If I could know all I feel, and feel all I know, I
should be kneeling in deeper reverence.
209
A DECAYING NATION
A DECAYING NATION
This is a clear, beautiful evening. As the sun
is sinking, the northern sky is tinted with blue, and
above the western horizon hangs the salmon-hued
promise of the morrow's fair weather.
Now I seat myself in an arbor erected, over a
century ago, by a Korean monarch, whose ambition
it was to make this place the centre of the world.
The builder christened it with a long and poetical
name — " The Cottage where Flowers are Sought
and Willows are Followed."
A plain of paddy-fields extends northward to
the foot of the Kokyo range, whose rugged peaks
stand in purple and violet sublimity. In the west
lies a peaceful, smiling hill, clad with venerable
pines. What a treat it is in this country to feast
our eyes on hills covered with trees ! Far away to
the south where the " Flowery Mountain " touches
the horizon, the river Qua runs in one straight line,
"and near by a pond, from which a dragon is said
to have ascended to heaven, still shows marks of
former care. The luxurious water-gate, like the
arbor where I am writing these lines, shows that
time and the hand of man have dealt heavily with
it since the death of King Sei-So. Once the banks
of the Qua were lined with graceful willows, whose
'2flO
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
scanty survivors even now droop over the dry,
gravelly bed, and O, my friends ! is that thin
thread of a stream, trickling among the stones,
tears shed by the weeping willows ? Not a sign
remains of the myriad flowers which once made
the hills gay. Where are the princes in spotless
white and the damsels in richest brocade who
flocked here to " seek the flowers and follow the
willows " ? The stone walls and the pavements
of the water-gate are crumbling to pieces — an easy
prey to frost and heat. The mountains are bare ;
the forests devastated, exposing the rocks they
once covered with verdure. The exhausted fields
no longer make a generous response to the turning
of the plowshare or the sickle of the reapers.
Worst of all, the energy of the people is sapped
to the utmost. Gone is all the spring of endeavor.
There is no incentive to exertion. Men sit in their
white robes, smoking their long pipes, dreaming
of the past, heedless of the present, hopeless of the
future. Only when spurred by hunger do they
bestir themselves just enough to earn a scanty
meal. Women — poor women, on whom the hard-
ships of life fall heaviest everywhere — are forever
engaged in pounding or washing the white clothing
of the family, while boys of tender age, with faces
fair as those of girls, are loaded with burdens suf-
ficient to crush an adult worker.
A DECAYING NATION
As I muse among the willows to-night, a feeling
of sadness steals over me. It is the same sensation
I remember to have had in Granada, Cordova and
Valladolid. With the air so dry why should my
eyelids be moist ? In an atmosphere so clear, what
is there to so depress me ? I feel as though there
were a slowly working fatal poison in the atmos-
phere.
Certainly the fault is not in the air or the soil,
neither do I find it altogether in the people, who
are so worn they can do but little harm. Where,
oh where, then, lies the root of the evil ? who or
what is it, that has led or rather misled this
pitiable band often million souls into this slough of
despond ? Is it this man or that woman ? Or is
it a nondescript amorphous mass of forked radishes,
which we dignify by the term of a people or a
nation ? Or is it that certain uncertainty that
man in dire despair calls fate ? Let History judge
the guilty, as she has been wont to do and will do
with increasing certainty.
.'■uigen, Korea, October, igob.
212
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
4!y
PRIMITIVE LIFE AND PRESIDING
DEATH IN KOREA
Neither its climate nor its soil is to be held
responsible for the decay of Korea. One may
here apply with equal fitness the adage which the
Spaniards are wont to repeat. " Both the heavens
and the earth are good ; the only bad thing is
that which lies between." Yes, " only man is
vile," and it is from him that all offence cometh.
I am riding through the fields of Zenshu. This
is one of the largest plains of the peninsula.
Clear and high rises the autumn sky. There is
sharpness in the air, but it is bracing. Innumera-
ble flocks of wild geese are sojourning here for a
while on their way to a southern home. Hark !
That is not the cry of geese. Lo ! The classic
cranes spread their royal wings and soar above
and near us. The early rice is harvested and the
paths are thickly covered with sheaves laid there
to dry. The swains, all in white raiment, are
cutting the late crop, singing as the sickles movci.
As groups in the village yard beat the sheaves
on logs of wood, to thresh, they keep time with
hilarious songs. Tiny mud huts, thatched with
straw, compose the hamlets and villages. Now
/
IN KOREA
and then, through broken fences, I catch gh'mpses
of women busy with pestles, pounding the grain in
wooden mortars, while their little ones, in red coats
and white trousers, peep out at the Japanese
passers-by, their eyes opening wide with wonder-
ment and fear.
Life is Arcadian. I feel as though I were living
three thousand years back, in the age of our Kami.
Many a face do I see that I should have taken for
the likeness of a Kami — so sedate, so dignified, so
finely chiselled, and yet so devoid of expression.
The very physiognomy and living of this people
are so bland, unsophisticated and primitive, that
they belong not to the twentieth or the tenth — nor
indeed to the first century. They belong to a pre-
historic age.
Nowhere else, I believe, do the living walk and
work so near the dead as in this land. The hills
and fields are literally strewn with graves. Where
I am riding even now the road is lined with
mounds, and with straw coffins awaiting burial.
Not a few among the latter have decayed and
their contents are exposed to view. But no
Hamlet passes by to pause for contemplation on
the skull of a Yorick. This is indeed like treading
the corridors of a Pantheon, where are lying in
?H
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
state the village Hampdens, the mute inglorious
Miltons, the Cromwells, guiltless of their country's
blood. But no Gray sits among these mounds to
write an epitaph.
Only the rudest peasants saunter, labor and
rest under the constant reminder of the dead and
of the past — so constant that they not only heed
it no longer ; they grow callous to their message.
They sit on the mounds to take their mid-day
lunch. Children play about them while the
cattle they tend are grazing. The bleached bones
of a nameless ancestor are kicked about on the
roadside.
There is an inspiration that hallows death with
affection, and honors the past with veneration —
connecting the mean present with heroic traditions,
filling the fainting heart of the living with high
memories- of all the generations gone. But when
the remains of our fathers are desecrated, and be-
come the commonplace objects of every-day as-
sociation ; when a corpse in process of decay
offends our nasal sense ; when the dogs are seen
sporting with human bones, death is turned into
so realistic and so physical a fact as to exercise no
spiritual influence. Rather does it act like a heavy
load on the spirit of a people and, instead of up-
lifting, it depresses, and far from inspiring, it causes
despair. A people so closely related to death are
215
SORROW'S DISPENSATION
themselves more than half-dead.
The Arcadian simplicity of the folk gives no
promise of primitive energy ; their habits do not
remaind us of the untamed vigor of Homeric
songs, nor of Tacitus' description of early Ger-
mans, nor indeed of the fresh chronicles of the
Kojiki.
The Korean habits of life are the habits of
death. They are closing the lease of their ethnic
life. The national course of their existence is well-
nigh run. Death presides over the peninsula.
Zcnshu. Noveiuhcr, jgob,
SORROW'S DISPENSATION
Sorrow reigns everywhere— in the gilded halls
of a prince as under the thatched roof of a peasant.
Neither wit nor beauty can bar its gate against it.
An infant has an inkling of it in its unconscious
cry. Youth feels its presence in solitude. Age
cannot part company with it.
With the silken rope of sorrow, nature binds
mortals in bonds of compassion, training them to a
fuller and larger life of mutual toleration in society,
and preparing them for the higher and final ex-
istence in the kingdom of God.
216
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
THE SENTIMENT OF THE SEASON
We stand again at a dividing line of time. This
is not the first time, though it may be the last,
that we see an old year out and a new year in.
We cannot avoid some strange sensations which
accompany a Merry Christmas and a Happy New
Year — an Oinisoka and an Aratama. We may try
to shake off sentiment, but there are sentiments
which cling to occasions. Christmas, with its
beautiful story of a new-born babe, prepares the
mind at the threshold of a dying year for the
prospect of a new lease of life, making the som-
berest English temperament "merry" with child-
like joy. The old and the young join in the carols
the angels sang. The new year takes up the strain
and elevates the chorus from merriment to hap-
piness.
Sentiments befitting the seasons are so thickly
strewn along the by-ways and highways of English
literature, over the plains of social customs and on
the streams of tradition, that none can escape the
invasion of thoughts peculiar to the time.
With us, too, the Omisoka, the great last day,
is the doomsday in which should be settled all
the accounts of the year. It weighs the in-
debtedness of one to another, clears and cancels,
2t7
THE SENTIMENT OF THE SEASON
rendering white again the pages of the ledger page.
We can then open a fresh account at the beginning
of a new calendar. With the new calendar we
renew not only our debit and credit, but our whole
thought. Our fathers have poetically called this
change in time Aratama — renewal [aratamaru) or
new life {aratavia). It is well that we make
right use of the season, and not let it pass by un-
heeded. What use then, shall we make of it ?
Let Christmas have its full share of merry
making^ — ^of gifts, of hymns, of good things to eat.
Let joy reign in every household, Christian or
not, remembering that Christ was born not only
for the Christian, but for the world. His work
belongs not to Church History only, but to Uni-
versal History. His life appeals not only to His
professed followers, but to every lover of noble
deeds. His death has not only hallowed Golgotha,
but it has made sacred our whole planet. His
spirit is in the very air we breathe, and whether
we revile His name, or spit on His portrait, or
trample under foot the crucifix, or criticize His life
and doctrines — we are partakers of His work,
recipients of His bounties and should be followers
of His deeds. He is the greatest fact in history.
Rejoice, then, all who can profess His name.
Rejoice, also, ye who know Him not, because He
knows you.
218
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
Christmas is not an occasion for mere ebullition
of merry-making. We make the day merry, not
for the sake of merriment, but for peace on earth,
good-will toward men. Without peace, without
good-will, merriment is bacchanalian and may just
as well be devoted to Bacchus.
The day being propitious for the birth of a new
precept, the inauguration of a new ethical regime,
we can profitably spend the remaining week of the
year in contemplation and reflection.
On the great settling day of Omisoka K^t us
review the past and fearlessly face the events ol
the closing year. We are instructed not to look
behind, after having once put our hand to the pi ow.
We must guard ourselves against misinterpreting
the injunction. It betokens weakness to look ba ck,
if it is to give up our work or to waver in oui
purpose. But it is highly beneficial, when our
furrow is finished, to turn back and study whethei
it is perfectly straight and equally deep. Ex-
perience has proved that the best work of ar
English horse is secured, when a furrow is neither
too long nor too short — ^130 yards is said to be the
right length. Our experience shows also that it is
conducive to spiritual health, if we can pause and
turn at regular intervals to take a good look at the
work of our hands. At the end of every furrow ot
365 days let us pause and turn back, to discover,
219.
THE SENTIMENT OF THE SEASON
if we can, what errors have been committed and
what blessings have been showered upon the up-
turned sod.
There are, I beHeve, two things to lay to heart
in tlie retrospect of the year. One is to remember
all the blessings that have come to us, and the
other is to count all the errors into which we have
fallen.
No man, however cautious, is free from mis-
takes, whether wittingly or unwittingly commit-
ted. " To err is human." It lies in the very
nature of mortal beings to be imperfect. " A man
is all fault, who has no fault at all." It is a whole-
some exercise of the judgment to see what faults
have been committed and how and where. To
own one's own faults is to clear the conscience.
" A fault confessed is half-redressed." Every
honest soul will, in closing the account of the year,
fall prostrate before the tribunal of his own
conscience and will repent in sackcloth and ashes.
Only let not our contrition be morbid. No mortal's
life, however wretched, was shrouded in utter
darkness for a whole year. Gleams of joy, of
hope, of good intentions and resolutions, could not
fail now and then to enlighten his path. He must
recall the good things that came into his possession
from above or from within — the good things which
sprang up in his bosom. Let him count one by
220
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
one the color and fragrance of flowers, the songs of
birds, the smiles of children, the glories of sunrise
and sunset. Let him recall every kind word of
his friends, and each gleam of the strangers he
passed by. Neither must he forget or leave out of
account the rays of the sun, as it shone however
feebly through a rift in the clouds, nor yet an
honest face among the throng of the riff-raff that
surges on in the street. The most unfortunate
creatures are never denied some drops of the milk
of human kindness. The most miserable of
wretches hears of a certainty a tender voice or
witnesses an act of affection in the course of a year.
Never as yet is human depravity so advanced
that man does not show some sign of his divine
origin. Things innumerable lie along our path
that make glad our hearts, for which we give ncv
thanks.
A thankful heart is a happy heart. Gratitude
and happiness are so closely allied that the one
hardly exists without the other — resembling a
wonderful double web which presents beautiful
designs on either side. Thus does a grateful
Omisoka prepare for a Happy New Year.
Dtc ember, igo6.
HAPPINESS FOR A YEAR
HAPPINESS FOR A YEAR
" A Happy New Year ! " say we one to another.
1 repeat the same to you, my readers. And in
repeating those words, I sincerely wish you not
only a few days of happiness but happiness for
the whole year.
Set phrases such as " Omedeto " or " A Happy
New Year," come to be uttered without a thought
and to circulate without a wish. Very often they
convey nothing but mere empty sound and might
just as well proceed from the bill of a parrot.
If we ponder these words, they will reveal
a deep meaning, full of sweetness and of the milk
of human sympathy. They are a condensed and
epigrammatic expression of our earnest desire that
our friends may enjoy continuously and continually
three hundred and sixty-five days of happiness.
Three hundred and sixty-five days of happi-
ness ! " Impossible ! That is asking too much ;
for human life can not have continuous or continual
happiness for more than a few days at a time ;
and, if there be any enjoyment lasting for a long
time, it will cease to be happiness." I do not
think so, or else I would not wish you a happy
new year.
I believe it is possible to be always happy. We
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
must not confuse happpiness with pleasure. We
can very easily be satiated with, or tired of, any
sort of pleasure. Moreover, most pleasures bring
in their train misery, sorrow and ruin. In the
words of Ruskin, there are " no pangs so sickening
as the satieties of pleasure." An English proverb
says, " Never pleasure without repentance." But
happiness is different from pleasure.
The term happiness originally meant luck, that
is anything good that comes through chance or by
accident. The German word Gliick is of the same
root as the English luck. Happiness is derived
frome hap, chance, just as the French word
heureiix comes from heiir, chance. Our word
sahvai is also used in the sense of luck, and, we
speak of kofukti as equivalent to gyoko. If happi-
ness is chance, we can never expect it to continue
for any length of time : fortune is fickle and never
stays long in one place or by one man.
Our conception of happiness has developed and
diverged greatly from the time when that word
was first used. We do not at present associate it
with pleasure or with fortune. It is more than
either. It is both deeper and higher. A virtuous
man can be happy without pleasures, just as a
carnal man can gloat over pleasures without being
happy.
Happiness, as we understand it, is a state of
223
HAPPINESS FOR A YEAR
mind free from anxiety and engaged in the right
exercise of its faculties. It is not unusual for
people to think of happiness as a possession of
some thing from above or from without, whereas
it is a condition or state of our own mind. There
are natures that are happy by what they attain,
and others by what they disdain.
In order to be happy our mind must be free
from anxiety and worry. It must be placid and
calm. Keep it so day after day for 365 days, and
you enjoy happiness for the whole year. You
may raise an objection to my statement and say
that anxiety may come from causes for which you
are not at all responsible ; — for instance, your
father may fall sick. I know that sickness in a
family deprives it of a large measure of happiness ;
but, even in such a case, if you do your best in
nursing your sick father, you will feel in your
heart a calm consciousness that you have done
your duty, and this assurance gives you far more
happiness than would be the case if a healthy
parent and a strong son were quarrelling with
each other !
Even sorrow can not take away the sense of
happiness from him who does his duty well, and
who harbors no ill feeling against his fellow-men.
In the midst of greatest tribulations he lifts up his
head and smiles and gives thanks. " Happy is
224
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
the man whom God correcteth," says a saint.
If happiness does not depend on external con-
ditions or on material benefits, we can carry in our
heart the elements necessary to make us happy.
If we hoard these elements, we shall continue
happy. See to it, then, my friends, that you keep
your mind in quietness and innocence and at the
same time alert and ready for activity — then
happiness will come to you as a natural conse-
quence. Is it not within our power to hold our soul
in peace ? Can we not so exercise our will as to
maintain the equanimity of our mind ? I am well
aware that only by vigilance and strenuous effort
can we do so. Still as long as it lies in our
power, is it not perfectly possible to be happy
the whole year through .'' For if necessary con-
ditions are fulfilled, the effect must follow. The
conclusion of a syllogism succeeds the premises.
I therefore, wish you •' A Happy New Year ! "
yanuary, igo'j.
225
THE MONTH OF JANUARY
THE MONTH OF JANUARY
It is a beautiful story that Plutarch relates
about naming the different months of the year. In
his Life of Numa, he speaks of the great disorder
in the calendar during the reign of the first Roman
King, Romulus, and then continues the account of
the reform, according to which the number of
months in the year was increased from ten to
twelve. Previously, the first month was called
March, or Mars, as being holy to the martial deity
— war being considered the chiefest occupation of
the nation. Numa, when he made the change,
added two months — not at the end, that is after
December, which, as its etymology shows, was
the tenth month, but at the beginning of the year,
and named the first Januarius, or Janus, as being
sacred to this god of peace. Some historians state
that already, prior to his reform, the year had been
divided into twelve months and that January used
to be the eleventh. I leave the contention to
antiquarians for discussion and settlement. Enough
to me it is at present, that the bellicose Romans
accepted and after them the whole of Europe, in
spite of its constant wars and rumors of wars, has
continued the use of the system of Numa Pompilius.
Who is this Janus who thus opens the year with
226
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
his august name ? Whether he was a real per-
sonage — a Greek, who had migrated in prehistoric
times to Latium and ruled and tamed a band of
ruffians there, or whether he was an imaginary-
being, created by the reverent fancy of the denizens
of the shores of the Tiber, he was an important
member of the Roman Pantheon, ranking next to
Jupiter and sometimes sharing equal honors with
him. In all probability he was originally a god of
light and of the sun — an Amaterasu — a masculine
counterpart of Jana, or Diana. Unknown to the
Greeks, from whom the Romans borrowed their
mythology and religion, Janus was a strictly
Roman deity, and was revered as the origin of all
things on earth — the maker of seasons and years,
the inventor of all arts, the first teacher of religion
and civiliz.ation.
For these reasons the beginning of the year was
held particularly sacred to Janus, and on New
Year's day the Romans purified themselves and
their dwelling, hanging at the entrance, over the
door, wreaths and branches of laurel — much as we
do the shiine-naiva and twigs of pine. And, just
as our sJiinie-nawa was a sign of one's possessions
and premises, marking the sacredness of property
by a rope of straw, that none might trespass with
impunity, so was the laurel believed to have the
mysterious power of driving away intruding spirits.
227
THE MONTH OF JANUARY
On this clay the people donned their best garments
and forebore uttering any thing evil ; but spoke
only things of good omen and repute. Friends
exchanged gifts expressive of good wishes in the
form of sweetmeats, consisting usually of dates or
figs wrapped in laurel leaves, somewhat like our
chintaki. To the god were made offerings of cakes,
wine and incense, and similar oblations were re-
peated on the first day of each month.
As Janus held in his power the seasons, the
years, the months and the days, he was conceived
as holding in his hand the key of the portals of
heaven. He was depicted with two faces, turned
in opposite directions, one young, the other old —
suggesting the alpha and omega of all things.
Every morning he was invoked as the usher of a
new day. He was worshiped by the husband-
men at the beginning of seed-time. The merchant
in setting forth on his journey, prayed at his
temple. Before undertaking any thing new, private
or public, the Roman people asked for his aid ; for
the beginning was held by them as of prime im-
portance, a superstitious significance being attached
to it. I'lspecially was this the case in entering
upon a new war, when the whole nation supplicated
his aid, and while it lasted, the doors of his
temple were kept open to show that he had accom-
panied the army to the front.
228
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
Why should I recite in these latter days the
time-worn story of a pagan god and of his obsolete
worship ? Why should I not recount a tale so
beautiful and instructive ? Here I have no time to
defend the position of the Romans in the history of
the world. Whatever evil they may have com-
mitted, whatever good they may have omitted —
this much is certain, that they had a definite place
in the divine dispensation, or else how could one
nation rule the world thrice — once by its arms,
then by its laws and again by its language. And
there is pleasure in thinking that this mighty folk
invented and worshiped a god like Janus— a god
of peace, of light and of the sun, of all useful arts,
of all good beginnings ; a god that encouraged
gentle manners, friendly intercourse, and scruples
in public and private life ; a god who required no
sacrifice of blood and no orgies for his adoration,
but who accompanied his worshipers wherever
their arduous tasks called them.
329
WHERE THE REAL MEETS THE IDEAL
WHERE THE REAL MEETS
THE IDEAL
Man is so symmetrically shaped — at least in
external form — that there is great temptation to
systematize or even to schematize every thing.
Because we have two hands of equal length and
shape ; because we have two eyes and two ears,
we are prone to think of everything as being
capable of similar distinction and classification.
We speak of right and left, of right and wrong — in
short, of duality in nature and life. Logicians
teach us, in classifying things, to divide them, first,
into such as possess a certain character or charac-
teristic and such as do not ; then, to subdivide
them according to some other given standard into
such as comply or do not comply with it, and to
repeat to its ultimate issue this dual division.
In classifying flowers according to colors, we
divide them into those that are red and those that
are not red ; these again into those that are yellow
and those that are not yellow, continuing the pro-
cess until each group assumes a distinct place in
our minds.
So accustomed are we to view things from this
stand-point of dualism, that we fall into the error of
looking at the opposite extremes of things and
230
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
forget that there is a region where contrary ideas
meet. If there is black at one end and white at
the other, there is gray of all shades between them.
Before a solid element can evaporate in gaseous
form, it must pass through the intermediate stage
of liquidity. I remember reading a description of
an English coast by an eminent geologist, where a
river so slowly joined the sea that at full tide the
whole locality was water and at low tide it was
land. In the interval between the tides it was
neither land nor water or land and water together.
Even in our moral conceptions, where a com-
promise between right and wrong is oftenest con-
demned as weakness, there lies a broad neutral
belt where the conscientious suffer pangs of agony
at the dilemma presented to them, and where the
less scrupulous justify and console themselves with
commonplaces about " practical life," " necessary
evil," " demands of utility," etc., and where the
wicked feel at home " in mud and mire."
There is a border-land where history fades into
myth or myth clarifies into history. Such a period
was that of the demi-gods in Greece or oiChijin in
Japan. There is a zone in the spiritual experience
of man where intellect no longer suffices and where
man leaves science to embrace religion ; where
philosophy ascends to faith.
Our every-day life offers us wide stretches where
231
WHERE THE REAL MEETS THE IDEAL
the meanest realities of life merge into the ideal,
and where ideals materialize in most menial chores.
Says one who had clearer visions of highest truths
than most men — Phillips Brooks, —
" The real life, what is it ? Is it the wretched,
sordid details of earthly living, uninspired by a
single suggestion that in their mud and mire there
are seeds of any spiritual, transcendent fruit or
flower ? On the other hand, is the real life a vision
of some experience beyond the stars which has no
connection with the dreariness and degradation of
many of the mortal conditions which it has passed
through and left behind ? Not so. The real life
of a man is his highest attainment kept in perpetual
association with the meanest and commonest ex-
perience out of which it has been fed."
Whoever takes his bowl of rice with a grateful
heart, thankful for the providence and thinking of
the needy, — whoever attends to his daily round of
labor, as though it were appointed of Heaven, —
whoever gives a cup of cold water to the least of
His children in His name, — he is in a fair way to
solve the perplexing question as to where the real
meets the ideal.
232
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
ANDROLATRY
America is a land of mighty dimensions. The
Rockies and the Sierras soar high into the blue
firmament ; Mississippis and Columbias roll
through limitless prairies ; Colorado canyons
gape fathomless ; Niagara rends the air with its
terrific roar. Each time I have set my foot upon
its shores, the magnitude of the continent has
impressed me with new and ever-increasing force.
It is a characteristic of true greatness that the
more one contemplates it, the more stupendous do
its proportions grow in one's estimation and imagi-
nation, while little things and little men may for a
time strike our fancy with an appearance of
grandeur only to dwindle soon into their proper
insignificance. God alone waxes greater and
deeper, more mysterious and more wonderful, as
man pries more profoundly into His nature and
reaches a loftier height in the conception of His
attributes.
Great and good men partake of the divine nature.
They possess a quality of infinity. If we are not
mere valets — with eyes and mind fixed upon the
least and smallest parts and doings of our heroes —
we constantly discover in the objects of our worship
new reasons for adoration^ I pity a man who
233
ANDROLATRY
ceases to admire. Nil adniirari is a diagnostic of
a serious moral disorder. Noble men, and especial-
ly youths, should be full of adoration and admira-
tion for something higher and larger than them-
selves. A man who cannot admire is like a dried-
up well, no longer able to slake its own thirst or
to gladden the fields through which it flows. As
mountain brooks rush down in joyous torrents to
meet a larger stream, as rivers run to seek the sea,
as a mound forms a step to a hill and a hill leads
to a mountain, so does a Themistocles yearn to
join the heroic band at Marathon, so must each
one of us aspire at least to attain, and if possible to
surpass, the height won by Kenko in eloquence,
and Kusunoki in loyalty.
Few men do I admire more than Lincoln, and
the longer I study him, the greater he seems to
grow. Nay, even his shortcomings come to lose
their faulty traits ; they are not only excused but
they become attractive. I know this is exactly
the danger of androlatry into which we must
guard ourselves from falling. But I confess I
cannot help it ; nor are his shortcomings such as
are harmful to the welfare of mankind. His
awkward form, his uncouth manners, his ugly
countenance — they are easily forgotten in his warni
and benevolent presence ; yes, they become posi-
tively attractive as expressions, however imperfect,
234
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
of his tenderness, simplicity and magnanimity. '
As I write, his bust stands before me. The cold
Cararra lips utter not a sound, but I can almost
see them quiver with the words which I take
dearly to heart — " With malice towards none,
with charity for all." In the sunken sightless eyes
there twinkle child-like faith in God and man.
The deep furrows on his high forehead betoken
sorrow and sadness which no amount of his " funny
stories " can hide. There is a commanding au-
thority in his strong brows and his straight nose.
His mouth and chin are evidences of his decision
of character. The long head covered with unkempt
hair — more wonders does this single orb contain
than the continent of America !
" An honest man's the noblest work of God,"
says Burns. The Creator, in bringing upon earth
His last continent, roughly hewed out of the breast
of the Rockies a massive piece of humanity, which
he covered with the soft clay of the prairies, and,
breathing into its nostrils His own breath of life,
called it Abraham Lincoln.
Feburuay, Jgoj.
235
A SPRING THOUGHT
A SPRING THOUGHT
It's well to heed the messages of each season,
as it comes along with the march of the sun. What
delights and what instructions there arc in the
songs of birds and the colors of flowers !
It's well to incline our ears to the notes of the
warbler and listen therein both to the inarticulate
voice in which Nature speaks to us, and to the
many-voiced utterances of those who left in black
and white the music she stirred in their breast.
To him whose heart is open upward, the chirping
sparrows, too, bring their messages of heaven.
It's well to feast our eyes upon the verdure of
the sward and upon each flower, as it shoots
from out the brown earth. Is there not half hidden
and half revealed the mystery of mysteries, Life,
in a spear of grass ? " Flower in the crannied
wall," in the hand of a philosopher, suggests a
solution of the vastest of problems, the problem of
God and man. The ume is now at its height. Who
heeds not the treasures hid in its branches is so
much the poorer for the return of the spring.
But mind you ! Nature is never aggressive,
except when she punishes. She does not cry out
her mandates or her lessons ; she is silent to him
who will not listen ; She is dumb to him who
236
THE OLD AND THE NEW
accosts her not. Her messages are sealed to the
eyes that refuse to see.
" Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God ;
But only he who sees takes off his shoes ;
The rest sit round it, and pluck blackberries."
Only he is taken to the privacy of her chamber
who kneels at her door. Reverence is the key
with which man can open her treasure-house, filled
with things old and new, great and small. The
deepest truths, natural or spiritual, human or
divine, arc best learned when our knees are bent
and our head is bowed.
Science, in its curiosity and arrogance, boldly
pries into nature with a scalpel and a microscope,
and she yields to it what it seeks — bits and shreds
but no more ! Sentimentalism throws a hasty
glance upon nature, catches a frivolous song or
two, and gives to the world more frivolous songs
to decoy youths and maidens from her sterner and
truer teachings.
Nature's most solemn lessons — be they trans-
mitted by a sweet warbler or a fragrant time, by a
chattering sparrow or a way- side weed, should
bring us nearer to God and to man.
237
CUM GRANO SALIS
CUM GRANO SALIS''
Seldom is your hero so perfect as you believe
him to be. More seldom is your enemy so bad as
you imagine him to be. Only a few days in the
year does Fuji reveal its glory in such splendor
as that in which artists love to paint it. Still fewer
are the days that are so dark and dreary that its
form is totally hidden from view. Life is neither
so sweet as optimists declare it to be in their
songs, nor so bitter as pessimists tell us " in
mournful numbers."
Cum Grano sails ! — With salt we must season
all things to suit our taste. So differently con-
stituted are we all that none can agree exactly with
his neighbors on every point, and none can accept
the judgment of his friend or foe without some
allowance.
When angels sing, gladly do I bend my ears to
them, but not without remembering that their
songs arc turned to the highest pitch. When
devils whisper, I listen to them to discover per-
chance some truth in their words. For, as gold is
found mingled with sand and dust, there are often
sparks of truth in grossest lies, whereas in truthful
reports there lurk not infrequently unintentional
* JVilh a grain of salt,
^3^
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
misstatements. In the meanest reality an ideal is
present, and the highest ideal can be realized
wholly or in part in an humblest act.
Citm grano salis ! — Yet what care we must
exercise lest the quantity exceed our need. Some
use too much, making the sweetest thing bitter ;
others too little, swallowing unsavory meat. No
hard and fast rule can guide us in fixing the precise
quantity of salt. Each must have his own salo-
metcr. " Belie vest thou every letter written in
the Book of Record, 'twere better nothing were
written." Read with discretion, study critically,
consider reverently. Study with a reasonable
reserve. Correct judgment and good taste are
the indispensable requisites of life. Moderation,
the golden mean, is the secret alike of right judg-
ment and of good taste. Salt is the moderator !
There arc few dietaries that cannot be eaten
with seasoning, and fewer that can be eaten with-
out seasoning. How repulsive our daily food
would be. if it were not for a due amount of salt !
No Delmonico, no Yaozen is conceivable without
it. Scarcely anything can be taken pure, life itself
being an adulteration, as it were. Far be it from
me to abate the ardor of youth ; but lest it sink in
disappointment, let it provide itself with a pinch
of salt, before it sets forth in search of an ideal.
239
UNDER THE CHERRY
UNDER THE CHERRY
We walk under the branches buoyant with the
color of spring, feel the petals touch our cheek,
tread the ground strewn with their fragrant pink.
If human hearts are sensitive to the changes of
nature, at no time are they more so than in these
days when all the sleeping powers of plant and
soil waken to their arduous task of the year. If
pleasure is sweet, at no time is pleasure sweeter
than under the outspreading bloom of the sakura.
But beware ! lest we get lost among the flowers.
Pleasure is no sin as long as it hurts neither body
nor soul. I would not be so Puritanic as to abhor
all physical delights, which within proper bounds
are as much the gifts of Heaven as are the enjoy-
ments of the mind and the blessing of the spirit. I
believe that even transient pleasures — which alas !
are too often " the source of lengthened woes" —
can be so allied to intellectual and spiritual joys as
to partake of a lasting, nay, an everlasting
character.
Let us pause under the gay blossoms, inhale
their fragrance to the full and let the scented
breeze blow the petals in our faces ; only let them
speak to our souls and raise our thoughts from
earthly to unearthly beauty.
240
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
A LESSON OF THE NIGHT
We pass unnoticed the things which are
eternally existent. Each flower has its season.
The sakiira receives its due of glory and passes
away to give place to its successors — the peony
and the wistaria. Each age has its particular
hero and each hero has his particular age — even
" every dog has his day."
But the stars — the constellations which to all
appearance, and in the eyes of ordinary mortals,
are fixed, immovable, in the unchanging and
changeless vault of the sky, receive none of the
tribute due to their glory, none of the homage
which their splendor deserves. They are seen
but not felt. They affect the senses for a time ;
but rarely touch the sensibilities.
This evening I parted with my friends. They
went their way and alone I walked mine.
Whether we shall meet again, who knows ? I
prayed in my soul that they may long be well
and happy, and constant in love and friendship.
Stars bright and clear twinkle, beaming smiles on
the travelers here below.
Life's journey is ever lit with light from above.
When the sun disappears and the moon is hid,
the stars lighten our path with their penetrating
241
A LESSON OF THE NIGHT
irradiance. There is strength in the twinkHng
stars, " the stars of unconquered will." There is
unbounded energy in Orion ; love and passion are
felt in the Pleiades. Most rich in lessons is the
firmament for those who have eyes and heart to
learn from it. I can well imagine the Concord
philosopher gazing upon the heavens in wrapt
contemplation and singing,
" Teach me your mood, O ])atient stars !
Who climb each night the ancient sk}',
Leaving on space no shade, no scars,
No trace of age, no fear to die."
Small to mortal eyes what grandeur is theirs !
At the rising of the sun they pale away. To the
denizens of this little planet, the solar glory out-
shines theirs ; but they care not to vie with the
suns. One need not borrow the light of the sun
to hide the stars : " the burning of a little straw,"
as Carlyle says, can do it most effectively. But
they shine out again, when the straw is burnt out
and the sun has gone down.
I love to look upon the stars in the solitude of
night, and humbly learn of them what real
greatness means.
242
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
J0^
PRACTICAL RELIGION
Religion is not a matter of feelings, though it
never fails to elevate and refine them. It is as far
removed from vague sentimentalism on the one
hand as from feverish excitement on the other.
Religion is not an intellectual process, however
deep or high. While it does not check the fullest
use of the mental powers, it delivers us from
scientific intoxication or philosophical satiation.
Religion is largely the labor of the will. I feel
like defining it as the exercise of our will whereby
we bring it in accord with the divine will, or as the
merging of our spirit in the Divine. Theology is
but a by-product of religion,— -not a very impor-
tant one at that. If any one will do His will, he
shall know of the doctrine. The knowledge of
doctrines is a natural result of our action in
following Him. Too often we reverse the order
and try to get religion — or to get at it — without
first doing His will.
Cicero, to whom, if I am not mistaken, we owe
the term " Religion," has defined it as " the dis-
charge of our duty towards God." But we shall
never know our duty towards God, unless we
do the duty that we know to man.
243
COURTESY
j0>
COURTESY
Courtesy may have been born in the court of a
prince ; but it can dwell and thrive in the court-
yard of a peasant. True courtesy is not an
attainment of a knee-crooking courtier, bent in
pandering to the freaks and passions of his lord ;
neither does it belong to the courtezan to whom
it is but an item of her stock in trade. True
courtesy, by which I mean what the French dis-
tinguish as co7irtoisie de cosur, courtesy of the
heart, is an exercise of good -will, of mutual
respect, among men of worth. It does not consist
in forms, in bows, in dresses, in exchange of polite
phrases. It consists in the respect which two or
more self-respecting persons pay to one another.
It can never deteriorate into the cajolery of a
courtier or the captation of a courtezan. Genuine
courtesy is a characteristic of strong men. In our
mediaeval warefare, there was something ex-
ceedingly charming in the exchange of salutations,
when two warriors met to fight in single combat.
Kven an enemy must have due respect shown
him ; a man who is not worthy of your respect
is not worth fighting with. I like to ponder upon
the scene of the meeting between Cromwell and
George Fox. No formal politeness could be ex-
244
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
pccted in the first acquaintance of these two rugged
giants — the greatest of Puritans and the greatest
of Quakers. In that scene, where they stood face
to face, one observes and feels a veritable ex-
change of manly courtesy. How could it be other-
wise, when souls are so deeply imbued with rever-
ence for whatever is honest, strong, true and god-
like ?
-^
WORDS AND WHAT THEY
STAND FOR
We must not be too grammatical and judge of
words only by their etymological significance.
Philology is still largely an amateur science, A
second rate philologist easily degenerates into a
mere punster. In using a word, its origin, deriva-
tion and history are of minor importance, com-
pared with its meaning ; and the meaning is of
little account compared with what the word
stands for. The idea or the substance is what we
try to grasp when we utter or hear a word. The
most eloquent speech may be but as the sound of a
breeze or of a rivulet. Much may be spoken and
little said. Speech must be backed by a thought
or a personality in order to be emphatic. A word
becomes then a life, and a speech an action.
245
RURAL VIRTUES
J0^
RURAL VIRTUES
What delights are hid among these mountains
and villages, far from the madding crowd ! Such
verdure as no city park can show ! Flowers —
not those sickly, spoiled things, however beautiful,
raised under glass by horticultural hands, but
those hardy, wild growths which the great
gardener, Nature, has tended — cover hill-sides,
peep through the underbrush and greet you at
every turn along the road.
Back to the land and to Nature, O sons and
daughters of the soil ! The country-side waits for
your return. The fantastic pine-trees stand on
tip-toe to see if you are coming. The stately
cryptomerias stand in a row, to salute your
arrival. The chestnut boughs wave in the wind to
beckon you. The purple clover smiles its pret-
tiest, the azaleas deck themselves in their gayest
garb for you. The sparrows chirp their welcome.
The frogs croak audibly enough to remind you of
old acquaintance.
Everything in nature is " upward striving."
The earth trembles with youthful vigor.
We should leave the dusty city behind and
seek for health and simple life in the fields.
Barley is harvested and rice is transplanted.
246
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
There is a few days' rest for the peasants. They,
too, look forward to the coming of youths from
the cities. Young men and young women re-
turning to their rural homes from their schools are
harbingers of civilization. They should not despise
their rustic parents, relatives, and friends, but
bring to them the news of the larger world. For,
if character is nurtured in the country, culture has
its birth in the city. Thought matures in solitude,
to burst forth in action on the tempestuous sea of
life. It is well to take to heart the advice given
by St. Chrysostom, " Depart from the highvv'ay
and transplant thyself in some enclosed ground ;
for it is hard for a tree that stands by the wayside
to keep her fruit till it be ripe." Neither should
we forget, however, that the fruit, when ripe,
should be shared by as large a multitude as its
quantity permits. If strength grows in solitary
rural surroundings, refinement is a product of
large social aggregation. Happy the man who
combines the virtues of both !
247
OMISSION AND COMMISSION
OMISSION AND COMMISSION
I HAVE roamed over a large part of the surface
of this earth, and have seen and talked with men
of diverse tongues and diverse modes of thought.
My observation amounts to this, that though there
are many that are foolish, and that unwittingly,
few there be that are willfully bad. The latter
are sometimes rightly charged with committing
crimes, while the former are often guilty of omis-
sion of duties. Each of us, the best among us,
belongs simultaneously or alternately to both of
these categories. Severity should be the whip we
apply to ourselves ; leniency, the cord by which
each should try to lead another. " Judge not ! "
Let us bring our own selves before the tribunal
of conscience, and the justice there meted out to
our sins of omission and commission will be the
measure of our desert. It is only through the
portals of this court that we ascend to a higher
level of moral existence.
248
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
UNIVERSAL HARMONY
On the crown of the Miharashi Hill sits, in
silent splendor, the new harvest moon, shining like
a diamond on the coronet of a queen.
I know not what joyous mysteries she whispers
to the mountain brook that it should babble on so
merrily. I know not what deep secrets she
reveals to the placid lake that it looks so pro-
foundly wise. Does she command, by a glance of
her eye, the willows on the river bank, that they
should so quietly wave and sigh ? As if at some
signal by her given, the insects chirp and chatter
in rhythmic cadence amid the swaying grass.
I feel again that all nature is one, that through
the length and breadth of her vast dominions, in
things animate and inanimate, a heavenly power
does dwell and move, uniting in one grand
harmony what to each concerned seema an endless
struggle for its own separate little life.
249
WHAT SUCCESS IS DESIRABLE
WHAT SUCCESS IS DESIRABLE
Mean, petty creatures struggle for a morsel
of stale bread, in their ardor tearing each other's
flesh, and the one who takes the first bite or
snatches the biggest portion, is called a success
and plays the hero of the day.
Success is generally understood to mean ar-
riving at the point, however low, at which one
aimed at the start. In the popular notion, little
consideration is paid to the height aimed at, or to
the way in which it is attained. He whose vision
is fixed upon a lofty peak, which weaker eyes can
scarcely discern amongst mists and clouds, which
perhaps he himself thinks he cannot scale, and
yet persists until he reaches it, — such a one is called
a dreamer and a failure ; whereas those whose
thoughts can hardly leave the clod and whose
greatest desires only creep and crawl over the
sordid earth, can easily reach the goal of their
ambition and be crowned with what the world
sings and chants as Success,
Socrates, with a cup of hemlock in his hand,
to the Athenian of that day, — yes, that single
day on which he emptied it ! — was a ridiculous
failure. His accusers most triumphantly suc-
ceeded in getting rid of their greatest man. But
250 •
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
Socrates on his part likewise succeeded, in that he
gave his hfe in following his dcetnon. A still
better example of universal success is that of Jesus
of Nazareth. Does history record a more com-
plete success of a man than that of Jesus on the
Hill of Calvary ? Death was what he aimed at
when he began his career. The high priests
succeeded because what they desired they ob-
tained, namely the death of the man they hated
and feared. Judas Iscariot, too, succeeded beauti-
fully in getting the thirty pieces of silver for which
his heart had yearned.
God is good to all. " He maketh his sun to
rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain
on the just and on the unjust." Thus do most
men succeed — according to their deserts. They
all get the sunshine and the rainfall, according to
their desire. A man who shuts up all the amado
will have but a few streaks of the sun's rays
peeping through the cracks. A peasant who
refuses to reap a plenteous harvest may get no
more than a cupful of rain.
Success in itself is not a thing to be envied. It
is to be desired only w^hen it crowns noble efforts
pursued in a noble cause.
251
LIFE'S CONTRASTS CONTRADICTED
LIFE'S CONTRASTS CONTRA-
DICTED
At the close of the old year and the beginning
of the new, every one is astir in soul and body.
The streets are merry with sights and sounds, as
though the whole city were turned into that Fools'
Paradise of which the pious monks used to think
with scorn and disgust. Crowds upon crowds jam
the tramways and jostle on the roads — going
whither, coming whence, I know not. Every shop
has its wares on exhibition in such shape and color
that they can scarcely fail to trap the passing eyes
and stop the hurrying feet. Lanterns and electric
lights without number make the night joint laborer
with the day, stealing from the sun its resplendent
glory, while innumerable flags and bannerets,
fluttering in the air, transform the meanest street
into an avenue of gaudy colors. To the gayety of
the town is lent the mirth of music by the bands
playing at every corner. The sights and sounds
betoken a veritable limbus fatiioriim*
Yet I will not play the pious misanthrope and
look upon all these manifestations of pleasure as a
cheap vanity fair. Sayest thou, O Timon, that
these are but a fleeting phenomenon, a puff of
*FooL' Paradise.
252
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
breath, which now is and in the next moment
is not ? Knowest thou not that the maple leaves,
after they leave their mother-tree, and ere they
fall to the earth to strew the hill-sides of Takao,
the little while they float in the fluid air, de-
monstrate to a philosophic mind the eternal laws
of vegetal life, of gravitation, of atmospheric
pressure ? Back of the frailest stands the
strongest : beneath the evanescent works the ever-
lasting.
If I hear it aright, I can detect, in the din and
noise, an undertone of deep sorrow. In the titter
of careless maidens is hidden a grief unspeakable.
If I am not badly deceived, I can see, in the face of
men, signs of distress and worry. A sympathetic
eye can easily discern that the garish colors are
but an inadequate limning to rob the hard lines of
the picture of their severity.
Call not that avarice or greed which you notice
in the restless eyes of women, who stop at every
shop window and fix their gaze upon the mer-
chandise ; for in their eyes I can read as plainly
as on a written page — " How 'that dress will be-
come my Yoshiko ; but the rents must be paid
first." " That toy is just the kind Baby was most
fond of; I wonder if there are Darumas and
drums in heaven." Who is not touched with the
sight of that poor, ragged little barefoot girl,
253
LIFE'S CONTRASTS CONTRADICTED
hanging on tiptoe by the show window to feast
her large round eyes on the display of dolls ? Is
it not a very picture of human wants unsatisfied,
of human cravings unfufilled ?
Not in pessimism, not in misanthropy, not in
moroseness, not in disdain — but in pity, in sym-
pathy, in brotherly affection, in love, can we say
with a German poet that " life is a long, long sigh
before emitting the breath."
As we review the events of the year 1907 and
carefully go over each page of our ledger, ponder-
ing over every item of debit and credit, we are
struck with sad accounts far outnumbering the
joyous. We could sum up the year's experience
in the words of Voltaire, '* Happiness is a dream
and sorrow is a reality."
Why should I at this festive season throv a wet
blanket over the hearts of thousands bent on
seeking a momentary respite from the toils of the
year ?
Far from acting as a damper, it is my desire to
make the sad hearts glad by reminding them that
suffering is a counterpart of blessing, that the dark
drapery of sorrow is lined with the bright brocade
of joy, and that a thorn is " a changed bud."
Yet all Christendom carols of " the glad tidings
of great joy." Let us, too, join in the anthem of
praise — not, however, forgetting the magnitude of
254
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
the sacrifice made to win it. When the affright-
ed shepherds on the field of Beit-Saour heard
the herald angel choir, little did they dream that
the blessing was to be obtained by the tears shed
in Gethsemene and by the blood spilled on
Golgotha. Utilitarianism and psychology may
contrast pain with pleasure ; but in the regions
of the spiritual, contrasts vanish. As on earth
the North can never be the South, nor the East
the West, but as, in the empyrean sphere where
polar magnestism acts no more, no distinction is
made of the points of the compass, — so, the no-
menclature of pain and pleasure, of sorrow and
joy, is tenable only in the lower domains of mental
analysis.
"The glad tidings of great joy" are the hymnal
of thanksgiving and adoration sung before the
*' Temple of Sorrow." " Christianity is the apo-
theosis of grief," says Amiel most truly, •' the
marvellous transmutation of suffering into triumph,
the death of death, the defeat of sin." It is this
worship of sorrow that binds Christians in ties of
mutual fellowship, that presents to their mind the
world in its pitiable aspects. It is this which
saves them from being drowned in pleasures or
sunken in grief
Now we enter upon a New Year. New are our
hopes, our resolutions, our desires ; but at its ex-
255
LIFE'S CONTRASTS CONTRADICTED
piration we shall most likely discover that the
year 1908 was much the same as 1907. A really
New Year begins not with a calendar but with a
new leaf turned in the book of life — not with the
position of the sun in the sky, but with a change
in the attitude of our mind towards life, man, and
God.
-^
OFFERINGS
Before the shrine of a god, the tillers of the
soil bring their first fruits, and the fishermen their
first catch. Over these a priest strikes flint and
steel, and waves a sakaki branch. The fish, the
grain and the vegetables are forthwith sanctified,
and are henceforth fit for divine food.
We, too, heap our gifts upon the sanbo, be they
strength or talents, and placing before the holy of
holies, ask for heavens purifying fire and bene-
diction. Once consecrated they are ready for the
service of God and man.
Upon the altar, we lay our all — ourselves —
dedicating it to His will. What, then, shall
hinder us from work to which He calleth us ?
256
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
THE CHRISTIANIZATION OF JAPAN
Over the still small voice working wonders in
our midst are heard two loud cries, — " Christ for
Japan" and "Japan for Christ." The Christiani-
zation of Japan and the Japanization of Christi-
anity are the shibboleths of the two parties equally-
interested in the spread of Christianity and the
rise of Japan, but unequally convinced of the
precedency of the Church and the State, a religion
and a nationality.
Around the banner — Japan for Christ — rally
those to whom Christianity is, at least theoreti-
cally, all in all ; to whom there is nothing worthy
of considering by its side. They would erase
all national barriers. For them the Kingdom of
God, as yet but dimly surmised, is the objective
point aimed at. The other side, with their war
cry, " Christ for Japan," consists of those at the
end of whose mental vista stands the glory of the
Island Realm.
The view points of the two parties differ in the
fundamental conception as to the relative im-
portance of the abstract and the concrete, the
principle and the practice, the ultimate and the
immediate.
It is easy to see which party has the broader
257
THE CHRISTIANIZATION OF JAPAN
outlook, and, if breadth is the criterion of superi-
ority, it is easy to see which will win the palm.
The advocates of the Christianization of Japan
have certainly all the theoretical advantages which
promise final triumph. The Religion of Jesus has
by no means exhausted its resources or its energy.
Even were it wiped out by some diabolical fiat,
inertia alone would carry on its work for some
centuries to come. The question for Christian
believers in Japan is not whether they should pay
tribute to the state and not to the Church, not
whether they should serve the earthly more than
the spiritual master — but whether they cannot
contribute in mites or talents to the celestial
treasury through the fiscus of the Mikado, or serve
their Lord and Master by ministering to the needs
of their country. A Christian and a patriot are
not irreconcilable in one person. Neither the state
nor the nation is, as anarchists claim, the handi-
work of the Evil One. Human aggregations,
especially those bound by moral ties, are divine
institutions destined to work out the Divine will.
Christendom, — the prospective answer to the
prayer, " Thy Kingdom come " — the highest con-
ceivable ethical aggregation, can, I believe, be
realized by men trained by lower forms of ag-
gregation, by those who in the family have felt a
father's love, or in a village tasted something of
258
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
communion of kindred minds, or in national affairs
known impulses reaching out towards millions of
their fellow men.
In the present stage of the moral development
of mankind, the political institution of the nation
is the highest form attained. Any scheme that
transcends national ideals and interests, can be
realized, not by destroying, but by enlarging them.
Look at the very ones who maintain that Chris-
tianity, being an universal religion, ought to be
embraced by Japan, Where is the proof that
Christianity is universal, that the God of Chris-
tians is no respecter of persons or races ? What
evidence can be educed of the superiority of
Christian faith to other systems of teaching .-*
Those who glibly talk of bringing Japan prostrate
at the foot of Jesus, even at the expense of her
national traits and cherished ideals, are almost
entirely foreigners, who naturally do not share our
enthusiasm, and whose chief argument for the
universality of Christianity is that it is the religion
of their own people ; or, in other words, they are
usually those whose belief is based on a patriotic
bias.
Thus docs the Christianity which is presented
to the Japanese as a universal religion impress
them as strongly tinged with the earthly charac-
teristics of other nationalities quite alien to our
259
THE CHRISTIANIZATION OF JAPAN
best instincts ! Is it too much to say that present
Christianity is a national product ?
The missionary methods for Japan must, there-
fore, be quite different from those pursued amongst
peoples and tribes who had not yet attained to a
national aggregation. Paul's missionary versatility
and tact in becoming a Jew to the Hebrews, a
Greek to the Hellenes,- — his versatile adaptability
to the varying conditiolis and circumstances of his
surroundings, — is the only successful method of
converting a new people. The fields are white
unto harvest. But some fields are best reaped by
a steam harvester, others by a scythe, still others
by a sickle. An intelligent agriculturist studies
the size, nature and configuration of each field and
chooses the tool suitable for it. For a wise
choice, he must even study the weather and the
market. The implement and the farm must
complement each other. He is only a one-sided
farmer who exclaims, " The implement for the
field," or " The field for the implement," and
sticks to the use of an old tool for all kinds of
work and ground.
The final solution of missionary methods for
Japan will be somewhere between the two ex-
tremes — to win Japan at all costs, and to keep
Japan with all its faults.
260
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
J0^
NATURALISM
What is the matter with our ears that our
souls should be so easily duped by sounds ; and
many words, as usually uttered, are no better than
empty sounds.
But there are words that are worse than mere
sounds, such, for instance, as convey contrary
meanings. Terms of broad significance, in them-
selves comprehensive, full and deep, are used to
mean anything or nothing in particular.
We hear much of Naturalism in these days.
Nobody objects to being natural. Existence itself
is obedience to nature. But it does not take a
dualist philosopher to know and to feel that there
are two extremes or opposites in all things. Space
has its north and south : time has its past and
future : man has the appetites of a brute and the
aspirations of a god. Death is as much in the
plan of nature as is life. Grief is as natural to our
soul as is joy. Inflorescence and fruition are both
equally natural processes. But he who is alive is
not dead nor is a corpse alive. He who plucks a
flower must forego the fruit, and he who would
have the fruit must spare the bloom.
261
"FROM NATURE UP TO NATURE'S GOD"
" FROM NATURE UP TO
NATURE'S GOD"
What strange sensations come as one takes
shelter beneath the spreading branches of the
banyan tree !
It is mid-winter by the calendar ; but here in
the tropics, vegetation has no rest, and the jungle
is all green with vernal freshness.
Overhead hang in imrriaculate beauty, like the
pendants from the necklace of a queen, the orchids
from the boughs, amongst which the mischief-
loving monkeys break the solemnity of the prime-
val forests by their uncanny pranks. In the thick
fernshaw, where wave fronded palms to invite a
thirsty traveler, there gushes forth a living fountain
in crystal currents from moss-grown rocks of coral
reef. Beside me stands a mighty Bischofia,
towering above the rest oi its fellows, and round
its massive trunk a banyan winds its aerial root —
in tender embrace or else in deadly gripe. In the
bower below, wild tomato and pepper plants
enliven the monotonous verdure by their gay
colored fruits, like little maidens, ruddy-cheeked
and red ribboned, peeping out shyly through the
umbrageous thicket. My old familiar friend and
favorite, the " dew- weed " [coinmelind) prospers
262
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
here in humble contentment, as it does under a
more strenuous sky. The genial temperature is
kindly alike to the ebony or " hairy persimmon,"
valued for its sugary fruit and hardy wood, and to
the venomous Laportea, whose malicious exu-
dation stings whomsoever touches its poisonous
leaves. The wild morning-glories creep up the
gutta-percha tree, in whose tangled branches
unknown birds perch and sing to allure their
mates.
Neither the eagles that I see swooping over the
sea, as though sporting with the spouting whales
below, nor the watch dogs that I hear barking in
the Kuraaru hamlet near by, seem to frighten the
songsters safely lodged among the foliage.
Here in the shade of the primitive woods in
the Land of Perpetual Spring, one lingers to
reflect. The noise of human habitations does
not intrude into this arboreal retreat. It is good
to be once more assured that " Nature is no cruel
stepdame " but a mother, loving and true, generous
in gifts and affections.
I am wont to see divinity shining in the
laughing eyes of children, in the bashful look of
maidens, in the stately carriage of youths, in the
tears of widows, in the longing gaze of orphans,
in the wisdom of sages, in the love of parents, in
the exploits of heroes, in the canvas of artists, in
263
"FROM NATURE UP TO NATURE'S GOD"
the songs of poets. But standing, as I now do, so
near to the bosom of primal nature, I almost feel
the beat of her heart, and my thoughts ascend
" from nature up to nature's God. "
" All are but parts of one stupendous whole,
Whose body nature is, and God the soul."
Man were a poor beast, and no more, could he
not transcend the barriers of his physical environ-
ment and seek for his soul a mansion to dwell in.
The animal may well be a product of its geo-
sphere, but man, to be above animal kind, must
discover for himself a celestial atmosphere.
The strange sensations that come unbidden, as
one rests under the banyan trees, rise up to the
sense that we, too, though now tied to the earth,
arc heavenly roots shot from above, from the
trunk of a divine tree.
KosJiitu, Formosa. yaiittary, igoS.
264
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
PILGRIMAGE TO DAZAIFU
I TREAD again historic ground, rich in ancient
legends and romantic tales.
Yesterday I roamed among the pine groves of
the Tatara shore, watching the moonlight play
upon the nets spread to dry on the magical sands,
even as it did fifteen centuries ago upon the
triumphal armada, as it entered the Bay in the
train of the imperial heroine.
To-day I am wandering among terraced fields
and through plum forests, away from the sea, in
the land of Michizane, Prince of Sugawara.
A lone pine shows the mount of noble and
pathetic association. " Ten-pai-zan," the height
whereon to worship Heaven, also called " Ten-
pan-zan," Heaven's judgment hill — a miniature of
Sinai and the Mount of Olives in one !
This lofty resort was the favorite retreat of
Michizane for meditation and prayer. A man of
sorrows, he retired to this spot to unburden his
souk A strong man's tears cannot be dried unless
Heaven wipes them away. It is here that he laid
bare his soul before God to pray perchance in this
wise : —
" Before thee, dread Arbiter, I lay my woes. I
have not confidence in the strength of men ; I
265
PILGRIMAGE TO DAZAIFU
would rather put my trust in my own self; but
above all Thou art my refuge. I will not groan
under the weight of my load, heavy as it has been
to mc. No, I will not groan, neither will I ask for
succor, as though help were not within for all the
ills that come from without. Thou seest all and
judgest righteous judgment. 1 ask for justice.
Behold a father and children torn asunder and
mercilessly cast to the five winds ! Can lips give
vent to grief so great ? My eyes are full to over-
flowing with blood.* 'Tis but a hundred days since
I last crossed the threshold of a happy home, and
they have wearily passed away in never ceasing
tears. All about me is as dim as a dream, and I
vainly stretch my sight toward that far off sky in
longing unspeakable.f — Exiled thus far away from
the smiling haunts of childhood, from the friendly
court lighted by the beaming presence of my
august lord, from the bosom of my family knit in
bonds of love — exiled thus from all I hold most
dear on earth, my sleepless nights are spent in
recollections of faithful words and tender deeds.
So fade in Thy presence all human glory .and
mortal joy. I ask not of Thee a favor to requite
me for all I have lost : thy approving assurance
i sufficient unto me. Thou alone art eternal and
mm^mn. mm^^-n. 7]^iHu3^. ^<tmm
266
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
Thy righteousness endures for ever and ever. My
conscience bears me witness tliat Thy justice is
true and Thy righteousness changes not. Now
judge me, if in my dealings with my fellow men I
have trespassed upon Thy laws, or if in obeying
the inclinations of my nature, I have been unfaith-
ful to Thee or to myself. Thou hast implanted in
us— else how poor and unworthy a creature is
man ! — a power to know and do Thy behests. If
only in my heart of hearts, I err not from the path
of truth, Thou dost not wait for poor prayers of
mine to keep me in Thy care."*
Ten long centuries, eventful in destruction, have
swept over these regions since Michizane's eyes
rested for the last time upon them. Vandalism
has done its work too well among the magnificent
edifices that graced the place in his day. The
glittering roof, of which the lonely Prince used to
catch a glimpse from his porch, no longer dazzles
a tourist's eye. Where once the mighty tower of
Tofuro stood, a few broken tiles mark the site.
The sound of the bell which hourly stole in gentle
cadences into the retirement of the exiled sage
rings no more in the pompous temple of Kwannon.
The bell, the belfry, and the temple itself, with all
its sculptured columns and lacquered ceilings, have
not left faintest trace behind. How much more
267
PILGRIMAGE TO DAZAIFU
lasting is a good name, a man's spirit, than the
proudest monuments raised by art or artifice ! It
had taken seven generations of reigning sovereigns,
or about seventy years altogether, to build the
Temple of Kwannon ; but one summer night, in the
year 1059, ^^'^ brought the whole structure to
nought. But the man, Michizane, carved, and
chiselled and polished by the Master Artist, still
lives in the memory of our people as Heaven's
noblest work. Wherever we turn, we seem to
meet him — be it on hills, or along dales ; be it in
peasants' huts or gilded palaces. Still work in the
fields and on the road a tiny breed of cattle, whose
patient toil and plodding pluck he used to watch
with delight. Still sheds the ?/?fu- its fragrance as
sweet as when he used to pause under its branch-
es. Its white blossoms, opening against the dark
foliage of massive camphor trunks, remind me of
his youthful verse :
" The moonlight shines as white
As new fallen snow,
And like unto stars bright
The plum blossoms blow.'"*
Thus every object, from the slow laboring ox
to the stellar light, serves as a tender reminder of
the martyr sage. Like the mysterious compound
268
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
of the alchemist, whatever his memory touches is
forthwith turned into gold, or, like those magical
sands of the Tatara, which pious peasants hang in
little baskets over their doors to drive away evil
spirits, the mere name of Michizane is an encourage-
ment to withstand the guiles of the world. Thus
does his spirit still work and move among us.
Thus do noble men put us under perpetual obli-
gation for our own ennoblement and growth.
Knowledge of the good and acquaintance with
the great is a veritable gain. As Goethe says,
" The ability to appreciate what is noble is a gain
which no one can ever take from us."
Ages have vanished, things have changed ; but
everywhere and at all times his name is a term of
endearment and reverence. How near to Godhead
in the attributes of eternity and omnipresence
human sublimity comes ! So have I felt as I stood
in the courtyard of the Ten-man-gu in the village
of Dazaifu.
Daznifu. February, igo8
269
RELIGIOUS IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA
-^
RELIGIOUS IMPRESSIONS
OF AMERICA
Far away on a northern island of Japan, in a
little town, where no foreign missionary had a
station, where itinerant preachers came only two
or three times a year, there sprang up in a provi-
dential way a Christian congregation of some sixty
natives, consisting of persons of both sexes, of all
classes of society, of all degrees of intelligence, of
many denominations, and from all parts of the
Empire. As many of the sixty as felt the call
became ministers, missionaries, masters and ser-
vants in turn.
This church was pre-eminently an indigenous
outcome of Divine seed on a heathen soil. Each
one in the community studied and interpreted the
Bible according to his or her own light. With
them the Bible was the only creed, and Christ the
one thing needful ; ceremonies and rites, adventi-
tious growths of the Middle Ages which long
centuries in Christendom had sanctioned and
sanctified, had for them no sacred associations ;
some even questioned the utility of singing and
music ; others asked wherein water baptism was
efificacious.
Secluded from all sectarian jealousies, they knew
270
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
but one church, whose corner stone is tlie Christ ;
surrounded by scoffers and revilers of His religion,
they met these enemies with all the available
proofs and evidences of Christianity.
Now, suppose one of this body of Christians
should come to America, the country of which he
had heard so much, whose people are the most re-
ligious on the face of the globe, whence come
missionaries, the country claiming, too, the highest
honor in its political dealings with weaker nations;
suppose (as will be most likely) that this Christian
is familiar with the writings of America's greatest
Christian defenders, Edwards, Hopkins, Hitchcock,
Barnes, Wayland, Hodge, Hurst, Beecher, Tal-
mage. Brooks, what would be his first impressions ;
or, to make the matter personal, what were my
impressions .when, after my arrival in this country,
I was taken to some of the fashionable churches
(if indeed these two words can be classed to-
gether) ? Did the superbly decorated interior strike
an Oriental novice with awe and reverence of Him
who dwelleth not in temples made with hands ?
Did the mellow light falling through painted
windows help his poor soul to see any clearer the
light of the Sun of Righteousness ? Did the solos
vibrating through the whole atmosphere, making
glad the educated ears, waft my soul to regions
above ? Did the cornet and trumpet put me in
271
RELIGIOUS IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA
mind of that dreadful day of judgment ? Did the
ladies in the choir, irreverent and sometimes
indifferent to the solemn words they sang, remind
me of the angels in the heavenly band ? Did the
richly-dressed congregation turn my thoughts to
the Lamb, whose blood, so they sang, makes us
white as snow ? Did the reading of sermons in
learned modulations of tone, and with gestures of
conscious gracefulness, aye, even the prayers
prayed \n stereotyped accents, edify a pilgrim soul
from the East ?
I must confess that, for a long while, the only im-
pression which these rites and services made upon
was that religion here had become an art, if not
an artifice, that personal religion was not to be
found. The church structure seemed a fine speci-
men of architecture ; preaching, rhetoric ; praise,
vocal culture ; prayer, music ; and attendance,
social respectability ; men and women congre-
gating to see and to be seen.
It may be that an uncivilized, semi-barbarous
Philistine from a heathen land cannot appreciate
the deep religious and historical significance of
these Christian rites and arts. It may be so, but I
would a thousand times rather be an unartistic and
artless boor, " clad in a perennial suit of leather,"
than be appareled in the height of fashion (even
if fashion is an art of Christendom), and wipe away
272
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
repentant tears for my own and others' sins with a
silken handkerchief hemmed by, and my garments
made by, those who have given fame to the " Song
of the Shirt." And who are they ? Their hymns
are not led by a wind organ or by violins ;
breathless with fatigue, half-starved, they hum the
"Song of the Shirt," the everlasting " stich, stitch,
stitch." They cannot afford to pay rent for pews,
and have thereforemo seats among the worshippers
of the Almighty. In many churches we look in vain
for haggard faces, calico frocks. Even such of the
poor as can barely afford three meals a day must
have suitable dress to share a pew with their more
fortunate sisters.
These unfavorable impressions reached a climax
when, now and then, the unseemly sight could be
seen of young women pointing to their neighbor's
bonnet and giggling, or of young men whispering
jokes among themselves, or to their lady friends.
What must have been the anticipations of
Luther, when for the first time he bowed in
reverence, as he came in sight of the holy city of
Rome } But alas ! not many days had passed
away before the poor rustic monk from Saxony
saw with his own eyes the gayety, dissipation and
intrigue in the Vatican itself. Fortunately,
America is no Rome ; unfortunately, I am no
Luther — nor is there any necessity for my personat-
273
RELIGIOUS IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA
ing the great Reformer. Many reformative forces
are at work within the church as well as without.
The Young Men's Christian Association, White
Cross Society, Temperance Clubs, Home and
Foreign Missions, Indian and Negro Education,
Mothers' Meetings, Flower Missions, charity
hospitals and prison vdsits, all teach by object
lessons to the young better than by sermons
that life is real, that there is a suffering world
outside the ball-room and the fashionable society.
Though such active organizations for the ameliora-
tion of humanity are not without a danger of
identifying the Christian religion exclusively with
philanthropic enterprise (James i. 27) still their
influence on the religious profession is very salutary.
The intimate connection between the profession of
religion and the amelioration of evils has a most
wholesome effect on society in general. Were it
not for these, how much speedier would be the
progress of anarchical and incendiary movements .'*
In fact, a well-known man, the pastor of one of the
largest churches in Philadelphia, told me that only
in the evangelization of the masses can there be
found a remedy for social evils.
Another fact to be noticed in referring to indi-
rect outside influence upon the Christian body is,
that however irreligious in profession and conduct
the members of Congress or Cabinet may be, their
274
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
public utterances can never be popular unless they
are dressed up in religious garb ; hence legislation
on the whole tends toward a Christian ideal. The
same may be said of schools and colleges. Nothing
is further from my mind than to accuse the legis-
lators and educators of hypocrisy. I only mean to
infer that the framework of society is essentially
religious. To attend a place of worship is thought
respectable, if nothing more, and a family of any
social standing should rent or own a pew. Chil-
dren are sent to Sunday-school, else their parents
seem neglectful of religion. College boys must
attend chapel. Christian doctrines and precepts
are pounded into the man from without. If, by
honest thinking, one comes to doubt some accepted
truths, orthodoxy and dogma are hammered into
his head. -The writer had once a bitter dose of or-
thodoxy administered when he candidly expressed
a doubt as to the person of our Lord. Yet, in his
contact with men and women in middle and upper
classes of society, he has heard many a flat denial
of the very fundamentals of Christian faith. Some
of the novelty-loving Yankees seem to cultivate
their taste for something either more antique or
more modern than what their mother's Bible
teaches ; hence esoteric Buddhism is not without its
public admirers and secret proselytes ; hence
Agnosticism is not without its followers. Governed
275
RELIGIOUS IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA
by laws which public opinion frames, living under
a Chief whom public opinion chooses, it may well
be expected that, however far from orthodoxy
one's private sentiments and judgments may roam,
respect for public opinion keeps him within the
pale of a Christian denomination. Even Unitari-
anism has one foot on this side of the gulf that
separates Christianity from skepticism.
If these my impressions convey to others an
idea that religion has become a mere sham in
America, "a habitation of doleful creatures," I will
be greatly misunderstood. I have only given utter-
ance as to hozv the organization and the tangible
workings — in a word, the appearances of the
American religion have impressed me. It is a sorry
thing that some of my countrymen, who have en-
tertained the same thoughts, did not penetrate
deeper. He is a shallow observer of American life
who fails to see that below the noisy and blasphe-
mous canaille, the scum of society that always
floats to the top, there moves an under-current of
healthy religious thought. Great forces ever work
in silence. Only in the depth of the soil, buried
from the eyes of the sun, can roots thrive which
support the heavy trunk and flowering stalks. For
the withering of the blossoms, or for the falling of
the leaves, the roots are not alone responsible. If
the church is weakly, if the professors are not
276
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
worthy, if the ecclesiastical institutions are not of
the most spiritual type, Christ and His teachings
must not bear the blame. In spite of many hypo-
crites and unbelievers, the Oriental stranger often
meets with those who may fitly be called incarna-
tions of faith, hope and love. These form the
centre around which lesser souls revolve. These,
by their calm, quiet serenity, cannot hide their
light under a bushel. Alike in the largest city as
in the obscurest village, has tlie writer been happy
enough to meet with just such ones. In their
presence he can forget all the foibles and weak-
nesses, the shortcomings, and even the crimes of
professing Christians at large, and only realize that
America is in deed and in truth a veritable part of
Christendom. Then, too, he cannot help kneeling
and praying in behalf of his own poor native land,
" Thy kingdom come."
Baltimore. Written iS86.
277
ON JAPANESE EXCLUSIVISM
ON JAPANESE EXCLUSIVISM
We are certainly a most interesting people.
Without meaning to pose in any particularly strik-
ing attitude, we figure nevertheless as a race worthy
of study and research. I doubt if any other nation
has in so short a space of time been subjected to as
much scrutiny, wonderment and criticism. Stu-
dents of Volkerpsychologie found in us a fit object
for analysis, and we have been dissected and
focussed under the microscope. One philosopher
in the course of his investigations failed to detect
any trace of personality and would have labeled us
as homo sapiens, variety, inipersonatus ! A
shrewd inquirer was rightly amazed at the mobility
of our molecules and would have bottled us as a
liquefied state of the species. A pathologist has
advanced with all soberness an assertion that this
entire nation of ours must have gone stark mad. I
might cite numerous other opinions concerning us
from thinkers of all shades. But enough has been
said to show that in the course of one generation
the pendulum of our thoughts and doings has
swung over such a wide arc of vibration that ob-
servers from without, as well as thinkers among
our own selves, have strained their intellect to the
utmost to explain so unusual a phenomenon.
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
" Can a nation be born in a day ? " gasped they
out. Such a thing was long held an impossibility
except with God, but in our case we can stand
aloof from the third commandment and turn else-
where for a more direct cause of our own doings.
Still this cause is to be sought not in radical
metamorphism in our cerebral tissues, not in any
sudden variation in national character, not in the
direct intervention of any higher power. An easier
and more natural explanation of the transition
from the Old to New Japan can be found in this,
that it was a realization of the mental activity of
the race, inherent in it but hitherto suppressed,
bursting forth the instant adverse conditions were
removed ; in other words, it was a growth and not
a birth ; a pullulation and not a generation.
We have an active, restless head, ever alert for
work, fun or mischief. Our brain is an easily
adjustable engine. Ready to grasp an idea, ir-
respective of its origin, and to assimilate it to our
own sweet will, we never can entertain positive
abhorrence of strange thoughts or of strange peo-
ples. I assure my foreign readers that however
sluggishly the stream of our daily routine may seem
to flow, there is an undercurrent that never rests.
We are not a contemplative or meditative people.
No world-teaching philosopher, no world-convict-
ing prophet has ever graced our soil with his birth ;
279
ON JAPANESE EXCLUSIVISM
but we have been speeding on — sometimes with an
exceedingly slow and safe velocity, to be sure —
without being stopped by an Ahijah on the way or
button-holed by a Socrates in the market-place. I
am far from admitting that we are the better for it,
but am simply stating what I believe to be a fact.
To a nation like ours, any thing like a stand-still,
isolation or exclusivism, could but be a farce ; to
force it on us would be nothing short of absurdity.
We are not a peculiar people like the Jews, in 4;he
sense of being set apart, nor are we like Ishmaelites,
with our hand against every man, and every man's
hand against us. The Jews might have well afforded
that seclusion which they still punctiliously keep up.
Not so we, who share the versatility of the Greeks
and the universal instincts of the Romans. How
then can we account for the exclusivism which is a
stubborn fact irrevocably inscribed with blood on
the pages of our history ? My answer is brief, and
I believe as true as it is brief. Exclusivism was
mainly a mere form adopted as a temporary device
for the preservation of a princely family, impelled,
however, by no real anti-foreign spirit. Or even
admitting that this policy was actuated by an anti-
foreign spirit, it was never accepted as such by the
mass of the people. I can best elucidate my point
by referring to a few familiar facts in history.
Though we discover traces of exclusivism in the
280
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
ante-To kugawa period, we may date its formal
inauguration under lyeyasu. Now the question is,
was he inimically disposed towards Europeans,
their religion, their art and knowledge ? Perhaps
the most politic of our rulers, I seriously doubt if
he had any motive other than political. He
evidently bore no personal spite against the " evil
sect." I think it was on the occasion of the
Spaniard calumniating the Portuguese, that lyeyasu
replied, " Even if a devil should visit my realm
from hell, he would be treated like an angel from
heaven." We know well, too, how Will Adams,
the English pilot, found favour in his sight, for
which amidst his tears he praised his God. An-
other narrative will serve to illustrate lyeyasu's
attitude toward foreign intercourse. In an audience
granted by him to a Dutch merchant, he asked if
it were true that Japan was the easternmost count-
ry of the globe, " Still east of your dominion. Sir,"
he said, " away some thousand miles off, lie three
worlds, larger than China and India put together,
and there are the countries of Nova France and
Nova Hispania with which latter the Southern
Barbarians (the Spaniards and Portuguese in Borneo,
Java, etc.) carry on trade." lyeyasu straight-
way ordered to have a mission sent thither. A
vessel was made and one Tanaka embarked with
credentials ; and after two years he returned,
281
ON JAPANESE EXCLUSIVISM
bringing with him things new and precious. To
further prosecute his ambitious scheme of foreign
trade, lyeyasu had a ship built large enough to
cross the Pacific. The vessel left Japan in the
summer of 1610 and returned in the autumn of
the following year.
It is true that in his time the law came into effect
restricting the capacity of vessels to less than two
thousand four hundred bushels. The reason
generally given for this piece of legislation is,
that he intended thereby to discourage foreign
trade. But it is not unlikely that a more real
motive was hidden behind it. More probably it
was the desire on his part to crush down all
military and naval prowess. Some historians
ascribe the decree to the fear of possible attack on
Yedo from Satsuma and Hyuga by sea — which also
was far from being unlikely. Dr. Shigeno states
that owing to the financial disaster consequent upon
Hideyoshi's Corean invasion, his successors in office
— the Tokugawas — imbibed a horror of foreign
complications.
Exclusivism did not assume its definite form,
however, until after the so-called Christian re-
bellion of Shimabara in 1637. Consequent upon
this event, the Christian religion was looked upon
as a menace to the social peace of the Empire.
But to shut that out and yet let trade pursue its
282
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
way uiitrammeled, was practically well nigh im-
possible ; for a vessel carrying a thousand tons of
merchandise might load a hundred times more
knowledge of the " dangerous " doctrine. Every
precaution was now taken to shut all the doors and
to fill up all the cracks and chinks in the wall,
through which knowledge and religion might filter
in. Foreign ships, says the Kwan-ei edict of ex-
pulsion, 1639, should be fired upon without the least
hesitation. Books containing the least allusion,
unless it were in a hostile tone, to religion were
tabooed, and not the slightest mercy was shown to
their perusers. The press censure of Russia or of
the Vatican could not be more thorough-going than
that of the Tokugawas. Education was naturally
to run in a certain narrow groove ; for the whole
end and aim of the foreign policy of the country
was to confine the horizon of national intellect
strictly within national bounds. It is hard to say
which was the narrower of the two, the Jewish
notion of national isolation, which even went so far
as to jealously guard its own annals from the pro-
fane eyes of the gentiles, or the manifold contri-
vances of espionage and suppression of whatever
flavoured of Europe under the Tokugawas. Is it
any wonder, then, that the Japanese intellect,
mobile as it is, was cast for a time, to all appear-
ance, into a dead uniform mould. Even so bold
283
ON JAPANESE EXCLUSIVISM
a spirit as Arai, who devoted years of study to
foreign geography and poHtics, failed to emanci-
pate himself irom the fetters of exclusivism.
Hayashi, endowed as he was with a vision extend-
ing far beyond the coast lines of Japan, and who
could tell his contemporaries that the very water
which ebbs and flows under the Nihonbashi,
was in unbroken connection with the Atlantic
ocean, studied foreign geography mainly, if not
solely, with the view of national defence against
alien encroachment. Bigotry and exclusivism had
achieved their end. Seated high upon the throne,
piled up with the bones of their victims, and
amidst the ghastly exultations of the intellectual-
ly famished millions, they could now proudly
stretch forth their fleshless arms, and bid their
own creatures join in the apotheosis of the Toku-
gawas.
Yet I seriously doubt if the ultimate object of
this exclusivism was to cut off all connection with
foreign powers. I cannot admit that the anti-
foreign spirit was the chief motive principle. On
the contrary it seems to me far more probable that
the end steadily kept in view was the maintenance
of internal peace, and the guiding principle was
peace at all sacrifice. The Tokugawas had seen
from experience that in case foreign intercourse
were left to take its course, the princes of Kyushu,
284
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
who had always been powerful enough even with-
out a supply of European arms, would be
geographically in a far more advantageous position
than the Tokugawas at Yedo, Thus considered,
exclusivism was not an end in itself; but a means
to solidify and perpetuate the power of the house
of the Tokugawas. It was a scaffolding, reared
for the time being to last only while the Tokugawa
house was being built, after which it could well
be dispensed with. Some recent writers have
spoken of exclusivism as having been the salva-
tion of Japan ; and some of their utterances seem
to imply that it was conceived in a national
spirit. But it seems more probable that it was the
salvation primarily of the Tokugawa dynasty, and
that it was conceived in a family spirit. I leave to
religionists to reveal the hidden working of cause
and effect in this first installation of exclusivism,
and the fall of the very family through the break-
ing-up of the selfsame system. Causa latet, vis est
notissiina !
That exclusivism was not to be absolute, is
shown in the fact that the degree of its rigour was
never uniform. It became loose or tight according
as the individual inclination of the rulers turned.
In the latter part of the last century, when Prince
Shirakawa, one of the ablest of statesmen and
purest of characters, was in power, exclusivism
28";
ON JAPANESE EXCLUSIVISM
took a milder form, and so it continued for over a
quarter of a century ; but in 1825, at the accession
of Mizuno to the premiership, the law of seclusion
was rigorously enforced. To this man nothing
was dearer than peace, ease, and a quiet sleep.
But again, in 1842, the application of the law
softened so much so that the year following even
saw some legislation regarding the supply of fuel,
water and provision for foreign vessels in distress.
This alternate rise and fall in the rigidity of
cxclusivism indicates the mobility of Japanese
thought. Call it a wavering policy, if you will, it
v/as the wavering of a mind still dissatisfied with
its own productions and looking forward for some-
thing better, waiting for some decisive action,
ready to take the form which Nature and Nature's
God would give it. Professor Clifford very truly
remarks in one of those profound essays of his ;
" If we consider that the race, in proportion as it is
plastic and capable of change, may be regarded as
young and vigorous, while a race which is fixed,
persistent in form, unable to change, is as surely
effete, worn out, in peril of extinction, we shall see,
I think, the immense importance to a nation of
checking the growth of conventionalities." The
mobility in the execution of isolation laws, then,
was a sure index of that energy and restlessness,
which was an evidence of large possibilities and
286
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
the promise of future growth.
So much then for the action of the state. If we
turn to the people, we shall see still more clearly
that we have been more liberal, larger-minded
than our laws.
Curiosity, if nothing else — and we as a people
are charged with being endowed with more than a
proper amount of this mental activity, which Pro-
fessor Bain calls " the pure pleasure of knowledge "
— would leave no crack untried in order to take a
peep into the world beyond the seas. " Stolen
waters are sweet and bread eaten in secret is
pleasant." Many an enterprising spirit became, as
it were, an intellectual beggar, seeking to have
doled out to him at Deshima or Nagasaki handfuls
of European news. Many an inquisitive mind
carried on smuggling in western knowledge. Such
a mendicant was Takano or Watanabe, such a
smuggler was Sakuma. Legalism and bigotry, the
conventional laws of propriety, by which Professor
Clifford was so exasperated, could not tolerate an
offence of such gravity ; and the poor smugglers, or
call them rather noble smugglers— as noble as
those good Yankees, who smuggled slaves by
means of the underground railroad across the
Mason and Dixon line— these noble smugglers, I
say, paid dearly for their contraband knowledge.
For each grain of information, they paid with an
287
ON JAPANESE EXCLUSIVISM
ounce of blood. But their blood was vicarious ; it
was even our blood, the blood of the race.
I will not tire the reader with further illustration.
Seeing that Volkerpsychologie is not yet to be
depended upon, we have to resort to history for
materials. And when these are carefully gathered
and sifted we shall, I presume, see that isolation
was a transient policy of a family of rulers, that ex-
clusivism was the family tradition of a house ; but
that the Japanese as a race are an open-hearted,
open-handed nation, hospitable to strangers, with
a mind free from prejudice and open to conviction.
We shall then understand that our recent progress
has been neither an insane jump in the dark nor a
spontaneous generation. No, modern Japan was
not made in a day. She is not a creation at the
hand of a western thaumaturgist. Her form may
often seem Eurasian, but her spirit is a genuine
heritage from her ancestors. As a fluid assumes
the shape of the vessel containing it, so has mobile
Japan been pent up for two centuries in a rigid
cask ; but the living particles were ever impinging
against its sides : and when the timely pressure
from without joined with the ceaseless pressure
from within, the restless element burst it asunder.
It was an instance of an old wine-bag full of old
wine with a self-renewing spirit.
Foreign observers will search in vain for the
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
absence or presence of any peculiar ingredient in
our constitution in their attempt to explain the
raison d'etre of Modern Japan. Nor must we
deceive ourselves with the illusion that we contain
anything which our western brothers possess not.
Least of all must we delude ourselves into the
belief that we are by nature, and therefore rightly,
an insular, isolated and exclusive nation. Ex-
clusivism and Intolerance were the patrimony
of the Tokugawa Shoguns, whereas ungrudging
Liberalism and broad Catholicism are the precious
legacy of the Yamato race. If, by being true to
the dictates of our race conscience, we have won
the recent conquests, the same will carry us still
farther onward in our conquest of a larger ideal
world and a higher civilization.
289
OUR RECENT CHAUVINISM
OUR RECENT CHAUVINISM
Wherever two currents meet, be it in "the
sweet vale of Avoca " or along the thousand
rugged valleys, where the rushing torrents haste
to join the Kiso, there is sure to be a fretting and
rippling of the water. What heeds the river, if
here and there at its confluences the little stream-
lets rage and foam ? It sweeps steadily on,
seeking the sea. Full well every brook and
rivulet knows that it must sooner or later be swal-
lowed up in the great deep, and that, when it joins
a stream larger than itself, the first step toward
the consummation of its life is taken. Why then
should it fret ? As well may you ask why the
swan warbles its last song with " a music strange
and manifold " ! Is it not even because of that
precious and God-given instinct of self-preservation,
which rebels at the thought of annihilation ? Is it
not because it is natural for every living thing to
assert its individuality, when its end draws nigh ?
From of old, wherever two civilizations have
met, there has been sure to be a stirring of national
feeling, a struggle on the part of the weaker to
assert its right to consideration and existence.
But Truth and Right are stronger than the
strongest self-assertion, and they flow on to unite
290
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
m
all in one vast sea of brotherhood.
Yet who can tell which civilization really has
Truth and Right on its side ? If that only were
sure, no reasonable creature would place himself
in an attitude of antagonism to its irresistible force.
A river is not a main current simply because it
is broad. Length must also be taken into account.
Neither does length alone entitle a stream to
dignity. Depth and velocity play their part in the
easure of its importance.
■ European civilization — christen it by whatever
appellation you will, Christian, Teutonic, Aryan
— has been swelling and surging in every direction,
after the manner of that English river Trent,
" —who, like some earth-born giant spreads
His thirty arms along the indented meads."
Its mighty roar long ago reached our ears in
faint murmurs, and since the day, some thirty
years ago, that we first felt the pulsing of its tides,
we have almost unconsciously been gliding on its
surface. Surely we have as yet neither dived into
its depths, nor have we navigated its entire course.
We have only been playfully dipping our feet in
its freshets, or sportively angling in its shoals.
When a few, more venturesome souls, had pushed
out into the full stream and been swept away, the
more cautious became suddenly aroused, as those
291
OUR RECENT CHAUVINISM
newly awakening from some spell of enchantment,
and in affrighted tones sounded the alarm that we
had been duping ourselves, and that there lurked
hidden dangers in foreign waters. With the
instinct of a proud nature — and I freely own we
have it in no small measure — we have turned
away, " Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of
Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel ?
May I not wash in them and be clean?" So
saying, it is recorded, Naaman turned and went
away in anger and disappointment.
Patriotism was not the only motive, that ac-
tuated him in so doing. To all apearances,
Naaman had every reason to spurn the muddy,
tepid Jordan and look to the crystal liquid of the
Abana. But little did he opine that each river
had its own virtues ; that while the Abana might
furnish wholesome drink, the Jordan might provide
a power to heal. The Nile is black with fertility ;
the Barada sparkles with health ; for the riches of
autumnal hues we prefer the Tatsuta ; and for
bleaching, the waters of the Kamo. In vain we
seek in one stream all the elements of grandeur,
and beauty, of health and utility.
No wonder that reaction has lately set in
against undue respect for European civilization.
We have set too great store by the so-called
Christian enlightenment. We had sought in it for
292
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
wisdom and power, goodness and happiness,
wealth and plenty, and, in fact, for whatsoever
may make life worth living. European civili-
zation, like any other, has, I dare say, germs of all
these elements ; but they exist in forms adapted
to its own sphere. When it reached us it came
with the volume of alien centuries and with the
debris of many strange lands. Take, for example,
Christianity, of which the West makes so great a
boast, and which not a few thinkers regard as a
distinctive institution of the Occident. Instead of a
beatific religion, pure and simple, as taught by the
Messiah in the garb of a Nazarene peasant-saint,
what a cumbrous structure — " a habitation of dole-
ful creatures" — stands before us, with less of love
than threat ! The doctrines promulgated by its
professors are deeply overlaid with the local
traditions and racial characteristics of their divers
nationalities ; so much so that one has no small
difficulty in excavating the fragments, to find the
y\ltar and its sacred lamp perennially burning
there. Is it strange then that the so-called
Christian doctrines, as preached now-a-days
among us, are so alien to our ways of thought and
repugnant to our better feelings ?
For if Christ is the " light which lighteth every
man coming into the world," irrespective of race
or nationality, why should he be such an utter
293
OUR RECENT CHAUVINISM
stranger to our hearts (even though we have no
historical knowledge of him), that he must be
presented to us almost as an American or an
Englishman ?
To take another example : the political economy
of Europe was hailed with delight as a panacea
for all our social ills. One has but to open a
dozen pages in it to discover that this dismal
science, justifying unrelenting competition and
self-interest, its iron laws and wages-fund, affords
no great peace to a mind trained in Savutraiism.
Shall we turn to physical science, tlic proud
triumph of the age, for succor to our perturbed
spirits ? Materialism and Hedonism with terrors
stare us in the face.
It may sound highly ungrateful to say that
many of the importations from the West were
mere trash, worn-out garments, not free from
pollution or even disease, and, in order to derive
real benefit from them, these accidental accretions
must be separated from all that is essential and
valuable.
On the other hand, it is but just — not to say
civil — to charge ourselves with having introduced
the scum and dregs. The waves of the West had
dashed against our shores, but they had seldom
trespassed beyond the strands before we opened
with our own hands, the channel for them to come
294
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
flooding in. Highly unjust, therefore, is it to lay-
to the charge of European civilization, those
abuses and misuses which we ourselves have made
of it. It is only poor workmen that find fault with
their tools. Neither Europe nor America has
actually resorted to superior force to compel
us to accept her terms or her ideas and customs.
We have imbibed them of our own accord. We
may have done it sometimes unconsciously or
somehow unconscientiously ; but in either case we
have acted as free moral agents. If there has
been any indulgence to excess, none but ourselves
are responsible for it. Hence, when thin and
hoarse voices are heard in low and high places
railing at foreign influences, they are either a wail
of remorse or a cry of childish chagrin.
" Give us back what our fathers had ! " " Off
with this stuff unfitted for us ! " Such is the
burden of Chauvinism. There are two phases —
the one, positive, having for its message a return
to ancestral modes of thought and life ; the other,
negative, attempting to undo foreign influences.
This finds satisfaction in execrating the West, that
in lauding the East. While the one attacks its
imaginary enemies abroad, the other defends effete
institutions at home.
In their enthusiasm, the Chauvinists, who believe
themselves the only patriots, have gone to the
295
OUR RECENT CHAUVINISM
length of disparaging the study of foreign tongues,
however useful these may be in the future ex-
pansion of our commerce. They would rather
resuscitate the ancient classics of China and
Japan, expecting to effect moral renovation by
the aid of the ethics of feudalism. They endeavor
to quicken the spirit of nationality by stuffing the
minds of youth with " The Meditations of a
Recluse" or "The Tale of a Bamboo Splitter,"
It will be no easy task to extract a spirit of amor
patricB from the rambling thoughts of a sombre
hermit, whose country lay beyond the clouds. A
youth will have to be educated for a century ere
he can be inspired with the love of his fatherland
by perusing the amorous adventures of princes
and highborn dames. Far be it from me to
disdain the literature of my own land ! It cer-
tainly bears ** many a gem of purest ray serene,"
peculiar to our folk and clime, beautiful thoughts
and ennobling sentiments. But does it inculcate
patriotism !
Can that nation's literature be patriotic, which
has existed in exclusivism, and hence has had
little occasion to have the consciousness of its own
existence evoked } I should imagine that the
thirty years' literature of the Meiji period, in spite,
or perhaps because of, its quotations, translations
and plagiarisms from Western authors, is richer in
296
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
patriotism than all the previous centuries' litera-
ture put together. But I must not digress too far
from my theme. Little dreaming that the study
and mastery of a foreign language may, far from
hindering the nurture of patriotism, enhance it — as
in the well-known instance of no less a patriot
than Louis Kossuth, a student of Shakespeare and
an admirer of Washington-- the Chauvinists are
afraid of the spread of English education. Against
the introduction of really needless innovations,
manners and customs, they consistently raise an
indignant protest.
Well aware, that, as far as arguments are
concerned, they have little to array against the
evident superiority of Western civilization, they
have recourse to a vague possibility of danger to
the state from the intrusion of European ideas. A
state ! — an all comprehending term, that may
mean anything and everything. " In the word
state, I conceive there is much ambiguity "* An
organism it is. as Bluntschli tells us, of which
we are each and all a component part. This
delicate and exceedingly sensitive organism, it is
declared, can not tolerate any dissimilar foreign
body : in other words, it must be homogeneous,
notwithstanding Mr. Spencer's demonstration that
the homogenous is unstable.
*Burke, Letter to Sir Hercules Laiigrishe.
297
OUR RECENT CHAUVINISM
On the ground that the organism of the state
is highly sensitive to any disorder from within or
without, they would advise the state itself to
exercise its right of extirpating every thought and
movement which may jeopardize it in any way.
They would not hesitate to ascribe to it unbounded
authority to attain this end. Even a scientific
theory is to be tabooed, when it is suspected of
reflecting on the dignity of the state or its rulers.
When men enlist on their side the powers of a
state, any thing can be done ; aye, even a crime
may be committed with impunity.
Apprised that the God of the Christians does
not pretend to be partial to Japan, he is conjectured
as an undesirable being to be talked about, much
less to be worshipped. But, having no god to
take His place, they would idolize the state, not
unlike the benighted votaries of the Parisian
goddess of Reason, or not unlike the godless
Romans who deified their own tyrants. The state
is exalted to the Alpha and Omega of morality,
the S7immuin honmn which philosophers of all ages
have striven to find. Other virtues than patriotism
and loyalty are only tolerable as long as the)^ do
no harm to the state or to the court. A patriot
whose heart-strings never stretch beyond his
country's bounds is the paragon of a perfect man.
The most heinous of crimes may be made to ap-
298
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
pear a virtue, when committed for a state reason
or on pretence of loyalty.
The state, on its part, should be but little thank-
ful for such an augmentation of its authority. The
fable of the bloated frog teaches, no less than the
history of despotism, that " pride goeth before
<lestruction," that the possession of more authority
than its holder can rightly wield is detrimental to
its own safety and continuance. In the words of
Holtzendorff, " Staatsallmaclit ist Staatsohn-
Diachtr " What began in odious power, ended
always, I may say without exception, in con-
temptible imbecility," says Burkc^
There is as decided danger of the nationalistic
feeling overriding the limits of Truth and Right,
as of the apish mimicry of foreign manners over-
leaping the bounds of propriety and prudence.
As our proverb has it, " Hate a monk and his
very cowl is obnoxious." So, having started out
to hate Western civilization. Chauvinists make
little discrimination between the various elements
that constitute its greatness and its weakness.
They voluntarily blind themselves to the healing
power which Jordan offers, and seek in their
little Abanas and Pharpars for virtues which these
possess not.
Some of their utterances sound like a parody of
♦Burke, Thoughts and Details on Scarcity.
299
OUR RECENT CHAUVINISM
tlie well known strain of patriotic ardor,
"For all thy faults I love ihee still, my
Country !
One is inclined to question how sincere and
candid the advocates of anti-foreign reaction are
in dealing with imported institutions, customs and
ideas, and in endeavoring to revive those of their
forefathers. If, as there is some ground for
presuming, it is only the semblance of ancient
forms that they adhere to, theirs will be an act of
hypocrisy and untruth. Thus the over-zealous
patriots have their vulnerable points. Their much
boasted patriotism may be, after all, a species of
disease, — at least, of prejudice.
" To be prejudiced is always to be weak ; "
says the Leviathan of Literature, "yet there arc
prejudices so near to laudable, that they have
been often praised, and are always pardoned."
Then he goes on to say, " To love their country
has been considered as virtue in men, whose love
could not be otherwise than blind, because their
preference was made without a comparison ; but
it has never been my fortune to find, either in
ancient or modern writers, any honorable mention
of those who have with equal blindness hated
their country." The Chauvinistic extravagance
of reactionary minds 1 consider a decided prc-
300
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
judice, but a pardonable one, because it leans to
virtue's side.
I have seen in print and have heard with my
own ears, a superficial remark made by foreigners,
that the recent anti-foreign reaction is a proof of
Japanese fickleness and want of character. Must
I defend my own people against a charge so ill-
founded ? Is it not defence enough to refer those
who make such a remark to the histories of other
nations ? As I write these lines, a copy of Curtius'
History of Greece lies beside me. Let me quote a
sentence or two. Speaking of the old and new
elements of Sparta, soon after she had gained hege-
mony over Athens, the learned professor pro-
ceeds : — " Doubtless those men were rarest of all
who knew how to combine the good elements of
the old times with the good elements of the new,
how to unite the sentiments of an ancient Spartan
with an advanced culture, with intelligence and
energy — such men as Lichas and Callicratidas.
As a rule, we find either an inert adherence to the
traditional forms of life, or a spirit of opposition to
ancestral usage, and open revolt."
How much these words sound as though they
were written but yesterday, to describe the state
of our own society !
We repeat that disturbance of some kind is
inevitable, wherever two currents meet. Unhappy
3o»
OUR RECENT CHAUVINISM
the nation, which succumbs without a groan, —
with neither power nor will to assert its claims.
Are our groans — the wail of remorse, the cry of
chagrin — louder and sharper than those of other
peoples ? They may be. We cannot deny that
we are a sensitive people. We have been so
trained. Sensitiveness is a trait oi Samuraiism, of
Bnshido. Burke described it well, when he wrote
of " that sensibility of principle, that chastity of
honor, which feels a stain like a wound." A
sensitive nation can never bear to have itselt
placed in an inferior position. It will rather drown
itself in the billows it raises than be silently
swallowed up in a current, how much so ever
stronger than itself.
Much as I dislike the ill temper and worse
demeanor that Chauvinism generally engenders,
they are in a way an index of race vitality,
national energy. As to the empty phrases and
bombastic taunts which always deck the oratory
of Chauvinism, why, these are sometimes a quite
good piece of rhetoric, and at their worst rather
harmless, momentary exclamations — nothing more
than what lawyers would call briitiimfulmen.
The real import of Chauvinism, morbid as it
may seem, is a wholesome one, and as such it
should be left to run its course. Its real origin
lies somewhere else than among us. It began in
302
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
Europe in the first quarter of this century, as a
reaction against the cosmopolitanism of the last.
One of the first exponents of nationalistic princi-
ples was Niebuhr, and they were taken up by Ranke
to be propagated throughout Europe by his dis-
ciples. The Franco-Prussian War carried them still
further, and to-day, everywhere, from Russia,
where every means is taken to expel foreign in-
fluences ; through Portugal, where a proposal,
once well nigh accomplished, of uniting with
Spain, is now spurned with contempt ; over across
the Atlantic to the Western Continent, where the
cry " America for Americans " now rends the air
— yes, everywhere, there is rolling a mighty wave
of nationalism. The Japanese anti-foreign reaction
is but a wavelet in this universal wave.
That Japan can react against Europe or America,
is clear proof that she no longer stands outside
the pale of the forces that act upon the larger
world. She has entered the community of nations.
She is a part and parcel of the world-organism.
Right and Truth, which govern the world, demand
of Japan equal obedience. It is no longer possible
for her to circumscribe the sphere of Right to
patriotism, or to confine Truth to her own history.
She must be convinced that, " being loud and
vehement" — to borrow a word from Berkeley —
" either against a court or for a court, is no proof
303
OUR RECENT CHAUVINISM
of patriotism Where the heart is right, there
is true patriotism."
We are fast approaching the time when all the
various rivers of the earth's nations, shall be
gathered together in one fraternal ocean, into
which each shall pour its choicest gifts. One
nation may contribute speed ; another, volume ;
the third, beauty ; and so on. Let England's
laureate boast,
" Better fifty years of Europe than a cycle of Cathay ! "
Let celestial poets answer with as much pride
and reason,
" Better a cycle of Cathay than fifty years of Europe ! "
And as to the sons of Japan, let them join in
the chorus ;
" A year of Yamato rather than a cycle of Cathay or a
century of Europe !
All these nations speak aright ; for each has its
own Heaven-born strength, which will grow the
greater in union with the strength of other nations.
The time is near at hand, when it will be said of
the world, as it was said of a country, " United
we stand ; divided we fall." The federation of
the world cannot be very far off. Then a patriot
304
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
can be a good citizen of the world, without
sacrificing one iota of the love of his country :
then patriotism will be, not a blind prejudice for
any land, but a rational appreciation of Truth and
Right as best manifested in each : then it will be
no treason but rather an act of patriotism for a
Naaman to dip himself seven times in Jordan, and
— be clean.
Chauvinism, while it blows a trumpet, is tolling
its own knell and is ringing in a new era of broader
views and larger love, of the ethnic and ethical
cooperation of the whole race.
Sappro. iSqS
305
AMERICAN-JAPANESE INTERCOURSE
/^
THE GENESIS OF AMERICAN-
JAPANESE INTERCOURSE
Pending the issue of the question concerning
Ilawaiian Annexation, the hitherto amicable
relations of Japan and the United States have of
late been more or less strained. Unnecessarily
bitter feelings have in some quarters found vent.
It may, I should think, be admitted that the two
countries fronting the Pacific, in spite of the mani-
fold differences of race, history and political in-
stitutions, are alike in this — that they are both
highly sensitive peoples. I am inclined, on the
one hand, largely to attribute to this cause the
mutual understanding and confidence that has
existed between them, and on the other to deem
it a source of danger to this bona fide friendship,
which was engendered by America's consciousness
of a moral responsibility towards us, and by
Japan's response of implicit trust in the justice and
sincerity of the Republic. Since Cobden's time,
it has become a common saying that oceans,
instead of separating, bind together the nations
whose shores feel the common pulsing of their
tides ; and though the late events of the China
Sea may as yet contribute little towards its con-
firmation, it is undoubtedly evidenced in the
306
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
march of what Carl Richter calls tha lassie and
oceanic civilization.
As the memory of old friendships does oft
times heal present ruptures, while the press at
home and abroad is busy commenting upon the
slight difference between America and Japan, let
us stand upon the vantage ground of history and
try to trace, if we can, the stream of that friend-
ship to the spot where it first manifested itself
visibly to the world. Such a spot I hesitate to
call the fountain head, the source of the ever
widening stream ; but I would fain liken it to the
trickling of the water straying among the leaves
and bushes of the forest, whose original home lies
farther back, hidden among the rocks and caves.
Three score summers long it has been flowing in
steady current, and it seems meet that we should
celebrate, so to speak, the sixtieth anniversary of
the first contact of Americans and Japanese.
In the course of some four decades prior to
1837, a few citizens of the United States had from
time to time steered their way toward our country,
but invariably under the flag of some other nation,
Dutch or English ; and whatever councils might
have been in the White House and in Congress
about public negotiations with the court of Yedo,
it had remained mere talk. We can easily assign
good reasons for the apparent indifference of the
307
AMERICAN-JAPANESE INTERCOURSE
United States in regard to taking initiatory steps
toward entering upon diplomatic intercourse with
Japan. In spite of all these reasons, however, it
cannot be denied that there was a lack of farseeing
commercial and diplomatic policy on the part of
the authorities at Washington. Hence, the episode
of the Morrison assumes an importance which the
private nature of the enterprise does not warrant.
It shows in the plan of the originator no lack of
sagacity, but a spirit of daring enterprise. I am
well aware that it attracted no public attention at
the time, and when it was ended the world at
large scarcely knew that it had ever begun. The
account given of the voyage at its termination,
and the appeals made in behalf of Japan, were
apparently so much breath wasted and if, in a
small circle, it was listened to with any degree of
fervor, it immediately vanished from the memory
of man *' as a tale that is told."
The event to which I allude is cursorily related
in a sketch of Japanese and American intercourse
published six years ago.* There are not wanting
books written at the time by those who took part
in the affair, and, if curiosity o:r the love of anti-
quarian research should lead us to some particularly
weir stocked library, we should probably find in
* Iiiazo Nitobe, The Intercourse Bet^ueen the United Siates
andyapan, yohns Hopkins Unit'., Baltimore, igbi.
308
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
some neglected alcove, among rubbish and dust,
two very rare books: — King; "The Claims of
Japan and Malaysia upon Christendom, Exhibited
in Notes of Voyages made in 1837 from Canton in
the ship Morrison and brig Himaleh,^' and
Parker : "Journal of an Expedition from Singapore
to Japan, with a visit to Loo-Choo, &c." : If
side by side with these we place a copy of the
Chinese Repository, Vol. VI, and compare the
account given by Mr. King and Dr. Parker with
the narrative of Dr. Williams,* we shall learn a bit
of history hitherto hidden from the general eye of
the present generation.
The story goes that about the year 1835 a few
survivors of a numerous crew of a Japanese junk
were cast ashore on the coast of Columbia, and
were straightway captured and made slaves by
the Indians. Rescued by a member of the
Hudson's Bay Company, they were sent to China,
there to await a favorable opportunity to be
returned to their native land. As proteges of Dr.
Gutzlaff, a German missionary, they spent some
months, when they were joined by two other
parties of their compatriot castaways, ten in all.
The presence of so many Japanese naturally
aroused the sohcitude of missionaries arid traders,
* S. Wells Williams, Narrative of a Voyage of the Ship
Morrison to Loo — Choo and Japan, Chinese Repository,
Vol. VI, 1837,
309
AMERICAN-JAPANESE INTERCOURSE
as to the possible ways of opening our country to
the respective blessings of Christianity and com-
merce. Efforts were made toward this end by the
Englisli community at Macao, but for one reason
or another it fell to the American residents to take
the first step. Mr. C. W. King, a prosperous
American merchant of Macao, had heard of the
ship-wrecked party from their Hudson's Bay
Company rescuer, and afterwards accidentally
met them at the house of Dr. Gutzlaff; and the
strange chance so awakened his interest that he
offered to send them back to their country himself.
There were delays and difficulties, however, and it
was not till the summer of 1837 that the ex-
pedition was ready to leave. Meanwhile, one of
the prime movers. Dr. Gutzlaff, had arranged to
go with the American man-of-war Raleigh to Loo
choo and Nawa, and it was agreed that at the
latter place he should meet the rest of the party ;
namely, Mr. and Mrs. King, Dr. Parker of the
Hospital at Canton, Mr. S. W. Williams, and
seven Japanese.
Having chosen his ship, the Morrison, Mr. King
made two rather remarkable decisions— that the
vessel should be unarmed, and that absolutely no
Christian books should be carried for distribution.
He held that the expedition could most easily
seem, if it actually was, entirely peaceful ; and
310
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
that no one could doubt the good intentions of a
vessel unable even to defend herself from attack.
His rejection of Christian books was on like
grounds ; not obection to Christianity, which
indeed he strongly desired to spread by all fair
means, but the determination to break no known
law of the country to which he was returning its
exiles. While the rest of the party agreed to the
first point, in the matter of books they seem to
have yielded regretfully.
On the third of July, 1837, the Morrison sailed
from Macao, reaching Nawa on the twelfth. There
they had to wait some days for the Raleigh and
Dr. Gutzlafif, and meantime occupied themselves
by receiving visits from the Riu Kiuans and by
making excursions ashore ; since, though closely
watched and questioned, they were not prevented
from landing and exploring at will.
As soon as Dr. Gutzlaff arrived, they set sail for
Yedo, King thinking it best to go boldly to the
capital where he could get a positive answer and
where too the question of American intercourse
would be quite free from Dutch jealousy. He
now took out and revised the papers which he
had prepared and had translated into Chinese,
to explain the purpose of the visit and the friendli-
ness of his country. In the first of these, ** The
American merchant King respectfully addresses
3U
AMERICAN-JAPANESE INTERCOURSE
His Imperial Majesty on the subject of the return
of seven of his shipwrecked subjects, three thrown
ashore in a country called Columbia, belonging to
America, the other four, natives of the island of
Kiushiu "Now I, seeing the distressed
condition of these men, have brought them back to
their country, that they may be restored to their
homes and behold again their aged parents.
Respectfully submitting this statement, I request
that an officer may be sent on board to receive
them, to hear the foreign news, to inspect the
register of my vessel and to grant supplies and
permission to trade. I also request, if there be
any shipwrecked Americans in your country, that
they may be given up to me, that I may take
them home with me on my return."
In the second paper King declares : — " America
lies to the East of your honorable country distant
two months' voyage. On its eastern side, it is
separated from England and Holland by a wide
ocean. Hence it appears that America stands
alone and does not border upon any other of the
nations known to the Japanese. The population
of America is not great, although the country is
extensive. Sixty-two years ago, they chose their
first President, named Washington. Within the
space of sixty-two years America has been twice
invaded, but its people have never attacked other
312
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
countries, nor possessed themselves of foreign
territory. The American vessels sail faster than
those of other nations, traversing every sea, and
informing themselves of whatever passes in every
country. If permitted to have intercourse with
Japan, they will communicate always the latest
intelligence Our countrymen have not
yet visited your honorable country, but only know
that in old times the merchants of all nations were
admitted to your borders. Afterwards, having
transgressed the laws, they were restricted or
expelled. Now, we, coming for the first time,
and not having done wrong, request permission
to carry on friendly intercourse on the ancient
footing."
With these was a list of presents — a telescope,
pair of globes &c., and some books. That these
papers, on which King's hopes were pinned, were
not destined to reach the eye of His Imperial
Majesty, will be to the present-day reader a
foregone conclusion.
On July 29th, the Morrison reached Yedo Bay.
As they sailed in, firing was heard' from the forts
just above Uraga. This they took for a signal to
stop and give account of themselves, so they
promptly dropped anchor in token of willingness to
comply with regulations. Many boats now came
around them, some of the occupants venturing to
313
AMERICAN-JAPANESE INTERCOURSE
come aboard and been tertained with cake and
wine ; but, to the foreigners' disappointment, no
ofificial visited the ship.
The Americans waited, never doubting that
officers would arrive in time. But at dawn next
inorning all were rudely disillusioned by a sudden
volley of shot from a battery planted on the near
shore during the night, plainly with hostile intent ;
for though sail was quickly set the firing
continued. There was nothing for it but to run
away, and this was done as promptly as the light
breeze would permit. Luckily, only one ball
struck the ship, and as this did no great damage,
the escape doubtless helped the Americans to
swallow their exasperation at such unlooked for
treatment. But for the poor exiles, turned back
by their own people almost in sight of home, the
disappointment must have been most bitter. True,
they had not been seen by their countrymen, Mr.
King having bidden them stay below till his
papers were delivered ; but this seemed to them
a foretaste of what must fall to their lot, should
they venture to return. Mr. King would have
put them on one of the fishing junks, giving up
the hope of using the cherished papers ; but the
unfortunates dared not take the risk, well knowing
that our system of registry made it almost impos-
sible for anyone to conceal his identity.
314
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
To reach the authorities at the capital was
clearly impossible ; but King resolved on another
effort elsewhere, and, after consulting the Japanese,
decided to try Kagoshima, For that port then
they sailed, reaching the bay on August 9th.
But " The scalded dog fears cold water," say the
Italians ; and this time our countrymen sent two
of their number ashore in a fishing boat to re-
connoitre. Their tale excited great sympathy in
the village when they landed and an officer came
out to the ship and behaved in a friendly manner,
receiving a package of fresh papers prepared by
Dr. Gutzlaff, with the promise that they would be
sent to the Prince. Doubtless it was a promise
made in good faith but, when the higher officers
came, the papers ware quietly returned unopened.
It was less of a surprise, therefore, when a few
days later the ship was again fired upon. Though
the guns were light and did not reach the ship, the
Morrison was reluctantly got under weigh and
once more cleared the coast.
As a last resort, it was proposed to try Naga-
saki ; but the unhappy exiles utterly refused to
land and meet what they now felt would be certain
death. For, while the firing in Yedo Bay had
been directed against the foreigners, in Satsuma
the presence of the Japanese was known, and their
return the only boon asked of the authorities.
315
AMERICAN-JAPANESE INTERCOURSE
King therefore concluded it was useless to humiliate
himself by asking of the Dutch what would be
worthless if granted ; and, as to the further hope
of opening the country, he declares that " Measures
to be taken on behalf of American intercourse
with Japan should not be prejudiced by the most
distant recognition of the restrictions that now
designate the port and oppress the trade of
Nagasaki."
Back to China therefore they sailed, carrying
little save the sense of having done what they
could for unhappy fellow-beings. But Mr. King
disclaimed all notion of making " a brilliant specu-
lation by this voyage "; — to all the foreign party
the whole expedition had been an experiment only,
an experiment all were willing to make even with
the prospect of failure. " I said failure," writes
Mr. King, " but what are failures in any good
cause .'' ' The lesser waves repulsed and broken on
the sand, while the great tide is rolling on.' " " If
the American people will follow me," he says,
" through the inferences I would make and the
plans I would ground on this attempt, results may
be obtained equivalent to ample success. First,
then, I claim one axiom ; that human intercourse
is identified with human improvement ; and one
postulate, that the hope of intercourse with Japan
shall not be given up Abandoning all reli-
316
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
ance on private movements, how stands the case
between the Govermnents of Japan and the United
States ? The people of Japan are now friendly ;
they boarded us with confidence when permitted,
and we were pleased with their frank and kind
reception; [jioi'] can it be the pleasure of
the American people to inflict one pang on the
guiltless and friendly millions of the Japanese.
..The gratification of private or public
revenge, the resort to any other than open
means for redress, the punishment of the innocent
with or for the guilty, is national degradation ;
deeper even than cowardly submission Re-
nouncing all armed interference, the coasts and
harbors [of Japan] might be filled with the fame
of the justice and goodness of the American
people ; their just ends ; their generous purposes.
And while the American Government is
employed in giving security and comfort to its
valuableships stopping on the coasts ol Japan ; in
opening the way to beneficial intercourse ; and in
promoting the amelioration of a grand division of
Eastern Asia ; I am persuaded its citizens, at
home and abroad, will do everything to forward,
and nothing to thwart, its noble purposes
My ; meaning is, in the first place, to treat the
repulse of the Morrison, and the considerations
connected with it^ purely as a political question j
3»7
AMERICAN-JAPANESE INTERCOURSE
and to commend it, apart from all religious views,
to the Executive, as a ground and occasion, not of
hostilities, but of calm and just negotiation. If
diplomacy fail ; if it be broken off by hostile and
insulting treatment ; I point out, as in duty bound,
the safest alternative, the only bloodless revenge,
the most beneficent coercion I am acquained with ;
still retaining my conviction that hostilities are in
no case to be hazarded. I would not commend
the resort to an ultimatum, on any other grounds
than that ill success is no dishonor ; least of all
would I contribute to open a drama in Eastern
Asia, whose tragic scenes I should shudder to
follow, and whose fearful denouement none could
anticipate
" One more consideration I would request my
countrymen to keep constantly in mind. Great
Britain and the United States divide the maritime
influence of the world. The Government of the
former nation may be said to be sated with
colonial possessions, over-burdened with trans-
oceanic cares. I call attention to these facts, not
to complain of them, but to infer from them that
America is the hope of Asia beyond the Malay
peninsula ; and that her noblest efforts will find a
becoming theatre there. There is the grand scent;
of human probation, the vast coliseum of the
moral world ; and there I summon the ablest
3'8
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
champions of my country's benevolence to appear.
I need not conceal my belief that Japan will
more readily yield to and repay your efforts, than
this [Chinese] empire, which it has been thought
proper or necessary first to impress. It is not
correct to regard either country as a stepping-
stone, a gate to the other ; and, looking at them
independently, there is this advantage on the side
of success in Japan; its population, though great
enough to merit and engage sympathy, is, com-
pared with that of China, a small and easily
permeable mass. 13esides, it is accessible on every
side ; its population, and even its capitals, lie near
the shores ; its Government can never repulse
foreign influences as the Chinese once endeavored
to repress Japanese incursions, by withdrawing to
the interior, and layij>g waste the coasts. From
your exhibitions of foreign goodness, Japan cannot
withdraw her eyes. When this empire shall yield
to your efforts, public or private, * richer than
Roman triumphs ' will be the reward. Abroad,
its example and its aid will exert great power ;
at home, the early enterprise and energy of the
Japanese will revive again ; the men who were
once selected, everywhere, as bodyguards, for
their courage and fidelity, will be bold and faithful
propagators of the truth ; the old motto ; ' ex
oriente lux,' will be true again ; the statesman
3»9
AMERICAN-JAPANESE INTERCOURSE
will rejoice to welcome a new member into the
family of nations ; the Christian will be glad to
share with these new brethren the favor and the
heritage of Heaven."
I have dwelt long enough, perhaps too long for
those who have no taste for antiquarian studies,
on the narrative of the voyage of the Morrison,
because I know that it is not often repeated. I
have not hesitated, either, to make lengthy ex-
tracts from Mr. King's book, chiefly, because it is
out of print and is now-a-days rarely found in the
best of libraries. It has been my aim to give the
whole narrative without adorning the tale ; neither
shall I violate the good manners of literary com-
position by endeavoring to point a moral. And I
hope I shall be pardoned if I emphasize once more
that the little book of Mr. King heads the biblio-
graphy of American works on our country. He
was, I believe, by far the best authority of his
time on Japan. His words may therefore be taken
as the first utterance of an American, who, in his
day, had no equal in the knowledge of the Farthest
East. May we not feel that he voiced thus the
best feeling of the American people towards Japan?
Moreover, the question that naturally arises in this
connection is : — Have these feelings changed in
these six decades ? We have lately been made
afresh conscious of the immense, the grand
320
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
changes, that transformed the world in the sixty
years of Queen Victoria's reign. Of all the
changes, however, that in the last half centuryj
the sun has beheld on this little planet of
ours, none, 1 dare say, can surpass in magnitude
and marvelousness those achieved on the coasts
of the Pacific. Think of the States large enough
to boast of imperial rule, reared where, a few
decades ago, a comparative handful of Indians
reigned supreme. The Sandwich Islanders, once
feasting on human flesh, are now reveling in sugat
— and may soon be preserved by it and for it,
provided the threatened attack of an ailment akin
to SaccharepJiidrosis, if I may so diagnose the
case, prove not fatal to them. The fur seals,
formerly the free denizens of the Behring Sea, are
now domiciled as British or American subjects.
The gruesome Bruin has stalked beyond his
Siberian haunts into Saghalien, and is bent upon
showing his prowess even upon Eastern water, after
long chafing under enforced landhabits. As to
Japan, — it is not good taste for her own son to
repeat what every school boy knows or ought to
know. Has not the very ocean itself, about the
regions of Tuscarora, been convulsed in its depths.?
These are but a small fraction of the Pacific, and
if, from the changes in these regions, we turn ouf
eyes to the south, or our ears to Mr. Froude, as he
321
AMERICAN-JAPANESE INTERCOURSE
describes in eloquent terms the transformation
wrought in Oceania, no one will deny that the
genius of progress has achieved her most triumpant
feats of the century in the Pacific. Surely never
were its waters so furrowed and fathomed as at
present, since Magellan first waved over them his
country's flag and christened them.
In view of all the transformation and revolutions
that have taken place in the influences and forces
which are brought to bear upon the Pacific, is it
any wonder that its surface should sometimes be
ruffled by the conflict of powers ? If I remember
American history rightly, there was such a thing
as a Boston Tea Party, ushering in a memorable
war along the Atlantic. Why should not a Boss
Sugar Party create some trouble on the Pacific !
But, in all seriousness, if the nations that have
most interest in the Northern Pacific were some
other than Japan and the United States, history
would have witnessed that ocean turned into a
warlike arena long ago. Provocations to a rupture
even between those two countries have not been
altogether wanting in the course of the sixty years
since the first ship fiying stars and stripes off our
coasts was peremptorily fired upon. But who
ever peruses calmly the diplomatic archives of the
two Governments, without seeing that these feel-
ings have never been allowed to penetrate into the
322
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
official circles ? Some foreign papers make mention
— seriously or jocosely, I know not — of a scheme
of our navy joining forces with a Spanish Armada,
for an attack on San Francisco ; but such an
alliance, if it exists anywhere, floats in the phan-
tasmagoria of a Don Quixote, or as inusccs
volitantes before the eyes of a fevered publicist of
Salamanca.
Sapf^oro. ^Sgj.
323
SAMURAIISM
SAMURAIISM
THE MORAL IDEAS OF JAPAN
The straight and narrow way which Christ
enjoined upon His followers indicates the moral
path which each of us must observe in order to
lead a blameless, consistent, and individual career.
But the instant we try to survey the moral system
of a whole people or race we are confronted, not
by a single straight path, but by a vast plain, as it
were, stretching from a dim light, far in the dis-
tance, with green, graceful hills skirting its base, to
the wide plains dotted here with primeval forests,
and there with gardens of daintiest flowers, and cut
up by manifold paths of various breadth running
in seemingly contradictory directions. How one is
bewildered by a sight like this ! How often one
despairs of taking an intelligent view of an alien
system of thought, moral or religious, and ex-
claims, " This people has no morals," or " This
race is superstitious," and, so saying, thanks his
little sky that he is better than his neighbors !
But Pharisaism wanes before the growth of broader
sympathies and larger knowledge. Where once
only was chaos we now catch glimpses of order.
" That way
Over the mountain, which who stands upon,
324
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
Is apt to doubt if it be indeed a road ;
While if he views it from the waste itself,
Up goes the line there, plain from base to brow,
Not vague, mistakable ! What's a break or two
Seen from the unbroken desert either side ?
And then (to bring in fresh philosophy),
What if the breaks themselves should prove at last
The most consummate of contrivances
To train a man's eye, teach him what is faith ? "
Many others than Browning have felt the same,
and only the most thoughtless are denied the sight
of a road threading the apparent waste. It is quite
a customary remark of foreign tourists that Japa-
nese life is as singularly lacking in morals as
Japanese flowers are in scent — a sad confession o
the moral and intellectual tone of the tourists
themselves ! Those who associate fragrance with
roses only, or morality with conventional Chris-
tianity, " are sure to be disappointed in finding but
little of either in Japan ; but that is no proof that
the nine blossoms are not fragrant, or that Chival-
ry does not teach the best conduct of life. There
is, however, good reason why the busy West
knows so little of the Far East, especially regarding
things that cannot be bought or sold with cash,"
for we have made neither the essence of the ume
to be bottled in flasks like attar of roses, nor the
precepts of Knighthood to be bound in a gilt-
325
SAMURAIISM
edged pocket edition like Episcopal or Methodist
theology. Even the European form of Chivalry, I
understand, is nowadays well-nigh incomprehen-
sible to an ordinary English reader. A recent
writer on the subject speaks of it as " a rule of
sentiment and conduct which is more remote from
modern life than the rules which prevailed in the
time of the Greeks and Romans." "' How much
more difficult must it be to make our Chivalry
intelligible to Europe ! Still, a little familiarity will
show that a gentleman is everywhere a gentleman,
much of the same type, and not very different in
any respect. Read the Chronicles of Eroissart or
the VVaverley Novels, and is there really so little
in common between you and their heroes ? Divest
them of their armor, of their quaint manners, of
their odd circumstances, or rather, look steadfastly
into them until, as Carlylc would say, they become
transparent, and you see in the soul of a knight
the soul of a modern gentleman. Do the same
with a samurai and you can easily understand
our system of Chivalry and our morals.
The age of Chivalry is said to have passed
away. As an institution it has disappeared, but
sad will be the day when the virtues it has inculcat-
ed shall likewise have disappeared ! Fortunately
for us, like a disembodied spirit, they still live on
* Cornish F. Warre, " Chivalry" P. lo.
326
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
somewhat modified, but still, in their essence,
remaining the same. The world has surely-
become richer by the legacy which Chivalry has
left behind. Very properly has Hallam said :
" There are, if I may so say, three powerful spirits,
which have from time to time moved on the face
of the waters, and given a predominant impulse to
the moral sentiments and energies of mankind.
These are the spirits of liberty, of religion, and
honor."
If it is the general law of evolution that progeny
represents and combines in itself all that has pre-
ceded it, then it follows that modern England must
show, as it actually does, traces of feudal institu-
tions, and modern English traces of chivalric
sentiments. How much more must this be true of
Japan, where feudalism was only abolished thirty
years ago ! As a matter of fact, Chivalry is still
the dominant moral power amongst us. It has
survived all the wrecks of feudalism, and however
marred and mutilated it may be, its potency
cannot be doubted. It is in its might that we live,
move, and have our being.
The statement that Japan has cut off connection
with the past is only partially true. Such a state-
ment has reference only to law and politics, but
not to moral ideas. We have put our hands to a
plough " made in Germany " or " made in
327
SAIVIURAIISIVI
America," as the case may be, and though we have
not given it up, we have received an impulse
from behind by what are sometimes called the
antiquated moral notions begotten of Chivalry, and
I dare say the furrows we are making will show
the character of the motive power.
Let me state here, then, that whatever charges
may be made against our people as immoral — and
it must be remembered that the same charge can
be and is actually made against any country,
England not excluded, by travelers, since it is
usually the worst, the lax, side of life to which a
foreigner is first introduced, such as cafes, theatres,
etc., instead of a family or a church — we are far
from being unmoral.
If I were to designate in English the cnsoiiblc of
Japanese ethical ideas, I would use, as I have been
doing all along, the term Chivalry, this coming
nearest to what is known among us as Bushido.
The literal meaning of Bjishido is Fighting-
Knight-Ways. It may be more freely translated
as Teachings of Knightly Behavior, or Precepts
of Knighthood, or perhaps even The Code of
Honor. Spme prefer the term Shido, omitting
the prefix j5#^(military), thereby extending its
meaning. Whichever term is chosen, it makes
little difference m substance, since gentlemen and
warriors were j^ractically identical. Warriors in
328
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
times of peace were gentlemen, and gentlemen
were warriors in time of war. Though Shido has
at once the advantage and the fault of what
logicians call definidendo latior, it may be well to
use Bushido, if for no other reason than that it is
the term most in vogue. As Bushido was the
noblesse oblige of the sanmrai class, and as this
word has lately become quite domiciled in the
English vocabulary, we may go so far as to coin the
term " Savinraiism " as an equivalent of the sub-
ject we are discussing. Though Chivalry is no
doubt the most appropriate rendering of ^?/^/^z^^,
it will be advisable to retain it in the original, as
the two conceptions are not exactly the same.
For instance Bushido was not an institution, though
Chivalry was, and hence the latter means more
than the former ; still, as Bushido was a moral code
through and through, which Chivalry was not, it
was ethically more comprehensive than the latter.
Moreover, the term, if rhetorically bad, does no
violence to euphony, and bears on its face the
impress of its unique origin and character.
True to its name, the morality of Bushido was
based on manhood and manliness. As the old
Romans made no distinction between valor and
virtue, so was Bushido the apotheosis of strong
manhood and of all manly qualities, which by no
means exclude the tenderer side of our nature. It
329
SAMURAI ISM
professed no revelation from above, and it boasted
of no founder. Its ultimate sanction lay in the
inborn sense of shame at all wrong-doing, and of
honour in doing right. It offered no philosophical
demonstration for this belief; but it accepted the
Kantian teaching of the moral law in the conscience
as the voice of heaven.
When I speak of Biis/iido as a code, I confess I
use the term in a loose sense. Samiiraiism was
never codified ; or, if a few savants made attempts
the efficacy of the precepts was not due to
their systematic treatment. Their treatises were
never used as text-books in schools, nor did they
usually grace our household shelves as works of
reference. The power of Biishido was more than
could be obtained from books and systems. It
was carved on the fleshly tablets of the heart.
Scant attention did it bestow on the credenda of its
followers ; its forte lay in controlling their agenda.
Long before anything was written upon it, it had
existed as a usage — a code of honour among the
samurai. Indeed, it antedated the establish-
ment of the military order, by and for which it was
doubtless developed and named.
At first sight one gets the impression that it is
an eclective system of ethics derived chiefly from
Chinese sources, because the terms used are strong-
ly Confucian. Bushido borrowed its forms of ex-
330
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
prcssion largely from Chinese classics, from Con-
fucius and Mencius, but even these sages were, if I
may be allowed to say so, exploited more to enrich
the native vocabulary than to impart, much less
inspire, moral sentiments ; hence, when we speak
of the deep and wide influence of these Chinese
teachers, we must bear in mind that their most
valuable services consisted in awakening our own
niborn ethical consciousness. For example, when
Confucius taught the five moral relations — viz.,
between parent and child, husband and wife,
master and servant, brother and brother, friend
and friend — -and gave them names, it was the
tiomenclature. and not the morals themselves, that
\v«; adopted.
So much for what we owe to China. There was
another .source from which BiisJiido derived no
small nourishment, and that was Buddhism. The
beneficent influence of this light of Asia on our
civilization consisted in introducing the metaphysi-
cal elements, teaching us to solve in part the
mysteries of our spiritual nature, of good and evil,
of life and death, with which the practical minds
of warriors were little concerned, but into which
every rational soul is wont to pry "in seasons of
calm weather." We may say that this Aryan
religion supplied our minds with the act of
contemplation, whereas Shintoism, in spite of its
331
SAMURAI ISM
worship of nature, put more stress upon reflection.
Thus, what we most gained from Buddhism in
moral respects was the method of contemplation as
a modus operandi of spiritual culture, and not s_£ )
muchJts_pIiiloso phy as its dogmas.
In this way every alien form of thought but
helped to swell the volume of our ethical senti-
ments, without diverting their direction or chang-
ing their essential quality. The truth is that
\Bushido is the totality of the moral instincts of the
Japanese race, land as such it was in its elements
coeval with our blood, and therefore also with our
religion of Shintoism. I am strongly inclined to
believe that the simple Shinto worship of nature
and of ancestors was the foundation of Biishido,
and that whatever we borrowed from Chinese
philosophy or Hindu religion was its flowers — nay,
scarcely flowers even, but they rather acted as a
fertilizer to feed the tree of the Yaniato race to
blossom into knightly deeds and virtues.
The central moral teachings of Shintoism seem
to me to be these : Know thyself ; look into thy
mind ; see in thy heart a god enthroned, appointing
this, or commanding that ; obey his mandate, and
thou needest no other gods. Consider whence
thou camest — namely, from thy parents, and they
from theirs, and so back from generation to
generation : thou owest thy being to thy progeni-
332
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
tors, to whom though invisible, thou canst still be
thankful. Consider also where thou art, namely,
in a well-ordered state, where thou and thine are
safe and well ; only in such a state could thy
mother give birth and suck to thee ; only in such a
state can thy children thrive ; forget not him, thy
Lord and King, from whom peace, law, and order
emanate. In such simple wise did Shintoism
instil moral reponsibility into the conscience,
filial love to parents and forefathers and loyal-
ty to the King. These threefold duties, represent-
ing respectively personal, family, and social rela-
tions, may be called the primary moral notions, in
the practical exercise of which many others must
of necessity follow as postulates.
Having given a rough idea of what Biishido is, I
will proceed to present a little more detailed
account of its precepts. I shall begin with those
which concern the duties which one owes to one's
self.
Our person was regarded, first of all, as the most
precious legacy left by our fathers, wherein dwelt
in its holy of holies a divine presence, to be
dedicated to the service of god, parent, or master
— that is to say, to the exercise of what Mr. Reade,
the author of the " Martyrdom of Man," calls the
reverential virtues. Our body was an instrument to
be used for an end higher than its tenant's interest.
333
SAMURAI ISM
It was treated as something lent us for the time
being to clothe our spirit with. Hygienic laws were
followed, not so much because their observance
was attended with pleasant results, but because
our health was a source of pleasure to our parents,
and because it could be useful in serving our
master. It was a usual thing for one dying in
youth of sickness or suicide to apologize to his
sorrowing parents for his premature departure in
terms something like these : " Forgive me that I
go before you. 1 grieve, my father and mother,
that I have to leave you behind me, now that you
are growing older. In your old age you will miss
mc. I wish I could have done something in return
for all you have done for mc. ' Tis all Heaven's
decree, and I must go,"
If Christianity teaches us to be stewards of our
wealth, Btishido taught us to be stewards of our
health ; and if Christianity teaches that our body is
the temple of the Holy Ghost, Bitshido learned
from Shintoism that in our tenement of clay is a
divine immanence. I do not mean by this that
Bushido was deistic, much less can I affirm that it
was monotheistic. It was too naive and too unso-
phiscated to invent a theological system. " Man
projects, as it were," says a recent writer, " a
mighty shadow of himself and calls it God." iiie
strength and weakness of BusJiido lay in its pos-
334
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
sessing no dogmatic creed. It sufficed its votaries
only to feel that there was something in their
mind — the mysteries of which they little cared to
analyze— always active with admonitions, which,
when disobeyed, heaped upon the transgressors
fiery coals of shame, and which could only be
appeased by implicit obedience. In the absence
of any written commandments, the Ren~chi-shin
(consciousness of shame) was the last and highest
court of appeal. A man who had lost his sense of
shame forfeited his human claims.
While Bushido took strong cognizance of the
god-like man, it did not overlook his animal
nature. As said one of our poets : "Should men
speak of the Evil One, thou wilt laugh in their
faces : what if thou hadst asked thy own heart .'' "
I need not add that this belief in the dual nature
of man was not necessarily self-contradictory.
From the Pauline doctrine that it is the law which
makes sin manifest, it follows that the more
stringent and exacting the law, the more manifest
the sin. The clearer one's conscience, the keener
his sense of shame — not that he indulges more in
shameful acts and thoughts, but the least of sins
which would escape other eyes are manifest in his
sight ; hence the first duty of the satnurai, who
prides himself upon being the archetype of the
race, was to be master of himself. One of the
335
SAMURAIISM
greatest warriors of the eleventh century left a
verse behind him which, roughly translated, runs :
" Subdue first of all thy own self,
Next thy friends, and last thy foes.
Three victories are these of him
That would a conqueror's name attain."
Self-mastery, the maintenance of equanimity of
temper under conditions the most trying, in war or
peace, of comjjosure and presence of mind in
sudden clanger, of fortitude in times of calamity
and reverses, was inculcated as one of the primary
virtues of a man of action ; it was even drilled into
youths by genuine Spartan methods.
Paradoxical as it may seem at first appearance,
this strong fortification of self against external
causes of surprise was but one side of self-subjec-
tion. One of the terms of highest praise was " a
man without a ineT The complete effacement of
self meant identification with some higher cause of
personality. The very duties that man performs
are, according to our idea, not to buy salvation for
himself; he has no prospect of a '' reward in
heaven " offered him, if he does this or does not do
that. The voice of Conscience, "Thou good and
faithful servant," is the only and utmost reward.
Impersonality, which Percival Lowell never tires of
announcing is a characteristic of the soul of the Far
336
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
East, may be partly explained by this precept of
knighthood. From what I have said it may be
seen that shame did not always imply degradation
or humiliation in the sight of our fellow-creature.
Our expression, Kokoro-ni-hajirit, or Ten-ni-hajiru
— to be ashamed before one's own mind or before
heaven — has, perhaps, a better equivalent in
German than in English in the words sicli scJidtnen.
A teaching like this was absolutely necessary as
well as salutary, in a small feudal community where
public opinion — which may be the notions of a
handful of loquacious people — wielded a stronger
influence than in the modern age, and where,
therefore, other people's fancies could more easily
work detriment to independence of thought, and
where, also, constant demands on self-abnegation
could weaken trust in one's own conviction. " As
long as my mind's mirror is unclouded by all your
foul breathings upon its face, all is well," says a
samurai ; or, as a poet has put it : " Leaving to
each beholder to think whatever thoughts her
presence may inspire, the autumn moon shines
clear and serene on the crest of yon mount." It is
true that to a samurai, who should not be a
recluse, it was not enough just to be untarnished :
in active life occasions offered which required
some compromise, and the story of an ancient
Chinese statesman was not forgotten. This
337
SAMURAHSM
nobleman, retiring from public life full of disgust,
beguiled his days with angling. One evening,
while he was thus occupied, a boat passed by, and
a fisherman seated therein thus broke the silence
of the sea : " Art thou not the illustrious lord of
Sanryo ? Wherefore this waste of time, when the
land is in dire need of thy services ? " The noble-
man replied : " All the world is gone astray ; I
alone walk straight." Hereupon the fisherman
took his oar, and, beating time on the side of his
craft as it floated away, sang : " A superior man
keeps pace with the world. When the waters
of the S5ro stream are as pure as crystal, then
may he dip in the them tassels of his coronet ;
when they are sullied with mud, then shall he
wash his sandals therein." A dangerous doctrine
this, I own ; still, not unworthy to ponder over.
The first requisite for a perfect samurai was, as
I have said, ever to keep account with himself.
Conscience, called among us by the comprehensive
term Kokoro (which may mean mind, spirit, or
heart), was the only criterion of right and
wrong. But we know that conscience is a power
of perception, and, the whole tenor o{ Bushido being
activity, we were taught the Socratic doctrine —
though Socrates was as unknown to us as X rays
• — that thought and action are one and the same.
Whatever Conscience approves is Rectitude, and
338
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
whatever enables us to obtain the latter in con-
formity with the former, is Courage. It is only to
be expected from the martial character of Bnshido
that Valor should play an important part. In
early youth the samurai was put to the task of
bearing and daring. Boys, and girls also — though
naturally to a less extent — were trained in a
Lacedemonian fashion to endure privation of all
kinds. To go through the snow bare-foot; before
sunrise, to his exercise of fencing or archery ; to
visit graveyards in the small hours of night ; to
pass whole nights sitting upright and ready ; to
undergo severe tests which would strike as bar-,
barous a modern "scientific" pedagogue: these were
means of education to which every samurai was
subjected. Wholesome, and in many respects
useful, as was such a process of steeling the nervous
courage of a physical nature, it was not this that
Bushido chiefly aimed at. It was Mencius who
taught the difference between the valor of villeins
and what he calls " great (i. e., moral) courage : *'
the man whose stamina lay in a higher daring than
that of the " boar-warrior." " Courage, when it
passes beyond proper bounds, turns into ferocity.
Confucius taught so clearly that an act to be brave
must first be right, that one is almost tempted to
charge Shakespeare with translating from the
Chinese sage when we hear him make the Earl of
339
SAMURAIISM
Albany say : " When I could not be honest I
Gould not be valiant." This Rectitude, or Justice,^
was considered inseparable from Courage. Recti-
tude was, indeed, the sole justifying condition for the
Exercise of Valor. Only; the Tightness of a cause
was determined not by utilitarian argument, but
solely by subjective moral judgment. It was the
motive, not the end, that imparted justness to con-
duct. In fact, as John Stuart Mill has said, the
motive and the object of a moral action are hardly
distinguishable. It has always seemed to me that,,
as our thought works only in a straight line, when
we treat intellectually a moral action, we think
of motive as the starting-point of a line which
terminates in another point, the object; whereas a
complete moral action may be likened to a solid
sphere, an orb, in which justice runs from the
centre in innumerable radii, and of which the
substance is love. For if Rectitude gives form to
character. Benevolence imparts quality and tone
to it.
Btishido held Benevolence as the crowning
attribute of a noble spirit. It taught that it was
cowardice to crush a fallen man, that it was manly
to. help the weak and show sympathy to women
arid children, that a man is truly a samurai who
feels in his heart pity. Bnshido, at its best, even
went further than this, if we can trust Bakin as our
340
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
guide. In his wonderful story of " Eight Hounds "
he makes Inuye (who represents the virtue of
Benevolence) play the part of a good Samaritan
by saving the life of his own wounded enemy with
medicine and nursing, an act worthy to be inscrib-
ed in the records of the Red Cross. I confess I
feel a difference, without being able to express it,
between Love, as taught by Christ, and Benevo-
lence, upon which Busliido never ceases from
insisting. Is it in their intrinsic character ? Is it
in their degree of intensity ? Is it that the one is
democratic and the other aristocratic ? Is it in the
ways of manifestation .-' Is it that the one is
eternally feminine and the other eternally mascu-
line ? Or is it that the one is of Heaven, heavenly,
and the other of the earth, earthy ? I know not
how to answer these and other questions arising in
quick succession as my pen glides over the sheets ;
but this I believe — that Bushido, grounding itself
in the light that lighteth every man coming into
the world, anticipated a more glorious revelation
of Love.
But to return : Bushido regarded Benevolence as
n master virtue, not only because it masters all
other virtues, but because it is the first thing
needful if a man would master his fellows ; hence
Confucius was tireless in teaching it to princes and
rulers. In fact, that single word to them covered
341
SAMURAIISM
the whole duty of kingship, A few years ago
(1897) the German Emperor, in his speech at
Coblenz. reminded himself and his people of the
" Kingship by the Grace of God, with its grave
duties, its tremendous responsibility to the Creator
alone, from which no man, no minister, no parlia-
ment, can release the Monarch," and the so-called
medieval strain sounded as if it had the same
origin as the BiisJiido conception of moral duty.
Benevolence and Magnanimity, the generous
virtues, were derived, says Reade in a book from
which I have quoted before (" The Order of Moral
Evolution "), from parental love, and hence a
sovereign, who held in his hand the patr^ia poles tas
over millions, was expected above all to prize and
practise these virtues.
When a ruler is actuated by a lofty sense of the
function of his office as power entrusted to him
from above, there remains nothing higher for his
subjects than to support him with all the obedience
compatible with their duties to their own consci-
ences. BiisJiido was thus like Christianity, a
doctrine of duty and service. The governing and
the governed were alike taught to serve a higher
end, and to that end to sacrifice themselves. Did
a monarch behave badly, Saiiiuraiism did not lay
before the suffering people the panacea of a good
government by regicide. In all the twenty-five
^42
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
centuries, during which Japan has passed through
many vicissitudes of national existence, no blot of
the death of a Charles I, or a Louis XVI. ever
stained the pages of her history. Did ever a Nero
or a Caligula sit upon our throne ? I have grounds
for discrediting the story of Yuriaku's atrocities and
Buretsu's brutalities.
The love that we bear to our Emperor naturally
brings with it a love for the country over which he
reigns. Hence our sentiment of patriotism — I will
not call it a duty, for, as Dr. Samuel Johnson
rightly suggests, patriotism is a sentiment and is
more than a duty — I say our patriotism is fed by
two streams of sentiment, namely, that of personal
love to the monarch, and of our common love for
the soil which gave us birth and provides us with
hearth and home. Nay, there is another source
from which our patriotism is fed : it is that the land
guards in its bosom the bones of our fathers ; and
here I may dwell awhile upon Filial Piety.
Parental love man possesses in common with the
beasts, but filial love is little found among animals
after they are weaned. Was it the last of the
virtues to develop in the order of ethical evolution ?
Whatever its origin, Mr. Herbert Spencer evidently
thinks it is a waning trait in an evolving humanity ;
and I am aware that everywhere there are signs
of its giving way to individualism and egotism.
343
SAMURAIISM
Especially does this seem to be the case in Chris-
tendom. Christianity, by which I do not mean
what Jesus of Nazareth taught, but a mongrel
moral system, a concoction of a little of obsolete
Judaism, of Egyptian asceticism, of Greek idealism,
of Roman arrogance, of Teutonic superstitions,
and in fact, of anything and everything that tends
to make sublunary existence easy by sanctioning
the wholesale slaughter of weaker races, or now
and then the lopping off of crowned heads — Chris-
tianity, I say, teaches that the nucleus of a well-
ordered society lay in conjugal relations between
the first parents, and, further, that therefore a
man must leave father and mother and cleave to
his wife. A teaching, this, in itself not easy of
comprehension, as Paul himself admits, and very
dubious in application, meaning, as it so often does,
that a silly youth, when he is infatuated with a
giddy girl, may spurn his parents !
Christ certainly never meant it, nor did the
decalogue command " Thou shalt love thy wife
more than thou shouldst honour thy father and
mother." Saimiraiism contends that society — fel-
lowship of spirits — did not begin with Adam and his
wife — i.e., with conjugal relations — but with Adam
and his Father. Even without the help of Mark
Twain's vivid " Diary of Adam," we can picture to
ourselves the time when Eve was an utter stranger
34'4
I
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
in Eden. Before this long-haired creature appear-
ed, Adam had already often communed with his
Maker, Creator, Father, so that the relations
between son and Father had existed, even accord-
ing to the Biblical narrative, ere those between
husband and wife ; in other words, as far as pre-
cedence is concerned, Filial Piety was the first of
the virtues. Well-nigh unknown among the lower
animals, it was perhaps the first to be felt by men.
It is not impossible that the instant a four-footed
creature walked erect, he called out, " Abba,
Father." So much for the claim made by Chris-
tianity that conjugal love precedes filial.
Our idea of filial love, therefore, is, above all,
gratitude for existence and for all that it involves.
This we learned from Shintoism ; and, though
Buddhism gave us a sceptical natural-historical
conception of our birth, the good sense of the
people rejected it as untrue.
I mean no braggadocio when I state as my belief
that at the core the Japanese race instinct was
(and I hope is) sound. It grasped moral truths
more directly than its intellectual teachers of the
Asiatic continent. There is more than man's wit
in the anecdote which follows : " A Chinese
sovereign once made a present to Japan of ' The
Book of Twenty-four Acts of Filial Piety,' where-
upon Japan sent a ' Book of Twenty-four Acts of
345
SAMURAIISM
Filial Disobedience,' accompanied by a letter to
the effect that, whereas in China one could find
only twenty-four cases of filial love, in Japan one
could not discover more than the same number of
men who could be charged with disobedience."
I am far from having exhausted the subject of
filial duties. It is in itself a large theme, and if
we were to follow it in all its ramifications, such as
the power and responsibility of parents, the wor-
ship of ancestors, the constitution of the family,
the home education of youths, the place of a
mother in the household, it would lead into
regions of jurisprudence and sociology beyond my
knowledge. Lack of time is my chief excuse for
curtailing my discourse. This is, however, the
right place to describe in a few words the position
of woman, since it was chiefly as a mother that
she received our homage. In no respect does our
Chivalry differ more widely from the European
than in its attitude toward the weaker sex. " In
Europe, gallantry," says St. Palaye, "is, as it were,
the soul of society." The so-called gai sabreur —
gay science of war and gallantry — was studied
and exalted into laws more imperious than those
of military honor. And what did it amount to ?
We see Gibbon blush as he alludes to it ; we hear
Hallam call it " illicit love " ; Freeman and
Green use terms even more severe. Still, there
346
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
was a grain of truth in it. Were it not for this,
where would the ladies of Christendom have been?
Cornish repeats over and over again that courtesy
to women was not a feature of European Chivalry,
but that it was learned from the Saracens, We
on our part had no Saracens to teach us ; the
Chinese sages and Buddhist monks gave us only
depreciatory notions of womankind. It is a matter
of constant surprise to me that, with all their
stupendous influence, Confucianism and Buddhism
did not degrade our women's social position.
Whatever gallantry we had was our own, and this
was due first of all to the teaching of manliness,
which enjoined upon the knights to be clement to
the weak ; it was due, in the next place, to the
teaching of reverence for parents, making sacred
the person of women as actual or potential
mothers. I am neither so blind nor so partial as
to assert that among the samurai there existed no
gaiety or lax frivolity, no love of adventure ; but
these were side-issues, never forming part of the
precepts of knighthood, as gai sabreur did of
European Chivalry. Nothing is more erroneous
than to regard the character of samurai women
as anything like that of the geisha type ; it was,
indeed, the very contrast between them that was
the raison d'etre of the latter ; for the former was
A sedate and even stern, earnest, " home-made
347
SAMURAIISM
body," with little tact for entertaining and much
less for amusing, better versed in ancient poems
than in the newest songs, more deft with swords
and spears than with guitars and samisen.
Plutarch tells us that the ambition of a Spartan
woman was to be the wife of a great man, and the
mother of illustrious sons. Biisliido set no lower
ideal before our maidens ; their whole bringing up
was in accordance with this view. Uhland's
couplet that " she thrives in sunshine, but our
strength in storm and rain," did not apply to
the trailing of our girls. They were instructed in
many martial practices, in the art of self-defence,
that they might safeguard their person and their
children — the art of committing suicide, that in
case no alternative opened but disgrace, they
might end their lives in due order and in comely
fashion. Peaceful accomplishments — music, danc-
ing, belles-lettres, flower arrangements, etc. — were
not to be neglected, but readiness for emergency,
housekeeping, and the education of children were
considered by far the most weighty lessons to be
learned. The inuring of nerves to hardship was a
necessary part of their training. Sobs and shrieks
were regarded as unworthy of a samurai woman.
We read of a mother, in whose presence her
daughter was slaughtered, calmly composing an
ode — " The mosses growing hidden in the deepest
34S
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
depth of an ancient well may bring to stranger's
ken the fluttering of their leaves, but never may
my heart betray its emotions to human eye," *
Stoicism is a point insisted upon constantly in
our self-culture ; so that no sooner is the heart
stirred than the will is brought into reflex motion
to subdue it. Is a man angry ? it is bad taste to
rage ; let him laugh out his indignation ! Has
tribulation stricken him ? let him bury his tears in
smiles. It is a very common remark that the
Japanese are a bright-hearted, merry people, wear-
ing a perpetual smile, and that the girls are ever
simpering and giggling. As Lafcadio Hearn has,
in his inimitable style, analyzed the Japanese smile,
there is but little left to add. Suffice it to say that
it is a complex phenomenon, being the result of
several conscious and unconscious conflicts in the
brain and in the breast. The constant endeavour
to maintain serenity of mind, is so closely connected
with the sense of politeness and civility that I may
now pass over to this trait o{ samurai education.
The underlying idea of politeness is to make your
company and companionship agreeable to others.
It is the first condition of good society. Bows and
courtesies are but a small part of good breeding.
If, however, the bows are so awkward as to offend
your friend's good taste, they deserve to be studied
349
SAMURAI ISM
and amended. Etiquette, therefore, should be studi-
ed as one studies music for the voice or mathema-
tics for mental discipline. This implies as little
that manners are all as that the voice is every-
thing. Etiquette is not an end in samuraistic cul-
ture: it is one of the many ways whereby man may
cultivate his spiritual nature. In drinking tea, it
is a .slight affair how you handle your spoon, but it
is never too slight to show what you are. " Man-
ners make the man." Still, I cannot emphasize
too strongly that manners and etiquette are
valuable only as manifestations of a genuine
culture of the soul, which pleases itself in imparting
pleasure to others and in avoiding giving pain.
Politeness must conform to the precept to " rejoice
with those who rejoice, and weep with those who
weep," or, rather, rejoice with those who rejoice^
and not let others weep when you weep. Stoicism
and politeness, apparently so far apart, are in
reality brother and sister : he bears all that she
may shine ; without her he is stolid ; without him
she is trivial.
I can well imagine that, in the early days of
Bushido, strict canons of proper behavior had to
be enforced to hold together so inflammable and
ferocious a set of mortals as the two-sworded
fighters. Everywhere, with the bearing of weapons
goes hand in hand propriety of conduct. Sir
350
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
Stamford Raffles, in his " History of Java,"
attributes the courteous manners of the people to
the custom of carrying the kris, or native knife.
Whether gentility of manners is a race charac-
teristic of the Malays, as cleanliness seems to
be, is a question not easy to answer ; but certain
it is that BtisJiido refined whatever courtesy we
may have possessed as a Malayan element of our
race. Courtliness and ceremonies are inherent in
any form of Chivalry. " Though ceremony grown
stale is tedious and meaningless," says Cornish,
" it has its origin in natural dignity."
That loftiness of demeanour, which was called
parao-e and was part of th etrue knight's character,
was distinguished from pride as clearly as admira-
tion was from envy, and was inseparable from
ceremony. There is always danger that ceremony
and politeness may belie their real nature and turn
respectively into stiff mannerism or glib obse-
quiousness. The moment sincerity is set aside,
the most gentle behavior has no justification for
being lauded. Mere empty forms and phrases
were abhorred by the stern ethics of Samuraiism.
Esoteric Bushido, if I may use such a term, would
not tolerate any word or act lacking in sincerity
and veracity.
It is an exceedingly superficial remark, so often
heard among Europeans, that the Japanese are too
351
SAMURAI ISM
polite to be sincere, or, as one missionary writes,
"They" (a usual term for the inaptly used noun
" Natives," for if I am not gratly mistaken, this
word, of course etymologically perfectly, correct, is
generally applied to the people born in a country
which forms a colony of another, and not to the
inhabitants of an equally independent power; hence
Englishmen may call Hindoos " natives " in India,
but it sounds strange to our ears to hear any
European apply the term to the French in Paris,
or Germans in Berlin,) " are such inveterate liars."
A girl from a missionary school gets married ; her
teacher asks, -'Is your husband good to you?" The
bride says, " No," for she would not think of praising
her other half any more than herself, or admitting
his tenderness to her. Forthwith the bridegroom is
charged with cruelly maltreating her. If, perchance,
it is found afterwards that the newly-married
couple are really as happy as can be, it is the
turn of the wife to be charged with telling a false-
hood. Such is the unregenerate politeness of these
benighted heathen. You ask your Japanese
friends in the very depths of affliction what ails
them, and in reply you get a smile and the answer,
"Nothing"; for why should they disturb the
peace and serenity of their friends with their
sorrows as long as they can bear them themselves ?
Such an answer you may call a lie — a conven-
352
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
tional lie, at least, or, more fitly, perhaps, a lie of
pride ; nevertheless, is it not less blameworthy and
more Christian than pouring into your neighbour's
ears all the woes which may constitute the truest
facts of your life ? No honest hater of cant will
deny the truth as stated by George Eliot. " We
mortals, men and women," says she, "devour
many a disappointment between breakfast and
dinner time ; keep back the tears and look a little
pale about the lips, and in answer to inquiries
say, ' Oh, nothing ! ' Pride helps us," she con-
tinues, " and pride is not a bad thing when it only
urges to hide our own hurts, not to hurt others."..;
Veracity, far from being neglected, formed an
important item in the category of knightly virtues.
Truth-telling is not always recommended in mili-
tary life-. Strategy is not outspoken honesty.
Consider what Lycurgus taught. Honesty is not
easily born or bred in camps ; rather is it a
product of markets and workshops. When Mr.
Kidd so exuberantly dilates on the superiority of
Western civilization as being mainly due to such
a democratic and plain, everyday virtue as honesty
and the like, he mistakes effect largely for cause.
It requires no flight of imagination or depth of
cogitation to discover in industrial dealings that
" honesty is the best policy," whereas veracity, as
known in martial ethics, attains a higher and
353
SAMURAHSM
deeper and consequently rarer form, which Lecky
calls the philosophical as distinct from the political
or industrial.
The mercantile calling was as far removed from
Busliido as the north is from the south. To a
samurai, trade and commerce were small concerns
to which it was derogatory to his dignity to pay
any attention ; hence the effect of Bushido upon
the early days of our commerce was not apprecia-
ble. This was naturally followed by a low moral
tone in the industrial classes. One vulnerable
point of Bushido, which it shares with all class-
morality, is that it meted out honor in unequal
degrees to the various vocations of society — most
of all to the samurai^ then to the tillers of the
soil, to mechanics, and least of all to merchants.
The last-named, being considered by the rest as
the least honorable, naturally adjusted their moral
tone to their reputation. Still, as I have already
.observed, honesty is a virtue easiest learned in
commercial transactions ; for its reward is not laid
as far off as heaven nor after death, but at the
counter or else at the court, when the bills are
due. Already, in the last two decades, we notice
in our industrial circles a considerable improve-
ment in this particular respect.
Bushido, being the morality of a certain class,
had a circumcribed sphere, and so its precepts
354
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
were strained to a higher pitch than would have
been the case had its compass been more ex-
tensive. For instance, as they troubled them-
selves but little with the morality of the trades-
people, they were the more strict in demanding
honesty from their votaries. The punishment
awaiting those who violated their code of Honor
was terribly severe. Take Jiarakiri as type of
what was expected of a samurai when he dis-
graced himself. It is not unusual to hear this
word, which, by the way, is more usually called
by us sepptiku or kappuhi, jeeringly mentioned
by foreign writers, and certainly the practice is in
itself a revolting one. It is unjust, however, to
look upon a practice like this from an altogether
realistic point of view. To one who has never
heard of the world tragedy of Mount Calvary
what a disgusting sight Tissot's picture of that
scene presents ! Death-scenes even at the best
are not always dramatic or picturesque. It is the
story which casts a halo round a martyr's livid
death ; it is the life the dead have lived which
steals from death the pangs and ignominy. Were
it not so, who would associate a cup of hemlock
with philosophy, or a cross with the Gospel .-" If
seppiiku were a form of execution confined to
robbers and pickpockets, well might it deserve
its literal translation, " splitting the belly," and
355
SAMURAIISM
then be politely dispensed with in polite society.
We may say of body-ripping what Carlyle said
of religious mendicancy, that " it was no beautiful
business, nor an honorable one in any eye, till
the nobleness of those who did so had made it
honored of some." Seppuku does literally and
actually mean cutting the abdomen. It was a
form of death confined to the two-sworded order.
Sometimes it was a punishment imposed by au-
thority, or it might be self-imposed ; sometimes it
was a sacrifice (can I call it symbolical ?) of life
for a cause ; sometimes, also, the last resort where-
in honor could find refuge. When it was ad-
ministered as a punishment it amounted to this :
that the guilty one admitted his own crime. It
was as though he said : " I have done wrong ; I
am ashamed before my own conscience. I punish
myself with my own hand, for I judge myself."
If the accused were innocent, he might never-
theless commit seppuku, the idea in this case
being : " I am not guilty ; I will show you my
soul, that you may judge for yourself." The very
natural question is often put by foreigners, " Why
was this particular part of the body selected for
the operation of self-immolation ? " I may say it
can only be answered by referring them to a
physiological belief as to the seat of the soul.
Where lies the essence of life ? is a query put
356
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
forth and meditated upon by the wise men of all
ages. The old Jewish prophets said in the bowels,
the Greeks in the thiimos or phren, the French in
the ventre, the Japanese in the hara. Now, hara
is a comprehensive term meaning the whole lower
front part of the trunk. The large ganglionic
centres in the abdomen, which are exceedingly
sensitive to any psychic action, gave rise to the
belief that there lay the seat of the soul. When
Shakespeare puts into Brutus' mouth, "Thy
(Caesar's) spirit walks abroad, and turns our
swords into our proper entrails," did he not put
the great weight of his authority toward making
such a belief plausible .'' To the practical and
labour-saving mind of the west nothing could
seem more unnecessary and foolish than to go
through all this painful operation when a pistol-
shot or a dose of arsenic would answer the purpose
just as well. It must be remembered, however,
that the Bushido idea of seppuku was not solely
to "end the thousand ills that flesh is heir
to." Death, as such, was not a "consummation
devoutly to be wished." Honor was what
decided his action in life or death, and honor
never tolerates the idea of sneaking out of exis-
tence. The cool deliberation without which sep-
piikti would be impossible was to prove that it was
not adopted in haste or in a fit of madness. A
357
SAMURAIISM
clear conscience marked each step of the under*
taking. The pain which it necessitated was the
measure of the fortitude with which it was borne.
In one word the committer of seppnk?i could say :
" Bear witness that I die the death of the brave.
1 shirk no requirement that is demanded of
courage." Then, too, to the samttnxi, death, be
it on the field of battle or on the mats (as we say)
in peace, was to be the crowning glory — " the last
of life, for which the first was made," and hence it
was to be attended with full honor.
Seppukii is no longer a mode of punishment.
The new criminal code knows nothing of time-
honored customs and institutions, A new " en-
lightened " generation of jurists has risen who
abhor such relics of barbarism. Youths who have
never borne a sword, who have not learned what
depth there is in shame and what heights in
honor, and who find their standard of right and
wrong only in physiology and in statute-books,
are fast coming to the front. I mean no offence to
Christian teachings, if indeed Christ did teach
anything definite against self-murder, when I state
that it will be a sorry day for Japan when heir
sons shall grow oblivious to their appreciation of
that honor (I do not mean seppukn itself) which
the fearful practice implied.
That inborn race instinct of honor is the only
358
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
safeguard of our public morals, the sole imperative
check on our private conduct, the one foundation
of patriotism and loyalty. Honor is the only tie
that binds the Japanese to the ethical world :
Any other moral power is still feeble, either in its
infancy or in its senility, though there is no denying
that numerous and attractive panaceas are being
advertised at every corner of the streets. Bud-
dhism has lost its earnest strivings, busying itself
with petty trifles among its small sects. The light
of Confucius and Mencius has paled before the
more taking, if more variegated, light of later
philosophers. Christianity has wandered far from
the teachings of its Divine Founder, and, as too
often preached, is a farce and a caricature of the
original. Diabolical Nietzsche and his shallow
followers are gradually making their way, as-
suring to still shallower youths salvation through
Hedonism, though it has not as yet gained strong
foothold, if ever it can. Utilitarians present us
with balance-sheets of pleasure and pain, assuring
us that theirs is the only scientific system of moral
book-keeping. Materialism is not slack in enlisting
a large following, to which it doles out in well-
tasting pills such comfort as the world can give.
Reactionism has on its part tried hard to build a
structure of its own, based on cant, bigotry, and
hypocrisy, into which it would unite the whole
359
SAMURAIISM
Japanese race, of course excluding foreigners.
But all these systems and schools of ethics are
mainly confined to the lecture-room and to loud
talkers. The heart of the nation is still swayed
by Biishido. It commands and guides us and,
consciously or unconsciously, we follow. It is
through the medium of BusJddo that the best
reverence of our fathers and the noblest lore of
our mothers still spring, for our flesh and blood
have been imbued with it. How could it be other-
wise .'' " Bodykins, Master Page," says the country
justice Shallow in the Merry Wives of Windsor,
"Bodykins, Master Page, though I now be old
and of the peace, if I see a sword out, my finger
itches to make one. Though we are justices and
doctors and churchmen. Master Page, we have
some salt of our youth in us ; we are the sons of
women. Master Page." We can be but the children
of our parents. And when I say so I am far from
advocating, on the one hand, the revival of old
feudalism, for it was not a trait inherent in our
race ; nor do I mean, on the other hand, that we
$hould preserve obsolete political or Social institu-
tions, for institutions must of necessity be ever
changing with the march of time. The spirit of
Bushido is ever ready to listen to and to adopt
whatever is good> pure, and of good repute. The
transformation of modern Japan is itself the frait
360
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
of the teachings of Bitshido. The word admits
that Japan, from being a nonentity in the poHtics
of the world, has in the brief space of thirty years
raised herself into the position of a first-class
Power. The explanation of this seeming miracle
has been attempted from various standpoints ; but
those who are not acquainted with the psychology
of our race and with the precepts of Knighthood
have despaired of finding an adequate theory, and
have summarily attributed what is really no
miracle at all to an apish mimicry. It is tfue
that in a sense we certainly possess imitativeness.
What progressive nation has not possessed and
made use of it ? Just think of how little Greek
culture has originated on Hellenic soil ! Of the
Romans at their best, who does not know that
they imitated most freely the Greeks ? How
much of Spanish glory and grandeur at their
zenith was of Moorish origin ! I need not multiply
examples. It seems to me that the most original
— that is, the least imitative people — are the
Chinese, and we see where their originality has led
them. Imitation is educative, and education
itself is, in the main, imitation. Wallace, and
after him many other zoologists, have taught lis
what a role imitation and mimicry play in the
preservation of life in nature. We shudder to
think what might have been our fate, in this can-
361
SAMURAI ISM
nibalistic age of nations had we been always
consistently original. Imitation has certainly been
a means of our salvation.
But imitation is a term of wide significance,
which may mean a blind aping, such as is the
frequent theme in " yEsop's Fables/' or it may
mean an educative principle, a conscious follow-
ing of a pattern selected with discretion and
foresight. In this last instance, imitation implies
something more ; it takes for granted a power of
selecting and of acting accordingly. Such a
power was Bushido, a teaching which, like its
symbol, the cherry-blossom, was born and nurtured
in the soil of our Island Realm. It breathed into
our nostrils the breath of life, the Yamato-Dama-
shiiy the soul of Japan. Well has sung that
ancient poet :
" Isles of blessed Japan,
Should your Yamato spirit
Strangers seek to scan,
Say — scenting morn's sunlit air,
Blows the cherry, wild and fair."
And the popular ballad responded — "as among
flowers the sakura is queen, so among men the
sdfnurai is lord."
But the samurai is no more, and Bushido will
36a
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
follow in his steps ; as his pride is swallowed up
in the wide glory of an enlightened populace, so
will the teachings of Bushido be merged into a
large, higher code of morals. Whatever evangel
the coming age may reveal to our nation, it can
but be in fulfilment of the law which Biishido has
taught us for past centuries. In the meantime, it
becomes us to remain loyal to the best that we
have inherited and that has been entrusted to us.
Paris. J go I.
363
OCCIDENTALIZATION OF JAPAN
CHARACTER OF THE OCCIDENTAL-
IZATION OF JAPAN
As microscopy and cytology have discovered
organic units in cells, so steam and commerce
have reduced sovereign nations into mere units of
a larger cosmopolitan form of life. Men, no more
bound in spirit to their narrow immediate sur-
roundings, are expanding to be citizens of the
world. Aristotle's definition of man as zoa poli-
ticon applies now-a-days to a larger organism
than an individual. National isolation is no longer
tenable, exclusion is forever excluded from inter-
national politics. The Great Wall of China
affords a barrier neither to the aggression of
Russia nor to the greed of European capital
seeking investment within it. The utmost one
people can do to exclude another is to erect a high
defence of prohibitive tariff and of immigration
restrictions — neither of which is strong enough
permanently to resist attacks from without or
assaults from within. Wonderfully has mankind
grown in political instincts, from being a member
of a village community to be a voice in the
federation of the world. This is the undisputed
tendency of the modern age — that nations are
coming closer and closer in touch one with
364
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
another, and whoever refuses to join in the union
is doomed not only to decay but to destruction.
Neither in Plato's " Republic " nor in More's
•• Utopia " is foreign trade highly prized or courted.
Bacon advocated exclusion for his " New At-
lantis," because he " doubted novelties and com-
mixture of manners." Campanella, too, did not
allow commerce to be carried on within the
walls of his " Civitas Solis." Fichte in his
" Geschlossenen Handel sstaat " is far from favor-
ing foreign intercourse, upon which he looks as a
necessary evil. Only the latest ideal state, such
as Wells or Ellis describes, is co-extensive with or
more extensive than, the planet.
Japan has learned late, but fortunately not too
late in her history, that it is hard to keep aloof
from this universal trend of cosmopolitan comity.
Many a psychological explanation is attempted of
the sudden emergence of the country into the
brotherhood of nations. Perhaps her rise was no
more sudden than that of the sun : slowly and
steadily below the horizon it has been rising,
rising; but until its disc appeared above it, few
cared to notice what it was doing in the obscurity
of the night.
How we have come to abandon the time-
honored policy of exclusivism is now quite a well-
known page in the general history of culture.
365
OCCIDENTALIZATION OF JAPAN
The cause which led Japan to take this step
belongs to what I may term her Mediaeval
history and the chapter of her modern history
dates from the influence of the West upon it, as
probably her recent history begins with the end
of the war with Russia.
The concern before us is to review the influence
of the West — what may be called the ]^2uropeani-
zation of Japan, or, not unfitly, may also be termed
the Japanizatioii of European influences. It is to
depict the approachment— at first shy and sus-
picious, then more confiding and later blindly
bold, becoming a few years after discriminating
and rational — between the West and the East.
It is in many respects to study the blending of two
culture-grades or the welding of two different
types of civilization.
I have said above that we shall treat of the
influence of the West upon the East. It is well
to be more explicit about these terms. I do not
mean by influence, as is often the case, any
Western domination, by means of power, money
or intellect. I use the word in the literal sense of
an inflowing of ideas and methods of the Occident,
into our intellectual, social and political fabric.
The term Occident, also, is too broad. Its general
use amongst us takes for granted the solidarity oi
Europe and America — at least as far as culture is
366
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
concerned. It is a covenient working conception,
more comprehensive than a state, which is neces-
sarily selfishly disposed, and less comprehensive
than civilization or Christendom, which are both
too ideal and vague. The Japanese do not always
distinguish between different nationalities of the
West, for they are content with the larger features
of Western civilization, disregarding national
idiosyncrasies and details. To them Christianity
is a Western religion and the differences between
Protestanism and Catholicism do not trouble them.
Democracy is Western, notwithstanding German
absolutism or Russian autocracy. Progress is
identified in our mind with the West, though
geographically Spain and Turkey lie in Europe.
Just as, upon first approach, all Japanese look
alike to a European and vice versa, simply be-
cause racial characteristics strike us first and
individual peculiarities grow clearer only after
close acquaintance, so was Aryan culture undi-
vided in Japanese eyes and the whole white race
one. We have but lately come to feel the dif-
ferences between different ethnic groups. Every
Japanese knows, and does not forget, that it was
Russia, Germany and France that snatched from
her the prize of her war with China. The very
peasants are aware that England is our ally and
America our friend. Friend or foe, we owe much
367
OCCIDENTALIZATION OF JAPAN
of what we are to the West, and it is this in-
debtedness which is our present theme.
Very often it is difficult to distinguish the
national origin of what we have received. Equally
difficult is it to tell what is Eastern and what is
Western in the thoughts which guide us. In the
spaceless sphere of ideas there exists neither a
scientific nor an arbitrary longitude, to divide us
into East and West. The points of the compass
show only directions and not boundaries, much
less ideas. To Europe, the East stretches from
the Balkans across Syria, Persia and India, to
China and Japan, and yet ethnologically and his-
torically what a far cry it is between Syria and
India ; between Persia and Japan ! Is loving one's
enemy an Eastern or a Western virtue .■' In which
the query is implied whether it was taught by
Christianity or some Asiatic religion. Of course
we can put back the inquiry — Is Christianity itself
to be called an Eastern or a Western religion .''
So too, is local self-government of Eastern of
Western origin ? Are trousers a European in-
vention or an Asiatic ? Was it a yellow wife or a
white that made the first dumpling .-' Questions
as numerous as there are objects and subjects
might be put. The constant exchange of ideas,
the action and reaction and counteraction going
on for generations and for centuries, among tribes
368
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
and nations, have obliterated many original marks
of nationality, and in some cases even of racial
distinctions, so that only by exaggerating a com-
paratively few points of difference, can one endorse
the language of the poet that
" East is East and West is West."
Differences — the quainter the better— are noticed
and stretched beyond their logical desert. Dif-
ferences there must be between races and peoples,
as there are between tribes and families — indeed,
as there are between brothers and sisters. But
besides differences that run parallel— that will
never meet — are there not such as tend to grow
less and less, finally, perhaps, to merge into unity,
and such as are causes of further differentiation .''
In other words, are not most differences either
convergent or divergent ? The terms East and
West, showing opposite directions, convey on the
surface divergent differences, but we forget that
the earth is round, and the so-called farthest East
touches the farthest West. The East and the
West, then, are also terms denoting convergent
differences on a globe.
The respects in which Japan differs from the
Occident are not always of a divergent kind. He
whose sight is blurred by the manifold details of
every day life, customs and manners, might think
369
OCCIDENTALIZATION OF JAPAN
that Japan is a land of tops}^-turvyness, as a good
lady missionary once remarked to an American
friend of mine. " Every thing is different in Japan,"
she said, " cats have no tails, dandelions are
creamcolored and chickens' feathers grow the
wrong way." tier interest in Heaven had evident-
ly made her oblivious of a few earthly facts — that
in her own country horses are " bobbed ; " that
while the rarer cream-colored variety is peculiar
to Japan, she shares with the West the golden
abundance of the orthodox dandelion ; that the
heterodox breed of fowl, which perturbed her
faith in the unity of the human race, is an im-
portation into this country. These things are
trivial ; but they are symbolic of an attitude of
mind more serious where graver matters are
concerned. Beneath all the quaintest and queer-
est excresences of social life, man remains man —
white or black, yellow or brown. In the noble
words of Lowell,
" For mankind are one in spirit and an instinct
bears along,
Round the earth's electric circle, the cjuick Ha.sli
of right or wrong."
Time and place may impose deviations in out-
ward things. They may favor this race with
more of this and provide that race with more of
370
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
that ; but all races can be reduced to a common
denominator — which may be broadly called their
moral notions. Take any anthropological or eth-
nological standard, and one easily finds that the
variations in our species are more quantitative
than qualitative, and especially is this true of an
ethical standard, or what the poet called "the
flash of right or wrong." We are told that a
cannibal tribe feels no compunction about homi-
cide. We are told that a certain people deem it
an honor to lie, and we are invariably informed in
such cases that white men have very soon brought
about changes in their notions. The very fact
that such changes can be so easily wrought is a
sure evidence that the crudest of races can re-
spond to advanced moral ideas. That is to say
that they have something within themselves which
can apprehend what is good. George Fox very
fitly calls this inborn power " the Seed." Do
not be surprised therefore that cannibals can be
made to grasp, without cogitation, principles of
European ethics, feel the Hegelian difference be-
tween Moralitdt and Sittlichkeit and even com-
prehend in a good measure the categorical im-
perative of Kant. For my part the surprising
thing is that European ethics can be so atavistic
as to stoop to a sort of cannibalism ! The most
primitive mind can respond to noblest sentiments.
371
OCCIDENTALIZATION OF JAPAN
Response means affinity and excludes divergence.
It is still a custom among ethnologists, especially
of that exceedingly shallow school of Le Bon (if
indeed a shallowness like his can breed any
followers) to neglect this mental affinity and moral
sympathy ; but to accept without due proof the
premise that racial differences ■ ethnic minds — are
irreconcilably distinct, and to infer from this
premise that all the changes in Japan during the
last five decades are due to mere childish imitation.
They little remember that imitation itself — to be
good as ours is said to be — is not possible beyond
a certain range unless there is faculty to imitate,
nay, intelligence enough to perceive how and
what to imitate. Imitation — including adaptability
and receptiveness — is a biological and ethical
process of highest importance. As among animals
mimicry is a principle of self-preservation, so
among individuals it has been a large part of
education, and, practiced among nations, it has
preserved and educated them.
Learn of Emerson, who taught us — " Great
genial power, one would almost say, consists in
not being original at all, in being altogether re-
ceptive, in letting the world do all, and suffering
the spirit of the hour to pass unobstructed through
the mind." If this is true of " great genial
power," how much more is it so of a large ag-
372
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
glomeration of mediocrities which we call a people.
The cultural history of mankind is largely the
history of imitation. As Giddings says, "Modern
civilization is the continuing imitation of Greece
and Rome." Only recently, Professor Woodberry,
in treating of " Race Power in Literature," has
emphasized the fact that always some great
culture is dying to enrich the soil of new harvests,
some civilization is crumbling to rubbish to be the
hill of a more beautiful city, some race is spending
itself that a lower and more barbarous may inherit
the stored treasure-house. But how ? Mainly
by the lower, or rather a newer and younger race
studying, admiring and imitating its predecessor.
" Follow Me ! " says the master, and like sheep
along the green meadows, by the still waters or
even to the shambles and sacrificial altars, they
follow. The highest that mortals have attained
has consisted, as Thomas a Kempis taught, in
imitating Christ.
This is all very well, you say, provided there is
a perfect political or social model to follow. But
is there such a model ? I contend that the model
need not be perfect, if it is only higher than one's
own level. " Find what is superior in your neigh-
bors, practice it yourself until you have attained
unto it," has been our teaching. One of the five
articles of the Rescripts with which the present
373
OCCIDENTALIZATION OF JAPAN
Emperor began his reign, clearly declared this as
a guiding principle of his government. We have
faithfully lived up to it - not without some hopes of
surpassing our models in a few points. Examples
are not wanting of artists outrivaling their own
masters, nor is this achievement to be confined to
the world of Art.
Japanese eclecticism is a concrete method,
whereby Western ideas were adopted and
consciously and voluntarily adapted to our own
ends. I employ intentionally the word '• ideas,"
in order to avert the conception, not at all un-
common among misinformed people, that our
adoption of Occidentalism — whatever that "ism"
may imply — was only material and material-
istic ; that it was only in forms, formalities and
formulae, and that it is therefore merely a su-
perficial veneer. Sure enough, Tokyo and other
large cities are full of trousers covering bow legs
and high collars encircling drooping necks ; of
silk hats resting oh straight black locks. Tourists'
eyes are amused at the sight, but this sight, indi-
cative as it is of foreign influence (for clothes are
indeed the first indication of a psychological
change, as they were the first invention after the
Fall), is far from being its most serious side.
Samples of Western architecture dot many a
street in many a town and they are increasing,
374
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
They, too, indicate much, but not all. Superficial
observers take these as indices of foreign influence
and judge therefrom how far short of the mark
we still are. The less superficial study our laws,
our courts of justice, our schools, our military
system and our navy, and find in varying degrees
their efficiency, arid conclude therefrom how near
the model we have come. What we have ac-
complished is, as Adelaide Procter beautifully puts
it, only " things of Time " that " have voices,
speak and finish," whereas within our race-capa-
city lie still, unexplored and unexpressed, il-
limitable forests and unfathomed seas, whose ex-
istence is only surmised by their waves and
sighings.
He alone knows us who can penetrate through
the outward covering — the social wrappage, the
parliamentary garb, the military uniform, and can
see the underlying motive by which all these
changes were adopted and adapted, and such an
one will confess that fifty years of New Japan are
no buffoonery. New Japan is indeed not an ac-
cretion, from without, of foreign culture. It is the
application of innate race energy to new circum-
stances, the self-realization of our own strength, the
conscious and purposive utilization of world forces.
At the cost of modesty, I may say that there
were powers latent, energies dormant within us —
375
OCCIDENTALIZATION OF JAPAN
or what Ai'istotle calls dunaviis (potentiality).
To follow the Stagyritc a little further, though no
actuality is possible without potentiality, still as
a matter of fact the former always precedes the
latter. Japan's adoption of Western ideas proves
her own dunainis, and her adaptation to them is
the entelecheia so closely related to her energy.
We have had ample experience in assimilating
alien thoughts and alien institutions — or, what
amounts to the same thing, in adapting ourselves
to them. We may say that we have been in the
habit of skimming the cream from the milk, ir-
respective of the breed to which the cow belonged.
For centuries previous to the opening of the
country, we had been accustomed to view the
infinitude of social customs and political insti-
tutions and vast congeries of philosophical opinions
and religious beliefs existent on the Asiatic con-
tinent, as a convenient storehouse from which we
could exploit what we best liked for our own
peculiar needs. It is but little known outside of
scientific circles, what a vital place is filled in the
evolution of a race by Adaptability and Receptive-
ness, two of the primary factors of progressive
variation in ethnic psychology.* Professor Vier-
kandt maintains that the real source and center of
all differences between the culture grades of
* Brinton, 'I'ke Basis of Social Relations, pp. 52-61
376
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
human groups is the one difference between their
voluntary and involuntary activities. Brinton,
elaborating upon this remark of Vierkandt, adds
that " the latter are instinctive, the former re-
flective ; the latter are mechanical, the former
are rational ; the latter are of bondage, the former
of freedom." To any student of the modern
history of Japan, it must be obvious to which
category the activity of our nation belongs. It is
far from me to assert our eclecticism to be a facile
and comfortable process of growth like the play
of a thriving child. On the contrary, it is ac-
companied with the pains and sorrows of sacrifice
— sacrifice which Mr, Morley recently and truly
calls the law of society and progress. He says,
" Selfishness and interested individualism have
been truly called non-historic. Sacrifice has been
the law — sacrifice for creeds, for churches, for
dynasties, for kings, for adored teachers, for native
land."*
The history of what I have above called Medi-
aeval Japan terminated with the opening of its
long-closed doors. This act was largely one of
non-resistance, or at least, of passivity. It meant
the sacrifice of a national tradition of long duration,
the sacrifice of national pride. The conscious
and active Europeanization of modern Japan means
*A'inett'enth Century — April, 1905.
377
OCCIDENTALIZATION OF JAPAN
the sacrifice of the Chinese models of adminis-
tration and morals. Mr. Boxall, in his " Anglo-
saxon," reiterates over and over again the neces-
sity of doing away with the Latin elements in the
culture of that race, should it develop to its fulness
the measure ot stature alloted to it.
May we not say that Japan can really and
truly be Japanese only by sacrificing Chinese
idolt'iii, by a brave iconoclasm that will shatter
the joss-houses of the sons of Sinim, that is, by
tearing down the Celestial scaffolding whereby wc
had largely built our edifices.
To wrest Chinese culture from us will not bleed
us to death. It will be like amputating a limb,
but never like tearing a heart ; for in temperament
the two peoples are very different. The greatest
radical difference, which the most casual observer
must notice between the constitution of Chinese
and Japanese society and principles of ethics, is
the highly developed economic individualism of
the Celestials and the equally developed moral
individualism of our people. China is a country of
shop-keepers, Japan of samnrai. Whether China
is an economic entity or not, it certainly is not a
political, whereas Japan is a compact political and
moral entity. Foreign influence in China must
enter through the warehouses of Shanghai and the
workshops of Hankow. In Japan it works best
378
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
through the organs of the state and education.
The occidentalization of Japan is not a natural
process in the sense that it takes place under the
regime oi laissez-faire, being decidedly unnatural,
in the sense that it is directed by the fostering
care of a paternal government. If the break-down
of the system of exclusivism was a passive work,
the systematic occidentalization which followed,
and which marks the new era, has been an active
and even an aggressive labor of the state.
A summary glance at the last fifty years of
Japan's progress will show that occidentalization
has been a systematically planned work and that
it has gone on in an order surprisingly wise and
fortunate, and, I inight state, truly natural if not
naturalistic. The rapidity with which this process
has taken place is the best proof that it has
progressed in natural channels. At least, con-
forming to Tarde's first law, imitation has spread
among us in a geometrical progression. I had said
its velocity has been in a saltatory ratio. Again,
true to his second law, our imitations have been
strongly refracted by their media, i. e., by our
own national character. Just compare the ex-
periences of the similar process in the Muscovite
Empire, as described by Briickner,* and let his
readers judge which race understands the West
*■ Europasicrimg Kusshiuds.
379
OCCIDENTALIZATION OF JAPAN
better, Slav or Japanese : let them compare the
wisdom and order by which the work progressed
under Peter the Great and Mutsuhito the En-
lightened .
It is usual for political philosophers to treat
the objects of the State as threefold : Might its
primary object, followed by the legal safety of
its subjects and the cultural care of its citizens.
The oft-repeated tale of the study of Dutch
medicine in the latter days of exclusivism, belongs,
as I have said before, to our Mediaeval history.
The new era opened with the application of Dutch
knowledge to military research. In fact, prior to
the advent of Holland on our shores, simultaneously
with the first appearance of Europe in the persons
of Portuguese merchants in the sixteenth century,
we began foreign trade with the importation of
musketry and the knowledge of its manufacture,
and even the embassies sent by several daimios
to the Papal Court, in the same century, made
constant and diligent inquiries : — How do Euro-
peans fight ? With what engines of war .'' How
are armies formed .'' How are they fed and clothed ?
How are they mustered and drilled .'' In what
ways are frontiers guarded ? How are forts and
fortresses built ? Questions like these most natu-
rally excited the curiosity of the sainurai class.
Even those who began the study of the Dutch
380
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
language, yes, the very ones quite advanced in
anatomy and materia viedica, gave up the ex-
amination of bones and herbs, in order to devote
themselves to the more alluring and ambitious
task of national defence. From the study of the
body natural to that of the body politic, there was
no impassable barrier. The study of fortifications,
of naval architecture, of military tactics, of gun-
nery, were soon clandestinely carried on. We
had men enough to stand behind the guns and on
the conning-towers, but the trouble was there was
neither a good gun nor a conning-tower. The
technical knowledge of war and of coast-defence
was the thing most needed and first attended to.
Personified in Sakuma Shozan, the introduction of
military knowledge was the first effect of foreign
intercourse. Gunnery was represented by Yekawa
and military organization by Omura. The military
profession, hitherto confined to the samurai was
made general by the law of conscription in 1870,
and this, instead of degrading the two-sworded
order to mere boors in uniform, raised the whole
nation, inclusive of the eta, to the level of defenders
of the land. Great fears were at first entertained
lest such a summary elevation of peasants to the
rank of warriors might weaken the fighting-force
of the Empire, but there was not lacking an oc-
casion for proving the calibre of the newly or-
38»
OCCIDENTALIZATION OF JAPAN
ganized army. The Saigo rebellion of 1876-77
was an experimental contest between two
armies :— one consisting of the pick of the Satsuma
samurai and the other of a mixture of all classes.
That war decided in favor of the army by
conscription, and Japan continued her military
reforms along the lines in which she had already
started — first looking mainly to France for her
model and later to Germany. The efficiency
of the people at large as a fighting-force being now
demonstrated, the rest was but a bolder and
bolder adoption of foreign means and materials of
warfare.
So with the navy. The country abounds in
sailors and fishermen, enamored of the winds and
billows and accustomed to their dangers, and
familiar with the crude contrivances of junk-
building and navigation. Give them a few months'
training in a battleship, cruiser or torpedo-boat,
and let them don a cap and a blouse, and you may
have any number of blue-jackets — small, no doubt,
compared with their British brethren, but perhaps
not less efficient. Our instructor in naval affairs
was Great Britain, though as early as the middle
of the last century the Dutch Government did us
great service by demonstrating the importance
of a strong navy, furnishing us with the first war-
ship ( The Kwankomarit) and a staff" of officers to
^82
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
teach ill the naval academy which she prevailed
upon us to establish in Nagasaki.
Into no branch of state activity did foreign
influence more quickly, more completely or more
effectively enter than into the art of war. The
adoption by us of a Western military system and
of military engineering was in fact a most fertile
marriage of the newest inventions in technology.
The fruit of this union was exhibited in the late
war, and needs no further comment here.
When the national defences of the country were
set fairly agoing, the next requisite of a well-
ordered state was brought under examination and
found vastly wanting. Laws were discovered to
be sadly defective in principles of justice — the
rights of men and of citizens were not clearly
defined.. We may pause here for a while to
consider what new principles in law and politics
were introduced into modern Japan, or in other
words how Japan advanced to di jural state.
Foremost among the ideas borrowed from the
West must be enumerated civil liberty and its
concomitant, popular representation. Scholars
can find traces of these ideas in the early records
of the nation. Ultra-patriots may go so far as to
detect evidences of popular representation in the
earliest dawn of our history. Such a claim may
be justified in so far as any institution can be
3«3
OCCIDENTALIZATION OF JAPAN
traced back to a primitive conception, there being
nothing new under the sun. The Parisian dandy's
cane can trace its inception back to the stick with
which Adam drove his animals, or to a newer
form of the club with which Cain cudgelled his
brother. Comparative sociologists and jurists
have done much the same thing with political
institutions. If the idea of civil liberty was not
new to Japan, the Anglo-Saxon interpretation of
it was, at least, novel, convincing and impressive.
It was not surprising that Professor Nakamura ex-
perienced great difficulty in translating Mill's
Essay on Liberty early in the seventies, because
of lack of proper words in the Japanese vocabu-
lary. Still, common sense guided scholars in
comprehending what Hallam, Austin, Blackstone,
Holland and Stubbs meant by civil liberty, by
political institutions, by representative govern-
ment. Strange to say, no one idea finds fuller
response on the part of the Japanese than liber-
ty. It is no dogma swallowed whole without
due mastication. It is no doctrinaire assertion
that is only repeated by rote. Not only have we
put it into practice in our political life, but we
stand alone for it on Asiatic soil. John Stuart
Mill teaches us that civil liberty meant originally
and even now means mainly, protection against
the tyranny of political rulers. Japanese history
384
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
has not been free from tyrants any more than
French or Spanish, but the inborn good taste of
the race, if I may say so, its natural sense of
moderation and of right proportion, kept the rulers
from indulging in excessive despotism. If some-
times the passion of a prince was unrestrained, it
was tempered by the teaching that the sovereign
is father of the people. The nation was a united
family on a large scale, and if patriarchism is not
consistent with liberty — they being indeed op-
posed each to the other, beyond a certain limit —
it gave no occasion to cry for it, since, as long as
patria potcstas was not oppressive, no need was
felt for protection against it. Ignorant of its
philosophy, the people had for generations a com-
paratively free government. It is customary to
speak of Patriarchism and Feudalism as terms
opposed to Democracy and Freedom ; and a
patriarchical feudal state is looked upon as an
embodiment of all that makes for bad govern-
ment. But strange to say, in the isolated feudal
state, and in graded feudal society, there was no
small amount of liberty. Certainly Capefigue
uttered more than half-truth when he wrote — " La
liberie reele 11! est que dans Vespirit local et pro-
vincial, dans Vinegalite des classes, des cont roles
et des poiivoirs euxmemes. IJunite c'est le
despotisme plus on moins brillament ha billed"
385
OCCIDENTALIZATION OF JAPAN
What, then, did the introduction of the Anglo-
Saxon idea of Liberty accomphsh ? It rendered
articulate this hitherto unvoiced enjoyment of
jorivileges on the part of the people. It formulated
their own sense of right, which had been theirs for
generations. And as its character was analysed,
its history recounted, and its limits defined, they
found that there are wide fields for personal
freedom whose stretches they had hitherto but
dimly discerned. Thus did the English idea of
liberty find easy entrance among us. Not only
was it assured among our own selves, but we
became its torch-bearers on the Asiatic continent.
It was to rescue Korea from the successive tyranny
of two despotic powers that our two recent wars
were fought. Woe to us if the banner unfurled in
Freedom's cause should be stained with the blood
of the people over and for whom it was raised !
Closely related to the subject of liberty is that
of a Constitution. The annals of our history arc
not entirely lacking in instances of well meaning
rulers who made some attempts at enunciating the
guiding principles of their polity. That a govern- ■
ment is primarily yj;r the people was an oft-repeat-
ed statement ; and from this the inference that it
is to be by the people, though startlingly novel,
did not seem unreasonable. If a constitutional
government is reasonable, is it good t If it is good,
386
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
why not adopt it ? We studied the experiences of
other nations, and finding that the German con-
stitution secured best advantages for the court and
country, we framed ours after its model. Those
who clamored for a parliament as a panacea for
all the ills of the body politic are largely disap-
pointed ; but I am far from acceding to the views
expressed by men so widely apart in sympathy as
Pobyedonostseff and Kipling that a representative
government is and will be a strictly Anglo-Saxon
institution. It is, however, undeniable that con-
stitutional government is still in its infancy with us
and as to party government, it is hardly yet
born. Improvement along these lines can surely be
made by reforms in election laws and the like, after
the pattern of the West ; but nothing permanent
can be expected except by the general spread of
political education among the people.
Regarding other laws, public and private, the
influence of Europe is so obvious that it scarcely
requires anything more than mention. Different
codes have been promulgated one after another in
the last thirty-five years. As far back as 1869,
the government began to frame a Civil Code ; but,
though the Code Napoleon was taken as a model,
the delicate task of adapting it to the customs and
sentiments of the country did not advance with a-
lacrity. In the meantime, a rough sketch of a Crimi-
3^7
OCCIDENTALIZATION OF JAPAN
nal Code was drawn up and published in 1870,
only to be largely modified two years after, and
again a year later, by additions which, for the first
time, showed evident marks of foreign influence.
In this code, which has assumed its present form
since 1882, one notices French ideas forming a
prominent part. The Civil Code would have been
largely French, had it not been for a sudden ad-
miration after the middle of the eighties of a newly
issued Motive and Protocol of the German Biir-
gerlicJies GesetZy and hence a large part of our
MimpO (Civil Code) as well as our SJidJiO (Com-
mercial Code) shows German influence.
It may be remarked en passant that a curious
anomaly is observable between legal and economic
commerce, so to speak, or commerce in law and
that in trade ; for, while our legal ideas are
German, in actual commercial undertakings Eng-
lish practice is the rule. In exchange, in insurance,
and especially in shipping, the terms in vogue at
the counter are English, and they sometimes have
ho exact equivalent in German or Japanese law
books ! A similar discrepancy exists in other
departments of our social life. We can broadly
state that while the government, the state, is
largely under German influence, the people, socie-
ty, work under an English and American regime.
The same is true in education. The Imperial
388
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
universities and colleges are German in spirit and
method ; the private institutions of high standing
are repositories of English thought.
And here we may affirm without hesitation that
the Occidentalization of Japan proceeds by two
powerful agencies, German and English. Have
we selected bad models > Are we unwise in our
selection of patterns to work by ? In other words,
is there a country better administered and more
healthfully growing than Germany ? Is there a
nation with nobler thought and higher prestige
than England ? Is there a people more energetic
and more hopeful than the American ?
Thus has Japan selected the best that the West
can give, while retaining what the East can least
afford to spare. If there is any doubt as to the
wisdom of the choice, it will concern the attitude
we assume toward the moral sentiments of Europe
and particularly toward Christianity, I have
already said that moral sentiments are the common
meeting ground of all the branches of the human
family. There is brotherhood betvveen an English
gentleman and a Japanese samurai, a. spiritual
bond between them. The gentleman is a more
modern type than the samurai, and hence he can
adjust himself more readily to the new era. The
latter has yet much to learn of the former in order
to make his (i^e^ui into the society of the twentieth
389
OCCIDENTALIZATION OF JAPAN
century. But, strange to say, this is exactly the
point most neglected by our savants and statesmen.
There lingers still in their minds the thought which
li Kamon expressed in a couplet on the occasion
of the inaguration of a military hall in Yedo
(Tokyo). The couplet roughly rendered runs,
*' Wherefore follow alien ways and alien thought?
Behold in these halls the noblest virtues of the
samurai taught ! " Is it true that we have nothing-
to learn of the west in morals and religion ? Do
we exploit the best in Europe when we borrow its
systems of law, of education and of industry .''
The greatest influence of the West is, after all,
the spiritual, by which I do not mean only the re-
ligious. Christianity has influenced the thought
and lives of many individuals in this land and will
influence many more-eventually affecting the
nation through the altered view-point and person-
nel of the citizen and the administrator. This
character-changing power of the religion of Jesus
1 believe to be only just now making itself ap-
preciably evident in our midst. Christianity has
not worked such obvious influence upon the social
life of our people as Mr. Dennis and other zealous
advocates of missions are inclined to think. When
a man such as he- considered to be an authority
on things evangelical — tries to demonstrate the
efl^ect of missionary enterprises on our national
390
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
sanitation, by affirming that the Japanese people
are in the main cleanly in their habits, but that
there are Ainus in the country who are very
dirty, his good efforts lose much of value and
validity. His argument sounds as absurd as
though one were to say that the Americans gene-
rally are well-dressed ; but that there are Indians
among them who are nearly naked. I say ex-
aggerated statements such as the above are too
frequent to mention.
What then do I mean by the spiritual influence
of the West ? I mean particularly two phases of
it. To the first and more important, Christianity,
I have frequently made allusion, and I hope my
hearers are aware that I deem it of the utmost
consequence as a transforming agency. Without
further elaboration here as to its significance, I
will speak of the second source of spiritual influence
from the West— the vast spread of the reading
knowledge of European languages and most un-
doubtedly of the noble English tongue. Indeed it
is no hyperbole to say that if Rome thrice governed
the world —once by its laws, then by its language
and thirdly by its religion— England dominates the
Far East, first, by its commerce ; second, by its
navy ; and third, by its literature. The eloquent
tribute of Lord Curzon to the language of his
people is no mere bombast. "Its sound will go
391
OCCIDENTALIZATION OF JAPAN
out into all lands and its words unto the ends of
the world. That this splendid future is no mere
dream of fancy, but is capable of realization at no
indefinite period, none who have traveled widely
in Eastern Asia will doubt."*
The effect of the acquisition of the English
tongue on the mental habits-— I had almost said
on the unconscious cerebration of our people —
is incalculable. Its depth depends of course upon
individual minds, but its breadth covers millions
of the mediocre. The moral influence of some of
the simple text-books used in our schools cannot
be over- rated. The readers of different grades,
Selections from English Literatui'e, Benjamim
Franklin's Autobiography, Washington Irving's
Sketch-Book, Smiles' Self-Help and other books of
wholesome and edifying character, have been
instrumental in opening new vistas of thought and
vast domains of enterprise and interest to young
minds. How many Japanese minds have come
under the spell of men like Kant and Hegel,
Spencer and Mill, Tyndall and Huxley, Scott and
Wordsworth, Gibbon and Macaulay, Shakspeare
and Bacon, Carlyle and Ruskin, Longfellow and
Emerson !
Intellectual and moral upheavals on a large
scale were accomplished in silent ways by these
* Problems of the Far East, revised edition, P. 428.
392
THOUGHTS AND ESSAYS
men ; but, here again, foreign influence must not be
exaggerated beyond its desert. People who think
that Modern Japan simply absorbed foreign ideas
much as a sponge sucks up water, forget a psycho-
logical law well expressed by Dr. Edwin Hatch.*
"The truth which Aristotle enunciated," he says,
"that all intellectual teaching is based on what is
previously known to the person taught, is applica-
ble to a race as well as an individual, and to
beliefs even more than to knowledge." Affinity is
essential to a mutual understanding. There must
be alliedness, before there can be alliance. A
scion and a stock must belong to allied genuses.
In the receptive faculty of the Japanese race
there must be something which makes it near akin
to the .races of Europe. Is it due to the Aryan
blood which may have come to us through the
Hindus, as Professor Hamy once told me he felt
he had proved by craniological evidence ? What-
ever the explanation, the unquestionable fact re-
mains, that the intellectual influence which one
race can exert upon another " is relative to and
inseparable from the whole mental attitude and
phenomena of the latter." During the late war,
Russian writers and their friends throughout
Europe did their best to prove the racial affinity, if
not the identity, between the Slav and other
* Introduction to the Hihhard Lectures of i88S.
393
OCCIDENTALIZATION OF JAPAN
European nationalities, as though blood were the
only strong bond of union. A wise man said long
ago that " there is a friend that sticketh closer
than a brother," implying that there are ties which
bring strangers closer than brothers. Baron von
Bruggen, in his study of Russian history, discover-
ed that two hundred years of ceaseless effort on
the part of the Czars and their servants to occi-
dentalize their people are just beginning to tell.
This argues comparatively little mental affinity, a
lack of response, the unpreparedness of the Russian
intellectual soil for the reception of West-European
seed.
Without meaning in the least to detract from
the magnitude of foreign influence, we have self-
respect enough to believe that the intellectual
capital we borrowed from the West was largely
invested in opening our own existent resources.
" The inventor only knows what to borrow," says
Emerson. It may be that we shall return the sum
of our indebtedness with compound interest. Our
study and " imitation " of Europe have been what
Socrates used to call the maieutic method, by
which our own minds have been helped to deliver
their contents, to give birth to their own fruits.
