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"It . 4 104 te 22 Tokakuu Taught by Reen Kriele Haut- Greta ang 3-10-1918, Oly!- Book.. 0 Acced-peofiles t new tacles .. leisure we in our mis mucting mars.wee knechty 1 . . ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ( س سعی ماہرین کی سیر tai ا ا ا pito . . :* جاتا ہے اس سے ان می 1: بس اتنا کہا X2 L # . VY ' . . * # . ' . .. . S . 3 - 1. * 1 .. .! - *' . - ... - S : - PT. Y Sii . . . . '' . . . 3 is? i we ing . . AR : ... . ... :-) Jo Date Masamune, Founder of Sendai TOHOKU THE SCOTLAND OF JAPAN BY CHRISTOPHER Noss AND AssociateS OF THE TOHOKU MISSION BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA GRAD BV 3445 i N71 1918 Copyright, 1918, by Board of Foreign Missions Reformed Church in the United States Mr :1 Jaane 1 Sun · DEDICATED TO THE YOUNG PEOPLE OF THE REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES AND TO ALL WHOSE HEARTS ARE YOUNG ENOUGH TO RECEIVE A FRESH IMPRESSION AND RESPOND TO A NEW APPEAL. FOREWORD The authors of this little book are members of the Japan Mission of the Reformed Church in the United States, which is usually called by the Japanese “The To- hoku Mission.” These missionaries, engaged in a work that taxes their energies to the utmost, hitherto have not been able to attend to publicity. No one has had the leisure to learn all that is happening on the field or to describe the situa- tion so as to make it intelligible to Americans. By request, material has now been gathered and entrusted to a member on furlough in America, with the understanding that he edit it with a free hand. The work of this Mission began in 1879 in Tokyo and in the rural district immediately to the north of that city. Since 1885 Providence has led the workers to concentrate their resources on North Japan. Description is limited to impressions received in the North because this is the only part of the Empire that the writers know well and because this region is usually passed over in general works on the country. Occasion- ally there is a reference to conditions in Tokyo, because that great metropolis has an intimate relation to the North, and because the work of the Mission is still con- tinued there. When the denomination is not stated it is understood that the church or worker to whom reference is made Foreword belongs to the Japanese Reformed (or Presbyterian) Church (Nihon Kirisuto Kyokwai). The committee in charge of the preparation of the book consists of Christopher Noss, William G. Seiple, and Carl D. Kriete. Responsibility for the final form of the state- ments belongs to the first-named. Thanks are due to Rev. Dr. William E. Lampe, Rev. Albert S. Bromer, Rev. Dr. Allen R. Bartholomew, and Mr. John H. Poor- man, of Philadelphia, and to Mrs. Jesse H. String, of Cleveland, for aid in arranging and adapting the material. CONTENTS . .... I A HARDY AND INDUSTRIOUS People........ II OLD WAYS AND New Laws. III MANY GODS....... ........ IV GLEAMS OF THE SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.... V THE AMERICAN MISSIONARY AT WORK........ VI TRAINING CHRISTIAN LEADERS...... VII FOSTERING INFANT CHURCHES............. VIII THE CALL OF TOHOKU... ........ * t vir T . 22 4. Standa . * Ruut libedalt SA .* * * WE . 1. SAT . Leireka oli w ala namams Ricar fa .. w Wielke babam portatori de mest popular 12 V tom i po kw brein - Reading daune - TY YUR 2 - 17 ... 1. Kredge mise Mare Gearhartt bars arrother 1 . 4 Gramm - Realmente Sic Wars . Pero '- Reading Frails - Reading . i . to pode barron. Alefencli- . v . R - ILLUSTRATIONS . 12 .......... 2.4 , 24 PAGE Date-Masamune. ....Frontispiece Our Field in North Japan.............. Map of Japan Compared with the Eastern United States........ Seashore at Matsukawaura.. Tadami River at Yanaizu......... Winter at Ojiya...... Woman Traveling in Winter..., · Ainu in a Village in Hokkaido.... Ainu Visiting a Public School in Sendai... Planting, Reaping and Flailing Rice....... Gathering Mulberry Leaves... Feeding Silkworms. Airing the Cocoons..... Storing the Cocoons... Wakamatsu Castle after the Siege of 1868. Tombs of Feudal Lords, Wakamatsu Serving Tea in the Parlor. Cooking Dinner in the Kitchen. Shinto Shrine at Omiya.... Shinto Priest at Takada... Buddhist Temple near Yamagata Buddhist Ancestral Shrine. Buddhist Family Altar.... Jizo, Friend of Children... IOI Fudo, Healer of Disease..... Christian Leaders Who Have Influenced Tohoku. 118 Types of Christian Faces.. Nibancho Church and Theological Seminary, Sendai...... Fukushima Church and Sunday School... A Missionary Residence, Sendai...... A Missionary Residence Interior (Dr. and Mrs. De Forest)........ ................. .................. IOO 119 I28 ΙΟ Illustrations A Page from a Child's Reader..... A Sentence from the Japanese Bible Written in Five Styles... Yamagata City...... A Business Street in Yamagata... Rev. H. H. Cook on the Road......... Rev. C. D. Kriete in a Hotel...... North Japan College.......... College Alumni with President Schneder...... Fencing and Wrestling .... A Teacher of Gymnastics Practising Archery Miyagi Girls School.... Girls School Alumnae with Principal Faust. Group of Evangelists.... Group of Bible Women...... A Church and Congregation, lizaka. A Homeless Congregation, Kitakata... Sunday School, Taira.. Sunday School, Kitakata.......... Kindergarten, Yamagata...... Kindergarten, Miharu.......... Coal Mine, Taira...................... Zinc Mine, Kitakata.. A Christian Manufacturer with His Family, Nagaoka....... A Christian Manufacturer in His Garden, Kawamata......... HINTS ON THE PRONUNCIATION OF JAPANESE WORDS 1. Vowels are pronounced as in continental European languages (German, Italian, etc.), thus: a as in arm e as in they i as in pique o as in old u as in rude 2. Consonants are pronounced as in English. 3. Japanese words are composed of simple syllables, each of which is a vowel, or a vowel preceded by a consonant; for example, a-na-ta (you), sa-mu-ra-i (knight), to-ri-i (portal). Naturally a combination like ra-i coalesces so as to sound like the English "rye.” Many words of Chinese origin, such as kan, ken, kin, kon, kun, seem to be syllables having a conso- nant at the end; but these are only apparent exceptions. To the ear of a Japanese a final n is a syllable in itself, and it is so sounded in singing. 4. In the English language the vowels are sacrificed to the accent; for example, the second e in "recent" is scarcely sounded at all. But in the Japanese the vowels are not so modified; they always retain their original values, and they govern the accent. There are strong vowels (a, e, o), and weak ones (i, u). Do not put any stress on an i or a u. Do not say kim-o-no; say ki-mo-no. Most Americans' mistakes are due to disregard of this rule. 5. Where double consonants appear, as in gakko (school), each is to be pronounced distinctly. This word is properly ga-ku-ko; but the u is elided because it is hardly sounded between the two k's. Hold the first k a second and then sound the other k. AOMOR .. AOMORI NOHECHI KIROSAKSI HACH NOHE ODATE FUKUOKA TAKANOSU NOSHIRO GLUMI AU AKITA MORIOKA M KA MIYAKO OMAGARI HIZUME FOLIIT YAMAD YOKOTE YUZAVA VICHINOSERT I DISAKATA SAKATA. mpegno FURUKAWA SHINJO AIYA TOME SEA OF JAPAN TS KRUGAOKA TATOKA YOSHIOKA 17 YAMAGATA MIYAGIS sand SENDAI Son ZISHINOMARI URIKAMI CUDA NAGAFI ACHI YAMAKATA MASUDNE PRE SADOS P OGAWARAIWANUMA AMINOYAMA ARAYU !SHIROISMI WATARI IZAKAY OCEAN 1 SUGAWA SUGAWA YONEZAWA MAGADKA NAGLOxA NAKAMURA FURUSHIMA HARANOMACHI ΚΑΤΑ ΚΑΙ AWAMATA Y'NIHONMATSU LODAKA A MOTOMIYA MIHARU KORIYAMA TOMIOKA SUKAGAWA KASHIWAZAKI TANAOA UWAKAMATSU KAWAOUCHI THUMA FUK YAMAGUCHI PACIFIC TA KATA MA ISHIKAWA TANAGURA SHKRAKAWA TAIRA NIIGATA -moto Our Field in North Japan MAP OF JAPAN COMPARED WITH THE EASTERN UNITED STATES. The areas and latitudes are correct; longitudes only are changed. Our Reformed Field is Shaded. HARREPELLID OCLEVELAND HPI PENNSYLVANIA SYLVANIA ILL. IND. PITTSBURGH .. : . . ACIMIKNATI WEST- VIRGINIA Aten SLP LOUISVILLE www. 1. 1 TO CHARLESTOK IV .17 KENTUCKY . Y VIRGINIA . . - ----------- NASTIMILE i . . O PI Y TENNESSEE " . .. . . . V. ANG ini, pl " nl.. II 5,19 11. . 2 WL . 4. . ther SOUTH CAROLINA 24 16 .. . .. yobi 27 . . pils W ., . J CIWALE W GEORGIA anlata WCKSONVILLE FLORIDA A Hardy and Industrious People A HARDY AND INDUSTRIOUS PEOPLE INTRODUCTION: 1. Tohoku Defined. 2. Why Compared with Scotland. 3. Sendai the Metropolis of the North. 4. Seldom Visited and Little Known. A. CLIMATE: Snow, Cold, Dampness, Floods. B. LAND: Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Hot Springs, Scenic Beauty, Rapid C. People: 1. The Aboriginal Ainu, Related to Ancient Europeans. 2. Origin of the Japanese, a Mixture of Races, D. Food: 1. Two Acres to the Family, Danger of Famine. 2. A Peculiar Diet. 3. Rice, Its Cultivation in the North, Preparation for the Table. 4. Accessories: Use of Beans, Luxuries from Ocean and Moun- tain, Growing Use of Fruits. 5. Menace of Hunger Overcome. E. ANCIENT INDUSTRIES: 1. Silk, Its Importance, Production, Manufacture. 2. Lacquering or Japanning. 3. Hardware. F. MODERN INDUSTRIES: 1. Exploitation of Women in Mines and Factories, Disastrous Results, A Christian Woman's Indignation. 2. Exploitation of Men by Contractors, Many Deaths, A Chris- tian Man's Indignation, Awakening of the Public. 3. Government Favoring the Employers. A New MORAL MOTIVE NEEDED. Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan 1. A HARDY AND INDUSTRIOUS PEOPLE Tohoku. North Japan is by the Japanese themselves called Tohoku, which means “Northeast.” Since the main island is shaped like a bent bow, one end pointing northward and the other westward, to those who live in Central or Southern Japan, Tohoku lies to the northeast. A Country Like Scotland. Japan is often called “The Britain of the East.” We may, therefore, prop- erly compare Tohoku to Scotland, the northern end of the largest of the British Isles, as Tohoku is the northern end of the largest island of Nippon. The two countries have the same relative position and they are equal in area(about 30,000 square miles). From north to south the length of 1oo. A People Like the Scotch. Our chief reason for making the comparison is the desire to call attention to the fact that as the Scotch differ from the English, the people of Tohoku are considerably different from the Japanese of the Southwest. The dialect is peculiar. The older and less educated people of the North use a form of the Japanese language that is more or less unin- 16 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan telligible in other parts of the Empire. And there is a profound psychological difference between the northern- ers and the southerners. The great historian Rai Sanyo characterized the northerners as sluggish and boorish. We Americans in contrasting them with the southerners prefer to be more complimentary and call them compara- tively steadfast and honest. However that may be, all are agreed that they are somewhat different from Jap- anese of the familiar type. Sendai, the Strategic Center. The west side of Tohoku being covered with deep snow a large part of the year, the main route of traffic is naturally on the east side, following two great rivers, between the central range of mountains and a coast-range, one (the Abukuma) flowing northward and the other (the Kitakami) flowing south- ward, to reach the sea at points near the middle of the east coast. Between the mouths of the two rivers lies the great plain of Miyagi and on the edge of this plain the city of Sendai. From this description it may easily be inferred why the position of Sendai is strategic. It is the point from which in ancient times the North could be most readily controlled. Seldom Visited by Travelers. This section of Ja- pan is comparatively unknown to Americans. The only resident “foreigners” are a few score missionaries and teachers, and the only visitors from abroad are some who come to view the noted scenery of Matsushima, near Sendai, or the volcano, Mt. Bandai, near Wakamatsu, and a few experts who have to do with mines, manufac- tures or hydro-electric enterprises. Since the Japanese islands lie approximately on the great circle line, which is the shortest route between America and China, there is The Seashore at Matsukawaura near Nakamura Tadami River at Yanaizu near Wakamatsu (At this point the water is believed to be bottomless and the fish are supposed to embody souls of the departed in hades.) Winter at Ojiya, Niigata Ken Woman Travelling on Skiis A Hardy and Industrious People 17 a great deal of traffic to and fro on the world-highway marked by the southern ports, Yokohama, Kobe and Na- gasaki. These ports are thronged by the pale people of the west. Tohoku has had no convenient harbor for large vessels. Soon there will be one in the vicinity of Sendai, a breakwater being in process of construction at the entrance to Matsushima Bay. But hitherto North Japan has not been in touch with the currents of the world's life as South Japan has been. Not to speak now of the fact that industrially Tohoku has lagged behind the rest of the empire, it is enough for our present purpose to note that this region is unknown to most of those who in speeches and books have described Japan to the west- ern nations. And yet, as steamers go, Tohoku is nearer to America by one day's journey than Yokohama, the nearest of the southern ports. Americans' Wrong Impressions. It is astonishing what currency has been given in America to globe-trot- ters' chatter about Japan, the Japan in which it is always warm and pleasant and children in gaudy costumes sport among the blossoms and butterflies. “In Japan the children never cry.” “In Japan the people are so careless about money that Chinese have to be hired to run their banks.” The protests of a thousand missionaries who know Japan have not availed to put an end to silly tales like these. Japan, especially Tohoku, is very dif- ferent from what 99 per cent of the American people imagine. Most Japanese get their impressions of America from relatives or acquaintances who have visited Hawaii or California. Accordingly they imagine that we have perpetual summer in America. When it begins to snow in Tohoku the new missionary from Pennsylvania is 18 Toh Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan daily greeted with the remark, “This must be a strange experience for you.” In like manner it surprises most Americans to hear that it snows in Japan. Snow Every Day in Winter. The fact is that Tohoku is overwhelmed by snow a large part of the year. The coldest spot on earth is not the north pole, but somewhere in eastern Siberia, and winds from this region blow over North Japan all winter long. From early December to · late March the daily papers' forecast for Tohoku is in- variably and monotonously "northwest winds and snow.” On all the western slopes that face Siberia it snows more or less every day for three months in the year, with very few exceptions. The ordinary American can hardly imagine what a plague this snow is. Our new missionary station, Wakamatsu, lies in a basin just west of the ridge of mountains that make the backbone of Japan. The following is an account of the winter of 1916-17: Snow Four Feet Deep. “The winter was late and at Christmas the streets were still dry. Three days later the snow was from three to four feet deep. The ground was unfrozen, and the snow melted rapidly from beneath, but it remained at a depth of four feet, more or less, until the end of February. Our railroad was blocked nine times in three months and as a rule it remained blocked until the morning of the third day after the storm began. Avalanches. “At Wakamatsu the snow was compara- tively light. All about us it was much deeper. On the railroad down to Niigata the snow was from eight to ten feet deep on the level, and traffic was suspended much of the time. At one point a huge avalanche fifteen feet high and three hundred feet broad bowled a train over and buried it in debris that filled the river and covered A Hardy and Industrious People 19 ground on the other side. When a gang of laborers attempted to dig the train out, the avalanche moved again and more people were killed. Tunneling the Snow. "When the snow becomes deep it is necessary to unload roofs to prevent the collapse of the houses. In some places the streets and the spaces between the houses are filled up to the eaves. People dig steps from their front doors up to the surface and other steps down to the stream from which they get their water. In some cases tunnels and burrows are made and people go about under the surface like moles.” A Hindrance to Travel. In the plain the snow disap- pears by the first of April. In some villages among the mountains drifts lie on the road until early May, and in late September fresh snow falls. Among these mountains is a large valley that might be made to support a consider- able population. It has never been thoroughly explored, on account of the dense undergrowth in summer and the deep snow in winter. Snow Deepest in Echigo. At some places in Echigo (which is the same as Niigata Prefecture) the snow is said to reach a depth of fifteen feet on the levelVillages are buried out of sight and coolies carrying freight take short cuts over the roofs of the houses. It is remarkable that these heavy snows occur in a country whose latitude is the same as that of Virginia in the United States or of Tunis in North Africa. Colder on the East Coast. The bitter winds that bring these snows, having unloaded most of their moisture, glide with increasing velocity down the eastern slopes to the Pacific Places on the east side, like Sendai, have comparatively little snow, but the wind is sharper than 20 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan on the west side where the snow falls deeper. The dis- tance between Wakamatsu and the junction Koriyama, which lies just east of the ridge, is only twenty-five miles (thirty-nine by rail), but often when the streets are dry and the weather fair in Koriyama, over in Aizu the people are struggling with blizzards. A Damp Climate. The climate is oceanic and damp. For this reason both the cold and the heat are harder to bear than the same temperatures in America. The cold of winter penetrates to the marrow through all thicknesses of flannels. On the other hand the summer is hot, sultry and enervating, particularly in the rainy season, which begins in June, about the time the chestnut-trees bloom, and continues through most of July, and sometimes into August. Another long rainy spell may be expected in September. A “Scotch mist,” a very fine rain, is blown through the houses. The dampness is suffocating. The air reeks with germs. Books are ruined and one's shoes grow a variegated crop of mold over night. Sudden Floods. Japan lies on the track of the ty- phoons, cyclonic storms with fearful winds, that originate in overheated southern Asia. These storms often do immense mischief both directly and by bringing on floods. The floods are the more severe because the mountains are so numerous and steep. On the other hand in dry weather many of the river-beds are waterless. A Volcanic Land. Geologically, Japan is of recent formation, and the mountains are not worn down by erosion as in America. The soil in the valleys which is level enough to be cultivated, amounts to but one-sixth of the area of the land, and annually large parts of the fields in these valleys are ruined by the floods. Enormous A Hardy and Industrious People 21 amounts of labor and money are experided in efforts to control the rivers by means of dikes. A Great Earthquake. Further, Japan, lying as it does on the border between the earth's largest continent and greatest oceanic depression, is volcanic and especially subject to earthquakes. The greatest depth ever found in any of the world's oceans, the Tuscarora Depth, is in the Pacific a short distance east of Tohoku. It was no doubt some disturbance on the edge of this abyss that caused the great earthquake and tidal waves of 1897. Our buildings at Sendai were violently shaken and broken, while on the coasts of the prefectures Miyagi and Iwate enormous waves, intensified especially where they entered narrowing inlets of the sea, swept to sudden destruction about 30,000 of the inhabitants in the villages along the shore. A Vicious Volcano. The most noted volcano in Tohoku is Bandai, near Wakamatsu. This mountain had been quiet for a thousand years until one day in 1888, when a great part of its mass was blown off toward the north for a distance of six miles, overwhelming a number of villages in the sparsely inhabited country beneath, and killing 400 peasants. The avalanche of mud and rocks dammed the Nagase river and formed several new lakes, the largest of which, named Hibara, is eight miles long and one mile wide. Hot Springs. It is due to the volcanic character of the land that hot springs are to be found almost anywhere. It may be because they are so numerous that the Japanese as a race have acquired the habit of immersing themselves in hot water every day, if possible. Certain springs are reputed to cure various diseases and are thronged as was 22 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan the pool of Bethesda. The cures that occur are due partly to the cleansing and relaxing effect upon the body and partly to the presence of dissolved minerals, particularly radium. Shifting Soil. The erosion of volcanic ejecta goes on very rapidly. Since 1888 the Nagase river has cut out of the debris of the explosion of Bandai a gorge 100 feet deep. It further results from these conditions that in many places the soil is loose and unstable and landslides are very common. Builders of roads, particularly railroads, which largely follow the courses of the rivers, have to meet extraordinary difficulties. Tracks that are level and straight today mysteriously become crooked and un- even over night. A Land Worth Having. But soil of volcanic origin is fertile. Though the people have but little arable soil and must struggle against the forces of nature to keep what they have, the land produces abundantly and is well worth the struggle. It was desirable enough to be a bone of fierce contention some hundreds of years ago be- tween the aboriginal Ainu and the people of Yamato who invaded it from the south. First Inhabitants. The Ainu are to the Japanese what the Indians are to the Americans. Originally oc- cupying all parts of the islands, they were pushed to the wall by a stronger race that relied on agriculture more than on hunting and fishing, and used superior weapons. Evidence has been found in the south by Dr. Munro that refuges of the defeated aborigines were caves and holes in the earth. They burrowed narrow passages through which their enemies dared not follow them, and lived in rooms under the ground with vents hidden by A Hardy and Industrious People 23 bushes in the mountains. Today they may be found only in the northern islands. They have dwindled to less than 18,000 persons all told. Archdeacon Batchelor of the Church Missionary Society, who has spent his life among them, says: “The race is undoubtedly a very old one and is worn out; it has kept very much to itself; its vitality has gone, owing in great measure to marriages of affinity.” Defeated by Japanese. In the middle ages of Jap- anese history Tohoku was the battle ground between the Ainu and the men of Yamato, who called their enemies Emishi, Ebisu or Ezo. Numerous caves, the so-called Ezo-holes, remind the traveler through Tohoku of its former inhabitants, while Ainu names are as common on the map as Indian names on a map of our country. An American who has lived among the Japanese, on meeting some of the Ainu and looking into their faces, feels as if he were meeting distant relatives from Europe. And such in fact the Ainu are. They are a branch of the race to which belonged the ancient cave-dwellers of Europe. Origin of the Japanese. Dr. Munro is of the opin- ion that the Japanese are not predominantly Mongolian. They are a mixed race, the main stock, the one that brought the language, having come apparently, as the Ainu had come before them, by way of Manchuria and Korea, and probably from the Caspian region, while another potent strain, the Malayan, came by sea from the south. Dr. Boas, Professor of Anthropology at Columbia University, says: “The Japanese of the northern part of Japan are undoubtedly to a considerable extent Ainu in blood.” A Mixed Race. Accordingly the original components 24 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan of the present Japanese race appear to be very diverse. There is a remarkable variety in physique and features. At the same time it must be remembered that Japan was cut off from the rest of the world from 1638 to 1853, so that there has been a complete amalgamation, and the race is now homogeneous to a degree hardly paralleled by any other great nation. It is dangerous to generalize in attempting to compare North and South, but we may venture the remark that the emotional and unstable Malayan element is not so manifest in Tohoku as in other parts. We refer to these facts because they have a bear- ing upon missionary work. We have to do with a vigor- ous people, of a rich, varied heredity, schooled by a hard environment and capable of development in almost any direction. Having broken the ice with this brief discussion of the land and the people, let us devote the rest of the chapter to a consideration of economic conditions in Tohoku. Dense Population. Japanese often speak of Tohoku as including the six prefectures of Fukushima, Miyagi, Yamagata, Akita, Iwate, and Aomori, but Niigata may well be included, thus taking in all of the main island north of the 37th parallel. These seven prefectures comprise approximately an area of 30,000 square miles and a population of 7,500,000. There are, therefore, about 250 persons to the square mile. We have previous- ly remarked that only one-sixth of all the land is capable of cultivation. That means that 1500 persons, or about 300 families, must get their living from a square mile of fields. There are on the average a little over two acres to a family. Ainu (Aborigines) at Home in Hokkaido Ainu Visiting a Public School in Sendai Planting, Reaping and Flailing Rice A Hardy and Industrious People 25 Small Farms. Not long ago Missionary Ankeney was introduced to a Japanese audience as an American farmer's son, the speaker adding that his father culti- vated 215 acres. A Japanese peasant who was present said, “In my village there are 50 households and we have altogether not so much land as that.” So Mr. Ankeney seemed to them quite a lord. Of the 4,926,804 owners of farms in Japan nearly half (2,299,714) own less than an acre and a quarter, and another fourth (1,292,495) own less than two and a half. Those who own 125 acres or more number only 2,705. To imagine what the Jap- anese countryside is like, one needs only to picture to himself a whole hamlet of peasants living close together in mud-walled and thatch-roofed houses standing in the place that would in America be occupied by a single farmer's house and outbuildings. Terrible Famines. It is not surprising that in the old days, before Japan began to be modernized, when means of communication were poor and the transport of commodities from the domain of one lord to that of another was often obstructed by law, the ravages of famine were sometimes terrible. About a hundred years ago the lord of Soma, a country on the coast of Fukushima Prefecture, of which Nakamura was the castle-town; lost nearly all his people in a severe famine and had to import colonists from other quarters. Food Different from Ours. The Japanese have no bread and butter. They do not depend upon wheat and similar cereals for their main diet, because rice makes a surer and larger crop. Cultivating wheat intensively and using the hoe they may get twenty-five bushels to the acre; but of rice they may get fifty bushels to the 26 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan acre. The average is between thirty and thirty-five. The ordinary peasants have no stock except a few ill-fed work-horses, and know nothing of milk, cheese and butter. The fields surrounding the villages need no fences, for there are no cattle. An important supplement of the food derived from the land is fish, for Japanese waters comprise some of the richest fishing grounds in the world. The bread and butter of the Japanese is rice and fish. As a humorist has said, they have rice and fish for break- fast, fish and rice for dinner, and both for supper. Only this is too rosy a picture. Rice and fish is what all Jap- anese desire to have three times a day, but many have to substitute for rice, wheat, barley, millet, panic, and other grains that they do not relish, and for fish, beans, or perhaps only pickled vegetables. American Food a Luxury. On the other hand, the well-to-do may add to their rice bits of chicken and eggs. It is only in quite recent times that dairies have sprung up in the vicinity of cities, supplying milk to babies, in- valids and rich youths at 10 cents a quart, and old cows and work-oxen are slaughtered to furnish a little beef to soldiers, invalids and prodigal sons. Bread can now be bought in the large cities. Rice the Great Staple. Rice being the most highly prized staple food, wherever possible, land is leveled and irrigating ditches are cut to flood the fields and pre- pare for the cultivation of this cereal. A little over halt of the arable land of the whole empire consists of these paddy-fields. The consumption of rice is about five bushels to a person per annum, so that one acre about feeds a family. But a great deal of Japanese rice, which is of the very best quality, is exported, and large quantities A Hardy and Industrious People 27 are consumed by the brewers of sake, the national alco- holic beverage, so that many of the poor have to eat im- ported grain of bad flavor which is called “Nankin rice.” One variety can be grown on dry fields but is inferior in quantity and quality. Cultivation of Rice. An immense amount of labor is involved in the production of rice as it is raised in Tohoku. First the seed is selected by immersing it in brine of a strength determined by the nature of the variety to be sown, the useless grains floating off and leaving the sound kernels. These are steeped in water a week, and sownin specially prepared seed beds in May. The water is drawn off in the daytime when the weather is warm, to quicken the growth of the seedlings. In June the fields, which have been previously manured and dug by manual labor, are harrowed and flooded, and the seedlings are transplanted one by one by hand. Two weeks later the mud about the roots must be stirred, and this is usually done with the bare hands. Weeding is repeated during the summer. At a certain time the schools may be closed and the children sent into the fields to gather harm- ful insects. In late September as the grain begins to ripen, scare-crows and noise-producing devices of innum- erable kinds are employed to drive off the birds. The fields are dried and the yellow grain is reaped with a sickle and hung up on poles to dry. The heads are pulled off on a large comb, failed, and put through a kind of mill to rub off the clinging chaff. The clean grain still has a brown coat, like bran, which can be removed only by long continued bruising by a pestle in a mortar, fine white sand being added to facilitate the process. This polishing is usually done by water-power. 28 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan . A Risky Crop in the North. So far as Tohoku is concerned the surprising fact is that rice can be grown in the same climate in which apples thrive. This is not the case in America. Occasionally the crop fails. The failure when it occurs is due to lack not of rain but of sunshine. The climate is determined largely by the warm Japan Current or "Black Tide.” But there is also an eddy-like cold stream that creeps from the north hug- ging the east coast. It may be the varying relations between these currents that affect the climate so that in certain years the summer is too cool and cloudy. Tohoku suffered a very severe famine at the close of the war with Russia in 1905-06, and in 1913–14 the extreme north- eastern section was again stricken. One factor that causes failures is the risk taken by many peasants, who in this climate ought to plant early varieties that are pretty sure to mature before the frost comes, but cannot resist the temptation to plant the slower sorts, which, given a warm summer, produce much more abundantly. Agricultural Progress. The friends of the Japanese will rejoice to learn that in the empire as a whole since 1882, while the area of the paddy-fields has increased only 17 per cent., the population in the meantime growing 45 per cent., the production was increased 63 per cent. It is reassuring to know that the supply grows faster than the demand. The improved efficiency is due to scientific method. It was the great chemist Takamine who taught the peasants the importance of superphosphate as a fertilizer. Rice the Main Food. We have discussed rice at such length because to the Japanese it is the subject of paramount importance. Rice is the chief dish of every A Hardy and Industrious People 29 meal except in the case of a men's banquet, when sake is substituted. The cook carefully washes the grains, im- merses them in water and brings the water to the boiling point, after which the fire is reduced and the rice is allowed to steam until it is softened, but not so much as to be crush- ed. The plain boiled rice is eaten without the addition of anything. If it were sweetened or otherwise flavored it could hardly be eaten three times a day, for the same reason that in the long run for our daily meals we prefer plain bread to cakes. There is a glutinous variety of rice which is boiled and beaten until it becomes a sticky mass and then is made into dumplings. The minimum requirement in the way of relishes is some vegetable pickled in brine. The chief pickle is made of a giant radish. In the line of vegetables the Japanese eat a far greater variety than we do. Supplemented by Beans. Soy beans are next in importance to rice, being so called because they are fermented to make the sauce called soy, which is used in Japanese cookery as regularly as we use butter and sugar. Another product of the same beans is a fermented salty paste called miso, much used to make appetizing soups. A fresh product is tofu, which wherever Japanese civiliza- tion prevails is delivered at the kitchen door every day as milk is delivered in America. Probably tofu will some day become familiar to Americans. It is made by boiling the beans, grinding them fine, extracting the milky juice and curdling it just as we make milk into junket by means of rennet. It is cheap, exceedingly nutritious and very digestible. The claim is made that it nearly equals milk. Dainties. The enormous quantity of fish taken from 30 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan the ocean is supplemented by salmon, trout and char from the rivers, eels and lampreys from the ditches, and carp from the ponds, which are as common as chicken- yards in America. Locusts from the paddy-fields; var- ious kinds of seaweeds, clams and oysters, octopus and whale from the ocean; mushrooms and ferns, chestnuts and walnuts, ducks and pheasants, and bear and monkey from the mountains, make special dainties for those who like such things and can afford to pay for them. Fruits. The old staple fruits of the North were pears and persimmons. Both are practically unknown in America. The Japanese pears have the shape and color of a large russet apple and are sweet and watery, in taste more like a watermelon than our pears. Persimmons flourish in higher latitudes than with us. They are con- sidered by many the finest fruit there is. Some varieties have to be shut up in a tight box with a very slight sprink- ling of brandy to secure the fermentation that makes the puckery fruit deliciously sweet; other sorts become mel- low on the tree and may even be eaten green. Recently Tohoku, particularly the northernmost portion, has begun to produce excellent apples in great abundance. So late as ten years ago the only southern fruits known in the north were mandarins. All kinds of oranges are now imported from the south, and bananas too are becoming common. Fruits are eaten fresh. The Japanese house- wife does not know how to preserve. Only persimmons are dried. Great Variety of Foods. Enough has been said to show that our neighbors in Tohoku are finding things to eat and that with scientific agriculture and improved transportation the possibility of famine is becoming more A Hardy and Industrious People 31 and more remote. In their experience of hunger in past ages the Japanese learned to eat a bewildering variety of foods. They have solved the problem of living on two acres of farmland to the family. It may be that in the near future America will have need of the hints that they can give us. Silk the Chief Export. If rice is the most important product in the inner economy of Tohoku, in the country's economic relations with the rest of the world, silk is even more so. Silk is king. When the silk-worms thrive and silk sells at a good price Tohoku rejoices. Japan pro- duces nearly half the world's supply of silk. In 1916 there was sold abroad raw silk thread worth $133,500,000, of which total $112,000,000 worth was bought by the United States. The precious stuff is sometimes carried from the Pacific coast to New York in special trains; for four carloads are worth a million dollars. One of our Christian farmers has remarked: "I have observed that when America prospers our village prospers.” His point was that when America can buy silk, Tohoku, whose chief export is silk, finds times good. It is probable that the trade will increase. So far as the climatic and other silk should not be grown in the United States; but we cannot command the labor involved and have not the experience required to make good silk thread. Production of Silk. A separate book would have to be written in order fully to describe the production of silk. The technique is appalling to an impatient Ameri- can. The mother-moths are caused to lay their eggs on numbered spaces on a card-board, after which they are microscopically examined by a corps of inspectors, and Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan the progeny of the infected and otherwise unfit are re- jected. The eggs are inert in winter, hatching when the weather becomes warmer. The time of hatching is regulated by keeping them cool, sometimes in the natural cold storage of certain caves. For their food mulberry plantations are prepared. The trees are ugly stumps bristling with numerous shoots, the growth of the former year. The leaves are gathered for the worms and the stripped shoots all cut off in order that there may be a fresh growth for the next year. The worms are kept in shallow trays on shelves in a large and airy room. The leaves are cut while still fresh and fed to them in the trays, precautions being taken against dampness. About once in seven days the worms rest and molt, giving the workers a little respite. As the worms grow larger they eat ravenously. In a room where thousands are kept, the rustling noise made as they hastily and greedily chew up the leaves is like the swish of the wind in the tops of the trees. Nests of straw are made in which the mature worms spin their cocoons. Manufacture of Silk. The most difficult and deli- cate task is that of unwinding the filaments. The co- coons must be sorted with care. In reeling they are immersed just the right length of time in hot water of just the right temperature. As they float in their hot bath they are teased with a kind of brush made of rice straw until the ends are found. Various filaments are combined to make a thread which is twisted and wound upon a rapidly revolving reel, while the cocoons spin and dance on the water. So soon as a filament gives out the reel must be stopped and another filament substituted, in order that the thread may be uniform. The best Gathering Mulberry Leaves (1) Feeding Mulberry Leaves to Silkworms (2) Airing Cocoons (3) Storing Cocoons (4) A Hardy and Industrious People 33 results are secured where the reelers, who are always women, work together in one factory under expert super- vision. The authorities are doing their utmost to main- tain the high reputation of their product for uniformity and reliability. We have gone into detail here to show how much depends upon the moral character of those engaged in this business, in which Christian Japanese laymen are becoming more and more prominent. Japanning an Old Art. Time does not allow our looking into more of the interesting old industries of Japan, but we may glance a moment at the lacquerers, whose art is so perfect that we speak of any highly polished article as "japanned.” The industry is a thousand years old. The aboriginal Ainu prized lacquered wares above all other goods, and when one visits a chief in Hokkaido today the host displays with pride a great collection of ancient pieces, the heirlooms of his house. Lacquer Trees. The varnish called lacquer is ob- tained from a wild tree, Rhus vernicifera, of the same genus as poison sumac and poison ivy. It is even more poison- ous than these. Most people are not affected by dried and finished lacquer, but in the case of a few Americans merely to touch a lacquered dish brings on a great deal of suffering. Wooden Dishes Best Articles of furniture, and particularly boxes and bowls used in eating and drinking, are made of wood covered with this wonderful varnish, variously colored. Dried lacquer is extremely stable and resistant to chemical solvents. Since covered bowls made of wood do not conduct heat, and when lacquered are not affected by hot liquids, they are much used in serving Japanese meals. The Japanese hostess does not worry about her soup's getting cold. 34 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan Technique of Lacquering. Thirty odd processes are required to make a perfect article. The lacquer dries best in a damp atmosphere, and dust must be avoided, for which reasons much of the work is done in dark dungeon- like buildings, to the detriment of the health of the artisans. It is said that very particular artists sometimes take their work out to sea to put on the finishing touches. There is no lacquer factory such as an American would imagine. The work is done in the homes of masters who employ journeymen and apprentices in the medieval way. Mountaineers bring in roughly chiseled blocks of wood, which are turned into bowls on a lathe in one house, cured by means of persimmon juice in another, and so on through the processes, all supervised more or less by the wholesaler who markets the goods. In this business, too, Christian laymen are likely to become leaders. The failure of the Japanese lacquerers to build up a good ex- port trade is due to dishonesty on the part of many in skimping the tedious preliminary processes. No Factories in Old Japan. In old Tohoku, fac- tories, as we understand the word, did not exist. Wa- kamatsu affords an interesting illustration. Saws are still made by master-blacksmiths on Jockey Street as they were in the Middle Ages. Once a pretentious com- pany was formed to manufacture saws on a large scale; but the company could not compete with Jockey Street, whose anvils ring merrily as of old from dawn until mid- night, while the company's big plant lies abandoned. There is in Wakamatsu a modern Technical School, but it is said that its graduates are not in much demand be- cause they do not want to do business in the good old way. Modern Industries. Nevertheless the steam roller A Hardy and Industrious People 35 of modern industrialism is creeping into Tohoku. Natural resources are not lacking. The mountains are full of lumber which is being made available by the growing network of railroads. Zinc, copper and silver can be is iron at Kamaishi on the coast of Iwate, soft coal at Taira on the coast of Fukushima, and on the west coast, at points in Niigata and Akita, there are real oil-gushers. Women in the Mines. An American visiting the mines about Taira is shocked to see men and women going down the shaft in pairs, the man to dig and the wo- man to carry the coal in a basket strapped to her back, both in a state of nudity except for a meager cloth about the loins. Degrading and demoralizing as such conditions must be, they are nevertheless hardly so ruinous as the heartless abuse of young women in the mills. Girls in the Mills. One industry that has largely been modernized is that of weaving the simple silk cloth called habutae. As has been said, most silk goes abroad in the form of thread, for Japanese weavers are not able to anticipate the demands of foreign markets. But the undyed habutae is a staple in demand all over the world for linings and the like. Accordingly, here and there in Tohoku may be found factories assembling many power looms, which are driven by electricity. The operatives are wretched girls. The wages, for those who come in by the day, are from 13 to 15 cents a day. Many are bought cheaply from impoverished parents, bound out to serve several years, herded like cattle in dormitories, kept at machines from five a.m. to ten p.m., allowed barely time enough to gulp down their meals, and granted only two holidays a month. Exhaustion ruins great numbers of 36 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan them physically and mentally. Their moral sense and power of resistance weakened, they easily fall a prey to and overseers, so that a steady stream of them passes from the factories to the resorts of shame.: Exploited to the Limit. The “Japan Chronicle," an English daily of Kobe, in 1914 quoted a Japanese authority on the condition of women in factories: “Female workers in Japanese factories number 500,000, of whom 300,000 are under twenty years of age. Out of this army, 400,000 are engaged in the spinning, weaving, and dyeing industries. Of these women 70 per cent. live in factory quarters, which means a sort of confinement. Work in the raw silk factories lasts from 13 to 14 hours a day on the average, and that in weaving mills 14 to 16 hours. It is not surprising that the health of these girls is seriously injured by such conditions. In the spinning mills the women are put to night work every other week. This affects the workers' health so severely that at the end of a week they lose considerable weight. Though day shift, the night work ultimately wrecks the health of the workers. Few can stand the strain more than one year, when death, sickness or desertion is the outcome. The women on the day and night shifts are obliged to share the same bed, which is neither aired nor dusted, and never exposed to the sun, since as soon as one leaves it another takes her place. Consequently consumption and other epidemics make terrible havoc of the workers. The number of women recruited as factory workers each to the family roof. Either they become birds of passage, A Hardy, and Industrious People 37 moving from one factory to another, or go as maids in dubious tea-houses, or as illicit prostitutes. Among the 80,000 who return home, 13,000 are found to be sick, 25 per cent. having contracted consumption.” Greed Overreaching Itself. Punishment has come already to the stupid, short-sighted proprietors. Their procurers have to go to fresh and unravaged districts, where their practices are not yet known, to get the tens of thousands that they seek. In a certain village in Miya- saki Prefecture, 30 girls returned, of whom 20 were ill, 16 having tuberculosis. This is one reason why the white plague is spreading through Japan at a rate that threatens to kill the whole nation by quick consumption. Exper- ience has shown that any given district is likely to be exhausted of girls in three years. The “Japan Advertiser” of April 15th, 1917, says: “Cotton spinning companies, who are in need of female operatives, are trying with every means in their power to obtain the required number of girls, but their intense efforts are in most cases wasted.” A Spark of Indignation. Sometime ago Miss Kawai- Michiko, Secretary of the Japanese Y. W. C. A., visited our Rest House for Mill Girls at Kawamata and for the first time saw the misery of the workers in that town. The next day she was scheduled to address an audience of high school girls at Koriyama. The missionary after- wards asked Pastor Yoshida how Miss Kawai had done. “Rather poorly," was the reply, “she was so shocked by what she saw at Kawamata that she could think and speak of nothing else the next day.” May God raise up many others to feel with her the same righteous and most Chris- tian wrath at those who systematically ruin the woman- hood of Japan! Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan New Industries for Men. But it is not only the girls that suffer. How men are abused may be inferred from the following story that comes from Wakamatsu: “Since the present war began the peaceful valley of Aizu has begun to look a little like smoky Pittsburgh. The reason is that the west side of Tohoku, with its heavy rains and snows, and its steep slopes, furnishes innumerable sites for electric power plants. Probably Aizu alone could easily develop 500,000 horse-power. This valley, being comparatively near to Tokyo, is first to be exploited. Lake Inawashiro, eight miles long and five miles wide, is less than five miles distant from Wakamatsu but 1,000 feet higher. The rapids of the Nippashi River have been divided into three sections and three nests of dynamos have been planned. Three years ago the first power house was built, and experts from Switzerland, Germany, Eng- land and Pennsylvania assembled to install the machinery, including six 10,000 horse-power dynamos. The plant is said to be the largest in the Orient. In the vicinity mushroom towns are springing up in connection with chemical works, zinc refineries and other factories, taking advantage of the cheap power. The Japanese have learned to make for themselves 40 chemicals which before the present war they had to import. The native experts now in charge of the machinery have travelled and studied abroad, and several of them are perfect Christian gentle- men. Inhuman Bosses. “The second power plant was called for unexpectedly soon, and the company hastened to make a contract to have the necessary excavations made. The contractor sub-let the job to conscienceless exploiters of labor of the type of those that have built the A Hardy and Industrious People 39 railroads through the lonely wildernesses of Japan. Men out of a job were gathered in Tokyo by means of fine promises of big wages and easy work and sent to Odera in carload lots. Arriving, they were handed over to bosses armed with stout staves and put to digging. Many being unaccustomed to the work fainted and were beaten to death, their bodies thrown into the fills or bundled into cement kegs and buried in the mountains. Their food was vile. At night their clothes were taken from them and they were penned up. In order to dis- courage desertion the contractor paid them not in cash but in tickets, making such generous deductions for ex- penses that the portion remaining to the laborer amounted to three and a half cents a day (ordinary wages for such work being from thirty to forty cents without board). There was a constant ebb of the man-power through desertion, death, suicide and deliberate murder by the bosses, and almost every other day a fresh carload of fifty was brought in. An unsuccessful attempt to escape meant almost certain death; yet refugees came in every day to Wakamatsu on the one side and Sukagawa on the other. One poor fellow dropped dead in Wakamatsu City Hall before he could tell his tale. Scores perished before the authorities could get their red tape unwound and begin to take notice. Some one said that about 300 had been done to death, but a Christian physician who had been sent to Odera to deal with an epidemic of chol- era that naturally broke out in the camps, estimated the number at 100, more or less. A Protesting Conscience. “The writer travelling on a certain train from Odera to Koriyama fell in with one of the engineers of the power company, a Japanese 40 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan . Christian, who had just resigned his post. For an hour and a half he spoke of these horrors, and would speak of nothing else, showing a deep agony of spirit. Several newspapers in Tokyo exposed the abuses, and the re- sponse was such as to indicate that the days of this form of villainy are numbered.” Rising Indignation. Indeed such an impression was made that another set of rascals began to exploit the indignation of the intelligent public. Early in January the police of Tokyo caught a man who representing him- self to be a refugee from the Ashio copper mine had en- listed the sympathies of university students. The news- paper says: “The boys of Waseda and Imperial univer- sities proved so chivalrous as to divest themselves of their overcoats for this poor fellow.' Nearly thirty overcoats he had sold to a second-hand clothes shop and the sum of money swindled had reached several hundred yen. The money thus gotten he has been squandering in the fashionable quarters of gay lanterns and powdered iniquities.” An Absurd Law. All of which goes to show how deep- ly Japan is beginning to enjoy modern civilization. Such wickedness may be found in all parts of the world, but there is a difference. It must be said to the shame of the Japanese that few care what becomes of the laboring classes. Japan is not democratic. The suffrage is limited to those who pay taxes in relatively large amounts, and legislation is enacted in the interest of property, not of the people. Parliament on March 29, 1911, at last enacted a factory law. The enforcement was postponed to 1916. By its provisions children under 12 may not be employed; children under 15 and women, during the A Hardy and Industrious People next fifteen years, may not work over fourteen hours in the twenty-four; after 1931, they may not work over twelve hours. Children under 15 and women may not work between 10 p. m. and 4 a. m., unless there are alter- nating shifts; but after 1931 they are not to work at night at all. When we remember that the law does not apply to small factories employing less than 15 persons, and that, in the busy season in certain industries, the hours of labor may be prolonged with the sanction of the government, it is evident that capitalists and owners know how to escape any real restraint. Christianity the Only Cure. Let this chapter con- clude with an extract from one of our missionary's sermons translated from the Japanese: "It is not to be denied that in former ages Confucian- sim and Buddhism exerted a good influence along some lines. But times are changing. To the old evils are added new evils that go with modern civilization. Against such the old religions seem quite powerless. “You may see in this land chestnut trees attacked by blight. The ends of some branches wither, but the tree as a whole has power to resist the disease. This Japanese blight has crossed the sea and attacked the chestnut-trees in America, with the result that they are disappearing rapidly. What shall the Americans do? Since their own trees have not developed the power of resistance, they ought to get from Japan seeds of the variety that has long fought the blight and developed that power. “So the Christian religion has preseryed its life in the midst of the great evils that are about to ruin Japanese society. As I advise Americans to get Japanese chest- nut-trees, so I advise you to seek the religion that has been proved to have the power to save modern society." Old Ways and New Laws OLD WAYS AND NEW LAWS INTRODUCTION: 1. The Old Social System; Lords, Knights, and Plebeians; Clas- ses. 2. Change from Feudal to Modern System in 1868. 3. The Old and New Side by Side. A. MANNERS AND CUSTOMS: 1. Houses: a. Rural and Urban Types. b. Prevalence of Fires. c. Best Room in the Rear. d. Inconvenient and Insanitary. e. Heated by Charcoal, Hibachi and Kotatsu. 2. Clothes: a. Kimono, Girdle, Trousers, Headgear, Footgear. b. Use of European Styles. c. Sense of Modesty Different. 3. Baths. 4. The Family: a. Wife, Children. b. The Family Everlasting. C. Marriage Arranged by Relatives. 5. Life of the Common People, the Peasants: a. Labor and Poverty. b. The Old Lunar Calendar. B. CHARACTERISTICS: 1. Peculiarities: Clannishness, Dependence, Ambition, Impa- tience, Conventionality, Ceremoniousness, Sentiment- ality, Indirection. 2. Evils: Extravagance, Intemperance, Abasement of Women, Social Evil. 3. Good Qualities: Eagerness to Learn, Love of Beauty, Self Control, Self Sacrifice. C. GOVERNMENT: Organization, Army, Police, Great Efficiency Along Some Lines. D. EDUCATION: 1. Common School, Educational System. 2. Moral Culture Emphasized, Too Many Rules, Lack of Sound Basis. 3. Emperor's Rescript and Portrait. II. OLD WAYS AND NEW LAWS In an attempt to describe the social life of our northern Japanese, the most illuminating generalization is that while the government is modern as modern can be, the people generally are still of an ancient type. The Feudal System. When the American expedition, under Commodore Perry, peacefully persuaded the Japanese to re-open their country to the rest of the world, in 1854, the whole of the empire was under a feudal form of government. The unit was the plain, with its metrop- olis or castle-town, outlying towns, and villages scattered over the plain and in the valleys among the encircling mountains. The ruler of such a section, called daimyo (the great name), had the power of life and death over the townsfolk and the peasantry. His fief was guarded and order was maintained by warriors of a hereditary, military caste, called samurai. These knights had a high code of morality, such as it was, and their descendants are the noblest of the Japanese today. The code was not Christian nor democratic; it was mainly Confucian. A knight owed to his lord absolute devotion, while he demanded of inferior classes unconditional subjection. The code gov- erning the samurai varied somewhat in different sections, but it was the rule that a knight, who deemed himself affronted by disrespectful behavior on the part of a com- 86 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan moner, had a perfect right to dispatch the culprit instanter. This principle is described by a Japanese term, which may be rendered, “Cut him down and leave the carcass; no questions asked.” Four Classes. The classes of Japanese society were four,-knights, peasants, artisans and merchants. It was significant that the peasants were ranked next to the knights in the order of importance to the state, while the merchants, who were held in contempt, occupied the lowest position. The idea was that the knights must be fed, and therefore the peasants were, of all the commoners, the most important class. The merchants, in the opin- ion of the ruling class, were parasites. Money was no object to a man of knightly spirit. Military Despotism. As a result of the civil wars three hundred years ago, the lord of Edo (now called Tokyo), of the Tokugawa family, became the over-lord of all Japan. His title was Shogun (generalissimo). As head of the military government, he paid homage to the hereditary Emperor living at Kyoto, who was revered as a deity, but in reality was helpless and kept in a state of poverty. Revolution of 1868. After the country was opened to the world the weakness of the old feudal government soon became apparent. In the name of the Emperor at Kyoto, several powerful lords from the western end of Japan overpowered the Shogun and brought about his resignation. The conservative northerners attempted to resist this change. Under the leadership of the lord of Wakamatsu, the warriors of the North gathered in Aizu for a decisive battle. The westerners, equipped with superior arms, besieged the rebels in the castle at Wakamatsu Old Ways and New Laws 47 and, in one month, overcame their opposition. Waka- matsu, which was then a city of some 150,000, was burned, the warriors were exiled and scattered, and the city so reduced that today it hardly numbers 50,000. The northerners have since been regarded with more or less of distrust. Whether on account of geographical posi- tion, distance from the world-highway, native conserva- tism,or, possibly, discrimination on the part of the govern- ment, Tohoku has not been developing so rapidly in the last 50 years, as other sections of Japan. Things New and Old. Now we have to do with an old-fashioned nation under an up-to-date government. In this chapter we will discuss, first, the old manners and customs of the people, then, we will attempt to sum up the chief characteristics of the Japanese of today, as they appear in Tohoku, and finally we will glance at the work which is being done by their new rulers. · Ancient Habits. An American business man, seeing Japan for the first time, wrote, “Two minutes after we had passed the city limits of Yokohama we were in the middle ages.” If the country about Yokohama looks medieval, that about such northern centers as Sendai, Wakamatsu or Hirosaki may be called primitive. There is a network of railroads and telegraph wires operated by the government; but the country traversed by these lines looks just as it did long ago, when our own European ancestors were still barbarians. Rarely one sees a group of smokestacks of a mining plant or a row of steel struc- tures bearing wires for transmitting electricity, and these look as if carried by Aladdin's lamp over from America. But mixed up with these new things are peasants threshing grain on an earthen floor, like the one that once belonged Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan to Araunah, the Jebusite, or working the fields with hoes such as those pictured on the ancient Egyptian monuments, while girls with tiny sickles mow the grass by the wayside, singing weird, sad songs that sound as if they might have been composed by the rivers of Babylon. If we go into a house in the village we may find a kerosene lamp and a clock with Roman figures on its face; but all else is prim- itive. A House in the Country. A typical peasant's house is built of unpainted wood, the plaster is made of clay with chopped rice straw, and the roof is thatched with reeds. In the valleys among the mountains, where lumber is abundant, and the snows are heavy, the house is very large and substantial. A large house in the backwoods has a floor in three stages or terraces. The highest level is for the ancestral shrine and the honored guests. The middle level is for the man of the house, who occupies a position at the central fireplace and ordinarily receives his guests there. The fireplace is a hole made in the floor, about one yard square, surrounded by stones. Here wood, sticks, and brush are kept burning, the smoke wandering more or less about the house, or among the rafters, and escaping through an opening in the roof, constructed like an open dormer-window. Over the fireplace there is suspended from the roof a heavy rope carrying a crane to hold the big tea-pot or some vessel for cooking, and above it shelves for storing articles which are to be smoked or dried. The lowest level has another fireplace over which the woman of the house with her girls or domestics presides and does most of the cooking. About the lowest floor are grouped in the form of lean-to buildings what would be out-houses in America, a stable, a chicken house, a wood-house, a bath-house, etc. Old Ways and New Laws 49 A House in Town. Out on the plain, where the snow is not so deep, the houses are usually smaller, with sep- arate out-houses. The smallest and cheapest huts are to be found in the cities. The ordinary Japanese house in a town is little more than a roof resting on posts. It is usually like a bungalow, of one story. The side from which the cold winds come is plastered up more or less. The other sides are closed, when it is cold, by means of light sliding doors of lattice covered with white paper. Outside these there is usually a veranda, a board-floor three feet wide, which serves as a corridor. The veranda is enclosed at night, or in stormy weather, by sliding doors made of thin boards. The partitions between the rooms are also removable, being made of light frames, three feet wide and six feet high, covered with wallpaper and running in grooves. The floor of the living room is covered with mats, each three feet by six, made of woven straw an inch thick and a covering of finer matting. There is no furniture to speak of. People entering the house leave their footgear at the door, and the floors are as clean as the top of an American table. The same room is used for all purposes. Meals are served on individual comforters laid on the floor make a bed. The absence of furniture makes house-cleaning easy and moving to a new residence easier. A tolerable little cottage can be built for one or two hundred dollars, and five hundred will pay for quite a commodious dwelling. Prevalence of Fires. When in the spring and autumn are common, sweeping in an incredibly short time a whole town out of existence. These fires have so plagued 50 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan the people that the government has made stringent laws forbidding the erection of more houses with thatched or shingled roofs. In the cities, however, the proportion of inflammable roofs remaining is still surprisingly large. Attached to a residence of the better sort is a fireproof house called in the English of the East a “godown." After a great fire, such a structure usually stands intact among the ruins. The treasures of the family are kept in this fireproof house and include the decorations used in the living-rooms, such as pictures mounted on scrolls, vases, and other curios. Residences Hindside Foremost. In a town a disposition to hide the best part of the property is mani- fest. When one walks through the residence sections, hardly anything is to be seen but forbidding walls and fences, six feet high. The contrast with a modern Ameri- can street, where the aim is to have the houses look most beautiful from the street and produce a parklike effect, is very marked. In a Japanese residence, the prettiest view is to be had from the rear, where there is a hidden garden so arranged as to look its best from the reception room. On the other hand, the part nearest the street is occupied by the kitchen and the cook's quarters. Even in a city like Sendai there are no pavements. The street is a mere dirt road on which gravel from the river is spread once in a while. Where the pavements for pedestrians should be, there are deep gutters or open sewers. Through the walls facing the streets, kitchen sinks poke their noses and pour out their dirty streams. Many of the gutters are not as bad as they might be because they are flushed by streams of water deflected from the river. There are advantages in having the kitchen next to the Old Ways and New Laws 51 street. Where the servant is so conveniently placed, a doorbell is hardly needed. Hence in a house of the better sort the lady or wife is called "the honorable interior” (oku san). No Water or Gas. There are no “modern conyen- iences” in the general run of Japanese houses, except that electric lights are now quite common. Sendai has begun to build a modern sewer system and gas works. Water is still obtained from wells. These are not so vile as one might suppose, because the filth of the city is not allowed to poison the soil to any extent, but is regularly carted off by the peasants for fertilizer. More Aesthetic Than Practical. A typical Jap- anese house is simple, inexpensive and artistic; but it is not hygienic. In most places the water in the soil is so near the surface that a cellar is impossible and the floor is so low, so near the moist ground, that the straw matting and cotton bedding are damp and cause the multiplica- tion of vermin and bacteria. The Japanese ought to set their houses high up from the ground, on posts, as the Filipinos do; but they are afraid of the cold winds, which come through the matting like water through a sieve when the floor is high. Charcoal Fires. For warmth, the peasants burn wood and rubbish in open fireplaces, which have no chimneys, but the more refined people of the town use charcoal exclusively. This is one of the most important commodi- ties sold in a Japanese city. Charcoal is made in primi- tive ovens in all parts of the mountains, carried to town on the backs of horses and shipped by the carload to the cities. In the middle of the room a tin-lined box, or a bowl of metalware or chinaware about a foot in diameter, 52 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan. is half filled with the ashes made by burning straw, and on this a few coals are kept. A semblance of warmth may be produced by using a number of these firepots. It is usual to protect the living rooms by means of a wind- break, either a high hedge or a structure of reed mats or of straw. Deep snow piled against the sides of a house, often up to the eaves, may shield it from the winds and keep it warm, but makes it unpleasantly dark. An Efficient Bed Warmer. In many northern homes there is a heating device called kotatsu. A hole is sunk in the center of the floor and in it a hollowed stone is fitted, in which live coals are kept. The edge of the floor is protected by tin and, by orders of the police, a strong wire netting is kept over the fire to prevent anything fall- wooden frame about a foot high, supporting a cotton comforter. · At night the family sleeps about the tiny fire, toasting their feet at the hot coals. It is wonderful how much comfort they get out of a cent's worth of char- coal. The kotatsu is in demand also in the day; for when the hands and feet of the children get cold they snuggle. under the big cotton comforter like chicks under the wings of the mother hen. Clothes Padded With Cotton. The people wear three kinds of garments, according to the season; in summer, a single thickness of light cotton cloth; in spring and fall, a lined garment, and in winter, a padded one. A kimono, as the garment worn by both sexes is called, is of the simplest style possible. The cloth of which it is made is about a foot wide. Two widths make the back and two widths the front, and two other widths not so long, make the sleeves. The sewing is so simple Wakamatsu Castle after Siege of 1868 Tombs of Feudal Lords at Wakamatsu Serving Tea in the Parlor Cooking Dinner in the Kitchen Old Ways and New Laws that when a padded garment needs to be laundered, it is easily taken apart and re-sewed after it has been cleaned. The padding is either cotton or a cotton-like substance made of the waste of the silk thread mills. If a person wears one, two or three padded garments, he is as comfort- able even in a cold room, as an American is when he goes to bed under cotton comforters. The Japanese way of sitting helps to keep the body warm. In winter, the shops, which are quite open to the streets, have exactly the same temperature as the air outside. The clerks, if there is nothing doing, squat about the brazier, warming their hands. It is not surprising that they show reluctance to move until they are assured that the customer means business; for when they have to move they are almost as uncomfortable as the American who has to get out of bed in an unheated room. The Girdle. The kimono has no buttons. A man or a child uses a simple strip of cloth as a girdle about the waist. The sash (obi) of a woman is an immense piece of cloth. It may be a yard wide and five yards long, and in the case of a fine lady is worth a fortune. A lady may use four other girdles, two under the big sash to keep the kimono in place and make the skirt hang right, and two over the sash to keep it and its big bow in order. Trousers. Where deep snow prevails in winter, both men and women wear trousers. The purpose was origin- ally to protect the legs, but it has become the habit to don these convenient overalls all the year round. They are very baggy above to contain the skirt of the kimono, and taper to the ankles. As the wearers shuffle along in the slouchy way that becomes habitual when one wears Japanese footgear, they look grotesque to an American- very much like bears. 54 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan Feminine Accessories. When a woman puts on her best clothes, she calls a hair-dresser, who oils her black tresses and builds up a glossy coiffure in some conven- tional form according to her state, whether she is single, or a bride or a matron, or whatever she may be. This coiffure "stays put” for days. At night the well-groomed lady lays her head not on a soft pillow, but on a padded prop in such a way as not to muss the artistic creation. Outdoors she wears no hat. Only in winter she may don a sort of hood, a simple piece of cloth which is wrapped about the head and neck and kept in place by means of loops that go around the ears. An old habit that does not look artistic to the American eye is that of dyeing they teeth black. The blackened teeth used to be a wife's badge of fidelity to her husband, and are still a common sight in Tohoku. Shoes of Wood and Straw. The simplest shoe is a flat block of wood dragged along the ground by means of a wooden peg with a knob on the top, which is held between the great toe and the other toes. The ordinary clog is held to the foot by means of a cloth strap, the ends of which are attached to the sides of the block, while the middle is fastened to the front end between the toes. Children soon learn to walk, run, jump and dance on clogs. After playing outdoors awhile, on returning to the house, they must leave them at the entrance; but it takes no time at all to withdraw their toes from the bands, and one may see a child run into the house without a pause, by two deft little backward kicks, leaving his shoes behind him. When the roads are dry and hard, lighter sandals of plaited stuff are worn. But when the mud is deep, the wooden blocks are elevated by means of Old Ways and New Laws 55 two uprights, little boards attached beneath at right angles, thus keeping the feet high and dry. For a long tramp over country roads one provides a few pairs of straw sandals, at a cost of three-quarters of a cent a pair. In deep snow, straw boots are worn. Foreign Costume. Business men in increasing num- bers are adopting our style of dress. This is more con- venient outdoors, but at home the native garb is more comfortable. A well-to-do Japanese pays double for his clothing, because it is necessary to have both kinds. It is said that in the long run the foreign clothing is not only more useful, but also cheaper. The uniforms of soldiers and students are not different from ours. But the women still dress in the old style; for foreign gowns and hats and shoes are not becoming to them. No Clothes Sometimes. To an American the Jap- anese seem very immodest. They do not hesitate to go about without any clothing at all, except a loin cloth, if there is any proper excuse for doing so. In hot weather the common people throw off the upper part of the ki- mono, allowing it to hang over the girdle; in wet weather they expose the lower limbs by tucking the skirt up into the girdle. Those who work in rivers or on the beach doff the kimono entirely, and in fisher-villages clothes are hardly worn all summer. Bathers do not care for privacy. On the other hand, American fashions often shock the Japanese. Bathing customs to the contrary notwith- standing, Japanese costumes are essentially more modest than ours. The Hot Bath. For a Japanese, the day that ends without a plunge in hot water, ends miserably. In a well-to-do household a private tub is installed. This is 56 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan made of wood by a cooper and bound with hoops of bam- boo. It is about three feet deep. A heavy tube of iron, about the size of a stovepipe, is fitted into a hole in the bottom at one end and kept filled with hot coals. The bather dips out hot water and washes his body by the side of the tub; then takes a plunge for a rinse. The next bather adds a little cold water to bring down the tem- perature, since the fire is kept going all the while, and proceeds as before. All in the house use the same water in succession. If the family can afford charcoal, the tub is set in the house. If the fuel makes much smoke, it is placed in an outhouse or in the yard. The water is usually too hot for an American to endure. Those who cannot afford a private tub go to one of the numer- ous public bathhouses, where a large vat of steaming water is always ready, and a ticket costs two cents. A journalist of Tokyo writes: "I was reading the other day an old book called 'Edo Prosperity Record,' where- in there was a vivid description of the inside of a bath- house as it was over a hundred years ago in Edo. With a few alterations, it might apply exactly to the bath- house of today in the center of Tokyo.” The people are coming to see that their public baths are neither decent nor sanitary. Duties of a Housewife. A Japanese housewife, com- pared with her American counterpart, is less strenuous. The cooking is very simple, no baking is done; cleaning is simplified by the absence of furniture, and the custom of leaving the shoes at the entrance; there is little washing to be done, and sewing is reduced to a minimum. When a male caller comes, the man of the house takes charge and orders his wife to bring fire, tea, refreshments, or Old Ways and New Laws 57 anything required for his entertainment, using toward her a gruff tone and contemptuous language in order to show honor to his guest. Indulgence Toward Children. It is in the care of her little ones that the Japanese woman appears most at a disadvantage. Her child, especially if it is a boy, wor- ries and teases her a great deal. She is very much aston- ished at the attitude of the Christian American toward a little child of two years or so. A wise parent knows that obedience must be taught at that tender age or never. The disposition of a Japanese parent is to let a very little child have its own way unless there is danger of physical hurt. It may be true that Japan is a paradise for child- ren; for the people of all classes dearly love them and do everything in their power to make them glad. But the Japanese system is very cruel to young men and women. At the age when an American youth begins to enjoy free- dom and enter upon his independent career, the Japanese youth is subjected to the tyranny of what is called the family. The Family Line. The Japanese idea of the family is quite different from ours. The family is an antique institution to be preserved intact for all time. It is the Confucian conception that an ancestor must always have a living representative to perpetuate his name and do him honor. When there are a number of children in a family, the question must be decided which one will take upon him the responsibility of maintaining the line and honoring the ancestors. The one chosen to be the heir has charge of the property and is responsible for the sup- port of the parents. Younger brothers who wish to share in the enjoyment of the property, must be subject to Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan him. A younger brother may choose rather to leave and start a new family. If there is no son to take the re- sponsibility, and a daughter is available, a husband must be found for her who is willing to leave his own family and take her name and be subject to her parents. For in Japan one does not marry an individual. Marriage means taking a certain position in a family. If there is neither son nor daughter, the usual method is to adopt a girl, train her for a while in the ways of the family, and then adopt a husband for her. No Marriage for Love. With us, it is disgraceful to marry for any reason but love; but in Japan a man who cares at all for his moral reputation is particular not to give any ground for suspicion that he personally knows and cares for the woman whom he marries. To be in form, it is best to marry a perfect stranger. The parents of the young man do the negotiating with the parents of the young woman, not directly, but through another couple, called go-betweens. After the choice is made there is a slight concession to personal preference in that the young people are allowed to see each other, duly chaperoned, and either of the two has the right of veto. The bride is brought to the house of her husband's par- ents and put into subjection to her mother-in-law. Her duty is to the family into which she has been brought rather than to her husband.. A Bad Custom. We missionaries do not go to Japan with the idea that it is our business to Americanize the Japanese people. But in regard to marriage, either their way is wrong or ours is. In America, marriages are, no doubt, undertaken too lightly; we are extremely individ- ualistic and apt to be capricious. But with all our weak- Old Ways and New Laws nesses, our marriages are certainly, on the average, far happier. In England, the proportion of divorces to marriages, is only one to ten thousand; in Germany, ten; ý in the United States, forty-one; in Japan, eighty-six, not counting the numerous marriages which are clandestine, or irregular so far as the government is concerned. Jap- system which forces them into unions which are dis- tasteful to them (for while the girl has nominally the right to refuse, really she seldom dares to do so) is pro- children, as American women who become intimate with their Japanese sisters very well know. Agriculture the Chief Business. The occupation of the people is mostly agriculture. The statistics of Fuku- shima Prefecture show that among 100 working men and women, there are 84 peasants, 9 merchants, 5 laborers and 2 fishermen. About the same proportions would hold true for all Tohoku. The peasants add to their scanty income by making various articles of straw, such as shoes for men and horses, and matting and rope for packing merchandise. Even rice is shipped in sacks of straw. They also gather firewood, make charcoal, do heavy hauling and, at certain seasons, help the fisher- men or go to the cities to work as laborors. Hard Life of the Peasants. Even so, the gross in- come of a peasant's household, if he owns his fields, aver- ages but $225 a year, and if he is a tenant only $150. Of this amount about 16 per cent. is paid to the government as taxes. When he has to borrow he pays interest at the rate of from 8 per cent. to 36 per cent. Pawnbrokers and usurers prey upon the peasants everywhere. Especially 60 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan in the vicinity of the cities is exploitation and enslavement by loan-sharks common. On the other hand, there are some old families holding large areas of land, that deal rather kindly with their tenants. The Homma Family of Sakata has an estate valued at $40,000,000. This family 300 years ago, by planting trees, stopped the sandstorms that had often ruined the homesteads of the people and taught improved methods. The Peasants Calendar. The intense conservatism of the peasants is illustrated by their refusal to accept the western calendar, which the central government definitely adopted in 1873. It was ruled that government offices, schools and other public institutions should close on Sunday. This arrangement was made for the sake of convenience, because the foreign advisers, who were former- ly employed in large numbers, declined to work on Sun- day. Banks, too, and industrial corporations of the modern sort, observe Sunday more or less. But the masses are not affected by the modern calendar, except for the fact that their children do not go to school on Sunday. The peasants, and the merchants in the smaller towns, who do business with them, go by the lunar calendar. This is like that which was used in Old Testament times. The date of the new year is very important to the Jap- anese, because all accounts have to be settled by new year's eve. Also the age of a person is not reckoned from birthday to birthday, as with us, but a fraction of a year is counted as one. Thus a child born in December, 1916, is three years old in January, 1918. The new year of the lunar ealendar occurs before or after the first of Febru- ary. There are in Wakamatsu three new year's days. The officials and teachers observe January first; the mer- Old Ways and New Laws 61 chants, February first; the peasants, a day in late January or early February. The peasants will not give up the old calendar, because they say they would be all at sea without it. They agree with the old farmers in Pennsyl- vania who sow and plant by the moon. . Japanese Characteristics. We are now to attempt a general characterization of the people. To an Ameri- can who has lived in the country a short while, the people may seem all alike and generalization is easy. But to one who has had much experience, it is evident that Jap- anese character has many sides. But since it is the pur- pose of our study to become acquainted with the people, the attempt must be made to discuss their traits. First we will note some peculiarities, not in any disdainful spirit, but recognizing that similar tendencies appear variously modified in common human nature everywhere. 1. Clannishness. The spirit of the gang is strong. Like the disciple John, who said to the Master, “We forbade him because he followed not us,” the people are extremely intolerant of individual variation. All must conform to one stand- ard. To those who have breathed the freer atmosphere of America, this trait often appears very unlovely. One manifestation of it may be seen in a deliberative assembly. The Japanese do not like to discuss a subject and then vote upon it with the idea that the minority shall submit to the majority. To them, every committee is like a jury. The decision must be unanimous. So the dis- cussion goes on until the weaker side is worn out and yields. Very rarely does the individual dare to stand alone. Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan 2. Dependence. Every one seems to be looking for a patron who will relieve him of concern for his living. One who is so fortu- nate as to have a son looks forward to a happy, care-free old age. A missionary one day gave a silver half-dollar to an aged woman begging at his door, whereupon she began to weep, saying, “What shall I do when I have spent all this?” The poor old soul had no relatives and was looking for one who would make a home for her. So strong is this tendency that the government dislikes to disburse any charity-funds, fearing the collapse of the little self-reliant spirit that the people have. 3. Ambition. The Japanese do not understand social equality. Men are related as superior and inferior. Hence, the intense desire to become superior. At the same time, this am- bition seems to lack substance. The desire is not so much to be really superior as to occupy a superior posi- tion. For this reason, we often observe men exerting themselves to the utmost as students until they obtain the coveted degree or office, then giving up all study. 4. Impatience. A Japanese is naturally nimble of body and alert of mind. He is capable of putting forth a great effort in a spurt, but lacks endurance. It is significant that Japan has carried off relatively many honors in international athletics, as in the recent Olympic Meet, but this very intensity of effort is followed by severe reaction. After working very hard for a while, if there is no successful issue, the toiler is apt to throw up the whole thing in disgust. Old Ways and New Laws 63 5. Conventionality. The Japanese lives by rules. He admires what has been labeled as admirable. He is governed by conven- tions. He strictly observes the code. This has its good side. For example, the rikshaman, the fellow who pulls the little two-wheeled carriage, which is such a convenient means of moving about in Japan, is usually a rough char- acter. But he has his code. When a passenger is en- trusted to him, he is bound to deliver that passenger to his destination or perish in the attempt. It is a remark- able fact that a lady may be placed alone in a riksha and put in charge of such a man without fear, though the way be dark. It never occurs to him to do violence in such a case. This does not mean that he is a moral man. He observes the code; he could not be a rikshaman if he did not. On the other hand, in a case for which the code does not provide the Japanese is apt to be helpless. 6. Ceremoniousness. The Japanese is a great stickler for prescribed forms. Too often he is satisfied to have a thing look correct no matter what it really is. The language is full of extreme- ly polite expressions which charm the visiting American. These stereotyped phrases do, no doubt, have a refining influence. But the man of experience does not take them at more than 10 per cent. of their face value. 7. Sentimentality. If the sentiment is right all is right. Where sentiment is concerned, the Japanese is hardly amenable to reason. Let him get the impression that you look down upon him and you can do nothing with him. Arouse a grateful emotion and you can do almost anything you like with him. His mind is not so logical or scientific as that of 64 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan the German, for instance, who chases after facts regardless of sentiment. To the Japanese mind it is much more important to say what is agreeable than to say what is true. 8. Indirection. Extreme caution in dealing with another personality is a marked characteristic. Scarcely anywhere else is each individual's personality handled so gingerly as in Japan. Hence, when any delicate matter is to be dis- cussed, a middleman must come in as a buffer. Direct negotiation with a Japanese is apt to be intolerably tedious to an American; for one often spends hours trying to discover the real reason for the attitude taken. National Evils. 1. Extravagance. In proportion to their means the Japanese are even more extravagant than we. Whatever the real condition of things may be, at all costs the appearance must be irreproachable. At first sight the native costume seems so simple and uniform that our own women, exploited as they are by the makers of fashions, envy their Japanese sisters. It may surprise some to hear that there are fashions in Japan, though the Americans cannot always distinguish them, and that Japanese dress, for people of moderate means at least, is more expensive than American. It may be due to the unsatisfying character of their ordin- ary food that they are so addicted to confectionery. Cake-shops are as common as are saloons on the East Side of New York. It is said that there is one such shop for every 76 houses and that the people of all Japan spend $100,000,000 for cakes in a year. The houses, too, simple Old Ways and New Laws 65 as they are, do not give the comfort that might be ob- tained for the money they cost. The man of means spends on his residence an amount that would build a comfortable residence in American style; but the money goes, not for shelter and convenience, but for rare woods and carvings. 2. Intemperance. There are many causes contributing to the nervous ex- haustion of the people. Not only are they intense, but also irregular in their habits. They eat three times a day, but these times are not fixed. For instance, in sum- mer, they eat very early and very late, because the days are long; and in winter, their meals are close together. Moreover, they have the habit of gulping their food in silence, as if eating were a disagreeable necessity or a weakness to be ashamed of. They also sleep irregularly and not sufficiently. To those who know the causes of intemperance, it is not surprising that they should be very much addicted to alcoholic liquor. The native beverage distilled from rice and called sake has a large percentage of alcohol. It is usually drunk warm, heated by immersing the bottle in hot water. The first effect is to make the skin fiery red; then it produces boisterous- ness and usually makes a man eager to fight. Consider- ing that Russia is abolishing vodka and the United States is moving rapidly toward prohibition, it seems that in the near future Japan may be the most alcoholic of the nations of the world. The average laborer earning $9 a month spends $1.50 a month for liquor. In 1915, in all Japan, sake was manufactured to the amount of $230,- 000,000. 11 1 66 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan 3. Abasement of Women. If by gentlemanliness we understand a chivalrous at- titude toward the gentler.sex, the typical Japanese is not a gentleman. A missionary who lives in a snowy country writes, “When I go down the street after a heavy fall of snow and meet in the narrow path a woman coming in the opposite direction, she, of course, gets out into the deep snow and yields to me the right of way. I dare not be too eager to give her the path for fear that my motive might be misinterpreted. If she did not give me the path as she would to a Japanese man, I should feel insulted, unless I had reason to think that she knew the American custom.” A woman does not walk by the side of her husband, but trots along behind, carrying his overcoat or other baggage, if needs be. Women are not allowed to ascend the sacred mountains to which pilgrimages are made. Confucius said, “Women, as well as fools, are ungovernable,” while Buddha taught that a woman, as such, could not be saved, but might, if she lived a good life, be reborn as a man. 4. Social Evil. In the Japanese language there is no word for the purity of a gentleman. There is a word for chastity, but this is used only in speaking of the loyalty of a woman to the man to whom she belongs. Government, itself, regards the social evil as necessary and licenses a house of shame as, in America, a liquor-saloon is licensed. This evil is not limited to any one nation. America is bad enough, God knows, but there is one great difference. In America no man is trusted by the people who is known to be sexual- ly immoral. But in Japan the statesmen who hold the Old Ways and New Laws 67 very highest position in the gift of the Emperor have often been men notorious for their disgraceful acts, and the people laugh at the stories told of them. It may easily be imagined what an effect the attitude of the government and of the public has upon the young men of the nation. Some Fine Japanese Traits. Let us now glance at but a few of the wholly admirable qualities of the Japan- ese. 1. Eagerness to Learn. One who has lived intimately 'with the people cannot but feel a deep admiration for their childlike thirst for knowledge. Have there ever been in the history of the world so many changes in so short a time as have been witnessed in Japan in the last fifty years? The singular open-mindedness of the nation has made these wonders possible. We find our northerners especially unpreten- tious and open to conviction. 2. Love of Beauty This has been somewhat conventionalized, as has been hinted; but it is surely to the mind of a discerning person an evidence of natural goodness that the people make so much of the beauties of the blossoming trees, the snow covered landscapes, and the moonlit views. Japan has the reputation of being a beautiful land. It is that, but it is more discriminating to call it a land of beauty-lov- ing people. When one sees a ragged rikshaman carefully tending a pet chrysanthemum in a bit of ground beside his hovel, or a grimy blacksmith setting a vase of flowers alongside his anvil, one has found another reason for loving the people. Their love of children is another trait that makes one feel that they are near the Kingdom. . Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan 1 3. Self Control.com A refined Japanese is careful not to make others un- comfortable by any display of unpleasant feeling in voice or gesture, in word or manner. It is a curious habit to smile in speaking of the death of a relative or friend. Americans who show on their faces all kinds of emotions, appear to the Japanese like shameless savages. 4. Self Sacrifice. Readiness to sacrifice one's own life is the noblest char- acteristic of the people. This, too, is conventionalized. The Japanese thinks too much of sacrifice in behalf of a superior, as, for instance, dying for his Emperor in battle. And he thinks too little of the need of sacrifice for the welfare of his country and of the world. Butit is his recog- nition of the glory of sacrifice that makes the nation so powerful in the world today and will surely in the future make it a great factor in the spiritual progress of all nations. Political System. The new government feels that the time has not yet come for entrusting to the people any large measure of power. Of the 12,000,000 males of voting age in the whole empire, only 1,467,708, less than one-eighth, have the right of suffrage. A voter must be full 25 years of age and must have paid direct national taxes, on land and income, of not less than $5 annually. Yet democratic assemblies are more in evidence than in America, so far as local affairs are concerned. The em- pire is divided into 47 prefectures, excluding the colonies, each of which is controlled by a prefect or governor ap- pointed by the Emperor. The prefecture is divided into districts, and the districts again into communes, each of which is a group of villages or hamlets. Sometimes the Old Ways and New Laws 69 population is so dense and the houses so continuous that the commune is specially organized as a town. There may be in one district from one to three towns and a dozen or more of communes. The largest towns are organized as cities and take rank with the districts. A prefecture may include one, two or three cities and a dozen districts or more. The three largest cities in the empire take rank with the prefectures. Now every commune, every district, every prefecture, has its legis- lative assembly and its corps of officials. The business of the communal assembly has to do chiefly with the maintenance of schools and roads. The principal roads assembly. The districts with their assemblies and head- men, seem not to be essential in the political system and they may be abolished in the near future. But in spite of all the concessions of the government, the democratic idea seems to make slow progress. There is not yet any strong public opinion to check the bureaucrats in the central government. Military Conscription. At the age of 20, the young men must appear to take the examination for the army. From among those who are found fit for service, con- scripts are chosen by lot and must serve with the colors for two years. When a young man chosen for the service leaves his native village, a great ado is made over him. A crowd of friends and relatives escort him to the gate of the garrison, if possible; if not, to the railroad station. A large banner is displayed, proclaiming the name of the young man and the village that had the honor to produce him. Patriotic devotion is quite intense in Japan, but here, as in every other country, there is under the surface, 70 real rejoicing when a young man escapes the draft. Cases are also known of young men deliberately mutilating them- selves in order to escape. Students in first-class institu- tions of learning are exempted until they have graduated. Ministers are not. The pastor of the church at Waka- matsu is serving his time in the army, where his career has been so satisfactory to the authorities that he has been made sub-lieutenant of artillery. Paternal Police. In both town and country the people are strictly controlled by the police, who obey the orders of the central government. How the people are governed is well illustrated by what happens at house- cleaning time. The American house-keeper is accustomed to clean house in spring and autumn. In Japan, the house- cleaning is done under the supervision of the police. A day is appointed for each street, and on that day every householder is required to carry out upon the street his few articles of furniture, mostly bureaus, and take out the straw matting, to be aired, sunned and dusted under the vigilant eyes of the blue-clad policeman, who with a sword dangling at his side, marches up and down the thoroughfare, and occasionally goes into the houses to seems to be a sanitary necessity. Even so, such diseases as cholera, due to filth, and the black plague, due to fleas, once in a while get beyond control. Government Indifferent to Great Evils. The gov- ernment is so efficient in suppressing epidemics that we wonder why so little is done to combat the growing peril of tuberculosis, and so successful in preventing the evils of opium-abuse and gambling, that we marvel why al- coholism and prostitution are permitted and even en- couraged by the authorities. Old Ways and New Laws 71 Universal Education. The children, excepting only the cripples and the defectives, all go to public school for at least six years. Since the population is congested as compared with ours in America, the school-houses are usually large structures, with a number of rooms and a good staff of teachers. In remote districts, where the snows are heavy and children cannot go far in winter, each hamlet may have a single school-room in which children are taught separately until it is possible to get them to- gether again in the main school, which is conveniently located in the center of the commune. The teachers are mostly men, but women are being employed increasingly. Over 90 per cent. of the younger Japanese receive a more or less complete common school education. Even in the worst slums of Tokyo it has been found that 84 per cent. of the 1100 heads of the households, classed as extremely poor, can read and write. Higher Education. After the primary school course of six years has been finished, the scholars may take a post-graduate course of one or two years, the boys, in agriculture; the girls, in domestic work, such as sewing; or they may go to a middle school, which has a course of five years. In the case of girls, the middle school is called high school. In a middle school, the subjects are Japanese, Chinese, English, mathematics, geography, science, history, morals, drawing, gymnastics, etc. In some girls' high schools English is not taught at all. After finishing the middle school, the boys may go on to various technical schools or enter the boys' high school, as it is called, which has a course of three years and pre- pares students for the university. Students of these upper grades wear uniforms. The young men wear blue suits 72 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan of the foreign style. The girls wear skirts over their kimonos, each school having its distinctive color. Co- education does not occur above the common school. Physical and Moral Culture. The educational sys- tem is remarkable for the emphasis that is put upon physical and moral, as well as intellectual training. There is always a spacious ground for gymnastic exercises, and calisthenic drills are constantly practiced. In the lower grades, singing, in our style, is taught regularly, thus making the work of our Sunday Schools easier than it used to be. For moral instruction there is a graded series of textbooks. Sometimes we think that moral instruction is overdone. Too many rules of conduct may not be good for a child, suggesting to him naughty things which ordinarily do not occur to him to do. The educational authorities deserve credit for their strenuous attempts to train the chi dren in the way they should go; but without a vital religion not much can be done, and the inculcation of rules may do harm, as well as good. Virtue the Best Policy. A young school teacher of our acquaintance who is a Christian, recently asked the scholars in an upper class in the primary school the follow- ing question,“'If you were having an examination and the teacher left the room, and you had an opportunity to copy without the possibility of being detected, would you copy?” Like dutiful scholars, they, of course, replied, "No," just as he expected. “Why?" was the next ques- tion. Without exception they all said, “Because later on, the teacher might ask us the same question and then he would discover that we didn't know the answer, and would know that we had copied. It wouldn't pay.” The answer, “It is wrong,” never occurred to a single one of them. The teacher says that the present generation is Old Ways and New Laws 73 growing up with no knowledge of right and wrong, as abstract standards. Morality is a matter of profit and loss. New Ten Commandments. In 1890, by authority of the Emperor, the Educational Rescript, designed to be the basis of moral instruction in the schools of Japan, was published. This Rescript states that the ideal or pattern of morality has been transmitted from the age of the Imperial Ancestors. The ideal is described as follows,- “Be filial to your parents, affectionate to your brothers and sisters; as husbands and wives, be harmonious; as friends, true; bear yourselves in modesty and modera- tion; extend your benevolence to all; pursue learning and cultivate arts, and, thereby, develop intellectual faculties and perfect moral power; furthermore, advance public good and promote common interests; always respect the constitution and observe the laws. Should emergency arise, offer yourselves courageously to the state, and thus guard and maintain the prosperity of our Imperial Throne, coeval with Heaven and Earth.” The Sacred Portrait. The school usually has in its assembly-hall a shrine, in which is kept a portrait of the Emperor. This is opened on the Emperor's birthday and the whole school bows profoundly, to show loyalty and devotion. In case of fire it is regarded as a dreadful dis- grace to let anything happen to this portrait, and cases are not rare of teachers who have laid down their lives in the attempt to save it. The school also possesses an en- grossed copy of the Rescript, which on such occasions as commencements and certain national holidays, is brought out with due ceremony and read to the assembled school, while all stand reverently with bowed heads. To this spirit of loyalty Japan owes her peace and her power and through it the world has received many benefits. Many Gods IIITT . MANY GODS INTRODUCTION: 1. Toleration: No Clash of Convictions, but Demand for Na- tional Unity; Religious Liberty Granted in New Con- stitution. 2. Amalgamation of the Old Religions, Bodies of Believers Not Entirely Distinct. A. SHINTO, THE WAY OF THE GODS: 1. Its Original Character: the Gods, the Way, No Definite Teachings, Myths of the Kojiki. 2. Institutions: Shrines, Festivals, Priests. 3. The Cult of Nationalism: Worship of the Emperor, Dream of Universal Empire, a Christian's Protest. 4. Attempt to Secularize Shinto. 5. A Strong Shintoistic Sect: Tenrikyo. B. CONFUCIANISM: 1. Confucius: His Practical Spirit, His Social Doctrine. 2. Influence upon the Japanese. 3. A Noble Expression: Bushido, Ideal of Humility, Energy, Dignity. 4. The Dark Side: Man-made Morality, Perpendicular Mor- ality, Fragmentary Morality, Sacrifice of Womanhood. C. BUDDHISM: 1. History: a. Sakya the Buddha, His Doctrine Based on Idea of Transmigration, His Gospel of Salvation. b. Two Types, Southern and Northern; Popular Char- acter of the Northern Buddhism, Its Insincerity. c. Introduction into China and Japan. d. Revivals of 800 and 1200 A. D. 2. Prominent Sects: a. Zen or Sodo: Training of Priests, Zeal of Some Edu- cated Believers; A Related Fad, “Quiet Session." b. Nichiren: Militant Buddhism. C. Amida-Buddhism; Jodo and Hongwanji, Lordly Ab- bots, Devout Followers, Modern Methods. 3. Religion of the Dying: Priests, Funerals, Temples, the Wor- ship of Ancestors. 4. Religion of the Living: a. Paganism, Idolatry, Pilgrimages, Penances. b. Popular Idols: Atago, Kwannon, Jizo, Kishibojin, Fudo. 5. Benefits of Buddhism: Otherworldly, Humane, Sacrificing Spirit; Example of Sakura-Sogoro. 6. Evils of Buddhism: Wrong views of God, Man, Sin; Ten- dency to Suicide; Indifference to the Present World, to Conduct and to Truth; a Religion of Despair. III, MANY GODS Tolerant Spirit Toward Religion. So far as religion is concerned, Japan has hitherto been the most tolerant of the nations. Of the three systems that the Japanese have known, native Shintoism, Chinese Confucianism, and Indian Buddhism, only the last is a dogmatic religion. Buddhistic doctrine has now become vague and is little understood by the masses. Conflicts between fundamen- tal religious principles scarcely appear in Japanese history, The national mind is not so much philosophical as practical. The allegiance of the people is given to social organiza- tions and to their leading personalities rather than to abstract principles. Tendency to Uniformity. On the other hand, tol- eration goes against the grain in a society where the in- dividual is so thoroughly subordinated to the state and to the family as in Japan. To most of the Japanese religion is a matter of custom and ritual in charge of the head of the family, whom the members follow and obey as a matter of course. Many regard the state as having similar authority and responsibility in religious concerns. A young peasant in Aizu who had begun to visit our church in Wakamatsu was thus rebuked by one of the elders of his village: "If this religion were good for the country, the government would tell us to accept it; if it 78 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan were bad the government would forbid it; since the govern- ment is silent, manifestly it is of no use whatever.” Decision in Favor of Freedom. But the principle of religious liberty has been included in the Constitution of 1889, which says: “Japanese subjects shall, within limits not prejudicial to peace and order, and not antagonistic to their duties as subjects, enjoy freedom of religious belief.” This article was adopted in spite of violent pro- tests. The motive that turned the balance in its favor was the desire to have Japan rank with the most advanced nations of the world in this as in other respects. Three Religions in One. A Japanese is easily able to profess all three of the old religions of the country at one and the same time. Shinto guards the interests of the nation and of himself as belonging to it. Confucian- ism tells him how to act. And Buddhism cares for his soul in the event of death. He sees no conflict between them. If Christianity could just be added to the com- bination, he would not object much to being a Christian. But there is nothing vague or indefinite in our religion, and it claims the whole of a man's allegiance. No Church. The most important fact to be learned with regard to the old religions is, that they do not have congregations; there are no regular meetings and there is no preaching, except in some progressive sects that have been in one way or another influenced by Christianity. Shinto. The native religion is called Shinto. Shin is a Chinese word, meaning gods, and to, meaning way, doctrine or principle, is identical with the Tao of Chinese Taoism. Shinto is “the way of the gods.” Many Gods 79 Millions of Gods. The Japanese word for "god" is kami. Evidently, the kami, the gods, originally repre- sented the powers of nature. Later, national heroes were deified and added to the pantheon. Any thing or person that manifests extraordinary power is a god. When on the occasion of the funeral of the Emperor Meiji, Sep- tember 13, 1912, the heroic General Nogi dramatically committed suicide, Count Terauchi, the present prime “Until today I thought him to be an extraordinary man, but he was truly a god born in human guise.” To a Christian such language is shocking; but we need to remember that the word kami does not mean to a Japanese what “God” does to us. A common expression is "the 800 myriads of gods.” If this be taken literally, in Japan proper there is on the average one god for every family. Gods? The word “Way” is an oriental term denoting religion and, it will be recalled, is used in the New Testa- ment to designate the Christian religion, as in Acts ix: 2. Among the Japanese the word signifies the habit of life that is characteristic of the nation. They often say that their history is their Bible. The Rescript on Education says: “The Way here set forth is indeed the teaching bequeathed by our Imperial Ancestors, to be observed alike by all their descendants and subjects, infallible for all ages and true in all places." No Clear Teaching. As a religion Shinto has plenty of gods, but little else. There are no doctrines or pre- cepts, and the worship is extremely simple. The develop- ment of this native cult was early arrested, because the elaborate system of Buddhism and the mature ethics of 80 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan Confucianism were imported from the continent of Asia before the Japanese had time to work out their own ideas. The scholar Motoori (1730~1801) gloried in this lack of definiteness. The Chinese may need doctrines and pre- cepts, he said, but the Japanese do not, because they are naturally good. This reminds us of the remark of one of the unwashed Chinese, who seeing large quantities of water being carried into the house of an Englishman in- quired what all that water was for, and on being told that it was for the bath and the laundry, said that the English must be a dirty people if so much water is re- quired to wash them. The Japanese Genesis. There is a sacred book that somewhat resembles our Book of Genesis. It is called Ancient Things Record (Ko-ji-ki) and was written out about the year 712 of our era. This book was no doubt composed in its present form by way of opposition to the newly imported religions of the times and was, there- fore, largely influenced by them. It describes the crea- tion as a process of births. Some of the stories of the gods and goddesses as given in the Kojiki are so indecent, or, shall we say, so naive, that the translator dares not put them into English. Among the deities that appeared on earth were a brother and sister, Izanagi and Izanami, who were instructed to “make, consolidate and give birth to the floating land.” This pair produced Japan and the Japanese. The most interesting myths are those of Heaven Illumining August God (Ama-terasu-o-mi-kami), the goddess said to have been the ancestress of the Emper- ors. Amaterasu came from Izanagi's left eye as he washed his face in the ocean. She is the goddess of the sun. A Native Shrine. A real Shinto shrine is a bare un- Shinto Shrine (Omiya) Shinto Priest (Takada) Buddhist Temple and Priest near Yamagata Many Gods 81 painted wooden house. In front there is always a portal (called torii) of two upright wooden posts supporting two cross-pieces. The shrine itself contains no image,-only a mirror and offerings made of twisted straw and paper curiously cut in zig-zag shapes. The mirror, if it means anything, may be understood to signify that the human heart reflects the spirit of the gods. Sometimes the shrine is double, having a holy of holies behind the holy place. The worshipper washes his face and hands in the holy water, throws a bit of money into a large box in front of the sanctuary, claps his hands or rings a bell to call the attention of the deity, and says a brief prayer, bowing the head and clapping and rubbing the hands together. The prayer may be written on a piece of paper which is twisted and tied to the lattice in front of the sanctuary. The simplicity of the shrine and the worship is such that some find in it evidence of Hebrew origin. The Annual Festival. As a rule, every shrine has its annual festival. Often the deity is carried through the streets in a shrine on wheels or in a great palanquin, borne on the shoulders of many men. The sacred object is ordinarily not exposed to view. Priests clad in festal garments go before. There are besides crowds of attend- ants bearing various old relics, grotesquely masked per- formers making weird music, and floats carrying actors and singing girls posturing and singing to the accompani- ment of flute and drum. The approaches to the shrine are decorated with lanterns, flags, and evergreens. In the yard, every available space is taken by vendors of toys, cakes, and various knickknacks. Historical dramas are acted on elevated platforms in full view of the people. It is a gay and noisy picnic, at which much money is spent 82 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan and much liquor drunk; but there is scarcely any evidence of real religious sentiment. Priests of Shinto. Rarely does a shrine have a resi- dent priest. There are five shrines to every priest in the country. The chief function of the priests nowadays is to say the liturgy at festivals, at ceremonies having to do with the Imperial House, or at commemorations of sol- diers who have laid down their lives for their country, There are many new shrines called “soul-inviting-altars” (sho-kon-sha), in which, on the memorial day, the souls of the heroes who died in battle are invited to reside for awhile and receive homage. Religion of Nationalism. Shinto, whatever it is, stands for Japanese nationalism, and has, therefore, been made a rallying standard for those who oppose the in- ternationalism of Christianity, namely, the imperialists and militarists. Uehara in his “Political Development of Japan” says of the Emperor: “He is to the Japanese in the universe of the pantheistic philosopher. From him everything emanates; in him everything subsists; there is nothing in the soil of Japan existent independent of him.” This is clearly applying to the Emperor terms which Christians use in speaking of God. Mr. Ushizuka, official in charge of the ceremonies connected with the proclamation of the Crown Prince, November 3, 1916, said: "The central idea of the Japanese state is the belief that the spirits of the imperial ancestors continue to rule through their living representatives.” That is, the an- peror, as Christians conceive the Spirit of God to have dwelt in Jesus. Many Gods 83 A Perilous Creed. The ascription of divinity to the Imperial House is simply one expression of the determina- tion of the militarists to absolutize the state, and of their antagonism to a religion that considers even the Emperor as subject to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Log- ically thought out, the contention that there is no God above the Emperor implies the purpose ultimately to bring the whole world into subjection to the Emperor, and such a program, if history has any lessons to teach us, means unceasing war and the final destruction of so pre- sumptuous a nation. But the people as a whole are really not much in sympathy with the militaristic minor- ity, and will probably be less and less so as enlightened public opinion grows. A Bold Dissenter. The noted Christian author, Mr. Uchimura, a professor in a certain school, in 1890, when the Imperial Rescript on Education was first presented to him for worship, declined to bow his head. For this offense he lost his position and has ever since been ex- cluded from the employ of the government. He has long been publishing a monthly magazine called “Bible Study," which has a large circulation and reaches many Japanese who are not connected with any Christian church. Disestablishment of Shinto. In 1884, the govern- ment established a Bureau of Shrines and made a dis- tinction between popular religious sects connected with Shinto, and the shrines, which were to be regarded as mere memorials of Imperial Ancestors and national heroes. The priests at the shrines were forbidden to render dis- tinctively religious services, such as the conduct of funer- als. The motive of this action was the desire to disentan- gle religions and superstitions from patriotic ceremonies 84 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan and make it possible for adherents of all religions to take part in the latter. If the government had had the com- petence and the courage really to secularize the shrines and to forbid the use of such terms as “god," "prayer," and the like in connection with them, it might have been feasible to bring it about that to bow before them would have the same significance as American children's saluting the flag or decorating a soldier's grave. But when we read in the newspaper that “tomorrow morning ceremonies will be held at one of the Grand Imperial Shrines at Ise for the return of the spirit of the god to whom that shrine is dedicated," and then read that school children are mar- shalled by their teachers and made to "worship” at such a shrine, it is quite plain that Japan is in this instance not keeping the solemn promise made that her people should have religious liberty. Faith Healing. Of the various sects, which are reckoned as belonging to Shinto, there is space to name but one. The "Heaven Reason Doctrine" (Ten-ri-kyo) is quite conspicuous in Tohoku. One reason for the rapid spread of Tenrikyo is its rooting itself in the old beliefs of the people. The official records claim that it is a mono- theistic religion, worshipping one god who has ten chief virtues; but the believers in general worship the 8,000,000 gods and give divine honors to the Emperor. Another reason for its success is its reputation of having power to heal disease. Tenrikyo bears some resemblance to Christian Science in that it was started by a woman about thirty-five years ago and teaches the doctrine of faith- healing. The converts are so zealous in winning others to their beliefs that in the short time since the founder, named Nakayama-Miki, began to proclaim the doctrines, Many Gods 85 the number of adherents has become three and a half millions. They have established a large school where men are trained to preach, and have even sent missionaries to England, America, and the South Seas. Two or three hundred evangelists are sent out every year. These re- ceive an abundant support from the offerings of local believers, who often impoverish themselves by their liberal giving. Tenrikyo is strongest in southwestern Japan, but there are also many temples and many believ- ers in Tohoku. Sendai has a large temple near the center of the city, but it is supported by the farmers or dwellers in the small towns in the vicinity rather than by the people of the city itself. The good resulting from this new religion is the spread of the teaching that much of the evil and suffering of the world is due to sin. Confucianism. Next to Shinto let us briefly consider the Confucian system. Naturally, the old Chinese civilization influenced the Japanese almost from the beginning of their history. Chinese letters and Confucian classics, it is recorded, were introduced to the Court by a Korean scholar named Wani early in the fifth century of our era. Confucius' Indifference to Religion. The great Chinese sage Confucius (Kong-fu-tse), who lived and taught about the year 500 B. C., was interested more in morality than in religion. Before his time the Chinese had called God “Supreme Ruler," (in Chinese Shang-ti, in Japanese Jo-tei), but he did not use this word He seem- ed to have no definite conception of God. He preferred the vaguer term “Heaven.” For himself, he had a certain faith in a higher power. He said, “He who has 86 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan offended against Heaven has none to whom he can pray.” When he was threatened he said: “While Heaven does not let the cause of truth perish, what can the people of Kwang do to me?” But he taught that we men need not trouble ourselves about religious services, if we live a right moral life. When one of the ministers of Lu asked him what constituted wisdom, he replied, “To give one's self earnest- ly to the duties due to men and, while respecting spiritual beings, to keep aloof from them,-that may be called wisdom.” A Compact Social System. While Confucius cares only for man in the present world, it is not the immortal and infinitely precious individual as such, but man as part of the social organism that concerns him. His doctrine is the cement that binds individuals as stones in one solid social structure. In himself, the individual is nothing, for his relationships constitute his being. The emphasis lies on the five relations of ruler and subject, father and son, elder brother and younger brother, friend and friend, husband and wife. The last of the five was not in Con- fucius' original system, but was added later. The chief virtue is humanity, and love to parents is its foundation. There are five virtues, namely, humanity, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and fidelity. The Confucian system was changed in Japan by putting the supreme emphasis upon loyalty to the superior instead of on piety toward one's parents and by exalting the military virtues, but its essential nature was not changed. Influence of Confucianism. This doctrine, in de- fault of anything better, has been eagerly studied and practiced by the more thoughtful and serious men of the country. While Confucianism is a religion in China, it Many Gods 87 is essentially a system of ethics in Japan. There are no temples, images, congregations, or services. There is nothing to it but a set of books. Yet it has had a pro- found influence. There is a great deal of moral earnest- ness which is due, no doubt, to that influence. Bushido-a Noble Expression of the Confucian Spirit. As has been said, the ruling class in the his- tory of Japan has been that of the Samurai. The pre- vailing moral code of the people today is called "warrior knight way” (Bu-shi-do). This Bushido is one of the Japanese words now found in the English dictionary. It code. It is the noblesse oblige of the warriors. One writer well sums up the ideal in the words “humility, energy, dignity.” We will attempt a somewhat more minute analysis of the ideal of knighthood. This is due first of all to the Emperor and under him to the lord whom one more immediately serves. One of the most familiar proverbs says, “A loyal retainer does not serve two lords." 2. Gratitude. It may surprise some to hear that this is a Japanese characteristic, but it is. Some Americans who have had experience with the Japanese call them ungrateful. Prob- ably the fact is that they did not know how to deal with them. The doctrine of the Heidelberg Catechism, that the spring of a right life is not duty, but gratitude, is one that is readily appreciated by the Japanese. 3. Courage. the lord. An American cannot fail to be touched by the 88 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan noble words of a young warrior of ancient times to the effect that he wanted to die in battle for his lord and feared nothing so much as dying in bed before he had a chance to sacrifice his life for the object of his devotion. 4. Justice. This means not allowing any selfishness to stand in the way of one's duty. General Nogi, who is regarded as the pattern of Japanese chivalry, when the war with China broke out and he was called to the front, left home in- stantly without stopping to say good-bye to his wife, and sternly rebuked her for presuming to follow him on his way. So, too, many a touching story is told of a woman's killing herself in order not to be a possible cause of coward- ice to a soldier at the front, who might be tempted to hesitate because in case of his death the helpless one would have to suffer. 5. Truthfulness. A knight scorns to tell a lie in order to avoid harm or hurt to himself. 6. Politeness. It is the mark of a strong man to be polite in all circum- stances, even to an enemy. Chivalry toward defeated enemies has been a marked characteristic of the Japanese in our own time. 7. Reserve. No matter how deeply one is moved, feelings should not be shown. 8. Honor. Death is preferable to disgrace. The knight always carried two swords, a long one to fight his foes, and a short one to turn upon his own body in case of a blunder or defeat. Many Gods The Dark Side of Confucianism. But while we gladly recognize the beauty of the Confucian ideal, we dare not shut our eyes to its serious defects. 1. A Man-made Morality. To Confucianism is due the comparative inability of the Japanese to act properly in situations not anticipated in the code. One of our missionaries after preaching a sermon in which he spoke much of gi (righteousness), was told by a Japanese friend, who heard it, “Your idea of righteousness is quite different from ours; to us righteous- ness is faithfully attending to that which is requested of or committed to us by others.” In a moral code in which God has no real part, what else can be expected? 2. A Perpendicular Morality. Japan is today utterly unprepared to take a democratic view of life. As some one has said, Confucian virtue is perpendicular. One reason why the American finds the Japanese so hard to deal with is, that the latter does not share his conception of liberty and equality. Generally in relation to him you must be either above or beneath him. 3. A Fragmentary Morality. No ordinary moral law is allowed to hinder the perform- ance of a deed required in the interest of one's superior. One of the most popular stories of the Japanese is that of the 47 “righteous” retainers of a lord, who in Tokyo in 1701 was grievously wronged and done to death by an the wrong, deliberately abused his own family and lived in debauchery in order to escape suspicion, until the opportunity came to carry the vendetta to a successful conclusion. So today a daughter who can find no other 90 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan way to get money to buy medicine for a sick father or to assist in the education of a brother is praised as a heroine, if she sells her person and begins a life of shame. Con- fucius says nothing to stir the conscience of the father or brother who accepts such a sacrifice. 4. Sacrifice of Womanhood. One of the classics of Japan is the Great Learning for Women (Onna Daigaku), by Kaibara-Ekken (1630–1714), a Confucian scholar. In this little book the ideal set before a woman is absolute submission to the man to whom she belongs at the time. A woman's whole duty is summed up in “the three obediences,” in her girlhood to her father, after marriage to her husband, and in case of widowhood to her eldest son. Confucius is directly responsible for the attitude of Japanese men toward their women, which is injuring themselves and their country quite as much as the women who are wronged. This situation is the more remarkable when we consider that in ancient times, before the nation was so deeply influenced by continental ideals, the women were held in high regard. Buddhism. Of the religions of the world, three are international in spirit, namely, Christianity, Buddhism, and Mohammed- anism. In the Asian halt of the world Buddhism is the dominant religion. Sakya the Buddha a Saintly Character. The name "Buddha" is the title of the Indian sage Sakya (in Japanese called Shaka) as “Christ” is the title of Jesus. Buddha means the “Enlightened One.” Sakya lived and taught about 500 B. C., at the same time that the Jewish nation was being restored after the exile and Confucius Many Gods 91 was reforming China. He was a prince and lived in luxury until one day he felt impelled to solve the problem of human misery, forsook his wife and child and became a begging monk. Doctrine of Endless Rebirths. As Jesus based his doctrine on what had been taught by the prophets of Israel, so Sakya based his on the old Indian religion. One ruling idea was that of transmigration, the notion that the same person may be born again and again into the world in different forms. One who suffers now, it is assumed, has sinned in a previous stage of existence. On the other hand, good life now will enable us to enter upon a higher plane of life in the next birth. Hence Sakya, the Buddha, appeared often before he was born in India, and he will re-appear over and over. There are many buddhas. Gospel of Buddha. Sakya loved the common people, and it was the aim of his life to save them. For himself, he had attained enlightenment and peace through these considerations: 1. Pain is universal. 2. The root of pain is desire. 3. In order to escape from pain, desire must be de- stroyed. 4. There is a way to extinguish desire. He refused to engage in the philosophical discussions in which the proud Brahmans delighted; for him the way of salvation was simple and practical and open to anyone having the courage to enter. Not argument, but quiet contempla- tion united with the simplest kind of life was his method. A favorite parable of his was the story of the man who had been shot by a poisoned arrow. When his friends 92 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan suggested treating the wound he began to ask questions about the nature of the arrow and the bow from which it came and the man who shot it and the place from which he came, etc. Sakya said he would die before the questions could be answered. So men must be saved first. Let them argue afterwards if they care to. The Northern Buddhism. Early in the history of Buddhism appeared a great division. The old Buddhism, called Small Vehicle (Hianyana). is now found chiefly in southern India and Ceylon. The new system, called Great Vehicle (Mahayana), arose through the absorption of all sorts of material from other religions of which Central Asia had knowledge. Much of the appropriated material is utterly inconsistent with the fundamental principles of the historic Buddha. The Great Vehicle is the form of Buddhism that prevails in China and neigh- boring lands, including Japan. It is of no use to attempt to describe the system, because it consists of heterogen- eous and inconsistent elements. Accommodation to Popular Views. It may be said, however, that while the Buddha himself discouraged prayer or any kind of dependence upon a higher power, the Great Vehicle has developed gods, temples, priests, vestments, masses, prayers, rosaries and other para- phernalia wonderfully resembling those of Roman Cathol- icism. The distinction is made between the esoteric, the real true doctrine and method of Buddha, which are too difficult for common people to understand and practice, and the exoteric, the religion as it is preached to the masses. A fable is told of a good man who noticed children playing in a house, the roof of which had caught fire, and seeing that if he told them the truth a panic would Many Gods 93 ensue, called them to come and see the pretty toys that he had brought, so that all were happily saved and later thanked him for deceiving them. So the Buddhist scholar says that heaven and hell do not really exist, but it is good for the ignorant to imagine that they do. Rapid Progress of Missions. Buddhism began to penetrate China in the first century of the Christian era. In the year 374, missionaries entered Korea, and within a century and a half that land had become Buddhistic. In 538, a Korean king sent a gilt statue and scriptures and works of art to the Japanese Court with a message com- mending the new doctrine. The progress of Buddhism was the more rapid because with the missionaries from India, China, and Korea came physicians, art sans and musicians. It is significant that while in China the mis- sionary method had been literary, attention being given mainly to translating Buddhist classics, in Japan the method was practical. The missionaries taught the Japanese how to construct harbors, canals, roads, and bridges. The new movement helped to civilize and unify the country. An asylum, a hospital and a dispensary were attached to a temple built in 593. In the regency of Prince Shotoku, which began in the same year, Budd- hism became the State Church. Accordingly, this Prince is called the Constantine of Japan. The First Revival (800 A. D.). A great revival, oc- curing about the year 800, developed the two sects Tendai and Shingon, which are the oldest denominations of any importance in Japan today. These two bodies, combated as they have been by successive generations of more progressive Buddhists, are no longer in the front rank, but even now after more than a thousand years, they claim 17,000 temples and 4,500,000 adherents. 94 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan The Second Revival (1200 A. D.). The newer sects of Japanese Buddhism owe their comparative success to their attempts to simplify the religion of Buddha and de- liver it from the enormous load of miscellaneous old spec- ulations and superstitions that are carried by Tendai and Shingon, whose sacred scriptures are said to number 6,771 books. Zen a Mystical Religion. The Zen sects, as they are called, represent a reaction against the multiplication of books and paraphernalia. To get enlightenment, say the teachers, it is of little use to read and study about it; one must practice Zen (meditation), as Sakya did. This system is rightly called Buddhistic mysticism. There are two principal sects, Rinzai, which depends wholly on contemplation, and Sodo, which uses books as subsid- iary aids. Education for Priesthood. Sodo is the strongest sect in Sendai and one of the strongest in all Tohoku. It has the only Buddhist school in this region, one of the four seminaries of the sect. The students are nearly all candidates for the priesthood. Some of them take charge of temples immediately after graduation, others go up to the university of the sect in Tokyo. There are besides four or five places in connection with temples where boys are trained for the priesthood. They may enter at the age of thirteen and become acolytes. After three years they may become superiors. After that, but not under twenty-one, they may become full priests. Usually the poorer young men enter the priesthood in this manner, while the more well-to-do study at the seminary. Intelligent Adherents. All kinds of people belong Many Gods to the Zen sect, though of course “belonging” means mostly to be connected with a certain temple for burial purposes. But there are also people who take a real interest in the matter. Among these are, first of all, the military, who buy a great many of the books of the sect; but lawyers also and physicians, and other educated men are interested. President Hojo of the Tohoku Im- perial University is a devotee, and he often goes to Tokyo to join friends in the study and practice of Zen, or he gathers some friends and goes to Matsushima with them for a season of devotion. People get together and alter- nately study books and practice contemplation. Often deep breathing is connected with the practice. The “Quiet Session.” One popular fad of today may be named in connection with Zen, since it is some- what related to it. It is called “quiet session” (Seiza) and is said to be a cure for all ills, mental or physical. With the Buddhistic idea that the mind must be made vacant, there is combined the old physiological notion that the lower abdominal region is the very heart of the body and the seat of the soul. Here the blood tends to accumulate and become stagnant. To remedy this, one sits on his heels in the Japanese fashion and practices a certain way of breathing, exerting pressure on the abdo- men while taking a deep breath, at the same time com- posing the mind and emptying it of all thought. This is practiced in company with others or alone. After a little while the muscles begin to twitch in a characteristic way. Seiza probably is more or less beneficial to some people, but when it is all the religion that a man has, it produces a self-centered character very different from the Christian type. 96 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan Nichiren the Fighting Sect. There is also a militant Buddhism. Nichiren (1222–1282), a monk of the Shingon sect, was stirred by the deplorable conditions of his age to attempt to reform society. He was influenced by a passage in one of the scriptures to the effect that it is better to use force than to let people fall into hell. When the various sects refused to follow his directions he began to persecute them. He was also distressed at the divided condition of the nation, the Emperor at Kyoto, and the Shogun at Kamakura. In one of his early sermons he said: “Awake, men, awake, and look around you. Look at the heaven above you: there are no two suns in the sky. Look at the earth at your feet: no two kings can rule a country.” It was just in the time of Nichiren that Japan was threatened by the Mongols in China and Korea. Nichiren took advantage of this situation to stir up in the hearts of the Japanese a sense of nationality. He is sometimes called the Luther of Japanese Buddhism. The Nichirenists have 5,150 temples and about 1,500,000 adherents. The devotees repeat the motto, “Glory to the Wonderful Law of the Sutra of the Lotus” (Namu Myoho Rengekyo), in the way that the Salvation Army uses the words, "Hallelujah, Amen.” They are fanatical and violent. Salvation by Faith in Amida. The majority of the Buddhists of Tohoku belong to sects that resemble Pro- testant Christians in that they teach salvation by faith. They worship a deity called Amida. This Amida bears a striking resemblance to Christ. We may look into the reason for this in the next chapter. While Buddha him- self taught that we must save ourselves, hosts of Japanese Buddhists believe in salvation by the power of Amida. 1 Many Gods 97 While Sakya taught the doctrine of the "Holy Path,” theirs is the doctrine of the “Pure Land’’of Jodo, which is paradise, or heaven, far, far away in the west where the sun sets. The lord of this paradise is a Buddha named Amida, who was probably a sun-god originally. The distinctive excellence of Amida is that he vowed not to be saved himself until all who would call upon him might be saved. This is called “the original vow.” The “Creed of Half Japan.” This religion of Jodo was founded by a priest of the Tendai sect, named Honen (1133-1212), whose pupil Shinran (1173–1262), gave final shape to it. The followers of Shinran call them- selves the true (Shin) Sect. Popularly they are named after the chief temple in the former capital of Japan, the “Original Vow Temple” (Hongwanji). There are almost 20,000 temples and over 13,000,000 adherents connected with Hongwanji. Japanese Popes. The East Hongwanji and the West Hongwanji of Kyoto have had immense revenues and are correspondingly corrupt and prolific of scandals. The abbots live in luxury and manifest a spirit more like that of a Pope of Europe than that of Buddha. In the north, believers, even in our own times, feel such reverence for the person of the abbot that water in which he has bathed is bottled and sold for medicine. Devoutness of the Shin Sect. Yet this is the most spiritual of the religions of Japan. Thousands are com- forted by their faith in Amida. They are taught by Shinran not to pray for happiness in the present life, but to put their whole trust in Amida, who will give them eternal bliss, if they truly believe. They bear witness to their faith by repeating over and over the words, 98 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan C “Glory to Amida, the Buddha" (Namu Amida Butsu), in their private devotions and by way of ejaculation when they hear public sermons and prayers. Two days every month, the anniversaries of the death of the founder and of the previous abbot, are kept as fasts, with preaching. There are also a catechism and hymns composed by Shinran. An Instance of Vital Faith. President Harada in his book, “The Faith of Japan," tells of a touching con- fession taken almost word for word from the lips of an uneducated woman 80 years of age: “I am old and I am a woman, and it is not to be expected that a woman will know much of such subjects, but I will tell you what thoughts I have. I am weak and sinful, and have no hope in myself; my hope is all in Amida Buddha. I believe him to be the Supreme Being. Because of the wickedness of man, and because of human sorrow, Amida Buddha became incarnate and came to the earth to de- liver man; and my hope and the world's hope is to be found only in his suffering love. He has entered humanity to save it; and he alone can save. He constantly watch- es over and helps all who trust in him. I am not in a hurry to die, but I am ready when my time comes; and I trust that through the gracious love of Amida Buddha I shall then enter into the future life, which I believe to be a state of conscious existence, and where I shall be free from sorrow. I believe that he hears prayers, and that he has guided me thus far, and my hope is only in his suffering love.” It is significant that her son, a success- ful business man, is a Christian. Aggressiveness of the New Buddhism. It is main- ly this sect that sends missionaries to various countries Many Gods 99 7 about the Pacific. (In our own Pacific States there are 24 Japanese Buddhist temples with 25 priests and over 10,000 members.) There are now in Japan eleven so-called Buddhist universities, which are really theological seminaries, having over 1,000 students. In memory of the Countess Otani, consort of the abbot of West Hongwanji and sister har en of the Empress, a Buddhist university for women is being me free founded at Kyoto. Ruolo The more progressive Buddhist sects are imitating the methods of Christianity. Buddhist temples are being built more like churches; there are young people's Buddhist societies and Buddhist Sunday Schools. The trouble is that, while the forms can be imitated, Buddhism has no distinctive religious message that children can understand. In the so-called Sunday Schools the child- ren are taught moral maxims and told more or less edify- ing stories. For music the Buddhists simply use the. Christian hymnal and change a few words, teaching the children to sing like this: PM a fin “Buddha loves me: this I know; o que For the Sutra tells me so."JAD The Old Buddhism Busy with Funerals. The ordinary priest is busy with the dead, rather than with the living. He is a funeral specialist. Dressed in gaudylo robes, with shaven head and solemn mien, he kneels before the family altar and intones his ancient liturgy," the words of which his hearers certainly do not, and he * himself, probably, does not understand, punctuating the phrases by sounding a little bell or gong now and then. In a Buddhist funeral, the coffin is of a cubical form; for ، راه با بازی های رایانه و .. 'd he 100 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan the corpse is made to sit up after the manner of a Buddha. The bier is carried through the streets on the shoulders of men dressed in white, which is the color of mourning. At the head of the procession a long streamer announcing the name of the deceased is displayed on a tall pole. A Buddhist Temple. A service may be held before the altar in the temple. The temple, in contrast with a Shinto shrine, is open, roomy and decorated, often quite gorgeously. The priests face the altar and the mourners sit on the matting on either side of them. The candles, incense, etc., would remind one of a Roman Catholic Church. The big bell is under a shed separate from the temple. It does not swing as a church-bell does, but is sounded by a blow from a log, which is hung from the roof beside it. Somewhere in the yard are posted up rows of wooden tablets proclaiming the names and the amount of the gifts of the supporters of the temple the last time it was repaired. The Worship of Ancestors. The pious family has its altar (butsu-dan) enshrining wooden sticks, on which are written the heavenly names (new names given by the priest at the time of the decease) of the departed ones. To these offerings of food are made. The priest comes to say masses on the 49th day, the rooth day and on certain anniversary days, the ist, 3rd, 7th, 13th, etc. The happiness of the departed souls depends upon the kind of treatment that they receive from the living. Hence, it is considered a most important duty to keep up the family line, in order that the dead may be comforted. On the other hand, ancestors are believed to have super- natural power to bless or to curse. Lafcadio Hearn well says that “the dead, rather than the living, have been Buddhist Ancestral Shrine Buddhist Family Altar Fudo, Healer of Disease Jizo, Friend of Children Many Gods IOI the rulers of the nation.” Whether a Christian may join in the worship of ancestors or not has been a difficult question to answer, because it is so hard to draw the line between simply paying them the respect that is due and acting as if they had some of that power and glory that belong only to the Almighty. Idolatry the Religion of the Masses. The Japanese masses have no knowledge of religion, except what they unconsciously absorb from the general atmosphere. Practically, they are idolatrous and superstitious pagans. If it be asked what the difference is between real Christian- ity and paganism it is this: Christians make God supreme and seek to serve Him, while pagans have many gods to serve their own various interests. To the common people religion means praying to one god for success in business (even if that business be criminal), to another for the cure of a certain disease, and so on. Such paganism is found in Christian Europe too, where St. Elmo guards the sailors, St. Vitus cures chorea, and so forth. We do not use the word “pagan" in a contemptuous spirit. But facts are facts. President Harada quotes an in- vestigator who studied the prayers offered at a certain popular shrine in Echigo and found that of 9,860 petitions 7,109 were for the prosperity of families; 1,007 for safety; 717 for success, and 269 for health. Pilgrimages and Penances. Very early in the morn- ing of a cool day in autumn the writer passing through a certain village, near Sendai, noticed the men of the place standing unclothed about a small fire that they had built on the bank of the canal. Afterwards he asked one of them what they had been doing. The explana- tion was, that representatives of the village had gone on 102 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan a pilgrimage to the Mountain of the Moon (Gwassan), a holy place in Yamagata Prefecture, and were that night making the ascent. To share in the merit and obtain prosperity, the men who had stayed at home were doing penance by bathing in the canal at frequent intervals. At a certain Buddhist temple in Aizu, it is the custom that the men spend the coldest night in winter unclothed, engaging in wrestling to keep themselves warm. This insures health, it is claimed. A God of Fire. On any street in Wakamatsu may be seen a stone pillar marked “the security of this town." In a pocket, carved in the stone, protected from the weather by a pane of glass, is a paper certifying that the shrine of a god (Atago) among the distant mountains has been duly visited by representatives of the ward, and he will preserve the town from fire. The Horses' Goddess. Not far from the city is a little temple dedicated to the goddess of mercy (Kwan- non) and around it is a circular path like a race-track. On the festival day in spring, all the horses of the country- side are gathered and made to trot around and around; for this goddess loves horses and cares for them. The Kindly Jizo. A very popular idol is Jizo, savior from afflictions. He is believed to help those who suffer in purgatory, to guard warriors and travelers, and to save women in childbirth. He also is said to deliver children in hades, who are forced to pile up pagodas of pebbles only to have them knocked about by demons. Hence, it is customary to pile pebbles on the idol of Jizo, lest he forget. Patroness of the Little Ones. Another lover of children is the goddess Kishibojin. Originally she is 1 Many Gods 103 said to have been an ogress who devoured one baby a day. Converted by Buddha she now atones for her past misdeeds by helping the children. Pomegranates are offered to her because this fruit is said to have the odor of the flesh of a child. The Healer Fudo. Fudo, whose image has a back- ground of flames, heals diseases. Near Wakamatsu, under a beautiful waterfall, is a shrine dedicated to a Fudo, who is said to have the power to heal the eyes. On the festival day crowds go to this shrine to offer their homage to Fudo, bathing their eyes in the cascade and wiping them on a few dirty towels hanging there, which, no doubt, reek with germs. One night the writer ac- companied by a Christian Japanese oculist of the city, visited the place and found an ignorant woman, who had come many miles carrying on her back a child that was going blind. The oculist begged her to let him treat the eyes for nothing; but the woman refused the offer, unable to understand. anything so disinterested, and afraid of some dark design behind the apparent sympathy. She spent the night burning candles in honor of Fudo. The oculist said sadly:"The child will lose its eyes, but I could save them.” . Time would fail us if we tried to describe popular idolatry in Tohoku; for there seems to be a god for every purpose imaginable. Lessons Learned from Buddhism. 1. Need of Salvation. Buddhism has impressed upon people the need of a spiritual salvation. To be sure, this is not so much sal- vation from personal sin as from eternal misery, but it means a great deal that the need is felt. 104 , 10110nuTohoku, the Scotland of Japan 2. Equality of Men. Whatever democratic spirit the Japanese have, comes largely from Buddhism. Especially the Shin sect, in opening the way of salvation to all believers and abolish- ing the distinction between clergy and laity by giving up the prohibition of the marriage of priests, has had a powerful influence in this direction. 3. Importance of Sacrifice. The readiness of the people to sacrifice themselves in a cause that appeals to them is due to the influence of Buddhism. To be sure, the conception of sacrifice is oft- en grotesque, as when funerals are celebrated in honor of horses or dogs, who have unconsciously given up their lives in the military service. But admiration of sacrifice is a trait that brings the people very near the Kingdom. A Christ-like Hero. The story of Sakura-Sogoro, of a rural district in the province of Shimosa, east of Tokyo, is one of the most beautiful and Christ-like in- stances of sacrifice for a people to be found in history. When the peasants of the district of which he was the head were threatened with starvation and death on account of the tyrannous taxes imposed by the feudal lord, Sakura resolved to appeal directly to the Shogun at Edo (now Tokyo), though terrible death was the pen- alty for such presumptuous action. He succeeded in calling the attention of the government to the matter and delivering his people, but he and his whole family were crucified and suffered a most horrible death. The spirit which was shown by Sakura before his death was ad- mirable; but the story goes that after his death his ghost inflicted exquisite torments on his persecutors. Defects of Buddhism. One must admire the gentle Many Gods 105 merciful Buddha, but his premises were wrong and history shows that his system in the long run fails. 1. Multiplication of Gods. The fundamental error of his Indian philosophy is the failure to distinguish clearly between God and the world. If the world is God and everything is divine, then anything may be a god or buddha. A great scholar has said, "Pantheism in theory means polytheism in practice.” So Buddhism has become, as Dr. Schneder says in his mono- graph on the subject, “the most elaborate system of idolatry in the world.” 2. Degradation of Men. Moreover, the denial of the one free personal God in- volves the denial of the worth of human personality, and the soul becomes an evanescent bubble floating on the ocean of existence. The notion that the same thing may blush in the cherry-blossoms at one time and at another appear as a man cheapens humanity and is demoralizing. 3. Weak Sense of Sin. In a system of thought in which God is the world and everything is God, there can be no proper sense of sin. Japan lacks the vision that was given to the prophets of the Old Testament, of a holy and just God, and, there- fore, penitence cannot be very real or deep. 4. Tendency to Suicide. To a Japanese self-murder seems to atone for any wrong and wipe out any disgrace. Especially common is the double suicide of lovers (shinju), the idea being that those who cannot live together in the present life may, if they die together, be united in the next stage of existence. 106 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan 5. Lack of Interest in This Life. To a Buddhist, religion is chiefly a matter of preparing for the next world. The ambition of the average man is to succeed in his business, acquire a competence, and retire at the age of about 45, in order that he may spend the rest of his life in religious devotion. It is a common saying that religion is for those who earn more than they need to live. 6. Indifference to Morality. Buddhism is not a positive moral force. A writer in the Japan Evangelist tells of an interview that he had with a young Buddhist. “By religion I mean something that produces peace of mind in the midst of conditions as they are.” The writer inquired: “Do you mean that your religion makes no demand for the reform of personal and social morals?” The reply was immediate and clear: “My religion has nothing to do with morals, it is pure religion.” “What about intemperance and prostitution?” “According to circumstances they are necessary and proper. In fact, my chief objection to Christianity is that it always brings up just such issues, which have no connection with religion.” 7. Deception of the Common People. One of the worst indictments to be brought against Buddhism is its deliberate insincerity toward the ignor- ant. It is for this reason that the missionary, after he has preached, may be asked by an educated man: “I have heard and enjoyed the sermon. Now please tell me what Christianity really is, what you really believe.” A Religion of Despair. In the history of Buddhism there are some beautiful chapters, but this religion does not deal thoroughly and resolutely with the evil that is Many Gods 107 in the world. Christianity, while fully aware of the enormity of that evil, boldly attacks it with serene con- fidence in final triumph. “This is the victory that hath overcome the world,our faith.” Buddhism seems to have no will to overcome, it rather tries to escape. Its spirit is well represented by the story of the saint whose mummy is the glory of a certain temple in Sakata. This man, it is said, fled from society and lived a life of penance in the mountains, eating such things as the bark of trees. On account of his holiness and his extraordinary diet, after death, his body did not decay, but naturally dried up. Hence, his mummy is worshipped. How can a religion that cherishes an ideal of this sort endue the Japanese with power to solve the problems that press upon them today? Gleams of the Sun of Righteousness IV. GLEAMS OF THE SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS INTRODUCTION: Christian Influence Not Limited to Missionary Work. 1. Probability of Much Unrecognized Influence of Christianity upon Asia. 2. Jewish and Christian Influence Felt in China; Nestorianism. 3. Recognizable Christian Elements in Japanese Buddhism. A. “CATHOLIC” MISSIONS: 1. Roman Catholic: Xavier the Pioneer, Quick Success and Sudden Failure, Embassy Sent by Prince Date of Sendai to Rome, Persecutions in Tohoku and Elsewhere, Con- cealed 250 Years, Present State and Policy. 2. Greek Orthodox: Bishop Nicolai's Work Among the North- erners, Cathedral in Tokyo, Condition in Tohoku. B. PROTESTANT MISSIONS: I Cooperating: Three Principal Denominations, Differences, Union. a. Presbyterian-Reformed. (1) General History: Dutch Reformed, Northern Presbyterian, Union, Nihon Kirisuto Kyo- kwai, A Purely Japanese Church, Pastor Uemura, Board of Missions, Growth. (2) History in Tohoku: Mr Oshikawa, "German" and "Dutch” Missions, Present State. b. Congregationalist: Beginnings, Dr. DeForest's Work, Niigata Prefecture c. Methodist: Bishop Honda's Work, Present State. d. Baptists and Disciples: Pioneer Work, A Girls' School, Churches, Policy. 2. Exclusive: a. Episcopalians: Principles and Activities b. Seventh-Day Adventists. 3. Auxiliary: a. Oriental Missionary Society. b. Salvation Army. 4. Protestant Work in General: a. American, Reformed Type Predominant. b. Effect of Denominational Divisions. c. One Hymnal for All. CONCLUSION: Christianity Overcoming Shinto, Confucianism and Buddhism, Illustrations IV. GLEAMS OF THE SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS Twilight before Sunrise. The influence of the Christian religion is wider than its direct missionary work. Recently a Japanese student wrote to one of his teachers in our College at Sendai: “I think I shall give up the study of English literature. It is full of Christianity; I find it in every English book I read, and I don't want it." But he did not give up the study and today he is a Chris- tian. Likewise, Jewish and Christian influences have from early times filtered into China and Japan in spite of the great barrier of deserts and inhospitable lands placed by Providence between East and West. Unconscious Influence Probable. Kosala, the cradle of Buddhism, and Galilee, the cradle of Christianity, are little more than 2,000 miles apart. Alexander the Great made the connections as perfect as they could be made in the ancient world. The doctrines of Buddhism were not unknown to the scholars of old Antioch and Al- exandria when the Christian Church was first being es- tablished, and the fathers had to fight hard against here- tics, whose ideas of salvation were like those of Japanese Buddhists today. If eastern influences could reach the West, it is reasonable to assume that western influences reached the East. Greek art travelled far. The Im- perial House of Japan has in its possession today a bas- 112 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan relief brought by some missionary from India that is a good example of the Grecian (Bactrian) style of the eighth century of our era. Christian thought somewhat dis- guised could easily pass over the same trail. Jews and Christians in China. Jews settled at Kaifongfu, Honan, China, before the time of Christ, and their descendants are still to be found. There is nothing improbable in the tradition that Thomas the Doubter, one of the twelve Apostles, preached the Gospel at Pesh- awur in northwest India. The Emperor Justinian re- Nestorian Missions. The Nestorian Christians were active in China about the same time that Pope Gregory was sending the first missionaries to the heathen Angles and Saxons. In the Metropolitan Museum of New York may be seen a copy of the “Nestorian Monument," which was discovered in 1625 at Hsianfu, Shensi, China. It was erected in 781 and records in Syriac and in Chinese, how a missionary, named Alopen, began Christian work in that city in 635. We know that a Persian Christian physician, named Rimitsu, was attached to the Japanese Court in 739. Nestorianism had a good start in Asia. But, unfortunately, it was a weak type of Christianity. Like the Unitarians of today, the Nestorians were op- posed to emphasizing the divinity of Christ. It was for this reason that they were driven out of the Roman Empire and found a welcome first among the Parthians, who were enemies to Rome. In China they were friend- ly toward the Buddhists, and one of their priests helped to translate Buddhist scriptures into the Chinese language. The Chinese Nestorians were absorbed by the Buddhists, or the Mohammedans, and the last remnant was prob- ably incorporated in the Roman Catholic body. Gleams of the Sun of Righteousness 113 Christian Elements in Japanese Buddhism. One of the most interesting problems in Comparative Re- ligion is the question to what extent the more vigorous Buddhist sects of Japan were influenced by the Christian religion. It is known that Kobo, founder of the Shingon Sect, visited Hsianfu just at the time when Nestorian Christianity was most flourishing there. In the funeral liturgy of Shingon strange mystical words are used, among which are Abarakakia and Caulaucau. Students of the history of the Christian Church recognize these as terms employed by the ancient Gnostics of Antioch and Alex- andria. From these and other coincidences, Professor Arthur Lloyd in his “Creed of Half Japan” argues that among the elements that entered into Northern Buddhism, Christian influence may be traced. Professor Saeki of Waseda University of Tokyo, who is a Christian, has recently published a book entitled “The Nestorian Monument in China,” in which he declares that Chris- tianity is back of that type of Buddhism which preaches salvation by faith in a personal revealer and savior. It is curious that the savior Amida is not even named in Buddhistic literature before the first century of the Christian era, and it may be that Amida is, after all, only a pale reflection of the Christ. The Roman Propaganda. The missionary work of the Romanists was begun in the year 1530, when the Shogun Ashikaga-Yoshiharu was ruler of Japan. The great missionary, Xavier, a native of Portugal and a Jesuit, came with an assistant in 1549. He was ac- companied by two Japanese whom he had met abroad. Landing at Kagoshima, they began preaching, and it is said that in 1549, they baptized over 500 converts after 114 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan but two months' work. Their propaganda, often ac- companied with gifts of musical instruments, clocks, glasses, and even distribution of rice, made rapid progress among the people in Kyushu. Among their converts was Otomo, governor of the island. Encouraged by the Government. About the same time a general named Oda-Nobunaga, overthrowing the Ashikagas, was struggling to maintain his position at Kyoto, and it is said that he called to the capital the Portuguese missionaries and encouraged them, for the purpose of suppressing the Buddhists, who opposed him. He founded the cathedral sometimes called South Bar- barian Temple (Nambanji). After the assassination of Nobunaga, in 1582, Roman Catholic influence, which had prevailed all over the empire and had reached Waka- matsu and Sendai in the north, began to wane. At that time the number of missionaries was more than two hundred, and the believers over three hundred thousand. Political Intrigue. Military men of renown, like Konishi, were earnest believers. But there was much reason for the suspicion that in that age of confusion and revolution some of the prominent converts were moved by the desire to get assistance from western nations in their ambitious endeavors to surpass their rivals and rise, perhaps, to the highest position in the empire. The next over-lord became more and more suspicious of those who courted the Spanish and the Portuguese, and Toku- gawa-Ieyasu, his successor, founder of the long line that ruled Japan up to our own times, finally in 1614, forbade the profession of Christianity altogether. Mission of the “King” of Tohoku. The greatest military chieftain that North Japan ever produced was Gleams of the Sun of Righteousness 115 as the no 1613 he al, meaning the the one-eyed Date-Masamune, born in the country near Fukushima, a very unpromising youth, who by his force of character quickly made himself the master of all the north and built a castle-town which is now the largest city north of Tokyo,-Sendai. He called himself the king of the country of O, as the north is often called, 0, or Oku, meaning the interior or the back part. In 1613 he sent an embassy to the Pope of Rome and the King of Spain. Japan Almost Christian. What his motive was may be inferred from passages of his letter to the Pope: "I have received these teachings into my heart and upon examining them have seen that they are true and salutary. I would not hesitate to profess them openly if certain affairs had not hindered and invincible reasons prevented my doing so. But although, personally, I am for the time being held back, I desire that my subjects at least shall be Christians.” “I have learned that my kingdom is not far removed from the kingdoms of New Spain, which form part of the domains of the very powerful king of Spain, Philip. It is for this reason that in the desire to enter into relation with him and with his Chris- tian states I keenly desire his friendship, and I have no doubt of obtaining it if you assist me with your authority, as I humbly beseech you to do, conjuring your Highness to undertake this task and bring it to an end, above all be- cause these kingdoms of New Spain are the necessary route for the religionists sent by you into our kingdom.” Father Sotello, who went with the envoy, Hasekura- Rokuemon, in interpreting his speech, as reported by the Venetian Ambassador, made him say that his king, Date, being next in power and dignity to the Shogun, 116 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan would endeavor to supplant him, and then he would not only declare himself a Christian, but would compel all other princes in his country to do the same. T sons, departed in 1613 and returned in 1620. Hasekura was baptized at Madrid. He was, of course, royally received. The lineal descendants of Date still possess souvenirs of this great journey, including crucifixes and images, a portrait of Pope Paul V and a beautiful Latin document giving the freedom of the city of Rome to Hasekura. But when the embassy returned the whole situation had changed. Hasekura died in disgrace. Date was forced to persecute the Christians. But it is said that he managed to shield many who were of the samurai class. Persecution in Tohoku. In all parts of the North examples were made of those who stubbornly refused to abjure their faith. There are detailed accounts of the martyr-deaths of native Christians at Sendai, Mizusawa, Morioka, Hirosaki, and elsewhere. Some perished in a We have space for but one of these stories, narrating a martyrdom that occurred in Tsugaru (Hirosaki): “A physician whose baptismal name was Matthias, who had graduated at a Christian school in Kyoto, sent a letter to his friend Antonio, saying that he and his companions saw the Lord coming down from heaven and heard Him say that they should be put to death on Friday. Mat- thias exhorted a man and his wife to be converted and baptized them. When he died these converts were put to death with him. Anna, wife of Matthias, regretted very much that she could not join in the martyrdom and Gleams of the Sun of Righteousness 117 earnestly entreated the Virgin Mary. To her satis- faction her prayer was heard and she was summoned by the officials, on the ground that she was forgotten when the arrests were made. She was then taken round the streets, as the custom was, and was burned to death. She died after much pain and suffering. Believers of other religions seeing her courage were greatly moved and admired her, saying that her conduct was quite super- human.” A Typical Martyrdom at Sendai. In 1623 a com- pany of Christians at Sendai, including a Spanish priest, were bound naked to stakes driven in the middle of a pool, exposed to the raw wind of a cold February after- noon. They were compelled again and again to immerse themselves in the water. As night came on, a snow- storm set in and the water of the pool slowly froze. The Spanish father was the last to die. Their bodies were cut to bits and thrown into the river. Absolute Extermination. In all parts of the em- pire persecutions of the most fiendish description were devised by the government to extirpate the “Kirishtan” (Christians) and “Bateren" (Portuguese “padres,” or fathers). Probably every one who reads these lines has heard of the edict: "So long as the sun warms the earth, let no Chris- tian be so bold as to come to Japan, and let all know that if King Philip himself, or even the very God of the Christians, or the great Shaka (Buddha), contra- vene this prohibition, they shall pay for it with their heads.” Causes of the Reverse. The failure of the Roman Catholics was plainly due to their appealing to low mo- 118 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan Toh I tives and becoming involved in political intrigue. It is said that the Dutch, who hated the Spanish and the Portuguese, were active in denouncing their rivals, and helped with guns when the last of the rebels were slaugh- tered at Shimabara in 1638. The destruction of the Christians, who must have included some of the very best material of the Japanese nation, meant an irreparable loss to the country. But in the midst of all the dreadful deeds of men, the purposes of Providence were accom- plished. It was not the will of God that the Pacific and bordering countries, including America, should be domin- ated by a Roman Catholic Japan. At the very same time that Christianity was prohibited by Ieyasu, the English colonists began their settlement of the Atlantic Coast of America. Wonderful Survivals. On February 24th, 1873, after 259 years, the notices prohibiting Christianity were removed. During the period of persecution, though no stone was left unturned by the government to discover any secret Christians, there were whole communities that escaped notice. Especially in the vicinity of Naga- saki, at the southwestern end of Japan proper, were such Catholic communities found. In the single district of Uragami, three thousand believers were discovered. Reverend H. H. Cook found a similar small community in the mountains between Yamagata and Miyagi Pre- fectures. In some instances Christian images had been secreted in the village shrines. Baptism was practiced, but the people had no Bibles and their Christianity was little more than a tradition. The Roman Church in Tohoku. The work of the Roman Church in Japan is mostly in charge of mission- Christian Leaders Who Have Influenced Tohoku Center : Hasekura-Rokuemon, XVII Century Upper Row : Nicolai (Russian-Greek), Jacquet (French-Roman), DeForest, Honda Lower Row : Uemura, Yamamuro Types of Japanese Christian Faces The bearded gentleman resembles the Ainu (aboriginal race); the one with mustache is pure Samura ; the young man is of the Korean race, and the one with family is a Japanese of Chinese ex- traction. Gleams of the Sun of Righteousness 119 aries from France, though there are a few from Germany and from Spain. The members are said to number 75,983, of whom 52,914 are in Kyushu, the southern island. In North Japan there may be as many as 3,000. Here the work was begun in 1874. There are about twenty foreign priests, and these are evenly distributed among the seven prefectures. Sisters conduct a girls' school in Sendai and another in Morioka. There are also dispensaries in these two cities. Policy of the Romanists. The Romanists aim to get families rather than individuals. Whereas the Protest- ants last year baptized 10,345 adults and 1,049 children, the Romanists report that they baptized 784 adults and 2,539 children. The contrast is striking. The statistics of membership on the Roman side include considerable dead wood; but the rolls of the Protestants are carefully pruned and usually include only those who attend church and make regular contributions. One interesting fea- ture of the policy of the Romanists is that they do not ordain a Japanese to the priesthood, unless he is a Christ- ian of the third generation, that is, he has had Christian parents and grandparents. A Great Russian Missionary Japan is neighbor to Russia, and, therefore, naturally was early in touch with Russian Admiral Golownin, while voyaging in Japanese waters, was captured and imprisoned at Matsumae, Hokkaido. Afterwards his diary was published and fell named Nicolai Kasatkin. This Nicolai, as he is common- ly called, became an extraordinarily successful missionary to the Japanese. He was descended from a line of priests I 20 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan and belonged to a family of royal origin. When a call was sent for a chaplain to serve the Russian consulate at Hakodate, Hokkaido, he promptly accepted the position and, in 1860, entered upon a long and dangerous journey through Siberia to Japan. His position at Hakodate was not an arduous one and he devoted himself to the study of the Japanese language. At that time Christian- ity was still prohibited under the severest penalties. But when the way was open Nicolai was ready to preach in Japanese. Nicolai and the Samurai of Sendai. At the time of the war of the Restoration many of the warriors at Sendai fled to Hokkaido. They were mostly men who had studied at the Yokendo, a famous school in Sendai. When they arrived at Hakodate, in 1869, they readily came under Nicolai's influence and accepted the faith. This is the reason why the Greek Church is relatively strong in Sendai and in the country north of that city. The Greek Cathedral in Tokyo. Nicolai later took up residence in Tokyo. With the assistance of the Rus- sian legation, he obtained a magnificent site on Surugadai, one of the highest points in the city, and built upon it a cathedral which is the most imposing Christian edifice in the empire. Adherents of all religions may be found among the worshippers, who are attracted by the wonder- ful music and the beauty of the liturgy. The Greek Church in Tohoku. Archbishop Nic- olai, who died in 1912, was a very hard worker and most of the time carried his burden entirely alone. Among his followers are to be found some admirable Christians; but, as a force in religious education, the Church has not been efficient, for lack of missionary teachers from abroad. CS Gleams of the Sun of Righteousness. 121 Many of the believers are very ignorant, and it may not be too harsh a judgment of some of them to say, that they have merely exchanged one idolatry for another. There are now in the Greek Orthodox Church in Tohoku, 76 churches and 4,361 members in 1,889 families. As in the Roman Church, the family is made the center of attention in evangelistic effort. In the year 1916, 100 adults and 92 children were baptized. The contributions averaged fifty-two cents a member, as compared with $1.40 in our Tohoku Mission. Various Protestant Missions. The Protestant bod- ies that have done the most aggressive work in the North in recent years are the Tohoku Mission of the Reformed Church in the United States, the Mission of the American Episcopal Church, and the Oriental Missionary Society. These represent three classes of Protestant missions, which we may call the co-operating, the exclusive, and the auxiliary. The co-operating missions stand for churches that, whatever their difference may have been in the lands where they had their origin, in their work among the Japanese emphasize the one message that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth,” and they regard any body that organizes churches on the same basis as belonging to the one Church of Christ. The exclusive missions regard other Protestant bodies as not belonging to the true Church; refuse to work with them, and often try to make proselytes of their members. The missions that we call auxiliary, in contrast with the exclusives, go to the other extreme; put more stress on the widest possible proclamation of the Gospel than on the establishment of regular churches, and do a great deal of work that helps the co-operating missions. I 22 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan Three Chief Protestant Churches. The great majority of the Protestant Christians in Japan belong to the co-operating missions, and of these the chief are the Presbyterian-Reformed, the Congregational and the Methodist groups. The numbers of regular members of the largest bodies in the empire are as follows: Presbyterian-Reformed ... (Japanese, 29,519; Formosan, 6,655; Korean, 64,914) Congregationalist......... .. 39,521 (Japanese, 19,521; Korean, 20,000) Methodist..... ... 32,097 (Japanese, 14,089; Korean, 18,008) Episcopal ........ 7,004 Salvation Army..... 6,460 • 13,579 .................................... ......................................... Total..... ..... 199,749 (Japanese, 90,172; Formosan, 6,655; Korean, 102,922) So the three largest groups comprise 86 per cent of all the Protestant Christians in the empire, or 70 per cent if the Japanese only be reckoned. Denominational Differences Slight. These three largest groups differ among themselves in regard to the government of the churches. The Congregationalists, as the name implies, have no form of central govern- ment that controls the local congregation, assuming that where the Spirit of Christ is active discipline may be com- mitted entirely to the members of the congregation. The Methodists, on the other hand, are thoroughly organized and the discipline is very effective. The Re- formed take a middle course, controlling the local congre- gations and their ministers by means of a classis, or presbytery, consisting of representatives of the churches in the district. In America there are other differences Gleams 123 ms of the Sun of Righteousness usness between these denominations, but in Japan, in all matters except the government of the congregations, they heartily agree, and there is no reason why they should not ulti- mately be united in one Japanese Christian Church. Real Co-operation. Between the co-operating mis- sions "comity” is observed. That is, care is taken not to overlap. When one mission has begun work in a small town, other missions stay out. Of course, in a city, or a large town, where there is room for several churches, and more work than one church can well man- age, several denominations may enter. The co-operating missions in such a city show their sense of their unity in Christ, by holding union prayer meetings and working together in frequent united evangelistic campaigns. The Reformed Churches in Tohoku. For the Protestants the Reformed Churches have done pioneer work in Tohoku, and their influence has been steadily in favor of co-operation and union. We will glance at their history in the empire as a whole. The Dutch Reformed Church. While Japan lived in seclusion and forbade all intercourse with the rest of the world, an exception was made in favor of the Dutch, who were allowed to do a little trading at Nagasaki. So it was natural that when the country was opened, the Dutch Reformed Church should feel especially interested. In 1859, they sent Guido Fridolin Verbeck, one of the great missionaries in the history of Christianity. - Born and educated in Holland and growing up as a young man in America, he had not only remarkable scholarship, but also just the qualities that were needed for successful work among the Japanese in those critical times. He was trusted adviser of the government and was practi- I 24 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan cally the founder of the Imperial University. But he was not the only able missionary sent out by the Re- formed Church in America in those early days. The educator, Dr. S. R. Brown, gathered about him in Yoko- hama some of the brightest young men in the country and trained them to become the leaders of several of the Christian denominations. As an evangelistic missionary, Rev. James H. Ballagh, who still lives and works at Yokohama, has also been very influential. Dr. Ballagh, early in 1872, organized the first Protestant Christian Church in Japan, the Kaigan (Seashore) Church of Yoko- hama. Union With Presbyterians. A Presbyterian med- ical missionary, Dr. J. C. Hepburn, had come to Yoko- hama with the first Dutch Reformed missionaries, and by 1873 there was a Presbyterian Church in Tokyo. In 1877, a number of Japanese Reformed and Presby- terian congregations united under one classis, or presby- tery. The “Japan Christ Church.” The Japanese Church formed by the union of the congregations estab- lished by various Reformed and Presbyterian missions is called Nihon Kirisuto Kyokwai. The first word, Nihon, is the same as Nippon and means Japan. (In the old days the two Chinese characters that make up the name, Japan, namely, the character for sun and the character for origin, were pronounced by some, Nihon, and by others, Jipan. So Nihon and Japan are the same name, meaning "sunrise.") The word Kirisuto means, of course, Christ, while Kyokwai is Church. The reason why this body is called “Japan Christ Church" is that, when the union was consummated, it was not at Gleams of the Sun of Righteousness 125 all the intention to limit it to the Reformed and Presby- terian churches. Indeed, it seemed for some time quite certain that the Congregationalists would be included; but Mr. Niishima, head of the great school of the Congre- gationalists at Kyoto, called Doshisha, seemed to be afraid that a synod might be dangerous to his school, so that finally the united church included only congre- gations of Reformed and Presbyterian affiliations. The bodies connected with the Nihon Kirisuto Kyokwai are the missionary organizations of the Church of Scotland, the American Presbyterians, North and South, the (Dutch) Reformed Church in America, the (German) Reformed Church in the United States, and a body called the Union Mission, supported by ladies of New York and maintaining a Bible Women's Training School in Yokohama. There are today five Classes in Japan proper and four Classes in other parts, namely, the Classes of Hokkaido, Taiwan, Chosen, and Manchuria. A Sovereign National Church. The name of the Church is cnough to indicate its strong Japanese, nation- alistic spirit. Its leaders have been very particular to have Christianity presented to the people as a Japanese, not an American, institution. Ten years ago there was much agitation over the question of the relation to be established between the Nihon Kirisuto Kyokwai and the American denominations that send missionaries to help its work. The Presbyterian Church, North, and the Reformed Church in the United States have cheerfully recognized the authority of the native church and made arrangements to place the work of their missionaries formally under the supervision of its General Board (Somukyoku). While the Roman Catholics, the Episco- 2 126 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan palians, the Salvation Army, and similar bodies are in organizations of international scope, controlled largely by men who are not of the Japanese nation, the Nihon Kirisuto Kyokwai is purely national, and the missionaries take the attitude of helpers and not in any sense of mas- ters. The (Dutch) Reformed Church in America and the Presbyterian Church, South, have not been willing to concede so much, so that congregations organized by their missionaries are recognized as affiliated with, but not fully belonging to, the Nihon Kirisuto Kyokwai. A Great Japanese Leader. The leading man of the denomination is Mr. Uemura, who has since the begin- ning of his ministry presided over a church in Tokyo that he founded, with some assistance from Dr. J. P. Moore of the Reformed Church in the United States. It is now called the Church of Fujimi Street (Fujimi means Fuji-seeing, and refers to the fact that from this street the noted Mt. Fuji can be viewed). This church is, no doubt, the strongest and most influential in Tokyo, very prominent people belonging to its membership and its services being thronged by visitors from all parts of the country. Mr. Uemura is also editor of a paper entitled Gospel News (Fukuin Shimpo), which is one of the best religious weeklies in the world, and is the foun- der of the Shingakusha, a theological seminary, which is conducted under purely Japanese auspices and is very successful. In theology Mr. Uemura is conservative. He seems to have a little impediment in his speech and his preaching is not readily understood, even by his own countrymen; but his influence is great and his writings are clear and forceful. The Native Board of Missions. The most aggressive Gleams of the Sun of Righteousness 127 work among the Japanese in the colonies is in charge of the Board of Missions of the Nihon Kirisuto Kyokwai. The work in Niigata Prefecture, which is a strongly Buddhistic region, is entirely in charge of the Japanese Board, so far as this church is concerned; and there is also a Japanese Woman's Missionary Society that sup- ports two mission-churches on the Island of Sado, in the Sea of Japan, near Niigata." Prosperity of Nihon Kirisuto Kyokwai. Not only the Board of Missions, but also various other activities of the united church are now committed to a central office called Somukyoku, in Tokyo, and the interests of the church as a whole and particularly 'of its missions are attended to by a staff in the office and two capable travel- ing secretaries. In 1901 the communicant members of the Nihon Kirisuto Kyokwai numbered about 10,000, as did also those of the Congregationalist, the Methodist and the Episcopal groups at that time, the four being of about equal strength. But no other group has grown so fast as this. The church as a whole increases about 100 per cent every ten years. Beginnings in Sendai. The work of the Nihon Kirisuto Kyokwai in Tohoku was begun by Mr. Oshikawa, a pupil of Dr. S. R. Brown, and a devoted evangelist. He was first associated with a Scotch Presbyterian medical missionary in the city of Niigata, named Dr. Palm. This city was one of the open ports established by treaty, so that it was possible for foreigners to dwell and work there before they could be admitted into other parts of Tohoku. There was another young man in the service of Dr. Palm, named Yoshida-Kametaro, a native of the country near Ishinomaki, east of Sendai, who persuaded 128 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan Mr. Oshikawa to undertake an evangelistic tour on the east side. When Niigata was destroyed by a great fire the two removed permanently to Sendai. They preached at the risk of their lives, but the response was immediate, and in 1881 a flourishing congregation was established. An old Hongwanji Temple on a back street in the center of the city was offered for sale and the little congregation managed to purchase it. Immediately afterwards the authorities of the city decided upon the location of the railroad station in that vicinity, and the property of the congregation, called Nibancho (Second Street) Church, now stands upon one of the city's broadest avenues and is exceedingly valuable. Founding of Tohoku Mission, 1885. Mr. Oshikawa needed help and, one day in 1885, hearing that a mission- ary named Hoy, sent by the Reformed Church in the United States, was expected soon to arrive at Yokohama, went to invite him to come to his assistance. Mr. Hoy did so. Mr. Schneder and others followed. These men founded North Japan College, a noted institution, of which more will be told in a later chapter. The Re- formed Church is the only Christian body that has an educational institution for young men of academic and higher grades in all the country north of Tokyo. In the early days this school served as the occasion for the introduction of Christian missionaries. Before 1899 Japanese law did not allow Americans to reside in the interior, only in the open ports. Dr. Hoy, Dr. Schneder, and other missionaries who lived in Sendai before 1899, had passports stating that they were engaged by Mr. Oshikawa to do school work. Mr. Oshikawa afterwards went into politics, sincerely believing that he could do தொமாமார் anani Nibancho Church and Theological Seminary, Sendai Fukushima Church and Sunday School (A permanent property that cost $5,000) Gleams of the Sun of Righteousness 129 more for the Christian cause as a statesman than as an educator. He is at present a member of the Japanese Parliament. The Reformed Church at Morioka. About the same time that Dr. Hoy went to Sendai, the sister Re- formed Church began work in Morioka. The pioneer missionary was Rev. E. R. Miller. Mrs. Miller had been, before her marriage, Miss Mary Kidder, the first single lady to go as missionary to Japan. Mr. and Mrs. Miller, besides laying a good foundation for the church at Morioka, were also pioneers in the work of preparing suitable literature for Sunday School pupils. Transfer to the Tohoku Mission. In the Japanese language the distinction between the official names of the two Reformed Churches is not clear. So the people have continued to use the old names, calling the Mission at Sendai "German" Reformed and the one at Morioka “Dutch” Reformed. In 1917, the “Dutch” Mission asked the “German” Mission to take over all their work in Iwate and Aomori Prefectures, in order that they might concentrate their forces on the southern island (Kyushu). The transfer is now being made. Since the “Dutch” Mission is henceforth to be at one end of Japan and the “German” at the other, let us hope that these un-American and un-Japanese designations may be dis- used and that we may hear only of the Kyushu Mission and the Tohoku Mission. So far as the Nihon Kirisuto Kyokwai is concerned, the central sections of Japan are in charge of the American Presbyterians, North and South, and they do no work in Tohoku. A Hundred Infant Churches. The North Japan College connected with the Tohoku Mission of the Re- We 130 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan formed Church, located at Sendai, with its staff of able Christian leaders and its loyal alumni scattered all over the North, gives this Mission a great advantage in the work of founding churches. Not including the workers of the Japanese Board of Missions in Niigata Prefecture, nor the teachers of the College at Sendai, there are in the field of the Reformed Church in Tohoku 46 Japanese ministers preaching regularly at 110 stations, while 58 other points are visited at least twice a year. There are 2,773 adult members, and 7,137 children in the Sunday Schools. A Great Congregational Missionary. As far back as 1879, a graduate of Doshisha named Yamazaki began work at Maezawa in Iwate Prefecture. President Nii- shima of Doshisha took a special interest in Wakamatsu, in Fukushima Prefecture, because his wife was a lady of that city, and the inquirers there were on account of this connection organized as a Congregationalist Church. In 1886, an arrangement was made with the authorities of Sendai for the establishment of a modern school with the understanding that three missionary teachers should be furnished by the American Board. The school (To- kwa Gakko) was disbanded in 1891, when the pressure of the revulsion against foreign ways began to be felt. But this experiment was the occasion of bringing into the North a noted missionary, John Hyde DeForest, who had had an experience of twelve years in Osaka. Dr. De- Forest blazed the trail for successful evangelists in Japan. He realized how important it was to love the people, to get their point of view and to introduce Christian doctrine to them gradually and not too abruptly. He is well known to Americans, having been for twenty-five years a Gleams of the Sun of Righteousness 131 correspondent of “The Independent," and author of the mission study book entitled “Sunrise in the Sunrise Kingdom.” It was largely due to him that the welcome given to Christian missionaries in the city of Sendai has been more cordial than anywhere else in Japan, and he had great influence in shaping the policies of the Tohoku Mission. In 1913, a magnificent church was built in Sendai in memory of Dr. DeForest. Two-thirds of the money required for its erection was contributed by grate- ful Japanese. Congregationalists' Faith in the Japanese. The Congregationalists have in general been very successful, because they put the responsibility for the work upon the Japanese themselves. The proportion of churches that are independent of financial aid from America is re- markably large. The congregations at Sendai and Waka- matsu have been self-supporting for many years. At the same time there is a weakness in this policy. A Congregationalist church is not under the control of a bishop or a presbytery. Consequently, if the pastor of an independent church fails to discipline members who are guilty of unchristian acts, but who contribute liberally, there is no authority to call him to account. Such con- ditions have in one case at least destroyed the fruit of much of Dr. DeForest's labor. Further, the American Board, having a widely extended work, and assured by men like Dr. DeForest that the time was near when the work in Japan might be turned over to the Japanese, failed to send reinforcements of young missionaries when they were needed. There is today no missionary of that body in Tohoku proper except Miss Bradshaw of Sendai, whose influence over the young men who congregate in that city to attend the schools has been wonderful. 132 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan Vigorous Work at Nügata. The work of missionaries from abroad in Niigata Prefecture is, at the present time, divided between the Congregationalists and the Episco- palians. The former seem disposed to withdraw from other parts of Tohoku and concentrate here. Some years ago a missionary of the American Board, named Mr. Pedley, purchased a dune of shifting sand on the edge of the low-lying and insanitary city of Niigata. Dirt had to be hauled to make it possible to raise grass. He planted locust trees and soon had turned the desert into a park. After a while some of the prominent people of the city began to build their residences beside his. The present missionary is Mr. Olds, whose wife is a daughter of the soldier-missionary, Colonel Davis. Mrs. Olds has for some time been inviting the ladies living near her home to come in once a week for a social chat, nothing being said, necessarily, about Christianity. The purpose was just to be social. But they could not resist the silent influence of the life of the missionary. Today the whole neighborhood is practically Christian. This is one way to do missionary work. Two Distinguished Northerners. Among the bril- liant young Japanese who studied in the early seventies under Dr. S. R. Brown and Dr. J. H. Ballagh were two who represented the foremost families, respectively, of Wakamatsu and Hirosaki, which were, next to Sendai, the most important cities of the North. Ibuka of Waka- matsu became the leader of the Presbyterian forces, and still presides over their educational institution (Meiji Gakuin) in Tokyo. Honda of Hirosaki became the head of the great Methodist school (Aoyama Gakuin) in Tokyo, and served as the first Japanese bishop of his Church until the time of his death in 1912. Gleams of the Sun of Righteousness 133, The First Japanese Methodist Bishop. Honda was a young Samurai of Hirosaki, in the district of Tsugaru, which is at the northern end of Tohoku. Like his grand- father and his father before him, he enjoyed the special confidence of his lord and the people. At the age of twenty he was sent to negotiate with the lords of Akita and Tsurugaoka with a view to uniting the forces of the North in opposition to the new government. Before his mission was accomplished, the rebellion had collapsed and the lord of Tsugaru had yielded. According to the code of the Samurai in these circumstances the only thing for young Honda to do was to commit harakiri, that is, to plunge his short sword into his abdomen (the seat of the soul), and kill himself by way of atonement and apology. It is said that the people of Tsurugaoka, who had learned to love him, provided a guard to escort him back to his own country, charging him to see to it that the young man be not allowed to do himself any harm. Afterwards Honda was baptized in the Reformed Church in Yokohama by Dr. Ballagh, in 1872. In Hirosaki a school was established for the education of the young Samurai of the clan and a former Methodist missionary named John Ing was employed, in 1874, to teach English there. Through his influence Hirosaki became a Metho- dist center and Mr. Honda, in 1876, became a Methodist minister. At the same time he entered politics. In 1885 he was president of the prefectural assembly. Then he visited America. Mr. Honda learned while in this country that the new constitution of Japan would forbid religious men to engage in politics, and he was in a strait betwixt the two. If he continued in politics, he was assured a brilliant future lay before him. Even Mr. 134 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan Oshikawa, who also was in America at the time, urged him to accept a seat in the Japanese Parliament that was offered him. He has told how at Pittston, Pa., he stood upon a bridge over the Susquehanna River pondering what answer he should give, when an express-train rushed upon him and his life was barely saved by his presence of mind as he lay flat on the edge of the ties over the river. This experience led him to consecrate his life to the min- istry. Few of his old friends could understand his choice, but God greatly honored him. As bishop of the United Methodist Church, formed by the Japanese Christians won through the work of the Methodist Churches of the United States and Canada, he did more than any other one man to make that body the power that it is in Japan- ese life today. The Methodist Church in Tohoku. Sixty Christian workers, men and women, came from Hirosaki, but Methodism has not been so influential in Tohoku as in other districts. The activities of this body in all parts of the world are so extensive that men and means have not been sufficient for the trying work in the North. The work is, however, prosecuted vigorously at many points in Aomori Prefecture. At Hirosaki there are three American ladies who conduct a girls' school. Each of the other prefectures in Tohoku has one, two or three Methodist stations. The missionary in charge resides at Sendai, where there is a self-supporting church, and there three American ladies engage in important philan- thropic work, at the same time helping the work at the outstations. Baptists of a Liberal Type. There was a time when we should have had to class the Baptists among the Gleams of the Sun of Righteousness 135 of Co-Chilsed, ther exclusive bodies; but in recent years, though some of them hold the principle of “close communion," that is, refuse to acknowledge as fellow-Christians in the full sense those who have not been immersed, there has been more and more of a disposition to grant other bodies full recognition, and Baptists have been foremost in pro- moting united enterprises. Brave Pioneers. The work of the Baptists in Tohoku is comparatively old. It was begun in 1877 by Rev. Thomas Pratt Poate, an Englishman working under the American Baptist Missionary Union. Living in Yoko- hama, he made long tours through the north country, sometimes being away from home three months at a time, travelling by coasting steamers, on the backs of pack horses, or on foot. In January, 1880, the first Baptist church of this region was established in the city of Mor- ioka. If we mistake not, Rev. E. H. Jones was the first missionary to reside in the city of Sendai, though Christian work was begun there by Mr. Oshikawa, and the Re- formed church in that city was established before Mr. Jones appeared. A Good Baptist School. The Baptist institution in Sendai, whose name is Character-building Girls' School (Shokei Jogakko), celebrated its 25th anniversary and dedicated a fine new recitation hall in the fall of 1917. The enrollment now reaches a hundred, and will be more as soon as the new building is available. Including the class of 1917, there are 136 graduates, all Christians, and all have received baptism except two, whose parents forbid it. Since 1896 Miss Annie S. Buzzell has been the efficient principal, building character in the lives of hundreds of girls, and in addition carrying on Bible 136 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan classes for young men, from among whom have come many Christians and some of the strong leaders of today. The matron of this school, Mrs. Uchida, was baptized forty-two years ago, in the days when Christianity was hated and feared. She is still active in Christian work. The teachers and students of this Girls' School work in eleven different Sunday Schools and thus the influence of the institution is spread far and wide. . Baptist Churches in Tohoku. The Baptists are doing good work along the coasts on the east side. They have eight churches, of which the one at Sendai is self- supporting, and 48 other places where regular preaching is done. There are 1260 members and 3442 Sunday School pupils. Three families and two single women are located at Sendai and Morioka. A kindergarten at Morioka has been helpful in opening the way for evangel- istic work. The "Church of Christ.” In the early days the Baptists did some work on the west coast also, but in 1884 that was passed over to the body known as the Church of Christ, or the Disciples. The center of the activities of the Disciples has been Akita, and a great deal has been done also at Sendai and at Fukushima, but it is now proposed to withdraw from these places. A Change of Policy. Much hard pioneer work has been done by the Baptists and the Disciples, but the re- sults have not satisfied them. The reason why is best ex- pressed in the words of their own leaders. Rev. W. Wynd says: “The Baptists in Japan were very slow to see the value of educational work. While other denominations were laying the foundations of Christian schools where future leaders were to be trained, the Baptists were pick- Gleams of the Sun of Righteousness 137 . . 11 ing up such men as they could get and enlarging their evangelistic fields without much consideration for future needs.” And Dr. Stephen J. Corey, who just returned to America from a trip through Tohoku, says: “A good school center is absolutely essential to efficient missionary work in a land like Japan.” The Exclusive Episcopalians. The Episcopalians in Tohoku are entitled Holy Catholic Church (Seikokwai). This is the name given to the body that resulted from the union of the missions of the Anglican Churches of Great Britain and Canada and the American Episco- palian Church. Missionaries of the Church Missionary Society who are at work in Hokkaido to the north of Tohoku and at some points in South Japan are liberal in their attitude toward other denominations; but the same cannot be said of the American Episcopalians who are in Tohoku. Their position seems to be that it is their mission to achieve the reunion of Christendom, and they show more regard for the Greek and Roman Catholics than for any other denominations. So far as Protestants are concerned, they officially decline to be bound by what is called comity, that is, the under- standing among missionaries that there shall be no compe- tition in places that are too small to justify the establish- ment of more than one church. Generally their clergy- men and laymen are forbidden to associate with Protest- ants in religious services or evangelistic work. What is said here does not apply to the Episcopalian Church in Niigata Prefecture, which is in charge of missionaries from Canada. An Energetic Church. The Episcopalians in To- hoku seem to have abundant resources and are carrying 138 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan out a comprehensive plan to establish themselves in principal cities covering the whole field. Their methods differ from those of the Reformed Church in that they do less preaching to the general public and abhor street preaching, but make much of altars, vestments, masses and the like. One admirable trait of the workers is their care of their scattered members. No matter where a member may live he is visited, and the sacrament is ad- ministered to him at regular intervals. The members number nearly one thousand. The Episcopalians have more evangelistic missionaries in Tohoku than any other body. Clergymen are placed at Sendai, Aomori, Niigata and Wakamatsu, and single women work also at Morioka, Hirosaki, Akita, Yamagata and Koriyama. A very efficient “Church Training School for Mission Women” is maintained at Sendai, with a kindergarten, and there are five kindergartens at other stations. The Seventh-Day Adventists. An exclusive sect that aims to win the other Christians over to their way of thinking is that of the Adventists, who appear at Waka- matsu and Fukushima. They so emphasize their peculiar doctrines that the Japanese among whom they work are apt to get the impression that the Christian religion is a matter of observing the Jewish sabbath and abstaining from certain kinds of food and drink. Valuable Auxiliary Work. An organization called the Oriental Missionary Society, about five years ago, decided it was their mission to place Christian literature in every house in the empire. In Tohoku, too, they have been carrying out this plan and have covered large sec- tions of the country. In some of the most remote dis- tricts among the mountains our missionaries have found that tracts have been distributed from house to house: This work is auxiliary to that of the regular churches. The society also does preaching on the streets after the manner of the Salvation Army, in a few cities and towns. The Salvation Army. In Tokyo and other great cities of Japan the Salvation Army is doing a work that deeply impresses the public. Its method is quite similar to that pursued in western lands. It has its military organization, its bands, its open air meetings, and its charitable activities. In Tokyo there are cheap lodging houses, hospitals, sanatoria, refuges for discharged criminals, rescue homes for fallen women, and the like. Its workmen's homes, of which there are three in the industrial section of Tokyo, in 1916 found daily employ- ment for more than 30,000 and permanent employment for about 10,000. Wherever the Salvation Army goes it is sure to get into conflict with the owners of the bad houses in which slave girls are abused, of whom hundreds have been saved. It is a part of the policy of the Army to derive most of its support from the country in which it works. This makes it somewhat dependent on older Christian organizations in fields where its work is still new. Last year $16,431 were raised among the Japanese. Recently the Emperor in recognition of the good work In Tohoku the Army is not yet strong, and has not begun social work of any account. Some criminals and prosti- tutes who appeal for aid are sent to its institutions in Tokyo. The Churches' Debt to the Salvation Army. As an aggressive, insistent, evangelistic agency the work of the Army is important and highly valued by our mis- 140 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan 1 sionaries. The best literature for distribution among the common people is that prepared by Mr. Yamamuro- Gumpei, whose little book, “The Common People's Gospel,” has for years been sold and distributed by tens of thousands. Mr. Kanamori-Tsurin is another popular speaker and writer enrolled in the Army. Originally he belonged to Doshisha, but in middle life became an employee of the government. He was engaged to lecture all over the country on the subject of thrift, encouraging people to save their money and not spend it foolishly, as they are so apt to do. At the same time he became worldly, and is said to have been guilty of acts not be- coming a Christian. But recently he has repented and thrown the whole force of his remarkable personality into evangelistic work. His method is to have Christians gather their relatives and friends in a meeting where he presents the Gospel and urges immediate decision. His work has given great impetus to a number of our churches. No Lutherans in the North. Speaking now of Protestant Missions in Tohoku generally, two interesting facts may be noted. One is that the missionaries are with hardly an exception all Americans. The other is that there are no Lutherans in Tohoku; most of them are in Kyushu, at the other end of the empire. Christian Unity. The question is often asked whether the Japanese are not confused by the multiplication of sects. There is no reason why this should be, unless the Christians call attention to their divisions by criticising one another in public. The Japanese are accustomed to denominational distinctions in their old religions, and these do not trouble them, provided the various congre- gations in a city preach the same Gospel and often get Gleams of the Sun of Righteousness 141 1 together for united prayer and effort. The large co- operating churches do this. It is safe to say that the Nihon Kirisuto Kyokwai would even adopt baptism by immersion, government by a bishop, observance of the seventh day, and so forth, if thereby the reunion of all Christians could be achieved. But it would be a mistake to yield to the contention that one who does not practice the same cannot be a true Christian. The Union Hymnal. Excepting the Episcopalian Church and the Salvation Army, all Christians use the same Hymnal, which was prepared in 1903 by a com- mittee representing the co-operating churches. In its preparation a leading part was played by the late Rev. T. M. MacNair, a Presbyterian missionary, who was classmate and friend of President Wilson. The tunes are nearly all borrowed from Europe and America, since the old native melodies would be incongruous, and there has not been time enough to develop native composers. But as harbingers of better things to come, two beautiful Oriental tunes are included, one Japanese and one Chinese. The Hymnal is one of the most popular books ever pub- lished in Japan, and its sale is not limited to Christians by any means. One who journeys over the land hears hymns sung and hummed in the most unexpected places, and there is many a story of a Japanese converted by hearing a hymn. Christianity Triumphant. Considering all the ob- stacles in the way, it is marvelous that the Christian religion makes the progress it does. There is no way of explaining the fact, but by recognizing that the Spirit of God is in it and that the heart of man is "naturally Christian." Let this chapter be concluded with a few 142 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan illustrations to show how Christianity displaces the old religions. A Crucial Test. At Shirakawa a certain druggist who had taken a leading part in building a shrine and a temple in that town, suddenly last year, surprised his friends by becoming a Christian. The cause was an attack of “spiritual agony” (hammon). In his distress it occurred to him that none of the priests of his acquaint- ance could give him real help. He inquired if there was a Christian minister of high character, was directed by a daughter to Pastor Sugai, and found peace. Fulfillment of Shinto. It is not surprising that Shintoists should readily become Christians, because, compared with Christianity, Shinto is like an empty shell. But it is a remarkable fact that the best material for the Christian ministry is often found among the descendants of priestly families. Miss Kawai, the dauntless secretary of the Y. W. C. A., is from a long line of priests that ministered at the Imperial Shrines of Ise. To give one of several examples from Tohoku, Pastor Tsuchida of Akita was born heir to the shrine in the village of Nagaoka, near Fukushima. "When that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away.” Jesus Wiser Than Confucius. The most respected citizen of the village of Yamaguchi, Fukushima Prefecture, a Confucian scholar, recently became a Christian. He had been greatly respected for his scholarship, and many a house in the district is decorated with specimens of his handwriting. He had always been a man of high moral character, so reliable that the government appointed him postmaster. In rural Japan, since the postoffice has Gleams of the Sun of Righteousness 143 charge of all mails, parcels, telegraphs and bank-accounts, the position is far more important and responsible than in America. The first impulse of his conversion came from a son who received baptism while he was a student at Wakamatsu. This angered the father greatly at the time, but the later conduct of his son was so exemplary that he was led to believe in the power of the Gospel. Suddenly a trusted clerk in the postoffice embezzled a large sum and fled, leaving word that the old man knew all about the matter. He was, in fact, entirely innocent. The police took him, however, and kept him in jail at Wakamatsu for a while. It can be imagined how dumb- founded and enraged he was. From the jail he sent to the missionary for a New Testament; he asked for one in large letters, because the cell was dark. · He read it through in nine days, hating the young man all the time. He read it through in seven days, still hating. He read it again in five days, and again he read it. Its spirit soothed him; he found peace; he forgave the offender; he felt that this experience was of God. When his inno- cence was established and he was released, he had be- come an humble child of God, ready to stay in jail all his life if God so willed. He said to the missionary after- wards: "I was so happy that I actually gained in weight while I was in prison.” Christ Stronger Than Buddha. It is harder to win a devout Buddhist, but not impossible. A student of the theological seminary of the Sodo Sect in Sendai, a sincere young man named Sakano, had spent eight years in special preparation for the priesthood. But he would at times steal away from the temple to hear Christian preaching, until at last he was convinced and asked for 144 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan baptism. It was so hard to believe that a man of his type was really converted that for a while he was under suspicion as a spy; but his sincerity has been proved over and over. He is now a pastor, the only Christian worker among 30,000 people of his native district of Watari. The welcome given him shows that he is an exception to the old rule that “a prophet hath no honor in his own country.” Victory Over the Gates of Hades. The wife of a certain member of Parliament, living in Sendai, was in a hospital, not expected to live longer than a month. A lady missionary of Sendai thus describes her experience: “For five years I had tried to bring her to Christ. She refused many times to see me. She was president of the Buddhist Society in Sendai and was well versed in Bud- dhism, being a graduate of the Higher Normal School of Tokyo. She had promised her mother on her deathbed that she would never leave Buddhism. Hearing that she was in the hospital, I went and asked if I might see her. The doctor said yes, but I must not speak to her because she was too low. So when I entered the room I said: ‘I would like to talk, but the doctors have forbidden it. I am going to pray for you.' I knelt by her bedside and prayed in English that the Lord would let her live long enough to be led to Him. A week later I visited her again. When I entered the room she looked up and said: "Why did you not come sooner? I have been waiting every day for you. Do you remember that prayer? That did me more good than all the medicine. For the first time I had a peace and quiet here (pointing to her heart) that was never there before. I want to feel it again. The doctors say I must die. I don't want to die. I am Gleams 145 eams of the Sun of Righteousness usness afraid to die. And what about my children?' I told her that to the Christian death was not the end, it was only the beginning of a new and most wonderful life. I sang of heaven to her and read to her of heaven. Before leaving I taught her like a little child how to pray. Three days afterwards, when I visited her, her face shone almost like that of an angel. I never saw a happier face in all my life. She said: 'I can hardly believe that I am the same person. How have I lived all these years without Jesus? I am no longer afraid to die. I am only praying the Lord to let me live long enough to lead my children to Him, then I want to go home. She lived five years longer, and was a power for Christ in the city. Her three daugh- ters are fine Christian girls.” The American Missionary at Work THE AMERICAN MISSIONARY AT WORK INTRODUCTION: Missionaries Needed, as Specialists, as Pioneers, Ur- gently Needed, as Assistants, not as Rulers. A. The MissionARY'S LIVING: Imitation of the Japanese Style Not: Wise, American Home Best. 1 Lot and House, Expensive. 2. Servants, Food, Fuel and Light, Clothes. 3. Salary. 4. Care of Children. B THE MISSIONARY'S PREPARATION: Language Study: 1. Hindrances to Mastery. 2. Use of Ancient Chinese, Cumbersome Method of Writing, Need of Reform. 3. Proficiency Possible. C. THE MISSIONARY'S WORK: as an Individual: 1. At Home: Helper, Correspondence, Visiting. 2. On the Road: Conveyances, Hotels: No Chairs, No Private Baths, Food, Bed, Little Rest. 3. Extracts from Missionary Diaries. D. THE MISSIONARY's Work: as Member of an Organization: 1. The “Mission”: Treasurer's Work, Secretary's Work, Boards and Committees. 2. The Larger Organizations. 3. Assignment, Distribution, Grouping. E. THE MISSIONARY's Rest: 1. Annual Vacation, Karuizawa, Takayama. 2. Furlough. CONCLUSION: Justification of the Expense. V. THE AMERICAN MISSIONARY AT WORK Need of Missionaries. It can readily be understood that the presence of American missionaries may be some- what offensive to a proud people like the Japanese. Indeed, we acknowledge that at best their activities are more or less embarrassing to the Japanese churches. Of course, a great deal depends on the tactfulness of the workers. But missionaries are pills, even though they are sugar-coated. They may be disagreeable and they may even be upsetting. The important question is: "Are they needed? Will the good far outweigh the harm?” Specialists Welcomed. We have seen that Japanese Christianity is well established. Probably even if mis- sionaries from abroad withdrew, the Church would still hold its own in the large centers. Some have been so impressed by the competence of the Japanese to evangelize their own countrymen that they have said that the work of the American missionaries is about finished, and that the only ones needed now are experts, capable of serving as advisers to the Japanese. In some lines of work, political, military, medical and industrial, the Japanese were at one time quite dependent upon their foreign ad- visers, but have gradually learned to dispense with them, except in a few cases where those who have highly spe- cialized are still employed. It is not strange that many 149 150 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan have believed that in religious work also only a few specialists are needed. All agree that in every Chris- tian educational institution missionary specialists are indispensable. Since the English language and literature are one of the most important elements in a liberal edu- cation for the Japanese, teachers of that language are, and probably always will be, in demand. There are also some subjects such as, for instance, Western History, which can be taught much more effectively by an American than by a Japanese. In the work of the churches also anyone can see how missionaries can give invaluable aid in such ways as developing congregational music, improving Sunday Schools and kindergartens, intro- ducing modern methods of social service, and so forth. Call for Pioneers. At a conference of Japanese Christian leaders, conducted by Dr. John R. Mott, in April, 1913, request was made for missionaries, “who have special qualifications for tasks that cannot at present be undertaken by Japanese,” and to "undertake pioneer evangelization.” At that conference there was quite a discussion in regard to this matter. Some of the Japa- nese leaders whose experience with missionaries had been limited, took the position that missionaries are not needed at the front. Other Japanese leaders took a diametric- ally opposite position. They seemed to feel that mission- aries make the best pioneers, and that it was regrettable that they had been so largely concentrated at head- quarters. The fact is that missionaries are needed, not only at headquarters, where they are least misunderstood and most influential, but also on the firing line, where their confidence and initiative make them really essential to the accomplishment of the evangelization of the Jap- * The American Missionary at Work 151 anese in this generation. The conference asked for many missionaries to devote themselves to the task of evangelizing the 80 per cent of the nation that has not yet been taught the Gospel, in the proportion of one to 60,000 of the population. At that rate, apart from the specialists in the schools and elsewhere, Tohoku needs 125. Urgency of the Need. The fact that the Japanese can run their own arsenals, hospitals, railroads, etc., without help from outsiders is no argument for the opin- ion that they need no assistance in the matter of religion. The point is that they have always cared for those ma- terial things, and they learned about them all they could, even before 1853, so that they were fully prepared to absorb quickly all the lessons in science that the modern world had to teach them; but the great majority did not care for true religion, and will not care if we do not use our influence upon them. Americans who doubt the need of missionaries for Japan do not know the greatness of the task, nor its difficulty, nor its urgency. They do not understand that the Christian forces have but scratch- ed the surface of the field, and that millions of the people are still untouched. They have not learned from history that Christianity has never yet, in any country, won a decisive and final victory over Buddhism, but has suffered more than one defeat. They do not see the present op- portunity and do not consider what a defeat in Japan would mean to America and to the world. Not Lordship But Service. At the same time those are quite right who contend that the missionary goes to Japan to do what the Japanese could not do without his aid. It is not his business to rule, but to help. The missionary who really succeeds is the quiet, patient, self- 152 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan effacing person who, so far as the native church is con- cerned, takes the attitude of an auxiliary, but in the special work assigned him is energetic and reliable. Wherever he works in this spirit the Japanese Christians beg that more missionaries of the same kind be sent. The People Not to be Americanized. There are too many Americans who assume that the aim of mis- sionary work is to Americanize the Japanese. They do not understand the cosmopolitan spirit of our religion. The Japanese, in their long history, have acquired certain traits which qualify them when imbued with the Spirit of Christ, to render a unique service to the other nations. It would be a loss to the whole world to have the people Americanized so as to efface the peculiar qualities which God has given to them. We, who have worked among them, believe that when they have once apprehended the Gospel, they may understand it and interpret it better than we of the West have ever been able to do. It is not only possible, but quite probable, that a Christianized Japan will bring to the aid of the Christian forces in America, a new appreciation, a fresh interest, that will have a decisive influence in the conflict between good and evil in our own land. We need to think of the missionary enterprise in international terms and not as narrow American provincials. The Missionary Not to be Japanized. Should the American missionary then try to become a Japanese in life and habits? No, his work would be less effective if he succeeded in making a counterfeit Japanese of himself. The people have made a careful study of all the nations of the world and they highly appreciate and respect the missionary as a representative American. Frankly, in A Missionary Residence Dr. and Mrs. DeForest in Their Home at Sendai. Now the Property of Our Japan Mission The American Missionary at Work 153 this regard, the average Japanese surpasses the average American. When Americans see a foreigner in strange garb displaying queer manners, the instant demand is that he should give up his oddities and become American- ized. There is a certain justification for this attitude because, as a nation, we are composed of descendants of immigrants and are, therefore, naturally impatient to see all foreigners assimilated. But the Japanese have such a strong national life and are so assimilated to one type that the presence of foreigners does not irritate them. They want the Americans among them to live as genuine Americans in order that they may from them learn how to enrich their own lives. The American Style Best for the Worker. Ex- periments have been tried in the way of imitating the native mode of life. All who have experience are prac- tically unanimous that the wisest policy for the American living in Japan is to live his own American life as nearly as he can. Japan has been called the “Missionary's Paradise.” While the climate is rather depressing, in the North at least, it is so much like that of our own coun- try, that the missionary who observes ordinary hygienic rules with extraordinary strictness, can, without great difficulty, maintain his health and efficiency. The people, too, are as courteous and considerate as they know how to be. But there is another side to this. There is a lack of stimulus in the physical atmosphere, so that one's nerves are quickly exhausted, and in the psych- ical atmosphere there is a certain tension which quickly drains one's vitality. The people with all their kindness are severe; they are so ceremonious, so sensitive, so am- biguous and so exacting. Experience has shown that a 154 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan quiet American home, a refuge in time of exhaustion, is essential, if the missionary is to endure as a worker. It would not be impossible for some to live in the Japanese style, but then the missionary would have no energy for anything but just living, or, rather, existing. Missionary Residence Site. In selecting a site for a residence, usually wherever possible, a considerable piece of ground is secured for a yard and garden. One reason is, that it is necessary to secure good sanitary conditions. If there are children, there must be a some- what secluded place where they may play. When they appear on the streets unattended they are so surrounded by people curious to observe them, that it is impossible for them to move freely or to play naturally. A family of well-behaved children is a great asset in work among the Japanese. They destroy suspicion and prejudice; for "one touch of nature makes the whole world kin.” But missionary children allowed to run the streets are quickly ruined. The average size of the lot may be a piece about 120 feet square. In the ordinary town or city, excepting Tokyo, such a lot can be secured for from $500 to $1,000. : Palatial Appearance. The pictures of missionary residences sometimes give the impression that they are large and magnificent. They look like mansions with conservatories. As a matter of fact, they are not so com- modious or so convenient as the residence of an average farmer in Pennsylvania or Ohio. A Japanese town is usually built on low land. The water in the ground is so near the surface that a dry cellar is impossible. In selecting a site the missionary picks out a comparatively high spot and sets his frame structure upon a high founda- The American Missionary at Work 155 tion in order to get away from the dampness. One other reason why the missionary's residence looks so big is that, in the hygienic type, the rooms are so arranged that everyone gets a large supply of sunshine, and glass is used as largely as possible. In America the climate is so dry and sunny that housewives lower the shades and try to keep out the sunlight. North Japan is damp and cloudy. The missionary who survives is the one that loves the sunshine and does not allow any of it to go to waste. Accordingly, when a photograph is taken from the south side the house seems very high and wide. It is not, however, so palatial as it looks. Moreover, in the case of an evangelistic missionary living out in the country, the house is not only a residence, but is, in a sense, an administration building, with at least one room used as an office. Where there are children another room is used as a school; for it is not feasible to have the children edu- cated in a Japanese school. Building Not Cheap. A house built in American style costs quite as much as in America. This is hard for some people to understand. Why should buildings be so expensive in a land where a carpenter earns, at best, but 40 cents a day? To illustrate, the missionary wants a hard, durable floor in his house, which can be scrubbed and kept clean. In a Japanese lumber yard there is no flooring. Indeed, there are no stacks of seasoned lumber. The custom is, when a house is to be built, to have trees cut and hauled in from the mountains. In building a Japanese house the wood is worked up while it is still green. It is hardly possible to secure any seasoned wood at a reasonable price. The missionary buys pine logs and has the flooring sawed up in the proper manner by 156 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan hand. If he wishes to avoid having great cracks in his floors as the wood dries, and is in a hurry, he must rig up some apparatus to steam the boards and dry them. Finally he learns that it is not only more satisfactory, but really cheaper, to buy pine flooring in Oregon and pay the freight over the Pacific, the duty at Yokohama, and other expenses with freight to destination. So it goes. With all the cheap labor, his house is likely to be rather more expensive than a similar building in America. Our missionary residences are, without exception, simple, frame, two-story buildings. Servants Abundant. While the personal services of the people are very cheap, yet commodities are dear. It astonishes Americans to hear that a servant may be employed at a salary of from $3.75 to $7.50 a month, the employer furnishing only room, fuel and light. The servant pays for his own food. This condition of things may not last long. Indeed, it is now becoming more dif- ficult to secure help. But in North Japan there is still a surplus of people who want jobs, and the missionary who knows how to deal with the people can usually find devoted servants who are glad to work for the wages stated. Considering how much it costs the Board to send a family across the Pacific and to maintain the force on the field, it surely would be foolish for a missionary and his wife to spend valuable time doing chores that any servant is glad to do for a pittance while they can be doing important work. Kinds of Servants. A large family may employ as many as four servants. Two is the usual number. A man may be hired to keep the grounds in order and run errands. If there is space enough for a garden, he may The American Missionary at Work 157 earn most of his pay by the proceeds in the form of vege- tables and fruit which he raises, and which cannot be obtained in the market of the town. The other helpers are usually women; a cook, a nurse, and a maid-of-all- work, who attends to the cleaning and laundering. Since the servants do not eat with the family, preferring their own Japanese diet, which is also cheaper than the Amer- ican, they spend a large part of their time each day pre- paring and eating their meals. It really takes two or three of them to do the work that would be accomplished by one American servant, in American conditions and with the usual conveniences. The salary of one servant may be saved by the economy in purchases effected. The missionary who buys directly must submit to over- charges, or waste his time dickering or jewing after the Japanese manner. High Cost of Living. Commodities, as has been in- timated, are very expensive. The missionary attempt- ing to live exclusively on the Japanese diet of rice and fish, would quickly lose either his health or his efficiency. Articles characteristic of American diet are apt to be more expensive than in America. When goods are imported, the freight, the duty and the dealer's profit, are added to the original price, so that one has to pay anywhere from 172 to 27/2 times the price, while Japanese substitutes sell at little less than the imported goods. When sugar sells in America for 3 cents a pound, Japanese sugar of a poorer quality costs 10 cents a pound, over one-half of which amount is duty and consumption-tax, collected by the government; for sugar is regarded as a luxury, not as a staple. A cake of soap costing 3 or 4 cents, can- 158 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan not be imported by the missionary himself for less than 9 cents, because the government regards white laundry soap as a luxury and collects a duty of 4 cents on every cake. Milk, which is almost without cream, because cows are fed largely on bean-refuse, has been costing 10 cents a quart. On the other hand, chickens and eggs are somewhat cheaper than in America. A missionary with a large family may be able to have some kind of fish, flesh or fowl four or five times a week, but cannot afford sweet desserts. The rule is to have a simple breakfast of fruit and cereal, an ordinary American meal at noon, and a cheap Japanese meal in the evening. These are the conditions which the American people are only be- ginning to face in consequence of the present war; but missionaries in Japan have been familiar with them ever since the war with Russia in 1904, after which the cost of living went up and stayed up. Since the present war began prices are, of course, still higher than those stated above. Fuel and Light. For fuel, only soft coal can be had, unless there is a supply of firewood which is brought down from the mountains in the spring freshets and sold by companies to the proprietors of breweries and bath- houses. Practically everywhere houses are lighted by electricity; for the Japanese have learned to take ad- vantage of their abundant water power. In the largest cities, gas also is available. Clothes. So far as clothing is concerned, a man, unless he is of a large size, can get fairly satisfactory goods in the town where he lives; for Japanese men buy a great deal of clothing of the American style. The case of wo- men is different. Except a few in the largest cities, Japan- 1 The American Missionary at Work 159 ese women prefer their native costumes. Consequently, the American woman must either buy at exorbitant prices or import at risk of losing heavily on misfits. Japanese children are often dressed in imitation of the foreign styles while they are still quite small, but so soon as they be- come six years old and must go to public school, boys and girls alike, dreading to look queer, wear Japanese gar- ments exclusively. So the missionary may be able, for instance, to buy almost anywhere overshoes for a little child; but must obtain from abroad everything needed for children between the ages of 6 and 14. These con- ditions make living very expensive. Salary. No matter who the missionary is, or how valuable his services are, he is paid according to a scale that takes account only of his actual needs. Quite re- cently the salaries of the missionaries in the Tohoku Mission have been raised. For a family, the salary is $1300 and is gradually increased to $1600, after twenty years of service. Single men and women receive from $750 to $900. For each child in the family $50 is added, and this allowance is increased to $200 at the age when the son or daughter must be sent away from home for education. Education of the Children. The great cross that has to be borne by the missionary with a family living out in the country is the lack of suitable educational facilities for the children. It is not feasible to give American children a regular Japanese education. The fact is that a thorough knowledge of the Chinese char- acters and a thorough knowledge of the English language can hardly be put into the same head. Experience shows that usually when one kind of knowledge goes in, the 160 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan other goes out. Now to give the child of a missionary a Japanese education and to fit him for Japanese life is Japanese are not disposed to let him in on the ground floor, so far as business is concerned. His color is against him and he is always treated as a stranger. On the other is best that he should have a thorough American edu- cation first. For these reasons the missionary's wife teaches her children at home as long as she can. When the child reaches the age of 15 or 16, it is necessary to send him to America. Such prolonged separation is very hard to bear. Recently, the situation has been somewhat eased by the development of the Grammar School for Foreign Children in Tokyo. The provision for higher grades in this school makes it possible for mis- sionaries to keep their older children near them for a longer time. The Board of Foreign Missions grants this institution an annual appropriation of $500. Language Study. We have noted the first great problem of the missionary's life, which is decent living. The second is acceptable speaking. One can hardly exaggerate the difficulty of the Japanese language. All things considered, it is undoubtedly the most difficult language in the world. It is now the rule that the new missionary must stay a year in Tokyo, studying in the Japanese Language School and, thereafter, take regular examinations until the prescribed course has been fin- ished. Difficulties of the Language. These are some of the reasons why Japanese is so difficult: 1. The order of thought is entirely different from ours. 尋五 ​と母はだいどころからょびました​。 おはなは ​. A Page from a Child's Primer 11 ~ SON~ 1 といひながら​、いそい​」 で行って見ると母は一 ​流しもとで​、まないた ​に魚をのせて​、さしみ ​をこしらへてゐます​。 IM 「My SIAH :: i 十九 ​God is no respecter of persons. Kami wa katayorazaru mono. は自らの ​神備ラサルモノ​| みるみたよらざるもの ​カミハカタョラサルモ ​ The same sentence written in five ways, in Roman letters, in syllabic let- ers as used in telegrams, in ordinary syllabic letters as used in poems and nymns, with Chinese characters for “God” and “partiality.” as written in Official documents and with the same as written ordinarily. The American Missionary at Work 161 For example, if I wish to say, "I ordered Taro to give the horse water before eating his dinner,” a literal transla- tion of the Japanese words would be: “Eating do before horse to water give way Taro to ordering put.” In translating a Japanese sentence, the line of least resis- tance is to begin at the conclusion and work back to the beginning. It costs a severe struggle to learn to think in Japanese. 2. In ordinary conversation, there are three sets of words, one set to be used in conversation with equals, an- other in speaking to a superior, and another in speaking to an inferior. 3. The conversational language is as different from the styles used in letters, newspapers, and books as the German dialect of Pennsylvania is different from the language of Goethe. 4. If one wishes to speak in such a way as to keep the respect of one's hearers, it is necessary to learn the ancient Chinese. Two Languages in One. In their writing, the Jap- anese use the classical Chinese characters, of which 6,- 000 are in common use. To illustrate, the figures 2, 3, 4 are Arabic ideograms. These figures are read dif- ferently according to the language of the person who sees them. So every Chinese symbol stands for some noun or verb, or other part of speech, and has a different name in every language. The Chinese pronunciation used by the Japanese is not the modern Chinese, but an ancient dialect. For example, there is a character for thunder. The ancient Chinese called it rai. The same character may be read kami-nari, a Japanese word which means god-noise. Both words are understood by the 162 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan 11 Japanese, but since the former is briefer, there is a ten- dency even among the uneducated to prefer it to the other. Now the Chinese words, which are all monosyl- lables, are used freely by the Japanese singly and in com- bination. For example, an aeroplane is hi-ko-ki, which means “Ay go machine." There is one important dif- ference between the use of the old Chinese by the Japanese and our own use of Latin and Greek in the English lan- guage. The Chinese elements are not assimilated, but incorporated, so that, in learning the Japanese, one has to master both the old Chinese and the Japanese of various sorts. The problem of the missionary in China is compara- tively simple. for even with the characters he has but one language to learn. The Japanese Syllabary. The Japanese at a very early date felt the need of letters to spell out their own native words. This they did by taking the most common Chinese characters and using them for their sound, not for their sense. Thus, for example, when they wish to write out the word America, they use four Chinese char- acters, a-me-ri-ka. The characters themselves mean next, rice, gain and add. The Japanese call America be- koku, which means, if you look at the characters, rice country. They have simply taken the most prominent character, me or be, and made it stand for the whole name. After they had for a long time used the characters in this phonetic way, they evolved from them two sets of letters, one made by writing the characters used for their sounds in an abbreviated cursive or flowing style, and the other made by taking fragments of the characters. Today one sort is used for Japanese grammatical terminations and connectives, which cement together the Chinese words The American Missionary at Work 163 in literary composition. The other set is used to write out western names. These Japanese letters, however, stand for syllables, not for single sounds. There are fifty, which are usually arranged thus: a (ah), i (ee), u (oo), e (a), o, ka, ki, ku, ke, ko, sa, etc. Chinese Characters Indispensable. The Japanese way of writing is surely the most cumbersome imagin- able. Imagine a type-setter in a newspaper office. He holds his stick in his hand, his manuscript before him. He has a number of assistants who gather for him from 6,000 odd boxes the Chinese characters as he calls them out, while he, himself, fits them in together with the syl- labic letters which he picks out of his own case of type. But his work is not yet done. After he has finished the main lines he must place to the right of each character, syl- labic letters indicating the pronunciation, for the benefit of the unscholarly readers of the paper. It may be asked, “Why are not the characters abolished, or why are not the syllabic letters or our own Roman letters sufficient?" Because, the Chinese words as used by the Japanese have been so worn down that there are a great many words that have the same sound but different senses (homonyms). We have a few in English, as for example, pare, pair, pear; but where we count our words having the same sounds but different senses by twos and threes, the Japanese count theirs by scores. When you hear a Japanese say so-ko or ko-so, you cannot imagine what combination of one of a score of different characters pro- nounced ko and a score of characters pronounced so may be united in this compound. Of course, the pure con- versational Japanese language, since it is clear to the ear, may also be made clear to the eye by means of phonetic 164 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan signs; but the finer Japanese literature was intended rather for the eye than for the ear and is hardly intelligible when one reads it aloud. This may explain why a mis- sionary very soon in the course of his studies comes to prefer the old cumbersome way of writing the language. When he sees a word of a technical character spelled out in Japanese or Roman letters, he asks himself at once, “What are the Chinese characters used here?” The Old System Condemned. An American can hardly understand what an intolerable burden the old system is. Anything like a convenient dictionary of the characters has hitherto been impossible. A Russian scholar, Dr. Rosenberg, has just invented a complicated system by which, he claims, the place of every character can be fixed just as the place of an English word is fixed in one of our alphabetical dictionaries. But in the avail- able lexicons, characters are arranged according to the numbers of lines in them, so that the student loses hours searching for those that are unfamiliar. The conse- quence of all these difficulties is that only a specialist can write the language correctly. Even a Japanese who has had a thorough education in the schools of his own land can write hardly a sentence that is free from blunders. Rise of a New Language. The fact of the matter is that the Japanese language needs a complete reformation. When the revolution occurred, in our own times, Mr. Fukuzawa, a noted scholar in Tokyo, who advocated the modernizing of Japanese life, asserted that it was pos- sible for a Japanese to make a public address in his own language, just as English-speaking people do. The possibility was doubted until he stood up and made a speech as a sample. Now public speaking is very pop- The American Missionary at Work 165 ular. The style of speech used is extremely clumsy and hard to understand, but gradually there is being evolved, by the orators and the educators, a new Japanese lan- guage which will be the basis of the future literature of Japan. Dr. S. H. Wainwright, Secretary of the Chris- tian Literature Society, says: “The Japanese language is undergoing a transformation, gradually approaching the English. In the shortening of the sentence, in the greater directness of style, and in the various idiomatic changes taking place, it is beginning to show the effect upon its structure of the widespread study of English.” When the new language has been developed the time will have come to abolish the Chinese characters, which are an insuperable obstacle to the public school system and a dreadful handicap to the business of the country. Value of Missionary's Broken Japanese. The missionaries have a modest part to play in this trans- formation of the language. For whenever a foreigner at- tempts the language of the country he tries with all his might to express it in ideas which have not hitherto been expressed in it. He is an originator of new expressions and gives to old words new senses. The Japanese often say to the missionary who uses the native language, "You speak Japanese better than we.” The reason for this impression is that the missionary often succeeds in conveying a thought in that language which one to the manner born would fail to convey. It is not only the missionary that struggles with the language. Every true Christian teacher, whether native or foreign, must wrestle with it. Time Required to Learn the Language. After a year of diligent study, the American may engage quite 166 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan freely in conversation about common things. After two or three years, by dint of thorough preparation, he may undertake public addresses. If he is apt and studious, in from five to seven years, he may acquire the power to use the language as freely for all practical purposes as his own mother-tongue. However, it will always be true of the most conscientious of missionaries that when he speaks Japanese he says what he can say rather than what he ought to say. The Personal Helper. The missionary is usually granted a small fund to enable him to employ a "helper," a Japanese assistant who serves as interpreter, guide or secretary. Such a helper can be secured for about $10 a month. The senior missionary at Wakamatsu employs two. One is a clerk on duty in the office all day, who attends to the correspondence and sifts out the visitors who call. The other is an older man who looks after the missionary's work at places where there is not yet a local Japanese worker, arranges tours like an advance- agent, and, at the same time, attends to the Christian book-shop in the city, the distribution of publications, etc. The missionary's relation to his helper is that of a master to a servant and is very different from his relation to the ministers of the native Church. If the missionary is young and still a learner, the clerk may not be needed; but in his stead a teacher of the language is employed. Letters. The correspondence of the missionary takes a great deal of his time. Letters come written in various styles, some in English or near-English, some in Roman characters, some in syllabic characters of one of the two varieties, some in Chinese characters written like print in a plain style, which the missionary can read, and others 1 The American Missionary at Work 167 in the abbreviated cursive or flowing style, which hardly any missionary ever learns to read easily. To save time, letters of this last sort are read aloud by the mis- sionary's helper. It is becoming increasingly difficult to secure a helper who is able to read a hastily written letter with ease and speed. When the sense of the letter has been extracted from the ambiguous language in which it is worded, the helper is instructed to write a certain reply. He finds it difficult to express the missionary's crisp ideas in the artificial and indirect style which is considered the proper thing in an epistolary communi- cation. Sometimes the missionary, after several vain at- tempts, cuts the Gordian knot by going to his typewriter and writing off in a few moments an English letter which expresses what he means better than one of the Japanese sort which it has taken half a forenoon to produce. Calls. Let us now look at the life of the missionary among the people. His best work is done not so much in his formal speeches as in his quiet talks with individuals. Happy is one who has acquired the power to do personal work. Wherever he goes, in nearly all cases, he receives a hearty welcome. There are not a few trials to be met in visiting the people. In North Japan when the visitor appears, it is considered the proper thing to serve him with tea and cakes. If the visitor is an American, he must be shown double honor, especially if the visit is his first. It is physically impossible to get through many visits in a day's time. The tea is of the strong, bitter Japanese variety served cup after cup, though the cup is not a large one. To imbibe much of it means a wakeful, restless night, to follow. The host with a pair of chop- sticks passes to his guests one after another, the daintiest 168 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan bits of refreshments that he can command; and not to eat is discourteous. The next best thing to eating is to take a piece of white paper from one's pocket and wrap up the refreshments for later consumption. Most re- grettable is this custom. When one goes to a house where there is no large staff of servants to do the honors, the quiet talk which was the object of the visit becomes impossible, because host and hostess are busy about many things, intent upon doing what custom requires in the way of serving refreshments. Modes of Travel. A large part of the missionary's time, whether he is in so-called educational or so-called evangelistic work, is occupied by tours through the country. Teachers in our institutions at Sendai, who have mastered the Japanese language, are in great de- mand as preachers and lecturers. Most of the stations at which regular work is being done by local evangelists can be reached by railroad. To go to a place that is not near a railroad one may use in a few cases a horse-car or a small, springless omnibus. Where these primitive fac- ilities are lacking, the missionary chooses between his own bicycle and a jinriksha. The latter, an invention of a pioneer missionary, has wheels like those of a buggy, a small body with a seat for one and two slender shafts between which the “riksha” man trots. Sometimes the missionary journeys by coasting.steamer or river-boat. There are, however, no trolleys in North Japan. Rusty, wheezy old automobiles are just beginning to appear on a very few routes. One Advantage in Slowness. Rev. H. Kuyper of Morioka says: “The difficulties of travel make it impos- sible to cover as much territory as in places where rail- Yamagata City (Normal School and Missionary Residence in the Foreground.) 10 A Business Street in Yamagata City Rev. H. H. Cook on the Road Rev. C. D. Kriete in a Hotel The American Missionary at Work 169 roads and trolleys abound and where the roads are good, but the very fact that we travel slowly gives us many op- portunities of doing evangelistic work along the way with the people we meet. This is especially true of the walking trips. I have never been on a walking trip with- out having the opportunity of speaking to a number of people in an intimate way that would be impossible in train or trolley." A Room at a Hotel. Usually, the lodging place is · a hotel. There is in North Japan one really good Ameri- can hotel, and that is in the Park of Matsushima, which for the sake of its scenic beauty, is much visited by trav- elers. When a missionary stops at a hotel anywhere else he lives in Japanese style. At the entrance he is expect- ed to take off his shoes, and, if the roads are muddy, to wash his feet. The room to which he is conducted has no furniture except a box in the center of the room on which there is a little fire of charcoal. Over this is also a pot containing hot water; beside it, a tray with tea-pot and cups for making the inevitable beverage. A few thin cushions are provided. The guest kneels on a cushion, turns his toes in, and sits on his heels. Acute Discomfort. This sitting in Japanese style is especially painful when one wears American dress. So the missionary, if he expects to stay a few hours, asks for a kimono, a Japanese garment, which he substitutes for his own outer clothing. Even so, living on the floor is very wearisome. The Japanese who become accustom- med to squatting on the floor from their childhood, while the bones are still soft, can endure it very well. It is because the bones of their legs are somewhat bent, that they appear to be bowlegged. But we Americans 170 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan with our straight limbs find it a cross to sit on the floor. When there are no callers present before whom it is nec- essary to maintain a respectful attitude, one may try sitting tailorwise, or lean to one side, resting the weight of the body on the hand or on the elbow, but no matter how one wriggles, no position is comfortable for more than five minutes, and after two hours all positions alike are intolerable, and for a diversion one goes out for a walk. A Primitive Lavatory. The sanitary arrangements are of the most primitive description. Such conveniences as are available are kept in the middle of the house, so as to be very convenient, and the odors are at times insufferable. There is one lavatory. The missionary empties out of a brass basin the dirty water left by the one who washed before him and cleans and disinfects it as he can. If he is on a long journey and needs a bath, he takes pains to arrive at the hotel early in the after- noon, before the water in the big bath has been used by anyone else. Since the bathroom is usually open and visible to the whole house, he often has to ask for a screen, to the great astonishment of the attendants at the hotel, who quite fail to see the point, and wonder what great deformity of body may be hidden by his clothes, to make him so sensitive about being seen. Sometimes the American is refused entertainment at a hotel, probably because there has been a previous visitation of some foreigners who, not knowing the language and the ways of the people, had made themselves disagreeable. Diet of Rice. When meal-time comes, one of the maids of the hotel brings a tray a little over one foot square, containing a few dishes of soup, fish, vegetables, etc., and an empty bowl for the rice, which she fills as The American Missionary at Work 171 needed from a covered wooden tub, which she carries about from one room to another. Some Americans are very fond of the native food, though beginners sometimes find it impossible to eat. The diet is quite sufficient, pro- vided one takes a great deal of exercise. But the words of the Master, that the missionary should eat such things as are set before him, need to be observed. If one picks and chooses from a Japanese meal the dishes that appeal to him, the result is likely to be indigestion. It is best to eat with the rice the pickles and the relishes and the soups that are served with it; for in the evolution of the Japanese diet it has been learned that they are essential to the digestion of the staple food. An Uncomfortable Night. After the meetings are over, the tired missionary comes back to the hotel, be- fore or after midnight, to get a little rest. A servant brings out of a closet at the side of the room a thick, cotton comforter for the bed and another for the cover. A bag of beans about the diameter of a stove-pipe is the pillow. As the length of the comforters is only a little over five feet and the missionary much over five feet in length, the comforter is too short at one end. The senior missionary at Yamagata thus describes his experience in a hotel one night in February: “Last night when I got ready for bed, I put on the following,--two suits of woolen underwear, one pair of woolen socks, one sweater, two lined kimonos, two unlined kimonos, and then covered with two heavy comforters, which kept me comfortable about two-thirds of the way up. But at midnight, I had to get out of bed and add my heavy overcoat for cover. Do you wonder that I dreamed of carrying fag- gots over a mountain-pass all night and woke up with 172 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan that tired feeling characteristic of spring in Yamagata Prefecture?” To sleep in a Japanese hotel between comforters that have been used for a long time in an unheated room and are therefore damp, while the wind has access to the room from above and below and from all four quarters, taxes the stoutest physique. A Noisy Night. Between the missionary stopping at the hotel and the guest in the next room, the only partition consists of sliding doors made of a few sheets of paper. Often the guest is in a convivial mood and makes the night hideous, calling in geisha girls to sing with him and pour out liquor for him until he is thorough- ly drunk. A Missionary's Day at Home. To show what the life of missionaries is like, we add a few stray leaves from their diaries. The following is the record of a typical day at home in February, by the senior missionary at Sendai: “Got up at 7:00. Breakfasted at 7:30. Evan- gelist S. called before I was through to arrange for a meet- ing at W. Then N. (helper) arrived and we attended to letters and reports. Lunched at 12:30 and after a short rest prepared to meet the Normal Students’ Bible Class at 3:30 in our dining-room. The lesson was 'Man's Duty to God,' based on the Parable of the Talents, Matt. 25: 14-30. There are twelve in the class, of whom nine will soon graduate and become teachers. Took a short walk for exercise. Supper at 6:30. Went with wife to the Prayer Meeting of the American Community at the house of Mr. R.” A Teacher's Busy Day. This from the diary of a lady teacher: “Wednesday. Rose at 5:30. 6:00 to 6:30, Morning Watch. Breakfasted, walked to school. 7:30– The American Missionary at Work 173 8:15, Students' Y. M. C. A. Prayer Meeting, followed by Chapel Prayers. 8:20–11:30, taught classes, two in Middle School and two in Literary Course; subjects in the latter, discussion of Shakespeare's stories, drill in practical English, translation from Japanese. Spent half hour in study of Japanese and ten minutes on the newspaper. Home to dinner by jinriksha. 2:00–3:00, wrote to one of our graduates, who is now in Korea. 3:00-3:30, attended to business and gave German lesson to R. and P. 3:30-4:30, entertained a caller, a Normal School student, who comes Fridays to the class in English Bible. 4:30-5:00, studied Japanese. Spent a half-hour in writing. Went to Mission Prayer Meeting at house of Dr. S. 9:00, called on a friend. Home by jinriksha. Read half hour. 10:15, retired.” A Day in the Open. Here is an extract from the log of the senior missionary at Wakamatsu: “Kurosawa, Oct. 4, Cloudy. Our host, Mr. S., asked us to have a. meeting for the family. Spoke on the ‘Use of the Tongue,' James 3:2. Mr. S. ferried T. (helper) and me over the river and went along to Shimizuya (Pure Water Hotel) at Tadami. After dinner T. gathered a nice little audience -our first meeting at Tadami, spoke on 'Prayer.' The principal of the public school asked me to address his children; spoke to them on ‘Painful Things,' (Romans 8: 28). Hurried by bicycle ten miles, so as to reach Yokota by dusk, stopped at house of Mr. H. Spoke to the children about God and left the older ones to T.” At Home on Sunday. The missionary's wife on a Sunday afternoon writes: “At church, the girls of the Ojokwai (King's Daughters) sang in Japanese, ‘There comes to my heart one sweet strain,' A. and Miss Y. sing- 174 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan ing alto. Mynheer and I sang in English, “Tho' your sins be as scarlet. Mynheer brought a guest home for dinner, a Mr. H. from Takada. He is now walking to his home, a three hours' walk, to put his children to bed. His wife died last spring and he has four children, one of whom is only two or three years old. Mynheer says he is an unusually bright farmer. He told how he used to hate hymns, especially the one, 'Return, ye wanderers, return,' but has been converted. A little beggar came, claiming that his mother was ill and he her only support. Our servants investigated and found that he told the truth; so we are going to help the family as we can. Since dinner I have been reading Whittier's Songs of Labor' to the older children and making paper mats with the babies. They were dear and responsive.” Team Work. Let us now consider the organization of the missionary forces. Missionary management is in one sense socialistic. That is, as we have seen, the worker is paid according to his needs, not according to the value of his services. The oldest and most efficient often has less income than one who is younger and less useful. Such an arrangement works satisfactorily only when the Board in America secures workers of the highest moral character. Missionary management is also democratic, so democratic, indeed, that it may break down unless all the workers are thoroughly devoted and fit for team work. The “Mission.” The missionaries form an organiza- tion called the Mission. In America, the word “mission” suggests a weak little church, but a Mission in Japan is a large and very complicated organization. The Tohoku Mission has two regular meetings in a year, one in Jan- uary to act on the financial reports for the previous year The American Missionary at Work 175 and elect officers and committees; another, five or six months later, to hear and pass upon reports of the work to be submitted to the Board in America and to adopt a budget for the following year. The Mission has a con- stitution and by-laws and regulations, which are printed in what is called the “Manual.” All missionaries regu- larly appointed by the Board to Japan are entitled to vote. Wives of missionaries and persons under special contract to serve the Mission for short terms, may take part in discussions having to do with their own special work, but have no vote. Treasury and Property. There is a central office in the City of Sendai, located in the midst of the grounds of Miyagi Girls' School and North Japan College. One of the missionaries, Rev. E. H. Guinther, gives the larger part of his time to the care of the treasury and the prop- erty of the Mission. While Americans as individuals are not allowed to hold real estate in Japan, the government allows such an organization as the Mission to hold prop- erty for religious purposes. Certain members of the Mission are organized as a Corporation which holds the titles and must submit to the Japanese Government regular reports of its transactions. This property con- sists of land and buildings, of chapels, missionary resi- dences, the grounds and buildings of Miyagi Girls' School, and some of the property of North Japan College which was purchased with funds contributed by the Church in America. The original property of the College is now held by the Corporation of the Board of Directors, and it is probable that ultimately all the property of the College will be held by that corporation. In case the property should be no longer needed for religious pur- 176 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan poses the Constitution of the Corporation provides that it may be sold and the proceeds returned to the Board in America. The Japanese Government has had reason to fear lest the missionaries may in time accumulate great holdings; therefore, it is provided that property is to be held for religious purposes only. In at least one pre- fecture the government exempts from taxes property of the Church. These facts indicate that the govern- ment is disposed to be fair to missionaries, and they feel the obligation to be scrupulous in the management of the property entrusted to them. The Bureau of Information. Another missionary has just been appointed to serve in connection with the office, Mr. Isaac J. Fisher, who has had large experience as a stenographer and secretary. It is the plan of the Board and the Mission that he shall serve as a secretary and take charge in a general way, of the correspondence of the missionaries with one another and with the home base. The educational missionaries are located at Sen- dai, but as the number assigned to church-work in the country increases, in order to secure proper co-ordination, it is necessary that some one organize a clearing-house of information. Moreover, one of the deficiencies of the work hitherto has been lack of adequate information for the supporters at home. It has been simply impossible for overworked missionaries to attend to this matter proper- ly. It is hoped that when the stenographer and secre- tary gets to work, this defect will be remedied. Boards and Committees. The representatives of the Mission on the Corporation, the Board of Directors of the College and the Board of Managers of the Girls' School are not elected by the Mission, but are chosen from The American Missionary at Work 177 among the members of the Mission by those organiza- tions, which are self-perpetuating. On the other hand, the members who represent the Mission on the joint- elected by the Mission. There are various other com- mittees of the Mission to which are granted certain ap- propriations in the budget; for example, the Bible Wo- men's Committee, the Kindergarten Committee. Other standing committees are the Finance Committee, the Building Committee, which supervises the erection of houses and chapels, the Language Committee, which oversees the studies of new missionaries, etc. The Federated Missions. All the missions working in Japan, except those of the so-called Catholic Churches, are united in a body called the Federated Missions, which has an annual meeting. This body is, of course, advisory only, but has immense influence through the work of its committees that review progress made along evangelistic, educational, social and other lines, and make recom- mendations which enable the missions to standardize and co-ordinate the work. This body has organized the Christian Literature Society, which is supported by con- tributions from the treasuries of the various missions, tian University. To the splendid work of this organiza- tion, the Tohoku Mission makes its contribution through the presence and work of three delegates and a small appropriation for the current expenses. There is also a Japanese organization composed of representatives of the various Churches. Again, representatives of the Federation of Churches and the Federated Missions, to- gether with other Christian leaders selected by these rep- 178 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan resentatives, form what is called The Continuation Com- mittee for the Japanese Empire, which is in correspond- ence with the universal committee formed by the Edin burgh Conference of 1910. Members of the Tohoku Mission are continually asked to render services to these comprehensive organizations, but have not been able to do their full share on account of the pressure of their own immediate work. Assignment of Work. The Mission has power to assign work and to determine the location of the individual missionary. When a missionary breaks down it is nec- essary at once to provide for his work, it being impossible to secure a substitute from America at short notice. The Board in America appoints missionaries to the field, but does not definitely assign to them the work they are to do. The work of the Mission is a good deal like war- fare and the discipline is almost military. The spirit of comradeship is delightful. Naturally, since mission- aries are high-spirited people and very conscientious, clashes occur now and then, but while there are many differences of opinion, the minority cheerfully submit to the majority and all go in for strong team-work. Classes of Missionaries. The workers of the Toho- ku Mission are usually divided into two classes, those engaged in the educational service and those in the ev- angelistic. Two of the men, the treasurer and the secre- tary, might be put into a third class, the administrative. Distribution of Missionaries. The Mission be- lieves that the interests of the Church in the North re- quire wise distribution of missionary families, and some single ladies, over the field, but at the same time, is opposed to isolating missionaries. The idea is to select The American Missionary at Work 179 1 strategic points, each of which is a good center from which to work among a population of 300,000 people. In determining where these points shall be, we have re- gard not only to the railways and other means of com- munication that radiate from them, but also the prestige and influence of the place with reference to lesser towns, also to the disposition of the institutions for higher edu- cation. It is wise to place missionaries where they can get into touch with students of middle and normal schools. A map has been prepared indicating 25 cities and towns where it would be wise to locate small groups of mission- aries to reach the 7,500,000 people in North Japan. At least two families, and one or two single ladies for special work among the women should be placed in each of these centers. In accordance with this policy a family and a single man have been located at Yamagata and two fam- ilies at Wakamatsu. Isolation Not Good Policy. There are several rea- sons for the opinion that missionaries should be located in small groups. One is the need of providing for absences on furlough and cases of disablement. Another is the advisability of combining in the employment of teachers of the language and other helpers. Another is the great difference between the work of the missionary who itin- erates through the country and one who makes it his principal aim to win the people of the city and the stu- dents who sojourn in it. These two forms of work can- not be combined successfully. One who works mainly in the city organizes classes and must be at his post regularly. This he cannot do if he is to be free to under- take tours and visit out-stations at convenient times. Still another reason for grouping missionaries is this, 180 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan that isolation is too hard on them. The man who travels about a great deal may not be oppressed by loneliness, but the wife who is kept at home nearly all the time may break down if subjected to the exacting repuirements of life among the Japanese and be separated from her near- est American neighbor by a distance of fifty miles. There are comparatively few women who, with all their conse- cration, and best intentions, can endure such isolation. The Summer Vacation. As in the war in France it is found necessary to give the men in the front line oc- casional vacations, so experience has taught that it does not pay to keep the missionary uninterruptedly at his post. The missionary has sometimes rebelled against the apparent luxury of the summer outing. But if he refuses to go away in the hot season, the cause gets more harm than good. Health and efficiency cannot be main- tained without a change. Not only is the climate par- ticularly enervating in the summer, so that appetite fails and nothing can be accomplished in spite of the most intense resolution, but there is also a mental exhaustion which can be remedied best by a period of association with fellow-missionaries at a suitable resort. A Retreat in the Mountains. Most missionaries spend from five to seven weeks at a place up in the moun- tains between Tokyo and Niigata, called Karuizawa. The air here is comparatively bracing. Mountain- climbing, tennis and similar sports, tone up the body, while the auditorium is occupied day after day by large audiences attending conferences and hearing lectures that fit the missionary for better service. Many an evening is given to music. What this means can hardly be imagined by the American who has not lived as the The American Missionary at Work 181 missionary in the country does, where outside his own family he hears nothing worthy to be called musical, from September to July. Karuizawa, however, has begun to attract not only missionaries, but also worldly people, American, European and Japanese. The worldly element has been growing so fast that it is probable that missionaries who prefer the mountains will in the near future have to develop a resort somewhere else, which they can control. A Retreat by the Sea. Near the city of Sendai is a beautiful summer encampment by the sea, on the south side of the peninsula that forms the southern boundary of the Bay of Matsushima. Members of the Tohoku Mission have had a leading part in the management of this resort, and three of them constitute the trustees. About two hundred people, Americans and Europeans, camp here in the summer, in rough wooden houses that cost from $200 to $600 each. The community is so controlled that the non-Christian element is practically excluded. What this Takayama Company has accom- plished in the way of refreshing the exhausted, restoring the sick, and lengthening the years of service of many missionaries and others, can hardly be overstated. Furloughs. Experience has likewise demonstrated the absolute necessity of sending missionaries home on furlough after about seven years of service on the field. Furloughs are expensive to the boards and to the mis- sionaries concerned, but unless they are taken, the mis- sionaries inevitably become stale. The primary purpose is to restore the workers physically and spiritually, but, on the side, the opportunity is improved to keep the churches at the home base in vital personal touch with those who know conditions at the front. 182 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan . All the Expense Justified. It is evident that the maintenance of American workers in Japan is a very ex- pensive proposition. To the missionary who sympathizes with the people among whom he works, it is a cause of no little distress of mind that his own living must cost so much as compared with theirs. He often feels that the difference in standards is a barrier between him and those to whom he would minister. But it is equally true that by maintaining the American standard, he is rendering a real service to the people. Difficult as it is to keep on such a field, a missionary family, as compared with a celibate Roman Catholic priest, the boards of foreign missions are convinced that a Christian home of the American type is an evangelizing force of incalculable value, and is worth all it costs. Training Christian Leaders VI. TRAINING CHRISTIAN LEADERS INTRODUCTION: Need of Christian Schools in Tohoku: 1. Lasting Success After a Long Process. 2. Intelligent Native Leadership Essential. 3. Fundamental Importance of Christian Education. 4. Leaders for Tohoku Best Trained in Tohoku. A. NORTH JAPAN COLLEGE (TOHOKU GAKUIN): 1. History: Work of the Founders, Oshikawa and Hoy, Evolu- tion of the School, Opposition of Government Overcome, Success of Middle School, Progress of the College Proper. 2. Object of the Institution. 3. Property, Faculty, Budget. 4. Student Body: Accessions, Withdrawals, Financial Aid, Industrial Home, Scholarships, Dormitories, Oversight, Expenses. 5. Curriculum: School Year, Religious Instruction. 6. Student Life: Religious, Literary and Athletic Interests. 7. Alumni: Clergymen and Others. 8. Prestige of the College and of its President, Leadership in Problems of Higher Christian Education. B. MIYAGI GIRLS' SCHOOL (MIYAGI JOGAKKO): 1. History: Beginnings, Fire and Rebuilding in 1902, Now One of Many Girls' Schools. 2. Object of the School, Relation to the Christian Home, 3. Management, Departments, Expansion, Teachers, Finances. 4. Student Body: Sources, Democratic Spirit, Proportion of Christians, Supported Students. 5. Curriculum: High School Course, Religious Instruction, Recitations, Higher Department Courses. 6. Student Life: Class Organization, Dormitory, Saturday and Sunday, Athletic, Literary, and Religious Interests. 7. Alumnae, Married and Single, Scattered Groups. C. BY-PRODUCTS: 1. Influence of Schools upon Society, Illustrations. 2. Influence upon Students of Other Schools, Hostels, Japan's Oldest Students' Association. VI. TRAINING CHRISTIAN LEADERS 12 The Quickest Way Not the Best. It is said that the German settlers in Pennsylvania chose the land where the woods were thick, while other immigrants chose the open meadows. The heavy timber was not easy to clear, but the colonists reasoned that where the trees were flourishing the soil must be rich. So in missionary work the line of least resistance is not always best. The fields in Japan that are worth while will yield great harvests only after long preparation and cultivation. Educational Work Needed. One can hardly ex- aggerate the difficulties that stand in the way of those who would christianize the Japanese. Their fundamental ideas have to be reconstructed; even their language must be regenerated. Wise missionaries soon perceive the need of educating the young, for it requires patient and thorough work really to christianize the life and thought of a people that have behind them such a history and such traditional ideas and habits as the Japanese have. One of our teachers in North Japan College has said that in order to become thoroughly Christian a Ja- panese must master the English, or a similar language. This may be an extreme opinion. But one who is to be a Christian leader should at least be trained in a Chris- tian school and made conversant with the literature of some Christian land. Such an education requires a 185 186 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan course of not less than ten years, in addition to the six years in the common school. Not a Side Issue. The distinction is made between “educational” and “evangelistic” work. But in Japan education is intensive evangelism, and evangelism is extensive education. Training in America. It is sometimes asked whether a young man might not be trained to better advantage in an American school than in a missionary institution on the field. In exceptional cases this plan has worked well. But there are three great objections to it. Most Japan- ese boys who come to our country at an age so young that their characters are not yet formed, and are thrown among ordinary American students, are spoiled, for our people have a subtle way of robbing such a boy of his self- respect. Further, at so young an age no one, least of all the boy himself, can tell whether he will later develop fitness for special Christian service. Finally, a boy who grows up in America is apt to become so American in all his ways that when he goes home he cannot get along happily in his own country and among his own people. We of the Tohoku Mission heartily approve of sending to America for postgraduate study and observation tried Japanese leaders—the more the better. Training in Tokyo. Again it is asked why a separ- ate school should be maintained in Tohoku. Why not send our boys to one of the institutions in Tokyo? The authorities of the Nihon Kirisuto Kyokwai often express a desire that the students of theology at least be sent to Tokyo. Our reply is that experience has taught us that if we want to christianize North Japan, we must train northern boys in a northern school. Workers from the 71 Training Christian Leaders 187 South are apt to complain of the climate and the temper of the people and leave the North after a brief stay. And when a northern boy is educated in the South he also is apt to prefer his southern associations. Our Educational Institutions at Sendai. This chapter will be devoted mainly to a description of the work of the two schools connected with the Tohoku Mission, the North Japan College (Tohoku Gakuin) and its twin sister, the Miyagi Girls' School (Jogakko). North Japan College. When Mr. Oshikawa urged Mr. Hoy to come to his assistance at Sendai, it was his wish to do for the young men of the North such work as had been done for himself by Dr. S. R. Brown of Yo- kohama. These two men, Oshikawa and Hoy, became the founders of a school which from its humble beginnings in 1886 grew in efficiency and influence, overcame im- mense difficulties, and has become today one of the best institutions of learning in the Orient. Early Hardships of the School. The school was originally a little theological seminary, opened with seven students in a thatch-roofed house in the northern part of Sendai, where the Tohoku University Hospital now stands. When Dr. and Mrs. J. I. Swander bought for the Girls' School a commodious lot on Sambancho (Third Street), an old house standing on the corner was used for awhile. Then when the church bought the old Hon- gwanji Temple the school was removed to the priests' rooms in the rear of that building. In 1888 Dr. and Mrs. Hoy purchased an acre of ground adjoining that of the church and built a small dormitory upon it in memory of Rev. John Ault, the father of Mrs. Hoy. In 1890 the Theological Building was erected at a cost of 9,000 yen 188 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan at a time when the yen was worth about eighty-five cents. Organization of Tohoku Gakuin. According to the constitution adopted in 1889, the institution was under the control of Miyagi Classis, but later the con- stitution of the Nihon Kirisuto Kyokwai made it impos- sible for a Classis to have an educational institution. In 1892 a new organization was effected, according to which the Board of Directors is self-perpetuating and consists of an equal number of representatives of the Reformed Church in the United States and Japanese Christians. In the fall of the same year the school was opened to all who wished to enter, whether looking for- ward to the ministry or not. It was felt that within reasonable limits it would be better for candidates for the ministry to be educated in large classes than in small. The number of students immediately increased to 150, of whom 17 were in the theological courses. At first the organization was like that of an American in- stitution, with Academy (three years), College (four years), and Seminary (three years). But in 1895, the division was made to conform to the system of the Ja- panese government-a Middle School (five years), Lit- erary Course (two years), and Theological Course (three years). Winning in the Face of Opposition. Later the institution had to pass through severe trials. The two founders, Messrs. Hoy and Oshikawa, resigned. The great majority of the students remained only a short time and almost none graduated. There were two reasons for this. One was that students in a school recognized by the government were free from military Training Christian Leaders 189 conscription so long as they continued their studies, and, therefore, most of the students of our school, which had not government recognition, were men who on account of some defect of body were not liable to conscription. Another was that only schools recognized by the govern- ment had the privilege of sending graduates up to higher schools, and the result was that our students sought to be transferred to some regular school before graduation. But in 1902 the privileges of exemption from conscrip- tion and of admission of students into higher schools were granted, and from that time on the attendance showed an almost continuous rise from year to year. Development of the Middle School. In 1904, about three acres, later increased to five, were purchased on Nibancho (Second Street), two blocks distant from the theological department. On this ground a building for the exclusive use of the Middle School was erected, also a dormitory. The Middle School is fundamental in a scheme of Christian education. The students, who are boys between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, on the average, are at the period of adolescence and most sus- ceptible to the influences that give final shape to char- acter. The great majority of our students have hither- to been in the Middle School Department. Development of the College Proper. But an ade- quate theological seminary must be of college or univer- sity grade. Candidates for the ministry, as in America, should have more education than a Sophomore. They need a better knowledge of the English language than graduates of a middle school have and they need to be drilled in philosophy. From the point of view of those interested in the Theological Seminary, it is very import- 190 · Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan ant that the College proper should be developed. Quite recently, through the efforts of Dr. Schneder, who has been president of the institution since the resignation of Mr. Oshikawa, with the assistance of Mrs. Schneder, the sum of $50,000 has been secured for the College. A third site on Rokkencho (Six Houses Street) has been bought. The College, which has hitherto been housed in a wretched old wooden building behind the Theological Seminary, will soon have a home of its own and a chance to develop as the Middle School has. A Greater College to Be. While the leading motive of those who pray, toil and give for this school has been the desire to train an intelligent Christian ministry for Tohoku, it is a part of the project to send into Japanese society a strong Christian laity. As the College grows there will be woven into the plan, along with the courses preparatory to the Theological Seminary and to the Union Christian University that is to be, also courses preparing students for authorship, for teaching, for civic service, for business, etc. A great deal has already been accomplished along these lines through students going up to higher institutions run by the government. In the words of President Schneder, “the graduates of the Middle School have an impress upon them that lasts," but "are, as a rule too immature in their Christianity to make strong Christian leaders.” Hence every effort is being put forth to make the institution attractive to graduates of the Middle School. Aim of Tohoku Gakuin. The aim is to make the school eminently efficient. The best possible up-to- date teaching on the part of the instructors and real study on the part of the students is the ideal. Also discipline A 19 UAB E2 North Japan College President Schneder Mr. Yoshida-Tatsuo, Merchant Secretary Komatsu of Rev. Taguchi, National Y. M. C. A. Lieutenant of Artillery Typical Alumni of North Japan College Training Christian Leaders 191 . of the highest order is aimed at, this to be accomplished by the enforcement of certain definite regulations, to- gether with a constant effort to instil the spirit of self- discipline. High ideals of honor, integrity and purity are made the standard in speaking to and dealing with the students. Spiritually the aim is to instruct and in- fluence the students with such earnestness as will lead them to free and independent personal conviction; it is not to make a religious hotbed. The hope is to chris- tianize the old Japanese virtues and to crown them with the spirit of deep faith in God and loyalty to Christ, then to make all this glow with zeal for others, for a re- generated Japan and a redeemed world. Further, the hope is to induce many of the graduates to remain in Tohoku and become men of influence and leadership in their respective communities. With this in view it is planned in the enlarged curriculum to have a course on the economic and social conditions of Tohoku, and thereby develop, if possible, a special sense of responsibil- ity to make Tohoku indeed “The Scotland of Japan.” Equipment. The principal buildings are the Theo- logical Seminary, of brick, with a frame dormitory at- tached, and a very large and substantial earthquake proof Middle School Recitation Hall, also of brick, with a frame dormitory attached. Every bit of space is utiliz- ed, even to the garrets. There are laboratories, libraries, collections, maps, charts, models, etc., but the libraries and laboratories are not yet adequate. When the build- ings for the College shall have been completed the total valuation will be about $150,000. Finance. Not including the cost of the services of 194 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan . with an enrollment of 498 in the Middle School, 48 in the Literary Course and 15 in the Theological Course, a total of 561. Steady Increase. Rise in public confidence is indi- cated by the fact that the number of applicants is more than double the number that can be admitted. Form- erly the College had to depend largely on the applicants who had been refused admission into schools that were regarded as preferable. Tohoku Gakuin, in order of preference, has not only passed other private institutions, but has also outstripped the Second Middle School of Sendai, which is supported by the government, and now stands second only to the First Middle School. The student-body is steadier. In former years few remained to graduate. Now, however, dropping out is almost as rare as in government schools. The main reasons for dropping out are sickness, poverty, removal, and moral failure. Financial Difficulties of Christian Students. In considering the work of this institution we need to re- member that a Japanese young man is bound to obey his relatives in choosing how he shall be educated and what his vocation shall be. Relatives are usually ready to make great sacrifices in behalf of a promising young man who enters upon a course of education that will lead to his occupying a prominent position or one af- fording a large salary. But it is almost impossible to find relatives who are willing to pay for the education of a young man who purposes to do altruistic work. Industrial Home. For this reason Mr. Oshikawa early in the history of the institution founded the In- dustrial Home (Rodokwai), the aim of which was to en- Training Christian Leaders 195 able students to earn a large portion of their expenses. There was a time when this Industrial Home kept Tohoku Gakuin alive. Then there were 70 students in the Home. They spent three hours a day in various kinds of work, printing, laundry, dairy, carrying newspapers, and ped- dling the sauces used in cooking. It has been very difficult to make the Home a financial success. Ac- cordingly the number of students has been reduced to 30. But it is the desire that always there should remain this provision for poor, but worthy and talented students. In addition to what a student earns in the Home, he needs about $2.50 or $3 a month. The property of the Home consists of about two and a half acres on Hachi- bancho (Eighth Street) on the East Side of Sendai, with a dormitory, a printing house and a dairy, acquired through the efforts of Rev. S. S. Snyder. Beneficiary Aid. When candidates for the ministry reach the higher classes, if they are found worthy, they may be supported entirely by the beneficiary fund of the institution, which is in charge of a committee of theo- logical professors. The maximum amount granted to a regular theological student is $6.00 a month during the first year and $6.50 during the second and third years. Candidates in the Collegiate Department may receive as high as $4.00. A student in the Industrial Home en- rolled in the Middle School may be paid $1.25, the aid being granted in the form of a loan. Dormitories. About 125 of the students live in the three do mitories of the school: the higher department dormitory, 20; the middle school dormitory, 75; and the industrial home dormitory, 30. Of the rest, some live in their own homes in Sendai, some with relatives or 196 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan friends, some in boarding-houses, and some board them- selves. Those living in the Industrial Home take first rank in scholarship, those in the dormitories next, those with relatives or in rented rooms next, and those living at home are lowest. Careful Oversight. For the supervision of those living outside of the dormitories, the city is divided into five districts and a teacher is in charge of each district. He visits the lodging-places of the students about once a term and inquires into conditions. He has the right to order a change if he sees fit. Each student is required to report his residence and also affix a wooden tablet bearing his name on the gate post. In addition to these general overseers, there are two special overseers whose business it is to see that students do not visit improper places of amusement. Going to “movies" is forbidden. Students' Expenditures. The expense of living in a dormitory is $3.25 per month, including boarding, ser- vants' hire and room rent, light and fuel. The dormitory is managed on the club plan, a committee of the students, under the monitor's direction, hiring the servants, buying the food and then dividing expenses. Including tuition, books and miscellaneous items, $6 a month is required by a student in the Middle School. In the higher de- partment a dollar more may be needed, books being more expensive. In boarding houses the cost is greater, but self-boarding students get through with less. Three Terms. The school year begins in April. The year is divided into three terms, the first one ending in July, the second beginning with September and ending at Christmas, the third beginning early in January and end- ing in March. Each term ends with an examination. Training Christian Leaders 197 According to the regulations of the government, in a Middle School 220 days of actual teaching are required, exclusive of examinations. Instruction in Religion. Each day's work is begun with a service in the chapel, which all students are re- quired to attend. There is a carefully graded course in the Bible, in which there are recitations and examina- tions as in other branches. In the first two years of the Middle School there are two periods a week, in all the rest of the classes, one. Teachers are carefully selected for this work. In addition there is a weekly moral lecture, which is used to instil the Christian virtues and the Christian view of God, man and the world. In each of the dormitories there is a weekly religious meet- ing which all are required to attend. Y. M. C. A. Voluntary religious work is carried for- ward under the auspices of the Y. M. C. A. The organ- ization has a teacher as head, and a number of students serve as a central committee. The association conducts three voluntary Bible classes and holds a prayer meeting every Wednesday morning. In addition a committee of three students in each class, in consultation with the teacher as adviser, carry on work within the class. Thus there are frequent meetings of the Christians of each class for prayer and mutual encouragement. Many Conversions. The result is that about half of those that graduate from the Middle School (in 1917, 31 out of 51) are baptized Christians, while the rest are more Christian than anything else in their ideals and standards. Nearly all of those that remain to graduate from the collegiate course become Christians. Some who resist while they are in the school are moved after- 198 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan wards to seek baptism, and among these are some of the strongest characters. Some who would become Chris- tians are hindered by their families. Of the theological students, naturally 100 per cent are Christians; of the collegiate students, 60 per cent; of the boys in the Mid- dle School, 30 per cent; of all in the three departments, 35 per cent. Literary Interests. The strong feature of the work of the College is proficiency in English, which is, for the Japanese, very hard to learn. To the study of this language a great deal of time is given; over one-fourth of the 36 periods in each week in the Middle School and over one-third of the 24 required periods in the College. Ger- man is also offered in the College. Latin and Greek are studied by few; instead, the classical Chinese and Ja- panese are prescribed. Once a year the Literary Society presents to the public a good programme, including, us- ually, a portion of a Shakespearean play. The patience of a Japanese audience can be gauged by the fact that the last anniversary continued six hours, from six o'clock to midnight, and the house was packed to the limit. Athletic Interests. The physique of the students is carefully developed, but there are practically no inter- collegiate events. The old Japanese sports, such as wrestling (jujutsu), fencing (kenjutsu), and archery are most popular. The aim in the type of wrestling called jujutsu is to learn how to disable an opponent without the use of any weapon-an art so dangerous that its chief secrets are supposed to be disclosed only to men of high moral character. In fencing a kind of helmet and armor are worn and the contestants pound and punch each other with heavy sticks wielded by both hands. Two Fencers in Regulation Garb Two Jiujutsu Wrestlers Teacher of Gymnastics Training Christian Leaders 199 Of foreign games tennis is most common and is played with great skill. Baseball is very popular, but the school has not been able to afford a convenient diamond. Once a year there is a grand holiday, called Founder's Day, when the grounds are gayly decorated and the day is spent in athletic contests of every imaginable kind. A Hundred Ministers. Of the 32 graduates of the regular theological course, 12 are now engaged in the direct work of preaching, most of them in the Nihon Kirisuto Kyokwai. Ten others are in Christian edu- cational work, 4 being theological professors, one, head of a Christian Girls' School and one, head of the Bible Women's Training School of the Union Mission in Yo- kohama. Of the remaining ten, five have died, most of them leaving behind a record of years of faithful service. One of these, who passed away recently, was one of the most highly esteemed theological professors of the Do- shisha at Kyoto. Of the other five, one is connected with the Christian Orphanage, one has had to retire from preaching on account of ill health, one is about to return from America, where he studied theology, and two, after serving in the ministry awhile, are now teaching in gov- ernment schools. Of the 52 graduates of the special theological course, 30 are now engaged in preaching. Besides this total of 84 theological graduates, there are 15 others that were once in Tohoku Gakuin, who, though leaving before graduating from the seminary, are now engaged in preaching. Among these may be named Rev. Kimura-Seimatsu, the noted evangelist, “The Billy Sunday of Japan,” and Rev. Kodaira-Kunio, prominent pastor in San Francisco and head of the Japanese Evan- gelistic Union of the Pacific Coast. The work of the 200 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan Reformed Church in North Japan is carried on mainly by graduates of Tohoku Gakuin. Other Alumni. Besides those who studied for the ministry there have been hundreds of graduates, the total number of alumni in 1917 being 556. Statistics are un- interesting and there is no space for detail, but we will briefly refer to a few typical graduates. Mr. Imai has been for many years in the diplomatic service, and is now First Secretary of the Japanese Legation at Rome. He is a faithful reader of his church-paper, the Fukuin Shimpo. Mr. Komatsu is a University graduate and a leader in the Y. M. C. A. As national secretary he has traveled all over Japan, visiting the different associations, and edited the Pioneer (Kaitakusha), a very influential periodical, the organ of the Y. M. C. A. He has been for years the leading elder of the Kanda Church in Tokyo. Mr. Yoshida-Tatsuo served for some years as an evangelist, but, convinced that he had made a mistake in entering the ministry, became a business-man in Osaka. He has prospered and contributes liberally to Christian causes. He recently gave a bell to the church in Fukushima. Mr. Sato-Chomatsu was for a while on the staff of a newspaper in San Francisco. He is now one of the lead- ing men on the staff of the Yorozu Choho, a prominent Tokyo daily. His specialties are editorials, educational news, and interviews with cabinet ministers. Reputation of the College. Such is the general character of the institution of which the Mayor of Sendai city has said: “In Sendai education is ahead of every other enterprise, but among the educational institutions of Sendai, Tohoku Gakuin is the pride of the city.” The president of the chief educational institution of the gov- Training Christian Leaders 201 ernment in Sendai, who when he first came to the city frankly declared his opposition to the cause for which Tohoku Gakuin stands, recently in a public address ex- pressed his admiration of the school. From various sources it has been learned that in the opinion of the authorities of the Educational Department of the Japan- ese Government, Tohoku Gakuin is one of the best two private schools for young men in the Empire. The other is the Morning Star (Gyosei) Middle School of Tokyo, a Roman Catholic institution in which missionary teachers are numerous and no pains are spared to attain the highest efficiency. Indeed, so excellent is the work of this school that some of the most prominent families of the capital seem to prefer it to the Peers' School, which is maintained by the government and at which the sons of the Emperor receive their education. It is very significant that our College has been put by experts into the same class with Gyosei Middle School, for in the Roman Catholic School educational efficiency is the aim and the Christian religion as such is not in any way obtruded upon the attention of the students. There is much to be said for such a policy Too great eagerness to convert a student may scare him away. But in North Japan College the teachers and officers, while respecting the freedom of the students and not putting any pressure upon them to become Christians, properly emphasize the Christian religion as the chief factor in the life of the school. The prospectus of the College says, “The culture of Christian faith and character is an integral part of a true education.” Leadership of Dr. Schneder. President Schneder was recently granted by the Emperor a decoration for his services to the nation as an educator. He is the leader 202 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan of the missionaries engaged in educational work in Japan and writes the article on Education in the Year-book of the Federated Missions, "The Christian Movement in the Japanese Empire." The Union Christian University. Dr. Schneder has given a great deal of time and energy to the promo- tion of the proposed Union University which, he says, is to be "the strongest influence toward the dominance of Japanese thought by Christianity” and “an outlet for the graduates of Christian colleges, who cannot now enter government universities." There is no time now to emphasize the need of this. It may be enough to quote Dr. John R. Mott's recently expressed opinion of the plan: “My interest in the project has never been keener; never did I believe in it more; never did I wish more that I had more lives to spend in helping to give effect to these statesmanlike measures." Japanese Women and Christianity. There is another prominent institution in Sendai, the Miyagi Girls' School. Many of us think that the work of chris- tianizing Japan must be done largely by the women. Women are naturally conservative and slow to take up anything new. But when once their interest is awakened they show far greater patience and persistence than the men. An interesting illustration of this occurred some years ago at Ogawara. A lawyer named Niiya became interested in the preaching at the chapel. He was finally discouraged by his wife. After he had stopped going Mrs. Niiya began to wonder if she had done the right thing, visited the chapel, became a convert, and finally brought the whole family into the church. This Training Christian Leaders 203 instance is typical of the part that women have to play in the work of bringing Japan to Christ. Beginnings of Girls' School. Miyagi Girls' School was the first high school for girls north of Tokyo. It was established in 1885, when Miss Poorbaugh (now Mrs. Cyrus Cort), and Miss Ault (now Mrs. William E. Hoy of Yochow, China), came as the first women missionaries appointed to the Tohoku Mission. They opened their small school with two or three pupils in a Japanese house several blocks north of the present location. All the subjects, such as history, geography, mathematics, etc., were taught in English, a Japanese teacher being called in to teach the Chinese classics and Japanese reading, writing and composition. It was to learn English that those girls came to the school, and it is still English and music that attract the students who come from non- Christian families, as the majority do. English is to the Japanese what French was to the English people two or three centuries ago—the stamp of culture. A Providential Disaster. The school soon outgrew the little Japanese house. A plot of land was bought for it by a donation from Dr. and Mrs. J. I. Swander, and two frame buildings were erected, a home for the American teachers and, opposite it, a combination recitation hall and dormitory. In 1902, the latter was destroyed by fire. This fire, as is often the case, proved a blessing in disguise, for the school had outgrown its shell. After a year of deprivation and hardship the Church came loyally to the rescue, additional land was bought, and the present fine recitation building and a large dormitory, housing 80 girls, were completed by 1904. The following year the entering Freshman class numbered 40 and in five 204 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan ye ars' time the new building was filled, every class having its full number of students. Schools for Girls Numerous Now. The School is now thirty-two years of age and no longer the only one of its kind. Not to speak of government schools, there are in Sendai four other Christian schools for girls: the large Roman Catholic institution, with 230 pupils; the Baptist school, at which we have glanced; the Episco- palian Church Training School, and a little Methodist school called “Self-Help Seminary." Each of these has its special sphere of influence and none detracts from the continued and increasing usefulness of Miyagi Girls' School. Aim of the School. Education in Japan is progressing rapidly, as is everything else in the empire. The mis- sion schools, once far in advance, now find that they must struggle to keep in touch with up-to-date methods if they are not to be outstripped by government schools. It is the ideal of the School not only to excel in English and music, but also to give its students a thorough education in all Japanese branches. It does not wish to be a mere fashionable finishing school. It stands for solid education, culture and religion. Moreover, Japanese girls must be trained for life and work in Japanese society. The aim mentally and spiritually to exert the greatest influence possible in the interest of the Kingdom of God in Japan, to build up a school that will attract the brightest and most talented girls of all classes. To do this there is need of the best possible equipment in buildings, apparatus and teachers. Religion in the Home. A principal aim of the School Training Christian Leaders 205 is to train women to be Christian leaders. But we are not so narrow as to think that its success is measured by the number of professional religious workers among its alumnae. The most fundamental work to be done in Japan is the establishment of Christian homes. To have Christian homes we must have Christian wives and moth- ers. All over Japan there are beautiful homes over which women preside who received their faith and training in Miyagi Girls' School. These homes are centers of Christian influence in the neighborhoods in which they are placed. Already some of the children of these homes are in course of preparation for the ministry of the Gospel. In this way the Church becomes a mighty spiritual power at the very heart of Japan, and towards this consumma- tion Miyagi Girls' School is making a very definite con- tribution. Management. The School is managed by a Board constituted, as is the Board governing Tohoku Gakuin, half of American members and half of Japanese. But the principal, now Rev. Allen K. Faust, Ph.D., appointed by the Board of Foreign Missions, is ex-officio member of the Board of Managers. Complete reports of the work of the School, financial, educational and religious, are submitted annually to the Board of Foreign Missions. Departments. There are two departments, an ac- ademic or high school department, with a course of five years, admitting girls who have finished the common school course of six years, and a higher department with four courses, a two years' course in Bible study and training for religious work, a two years' course in domestic science, a three years' course in English and a three years' course in music. 206 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan New Buildings. In 1917, a small dormitory for the Bible Training course was enlarged and remodeled and a second Recitation Hall was in process of construction. The latter is especially adapted to the courses given in the higher department, having accommodations for in- ' struction in physics and chemistry, in domestic science and in music. The students of the high school course will use the new building in their classes in chemistry and music. The cost of the hall, $17,500, is being defrayed by the generous contributions of the Woman's Missionary Societies. The value of the land and buildings is now about $60,000. Capable Teachers Sought. Buildings and apparatus are important to attract the best girls, but, to hold their interest when once the students have entered, the faculty is most important. Year by year the School has endeav- ored to secure teachers, both American and Japanese, who will command the respect of the students by their scholarship, ability to teach and, most necessary of all, by their high standard of character and life. It can readily be seen that the American missionary teacher should be a graduate of one of our best colleges. The most scholarly, the most accomplished, the most womanly woman can find abundant opportunity to use all her knowledge and ability in this School. Expenses Small. Not counting the salaries of the foreign teachers, the School is just about one-third self- supporting. The Board's appropriation is now $6,400 a year. The tuition charge is quite low, 75 cents a month in the high school department and $1 a month in the higher department. The cost of educating a girl in Miyagi Girls' School, including room, tuition and board, amounts Training Christian Leaders 207 to only $37 a year. One American dollar here does the work of $10 and $20 in America, when it is spent for a corresponding purpose. The Raw Material. The Freshman Class usually starts with about 40 girls ranging in mentality from the brightest to the most stupid. Education for girls in Japan is barely fifty years old; therefore, few of the pupils come from homes where the mother is an educated woman. The modern primary school there is governed by the idea that education is pouring knowledge into the pupils rather than teaching them to extract knowledge for themselves from the world and from books. Therefore, a large part of the first year is taken up with the task of teaching the pupil how to study. The largest class that ever graduated from the high school course numbered 26. All Ranks Represented. The schools of Japan are truly democratic in spirit. Students coming from some of the most aristocratic families meet in the school-room girls from the middle class, and even some from the laboring class, and they meet them as equals. Mental ability and real worth take the place of class distinctions during the school life. The daughters of a nobleman, high in military circles, and the descendants of old feudal lords sit side by side with daughters of physicians, of lawyers, of farmers, or even of coolies and menials. Strong Christian Influence. The present enroll- mentis 222. Nearly half of the students come from Sendai homes; the other half from the principal towns and country districts of Tohoku. Only 12 per cent of the girls come from Christian families. Some of them are from homes where Christianity is barely tolerated or even despised; yet wishing their daughters to become accomplished in 1 208 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan English and music, parents send them where they think that they will receive the best instruction in these subjects, trusting that their home training will keep them impervious to the religious influence of the School. But girls of high school age are plastic and the Spirit of Christ so pervades the work that the great majority of the girls become Christians before they reach their senior year. At the end of the last school-year 70 per cent of all the stu- dents were Christians. Supported Students. The School continues to give support to one-tenth of the students in the high school department. More self-supporting students than the School can hold could be obtained, but the managers wish it to be a power among all classes, the rich and the poor, and as some of the very best Christian leaders have come from among the supported students, it is the aim to continue to aid bright, promising girls of good charac- ter, who are too poor to get an education without aid. The High School Course. The curriculum of a high school in Japan corresponds closely to a school of the same grade in America. Higher arithmetic, algebra, geometry, geography, botany, zoology, chemistry and hygiene are taught. In foreign history, Japanese girls study first the history of Korea, China, and India, as American girls study that of England, France and Ger- many. In the senior year western history is studied. English is learned as an American would learn German, French or Spanish. The Chinese studied in a Japanese school is not the modern spoken Chinese, but corresponds to Latin, Greek or Anglo-Saxon, and has the same re- lation to modern Chinese that Latin has to Italian. Sewing and cooking are subjects very much emphasized Training Christian Leaders 209 in the education of a Japanese girl, especially the former. She studies it all through the primary school, through high school, and usually before her marriage she special- izes in a regular sewing school for a year or two. In general, the girl who graduates from a high school in Japan will rank well with an American girl who is a senior in high school. Christian Teaching in the High School. The great difference between the curriculum of a government school and a mission school is that in the latter the Bible is taught. In the high school course every class has at least four periods of Bible a week. Most government high schools have a four years' course, but mission schools, because of the stress laid on the Bible, English and music, keep the pupils one year longer. Christianity is taught not only in Bible classes. Our English readers and class- ics are so full of the principles and teachings of Christ that the study of the English language itself exerts a Christian influence. History, especially western history, when taught by a Christian teacher, is quite a different thing from history as taught by a teacher who knows nothing of Christianity and its influence upon the western world. Forty Periods a Week. The school day begins at eight o'clock with a short religious service in the pretty chapel of the recitation building, and ends at half past two. The time is divided into eight periods of forty minutes each, with an hour's recess at noon. There are no study periods. Most schools in Japan are in session six days of the week, but here the week of five school days has been adopted because so many of the students in the upper classes teach both morning and afternoon on Sunday and, therefore, need Saturday as a rest-day. 210 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan Courses in Higher Department. There are four postgraduate courses. As there is no institution for the higher education of women north of Tokyo, it is the in- tention gradually to develop these higher departments into a good college. I. In 1900 a Graduate Course of Bible Study was added. The purpose of this is to train a girl to do the work of a “Bible Woman.” One year's study having been found insufficient, in 1916, the course was lengthened to two years and in time, it is hoped, the course will be extended to three years. 2. In 1912, a Domestic Science Course of three years was opened, but this was shortened in 1916 to a two years' course. Observing that graduates often entered “sewing schools,” which are in many cases low in moral tone, even if they are not strongly Buddhistic in their teaching, this course was opened to keep the girls longer under Christian influence. It has proved very attractive to graduates of government high schools, especially those coming from military families, where foreign cook- ing is highly prized. 3. In 1915, a Higher English Course of three years was opened for those students who wished to fit them- selves to teach English and for those who wished to study it as a means of culture. 4. Though a higher department in music was not form- ally organized until 1916, it had virtually existed for several years and, in 1917, two were graduated from this department. Both are teachers in the School. This higher department in music corresponds to about two years in a good American conservatory. The Class Presidents. In the Girls' School class- Training Christian Leaders 211 spirit and school-spirit are as strong as in any private school in America. Each class is organized, the presi- dent being appointed each year by the principal. In making the appointment, the principal considers two things. First, the girl must be a Christian, and, secondly, she must rank high in scholarship. She is the representa- tive of her class before the principal, the teachers and the school. On all national holidays celebrated by the school she reads an original poem or essay in honor of the occasion, thereby expressing the sentiments of her class. Life in the Dormitory. From one-third to one-half of the girls live in the dormitory of the school. A typical room considered ample for three girls is twelve feet square. At one end is a built-in wardrobe, three feet wide, divided into upper and lower compartments by horizontal partitions. In this each girl keeps her clothes neatly folded in a telescope made of basket work (kori), which takes the place in Japan of the American suit- case or small trunk. On the upper shelf are kept the thick cotton comforters which, spread upon the thick straw mats, one for a mattress and one for a cover, make the bed at night. The only piece of furniture is a tiny study table two feet high, one for each girl. On this table she keeps her few books and writing materials. Above it one or two pictures, usually unframed prints of sacred pictures, or Sunday School cards, are fastened to the wall. Each room is in charge of a Christian girl called the room-mother, who is responsible to the matron for the other girls. Every evening at six o'clock the girls meet in the study room for a short service of prayer con- ducted by the teachers or by girls in the higher depart- 212 , Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan 1 ments. From seven to nine-thirty, the time is spent in the study room. Serving Meals. The dining room is furnished with long tables and benches. Each girl's portion is placed on a tray in true Japanese style and the trays are placed in order on the tables. All the girls have turns in bring- ing in the trays and in serving the hot rice from the pretty wooden tubs bound with shining brass hoops, that they may learn to do properly what every Japanese woman, rich or poor, must do. Rest on Saturday. Saturday is spent as it is spent by girls living in an American dormitory. It is the day when everyone can do as she pleases. Laundry, mending, shopping, visiting and walking make up the day. Often in the evening different classes will have a class-spread in the dining room. Games may be played, such as poem cards, or forfeit games, of which there are several varieties handed down from ancient times. Sometimes story-telling or reading aloud is the order of the evening. In the matter of books, however, the American high school girl is a millionaire as compared to her poverty- stricken Japanese sister. Old Japanese stories are written in such difficult classical language that only a scholar can understand them. Only in the last few years has there been a movement to prepare wholesome books for young people. As yet, they are few and poor in quality, if they are not vicious. A Busy Sunday. On Sunday everyone goes to Sun- day School and church. The younger girls go as pupils, while most of the older ones are teachers. Some go on all day trips into the country, teaching classes both morning and afternoon. On Sunday evening all gather Training Christian Leaders 213 . in the home of the American teachers for a short vesper service. Outings. It is a general custom for Japanese schools to take each year two or three excursions,-usually walking trips to some place of interest. In April all go to the famous cherry garden of Sendai when the blossoms are at the height of their loveliness. In May, and again in early autumn, longer excursions are taken, either by the school as a whole, or by classes going separately. Games. Two tennis courts, a basket ball court and a gymnasium (inadequately equipped) are the attrac- tions offered in the way of athletics. Tennis is well suited to Japanese girls and many of them become quite proficient. One of the prettiest Japanese plays is walk- ing on a swinging log. A long log is swung by chains fastened at each end, and the feat of walking on it as it swings lengthwise back and forth requires great skill in balancing the body. The long sleeves of the Japanese kimono and the slender forms of the girls swaying with the log make this a most picturesque and fascinating sight. Literary Society. The students have two general organizations, a Literary Society and a Y. W. C. A. The Literary Society holds a closed session twice each term, and an annual public entertainment in November. For the closed sessions the students make the preparations with very little assistance from the teachers. The pro- gram consists of Japanese and English essays, and Chinese, Japanese, and English recitations. A Japanese speech may be made on some interesting subject. The music, both vocal and instrumental, consists of selections which have been carefully taught in class. Usually the Eng- 214 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan lish essay also is selected from those written for class. The annual public literary anniversary has a similar program, but for this the students are carefully trained by their teachers. One of the most popular numbers is a short English play. Selections from “Little Women," “Sarah Crewe," "The Birds' Christmas Carol," "Every Man," and "King Lear” are some that have been given successfully after the greatest toil on the part of both teachers and students. Y. W. C. A. The other organization, the Y. W. C. A., is affiliated with the National Association. The cab- inet is elected by the students from the upper classes, and carries on its work without supervision by the teach- ers, although there are two teachers who serve as advisers and may be consulted when necessary. Every Wed- nesday morning the whole school meets for a half-hour of prayer, and twice a month the Y. W. C. A. has entire charge of this meeting. There are committees for visit- ing the sick students, for looking after new students and for taking flowers to the hospital. On every Saturday afternoon the Y. W. C. A. is permitted to open the school compound to the children of the neighborhood as a play- ground. Several girls supervise the games or gather the children in groups and tell them stories. Students' Summer Conference. Delegates are sent to the National Summer Conference, where they study under and listen to some of the strongest Christian Ja- panese in the land. The inspiration these girls bring back to their schoolmates cannot be measured. Money for their expenses is usually raised by means of a concert given by the musicians among the missionaries. In the summer of 1917 for the first time, the National Y. W. Miyagi Girls' School Lady Physician Principal Faust Pastors' Wife Girls' School Alumnae Training Christian Leaders 215 C. A. held two conferences. The northern section met in Miyagi Girls' School, July 24-30, and was attended by ninety delegates from thirty-three associations. The Graduates. There are 380 alumnae, graduating in 25 classes, ranging in number from one to twenty-six. Of these 105 have done from one to six years of active evangelistic work before their marriage, and 18, married to ministers, are spending their lives in direct Christian work. Seventy-two are married to men in various kinds of business, twenty-seven to physicians, lawyers or teach- ers, twenty-three to officials or officers of the Army or Navy, and eight to farmers. Single Workers. Of the 232 who are not yet married, the great majority belong to the later classes. Some are at home learning to keep house and become acceptable wives to whatever husbands their parents may choose for them. But others have caught the spirit of the age and are unwilling to stay at home and wait for a husband, but wish either to earn their own living or improve them- selves by further study. Twenty are in active evangelis- tic work or in Bible training schools. One has been prac- ticing medicine for a number of years; another is now studying medicine. Several are nurses or stenographers. Many are teachers of kindergartens. All but about three left the School. gata there are four of our graduates working together to help in bringing that very conservative city to Christ. One is the pastor's wife, one is the helper of Mrs. Kriete and the other two are kindergartners and Sunday School workers. In other places there are two of our graduates 216 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan at work. Often one works alone. So the seed sown in our School is not lost, but with the blessing of God, is bearing fruit. Some a Hundredfold. How the life of a Christian school affects the heart and mind of a student may be learned from this confession addressed by a graduate to one of his teachers: “While I was in North Japan Col- lege I was so shallow-brained as to surmise that the only advantage I could derive from the school was easy access to foreigners, which, indeed, was one of which I made the most, to improve my English. But now I begin to think that there was another, a blessing greater and more to be thanked for. It has already taught me to pray day and night. It is now teaching me to aim high, to throw away selfishness, to think more of others than myself. It is slowly, but steadily, turning me into another self, dif- ferent from what I have been. Hitherto my thoughts have been turned to how I shall succeed in a worldly sense. Now the question what man should do to make himself useful to the world never ceases to haunt me.” In a later letter the same young man says: “A really marvelous change has come over my life. I do believe in Christ and I am convinced that the Bible is the true word of God. Some years ago the Bible was such dry, dry reading, of no interest whatever. Now, leave me a single copy of the Bible and I will not complain if you should take away from my library every other book. I truly hunger and thirst after any writing that deals with Christ and His Father... I have been giving to my relatives and to the students under my care copies of 'The Common People's Gospel,' telling them that if they had their hearts prepared by reading this book and the Training Christian Leaders 217 Bible, in due time God would surely kindle in them a heavenly fire.” Family Won Through a Student. A certain judge of Sendai sent his oldest son to the Government Middle School and the boy became bad. He sent his second son to North Japan College and in a short time was so favor- ably impressed that he sent his third son also to the Christian school. On New Year's day the judge called to see President Schneder and said: “I want to thank you for what you have done for my sons. Your school can give a foundation for character that no other school can give.” Soon he sent a fourth son and began to at- tend church himself. A year ago, he received baptism and is now an earnest believer. Work for Students in Other Schools. A mission- ary who knows how to deal with young men, or young women, can accomplish wonders among the students of government schools. This work in Sendai has attained such proportions that the International Y. M. C. A. has recently appointed a secretary to take charge of it, Mr. G. C. Converse. Similar work has been done by our missionaries among the Normal School students at Yamagata, in the Middle School at Yonezawa, and in the Middle School and Girls' High School at Wakamatsu. Hostels Needed. The “Survey of the Field of the Japan Mission” says: “We recommend the foundation of hostels in which about twenty-five students who are Christians or desire to live in a Christian atmosphere can be accommodated, live together and learn to work for their fellows. Equipment for such a hostel, including a dormi- tory, prayer-hall, social room, dining room, kitchen, bath, etc., costs about $5,000. Maintenance costs little 218 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan or nothing. Of course the services of a Christian worker whose personal faith and character inspire the students is the one thing needful. Ten such hostels ought to be established in connection with important schools in our field at the earliest possible date.” The need is urgent because in every center where students must find lodging and board, there are people who make a profitable bus- iness of spoiling and fleecing the young men. A Pioneer Association. The oldest students' Chris- tian association in Japan was organized at the Reformed Church in 1889 by students of the Government College in Sendai. It had to endure a severe struggle for two years. In the spring of 1891, four faithful survivors agreed to pray for four days, in the morning at a certain spot by the river and in the evening in the plain of Miya- gi. Their prayer was heard. The association was re- organized under the name of "Friends of Faith and Love" (Chuai No Tomo) and has had a splendid career since. It has had the sympathetic assistance of the missionaries and professors, chiefly of the Tohoku Mission, in the city, and its prestige and activity as an evangelistic agency have helped the Christian cause immensely. It has a branch in each of the four government universities of Japan. Fostering Infant Churches VII FOSTERING INFANT CHURCHES INTRODUCTION: “Evangelistic” Work, a Form of Education. Aim of This Work, Building up the Church. A. SOWING THE SEED IN THE HEARTS OF INDIVIDUALS: 1. Quick Results in Some Cases, Illustrations from Iwanuma and Ononii, Evangelist Ichimura. 2. Various Methods of Preparing Soil and Sowing Seed: a. Street P.eaching. b. Use of Stereopticon. c. Tours, More or Less Carefully Planned. d. Newspaper Evangelism, at Sendai and at Morioka. e. English Bible Classes. f. Lectures: Rural Young Men's Associations, Work of Professor Kajiwara. g. Influence of Christmas Festival. h. Large Meetings in Theatres. i. Follow-up Work: Use of Tracts, Periodicals and Books. GUARDING THE HARVEST: Care of the Local Churches. I. Organization: The “Preaching Place.” 2. The Workers: The Evangelist and the “Bible-woman.” 3. Equipment: Chapel, Style of Building, Best Planned for the Young, The Cemetery. 4. Sunday School, Young People’s Society. 5. Regular Services. 6. Admission to Membership: Children, Adults, Time for Bap- tism. 7. A “Mission Church,” Attainment of Independence. 8. Disposition of Property. RELATION OF MISSIONARIES TO THE JAPANESE CHURCH AS A WHOLE: 1. Native Leadership Stronger in Japan than in China. 2. The Missionaries' Attitude toward the Native Church. 3. Plan of Cooperation. 4. Evangelistic Administration: Reports and Estimates. 5. Wishes of American Supporters Respected. D. EVANGELIZATION THROUGH SOCIAL SERVICES: 1. Work in County-Towns Harder than in Cities and Villages. 2. Tohoku Mission's Work Largely in the Towns. 3. The Simple Method of Installing a Local Evangelist in a Rented House; Much Failure and Some Success. 4. Need of Institutional Activities: Successful Kindergartens. VII. FOSTERING INFANT CHURCHÉS Evangelistic Work. In distinction from the "edu- cational” task, which has just been described, it is custo- mary to speak of the work of establishing churches as “evangelistic.” To most people the word suggests the kind of activity associated with the names of such evan- gelists as Moody, Chapman, or Sunday. These men have to deal with gospel-hardened people who learned at their mothers' knees and in a hundred other ways the principles of our religion, and need only to be touched and moved to take a stand; but in Japan, the Christian senses of the words, God, sin, salvation, etc., are not understood, and until the people are trained to understand them, a sudden emotional appeal may do more harm than good, bringing into the Church people who have not the right motive and misunderstand the situation. A Work of Patient Instruction. The word “evan- gelize” is derived from the Greek “evangel,” which in the Greek New Testament is the equivalent of our word, “Gospel”-the good news of salvation. To evangelize is “to give all men an adequate opportunity to know Jesus Christ as their Savior and to become His real disciples." We need to remember that the masses of North Japan in a religious sense have not come up even to the level of the Old Testament. Ordinary preach- 221 222 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan ing goes over their heads. They are like those of whom it is said in the Epistle to the Hebrews, that they could not eat strong meat, but had to be fed milk, being babes. So when we speak of “evangelistic work” we mean really, the work of educating the people at large and establishing the Church as an institution that will continue the work of education. Aiming to Establish the Church. The ultimate aim of all missionary work, as has often been stated, is to build up a "self-propagating, self-supporting and self- governing native church.” The Christian worker al- ways has time to help individuals to whom he is led by Providence, in imitation of Jesus on the cross, who in the midst of His terrible agony ministered to those who suffered with Him. He must also imitate the Master in adopting a very definite policy, in order that when his own course is finished, the work of evangelizing the world may go on. It is not right to attempt anything so important in a haphazard manner. Insuring Permanence. It is always the best test of the success of any religious worker to observe what happens when he has to quit. The field in North Japan is now open to American missionaries. Probably the task to which we are applying ourselves will not be finish- ed for a hundred years, but we must continue to work while it is day, knowing that the night comes wherein no man can work. The desire that dominates our minds is that we may not only win individuals, but also so establish the native church that evangelism may be carried on to the end, even though we might not be permitted to continue our present activity. No Churchless Christianity. There are many Ja- Fostering Infant Churches 223 panese who maintain that a man may study and pray alone and be a perfect Christian, even though he belongs to no church. A notable champion of this view is Mr. Uchimura, editor of “Bible Study.” But such a religion as this cannot last long in a country like Japan. Unless the believers separate themselves clearly from unbeliev- ers, it soon begins to be said that one can be a Shinto- ist and a Buddhist and a Christian at the same time, and Christianity fades away entirely. Seedtime Before Harvest. Having now set before our minds the objective, we will note the stages by which we reach it. Our Lord, in His parables, likened the work to a farmer tilling his fields. After the preparation of the soil the seed is sown. There are various kinds of soils. Some respond at once, others need careful culti- vation. It is said that a Belgian peasant can, in a few years, make a fertile field out of a waste of sand. Such work must sometimes be done on the missionary field. A Providential Call to Iwanuma. Sometimes the soil is rich and just ready for the right seed. In the early days Rev. Yoshida-Kametaro was passing at night through a street in Iwanuma when he noticed a man going by with a bowed head, as if in great trouble. The Spirit urged him to speak to the man at the first oppor- tunity. He inquired who he was and learned that he was a young physician, assistant to his father, a promi- nent doctor. The next morning he called to see him, found the office full of patients, went around to a private entrance and boldly asked for an immediate interview, saying that he had an important matter to talk over. He had hardly begun when the young man broke down and confessed that when the evangelist saw him he was 224 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan returning from the house of a bad woman, who had so ensnared him that he had just about made up his mind to kill himself. He was happily saved. A Providential Call to Ononii. The way in which work may be begun in a new place is illustrated by an experience described by the missionary in charge of Fuku- shima Prefecture. “One night, in 1915, I was preaching in Miharu with Rev. Yoshida-Kikutaro. The new rail- road being constructed across the province had been ex- tended from Miharu to a town named Ononii. We were naturally curious to go over the road and do a little prospecting. So we decided to spend the next morning visiting Ononii. As we walked the streets of the town Mr. Yoshida expressed to me a strong wish to begin reg- ular work, though he did not know a single person in the town. I resisted him because the evangelistic committee disapproves of starting so many new stations. More- over, I was eager to return home, where a great amount of business awaited my attention. We walked out to the edge of the town and Mr. Yoshida pressed me to stay overnight and hold a meeting. In distress, I said a little prayer asking God to show me what I should do. At that very moment a Japanese gentleman came up from behind and surprised us with an invitation to come into his house and have a cup of tea. He said to Mr. Yoshida, 'I know you well. In Taira you were kind to help my son in his English. My family is now living in Miharu and my children go to your Sunday School. I am so glad to see you here. You must by all means stay overnight and hold a meeting.' He owned a mimeo- graph, and in a very short time printed one hundred in- vitations to the principal men of the town to come to Fostering Infant Churches 225 our hotel and hear a lecture on relations between Japan and America, which afforded a fine opportunity to ex- plain to them the nature of the Christian religion and the motive of the Americans in sending missionaries to Ja- pan. Afterwards the committee agreed to have Mr. Yoshida visit the place once a month, and in the year that he has been at work he has found three Christians and five inquirers. The average attendance at preaching is 14 and at Sunday School 35. Recently in a meeting of the committee at Sendai, a motion was made to stop his work on the ground that Mr. Yoshida ought to give his time wholly to Koriyama, but when it was shown that he was reaching so many people at an expense of only $25.00 a year, the motion was defeated.” A Ready Welcome Exceptional. Thus we see that at one of the oldest stations and at one of the newest there was instant response. When our lamented Evan- gelist Ichimura was in America some years ago, he at- tended a missionary meeting and heard a song whose re- frain was “Pity them.” “Whom are they pitying?” he asked. “They are pitying the heathen,” was the reply. “Let them pity themselves,” he said; “I became a Chris- tian at once the first time I heard the Gospel. The reason why I was a heathen so long was, because the Americans do not do their full duty. Let them pity themselves.” But such cases of quick success are after all exceptional. Let us now consider the various methods by which the ordinary hard and unpromising soil is pre- pared and the seed is sown. Street Preaching. An audience can be gathered almost anywhere, especially if an American missionary is present. Preaching on the street is now permitted by 226 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan the police where it does not interfere with traffic. A meet- ing is best held where a side street leads off from the busy main street. To gather a crowd, about all that is neces- sary is to sing a hymn. It is not every one who can hold the attention of such a crowd, but a worker who has the gift of pungent speech can do a great deal of good on the street. Such work is frequently done in connection with a fair or festival that draws large crowds. For this purpose a tent may be used. A small stage with an organ to lead the singing, some pictures, texts, copied in large letters, and a generous supply of tracts constitute the outfit. Use of Magic Lantern. In breaking up the fallow ground, the stereopticon or radiopticon is invaluable, for the reason that the people need to be convinced that the stories given in the Bible are historical facts. Many of the tales of the old religion are myths floating hazily in the spiritual atmosphere, and people who first hear Chris- tian stories are apt to imagine that these, too, are fairy - Y hindrance than a help. One of the most promising of our young women-workers was converted through a vision of Christ walking upon the waters, which, no doubt, symbolized to her mind her own danger of being over- whelmed by the troubles of her life. The suggestion of the vision may have been a picture that she had once seen, but afterwards when she was given a rather poor lithograph showing Christ walking upon the waters, she was much disappointed, saying that the man in the pic- ture did not look so glorious as the Savior that she had seen in her dreams. Fostering Infant Churches 227 Sowing by Motorcycle. Rev. H. H. Cook of Yama- gata, who died of overwork in the spring of 1916, used a motorcycle, with a side-car for his helper and apparatus. He used in turn a stereopticon, a violin, a phonograph- anything to interest the people. He travelled in spring and fall on long circuits and held a meeting every night in a different place. Arriving at a strange town at noon he would secure a meeting place, in a hotel, a private house, a theatre, or a public school gymnasium. He thus describes his method of advertising the evening meeting: “After dinner, announcements of the evening meeting must be printed with the duplicator on the back of from two to five hundred tracts, which we bring into the homes of the people a little later. If the town is large and the meeting-place of sufficient size, the autocycle is again called upon for service. A large poster announc- ing the meeting is tied to a stick held up by the person riding in the side car as we go puffing through the streets. Thus practically everybody in town is informed of our work. If we are not too tired by this time we stop at several street corners, hold up our picture roll and do some street preaching for an hour or two." The next morning he would preach on the streets of various vil- lages on his way to the next stopping place. Prospecting Itineraries. The senior missionary at Wakamatsu makes all his preparations for an extended tour by correspondence. When it is desired to hold a meeting in a certain town a letter of introduction is ob- tained to some leading man in the town, who is then asked to gather his friends at a suitable place. Usually if there is no one else, the postmaster or one of the teach- ers of the public school gladly undertakes to make the 228 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan preparations; for the Department of Communications has been favorable to Christian work, and since the Bureau of Religions has come under the Department of Education, the teachers of the land seem more and more to regard themselves as natural allies of religious workers. The next time preparations are made to visit the same town the workers will know better on whom they can depend to gather the people. In planning the next itin. erary several places that have shown no interest are drop- ped and in their stead promising new places are put on the list. In such ways fairly regular work, tours being planned twice a year or oftener, can be done, covering a wide stretch of territory and reaching many thousands of the people. Newspaper Evangelism. To reach those who live in such out-of-the-way places that they are not touched by the methods described above, the newspapers are used. This method was first tried by Mr. Pieters, missionary of the Reformed Church in America at Oita in Kyushu. A serial presentation of Christianity is printed in some good newspaper as an advertisement, for which the missionary pays. To every article is added an offer to answer in- quiries and send literature to those who will reply to the advertisement. Results at Sendai. This kind of work was tried a few years ago, by Dr. Faust and Dr. Seiple of North Japan College. They thus describe their experiences: “We wrote a number of articles on some fundamental teachings of Christianity and had those articles inserted in a Sendai daily paper at advertising rates. This daily paper is read by possibly 50,000 people. Esti- mating that one out of every five of the readers read Fostering Infant Churches 229 our articles, we had a daily class of 10,000, many of whom live in very far-away places where Christianity has never been taught before. After the series of articles had appeared in the paper, we had the same material published in pamphlet form under the title, "Some Fundamentals of Christianity,' and then inserted an advertisement in the paper stating that we would give or send free a copy of the pamphlet to all persons desiring to have one. In all, about 300 persons either came to our houses for copies or wrote to us for some. Most of these people are actual inquirers.” Some Inquirers' Doubts. Some of the questions that the many letters contained were: “If evolution is true is religion possible?”. “Does God punish us for our sins by sending us misfortunes in this life?” “Is it really true that God cares more for men than for the birds of heaven?” “Is it not contrary to history to say that God revealed Himself in Christ alone?” “If God really be- came a man, is it not true then that there was no God at that time?” “Is it not unreasonable to say that God is the Creator and Father of all men, but that He will save only those who believe in Christ?” Newspaper Work in Iwate. Missionary Kuyper of Morioka says: “The newspaper work has helped a great deal in bringing the message into out-of-the-way places. There are very few communes (mura) in our territory from which some inquiry has not come for Christian books and at the present time we have about 800 inquirers on our lists, mostly people from the rural towns and villages.” Language Classes. There are various indirect ways of awakening interest. Often a Japanese who really wants to study our religion is afraid to show his interest 230 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan or compromise himself in the eyes of his associates. For this reason, as we have seen, the subject of the first ad- dress in a town may be on an American rather than on a Christian topic. Many can be reached through an English Bible Class. The missionary who wishes to do his bit for the Kingdom, need not wait until he has master- ed the Japanese language. It is quite possible to work among certain classes through the medium of English. When students have had sufficient preparation, they get more adequate impressions through the English than through their own language. On the other hand, of course, if one wishes to have a real heart-to-heart talk with a Japanese, there is nothing.to equal his mother-tongue. Both languages are useful in conveying the ideas of the Gospel. Many have been won through the English Bible classes. Those who are interested may be organ- ized as a students' Y. M. C. A., and put to work to win their fellows. In this manner a thriving Y. M. C. A. has been established in the city of Wakamatsu, and many students have been brought into the Church. Such work enables us not only to reach the students in the city, but opens up new avenues of approach to the rela- tives of the young men scattered about the country, who are becoming alive to the serious dangers confronting students in the cities. The missionaries at Yamagata have recently started a night school for the study of English, which brings them into intimate touch with the brightest and most ambitious young men of the city. At Sendai and at Wakamatsu the German language also has been taught, with similar results. Rural Young Men's Associations. In every com- mune, in connection with the public school, the govern- Fostering Infant Churches 231 ment has encouraged the organization of a young men's association (seinendan), to raise the moral tone and culti- vate public spirit. In too many cases there is no leader able to infuse life into the organization, and it is an empty shell. It affords a rare opportunity for the evangelistic worker who knows how to combine in an address Chris- tian doctrine with instruction on subjects that appeal to country-folks. Two of the Japanese evangelists, Sugi- yama of Odaka and Miura of Sakata, have specialized along this line and are in constant request at meetings of the associations. Mr. Sugiyama was a graduate expert in agriculture before he studied theology at Sendai; he has written several popular books on the practical prob- lems of the Japanese peasantry, and at the same time he preaches the Gospel with great conviction and power. Moral Lectures. There is a great demand every- where for edifying moral discourses. A missionary or a pastor will be invited day after day to address scholars at school, teachers at an institute, railroad men at the station, employees at the post and telegraph office, police- men at headquarters, farmers at fairs, workmen at fac- tories and so on, if he will but discuss a question of morals without obtruding his religion upon the audience. Some- times it is wise to accept such an invitation. But as a rule the missionary does not like to speak in a public school building, because the policy of the government in granting freedom of religious belief is one that the mis- sionary ought to respect. While the school officials do not object to preaching Christianity itself, if Christ be not named in the address, the true missionary cannot preach Christianity without naming Christ. On the whole, he prefers to go where he is free to speak of the things that are nearest his heart. 232 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan Railway and Post Office Work. The Department of Communications, managing the railways, post offices, etc., has distinctly encouraged religious, and particularly Christian, work among its employees. There is a Rail- way Mission which provides unlimited opportunities for Christian workers among this class. At Wakamatsu Railway Station, within two or three years, the number of believers increased from none to fifteen. Prof. Kaji- wara, in connection with his duties as teacher in North Japan College, has been engaged as a regular instructor in morals at the school conducted by the Department of Communications at Sendai. It is a school in which young men are trained in telegraphy, accounting and other lines of work managed by the Post Office Department. Prof. Kajiwara uses the Bible as a text-book and not only teaches the young men the principles of Christianity, but follows up his work by means of articles in a period- ical that goes to all the post offices in the North. Conse- quently, the travelling evangelist is apt to find friends and helpers at each post office on his route. Influence of the Christmas Festival. It may sur- prise some Americans to hear how popular Christmas has become among the Japanese. The Christians always make much of Christmas. It is celebrated as a Chil- dren's Festival. The children of the Sunday School are trained to sing songs and say recitations, describing the good that has been done the world through the coming of Christ. The place of meeting is gorgeously decorated and a few cakes are usually distributed to all who come. At a country church the celebration may begin at six o'clock and last until very late in the evening. The place of meeting is crowded to its capacity. The expenses are Fostering Infant Churches 233 met by contributions not only from Christians, but from the people of the town generally. The reason for this is that in Japanese religions there is usually an annual festival and Christmas is regarded as the Christian festival. There are many people in the town who feel that they dare not identify themselves with the Christians, but are in sympathy and make a handsome contribution for the celebration of Christmas. There are hundreds who owe all the knowledge they have of our religion to what they learn at the Christmas celebration. Meetings in the Theatre. In places where a small congregation exists but is not well known to the com munity, it is customary once or twice a year to hold a “great lecture meeting.” Printed handbills are distrib- uted with the newspapers, and posters are displayed in all parts of the town. Usually such a meeting is held in a theatre. A Japanese theatre is a barn-like structure with a peculiarly constructed stage at one end. The stage is round and revolves on a central pivot. The scenery is set up on one half while the play goes on at the other side, and then the whole is revolved when the scene changes. The seats of the audience are large boxes on the ground with a little straw mat on the bot- tom on which the spectators and auditors squat, eat, drink and smoke by the hour. On the partitions be- tween the boxes are boards over which peddlers go back and forth selling all sorts of refreshments. Such a place is disorderly and not well adapted to a religious meeting. But often when a large audience is to be accommodated, the only available place is the theatre. There are other large houses in town, but those are often disreputable restaurants or worse. 234 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan Use of Tracts and Periodicals. The methods des- cribed above accomplish little more than advertising. By means of them promising inquirers are found. The careful missionary has a card-catalogue and knows where every Christian or inquirer is located in his terri- tory. Follow-up work is done. At times when the people have leisure and can read, literature is sent out by mail. The best time for sending tracts in the North is at the beginning of the long winter season. When people are kept at home by the snow they eagerly accept anything to read. There are periodical publications. The pro- fessors of North Japan College edit a monthly called "Tohoku Church Times,” but this is not written in pop- ular style and is enjoyed most by the pastors and more intelligent Christians. Rev. H. H. Cook started a month- ly entitled “Light of Ryou” (Ryou-no-Hikari-Ryou being the old name for Yamagata and Akita Prefectures), which he distributed to the extent of 1500 copies, and this publication has been continued by the Mission since his death. At Wakamatsu the "Aizu Pulpit” (Aizu Kyodan) is published. Christian Books. The Mission also has two stores at which Bibles, hymn-books and other Christian publi- cations are sold. One is in Sendai and is now almost self-supporting. The other is at Wakamatsu. Ordinary book-sellers are willing to carry some Christian literature, but there is not much money in it for them and it is nec- essary to subsidize the business more or less, in order to secure wide distribution. Japanese Bibles are obtained from the Branch of the American Bible Society at Yo- kohama. A Japanese Congregationalist, Mr. Fukunaga, has built up a large and successful publishing house in Fostering Infant Churches 235 - Tokyo. There is also a Methodist Publishing House in that city. Practically all the missions are now uniting in the work of the Christian Literature Society of Japan, which was organized about five years ago and has already done some fine work. The Tohoku Mission contributes to it $600 a year. What this Society needs most is funds to enable it to obtain the services of the most capable and, therefore, the busiest Japanese Christian leaders, taking them for a while away from their regular work and giving them opportunity to write the books that are needed. Hitherto too many of the Christian publications issued in the Japanese language have been translations from the English. A Regular Preaching Place. When the Evangel- istic Committee has learned through all the preliminary work that it is feasible to build up a congregation of Christians at a certain place, arrangements are made to have a local evangelist visit the place and hold regular services. Experience has taught us to be conservative in opening new preaching places, as they are called, and we usually wait until we have been importuned for some time to do so. Gardeners know that it is important that the growth of a plant should not be checked, or it may be permanently stunted and never amount to anything. So a mission needs to guard its prestige and give the people generally the assurance that when the work is once begun, it will be pushed to the end. Indeed, honor binds us not to desert people who have broken away from former religious associates and identified themselves with the Christian Church. Many of them are weak and need careful nurture. We hold back for a long time, until we are assured that the people very much want a church, so much so that they are willing to make sacrifices for it. 236 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan The Local Evangelist. An evangelist is a Japanese worker who has charge of one or more preaching places. He is usually a graduate of a theological seminary. There are, however, exceptional cases of men who have had scarcely any educational advantages and yet succeed by force of character. Such a man is Mr. Akiho, originally a Samurai of Tsurugaoka, who has built up a number of congregations, and whose sons and daughters, servants of the Kingdom, are following in his footsteps. His salary today is but $17.50 a month, and that is about the av- erage for an evangelist. The lowest is $12.50, the highest is $25. The evangelist is granted allowances for rent and travel and sometimes for sundries, but receives no fees or perquisites from those to whom he ministers. From the very beginning the Christians connected with the preaching-places are expected to pay a portion, however small, toward his regular salary. Once a year, usually in connection with the meeting of Classis, all the evangel- ists of the Tohoku Mission hold a conference, paying all the expenses themselves, with the aid of a small appro- priation from the evangelistic committee. The Bible Woman. At many places the evangelists are assisted by so-called Bible Women. It would per- haps be better to call them mission-women. These are graduates of the Girls' School who have had a year or two of special training in the Bible, music and other sub- jects, to qualify them to teach women and children and help in the services of the church. Among the Bible women are some graduates of the school of the Union Mission at Yokohama, which has a three years' course and sends out more mature workers than our Girls' School can. These young women are subject to constant 會者從教北東六十章 ​- Group of Pastors and Evangelists Group of Bible Women Church and Congregation, lizaka (A property good for ten years, that cost $500.) A Homeless Congregation, Kitakata Fostering Infant Churches 237 criticism, whatever they do. According to the Japanese code they are expected to be entirely subservient to the men, to take orders from superiors, and have no initiative. On the other hand they cannot be efficient evangelistic workers unless they break the code. Then they are in danger of becoming unconventional in all their ways, and, being young, are liable to make serious blunders. The policy of the Mission is to ask the pastor's family or some other Christian family to give them needed protection and chaperonage. Though they are much criticised, their services are so highly valued that the Mission is not able to respond to half of the urgent calls that come for such workers. The salary of a woman worker is from $6 to $9 a month, besides allowances for rent and travel. About thirty are employed in the Tohoku Mis- sion. Need of a Chapel. In winning the confidence of the community and building up the church on a sound basis, nothing is more important than to have a suitable chapel. People who break with their old religion need to be as- sured that the Christian Church has come to stay. When our meetings are held in one rented house today and an- other tomorrow, those whose faith is not yet strong are discouraged. Especially in the ordinary county town will the existence of a chapel make all the difference be- tween success and failure in the work. Advantages of the Foreign Style of Building. In regard to the chapel the question naturally arises whether it should be in Japanese style or more or less like that which prevails in other countries. In the native style there is no furniture, only a soft mat on the floor on which people squat in a more or less disorderly manner. Not 238 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan only is there difficulty in having everything done decently and in order, but modern Japanese men, who usually dress in foreign style to go out, are made uncomfortable in places where they have to sit in the Japanese manner. The public schools are provided with benches and desks for their scholars, and in that way men become accustomed to our way of sitting, and are disinclined to observe the older custom. It must be remembered that in the priv- acy of the home, one may sprawl on the floor in an un- dignified way, but in a public assembly, one is expected to maintain decorum. Women are more accustomed to sitting in the proper manner at home, and indeed, many women are uncomfortable on a bench or pew, and in a church where pews are provided may be found taking their feet up from the floor and tucking them behind on the seat; but as a rule, men dislike public assemblies where they have to sit on the floor. There is one other reason in favor of the foreign style. Officials and pro- fessional men such as physicians and lawyers, usually have an office fitted with a hard floor, chairs and tables, for the reason that in a matted room their patients and clients feel that they must observe the old etiquette, and so waste a great deal of time, while in the modern office they quickly get down to business, as Americans do. So the general tendency among the Christians is to build churches with pews, in our style. This style helps them to realize that the Christian religion is different from that to which they have been accustomed. The foreign style makes for order, comfort, and efficiency. New wine should be kept in new bottles. But in one respect the Japanese custom must be observed; the vestibule should be roomy with rows upon rows of shelves for the shoes and clogs. Fostering Infant Churches 239 Building for Children and Youth. In some places where chapels have been built the mistake has been made of building for the adult worshippers, rather than for the children. At Wakamatsu, a beautiful chapel was erected in 1911. The first Sunday that it was used the children of the Sunday School were too many for the pews. The furniture in the chancel had to be removed and the car- pet in it was covered by the tots of the primary depart- ment. Even today after six years the number of wor- shippers at a regular church service does not exceed 40. It might have been better to build a small place of wor- ship for the adults and give the larger part of the chapel to the Sunday School, building in such a way as to make it suitable for the purpose. It is quite certain that when the congregation becomes so strong that the place of worship, accommodating only 40 or 50 persons for the regular Sunday morning services, becomes too small, the Christians will manage to provide a more commodious building. Need of a Cemetery. We must look at people as they are, whether in Japan or in America. It is not strange that the cemetery, too, has much to do with the pro- gress of a church. The only cemeteries in a Japanese town are controlled by the Buddhist priests. So it is some- times asked, “If you become a Christian, where will you be buried when you die?” So long as a church has no cemetery of its own, people who belong to the local com- munity are naturally slow to join the church. The First Reformed Church (Nibancho) in Sendai attended to this matter at the very beginning of its history, under Mr. Oshikawa, and obtained a concession from a Buddhist temple on North Mountain (Kitayama), which is today 240 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan a beautiful Christian cemetery, the last resting-place of Mrs. Faust, Dr. and Mrs. DeForest, Mr. Cook and other missionaries who have given their lives to Tohoku. Pro- viding a cemetery is a matter which the Japanese Chris- tians must manage for themselves. It is a pity the good example set by Mr. Oshikawa has not been imitated more widely. The Sunday School. Where the establishment of a church is contemplated, the first work to be undertaken is that of the Sunday School. Indeed, it may be said that the future of the church is not secure until there are in it members who have been brought up in the knowledge of the Lord from their childhood. It is remarkably easy to gather a crowd of children anywhere at a time when the public school is not in session. When in 1916 Rev. J. G. Rupp visited the little town of Namie, he was greatly amused and at the same time deeply impressed by the way in which the children were rounded up. A theatre had been rented for the evening and there were several hours to spare before the older people could be expected. So the evangelist called a public messenger, a man dressed in fiery red clothes, like a clown, gave him a nickel and asked him to call the children to the theatre. The messenger knew their playgrounds and he brought a great crowd of them within a few minutes. Children every- where gladly come to Sunday School. If we had the teach- ing staff required we could easily gather them in by hun- dreds of thousands. There is where the difficulty lies: we have not the teachers. Often the evangelist is the only teacher available, and sometimes he does not know how to handle the children. Exceptionally fortunate is the case when both the evangelist and his wife can do this kind of work. Fostering Infant Churches 241 Need of Sunday School Experts. Principal Faust of the Girls' School, who has written in Japanese a valu- able book on the subject, and has given much thought to the problem of the Sunday School, says: “By all means, the Mission ought to have one man missionary, a Sunday School specialist, who would devote his entire time to this work. Such a man would co-operate with one or two Japanese workers along the same line. They would have to supply inspiration to the local workers, hold local institutes from time to time and place to place; organize new Sunday Schools under the direction of the proper Church authorities; encourage the starting of teacher-training classes and inspire the missionary spirit in the Sunday Schools." The Young People's Society. It is the more nec- essary to take good care of the Sunday School, because in Japan when the scholars reach a certain age, and enter middle school or high school they are so apt to quit auto- matically, as though the Sunday School were for children only. It is good to have a ceremony of promotion at that time and organize a young men's society and a young women's society. There are now such societies at about twenty stations in the Tohoku Mission. It is, of course, utterly out of the question in Japan to combine the two sexes in such work. The Lord's Day. While school children have a holi- day on Sunday and the official classes also observe the day, the common people work on that day as on any other. So it can be imagined how difficult it is to secure a good attendance at morning worship on Sunday. For many people Sunday is the busiest day in the week. Many a Christian wife is hindered from going to church 242 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan because Sunday is the day when most callers come to the house, and the husband demands her presence at home. For every ten children that go to Sunday School, there are only three adults that go to the regular services of the church. Baptism of Infants. Comparatively few children are baptized, because we baptize a child only when as- surance can be given that it will be taught and trained in the Christian way. In Japan grandparents and other relatives have such authority over a child that cases when it is right to baptize it are not very numerous. Campaign for New Members. Members added to the churches are usually adults won by quiet personal work, or by a public evangelistic campaign. Mention has been made of the work of Mr. Kanamori of the Sal- vation Army, who has had more success than any other campaigner in the North. He sees to it that the people are assembled in the church who are more or less familiar with the principles of Christianity. Many workers are scattered about the audience, each provided with “de- cision cards” and pencils. Mr. Kanamori, after spending the day alone in prayer, preaches a sermon on the way of salvation, and when he feels that the audience is moved, reads the “decision card” and urges his hearers to sign it. The workers in the audience do the rest. At Wakamatsu, in October, 1916, in two days' time, 120 persons were led by him to decide to unite with the Reformed Church. The pastor having been drafted into the army, it was impossible to give immediate and adequate attention to all these applicants, but many of them have been prepared for baptism. Admission of New Members. One of the greatest Fostering Infant Churches 243 mistakes a worker can make is to be too quick to yield to requests for baptism. In the early days (1880-1890), many were baptized whom the Church was not able to assimilate, and experience has shown that it is far easier to build up a congregation in a community where Chris- tianity is a new thing than where nominal Christians have, by their unworthy lives, produced a false impression as to what Christianity stands for. So much depends on the character of the converts. Missionaries of some de- nominations think that it is a sin to refuse baptism to anyone who asks for it. They say that people ought to be baptized first and then taught, according to Matthew xxviii: 19-20. Others keep converts waiting too long, as if they had to be perfect in character before they could be received into the Church. The right course avoids both extremes. A convert should be baptized when it is evident that he seeks baptism intelligently, and from the right motive. A Mission Church. When a group of Christians has reached a certain standard of membership and contri- butions, namely, fifteen members contributing thirty dollars a year, it is recognized by the Classis as a mission church. So long as it is dependent for finanical aid upon the Mission, it is not allowed to have any voice in con- trolling the affairs of the Nihon Kirisuto Kyokwai. But when it supports its own pastor it is recognized as having full rights in the Church as a whole, has a regular con- sistory, and may send a delegate elder to Classis an Synod. A Self-Supporting Church. The church that pays its pastor's salary is called self-supporting. In some cases the Mission helps such a church by providing an assistant 244 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan to the pastor, such as a Bible woman. The mistake has been made in the past of leaving a church to struggle alone after it once became independent. It must be remember- ed that the Mission, whose aim it is to reach the unevan- gelized population, may work to better advantage through an independent native church than in a separate way. That is, the Mission and the native church ought to work together to save those who are outside. On account of hard times there have been few successful self-supporting churches in Tohoku, hitherto. Of the four Reformed churches in Sendai, two have reached that stage; so have the churches at Iwanuma and Fukushima. Transfer of Property to a Native Church. Ex- perience has taught us that a church that has just become self-supporting may not be strong enough to care properly for a church building. If through the neglect of the stitch in time that saves nine, the building gets into bad repair, or if through neglect of fire-insurance, it becomes a total loss, the Mission must go to the rescue. So it has seemed wisest to take care of the building and give it rent free to the congregation during the first years of its independence. As it becomes stronger, however, and able to take care of the property, it is provided that the congregation, on forming a legal corporation, and after it has been independent for two years, may take over the title whenever it desires to do so. The Mission and the Japanese Church as a Whole. Now we may consider two great problems that have to do with the success of the evangelistic work. The first is the problem of the Relation of the Mission to the Na- tive Church. The second is the Problem of the County Town. In solving the former problem, the first element '. Fostering Infant Churches 245 this in the previous ghly trained. We were Japanese in a wise method is to have institutions where Japanese leaders can be thoroughly trained. We have considered this in the previous chapter. The second element is to yield to Japanese who have been trained, such privileges and opportunities as will encourage them to make the most of their talents. Under the guidance of God, the Tohoku Mission has from the first been led to adopt a .. policy that experience has proved to be wise. Contrast With China. In 1916, Dr. William Adams Brown, Professor of Union Theological Seminary, New York, visited Japan and China. In his report sub- mitted to the authorities of the institution that sent him, Professor Brown notes the very great difference between the Church of Japan and the Church of China. He says: “When one remembers how long Protestant missions have been at work in China, how many and able the missionaries, how great the influence of Christianity upon many phases of Chinese thought and life, it is dis- couraging to find the Chinese Church still so weak, and to see the contrast between it and the Japanese Church in independence and efficiency. The cause of this state of things is complex. Partly it is due to the Chinese char- acter, which has been accustomed for generations to ac- cept without question the leadership of superiors; but in part also it is the result of a mistaken policy on the part of the missionaries. Until recently, they have kept con- trol of all matters in their own hands, and only within the last few years have they come to realize the importance of divesting themselves of some part at least of the author- ity which is now theirs." Strength of Native Leadership in Japan. The reason why the Japanese Church now leads the Churches 246 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan of all the missionary fields of the world in the matter of native leadership is, of course, due primarily to the spirit of the Japanese people themselves. The history of Japan from the time when the Roman Catholics almost succeed- ed in winning the country, has been such as to make the Japanese Christians very jealous of their independence, and afraid of acquiring the reputation of being subservient to foreigners. Another reason is the fact that in the early days an American missionary was not allowed to reside in a place like Sendai, except in the capacity of an employee of a Japanese concern. Still another reason is the ex- ceptional difficulty of the task. In Japan we have to deal with a people that developed a peculiar civilization in isolation. The Japanese language was an almost unsurmountable obstacle to the early missionaries, who had no dictionary nor grammar of the conversational language, and this made them very dependent upon their helpers. Even now, missionaries who have entirely mastered the language need to be constantly in consulta- tion with their advisers, because the ideas of the Japanese are so different from ours that it is extremely difficult for Americans to avoid unnecessarily offending them. A fourth reason why the native leader has been so highly developed is the wisdom of some influential early mission- aries who had the grace to recognize the ability of the Japanese and to yield to them due deference. Not all did so, but those that did were the ones that had the great- est success. Attitude of the Successful Missionary. One of our wise older missionaries said to a young colleague, - "If you want to have any authority among the Japanese make up your mind not to claim any. If you insist on Fostering Infant Churches 247 1 having authority, you may have it, but you will have nothing else.” The missionaries in Japan have had a very hard time and have been much misunderstood by those working in China and other lands where conditions are different, but it is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.” As is generally the case, those who have a hard time find in the end that the experience is good for them. Plan of Co-operation. In 1909 the Tohoku Mission entered into an arrangement, according to which the evangelistic work should be administered by a joint- committee composed of equal numbers of American missionaries and representatives of the Nihon Kirisuto Kyokwai. There is a general committee which has the right to say at what places and by what men work shall be undertaken and what the scale of appropriations shall be. This committee consists of four of our missionaries, one representative of the General Board (Somukyoku) of the Nihon Kirisuto Kyokwai, one representative of Tokyo Classis, and two representatives of Miyagi Classis, the churches being under the jurisdiction of these two Classes. For the management in detail, local committees are appointed. The work in the North is managed by a joint committee in which the Japanese members are two pastors of self-supporting churches, a professor of theology, and one elder. The present annual appro- priations for the work of the Tohoku Mission are: Northern Field.. .....$12,400 Tokyo Field..... ...... 2,250 Bible Women........ ..... 3,000 Kindergartens.... ..... 1,362 . ILOIIS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Total....... 248 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan The Missionary in Charge. The field as a whole is divided into sections, to each of which a missionary is assigned. During recent years Dr. Moore has been in charge of the correspondence and business connected with the churches in Miyagi Prefecture; Dr. Noss has been missionary-in-charge of Fukushima Prefecture, and Mr. Kriete has been responsible for the Prefectures of Yamagata and Akita. Quite recently Mr. Ankeney has been appointed to Akita Prefecture and Mr. Hoekje (loaned by the Mission of the Reformed Church in Amer- ica) to Iwate and Aomori Prefectures. Monthly Reports. The local evangelistic worker is required to submit to the missionary-in-charge monthly reports in duplicate, showing what meetings have been held, what members have been added, what visiting has been done, what money has been contributed, etc. The missionary-in-charge keeps one copy for the archives of the Mission, and sends the other to the Japanese pastor who is the Superintendent of the district. For we must remember that the work is under the control of the Jap- anese Classis. Technically, the American missionary has no right to receive a person into the church by bap- tism or to discipline him. This authority is vested, where the church is not yet regularly organized, and there are no elders, in the Superintendent appointed by the Classis. Practically, the missionary or native minister who baptizes or disciplines any one consults the leading members of the congregation, and the action is legalized when it is reported to the Japanese Superintendent. Contributions by Japanese. Just before the end of the year, blanks are sent out to the various local con- gregations, who are asked to prepare their estimates for Fostering Infant Churches 249 the new year, stating what their needs will be for pastor's salary, rent, light, fuel, Sunday School, etc., how much money they can raise, and how much aid they request. Thus the local congregation is in the position of asking for aid and is helped to keep a sense of responsibility for the work of the church. The Japanese Christians are learning to give liberally. So far as statistics are con- cerned, more progress is shown in the column of Japanese contributions than in any other. In the year 1917, one man gave to Fukushima Church $500 for a kinder- garten; two members at Nagaoka gave $1,000 for a chapel; and a member at Shinjo promised $2,000 to- ward the cost of a chapel provided an equal amount be raised. These are large gifts, considering that salaries and wages are not more than one-fourth the correspond- ing amounts in America. Influence of the Missionary. A visitor from Eng- land said to one of the missionaries in the evangelistic service, “You are, I see, a bishop in all but the name.” But the task of an evangelistic missionary is harder than that of a bishop; for a bishop has a certain well-defined authority, which the missionary has not. Officially he stands simply as a kind of corresponding secretary to the joint committees that manage the work. Practically, so long as a large part of the funds used to aid the work of the Japanese churches comes from America, and the missionary truly represents the wishes of the contributors, as a matter of course, his opinions have great, and often decisive, weight. But a wise missionary never threatens. Patience is the quality that wins. Where the Work is Hardest. By the Problem of the County Town we mean this, that it is comparatively easy 250 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan to build up a church in a rural district, or in a large city, but very difficult in the ordinary county-town. In the country the work is rather easy. The people are more open-minded, thoughtful and of a naturally religious temperament, and society is not so closely knit together as in larger aggregations of population. The work is also rather easy in one of the larger cities. In Japan, as in other parts of the world, cities attract from all direc- tions the brightest men and women, the most promising material for the Christian Church. It is said of a church in Ohio that more of its members are to be found in one church in Columbus than in the village in which it is placed. So in ancient times, St. Paul had not worked long before there was a larger congregation in Rome, where he had never been, than there was in any of the towns in which he had worked. In some sections of Tokyo or Osaka, it is almost as easy to start a church as it is in Allentown, Pennsylvania. But the work in a typical county-town is very hard indeed. Much Effort Expended on Towns. Probably, if the missionaries in the evangelistic service were to begin all over, they would either concentrate upon the large cities, where success has been greatest in proportion where the little experience they have had shows that much more might have been accomplished than in the towns for the same expenditure of effort. The reason why so much effort has been devoted to the county-towns is that the older Japanese evangelists did not have the confidence in the common people, particularly those in the country, that Americans have. They felt that the way to evangelize Japanese society was to begin at the Fostering Infant Churches 251 top. That was the idea of Mr. Oshikawa, who believed he saw a great opportunity to influence men in high official circles; and so he is today a member of Parlia- ment. Men of less ability have aspired to pulpits in the cities and those not able to attain their ambitions have naturally preferred the larger towns. That is, the mis- sionaries wanted to begin at the bottom and the Japan- ese wanted to begin at the top; so they naturally com- promised on the middle. The Old Method. No doubt, the great welcome given to the Christian religion in the eighties misled the older missionaries somewhat. They underestimated the opposition. It was too often assumed that in order to evangelize a typical town of 10,000 inhabitants, it would be quite sufficient to rent an old shop in a convenient place and send a Japanese graduate of an ordinary theo- logical school there to preach the Gospel. Experience has shown that there is little hope of success in such a case. For the ordinary town has its cemeteries and its traditions, and the people are bound tightly together by relationships that make it almost impossible to win a single convert without moving the town as a whole. The town must be broken up as a whole, and until that is done, it is not feasible to do much with the individual. Results Not Wholly Satisfactory. In such a town the converts have usually been men coming in from other communities, as teachers and other officials, or professional men, who are not tied down by the social system of the place. It has often been found that a candidate for bap- tism expected immediately afterwards to remove to other parts. He had long desired to be a Christian, but could not become a member of the Church and stay in 252 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan the midst of his old associates. Accordingly, becoming a Christian meant living at another place. In such a town, the motive that leads people to desire to become Christians, is usually the conviction that this religion has great moral power and promotes the cultivation of good character. But missionaries must continually be on their guard against those whose motives are not good. Some imagine that the profession of faith makes a sick man healthy or opens up the way to obtain a modern edu- cation or gains for him the confidence of the Americans with whom he desires to do business. To admit such people to a church is fatal, and successful workers, both Japanese and American, keep a sharp lookout for them. Faithfulness Rewarded. Wonderful work has been accomplished in the most forlorn situations. Some years ago when Mr. Tsuchida was evangelist at Yamagata, on a certain evening, no one came to hear him preach. Un- discouraged, he opened the front of the building and preached to the empty street. A young telegraph oper- ator passing by was so impressed by this performance that it led to his conversion. He is now a poultryman and clerk in a bank at Yamanobe, where he conducts a Sunday School in three divisions, one after the other, one for the adults, one for the boys and girls, and one for the little ones; and it is said that he is so interesting that all the scholars stay for all the sessions. Why Some Town Churches Prosper. The old method has been successful here and there. Where the church has prospered the cause of its rapid progress has been, (I) an advantageous situation, where by reason of the location of schools or other official institutions or modern business enterprises there has been influx of 29 Taira Sunday School Kitakata Sunday School Yamagata Kindergarten Miharu Kindergarten Fostering Infant Churches 253 people of the sort that make good material, or (2) a Chris- tian leader of great personal power and influence, who may be either a pastor or a layman, or (3) a beautiful chapel happily placed and so well kept up that it attracts the people, or (4) some form of social work. Evangelization Through Social Work. It is upon this last factor that we are now desirous of placing the emphasis. In the towns, it is important that Sunday School chapels well equipped for their work should be erected speedily. Progress would be made much more rapidly if in connection with these chapels some work could be undertaken that would appeal to the community. Night schools for apprentices, day nurseries for the children of working people and similar forms of service would bring our workers and the people of the town into close personal contact. In October, 1917, it was voted that “hereafter in the erection of church-plants it is the policy of the Mission to make provision for some measure of institutional work.” Kindergarten at Miharu. At Miharu, Pastor Yosh- ida and his wife, both of whom have had experience in kindergarten work, have won the sympathy of the whole town by establishing a kindergarten. One of the prin- cipal buildings of the town, that once was a mansion belonging to the feudal lord, and later served as the town office, was given at a nominal rent in order that this kindergarten might be started, and people of the town, not Christians, made large contributions to have it re- paired and equipped. In such circumstances, workers get into close touch with the people. And the services held in the kindergarten building are more likely to at- tract people than if held in a building used for preaching only. 254 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan Kindergarten at Yamagata. Mrs. Kriete of Yama- gata writes: “The most encouraging part of our work is the kindergarten. By our charter we may have only thirty-two children, but already on the first of August twenty-five of the possible thirty-two had applied for admission for the fall term beginning in September, and we cannot advertise the kindergarten, because we have to turn the applicants away. Through the kindergarten we have been able to enter into homes that otherwise would have been closed to us, and some very fine mothers are becoming friendly to us. Five have already joined our Women's Society (Fujinku:ai), which means that they are not unwilling to receive Christian teaching." The Way to Succeed. Since we have done so much for the towns in Tohoku and have really gained vantage- points in them, we now ought to press our advantage, and by means of forms of work that will bring the evangel- ists into close personal touch with the permanent popu- lation carry the enterprise through to a successful issue. The Call of Tohokų VIII THE CALL OF TOHOKU A. THE POLITICAL SITUATION: 1. Strength of the People, Economic and Political. 2 Influence upon China: a. China's Weakness. b. Japan's Policy. c. Increasing Importance of Japan and China. 3. Attitude toward America: a. Japan's Gratitude, Attack Impossible. b. No Desire for Right of Immigration. c. Americans' Discourtesy the Chief Cause of the Trouble. d. Tohoku Mission's Relation to the Japanese in America. B. THE RELIGIOUS SITUATION: 1. Bankruptcy of the Old Religions. 2. Appalling Spiritual Destitution. C. THE ADVANCE OF CHRISTIANITY: 1. The Economic Struggle: Against the Lethargy Due to Pov- erty and Fear of the Boycott: a. Prestige of Christian Charities: Red Cross, Famine Relief, Sendai Orphanage, Anti-tuberculosis Asso- ciation. b. Practical Efficiency of Christians: Illustrations. c. Christian Orators and Statesmen. 2. The Political Struggle: Against Suspicion of Disloyalty, Re- sentment over White People's Disdain, and Dread of Democracy. a. New International Spirit. b. Influence of England and America. c. New Democratic Spirit, Emancipation of Laborers and of Women. d. Power of Congregational Life. 3. The Moral Struggle: Against Immorality and Intemperance: a. Absence of Bad White Element in Tohoku. b. Reforming Power of the Gospel: Illustrations. 4. The Religious Struggle: Against Disparagement of Religion in General and Christianity in Particular. a. Impression Made by Christians' Sincerity. b. Direct Appeal of the Gospel. C. Triumphs of Faith: Illustrations. d. Modern Miracles, The Hand of God. 5. Summary: The Progress Made in Fifty Years. D. THE CALL FOR MISSIONARIES: 1. Historical Importance of This Work. 2. Strategic Position of Tohoku Mission. 3. Need of Missionaries, Clergymen, Women, Laymen. 4. The Number Needed. CONCLUSION: Personal Services and Gifts of Money, Our Ability and Our Duty. VIII. THE CALL OF TOHOKU 1 An Energetic People. We have seen that the 7,500,- 000 inhabitants of Tohoku get along tolerably well in a country that would hardly support 1,000,000 Americans. Peasants constitute the bulk of the population. Even the large towns are overgrown country-villages, to which are added a few offices and schools. The people live mostly by farming and fishing and have few other re- sources. In spite of immense waste and woe caused by drink and other vices, all manage to live, and there is considerable enjoyment of life. What can they not do when they once begin to be freed from their vices and de- velop their industrial possibilities? There are tremendous reserves of energy in Tohoku. A Rising Power. We have seen that a public school system has been developed that reaches every capable child in the country. By untiring drill, the nation is preparing itself to be a great force in the affairs of the world. There is no other nation that has so thoroughly studied the whole world, or has so profited by the lessons of history. Their ships now control the Pacific. It is not strange that neighboring nations are beginning to be afraid of what the Japanese might do if they were evilly- minded. Relation to China. The Japanese understand very 257 258 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan 1 well that any foreign power that rules China may easily rule Japan also; for China's resources in coal and iron and man-power are inexhaustible. They have little confidence that the Chinese will soon be able to manage their own country. The Chinese have hitherto been strong in business, but weak in government, while the Japanese have hitherto been strong in government, but weak in business. If a Chinese cashier embezzles a little money, the guild will hunt him down mercilessly and punish not only the offender but also his whole fam- ily. In Japan, no one thinks of attempting to bribe a policeman, though his salary is but $7.50 a month. On the other hand the Japanese merchant, belonging to a class that has ever been regarded with contempt, has hitherto been living down to his reputation, and has shown little sense of commercial honor, while the Chinese official can beat the world in the game of graft. Former Minister Hioki no doubt expresses the verdict of the Jap- anese when he says: “The Chinese have no talent con- genitally for social and political organization.” We may regret that the Japanese have not more confidence in the Chinese. But if it be granted that China cannot yet stand quite alone, we can understand the desire of Japan that necessary aid be given from Tokyo rather than from any other quarter. No Annexation. The President of the Yokohama Specie Bank is quoted by Mr. S. S. McClure as saying: "So far as raw material is concerned, Japan is incapable of existing as an independent nation. We have not one bale of cotton, not a bale of wool, almost no iron. With- out these three things it would be difficult for Japan to exist as a powerful individual nation. So we want to The Call of Tohoku 259 get the raw material from China. We do not want territory.” At New York, in September, 1917, Ambas- sador Ishii said: “Not only will we not seek to assail the integrity or the sovereignty of China, but we will even- tually be prepared to defend the same integrity and in- dependence of China against any aggressor." Japan Leading the Orient. Much, of course, will depend on the issue of the present war. But one thing is certain, every day that the war continues the relative value of Japan and China is rising. When Europe has been exhausted, the power of these nations will loom up very large in the affairs of the world. They comprise one-third of the population of the earth. Probably for a long time to come Japan will lead China. The Future of the Pacific. However the present war may end, it is probable that after it is over America will lead the western nations in determining what their relations to the races of the Orient shall be. There are those who think that the countries about the Pacific will become now what the countries about the Mediter- ranean once were—the bearers of the world's most ad- vanced civilization. Hence the question of the relations between America and Japan is one of the greatest im- portance. Japan's Regard for America. Many Americans have been persuaded that sometime Japan will attack the United States. Missionaries who have lived among the Japanese for a long time cannot share this persuasion. The people have been so unvaryingly kind to Americans living in their midst that we must believe that they want to be on friendly terms with America. One reason for their friendliness is gratitude. After 1854, when Japan 260 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan was forced to get into touch with the modern world and stood in the presence of the nations dazed and helpless, the representatives of the United States showed a spirit of genuine disinterested friendliness, and gave invaluable advice, acting the part of a generous older brother who wanted the younger to succeed. The Japanese remember these facts gratefully and always remind visiting Ameri- cans of them. : Suggestion of War Resented. One missionary says: “An elder of the church at Iwanuma once asked me why there was so much friction between my people and his people in California. I replied that it was no doubt because the Californians were afraid of the Ja- panese. I meant to explain that the Japanese are so efficient in agriculture that if they were allowed to enter freely they would soon possess the best part of California's farmlands. But the elder, misunderstanding me to mean that the Californians were afraid of attack in a military sense, at once showed great anger, and said it was most unkind in the Americans to think the Japanese capable of such ingratitude; that for Japan to attack America would be like slapping one's father in the face. His evident indignation made a deep impression on my mind.” Immigration Not the Issue. If there ever is a war between America and Japan, it will be largely due to our blundering insults. The Japanese authorities do not want the privilege of free immigration for their labor- ing classes. The government grants passports only to those who travel for business or pleasure and to students, not to those who plan to reside permanently in the United States and earn their living there. The Japanese who formerly came to America as laborers usually intended The Call of Tohoku 261 to make a lot of money and then return to the old country, buy a pretty villa, and live at ease the rest of their days. But most of them have changed their minds. American life is too attractive. They are finally lost to the Japan- ese Empire, and they, or their children at least, become Americans in spirit. The statesmen of Japan feel that they cannot spare enterprising men, who are naturally the ones that seek to emigrate to America. Experience of the Potato King of California. An honest Japanese named Shima has made millions in Cal- ifornia by developing waste lands and raising potatoes more efficiently than any one else could. He loves America. He says: “California is my home. I notice that most of my fellow-countrymen, when they first come here, say that they want to stay here a while and go back. They do go back when they have accumula- ted some money, and then in a few months they return to California to stay." Race-Prejudice the Chief Difficulty. Why should not a Japanese like Mr. Shima, who has done a good ser- vice to California, live in a good house and ride in a good automobile? Yet there are many people who scowl to see an Oriental riding about in his own car. That resentful, though they may give half a dozen other rea- sons for their displeasure. What they want is not an open door for their emigrants; they only ask that the same respect be shown to their countrymen, who are here, that is shown to any other people. Japanese Sensitiveness. Of course the Japanese, too, are to blame for much of the friction. They are very sensitive, and often, misunderstand Americans. For 262 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan instance, when an American workman wishes to be friendly to a newly-arrived Japanese he may slap him on the back. This is a brotherly gesture. But it is a mistake to use it on an unsophisticated Japanese, who, being unfamiliar with the free and easy ways of Americans, feels that he is being despised and abused. The Tohoku Mission and the Pacific Coast. We have not time fully to discuss this question, which is of great importance for the work in Tohoku. It is said that of the 100,000 Japanese residing in our country, at least 500 are Christians through the work of the Tohoku Mission. Of the sixty-four Japanese missionary pastors working among them at any time, at least six or seven are alumni of the institution at Sendai. Their leader, the president of their interdenominational Board of Mis- sions, Rev. Kodaira-Kunio, is a graduate of North Japan College. The work of this board, by the way, is worthy of careful study. Reflex Influence on Tohoku. This work in America has a vital connection with the work in the old country, Many a village in Tohoku is influenced for or against Christianity by the testimony of someone who has gone out across the sea and visited our Pacific Coast. In various denominations in Japan many of the efficient native ministers have had experience in America. The Future Religion of Japan. Having looked at the international relations of the field, let us ask, “Is it likely that Japan will become Christian?” Or, since there is no nation in the world that may be called thor- oughly Christian, let us ask, “What is the prospect that Japan will become as Christian as our country is?”. Christianity Versus Irreligion. The most serious The Call of Tohoku 263 conflict will be between Christianity and irreligion, not between this religion and some other one. For the old religions of the land are breaking down, and are no longer able to satisfy intelligent people. A canvass of the stu- dents in a higher government school usually shows that the great majority profess to be atheists or agnostics, and of those who confess faith in any religion the Chris- tians may be more numerous than any other group. The old religions, to save themselves, are approaching Christianity in doctrine and method. It is said that by 1916 the New Buddhists of Japan had started 800 "Sun- day Schools” with 120,000 scholars. This fact rather encourages the belief that Japan will some day be Chris- tian. Such activities do not naturally belong to Bud- dhism: they are like the ornaments fastened to a Christ- mas tree, which, beautiful though it is, must wither and die because its roots are gone. Dr. Anesaki, the leading Japanese authority on Buddhism, says: “The big tree of Buddhism is rotten at its heart. Christianity has not rooted firmly.” Magnitude of the Task. At this distance it is dif- ficult to imagine the overwhelming weight of paganism in Japan. Many Americans confound paganism with savagery, and think that when people once get schools, newspapers, electric lights and telephones, they are as good as Christianized. But according to an estimate ob- tained by Dr. John R. Mott, at a representative confer- ence of Christian leaders, held in Tokyo in 1913, about 80 per cent. of the people are still unevangelized, that is, ignorant of Christianity. Even on the East Side of the city of Tokyo, where most of the laborers live, only one foreign missionary and twelve native ministers are at 264 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan work to save one million of people. The missionary, moving among great crowds where only one in a hundred is a Christian, is often tempted to feel that the task is impossible. How can all this mass of prejudice, ignor- ance and misery ever be moved by our message? “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” The Economic Difficulty. The obstacles to the progress of Christianity in Tohoku may be discussed under four heads, the economic, the political, the moral, and the religious. First we observe that most of the people are terribly 'poor, weary and heavy-laden. It is a fact well known to economists that the most sorely op- pressed of the poor have no grievances, and it is only when the burden of living is somewhat lightened that social unrest begins to appear. The great concern of our northern Japanese is to get "raiment, food and shelter,” and they feel that they have not time for any- thing like religion. Poverty benumbs their faculties. The masses are like soldiers on a cruel forced march; they have no energy to waste on observing what happens by the wayside; all they know is that they have to go on. It is our conviction that when prosperity begins to come to the toiling millions, there will be a great awakening and response to our message. Fear of Injury to Business. It is commonly said by ignorant Japanese that one who professes Christianity will become a pauper. It is true that when one follows Christ some old ways of getting money have to be given up. Often a man's business is ruined by persecution. For many the margin of safety is so small that they are exceedingly afraid of any disturbing factor. 1 The Call of Tohoku 265 Christianity to the Rescue. But Christianity is the only religion that shows power to do anything in the way of relieving distress and bringing about needed re- forms in methods of business. Illustrations of this fact are so numerous that one hardly knows where to begin. What the Cross Stands For. It is significant that the Red Cross Society, which in Japan is a national or- ganization, enlisting all classes from nobles to peasants, is of Christian origin. Recently the question was raised whether the Christians should be allowed to use, as they have been accustomed, the banner of a red cross on a white ground. The government ruled that they may do so, provided the form of the Christian emblem be made distinctive, the so-called Latin cross, with a long upright. The Greek cross is reserved for the use of the Red Cross Society. Famine Relief. Tohoku has at times suffered from famine. The last severe shortage occurred during the winter of 1905-06. Rev. William E. Lampe, then of the Tohoku Mission, was appointed chairman of a relief- committee, which included one representative each from the various missions at work in the North, the Baptists, the Congregationalists, the Disciples, the Methodists and the Roman Catholics, also one layman, a teacher in the Government College of Sendai. Large gifts of money poured in from all parts of the world, and great quantities of rice and other foodstuffs were also sent in. Between 200,000 and 250,000 people were fed and a still larger number of people were given employment. Good Work of the Churches. Of this work Dr. Lampe wrote at the time: “We are in the center of the famine region. Miyagi and Fukushima Provinces, 266 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan studded with our churches and preaching-places, were the worst stricken. Nearly every church and preaching- place was aroused. Christians helped to provide food and clothing for the body and medicine for the sick; they took about 1,200 helpless children from their homes of poverty and put them into Christian orphanages; they rescued a number of girls who were in danger of being sold into an evil life, and located them in good homes in other cities. Food for Soul and Body. “Some five thousand of the seven thousand dollars given by the members of the Reformed Church was put into 'sympathy bags. A Japanese towel was folded and made into a bag holding about two quarts. The bag was then filled with rice or other food and one of the Gospels put on top. In the center of the made-up bag was a cross, on the right of which were the words 'Christian Sympathy Bag,' and on the left the name of the church or preaching-place. On the back of the bag was the character 'Love. Forty thousand such bags were distributed.” A Model Orphanage. The work of this famine re- lief committee led directly to the establishment of the Sendai Christian Orphanage, a model institution of its kind, caring for about 200 children. Ladies of the Meth- odist Mission have taken the lead in this enterprise, but the management is interdenominational, and other mis- sionaries have much to do with the work. One of the cottages for the children was paid for out of the funds contributed by the Reformed Church in the United States and bears that name. Mrs. Schneder, through her extensive acquaintance with the leading Japanese ladies of Sendai, has done much to interest the people of The Call of Tohoku 267 the city in the support of the institution. Japanese contributions in money now amount to $1,000 a year. The Imperial Government itself gives encouragement by occasional contributions. The teaching is done by pupils of the Normal School. The barbers' guild takes a hand. Miss Imhof, the superintendent, writes: “One morning early, I was greatly surprised to find every- body in the back yard of the Orphanage and a dozen or more barbers busily engaged in shearing our lambs. This barber(ous) act was entirely unsolicited and gratu- itous.” The interest of the public is increasing; but more than half of the annual budget, which amounts to $6,006, still has to be secured from American and other foreign sources. Fighting Tuberculosis. Dr. Faust has done a most valuable piece of work by starting a campaign against tuberculosis, which is becoming a most serious menace. More Japanese die of tuberculosis in one year than were killed in the war with Russia, and the rate is increasing. Some of the causes are damp, unsunned living-rooms, long hours of labor on poor food, irregular habits in eating and sleeping, intemperance and vice, general ignorance of the principles of hygiene and sanitation, and lack of re- gard for the health of others. Dr. Faust, fresh from a course of study at an American university, was stirred to write a series of articles for a Sendai daily paper, calling the attention of the public to the peril of tuberculosis and showing how to meet it. These articles became a book entitled “A Terrible Foe to Society," which has had a large sale. The Government's Committee on Popular Education included it in a list of 85 choice books. In 1912, an Anti-tuberculosis Association was organized 268 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan by missionaries and other foreigners in Japan. So a great impulse was given to a movement which has now become national in its scope. Prestige of Christian Charities. Dr. Pettee, a missionary of the American Board, who has made a spec- ialty of the study of charities, says of the honors bestowed by the Emperor on the occasion of his coronation, “It is worthy of note that out of hundreds of workers along philanthropic lines, the two men selected for special recog- nition are zealous Christians, and it is an open secret in governmental and philanthropic circles that the insti- tutions that set the pace in up-to-date methods of con- ducting charity organizations, and that are really suc- cessful in the permanent reform of character, are those under Christian supervision.” Christianity in Business. In Japan, as everywhere else, true religion in the long run makes a people pros- perous. Christian love in the heart helps a man in his business. When Pastor Jo had charge of the church at Ishinomaki, a young man, who had served out his time as a clerk in a dry-goods shop, came to him with a personal problem. He said: “My master has released me with a gift of $400 to start a business for myself. A friend tells me that that is not enough and that I ought to borrow more from my former master. I prefer not to do that. The sum of $400 will be enough if I start right. But they all say that a merchant must tell lies or fail. Sup- pose an old woman asks me, 'Will this piece of cloth fade?' If I say, 'Yes,' she will go to another shop.” The pastor re- plied, “Explain the matter kindly. Say, 'For what will you use the cloth? If you want it for a lining, this will do very well, but if you want it for a child's garment, Coal Mine near Taira Zinc Mine near Kitakata Christian Manufacturer of Raw Silk with His Family, Nagaoka Christian Manufacturer of Silk Goods in His Garden, Kawamata The Call of Tohoku 269 : which must be often washed, I advise you to get a better quality. It will pay you in the end.'” The young man resolved always to tell the truth. With his $400 he started a shop very near the store of an old merchant, who had considerable capital, but did business in the old wily way. In a short time the honest Christian had a larger capital and was doing a far bigger business than his rival. A Christian Manufacturer. In the village of Na- gaoka, a short distance north of Fukushima, the leading men have been Christians for about 25 years. One of the younger men (Mr. Sato-Gishiro) has developed a large business in raw silk. He also conducts a carbide factory and other enterprises. Three years ago on account of the war, he was nearly ruined. In this trying time he did not lose heart, but openly said that this adversity was of God and was meant for the good of all concerned. There is now a great demand for his goods and he has become a wealthy man. He says that his prosperity is due to the blessing of God and the influence of the Chris- tian religion upon the character of the young people of the village, who work for him. For the girls who come from a distance, he has put up a hygienic dormitory and employed a capable Christian woman as matron. He has subscribed $500 for a chapel, by his example leading other prosperous Christians to give similar large gifts. This successful business-man has a very bright son in North Japan College, whom he is encouraging to study for the Christian ministry, in this respect setting an example which cannot easily be paralleled by men of means in America. . Poverty Abolished. The writer has often been a guest in the home of a young farmer of Nagaoka (Mr. 270 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan Haga-Morinosuke) and cannot refrain from quoting some of the observations that drop from his lips as he pokes the fire on the hearth: “At the time of the famine we used the balance of the funds contributed for relief-work to purchase fields for permanent poor-relief, with the intention of having our young men work them year by year and give the produce to the poor. But we have no more poor people in Nagaoka. What shall we do with the fields?” Christian Clerks Preferred. “In the banks at Fu- kushima they like to employ Christian men. But I hear that a director said that he liked a man who was Chris- tian enough to be strictly honest, but not so extremely Christian that he would not drink a social glass with a customer.” (My host laughs over this awhile.) Eloquence of Christian Speakers. "I am very fond of public addresses, and whenever there is a lecture in Fukushima, I go to hear it. Why is it that the ablest speakers are generally Christians?” This question may be answered by saying that it is because the Christians have love in their hearts and feel a real interest in the welfare of others. They have a message for society. That may be the reason why in inter-collegiate contests at Sendai the oratorical prizes are usually taken by Chris- tian students. On such an occasion one of the judges remarked: “It was the character behind the words that made the speech eloquent." For the same reason Chris- tians are very numerous among Japanese journalists. Christians Prominent in Politics. Among the 381 members of the Japanese Parliament, by proportional representation, the Christians should have but one mem- ber and possibly a fraction. There are usually a dozen, The Call of Tohoku 271 . more or less. Years ago in Niigata Prefecture, among the candidates for election to Parliament, there were two who had professed Christianity. Both were urged by their friends not to let the fact be known, because the constituency was strongly Buddhistic. One took the advice and was miserably defeated. The other (Hon. Kato-Katsuya of the Murakami Church) boldly declared his faith and was returned with the largest plurality of all the candidates. The Christian religion does not dis- qualify one who would win, whether in Japan or any- where else; quite the contrary. The Political Difficulty. There has been, and still is, intense opposition to Christianity for political reasons. Since the Japanese view most problems from the politi- cal angle, we feel this kind of opposition most keenly. The old reason for prohibiting our religion was that it involved obeying the Pope, a foreign lord, and comprom- ised the absolute loyalty due from a Japanese to his Emperor. It is still believed by many that profession of Christianity is an offense against His Majesty, and in re- mote districts it is still believed that American mission- aries come to steal the hearts of the people and enable America to take the country quietly, without using force. The Problem of Extra-territoriality. This oppo- sition was most intense about the year 1890, because the western nations would not give up the principle of the extra-territoriality of their citizens. That is, the Amer- ican Government, for instance, would not allow the Ja- panese authorities to have jurisdiction over Americans residing in Japan, who paid no taxes and in case of wrong- doing could be tried and punished only by the American consul. This implied that the Japanese Government 272 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan was inferior and not to be trusted. The policy was fiercely resented. There was, in consequence, a great reaction against all foreign ways. The nationalistic spirit was stimulated and the militarists and emperor- worshippers did all in their power to maintain the old prejudice against Christianity. Mistrust of the Democratic Spirit. With the complaint that the Christian nations were unbrotherly, there was joined the complaint that the Christians were too brotherly. It was felt that Christianity, standing as it does for the brotherhood of all men, must tend to weaken the spirit of devotion to the Emperor and the empire. To put it roughly, many men in authority seem to reason thus: “Christians sympathize with the poor and the oppressed, therefore, they want to upset the present government; they are socialists at heart; next they will be a tacking the Sovereign.” Japan for the World. A Congregationalist leader in Tokyo (Rev. Ebina-Danjo) says that "for Japanese to worship merely Japanese gods is a narrowing, corrupt practice . ... Buddhism was japonicized; we must never rest until Japan has been christianized.” Mr. Oshikawa has recently published in the “New Japan" an article antagonizing the bureaucrats and pleading for a limited monarchy and real constitutional government. The keynote of the article is his conviction that God rules Japan and that Heaven expects the nation to perform a momentous mission for the peace of the world. A stu- dent of North Japan College thus writes to one of his teachers: “I am very happy always because we are all brothers and sisters, Americans, Japanese, Indians, and Chinese. I think always that we must live together The Call of Tohoku 273 hand in hand, and we must help and comfort one another. When I graduate from the Middle School I want to enter the Theological School. I wish to sacrifice myself for the world. My father and mother and friends ridicule me for working for our God, and for the world. But it is nothing when I think how much Christ suffered.” Influence of Western Democratic Ideas. Many causes have operated to break up the old narrow nation- alism. After the great success of Germany against France in 1871, the military leaders of Japan were for a time warm admirers of Prussia and were encouraged to believe in Bismarck's ideas of government. But England and America have had a deeper influence upon the nation. The government at Washington has always been generous to the Japanese. To give one instance, in 1883, our country returned to Japan its share of a big in- demnity that had been extorted by the Powers, as a punish- ment for a very feeble attempt to stop foreign vessels' pas- sing through the Straits of Shimonoseki, stipulating only that the money be used for educational purposes. Great Britain and the United States were first among the na- tions to grant full recognition to the Japanese Govern- ment, consenting to new treaties whereby, in 1899, ex- tra-territorial privileges were waived and British and American residents were bound to submit to Japan- ese law. Since 1902, there has been a formal alliance between Great Britain and Japan. The Imperial House Not Necessarily Autocratic. The question of democracy versus autocracy has little to do with the unique position of the Japanese Emperor as the hereditary father of his people. In Japan the father does not necessarily govern the family. It is considered 274 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan heresy to assume that the Emperor rules Japan in any detail whatsoever; he is rather the inspiration of those who conduct the affairs of the nation. One Japanese writer says: “As Generalissimo, he speaks with words of thunder to his soldiers and sailors; but as the Emperor of Japan he is to be compared to a priest, by no means to a states- man. It may even be said that the Japanese Emperor has nothing to do with the government in the political sense of the word.” Tendency to Democracy. For the present Japan is moving toward democracy, appearances to the con- trary notwithstanding. The appointment of the civilian statesman Okuma as premier was a concession to the democratic spirit. But being a mere civilian, he failed to control the militaristic jingoes in dealings with China. He was succeeded by Terauchi, who, having been a mil- itary leader himself, is in a position to restrain the military class and insist upon a saner policy toward China. It is a sad fact that for the present it generally takes a mil- itary leader to govern the country successfully. But Japan is moving in the right direction. Awakening of Workingmen. The labor-class is beginning to move. In 1915, in all Japan 9,000 work- ingmen were out on strikes; in 1916, 10,000; in the first eight months of 1917, 30,000 were involved. The leader of Japanese laborers is Mr. Suzuki-Bunji, a Christian, originally from a Greek Catholic congregation in Miyagi Prefecture, not far from Sendai. He is a graduate in law. of the Imperial University of Tokyo. In 1912, when there were no other labor union's in the coun- try, he organized the "Laborers' Friendly Society” (Yu- aikwai), which now has 30,000 members. The objects The Call of Tohoku 275 are mutual financial protection, supplementary educa- tion and bureaus for legal and medical counsel. The motto is, he says, “By the People for the People.” In 1915, and again in 1916, he visited our Pacific Coast and sat in conventions of the American Federation of Labor as a fraternal delegate, doing more than any other one man to remove misunderstanding and ill feeling between Americans and Japanese. In Japan he is often called upon to settle strikes. A Polite Strike. The following is a newspaper ac- count of a recent strike of the 386 men employed in the Fuji Spinning Company of Tokyo: “As every one of the men employed was pledged to co-operate in the strike, even cooks, electricians, and all were to leave the plant also. But since, if they left, 1,800 women employees, living in the compound, would be deprived of their meals, and all the lights would be extinguished, resulting in possible danger, the workingmen thought they would be liable to moral criticism if they took that extreme step; so they left behind them 18 cooks, 4 boilermen and 5 elec- tricians.” It surely was a most considerate and Chris- tian kind of a strike. Our I. W. W.'s would call Suzuki's followers agents of the capitalists. But through his mediation the strikers got what they wanted. Strength of the Movement. Recently at Taira Mr. Suzuki organized a branch among the miners; but the foolish mine-masters discharged every one that had anything to do with him. His movement would no doubt be crushed, if he were not being backed by some very influential men who have the insight to see that he is warding off a possible disastrous revolt of the oppressed working class. Japanese Christians are truly loyal and 276 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan patriotic and have never been involved in any of the plots to bring on a revolution or strike at the Sovereign. Awakening of Women. An American travelling through Japan may be surprised to find that most of the ticket agents at the railway stations are women. Japanese girls are being well educated and are making great prog- ress along all lines of business. There are many women teachers, journalists, artists, dentists, pharmacists, phys- icians, etc. At a recent examination for license to practise medicine, out of hundreds of candidates but 39 passed, and of these 27 were women. It is noteworthy that the Tohoku Imperial University of Sendai was the first in- stitution to allow co-education; last year two women graduated there with the degree of Bachelor of Science. A Japanese says: “As the westernization of Japan has deepened, the christianization of Japan is being impercep- tibly and gradually effected. Today there is not an edu- cated Japanese who, consciously or unconsciously, is not strongly influenced by the Christian ideas of morality, no matter what his professed faith be . ... The treatment of women in Japan has also become greatly christianized. Bigamy is a crime and no decent man will keep a concubine nowadays.” Signs of the Times. To a discerning person, no change is more striking than this, that formerly the fash- ions were set by the fast women, the professional beauties and entertainers (geisha), and decent women who wished to look smart imitated them, but now it is just the other way and the fast women in dressing try to imitate re- spectable wives. The reason is, of course, that men who care for their reputations have come to feel ashamed of being seen with a woman of dubious character. The The Call of Tohoku 277 “Women's Review” (Fujin Koron) recently published a symposium on “Tragedies of Family Life” by a number of eminent men who nearly all agree that the old customs with regard to the treatment and training of women must be reformed. The whole social system must be recast, so as to satisfy the rightful claims of the country's new, educated womanhood, and many thoughtful Jap- anese see that such reconstruction can be managed safely only by the power of the Christian religion. A Better Social Order Coming. The Confucian ideal of the strict subordination of the inferior to the superior is surely breaking down. Most Americans do not know that what we call “society” hardly exists among the Japanese. When men want to get together socially, they commonly leave their wives at home, go to a res- taurant or some such place and get up a barbaric function in which they quickly drink themselves tipsy to the tune of nasty songs shrieked by gaudy women (geisha). A Christian congregation is a new thing in Japan, for in connection with an old shrine or temple, there is no congregational life, as we have observed. In a Chris- tian church, as at Yonezawa, for instance, a son of the former feudal lord of the land, high officials and promi- nent merchants, commune with men and women of the lowliest origin, all partaking of “the one bread.” This is a great innovation. The Christians have also occasional social gatherings in which men and women of all sorts enjoy pure 'pleasures together, thus foreshadowing the better social conditions that are coming. The writer has seen a new convert fairly dazed by the social joy that may be developed on such an occasion, saying, “I never knew that it was possible for men and women to have such a good time as this together.” 278 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan The Moral Difficulty. There is a common com- plaint: “Christianity means constraint. If you become a Christian you can't enjoy life.” This is the spirit of sin, the love of pleasures that are false and not really pleasures, the lie that is of the Evil One. There is probably no one thing that makes so many men hostile to our cause as the practice of concubinage, which is rampant in the North. As in parts of America, one who wishes to move in so-called society must have his own car or cars, so in many sections of Tohoku it is regarded as necessary to social position and prestige and credit to keep concubines. These sections are ten, twenty and thirty years behind Tokyo of today. In the minds of many, Christianity is a matter of abstinence from liquor. Only the Christians have fought and are still fighting the old and growing evils of alcoholism and prostitution. All over the country are people who know nothing else about Christianity, but do know that it means intense opposition to these blasting vices. No Bad Foreigners in Tohoku. So far as Tohoku is concerned, we missionaries are especially fortunate in that all resident representatives of Christian lands are men and women of high character, the only westerners on the field being missionaries and teachers. There may be no field in the world in which missionaries have a higher reputation or more prestige. This is due to the ab- sence of “bad whites.” The people observe the contrast between the houses of their own well-to-do men, which produce swarms of “wayward youth,” and the pure homes of Christian Americans and Christian Japanese, in which there wells up a joy that the worldling cannot know. The Great Argument for Christianity. Here The Call of Tohoku 279 Christianity makes its strongest appeal. The Japanese have become aware of the tremendous moral power that goes with the name of Christ. This power is so remark- able that it gives a distinctive expression to the face. The missionary is often able to recognize in a crowd a Christian face that he has never seen before; the look shows that there is a heart that knows "righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Experience of a Hopeless Drunkard. In a village near Yamaguchi, Fukushima Prefecture, lives a maker of paper lanterns, who three years ago was a hopeless drunkard. He had often tried to break the bonds of his habit. If he had quietly drunk his liquor and said nothing about it, few would have noticed his misery. But he was always declaring his intention to quit. Once he had cards printed on which he added to his name “Member of Aizu Temperance Society,” but again went down into the gutter, cards and all. The village made a laughing-stock of him. He knew that two men of his district, under the preaching of the missionary who visited Yamaguchi twice a year, had been wholly saved from the power of drink. The next time the missionary passed through his village he publicly and humbly confessed his sin and asked the missionary to pray to Christ for his salvation. From that moment the appetite was gone and he has become one of the most respected characters of his village and a leader among the young men. Experience of a Worldly Woman. In Fukushima Church one day, Pastor Jo noticed a woman dressed in gaudy style. Mrs. Jo quietly inquired about her and learned her story. A rich young man of Yonezawa had brought her to the city, promising to make her his wife. 280 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan He left her saying that he would go ahead and secure the consent of the relatives before he introduced her to the family. But he did not again appear. She was not a vicious woman, and anxiety injured her health. She went to a physician, who happened to be an elder of the church. He told her that her trouble was more than physical, and advised her to go to church. She did so a few times. One evening she arrived early. The pas- tor's wife invited her over to the parsonage. According to the Japanese custom, the big tub was steaming. Ma- dame Jo invited the strange woman to refresh herself with a bath. She treated her as a friend. Jesus once told his disciples, "Ye also ought to wash one another's feet.” Dr. Spangler Kieffer relates that when a young man he once cleaned the boots of his teacher, Dr. Henry Harbaugh, and was told by him then, that the words of Jesus translated into American terms would read, “Ye also ought to blacken one another's boots.” It may sound somewhat indelicate in America, but in Japan those same words mean,“Ye also ought to scrub one another's backs.” That is just what the pastor's wife did to show her love, and the poor woman, touched by her simple kindness, burst into tears of humility and penitence and became a Christian then and there. Later she was happily married to a good man. The Religious Difficulty. But is the Christian re- ligion true? Its moral power is very generally acknowl- edged and cannot be gainsaid. Hosts of intelligent Ja- panese say that Christianity is an excellent doctrine to teach to women and children, to the lower classes and to criminals. It works; it has power to reform character in certain cases. But that is not saying that it is true, or that an educated man is bound to accept it for himself. The Call of Tohoku 281 Contempt for Japanese Religion. This is the worst kind of opposition. It is due to the utter contempt for religion caused by the insincerity of most of the Buddhist priests and the commercialized superstition connected with popular shrines. There are many great idols cher- ished for the reason given by the craftsmen of Ephesus for upholding Diana (Acts 19): “By this business we have our wealth.” Not to speak of the contribution-boxes in the streets leading to the shrines, there are shops, res- taurants, and even houses of shame, which are sources of revenue to the priests. Is it any wonder that intelligent men, who know these facts, despise religion? The Alleged Failure of Christianity. Moreover, many of the skeptical books of the west are imported and eagerly studied. Not only the infidel thought, but also the godless behavior of the western nations helps to con- firm the conviction of many intelligent Japanese that re- ligion is a delusion. Yet, as a keen observer has said, “The war has proved to thoughtful men in China and Japan, not that Christianity is a failure, but that the nations which call themselves Christian are not really so." Using the terms of Jesus' parable of the sower, we may say that though the soil in Europe may be hard and stony, and in America full of thistles, the question is not whether the wheat does well, but whether the seed is good. Who knows but that the right soil may be found at last in Ja- pan and China? There is but one great question: "Is the Gospel true?” The Final Test. A young peasant in Aizu from a child was eager to know the truth about God and his soul. He was a bright boy and graduated at the head of a large class in the common school. His teachers ridi- 282 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan culed his quest of God. In February, 1915, at the time of the annual fair, he heard the missionary preaching on the street and speaking of God Our Father. Soon he began to visit the missionary and ask him to prove that God exists. The missionary replied: “I can prove to you that the world is one and the maker of it is one; but I cannot prove that the maker of all things loves you and me. Whatever I can prove to you is of the world, but our Father is not of the world. He is not a thing, but a free person. When you see smoke on that mountain you know that a fire is burning there, and you know that it was kindled, not by a snake or a pheasant or a bear, but by a man. So much you can prove. But if you want to know what kind of a man he is and why he kindled a fire, you must climb the mountain and talk with him. So if you want to know our God, you must pray to Him and work with Him." There were many such discus- sions. One day he came greatly agitated, saying: “I have had a talk with the principal of the school. He says that no educated man can believe that God exists. I said that the American missionary in the city seems to be an educated man and he believes in God. The prin- cipal laughed and said, 'He doesn't really, he tells you so because he thinks it good for a young fellow like you to believe in God.'” The missionary assured the young man that he not only believed in God, but did not know how to live without God. The young man was convinced of the missionary's sincerity, and has been a happy Chris- tian from that hour. He has led eight of the young men of the village to share his faith. It is not logic, but sin- cerity that wins. Won by a Hymn. The right motive for becoming a The Call of Tohoku 283 Christian is not the desire to get a benefit, even if the benefit be the power to conquer sin; it is, after all, the immediate appeal of the Gospel as being the truth. Hence many a Japanese has been converted by a hymn. A missionary in Sendai writes: “One soldier is now com- ing for instruction. He told me that when he was a child he had a neighbor who was a Christian, and that this man used to sing a certain hymn in which was the thought of light driving darkness from the soul. I took the Japanese hymnal and found the hymn he referred to. He was very happy to see it again, and he read and re- read it. His service in the army will end by November of this year. At this time he hopes to join the church, as he says he cannot live without religion.” The Only Comfort in Life. A blind youth from the country near Inawashiro was sent to a school for the blind at Fukushima. There one of his teachers, a blind man who is an elder in the church in that city, led him to Christ. One day the missionary at Wakamatsu heard him preaching on the street, reading his Testament with his fingers and telling the people that though he was blind he could see some things that his hearers with all their eyes were not seeing. The missionary afterwards asked him, "Were you born blind?” “No,” he answered, “I was born with good eyes; but when I was a small baby there was no proper food for me; I nearly starved to death, and I cried my eyes out.” The missionary asked further, "Have you faith enough to believe that it has been for your good and the good of others?” “Yes, in- deed," was the quick reply, "if I had not become blind and so had not been sent to Fukushima, probably I should never have known Christ, but have become like other young men in the villages.” 284 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan The Only Comfort in Death. A very capable and successful physician in Sendai has a wife who as a young girl studied in Miyagi Girls' School. One day when a lady missionary was calling at the house the doctor him- self came into the room and said: “I have a large hospital filled with patients. I cannot cure all. Some must die. But I have noticed that when Christians come here and I tell them there is no hope for life and they must die, they have a comfort and peace that I do not understand, and they seem to look forward to death with joy. I want to have the medicine you Christians have, to give to my other patients; for when I tell them that they must die, their anxiety is so great that I cannot bear to see it. And in order to give them the medicine you have I must have it myself.” A Miracle of Grace. One day our lady missionary at Koishikawa, Tokyo, was visited by the wife of a pro- · fessor in the Imperial University. She brought a way- ward daughter and begged the missionary to teach the child to be good. The girl had an impish look. Her arms and back bore the scars where moxa had been burned to punish her and drive out the evil disposition. The mother confessed, “I have always hated the child. I didn't want her from the beginning. She is so hateful that I would have killed her if I had dared. Not that I feared the police, but I was afraid her ghost might take vengeance on the other children, whom I love." The missionary saw that it was the mother rather than the child that needed attention and spent the morning teach- ing her the meaning of “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.” A year later the cure was complete, the daughter was restored by mother-love, and the fath- er, deeply impressed, became a Christian, too. The Call of Tohoku 285 An Answer to Prayer. A lady missionary in Sendai gives an account of the conversion of the wife of a very prominent lawyer. "I worked twelve years to win her, but failed. Then the Lord helped me. She was the mother of eight boys and one little girl, who was at this time just five years of age. During the winter the daughter was sick of pneumonia for three months, and the physicians told the mother that the child could not live until morning. The father wrote to me: 'Our little daughter is dying and my wife's grief is so great that we know not what to do. I think you are the only one that can comfort her. Please come up. I went and told her that Jesus could restore her child even though the doc- tors said that there was no hope. She said it was useless to pray to the Lord because He did not know her. I put my arm around her neck and said, “Come, get on your knees with me and I will ask the Lord for help.' I asked the Lord to glorify Himself in this child. The next morn- ing when I called on the mother she met me with a calm and beautiful face, saying: 'Oh! it is just wonderful. You had not left our house an hour when the fever began falling and it is still falling. The three doctors have been here and they cannot understand why O Yae Chan is not dead.' I said, 'Have you prayed?' ‘Oh, yes,' she answered, 'the first time I prayed it seemed so strange to be praying to nothing, but I had the happiest feeling in my heart, and the oftener I prayed the happier I got. I am no longer anxious about O Yae Chan. I have given her into the hands of the Lord'. ..0 Yae Chan is today almost a young lady. The mother's changed life since she became a Christian is the talk of the city. Last year at the anniversary of her own baptism one of her TY TU 286 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan sons was baptized; and my husband says that if the members of our churches could have heard the mother's prayer that night, we should no longer have to beg money for missions.” The Divine Factor. Facts such as these convince us that Tohoku can be made a Christian country. Surely God Himself has a purpose to be accomplished in this land and signally honors the faith of those who attempt great things for Him. “The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation.” “If God is for us, who can be against us?” It is the consciousness of being a worker together with God that makes the life of a missionary in Tohoku a perfect joy. The Open Door. The walls of this Jericho have fallen, and about all that we have to do is to go in over the ruins. The history of missionary work in the last fifty years may be summarized roughly as follows: In the seventies the prohibition against Christianity was withdrawn and the first churches were organized. In the eighties there was a craze for everything that was foreign and a considerable inrush of converts, many of whom did not thoroughly understand what Christianity stands for. In the nineties the Japanese were indignant at the foreign nations be- cause they would not give up the extra-territorial system. During this period Christian churches and schools could hardly hold their own. Consular jurisdiction was given up in 1899, and in the first ten years of the present cen- tury revivals began and the churches began to grow rapidly. The beginning of the present decade was marked by a changed attitude on the part of the government. Mr. Tokonami, Vice-Minister of Home Affairs, pointed out that the government dared not neglect the influence The Call of Tohoku 287 1 of religion if it wished to conserve the welfare of the coun- try. The result of this agitation was that in February, 1912, a conference of the three religions, Shinto, Budd- hism and Christianity, was called under the auspices of the government, and all religionists were asked officially to exert themselves in the interest of public morality. Moreover, the Bureau of Religions was transferred to the Department of Education. These new moves of the government were distinctly pro-Christian. Not only was Christianity recognized, in spite of relatively small numbers, as one of the important religions of the empire; but notice was also served to the other religions that they were expected to be an educational moral force in the life of the nation, that is, they were to be more of the kind of religion that Christianity is. A Great Opportunity. One can hardly exaggerate the historical importance of the work being done today in Tohoku. This land is, roughly speaking, one-fifth of Japan. In this field it is easily possible for a force of 125 missionaries adequately supported from America, and co-operating with the Japanese churches, to turn the scale in favor of Christianity. How much that might mean for Japan as a whole, for all Asia and for the world! Responsibility of the Tohoku Mission. Here the opportunity of the Reformed Church in the United States is exceptionally great. This Church can concentrate its forces on Tohoku as no other body can. The edu- cational work in Sendai makes it easier for the Tohoku Mission to handle the situation than for any other. The evangelistic missionaries have learned by experience that to find in any place a former student of one of the schools, whether a professed Christian or not, is to find a sym- 288 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan pathetic friend and helper. Moreover, the concentra- tion of Japanese leaders at Sendai gives the Tohoku Mission a strong general staff for any sort of campaign. This Mission has no desire whatever to monopolize the field. We most heartily desire co-operation with other Missions; for the task is too large and complicated for any one group of missionaries, and variety is better than uniformity, provided there is no mutual antagonism. Call for American Missionaries. The missionaries needed are such as know how to subordinate themselves to the native church, saying, like John the Baptist, “He must increase and I must decrease.” There is much work that they alone can do. The American missionary is a great ice-breaker. A welcome visitor, everywhere, he can obtain a respectful hearing where the Japanese preacher unaided would be ignored. Moreover, the Japanese preacher needs the stimulus of the presence and sympathy and encouragement of the missionary. The opposition of the people to the message of the Gospel is more real to him than it can be to the American; and his faith is not so deeply grounded as that of a man whose spiritual life is rooted in the Christian people from whom he comes. For this reason, a Japanese graduate of the Theological Seminary placed all alone in a non-Chris- tian community may be more influenced by that com- munity than he can succeed in influencing it. The best results, as experience abundantly proves, are attained where the work of the Japanese evangelists and that of the American ministers are properly co-ordinated. A Scholar's Estimate. Professor William Adams Brown of New York, who, in 1916, visited and studied several great fields, says: “In magnitude China may be The Call of Tohoku 289 the great mission-field, but in urgency Japan comes first." The same scholar says again, “I do not believe that there is any place in the world today where the presence of a small group of able and far-sighted men full of sympathy with Japan in her legitimate aspirations and inspired with the Christian ideal of brotherhood and service, can do more to advance the Kingdom of God.” Let no one be frightened by the words “able and far- sighted.” The man with one talent, if he knows how to love the Japanese, may become the best and most useful of missionaries. . Work for American Women. Nor is the call limited to men. Some of the stories told above show what a wise and tactful woman can do. In cities and towns modern industrial life has begun to take the men away from their homes, as is the case in America. The op- portunities of a woman visitor are more numerous than those of a man, because in so many houses the women only are at home. A woman who can sympathize with her sisters in their troubles and give them a little practical advice and assistance will quickly acquire a great in- fluence and be in a position to lead many to Christ. Laymen Also Useful. There is a great opportunity, too, for Christian laymen, practical business men, blest with some capital and a great deal of courage, to live among the people and show them by practical example how a Christian life is lived. Number of Missionaries Needed. The map which we have prepared shows Tohoku divided into 25 sections for missionary occupation. The average size is 1200 square miles, or a section 30 miles by 40. The average population is 300,000. Judging by our experience, we are Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan convinced that if each of these sections had a little group of missionaries, say, two families and a single woman, of any denomination, or of several denominations, within a generation all Tohoku could be thoroughly evangelized minimum of 50 families and 25 single women. Not counting Roman Catholic missionaries nor Protestant missionaries engaged in educational work, there are today 18 men, most of whom are married, and 18 women en- gaged in evangelistic work, scattered among about half of the 25 sections. The minimum requirement is that the number be increased 150 per cent. A Reasonable Request. Is such increase beyond our reach? What a small effort we request compared with the titanic sacrifices being made today in order to decide a political question, namely, whether we shall have a universal empire of the kind that was tested and found wanting in the ancient world, or a federation of free nations. To say the least, is it not also important to de- cide whether Asia shall be Christian or not? Not Yours But You. All calculations aside, what is needed is consecrated men and women. Money alone will not do the work. It was suggested to one of our mis- sionaries how he might easily obtain the funds to erect a Y. M. C. A. building for the students in his city. He could not see his way clear to take the money, because he had so many responsibilities that he could not give proper attention to the students who might be gathered in such a building. Unless there is the proper supervision, such equipment may become an evil rather than a good. Personal Services Needed. So it is not money so much as men and women that we want. We suggest The Call of Tohoku 291 that our readers first ask themselves if there is any com- pelling reason why they themselves should not go to To- hoku. If they cannot go, one's personal services at home are the next best contribution. Pray perseveringly for those who do go. Work to arouse interest in others, and increase knowledge of the field. Gifts of Money. Where such a disposition exists, there is never any need to beg for the funds required. Giving of one's money is the next best thing to offering one's personal services. It is a privilege and a pleasure in a cause like this. So far as money is concerned, the great need of the present time is funds to help build chapels. Some individuals or groups find deep satis- faction in supporting a station until it becomes self- supporting, or in supporting a student in one of the schools. Seeing It Through. The missionaries who first dared to attempt the task of converting such a proud old nation as the Japanese had the heroic faith that "with God all things are possible.” As Emerson said, So near is grandeur to our dust, So nigh is God to man, When duty whispers low, “Thou must," The youth replies, “I can.” What seems impossible can be accomplished when God commands it. We can because we ought. Today we may have the guidance not only of faith but also of sight. Experience teaches that we can succeed in this great en- terprise if we will. The way is open before us. We need the kind of heroism that perseveres in the long hard tug and strain that must be endured between the first en- 292 Tohoku, the Scotland of Japan thusiasm and the final victory. We ought because we can. Our beautiful Tohoku, with its mountains glisten- ing above the clouds, its sapphire lakes beneath, and its crystal rivers hurrying to mingle with the phosphorescent waves that surge along the coast; with its brilliant val- leys dressed in emerald tints and flecked with gold; with its brown fields, brown cottages and toiling brown men and women, and all its joyous boys and girls, shall, please God, become to Asia what Scotland has been to the western world, a stronghold of purest, truest Christianity. Vanalu Muzikari. on Goshdgawara Argasawa Noherty M AOMORI - 159,163/ O DoShichinoke HTROŞAKRO Y Kuroiski Saaborgs 265.329 T 351261 MAP OF NORTH JAPAN SHOWING CHIEF ROADS IDEAL DISTRIBUTION OF MISSIONARIES HACNINOHE Sannohe Pukiokea ODATE). Memanai la kanost Shitro Nanukaichi Yolchirohe Nanukaichi Jayati 282,777 Numakunai 305,525 Principal Cities Moures Indicate Population of Districts > Pouds ++ Railroads --Prefecture Boundaries - County Boundaries AKITA Zsuchisaki Ypshijinu 176091202 afunoda Hizune Yamada 10 care se Kameda 10 magari 3° 175,671 1-Inch - 10 Mile - 1:600,000 Ilonjoch Hanamakin PYOKOTE Kurosawari KAMAISHY Toho 232,124 kuzusaivat Sakarias 232,124 Matsumi y sukite 309,120 olwavado Yuzawa Tukata Maesawa Uhamos Senmaiselitesennuma OSAKATA NOSEKI RESHINJO | Wakayaudient te shikawa Tour ugaoha (179564 Twadekama Tome 273, 272 Oishida kanezawavakanin hoyota Hozarch > FURUKAWA cen Vatanoha a zoka 249.46 MISHINO MARS 3. SENDAI alterunonuthi m 290,843) ananobe *8.700 Wajafnachi Murakapit YAMAGATA I 268,355 215,387 P a raingyamoginuodica Iuganuma SADO tione atínovande falsugan platea Joshiaka JAPAN SEA procesu Shilla 4 Naxcala y OSHIBATA Yläkahan Bakida YONEZAWA GATA lizaka Korkoka Svibara Nadalya M Gugawd PACIFIC OCEAN Izumiosaki ---FUKUSHIMA IURA Kilakala | 339,4634 | lawamala laranomachi r abashiro Wihonmaksu odaka WAPAMATSU "Mołomiya AT Miharu A8469 a sukagawa 367 345 554.6802 P Kaunoudhire Takendia NAGAOKA 290,853 Kashwwazaki KORIYAMA i alat M Tomioka Naoetsy A473 $50 582,483 se tamaguch Mainan Tokarnach Mrilaamachi NO toikawa KATA Shirakawal 9140,076 maunya TAIRA Cs Wertsner Soz Phile. Pa INDEX The asterisk (*) refers to an illustration Abukuma River, 16 Ashikaga, 113 Adventists, 138 Ashio, 40 Agriculture, see Peasants Atago, 102 Ainu, 22, *24, 33 Ault, John, 187 Aizu, 102; see Wakamatsu Ault, Miss, 203 Akiho, C., 236 Avalanche, 18 Akita, 35, 133, 136, 138, 142, 248 Ballagh, J. H., 124, 132–3 Alcoholism, 278-9; see Sake Bandai, Mount, 16, 21-2 Alexander, III Baptism, 243, 251 Alexandria, 113 Baptists, 134-7 Alliance with England, 273 Baseball, 199 Alopen, 112 Basket-ball, 213 Altar, 100 Batchelor, J., 23 Alumnae, 215 Bath, 21, 55, 170 Alumni, 200 Bed, 171, 211 Amaterasu, 80 Bell, 100 America, 31, 140, 186, 249, 259–62, Bible, 209 271–3; see New Spain Bible Society, 234 American Manner of Life, 26, 153 Bible Study, 197, 209 American Board, 130-I “Bible Study,” 223 Amida, 96–8, 113 Bible Training Course, 206, 208 Ancestors, 48, 100. Bible Woman, 177, 236 Anesaki, M., 263 Board of Foreign Missions, 174-8 Ankeney, A., 25, 248 Board of Directors, 188 Antioch, III Board of Managers, 205 Aomori, 129, 134, 138, 248. Boas, Dr., 23 Archery, 198 Bradshaw, Miss, 131 Art, III Brahman, 91 293 294 Index Brown, S. R., 124, 127, 132, 187 Brown, W. A., 245, 288 Buddha, 90 Buddhism, 77-8, *81, 90-107, III, 113-4, 143–4, 151, 239, 272 Buddhism, New, 99, 263 Business Men, 33–4, 268–70 Buzzell, Miss, 135 Cakes, 64, 167 Calendar, 60 California, see Pacific States Calls, 167 Canada, 137 Carp, 30 Caste, 46 Cemetery, 239 Ceylon, 92 Chapel, 237 Characteristics, 61 Charcoal, 51 Charity, 62, 139, 268 Chestnut Trees, 41 Children, 40, 57, 102, 159, 232, 240 Children, Baptism of, 119, 242 Children, Missionary, 154, 159 China, 85, 93, 112, 141, 257-9, 274, 288 China, Church of, 245 Chinese Characters, 159-64, 208 Chosen (Korea), 85, 93, *119, 125 Christ, 82, 91, 96, 104, 112 Christianity, 41, 281 Christians, Japanese, 37, 39, *119 142-5, 216–7, 252, 268–71, 279-86 Christian Literature Society, 177, 235 “Christian Movement,” 202 Christian Science, 84 Christmas, 232 Chuai no Tomo, 218 Church, 78, 222 Church Government, 122, 131 Church, Native, 131, 149, 152, 166, 177, 244-9 Church Property, 244 "Church of Christ,” 136 City Work, 179, 250 Classis (Presbytery), 125 Climate, 19, 153 Clogs, 54, 238 Clothes, 52-5, 64, 158 Coal, 35, *268 Code, 63, 89 College, 189 Comity, 123 “Common People's Gospel,” 140, 216 Communications, Department of, 228, 232 Communion, Close, 135 Concubinage, 278 Conference, Evangelistic, 236 Confucius, 85 Confucianism, 45, 77–8, 85-90, 142, 277 Congregation, 277 Congregationalists, 122, 125, 139– 2, 234 Conscription, 69, 188 Constitution, 78, 133 Continuation Committee, 178 Contributions by Japanese, 236, 243, 249 Converse, G. C., 217 Cook, H. H., 118, *169, 227, 234, 240 Index 295 : Cooperation, 247 Corey, S. J., 137 Corporation, 175 Cort, Mrs., 203 Country Work, 179, 250 County Town, 249-53 Crucifixion, 104 Date-Masamune, 115 Davis, J. D., 132 De Forest, J. H., *118, 130, *153, 240 Democracy, 68, 89, 104, 174, 207, 272-7 Demura, T., 192 “Disciples," 136 Dispensary, 119 Divorce, 59 Domestic Science Course, 210 Dormitory, 195, 211, 269 Doshisha, 125, 130, 140, 199 Dutch Reformed, 123, 129; see Reformed Church in Amer- England, see Great Britain England, Church of, 137 English, III, 165, 185, 198, 203, 209 English Bible Class, 230 English Course, 210 Episcopal Church, 125, 137–8, 204 Estimates, 175, 249 Etiquette, see Politeness Evangel, 221 Evangelist, Native, 235-6, 251, 288 Evangelistic Committee, 177, 224, 247 ica. T Earthquake, 21 Ebina, D., 272 Ebisu, see Ainu Echigo, see Niigata Ken Edinburgh Conference, 178 Edo, see Tokyo Education, Christian, 136, 185 Education, Department of, 201, 228, 287; see School Electricity, 35, 38, 51, 158 Elmo, St., 101 Eloquence, 270 Emerson, R. W., 291 Emishi, see Ainu Emperor, 46, 73, 82, 139, 201, 271, Evangelistic Reports, 248 Evangelization, 151, 186, 219 Extraterritoriality, 271, 273, 286 Eye, 103 Ezo, see Ainu, Hokkaido Factory, 34 Factory Law, 40 Family, 57, 100, 119, 121, 194 Famine, 25, 28, 265–6 . Farms, 25 Faust, A. K., 205, *215, 228, 241, 267 Faust, Mrs., 240 Federated Missions, 177 Fencing, 198 Festival, 81, 233 Feudal System, 45 Finance, 159, 175, 177, 191, 206, : 247 Fire, 49, 102 Fish, 26 Fisher, I. J., 176 Food, 25, 157, 170, 212 Formosa, see Taiwan 273 296 Index Founders' Day, 199 France, 119 Fruit, 30 Fudo, *101, 103 Fuel, 158 Fujimicho Church, 126 Fukuin Shimpo, 126, 200 Fukunaga, 234 1 Fukushima, 115, *129, 136, 200, 244, 249, 278, 283 Fukushima Ken, 248, 265 Fukuzawa, Y., 164 Funeral, 83, 99, 113 Furlough, 179, 181 Gambling, 70 Garden, 50, *269 Gas, 51, 158 Gerhard, P. L., 193 Gerhard, Miss, 172 German Language, 198, 230 German Reformed, see Reformed Church in United States. Germany, 119, 273 Ghost, 104, 284 Girdle, 53 Girls, Working, 35, 269 Girls' School, 119, 134, 135, 204 Gnostics, 113 God, 79, 85, 89, 105, 282, 286 Godown, 50 Golownin, Admiral, 119 Government, Japanese, 68, 175, - 267 Grammar School, 160 Gratitude, 87 Great Britain, 15, 273 Greek Orthodox Church, 119, 274 Guinther, E. H., 175 Gwassan, 102 Gymnastics, 72 Haga, M., 270 Hair Dressing, 54 Hakodate, 120 Harada, T., 98, 101 Harbaugh, H., 280 Hasekura, R., 115, *118 Hearn, L., 100 Heaven, 93, 145 Heidelberg Catechism, 87 Helper, 166, 179 Hepburn, J. C., 124 Hibara, Lake, 21 Hideyoshi, 114 Hinayana, 92 Hioki, Minister, 258 Hirosaki, 116, 132-4, 138 Hoekje, W. G., 248 Hojo, President, 95, 200 Hokkaido (Ezo), *24, 125 Home, 182, 205 Homma Family, 60 Homonyms, 163 Honda, Y., *118, 132-4 Honen, 97 Hongwanji, 97 Hostel, 217 Hotel, 169–72 House, 48, 65, 154-6 Housecleaning, 70 Hoy, W. E., 128, 187-8 Hoy, Mrs., 203 Hsian, 112 Hygiene, 153-5 Hymn, 141, 282 Ibuka, K, 132 Ichimura, T., 225 Idolatry, 101, 105 Iishiba, E., 193 Index 297 lizaka, *237 Imai, E., 200 Imhof, Miss, 267 Immersion, 135, 141 Immigration, 261 Imperialism, 82 Inawashiro, 38, 283 India, 90-3, 112 m Industrial Home, 194-6 Ing, J., 133 Inquirers, 229, 234 Insincerity, 92, 106 Institutional Church, 253 Internationalism, 272 Iron, 35, 258 Irreligion, 262 Ise, 84, 142 Ishii, 259 Ishinomaki, 127, 268 Iwanuma, 223, 244, 260 Iwate Ken, 129, 248 Izanagi, Izanami, 80 Jacquet, *118 Japan, 124 Japan Current, 28 Japanese People, 23-4 Japanese Language, 15, 160-6, 246 Japanese Language School, 160 Japanning, 33 Jews, I11-2 Jizo, *101, 102 Jo, Y., *119, 268, 279 Jodo, Sect, 97 Jones, E. H., 135 Justice, see Righteousness Justinian, II2 Kagoshima, 113 Kaibara, 90 Kaifong, 112 Kaigan Church, 124 Kajiwara, C., 192, 232 Kamaishi, 35 Kanamori, T., 140, 242 Kanda, 200 Karuizawa, 180 Kasatkin, see Nicolai Kato, K, 271 Kawai, Miss, 37, 142 Kawamata, *37, 269 Kidder, Miss, 129 Kieffer, J. S., 280 Kimura, S., 199 Kindergarten, 136, 138, 177, 253 Kishibojin, 102 Kitakami River, 16 Kitakata, *237, *252, *268 Kitayama Cemetery, 239 Kitchen, 50 Kobo, 113 Kodaira, K., 199, 262 Koishikawa, 284 Kojiki, 80 Komatsu, T., *191, 200 Kongfutse, see Confucius Konishi, 114 Korea, see Chosen Koriyama, 20, 138, 225 Kriete, C. D., *169, 171, 248 Kriete, Mrs., 215, 254 Kuyper, H., 168, 229 Kwannon, 102 Kyoto, 46, 97, 116 Kyushu, 114, 118-9, 140 Kyushu Mission, 129, 228 Labor, 38, 155, 274 Lacquer, 33 Lampe, W. E., 265 298 Index Land, Cost of, 154 Language Committee, 177 Letter Writing, 166 Literacy, 71 Literary Society, 198, 213 . Literature, 212, 235 Lloyd, A., 113 Loyalty, 86–7, 96 Lumber, 155 Lutherans, 140 McClure, S. S., 258 MacNair, 141 Maezawa, 130 Mahayana, 92 Manchuria, 125 Manual, 175 Marriage, 58, 104 Masses, 100, 138 Mats, 237 Matsushima, 16, 17, 95, 169, 181 Meiji, 79 Meiji Gakuin, 132 Merchant Class, 46, 258 Methodists, 122, 132-4, 204, 266 Methodist Publishing House, 235 Middleman, 64 Middle School, 189–91 Miharu, 224, 253 Military, 46, 69, 83, 272, 274 Milk, 26, 29, 158 Miller, E. R., 129 Mines, 35 Mission, 174–7 Mission Church, 243 Mission Office, 175 Missionaries, 149–182, 288; auth- ority of, 246; classes of, 178; distribution of, 179; influence of, 249; lay, 289; need of, 151, 289; policy of, 250; residences of, *152–3; vacations, 180; wives, 175, 180 Miura, T., 231 Miyagi, 16 Miyagi Ken, 248, 265 Miyagi Classis, 188, 247 Miyagi Jogakko, 175, 187, 203–16, *214, 236, 284 Miyasaki Ken, 37 Mizusawa, 116 Modesty, 55 Moore, J. P., 128, 172, 248 Moral Teaching, 72, 106, 197, 231 Moral Power, 278-80 Morioka, 116, 119, 129, 135, 136, 138, 168, 229 Morning Star Middle School, 201 Motoori, 80 Motorcycle, 225 Mott, J. R., 150, 202, 263 Mountains, 20 Munro, N. G., 22–3 Murakami, 271 Music, 70, 180 Music Course, 210 Mysticism, 94 Nagaoka, 142, 249, 269 Nagasaki, 123 Nagase River, 21-2 Nakamura, *16, 25 Nakayama-Miki, 84 Nambanji, 114 Namie, 240 Nationalism, 77, 82, 125 Nestorians, 112-3 New Spain, 115 New Testament, 143 Newspaper Evangelism, 228 Index 299 Nibancho Church, 128, 187, 218, 239. Nichiren, 96 Nicolai, *118, 119 Nihon Kirisuto Kyokwai, 122, 124, 127, 141, 186, 188, 199, 243 Niigata, 18, 127, 132, 138 Niigata Ken, *17, 19, 24, 35, 101, 127, 132, 137, 271 Niishima, J., 125, 130 Nippashi River, 38 Nobunaga, 114 Nogi, General, 79, 88 North Japan College, see Tohoku Gakuin Noss, C., 166, 173, 224, 227, 248, 281 O, 115 Oda, see Nobunaga Odaka, 231 Odera, 39 Ogawara, 202 Ojiya, *17 Okuma, Marquis, 274 Old Testament, 105, 221 Olds, C. B., 132 Olympic Meet, 62 Omiya, *80 Onna Daigaku, 90 Ononii, 224 Opium, 70 Oriental Missionary Society, 138 Orphanage, 266 Osaka, 200 Oshikawa, M., 127–8, 134-5, 187– 8, 194, 239, 251, 272 Otani, Countess, 99 Otomo, 114 Pacific Ocean, 257, 259 Pacific States, 17, 99, 260-2 Paganism, 101 Palm, Dr., 127 Parliament, 270 Paul V, Pope, 116 Peasants, 25, 46, 59, 231 Pedley, H., 132 Penance, 102 Pennsylvania, 185 Perry, Commodore, 45 Persecution, 114-7, 264 Personality, 105 Peshawur, 112 Petroleum, 35 Pettee, J. H., 268 Philip of Spain, 115 Pieters, A., 228 Pifer, Miss, 284 Pilgrimage, 101 “Pioneer,” 200 Poate, T. P.; 135 Police, 70, 258 Politeness, 56, 63, 88 Poorbaugh, Miss, 203 Pope, 271 Population, 24 Portuguese, 113-118 Post Office, 142, 232 Poverty, 59, 264, 269 Prayer, 224, 285 Preaching Place, 235 Prefecture, 68, 248 Presbyterian, 122–7, 129, 132, 141 Priest, *80, 82, 94, 99, 104, 142, 281 Prostitution, 37, 66, 70 Protestant Episcopal, see Episco- pal. 300 Index Protestants, 121 Quiet Session, 95 Race Prejudice, 160, 261 Rai-Sanyo, 16 Railway Mission, 232 Rain, 20 Red Cross, 265 Reformed Church in America, 123, 125, 126, 129 Reformed Church in the United States, 123-130, 266, 287; see Tohoku Mission Relations, Five, 86 Religions, 77-107 Religions, Bureau of, 228, 287 Religions, Toleration of, 77-8 Rescript, Educational, 73 Reserve, 88 Residence, Missionary, 154 Retirement from Active Life, 106 Revolution of 1868, 46, 133 Rice, 25–6, 170, 212 Righteousness, 88–90 Rimitsu, 112 Rinzai, 94 Roman Catholic Church, 92, 112, 113-9, 125, 182, 201, 204 Rosenberg, 164 Rupp, J. G., 240 Russia, 119-20 Ryou, 234 Sacrifice, 68, 104 Sado Island, 127 Saeki, Prof., 113 Sakano, D., 143 Sakata, 60, 107, 231 Sakura-Sogoro, 104 Sakya, 90 Salary, 159, 236 Salvation, 103 Salvation Army, 126, 139 Sasao, K., 192 Sato-Chomatsu, 200 Sato-Gishiro, 269 Schneder, D. B., 105, 128, 190, *191, 201, 217 Schneder, Mrs. 144, 190, 266, 285 Scholarships, 195, 208 School, Public, 71-3, 207, 238, 257 Scotland, 15 Secretary of Mission, 176 Seedsowing, 225-235 Seiple, W. G., 192–3, 228 Self Support, 244 Sendai, 16, 17, *24, 85, 114-7, 119, 120, 128, 131, 134, 136, 138, 144, *152, 172, 175, 200, 217, 228, 230, 234, 244, 246, 283, 284, 285, 288 Sendai Christian Orphanage, 264 Servants, 156 Seventh Day Adventists, 138 Sewing, 209 Shaka, see Sakya Shakespeare, 198 Shima, G., 261 Shimabara, 118 Shin Sect, 97, 104 Shingon, 93, 113 Shinjo, 249 Shinran, 97 Shinto, 77, 78–85, 142 Shirakawa, 142 Shokei Jogakko, 135 Short Term, 175 Shotoku, 93 Shrine, 80, 82 Shrines, Bureau of, 83 Index 301 Siberia, 18 Silk, 31-33, 35 Sin, 105 Sitting, 169 Snow, 17-20 Snyder, S. S., 195 Taiwan (Formosa), 125 Takada, *80, 174 Takamine, 28 Takayama, 181 Tao, 78, Tax, 176 Tea, 167, 169 Team Work, 174, 178 Teeth, Blackened, 54 Temple, *81, 100 Tendai, 93 Sodo, 94, 143 Soma, see Nakamura Sower, Parable of, 281 Soy, 29 Spain, 113-8 Specialists, 149 Stereopticon, 226 Street Preaching, 225, 227, 282–3 Strike, 275 Students, 179, 193, 207, 217–8, 263 Suffrage, 40, 68 Sugai, K., 142 Sugiyama, M., 231 Suicide, 88, 105, 133 Sukagawa, 39 Sun, 80, 97 Sunday, 60, 241 Sunday School, 239, 240-1 Sunday School, Buddhist, 99, 263 Sunday School Chapel, 253 Superintendent, 248 Surugadai Cathedral, 120 Suzuki-Bunji, 274-5 Swander, J. I., 187, 203 Sword, 88 Syllabary, *161, 162 Sympathy Bag, 266 Tadami, 173 Tadami River, *16 Taguchi, T., *191, 213 Taira, 35, 224, *252, *268, 275 Tenrikyo, 84 Tents, 226 Terauchi, Count, 79, 274 Theatre, 233 Theological Seminary, *128, 187, 191 Thomas, St., 112 Three Religious Conferences, 287 Tidal Waves, 21 Tohoku, 15-24; 28, 31, 35, 38, 47, 115, 186, 191, 257, 287 Tohoku Gakuin, 128, 129, 175, 187-201, 216, 234, 270 Tohoku Mission, 129, 131, 174–7, 218, 235-7, 241, 245, 247, 253, 262, 287 Tohoku University, 276 Tokonami, 286 Tokugawa, 46, 114 Tokwa Gakko, 130 Tokyo, 46, 56, 120, 139, 160, 263 Tokyo Classis, 247 Transmigration, 91 Travel, 168 Treasurer of Mission, 175 Trousers, 53 302 Index Woman, 35-41, *53, 56-9, 66-7, 88, 90, 202, 238, 276–7, 289 Woman's Missionary Society, 127, 206 Truthfulness, 268, 282; see In- sincerity Tsuchida, K., 142, 252 Tsugaru, see Hirosaki Tsurugaoka, 133, 236 Tuberculosis, 70, 267 Tuscarora Depth, 21 Typhoon, 20 Uchida, Mrs. 136 Uchimura, K., 83, 223 Uehara, 82 Uemura, M., *118, 126 Uniform, 55, 71 Unity, Christian, 140 University, Christian, 177, 202 University, Imperial, 124 Uragami, 118 Ushizuka, 82 Verbeck, G. F., 123 Virtues, 86 Vitus, St., 101 Volcano, 20 Wainright, 165 Wakamatsu (Aizu), 18, 20, 34, 38- 9, 46, *52, 70, 77, 102, 114, 130-1, 138, 143, 166, 173, 179, 217, 230, 232, 234, 239, 242, 281 Wani, 85 Watari, 144 Water, 51 Way (Religion), 79 Wheat, 25 Woman's Union Mission, 125, 199, 236 Wrestling, 198 Wynd, W., 136 Xavier, 113 Yamagata, *81, 138, *168, 179, 215, 217, 230, 252, *253, 254 Yamagata Ken, 248 Yamaguchi, 142, 279 Yamamuro, G., *118, 140 Yamanobe, 252 Yamato, 23 Yamazaki, Evangelist, 130 Yanaizu, *16 Yokendo, 120 Yokohama, 17, 47, 124-5 Yonezawa, 217, 277 Yoshida-Kametaro, 127, 223 Yoshida-Kikutaro, 37, 253 Yoshida-Tatsuo, *191, 200 Young Men's Christian Associa- tion, 197, 200, 217-8, 230, 290 Young People's Society, 241 Young Women's Christian Asso- ciation, 37, 142, 214 Yuaikwai, 274 Zaugg, E. H., 192 Zen Sects, 94 Zinc, *268 140 142 142 140 144 148 130 SAKHALIN 48 Mtoa chon Shirly HOKKAIDO YEZO Same Scale as Main Map. Fukuyamay Ve Notar TSUGARUST to LA PERQUSE STRAIT Nobechi Boy of Boya c. Brwat soy la Nobechis chin REBUN OM OR I wano Wosto g Hirosa RISHIRI Ainohe о к н о т к Teshloo TURUP Poroost C. Shirts odlombetura Tuchia Kiyoko Akita O oriokaQ YEZO STRAIT Tokoro I WAT E srums | Dibuhline HABARI Kamishia KUNASHURI! SHIKOTAN окатозорре WT. TESNIO Yokolad Mushika WE MJ18HIKARI Shibete tiles fata c. Durec Heninoseki) u WALFISH BAY Nomore Sakatele HO VK KĀ ADS Akan NUTAPKAV Mouchafu Shinjo ISHIKARI O 38 Ikushumbet Poroni Yaburi Txuryoka o YAMAGA BAYIWA Ishak sap oro Kushon Sas Yamagate Bay Ολοκλης OSENDAI site Iwan Shikota irish kochi L. Tovas Dromakoma Tom SADA onezawa Niigata batan VOLCANO Fukushima BAY bao Vorono OKUSHIRI Sanjo Urakow sphorust Idrumousky Wakamatsu 42 136 Nagaok Esashi lo C. Erino o Wajim Koriyas FU KUM EN Naoyeun Ulehto •TRAIT Takata STR 144 Je Polisier Frkuyamale C. Shiriya Hon hal TSU GARU so TOYAMA BAY Puhtki o Nunerikaw Takaoka O'Toyama? Trubatao TOYAMA Kanazawa Nagano AKI OLA Ustinomiya Nobechi 140 M 5 Bay GUM M Maebashi Kavia Takasaki Ashikaga 142 Po chigi Mirto Urkoffsky 232 34 Bay Oki is. IS Ishioka he. Clonara Takayama Matsumoto pre horas - 136 Klong jno A IT Kawagoyee Tai ku SE A re bhoshi Panabi WAKASA BAY Kont G I Chiba F Matsune TOKYO Sakaimichi YA MYA NA SHL Hech lides Tottorit nom Tokyo Yoo ohama o ! Bay al bifhinomiya Tong ndi insan Maiz FOTO CTTORI Gitu Imalchio Maizuru Yukuchyanus WAG hars S IG O Hikone 9 il Yokosuk Bised 28 Tawara YO Ji T WAGOYA 'Ratsuta ] Kocha IYOTO Kliwanaw м 4 116 | SAGAMI BAY . STRAIT STRAIT Hichiro ID Z UO Ohio Oy Widzuoka SURUGA Tulada Miyoshi 10 K RAY ISLAND KOB Okizaki Putsn Yokkaichi ushimi - coyohashi OWARI BAY vada u Hamamatsu TOT 0 BROUGHTON Ts TSUSHIMA TOUW Akashi e s T Avoyi Matsuzaka S 0 Omal חות Makayama kayan OSAKA Sakai SAN So 1 STRAIT SO Dashu S Ujio? oldal Galo uoto 0 SEA di o KIA Y 1 OTAkahashi Sosh HIROSHI 0.75 C. Kowalirimin HIROSHIMA Onomichi HARINA Haci SEA YAMA GUĆ aruamep Takatsu tudott KAGA Iwak O Yamaguchi 08. Antonirable Токисля, . LI BINGO SEA Tokushima, andarta EZ TOKUS HIM A Kokura suo SEA en die pan Matsuyamam Nokata Yukilnahi Aliau Nakala TYO FUKUOKAA INARA KOREA V Akamagaseki or Shimonoseki akayama l 138 KRUSENSTERN MIYAKE 1. 34. 19 Moji WAKP AIKURA I Ganchu Channel Kii KAY AMP Olis Oka не Shingu SIA SHIKOKU Koch Kurume Saga C. Shione 30 YAN MANAGPS yo... TOSA BAY oila GOTO C. Murat Omutas Danki Bungo Channel Sall of NAGASAKO 3 Shinahara Kumamoto Udo C. Mama KILISHI Weselamatan F laheoben AMAKU I oshiro DS c olTabe Altoyoshi 32 KOSHIKI A C MAP OF JAPAN From Latest Official Sources 10_2010_2 80100120 Miyazaki Igakonojo Kagoshima Oы о C. Normal Terdzo SCALE OF MILES 'ego,him Copyright 1909, by Young Peoples Missionary Movement of the United States and Canada. MAP OF JAPAN AND KOREA Showing Relation to the ASIATIC MAINLAND. 0. Satanomi VAN DIEMEN STRAIT C. 8. HAM MOND & Co., N. Ý. 130 132 134 140 GLOSSARY Ai, love, 218 Geta, clog, 54 Amado, rain door, 49 Gi, righteousness, 89 Bakuro, jockey, 34 Gun, district, county, 68 Bateren, Christian priest, 117 Habutae, simple silk fabric, 35 Bushido, warrior way, 87 Hammon, mental anguish, 142 Butsu, buddha, 90 Harakiri, abdomen slashing, sui- Butsudan, buddha altar, 100 cide, 133 Cho, town, street, 69 Hibachi, fire pot, brazier, 51, 169 Chokugo, imperial rescript, 73 Higashi, east Chu, loyalty, 218 Hikoki, fly go machine, aeroplane, Chukwai, classis, presbytery 162 Dai, great Ichibancho, First Street Daigaku, great learning, advanc- Inkyo, retirement from active life, ed instruction, university 106 Daikon, giant radish, 29 Jiho, times report, newspaper Daikwai, great assembly, synod Jinrikisha, man power wheel, 63, Daimyo, great name, lord of the 168 clan, 45 Jotei, supreme ruler, God, 85 Dendo, transmitting the way, evan Jujutsu, wrestling, jiujitsu, 198 gelization Kaigan, seashore, 124 Dendokyokwai, mission church, 243 Kaitakusha, pioneer, 200 Dendosha, evangelist, 236 Kami, god, 79 Dendofu, mission woman, 236 Kamidana, god shelf, domestic Fujin, lady : shrine Fujinkwai, women's society, 254 Kaminari, god noise, thunder, 161 Fukuin, gospel Kawa, river Futon, comforter, cushion, 49, 171, Ken, prefecture, province, 68, 248 211 Kenjutsu, swordsmanship, fencing, Gakko, school, 187 Gakuin, educational institution, Kimono, garment, 52, 169 Kita, north Geisha, accomplished person, danc Kogisho, preaching place, 235 ing girl, 172, 276-7 Kori, telescope of basketware, 211 303 : 198 187 304 Glossary Seikokwai, holy catholic church, 137 Koron, public discussion, review, 277 Kotatsu, bed warmer, 52 Kyokwai, church, 124 Machi, town, street, 69 Mikado, august gate, Emperor, 46 Minami, south Miso, fermented bean mash, 29 Miya, shrine, 80 Mochi, paste made of glutinous rice, 29 Mombusho, Department of Educa- tion Mura, group of villages, commune, 69 Namu Amida Butsu, Glory to Amida, the Buddha, 98 Namu Myoho Rengekyo, Glory to the Wonder-law, the Lotus- sutra, 96 Nibancho, Second Street, 128 Nichiyo, Sunday Nichiyogakko, Sunday School, 240 Nihon, Japan, 124 Nippon, same as Nihon Nishi, west Obi, belt, sash, girdle, 53 Oku, interior, back part, 115 Oku san, lady of the house, 51 Onna, woman, 86 Rai, thunder, 161 Ro, fireplace, 48 Rodokwai, labor association, In- dustrial Home, 194-6 Sake, liquor made of rice, 27, 29, 65, 70, 172 Sambancho, Third Street, 187 Sambika, hymn book, 141 Samurai, knight, 46, 87 Seinendan, young men's associa- tion, 231 Seiza, quiet session, 95 Shadan, corporation, juridical per- son, 175 Shimpo, news report, newspaper, 126 Shin, truth, 97; new (in Shimpo); god (in Shingaku) Shingaku, theology Shingakko, theological school Shingakusha, theological institu- tion, 126 Shinju, double suicide of lovers, 105 Shogun, general of the army, ty- coon, 46, 104, 115 Shoji, a door or window of paper, 49 Shokonsha, soul inviting altar . shrine to the departed, 82 Shokwai, consistory, session Shoyu, soy, 29 Somukyoku, general business board, 125, 127, 247 Taikun, great lord, tycoon, sho- gun, 46 Tatami, floor mat, 49, 237 Ten, heaven, 85 Tera, temple, *81, 100 Tofu, bean curd, 29 Tomo, friend, companion, 218 Torii, portal to a shrine, *80, 81 Waraji, straw sandal, 55 Yama, mountain Yobancho, Fourth Street Zori, sandal, 54 Perio d e POLERO ...... an fhan Meena SL . 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