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Po awn ee ees ~ Pe ee Cee a Py he eeCHRISTIAN VOICES AROUND THE WORLD JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF Chapters by a Group of Nationals Interpreting the Christian Movement Assembled and edited by MILTON STAUFFER Educational Secretary Student Volunteer Movement STUDENT VOLUNTEER FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS by the MISSIONARY EDUCATION MOVEMENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA New Yorka" pgm 0-2 gas —" ; ae ~ r oo t aed ip ' COPYRIGHT, 1927, BY JOHN A. MURRAY, JR.AUTHORS OF PHIS) VOUS DANJO EBINA SAKUZO YOSHINO M. SAWAYANAGI TETSU YASUI U. KAWAGUCHI J. S. MOTODA E. TAKASUGI AKIRA EBIZAWA TOYOHIKO KAGAWABIOGRAPHICAL NOTES DAN JO EBINA was born in 1856 at Yanagawa in the prefec- ture of Fukuoka. He studied Chinese literature in the Den- shukan (established by the Yanagawa clan), was graduated from the English Language School of the Kumamoto clan, and entered the Doshisha of Kyoto, where he studied theology and was its first graduate. He was the founder and pastor of several churches in the prefecture of Gunma, and established Hongo Church at Tokyo in 1887. In the same year he re- moved to Kumamoto, where he established the English Lan- guage School, a girls’ school, and also the Kumamoto Church. He was President of the Nippon Missionary Society from 1890 to 1893, pastor of the Kobe Church in 1893, and in 1897 went to Tokyo as pastor of the Hongo Church which he had founded. There he remained until he became head of Doshisha University. He was the founder and editor of Shinjim, a Christian magazine. He has visited Europe and America several times on important missions. He received the degree of D.D. from the Pacific School of Religion in 1912, became President of the Doshisha in 1920, and received his LL.D, degree from Pomona College, California, in 1924. SAKUZO YOSHINO was born in 1878 in the Miyagi pre- fecture. He was graduated from the Law College of the Tokyo Imperial University in 1904, and became tutor to the family of the late Yuan Shi-kai, President of the Chinese Republic, He was appointed, an assistant professor at the Law College of the Tokyo Imperial University in 1909, and full professor in 1914, having studied in Europe and America from 1910 to 1913. He obtained the degree of Hogakuhakushi (a doctorate in law) in September, 1915. He resigned the post of vii, , — a ee Se —— - —— i - PNET ganar cnt a le tt eG ee “<= 2 Fae er Sa = ort. PR Fey Pie eS om +2 Wh A at i teat mat cy aie Vill BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES professor to join the editorial staff of the Tokyo Asahi Shim- bun. Later he was lecturer in the Tokyo Imperial University. His publications include Te Negotiation Between Japan and China, Historical Basis for European Conflicts, and Politics of the Century. MASATARO SAWAYANAGI was born in 1865 in Mat- sumoto City, and graduated from the College of Literature of the Tokyo Imperial University in 1888. He was Secretary of the Department of Education in 1890, and later private secretary to the Minister. He has been Director of the Second (Sendai) High College; Director of the First (Tokyo) High College; Director of the Ordinary Education Bureau; Prin- cipal of the Tokyo Higher Commercial College, and Prin- cipal of the Tokyo Higher Normal College. He was Japanese representative at the Thirteenth World’s Oriental Confer- ence at Berlin, 1902, and in 1906 proceeded to England to deliver lectures on Japanese education at London University. He was Vice-Minister of Education, 1906-1908; Director of the Tokyo Higher Commercial School, 1910; President of the Imperial University at Sendai, 1913; and later President of the Kyoto Imperial University. In 1915 he was elected President of the Imperial Educational Society, succeeding the late Baron ‘Tsuji. He was Chairman of Japan’s delegation to the Institute of Pacific Relations meeting at Honolulu in July, 1925. He is President of the Buddhist Association of Japan, and is a member of the House of Peers. TETSU YASUI (Miss) was graduated from the Tokyo Higher Normal School for Women in 1890. Later she was a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, at Oxford Uni- versity, and at Cardiff College. She has been a teacher in the Tokyo Higher Normal School for Women, in the Iwateken Normal School, in the Tokyo Higher School for Women, in the Queen’s School in Siam, and in the Peeresses’ School, Tokyo. She was Dean of the Woman’s Christian College fromBIOGRAPHICAL NOTES ix 1918 to 1923, and received her degree of Litt.D. from Mount Holyoke College in 1923. Dr. Yasui is now President of the Woman’s Christian College of Japan. UKICHI KAWAGUCHI was born in Wakayama-Ken in 1883, and graduated from William Jewell College (Mis- sour!) in 1909. He took his B.D. from Rochester Theo- logical Seminary in 1911, and his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1914. He was Secretary of Religious Work for the Japanese Y.M.C.A. in Honolulu, 1915-1916; Professor of systematic theology at the Japan Baptist Theological Semi- nary, 1916-1924; and Dean of the Baptist Girls’ School, Sendai, 1924-1926, of which he later became principal. J. SAKUNOSUKE MOTODA was graduated from the Normal School, Kurume, Kyushu, in 1878, and studied at St. Timothy’s School, Osaka, in 1882-1884. Coming to Amer- ica he attended Kenyon College, receiving the degree of A.B. in 1891 and that of A.M. in 1894. He was given his Ph.D. by the University of Pennsylvania in 1895, and studied at Columbia University in 1895-1896. Philadelphia Divinity School granted him the degree of S.T.D. He was Principal of St. Paul’s Middle School from 1896 to 1899, and Presi- dent of St. Paul’s University, Tokyo, from 1907 to 1923. In 1923 he became Bishop of Tokyo, Nippon Sei-Ko-Kwai (Episcopal Church of Japan). He has translated a number of philosophical books, and among his original works are many on the Christian movement. DR. E. TAKASUGI is a prominent layman of the Methodist Church and a Professor at Sapporo Imperial University. He has studied extensively abroad and is a graduate of Harvard University. TOYOHIKO KAGAWA was born in Kagawa-Ken in 1880, and studied at the Meiji Gakuin, Tokyo, but left beforeBIOGRAPHICAL NOTES graduation. He attended Princeton University and the Theo- logical Seminary from 1914 to 1917, returning home to enter social work in an industrial community. He attended the For- eign Missions Convention in Washington in 1925, and later lectured in England, Germany, and India. He is the author of Before the Dawn (his autobiographical novel), Shooting at the Sun, The Voice from the Wall, and other works. He has devoted his life to improving the slums of Kobe, and has been a leader in movements for Christian social service and labor organization among factory workers and farmers. AKIRA EBIZAWA received his education in Japan and in America. Entering the ministry of the Congregational church, he became one of the leaders in young people’s movements in Japan and a writer of Sunday school literature. He was for- merly pastor in Sapporo, is now the pastor of the principal Congregational church in Kyoto, and is a professor in Doshisha University.CON TEN ES PREFACE I Our CutrurAL HERITAGE Danjo Ebina II Our CHaAncING LIFE AND [| HOUGHT Sakuzo Yoshino III Our Native RELIGIONS M. Sawayanagt IV THe CONTRIBUTION OF THE WEsT- ERN CHURCH Tetsu Yasui V Tue Starus or CHRISTIANITY U. Kawaguchi VI OpporTUNITIES OF THE JAPANESE CHURCH I GENERAL J. §. Motoda II EDUCATIONAL E. Takasugi III SOCIAL T oyohtko Kagawa VIL CoopERATION FROM THE WEST 1 U. Kawaguchi i Akiva Ebizawa VIII YournH’s CHALLENGE TO YOUTH Toyohiko Kagawa X1 X11 T5 30 43 II4 114 135 142ee 7 Se Rt an eee ene aie ae =a a - ” ~*~ = é oi ee * a Pare daa a b . — ~- CHRISTIAN VOICES AROUND THE WORLD SERIES VOICES FROM THE NEAR EAST CHINA HER OWN INTERPRETER JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF AN INDIAN APPROACH TO INDIA THINKING WITH AFRICA AS PROTESTANT LATIN AMERICA SEES ITPREFACE HIE present student generation in North Amer- ica is no longer willing to depend entirely on the foreign missionary for its understanding of Christian movements in so-called mission fields. For practically the same reasons many missionaries are beginning to feel that they have been speaking for the Christian converts of other lands long enough. In the judgment of both these groups the day for the voice of nationals to be heard in our Western churches 1s at hand. That there are Christian leaders today in almost every land who are sufficiently able to interpret the Christianity of their communities to parent communities in the West, is living proof of the prophetic insight of pioneer missionaries who long ago by faith first caught the vision of this day. To their faithful witness and early sowing, this series entitled Christian Voices Around the World is af- fectionately dedicated. As never before, the young people of our North American churches and colleges find themselves sym- pathetic toward the national and racial aspirations of other peoples. Their sympathy leads them to ques- tion some of the aims and methods in the Christian missionary enterprise which appear to ignore or run counter to these aspirations. Many of them have X1li> Se a Pie ee aint XIV PREFACE heard their own and foreign fellow-students counsel immediate discontinuance of foreign missions as now conducted, and even express doubt as to whether the missionary enterprise can be longer justified. How- ever able the missionaries may be to deal with per- plexities like these, they cannot satisfy the desire of those who are disturbed, to hear the opinion of na- tionals as well. Not until the Christian youth of North America are convinced that the foreign mis- sionary enterprise is fulfilling, in the judgment of indigenous Christian leaders, the largest needs of the peoples it means to serve, will they be enthusiastically behind it, at home or abroad. This Christian Voices Around the World series has been initiated and sponsored by the Student Vol- unteer Movement for Foreign Missions. We have been encouraged from the beginning by the Foreign Missions Conference of North America, represent- ing missionaries and foreign mission board secretaries, by the Council of Christian Associations, representing students and student leaders, and by the Missionary Education Movement, representing the mission boards in their cooperative educational work among the churches. In order that the books might be just as readily available to the young people of the churches as to college students, the Missionary Edu- cation Movement offered to publish the series, andPREFACE XV has generously put all of its resources for editing and circulation into the enterprise. In view of the purpose of this series and of the character of the manuscripts a statement of editorial policy is due both authors and readers. Some chapters were written in English, and others came to us as rough translations, manifesting in both cases varying stages of knowledge of the language. Many chapters were in uncertain stages so far as arrangement of material and literary quality are concerned. But more of them than the average reader might sup- pose were submitted in such form as to require surprisingly few editorial changes. Wherever the grammatical construction in the original was obvi- ously wrong or obscured or impaired the thought, I have not hesitated to change, even drastically, both construction and phraseology. Verbal substitutions in the interest of clarity have also been made. Fre- quently the idiomatic terms which seemed to have been intended have been supplied. Wherever the meaning could not be determined, rather than risk misrepresenting the author the part was deleted. There have also been the usual editorial exigencies relating to space. Having said this, let me hasten to add that scrupulous effort has been made to preserve the integrity of thought and the individuality of each manuscript. The constant endeavor has been to safe-ED oh oil Senta ni ee eT re errr, nr FE a Seer, are, —_ Se RARER aoe ‘ P —— s —— — . , ¢ . - . | xv1 PREFACE guard both the intention of the writer and the under- lying spirit of the series. Annotations by way of directing the reader to supplementary material, or defining the terms used, or suggesting other points of view in the interests of a more balanced presentation, have been omitted. For so many years the missionary’s point of view has been presented without annotations from nationals that it now seems only fair to apply the same method the other way around. Readers will discover defects inevitable to a sym- posium. There is repetition because of overlapping ground and the inability of the writers to consult together. The contributions are not of equal literary | quality, and wide differences of intellectual content exist between chapters. The material is not always what missionaries themselves would have presented, nor is it always the most significant with reference to present phases of missionary interest in North Amer- ica. On the other hand it is exactly what we have asked for, an honest revelation of what Christian nationals are thinking and saying among themselves. No attempts have been made to reconcile conflicting opinions. Wherever possible the edited manuscripts have been submitted with the originals to consultants from the country concerned for scrutiny of changes made. Obviously the author of each chapter is alone responsible for the facts and the opinions stated.PREFACE XVll Japan Speaks for Herself is one in this series of six volumes. The title is inclusive only of Japan proper and not of the whole Japanese Empire. Sit- uations in Korea and among Korean Christians would require independent treatment from Korean na- tionals, and this could not have been fairly and ade- quately provided for within the limits of a volume of this size. For six of the chapters the editor has depended on the good offices of a Field Editorial Committee, composed of G. S. Phelps, Arthur Jor- gensen and Dr. William Axling. Apart from their efforts in selecting authors and in assembling and editing the manuscripts, this book would not have been possible. With the exception of Dr. Kawa- guchi’s chapter, which was written in excellent Eng- lish, all manuscripts were first submitted in Jap- anese, an added proof of their indigenous character. To Dr. Yugoro Chiba, President of the Tokyo Gakuin, who undertook the difficult réle of official translator, we extend our special appreciation. Following Bishop Motoda’s contribution in Chap- ter VI, we have added sections of two significant articles from the Japan Christian Quarterly for Jan- uary, 1926. Rather than solicit a chapter on Chris- tian cooperation from the West (Chapter VII) it seemed desirable to reprint extracts from two recent articles on this subject. The Rev. Mr. Ebizawa’s arti- cle on “The Place of the Missionary in the Future”. = oa . ——— a ™ a a a ee ee od cee —— — ee s , SF, Ps Dee ae a kee & Li nt o an Eo > Series alee: ae ee oe i eee, 2.) XVII PREFACE appeared in the 1926 issue of The Christian Move- ment in Japan, Korea, and Formosa, and Dr. Kawa- guchi’s article on “The Muissionary’s Task from the Standpoint of the Japanese Church,” based on a nation-wide study of Japanese opinion, in the 1923 issue. For editing and reprinting extracts of these articles we have the permission of editors and pub- lishers. In Miss Yasui we have the only woman national among more than fifty authors writing for this series. Dr. Sawayanagi’s kindly suggestions with regard to the Christian message will command the respect of all thoughtful students in America when it is re- membered that he is not a Christian but a prominent | Buddhist leader in Japan. MILTON STAUFFER New York October, 1927JARAN: SPEAKS FOR HERSE LE: | ; ) . and a a nn ee ai nf ps ag ee baat iS a ae esFe Bee | I OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE ODERN JAPAN is an interesting subject. There is a Europeanized Japan; some may say an Americanized Japan as well. Again there is a traditional Japan. Which is the real Japan? Where is the real Japan? These are questions asked by many. In dealing with the subject assigned to me, I do not wish to use the words “old Japan.” Rather I would write on the traditions which have created the new Japan, the Japan which is alive here and now. This can be accomplished best by beginning with a short history of Japan’s spiritual struggle. The first awakening of ancient Japan came with the growth of national consciousness. Our empire’s bitter experiences with newly risen countries in the Korean peninsula during the sixth and seventh cen- turies, and her contact with Chinese civilization, es- pecially with that of the Sui and T’ang dynasties, fur- nished Japan with powerful initial stimuli. The revolution of the Takwa era in the seventh century which did away with the old tribal system, redistrib- uted the land on a more equitable basis and intro- duced a sort of state socialism; the publication of a national history, the formation of a legal code, and_ ee ae ll — - 4 w | tt a ee — = —" a = ss —— - alliance ii EE NE SS OT SO tel DIS Fur ornate ee es F a be Be Med te ee ee oP ene “ ee et eae oo ot *. _ 2 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF the establishment of the imperial capital at Nara— all these contributed to the development of a national consciousness, once it had been awakened. Students and Buddhist priests who were abroad for study in China, and Chinese Buddhist priests who came to Japan and were naturalized, early became the transmitters of the new knowledge of their time. How to build a state in Japan which should stand on the same level with that of China was the great- est of problems. Imitation of Chinese culture natu- rally followed. The impetus behind Japan’s ambition to compete with China was her national spirit. This received its unique element from what we call Shinto, the way of the gods. What Japan considers to be most original with her, however, is her conception from the beginning of a single supreme ruler. When we examine the ancient classics of Japan, called Kojzki and Nihongi, saturated with the spirit of Confucian- ism as these are, we can easily detect in their mythol- ogies, as well as in their historical narratives, and especially in the “Million Leaves,” a collection of poems of that period, this original monotheistic con- ception. Japanese even in the most ancient times looked upon their ruler on earth as the sovereign of the world. They considered him the direct descendant of God. Consequently they sang of his “eternal reign,” and of their own glory through him. Ancient Japan was not necessarily sustained by any politicalOUR CULTURAL HERITAGE 3 administration nor by the laws taken over from China, nor was her social life based merely upon the ethical principles of loyalty, filial piety and politeness which were much taught by Confucianism. [hese ‘deas and ideals were utilized and blended, but the fundamental principle for Japan was the unique re- ligious idea referred to above. When we glance at the culture of her early days, it is astonishing to see to what extent Japan was influenced by China. The democratic principle of government which made closer relations of the ruler to the people was derived from this influence. In addition to the concept of one supreme ruler who descended from God, and the principle of de- mocracy imported from China, Buddhism as an- other phase of Chinese civilization also influenced Japan in her early years. Its religious precepts more than its systems of thought touched the hearts of the simple-minded Japanese, and they readily responded to the attending ideas of human equality. In those early days the state was everything, and all social life was centered in it. Gradually, as re- ligion strengthened its hold upon the people, an ideal Buddhistic state came into being. Peace was not main- tained by means of law or customs, but by the principles of love and mercy, of healing the sick, comforting the poor, and being friendly to strangers. By the tremendous power of this religion the state= —_ ~ ee inal 2 x ieee LE TO cere 3S Er voce Bie ee S aa neta ti ee a i it Lisl eile Met ht ee ue eee ie © iil asia ‘ i ‘ rye 4. JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF was safeguarded, and educational and social work was promoted. The pantheistic tendency of early Bud- dhism also blended with the national inclination of the Japanese to recognize divinities of animal form. In this religious atmosphere Japanese fine art, which is the jewel of Eastern art and comparable with that ot Greece, was developed to a high degree. This, then, is the state which the people idealized and eagerly strove for. To be sure it was not attained in its fulness. As we see how deeply rooted was the ideal in the hearts of many Japanese, we can easily understand why it has been cherished so ardently through medieval times and up to the present. Yet we must not overlook the fact that as Japan de- parted from this naive ideal, Japanese society under- went significant changes. The fear felt by the people, who had been intoxi- cated by the concept of an ideal state centered in the nobility, was not an outward fear such as the Romans telt over the invasion of northern barbarians. Nor was change ushered in merely by the decline of the Tang dynasty of China in 907 A.D., although this dynasty had long been an influence on Japanese minds. Rather it came through gradual increase of internal corruption within the state. The nobility daily lost its old-time virility. Evil often follows a state of flabby goodness, and did in this instance. Nor was that all. As the population increased the state facedCUR CULTURAL HMERT LAGE 5 serious difficulties in carrying out its principle of equal distribution of the land. These difficulties were multi- plied by the increase in the number of temples, the purposes of which had become corrupt, and by their possession of ever larger tracts of land. Human self- ishness has always been the enemy of idealism. Not- withstanding every effort to avert the inevitable out- come, the system of decentralized government at last collapsed. Vagabonds abounded, private ownership of land by the aristocrats appeared, and differentiation of social classes came into existence. It was at this time that Japan witnessed the origin of the warrior class. When we consider the view of life entertained by the people of those days, we find that it was domi- nated largely by the spirit of pessimism. The ideal state had begun to crumble, and the period of feudal- ism had been inaugurated. Among the utterances of lamentation were songs that recalled the memories of the past, but we must not fail to notice that back of the lamentation was a yearning after that eternal peace beyond this world. At no other period had the music of the religious life struck so deep a chord in the heart of the Japanese. The Buddhistic revival began in vigor, and a new Buddhism emerged from the older scholastic and state Buddhism. The Middle Ages in Japan were characterized by the ambitious efforts of the warrior class. By reason of conflict between Buddhism and indigenous reli-» ™ tt mala “ t — ——EeOe : i 2 ———— oo es eatin atin” ae art a tit a ae Pt SE. gets TS Yi te ae ae oe i a De ‘ 6 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF gious ideas the struggle between the imperial house- hold and the warrior chiefs, and the rivalries within the warrior class itself, easily resulted in general tur- moil. Had Japan been conquered spiritually at this period she might have become nothing but a child of nature governed by mere animal laws. As a matter of fact, this dark age was the very time when great souls struggled hard to evolve a state of life con- sistent with Japan’s ancient cultural heritage. As said before, the new warrior class developed Japanese life along practical lines. They encouraged the growth of common-sense ethics. In this period we see the initial development of the so-called Bushido, “the way of the warriors.” This ethical code of the military class in Japan is suggestive of the chivalry of feudal Europe. Loyalty was the cardinal virtue. The principles of filial piety, family unity, frugality and simplicity of living, perfect self-control in the presence of pain and agony, honor dearer than life, magnanimity to a defeated enemy—these are among the outstanding ideals of Bushido. This ethical code profoundly influenced not only the upper classes, for whom it was primarily intended, but the civil population as well. While it was not lived up to by all those who professed to be guided by it, Bu- shido remained in active force long after the social order that produced it had disappeared. By the end of the Middle Ages, as the result of constant strug-OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE ” ele, the warrior class had gained complete possession of the central government, though district and local government was still in a state of chaos. A struggle for existence ensued in which the farming class made strenuous efforts to break down the rising class sys- tem and restore the old equality and peace of men. In contrast to the ancient time when men sought a life of peace from without, the desire now broke forth to seek a life of peace from within. Soon it took the form of open rebellion on the part of peasants against the warrior class. Commercial cities gradually developed and attracted increasing numbers. Those who could not live in the country emigrated to for- eign shores. The final victory in the struggle between the war- rior class and the peasant class fell to the warriors. Being ignorant and easily deceived, the peasants were no match for their more resourceful adversaries. As an example of how the warrior class took advantage of the farmers we may mention what is often re- ferred to as the “sword-gathering” of Hideyoshi. This was a cunning appeal made to the peasants’ re- ligious sentiment which put its victims completely at the mercy of their deceivers. Hideyoshi was to cast a huge image of Buddha in his city, and asked peas- ants to contribute their swords as material. They were only too glad to offer their weapons to Buddha,- Ps | inet lls ul > RR dation tamedheduas er es — oo —_ | AAAI CR te ea een 14 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF the dynasty and of the empire, first established his court and throne. Damashii refers to the soul, and especially to the noble qualities of the soul, which in Japan of yore were synonymous with bravery, the characteristic of the samurai. If, therefore, you wish to stir in the native breast the deepest feelings of patriotism and courage, you need but to call upon his Yamato-Damashi. The Japanese are a people who have always looked to the present and the future for real values, material or spiritual. Today Japan is looking most of all to that great creative impulse within herself which finds its source and end in God. Japan has received the seed of Christianity. She is now experimenting valiantly to prove whether or not this soil on which the seed has fallen is any less fa- vorable than that on which the same seed fell ages ago among the Greeks, the Romans, and the Teutons. Danyjo EBINA Kyoto—_ Il OUR CHANGING LIFE AND RHO UG T is believed by some that environment both de- termines life and controls thought; others say that thought directs life and that life in turn creates the environment. Which of these views is right it 1s not my purpose to discuss. In passing, it is sufficient to point out that modern history reveals clearly that the progress of culture and institutions has stimulated the growth of life and thought, while life and thought have in turn stimulated the improvement of culture and institutions. These reciprocal influences are especially noticeable in Japanese history of the last half century. Cultures and institutions may change through the adoption of new principles and new methods, though it usually takes a long time for the majority of the people to comprehend the process by which their culture is being revised and their institutions grad- ually made new. It is commonly said that new wine cannot be kept in old bottles. We should remind our- selves, however, that frequently new bottles are procured only to be filled with the same old wine. The early days of the Meiji era in Japan offer a 1516 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF good illustration of the same old wine in new bottles. The institutions, the forms, and the external arrange- ments of life were indeed new; much of the old system was removed by a single stroke, so to speak. But over against this must be set the equally impres- sive fact that the contents of the heads of the people remained largely unchanged. In a word, Japanese, despite the introduction of new forms, were still controlled by old habits, labo- riously built up during the feudal ages. The revolu- tion in modern Japan which began with the restora- tion of the emperor was not the result of a spon- taneous inner desire on the part of the people as a whole. Rather let it be said that it was the result of pressure from without, largely from abroad. There- fore while new institutions and a changing culture were the order of the day during the early Meiji era (1870-1890), thanks to the efforts of our enlightened statesmen, it must not be forgotten that the life and thought of the nation as a whole remained much the same as during the days of feudalism. Even in the new era of Meiji, which made much of liberty and equality, the minds of the common people were still dominated by the old habits car- ried over from feudal days. As an illustration of the truth of this, let me give an incident which is re- corded in the autobiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa, a noted educator, founder of Keio University, and the ia. a 2 a =GHANGING LIFE AND THOUGHT 717 ereatest interpreter of Western culture to the masses in Japan. I quote Dr. Fukuzawa’s own words: “One day I was visiting Kamakura, walking along the sea- shore with my children, when suddenly a farmer on horseback appeared around the corner. Seeing us he dismounted, and prostrated himself in accordance with the old requirements. Not until I had threat- ened him with violence did he cease his plea for par- don, as was the custom under feudal regulations, and proceed on his journey in accordance with the rights and privileges granted to peasants under the laws of the new government.” This incident illustrates the difficulty of eradicat- ing old habits. Long after the sanction of law was removed from ancient practices, these practices per- sisted among the common people. Reference to the newspapers of the time is illuminating. For example, a famous actor was made the subject of almost unani- mous editorial attack for riding about the streets of Tokyo on horseback using a foreign saddle. Even though the majority of the people did not understand the principles of the new institutions and culture that were being brought in, they were aware that these were to be applauded. At least, no one felt sorry to have got rid of the feudal system. There was a widespread eagerness to cultivate ideas suitable to the new era, and to harmonize life and thought with the requirements of a rapidly changing externala - - —— = — ee a Nn elie ee ~ a ‘ ne , Mi etnias, Ae ain nn ema B.. oF ty ere ge aD ue L et om tes A ia eae “ty a 18 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF order. Indeed this was the aspiration of the entire nation. The spokesman of the new order was the famous teacher and writer, Fukuzawa himself, to whom I have just referred. For a fairly extensive period it can almost be said that every forward-looking Japa- nese sat at the feet of this great master. He was the popular interpreter of things Western, the leader of Japan’s spiritual progress in the early years of Meiji. The reason for his marvelous influence over the peo- ple lay in the fact that he, better than any other Japanese, caught the spirit and comprehended the need of the age. He was the nation’s teacher, and a true representative of the people because he made explicit, and gave direction to, the real desires and aspirations of the whole Japanese nation. It is impossible to understand the intellectual awakening and more recent thought movements of modern Japan without a fair knowledge of Fuku- zawa’s point of view. One of his most representative literary works was entitled Advice on Learning, first published in a series of small volumes or pamphlets. Fukuzawa was the great pamphleteer of Japan’s in- tellectual revolution. In 1880 the smaller volumes were gathered into one large volume under the same title, and in the preface to this edition the author tells us that Volume One alone reached a sale of 200,000, and that the total number published of theCHANGING LIFE AND THOUGHT 19 series amounted to 700,000. Some years later the total sales of the larger volume on Learning had mounted to the astonishing figure of 3,400,000. When it is remembered that even today, with publicity and advertising methods undreamed of in those days, it is rare for a book to sell up to 10,000, a total sale of nearly three and a half millions is suggestive of the nation’s almost unquenchable thirst for the ideas of this indefatigable pamphleteer. In the introduction to the first volume of the series the editor says: “It 1s said that Heaven neither creates one man above another nor one man beneath another. Since all are begotten of Heaven and therefore presum- ably equal, there would seem to be no inherent dif- ferences to make some high and others low. The bounties of nature, food, shelter and clothing, as well as the opportunity to live a free, peaceful and comfortable life without hindrance, all these appear on the surface to be within reach of everyone. But it requires but one glance at humanity to discover that such is not the case. In the world we find the learned and the ignorant, the rich and the poor, the high and the low, all separated by immense differences.” In his elucidation of the reasons for these differ- ences, Fukuzawa found the solution of the human problem in education: “Without learning there is no knowledge, and without knowledge man is a fool.20 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF The difference between the wise and the foolish lies in the fact that one is learned while the other is not.” Learning impressed him as the great need of the time. His concept of learning was unique in his day because of its emphasis upon the practical. He con- sidered the writing of Japanese poems and the study of the classical literature as vain learning, or at best of but secondary importance. The practical learning that is indispensable in everyday life must come first. He stressed such subjects as geography, physics, history, political economy, moral science. Looking over the mass of his fellow-countrymen he saw that such matters as writing, arithmetic, bookkeeping, use of the abacus and familiarity with the weights and measures were instruments of daily necessity, and he therefore placed them among the urgently needed learnings. He advocated the general use of the simple Japa- nese syllabics in place of the difficult Chinese ideo- eraphs, the study of foreign languages, and famil- iarity with the vast store of concrete facts that were at the base of Western utilitarian civilization. With- out knowledge of these facts it would be impossible, thought Fukuzawa, to formulate the principles whereby application of this vast new system of knowledge could be made to the life of Japan. All, therefore, should acquire practical learning, whetherCHANGING LDIEE ANDe THOUGHT 21 high or low, rich or poor, for only thus could each individual render his service to the common good as soldier, farmer, merchant or tradesman, and take his place as an independent individual in the family and in the state. The labors of this apostle of new and practical learning were prodigious. Volume after volume came from the press, only to be devoured by an enormous and eager circle of readers. It cannot be said that Fukuzawa touched upon the problems of morality and religion in any fundamental sense; aside from a few popular discourses on practical morality, his numerous published works are without serious ref- erence to these subjects. His conception of learning was distinctly utilitarian; the learning, in other words, that serves in the main to enhance the ma- terial well-being of the people. During these early days of the Meiji era, the tides of life flowing in from the Western world were all but overwhelming. They moved with force and rapidity, and needless to say influenced profoundly the life and thought of the Japanese people. At the same time, what was said above must not be forgot- ten, namely, that in spite of these currents from the West much of the old spirit remained. Broadly speaking, it can be said that Fukuzawa, though a genius of first importance to modern Japan, was concerned chiefly with the external and materiali eaitinatibienaidine al pulled nck A ES en, is Fr oem a eT . — a @ a P “hap ns £D; o aye a re oa ra Ga we 22 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF aspects of Western civilization. There now appeared upon the scene of Japan’s tumultuous life another genius who exercised a deep and lasting influence in another direction. This was Keiu Nakamura, who, as a student of Western culture, perceived that at the core of it all was a spiritual factor which could not be ignored. For some years he studied in Eng- land, and following his return devoted himself to translating English authors into Japanese. His trans- lations of Samuel Smiles’ volumes on Character and Self Help, and of John Stuart Mill’s essay On Lib- erty are remembered to this day. His acceptance a little later of the chair of English literature in the Tokyo Imperial University greatly extended his in- fluence. Dr. Keiu Nakamura was a true scholar. His fea- tures reminded one immediately of an ancient sage. Steeped in the sacred books of Buddhism and fully conversant with the literature of Confucianism, he was withal an earnest disciple of Jesus Christ. In 1872 he published an article in a leading magazine which reveals his personal courage as a Christian, as well as his conception of the significance of Chris- tianity to Western civilization. The article was first of all a forthright appeal to the emperor to become a Christian, based upon his interpretation of that faith as the inspiration of European culture. To take such a course in those days of intense anti-foreignCHANGING LIFE AN DE THOUGHT 24 feeling and widespread hatred and misunderstanding of Christianity was an amazing adventure which only a man of the highest type of bravery could have contemplated. Dr. Nakamura prefaced his appeal to the emperor (an appeal, by the way, which he put into the mouth of a foreigner) by cataloging a long list of the strik- ing achievements of the Meiji régime up to that date. He then commended the emperor for abandoning the long-standing proscriptions against foreign litera- ture and commercial intercourse, but challenged him to give reason for the legal anachronism that still proscribed Christianity. The conception of Christianity as an evil cult was but the result of accumulated misunderstandings. Dr. Nakamura felt it was a great mistake to permit the policy of modern Japan to be dominated by an an- cient judgment, based as it was on historical circum- stances that were no longer effective. Spain and Por- tugal were indeed open to the charge of using Chris- tianity, to a certain extent, for the extension of their political domination in the seventeenth century. In so far as that was true, Japan was justified in her final proscription of the new religion. But all this having changed, the new circumstances demanded of the emperor a new policy with refer- ence to religion. “We cannot,” wrote Dr. Nakamura, “know the nature of anything until we try it. One, Py tte, tie i - — en a Oe i nee een anette a yo ~~ —— sine areal " ee S - - , ae e4 a r= fil ois mae 4 a ti » a — F ‘ y . x ee ae ies eee A ‘ - a / in 24 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF trial often dispels traditional cautions. Recall for a moment the countless ways in which within recent years we have learned from the West, and yet only a few years ago we thought of Westerners as bar- barians. We tried Western civilization and found it good. Let it not be forgotten, however, that what we have accepted of Western civilization is but its shell. At its very core there is a spirit which unfortunately is incomprehensible even to those Japanese who are informed regarding Western civilization. It is this spirit which accounts for the strength, the prosperity, and the prevalence of righteousness in the West. Persons with these qualities are to be found in large numbers because they are sharers in the fundamental spirit of Christianity which manifests itself in faith and hope and love.” He criticized vigorously Japan’s tendency to enjoy the tree of Western culture, its foliage, its blossoms, and its far-spreading branches, without appreciating the root by which the tree was sustained. This root was Christianity, and Japan, so far from appreciating its life-giving capacity, still held herself aloof from this faith on the theory that it was an evil cult. If Japan would learn the civilization of the West she must penetrate to its source which is religious. With- out this it is vain to put on the habiliments of West- ern material civilization. Its learning and its arts canCHANGING LITE AND? EHOW G HAT 325 never be comprehended fully, apart from its re- ligion. Judging the general theory of Dr. Nakamura from the vantage point of the year 1927, 1s 1s easy to understand in what respects it was bound to prove inadequate. However, his real contribution to the cul- tural development of Japan lay in his emphasis upon the deeper aspects of Western civilization. In this respect his literary labors were the work of genius. He stands today as one of the greatest of the renais- sance leaders during the early years of the Meiji era. Let me summarize briefly some of the early steps or stages in the process of transformation that has been going on in Japan since the close of the feudal régime under the Tokugawas. First: The leaders of the revolution that began with the restoration of imperial authority, perceiving the difficulties involved in maintaining the new life on the old basis, strove valiantly to introduce an era of general enlightenment which sought its inspiration in Western civilization. Second: The consequence of this was a vital re- surgence of the traditional spirit and customs. Men soon discovered that the life of a nation could not be changed in a day. There ensued a chaotic period of strenuous conflict between the old and the new ideas that has continued with varying intensity down to the present.“ — — E LT a ie EE ee Se ema ‘ ~a = - - _ a — — ~~ oe > . a 2 a ae aay Sane) ae 26 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF Third: The immediate situation of those early days called for prompt action. Practical measures to meet present necessities were frequently dictated by superficial considerations rather than by far-sighted policies. Fourth: In these circumstances some found facile solutions in shallow notions of civilization, while others maintained that the old customs could be spiritualized, so to speak, and thus made to harmon- 1ze with the new civilization. Fifth: In the give and take of this conflict there gradually arose enlightened leaders who inspired the nation with true ideals of life. This was the process of the early Meiji era, and out of it came such men as Fukuzawa and Nakamura. In the writer’s judgment this process has been go- ing on with varying emphasis down to the present. In the early days of the Meiji era the civilization ideal, if I may so put it, was really conceived as a political ideal. That is, the movement toward civili- zation was in those days a political struggle for lib- erty and civil rights. And although this movement exerted an enormous influence upon the nation, the real issue was, as a matter of fact, but little under- stood by the common people. Many leaders felt the need of widespread propaganda in order to inform the people.ead ioe eeeemantin Casha CHANGING LIFE AND THOUGHT 27 In a sense, therefore, the movement for liberty and civil rights was not a movement of the people as a whole. It was due to the instigation of a minority class who carried it on under the pretext of repre- senting a national movement. In the train of such a movement there followed many evils and conflicts. Struggles between the people and the government and among the people themselves were common. Thoughtful men were at times anxious as to the out- come. In the midst of these struggles voices were heard declaring that true liberty could not be achieved in such interminable conflicts. The voice of the prophet reminded the people of Japan of the deeper, spiritual sources of life. Preeminent among these prophets was Soho Tokutomi, whose two timely volumes on Japan of the Future and The Young Men of New Japan turned the thought of youth from the ex- hausting political struggles so characteristic of the time into new and nobler channels. The same can be said of the scholar and writer, Dr. Shuku Onishi. A quiet, unassuming personality, Dr. Onishi fought with great courage and faith the good fight for Christianity in a famous religious monthly known as the Rikugo Zasshi. His labors have won him a place among the greatest Christian scholars of modern Japan.aeaieaaehen aimee al attained IO te es Fo oa ¥ oa . be ' i ae ' so . —— oa aa os "5 -. E "| 28 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF At the close of the Russo-Japanese War the na- tional ideal of Japan was cultural imperialism. By the end of the World War this ideal had undergone signal transformation; social reconstruction is now the watchword. From this point of view the situation in Japan is much the same as that in the West. The emergence of this ideal has again occasioned conflict with traditions. As a result the present situation is not unlike that of the early Meiji period. Now as then it is the idealism of Christianity that holds high the standards by which we measure our efforts, correct our mistakes, and make the necessary adjustments. The Japanese nation is a rather conservative na- tion. On the other hand the people as a whole are impelled onward in an eager quest for the ideal. Therefore, at the same time that the nation is ener- gized by a wholesome idealism, the conserving influ- ence of tradition is always present to steady her course without impeding her progress. “It is the writer’s personal belief that Japan will eventually make the spirit of the Christian religion the keynote of her thought and life. This will be accomplished not by mere destruction of the traditions of the past, but rather by imparting new life and meaning to them. This is actually what has been taking place in recent years, to the accompaniment of turmoil of ereater or less intensity. The future of Japan cannot be rightly interpreted by merely keeping one’s eyes— — esq en op eng aie elaine! i itt 4 m md F ¥ , CHANGING LIFE AND THOUGHT 29 on the turmoil, for like the waves of the sea it is generally of the surface. The waves vanish, but the sea remains, calm and glorious. SAKuUzO YOSHINO Tokyote ng eng er a EP rrr. - a ae —_--79 48 . ; : oe ATOR aan er ' tn ae ara CM F ; Para ge eT a TG and Lr _ 4 aw f % Il OUR NATIVE RELIGIONS APAN is an inland country covering an area of ] 147,657 square miles. This does not include re- cently acquired territory. So much of the land is mountainous that not more of it than 37,000 square miles, or about twenty-five per cent, is fit for cultiva- tion and stock raising. This narrow strip nourishes a population of 60,000,000. As a result the people of Japan live in the familiar relationships of neighbors; even the farmers crowd together in villages. Within this community life are to be found practically all the religions of the world. For the student of religions no country is more interesting than Japan. Shinto, usually described by foreigners as the na- tive religion of Japan, is divided into thirteen inde- pendent sects, and maintains 9,435 chapels and preaching-places. Buddhism, which is rooted deeper than Shinto in the life of the people, is divided into twelve main sects and at least fifty-eight sub-sects. The number of Buddhist temples totals 106,393. Confucianism, which is sometimes said to be better practised here than in China, though hardly a re- 30OUR NATIVE RELIGIONS 31 ligion in the strict sense of the term, has considerable influence upon the religious life of Japanese, particu- larly among the educated classes. Christianity is here, with almost every sort of denomination, having been newly propagated in the last sixty years. There are 1,692 Protestant church buildings and 298 Roman Catholic church buildings. To make more complete our exposition of the world’s religions, a Mohamme- dan mosque was built in Tokyo in 1926. On one side of a Buddhist temple may stand a Shinto shrine and on the other a Christian church. Indeed there are three preaching-places of whatever type in Japan for every square mile of territory. In addition to those mentioned, two religions which have sprung up in Japan in the present century are spreading with tremendous rapidity. Their fol- lowers have enthusiasm and devotion, and are exert- ing themselves with that primitive simplicity and in- tensity of spirit which usually characterize new re- ligious movements. These two religions are the off- shoots of Shinto. The one is called Konkokyo, and was recognized for the first time by the government in 1900; the other is called Tenrikyo, and was recog- nized officially in 1908. Although both were propa- gated by their founders some years previous to these dates, they are new religions and are still in a primi- tive state. The former has already about 1700 evan-eee 7 a ee ee ae eee TT er i - ee * oe 32 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF gelists and over 500,000 communicants. The latter is expanding with phenomenal rapidity and is said to have over 23,000 preachers and 5,000,000 adherents. The founder of Konkokyo was a farmer, of almost no education, who began to proclaim what he be- lieved to have been revealed to him direct from God. The founder of Tenrikyo was a woman, also un- educated and belonging to a farmer family. Though these two religions have no highly developed doc- trinal systems, dynamic religious zeal and sincerity are reflected in the words and deeds of the believers. The Japanese are said to be optimistic in this life, indifferent to the next world, and cold-hearted to- ward religion. Some think this is why the preaching of Christianity has not produced a larger number of converts. However, when we consider how the two religions just mentioned have got hold of so many earnest believers within a short period, it is clear that the Japanese people are not necessarily cold-hearted toward religion. Furthermore, when we see that Buddhism has flourished better in Japan than in In- dia, its original home, and incomparably better than in Korea and China, through which countries it came to us, the Japanese cannot be said to be a people among whom religion cannot prosper. The present numerical status of religions in Japan is revealed through the following statistics, which are the latest available:OUR NATIVE RELIGIONS 33 Places of Worship Clergy Communicants I9QI2 1922 I9I2. 1922 I9I2 1922 Buddhism 108,172 106,393 127,607 138,919 51,511,608 47,525,348 Shinto 6,473 9,435 73,443 76,9906 16,191,231 17,508,018 Protestant 831 =1,615 702 950 90,469 134,547 Catholic 320 296 420 370 79,921 90,209 The decrease in the number of Buddhist temples is due to the consolidation of many small temples, and the decrease in communicants merely signifies greater accuracy in census-taking. The figures are not to be taken as evidence of the gradual decline of Buddhism. The fact that in ten years the number of priests has increased by over 11,300 shows that the evangelistic spirit of Buddhism is growing. [he re- markable increase in the number of Shinto clergy and communicants is mainly due to the rapid growth of the two new religions, for both offshoots are still classified under the general head of Shinto. The staff of Western Christian missionaries in Japan reached its highest figure about 1922, with a total of 1600 men and women. By 1926 the foreign force had decreased to 1250. Meanwhile the number of ordained Protestant clergy increased from 814 in 1920 to 1168 in 1926. Although too much must not be inferred from these figures, they may be taken to indicate that Christianity is gradually being indige- nized in Japan. On the whole it is fair to say that in the last ten years every religion in Japan has grown in strength.Ste ieee neti ca one eeameatnen eee oe a a en te ——— 34. JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF The thirteen sects of Shinto are entirely independ- ent bodies. Each sect has its own sacred books. We call them Shinto, but this means nothing more than that they are of Japanese origin. All the sects are current among the uneducated lower classes. They are native religions of Japan, but can hardly be said to have a vital influence on the spiritual life of the nation. It is a mistake to think that since Shinto is the original religion of Japan it therefore has deep sig- nificance and is closely related to the life of the people. The Buddhism of Japan is Mahayana and not Hinayana, which prevails in India, Siam and Annam. This Mahayana Buddhism is divided into twelve sects, and it is these that are in turn subdivided into fifty-eight sub-sects. These fifty-eight sub-sects all maintain independent organizations. Buddhism has spread widely in Japan since the middle of the sixth century. Many of the sects have been founded by Japanese priests, and each sect uses a different canon as its authority. Even the youngest sect of Bud- dhism in Japan has behind it a history of several hundred years. The result of this long process is that all of the sects have become thoroughly in- digenous. Christianity in Japan is represented by the two branches of the Catholic Church, Roman and Greek Orthodox, as well as by an almost indefinite numberOUR NATIVE RELIGIONS 35 of Protestant denominations. Indeed, as said at the beginning of this chapter, Japan sets forth a sort of world exposition of religions. In ancient times social work of various kinds was carried on in Japan by the followers of Buddhism. Buddhist priests pioneered in opening up forests and in bringing new land under cultivation. In relief of the poor, in charity hospital work, and in the general education of the people, Buddhist priests have ren- dered priceless service in the past. After the Middle Ages, however, save in the educational field, they withdrew from all social work. In modern times, stimulated by the social work carried on extensively and efficiently by Christians, different Buddhist bod- ies have begun again to exert themselves in social service. It is to be expected that in the future Bud- dhism will concentrate increasingly on this form of activity. It may truthfully be said that the greatest in- fluence Christianity has exerted upon Buddhism 1s at precisely this point; so much so that already the social work carried on by Buddhists may be said to exceed that carried on by Christians. In general edu- cation, in kindergarten work, and in Sunday schools, Buddhism has learned much from the Christian church. Sunday schools were entirely new to Bud- dhists but are now growing apace. Shinto also has be- gun this kind of work, though it is as yet almost too insignificant to mention. This is largely because thea 2 wre . a a? os Ps —_— ~ = i ae Se - - inte i” i and oO 3 hen ee es ai ere * Pare Sa. ep eiametiitiidiasee meee. ae ons ie ~ S| - ~ ——— ————— . : im J * te ’ 36 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF financial resources of Shinto are very limited as com- pared with those of Buddhism. The future of any religion depends largely upon the clergy who are being trained for the leadership of the next generation. If a religious body contem- plates vigorous evangelistic activities, it must lay stress on the training of its clergy. It is natural that Christianjty should put forward every effort in this direction. Working toward this end there are in Japan two Christian universities having theological depart- ments, with forty-eight students enrolled. There are also thirteen theological seminaries of college grade, with 570 students, and thirty other training schools for Christian workers, with 504 students. Under Buddhist control there are six universities which have departments for the training of priests, with a total enrolment of 621 students. Two of these institutions attained the rank of university as recently as 1926. In the near future, therefore, it is very probable that the number of seminary students in universities in Japan will increase. There are sixteen Buddhist seminaries of college grade, with 1,405 students. The number of other training schools is eighty-one, with 3,494 students. Institutions for the training of the clergy among the Shinto sects are of low scholastic grade. They have no university, only one institution of college standing, and five train- ing schools with popular courses. The number of stu-OUR NATIVE RELIGIONS 37 dents totals 5,384. Judging from the training of their clergy, the future of Buddhism and Christian- ity is very encouraging. It is particularly significant for Buddhism that a large number of students are planning today to enter the priesthood. It cannot be denied that many students of Japan reveal the lack of early religious training in their homes. There are, of course, some students who seek the truth of religion by themselves, though how many it is impossible to ascertain. Among students in Japan, many come under the influence of Christianity. In the number of members in student religious or- ganizations Buddhism exceeds Christianity, though by a narrow margin; but from the point of view of the comparative relation of the two religions to so- ciety at large, Christianity occupies a far superior po- sition among students. Taking into account this com- parative superiority of Christianity over Buddhism among students, the strength of the two religions in society at large may be said to be about the same. The reason why Buddhism has a relatively feeble in- fluence among students is that there are few Bud- dhist leaders equipped with modern education. It 1s expected that the number of Buddhist student organ- izations will greatly increase as the Buddhist univer- sities prepare and send forth an educated clergy. The Young Men’s Buddhist Associations which have been started in recent years are new organizations mod-entetii a Pw at ——~ i dene eee teat od ee rea ld ee eee ae ee einai al Salah aa - = ete Po Re ? Ae li te 38 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF elled after the student department of the Young Men’s Christian Association. The failure of Shinto among educated young people is clearly revealed by its meager influence in student circles. Until the year 1873 Christianity was prohibited in Japan. In that year Christians were granted the right to propagate their faith publicly. Persecution and opposition are invariably the lot of a new re- ligion, and it was not otherwise with Christianity in Japan. When Buddhism was first introduced, it also had to face severe opposition; there was even some bloodshed. Christianity met with hostility even after the legal ban against it was removed. The opposition came from Buddhism as well as from the general public, especially from the intelligent classes. Even the government, notwithstanding the removal of offi- cial prohibition, was not free from some apprehen- sion in regard to the Christian propaganda, and was at first hesitant in giving special recognition to Chris- tian schools. Christians were inclined to regard this as persecution. In general, however, it may be said that since the removal of the interdiction against Christianity (fifty-two years ago), there has been no real persecution of the Christian faith. Time has made the adjustment. In 1889, when the constitution was promulgated, religious liberty was fully guaranteed by express provision. Since then it has been firmly established, and for the last thirty years or moreOUR NATIVE RELIGIONS 39 Christianity has met no hindrance to its propagation. Even today religious difficulties may now and then arise; for example, sharp differences between one and another of the sects of Buddhism are not un- heard of. But between Buddhism and Christianity there is no dispute. The attitude of the government toward Christian schools is now the same as toward other private schools. Grants made by the govern- ment and by the imperial household toward Chris- tian social work seem to be larger than those made to Buddhism. The propagation of Christianity can therefore be carried on everywhere in Japan under very favorable conditions. Yet in spite of this fact and of the intense evan- gelistic zeal of Christians, the increase in the number of converts remains relatively small. The spread of Christianity is slow. Christians need not, however, feel discouraged with respect to the future. Chris- tianity is certain to expand in proportion to the de- gree of its assimilation into Japanese life. We have already noted one phase of development in the gradual decrease of foreign missionaries. The fact that as foreign missionaries decrease the number of Japanese pastors increases, demonstrates that what they have sown with zeal is now being harvested. As this tendency toward an increase of Japanese and a decrease of foreign workers continues, Christianityeet e tine ah oO og Rt re er ee ll a a na atten EE a ase Rte eee 4 eee ~ 4 . ‘ h) 40 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELE in Japan will experience a more wholesome, natural, and «let us hope rapid development. The fact that the Christian church in Japan is receiving financial aid from foreign countries may be an element of strength, though it may be a source also of weakness. The fact that Buddhism, from the very beginning of its history in this country, received no financial support from abroad may be responsible for the lack of facilities for propagation in the early days, but it offers an explanation of the marvelous expansion of the Buddhist faith in Japan. While it may have been unavoidable at the start for the Chris- tian church in Japan to receive financial support from abroad, is not the time now here when the church should achieve financial independence? Such discon- tinuance of income from foreign sources may result in a temporary setback, but once this period is bridged Christianity in Japan will for the first time be launched upon a program of vital expansion. Buddhism has accumulated many evil practices that are still unremoved. While the standing and the rep- utation of some of the priests are excellent, this can- not be said of the great majority of the leaders of the fifty-eight sects. Not a few of them are continually engaged in ugly quarrels among themselves. Bud- dhism is often criticized on the ground that among its 140,000 priests are few men of character and learning. There is much in Buddhism that calls forOUR NATIVE RELIGIONS 41 reform. Each sect is today exerting itself to the ut- most for the education of its priests, and spending an increasing part of its income on the training of scholars and preachers. In recent years, following the promulgation of new regulations for the control of higher education, the larger sects have established or are about to establish their own universities. This is sure to have a profound effect on the future of Bud- dhism. However discouraging some existing things may be, therefore, so long as each sect continues to stress the education of its coming leaders, we may contemplate the future with hope. It is a noteworthy fact that there has been an intense and expanding interest of late in the study of Buddhism. Never have the sacred books been re- printed in such large quantities as today. Many new books on Buddhism are also appearing. Judged by the quantity of Buddhist literature published in re- cent years, this may be described as the golden age of Buddhism. Though there is only one Buddhist daily newspaper in Japan, there are a great many quarterly and monthly periodicals. There are also two Buddhist magazines published in European lan- guages, with the object of spreading Buddhism to foreign countries. A group of scholars in one of the Buddhist universities is contemplating the publica- tion of a specialized, high-grade Buddhist magazine in a European language with a view to introducingP, \ seertiaetaet eh eo i ae ele tite TO i ie ie eer - ea ~ Ls ? bd ') 42 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF Mahayana Buddhism more effectively to European and American countries. Viewing the situation in the large, it is not too much to say that Buddhism is undergoing revival at the present time. Finally, with respect to all religions, whether Buddhist, Christian, or Shinto, the attitude of the intelligent classes of Japan is clearly undergoing a marked change. So far our educators have fancied that the object of education could be obtained merely through secular training. Consequently they have shown extreme apathy toward religion. Today we find a growing number of educators insisting upon the importance of religious training. It is too early yet to prophesy just how this idea will develop but it is a significant phenomenon. Under these circum- stances it is not altogether impossible that Buddhism and Christianity, mutually illuminating one another, may inaugurate a type of life which will enable the Japanese people to create a new and even a superior human culture. M. SAWAYANAGI Tokyo—ror agg eT ; : IV HE CON. CREB URION Oh vie WESTERN CHURCH N 1549 Christianity was introduced into Japan for the first time by Francis Xavier, a member of the Society of Jesus. While Xavier was preaching in India he met a Japanese youth in whom he became interested who belonged to the clan of Shimazu. One day he asked the youth whether, if he should go to preach the gospel in Japan, the nation would accept Christianity. The youth told him that Japanese did not accept anything without first understanding it thoroughly. He added that they only trusted a man who kept his word. So if missionaries to Japan had knowledge deep enough to satisfy the Japanese peo- ple, and were themselves of noble character, both high and low in the country would welcome the mes- sage of Christianity. This answer gave Xavier his de- termination to come to Japan. Many missionaries of the Society of Jesus followed Xavier and devoted themselves to the work. Several powerful Daimyo were converted, and many among their retainers pro- fessed to believe in the Christian faith. In 1567 Hideyoshi Toyotomi, who was in control over most of the country, changed his policy of toleration and 43eS ee as a ie a ee Sea ea, cereal POSEY fi. —- eee te coe 44 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF openly opposed the Christian religion. Later, in 1593, Ieyasu Tokugawa, the first Shogun, by strict pro- hibition and persecution succeeded in almost annihi- lating Christianity, as propagated by Jesuit mission- aries. Protestant missionaries first came to Japan from America in 1859. Owing to religious intolerance they were unable to accomplish very much for some years. With the restoration of imperial power in 1868, how- ever, the opening up of the country became the na- tional policy. Many young men sought to secure Western learning through the missionaries, and this gave the desired opportunity for propagation of Western Christianity. The first Protestant church in Japan was organ- ized by eleven young men in 1872 under the guid- ance of American missionaries. Yoichi Honda, the late bishop of the Methodist Church; Kajinosuke Ibuka, former president of Meiji Gakuin; and Masa- hisa Uemura, the late pastor of the largest Presby- terian church in Japan, were among the members of this first church. Before this, Marquis Hosokawa opened an Eng- lish school in Kumamoto and engaged Captain Janes, an American, to educate the sons of the clan. Through his influence many young men pledged themselves to give their lives for religious work. Danjo Ebina, the present president of Doshisha University; Tsune-JF ner nn dee a ee ee ~ THE WESTERN CHURCH 45 hisa Miyagawa, the late pastor of Osaka Church; and Tsurin Kanamori, the great lay evangelist, were among the members of the Kumamoto Band. In that same year Dr. W. S. Clark, president of Massachusetts Agricultural College, was engaged by the chief officer of the Hokkaido Colonial Govern- ment and devoted himself to the establishment of the Hokkaido Agricultural School, which since has become the Hokkaido Imperial University. His stay in Japan was not more than a year, but his 1n- fluence over the students was very great. Well known among these students of Dr. Clark are Shosuke Sato, president of the Hokkaido Imperial University; Inazo Nitobe, former Under-Secretary of the League of Nations; and Kanzo Uchimura, who is the most influential Japanese preacher of today. As stated above, after Francis Xavier arrived at Kagoshima toward the end of the sixteenth cen- tury and began his evangelization of Japan, it was the leading Daimyo and their retainers who first came into contact with these pioneer Roman Catholic missionaries. Some of the Daimyo gave permission to foreign ships to come into Japan’s harbors to trade. This brought larger opportunities to the missionaries to enter different parts of the country and to keep in closer touch with their widely scattered converts. [he new learning of the missionaries was highly esteemed by these Daimyo, and the doctrines of Christianity 1n-) | 4.6 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR: HERSELF terested them greatly. Also the missionaries’ strict way of living, their coarse food and clothing, and their strong faith, which enabled them to withstand per- secution, moved many Japanese to the acceptance of their teachings. The Protestant missionaries never suffered such cruel persecution as did the Roman Catholics. They came when Japan was beginning to open its doors to the world and the nation was eager to receive West- ern civilization. Already many promising youths were endeavoring to acquire the new learning of the West at schools of their clans, or by going to Yokohama or other cities where foreigners were residing. This made it possible for the missionaries to teach the Bible to them, along with other subjects, and some of their number were brought to conversion. A few of these young men gave up their ambition to become statesmen and offered their lives for the teaching of Christianity. Some Western educational- ists and scholars exerted a wonderful influence on Japan for scores of years. The majority of the young Christians were sons of samurai and were brought up in the teaching of Confucianism, consequently they had great respect for the honor of the country and their family names. When the spirit of Christianity once became known to them, they realized even more fully than before the sacredness of the individual, of the home, and of the state. They tried, besidesTHE WESTERN CHURCH 47 cultivating their own character and personalities, to purify the state, and thus to develop this island for whose enlightenment their ancestors had striven in accordance with the will of God, the giver of this land to us. Thus we see that an eminent service was rendered by these Protestant missionaries who came at the beginning of Meiji, and labored to sow in the hearts of the young the seeds of faith, and helped them to grow in their several places of influence. Both the Roman Catholic and Protestant mission- aries founded schools in many places, and with their Christian faith ennobled the characters of their stu- dents. They also gave themselves to teaching foreign languages to Japanese youth. Their influence on women’s education is especially noteworthy. Most of the able women of today who are engaged in educa- tional and social work are either graduates of mission schools or of those of the West. They have many progressive ideas, and they take a leading part in the development of women’s education and social work throughout the country, such as day nurseries, set- tlement work, the Y.W.C.A., and the W.C.T.U. Let me mention briefly some of the leading women who have contributed to the organization and devel- opment of those agencies which have done most for Japan’s womanhood. It was Madam Yajima who founded the W.C.T.U. in Japan. About forty-five years ago a special delegate of the World’s W.C.T.U.48 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF came to our country. Four years after this visit Madam Yajima started the Union with only forty members. Due to Miss West’s great effort it rapidly extended to all Japan. Miss Moriya, another mem- ber of the W.C.T.U., has striven for temperance for twenty years, and has exerted great influence in favor of the bill for the prohibition of the sale of liquor to minors. Since its establishment the W.C.T.U. has been working most actively for the abolition of prostitution. Mrs. Kubushiro of Tokyo and Miss Uta Flayashi of Osaka are worthy of special notice among those who have been untiring in this department for many years. [hese women have cooperated with other associations having the same purpose. To further their cause they have not only availed them- selves of every opportunity to create healthy public opinion, but in company with women of the same mind they have indefatigably labored to win the approval of members of Parliament for the abolition of licensed prostitution. In order to make the movements for temperance and for the abolition of prostitution effective, these women have lately organized an association for woman suffrage. The Y.W.C.A. of Japan owes its origin to the visit of Miss Leonard, General Secretary of the Interna- tional Y.W.C.A., about twenty-two years ago. Soon afterward Miss Caroline Macdonald came fromSerato eed i ak cael ok THE WES‘TERN CHURCH 49 Canada as the Senior Secretary. In 1909 a National Committee was formed, and plans were made for the extension of the Y.W.C.A. in the chief cities and schools. Many Japanese women engaged in the Christian education of women in our country have been educated in American colleges. Among these Miss Tsuda is best known, perhaps, having gone to the States in her childhood. Her great friend, Miss Hartshorne, with other Americans, carried her through college work. Mrs. Kawado, daughter of the late Rev. Uemura, is studying theology in a univer- sity in Scotland in order to carry on her father’s mis- sion. Thus the seed sown by many missionaries has grown and has yielded fruit. It was indeed far-seeing of Xavier to choose pious missionaries with profound learning for the conver- sion of the samurai and of the educated classes of Japan. Not only must he who aspires to work as a foreign missionary be a man of religious faith and integrity of character, but in addition he must be able to maintain throughout his life a deep interest in and sympathy for the people among whom he car- ries on his labor. This requires a thorough knowledge of their history and of their national ideals and char- acter. A strong feeling of superiority sometimes mars the work of Western missionaries in the East. I con- fess that I myself once had an experience with a50 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF missionary of this sort, with the result that for the moment my purpose to become a Christian was over- shadowed by doubt. On the other hand, the strongest influences of my youth came from my contacts with scholars and preachers of genuine piety whom I met in England. Their nobility of character, their kind- ness and humility, led me to Christ and to an under- standing of the true spirit of Christianity. There is great need for the continued cooperation of foreign Christians with Japanese leaders. This is particularly true in the fields of education and of social work. Without this, progress may be retarded. I am deeply grateful to Christians from the West who, in spite of many hardships, have made their contribution to the extension of the Kingdom of God in Japan. Tetsu Yasut1 Tokyocael ete cial RP ee dene ee a iy V THE STATUS OF CHRISTA nis , \ HE one great spiritual power in the life of the J apanese nation is the religion of Jesus Christ. What follows is an attempt to analyze the status of this religion in modern Japan. It is hardly necessary to say that this paper deals mainly with Protestant Christianity. Denominationalism is a marked characteristic to- day of Japanese Christianity. The first Japanese Protestant church, the Seaside Church in Yokohama, organized in 1872, was wholly undenominational in character. Its charter members, unaware of the di- visions in the West, stood for one Christian church in Japan. In the following years other Japanese churches were organized. These, too, had no other thought than to create one Christian church in Japan. The early missionaries concurred in this idea. One distinctive feature, therefore, of the first Japanese Protestant churches was their undenominationalism. In a short time, however, due to the increase of missionaries representing different denominations in the West, and the close connection of the Japanese churches with all missionaries, Japanese Christianity became increasingly denominational. 5152 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF Nearly a generation later certain able Japanese Christian leaders, such as the late Dr. Uemura and the Rev. H. Kozaki, made a strong attempt to bring about a union of the Presbyterian and the Congrega- tional churches, but the attempt was unsuccessful. Other efforts were made by individuals and groups. Dr. Kozaki continued to advocate a union of all the important churches in Japan, and in 1911 published a strong article on the subject. In the same year the Congregational churehes at their annual meeting held in Osaka passed a resolution favoring church union, but it went no further than an expression of desire for a united church in Japan. Since that time all the churches have become more and more self-conscious of their respective organizations, and have been de- veloping along denominational lines. In 1913 at the National Conference of Christian Workers it was offi- cially declared that “the tendency of Japanese Chris- tianity is in the direction of several independent churches developed along the lines of the Christian communions of the Western countries.” This is just as true now as it was then. In every form of Christian activity, each denomination, pat- terned largely after its mother church in the West, is putting forth its strongest efforts. To be sure, such cooperating agencies as the Federation of Chris- tian Missions in Japan, the National Christian Coun- cil representing twenty-one Japanese denominationsTHE STATUS OF CHRISTIANITY (52 and organizations, the Christian Literature Society, the Tokyo Woman’s Christian College, the National Temperance League, the Woman’s Christian Tem- perance Union, the Young Men’s and the Young Women’s Christian Associations, are rendering a fine Christian service for the country. Yet the denomina- tionalism of Japanese Christianity seems even stronger than that of Western Christianity.’For in- stance, in 1912, as the result of a strongly felt desire for a union Christian university, equal in rank to any of the imperial universities, a large promoting com- mittee was appointed at the annual meeting of the Association of Christian Schools in Japan, and the next year the plan was officially approved by the Fed- eration of Japanese Churches through its executive committee, and by thirteen important missions in Japan. But this urgently needed institution was never realized, owing largely to the desire of some denom- inations to build up their own denominational col- leges instead. Again, just after the great earthquake in 1923 which destroyed and crippled many Christian schools in Tokyo and Yokohama, a committee was appointed to devise means and methods for a union theological seminary. This committee met again and again. The more it convened the more the fact became evident that such a seminary was an impossibility under the existing denominational rivalries. And to this day,54. JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF instead of having a few well equipped and well or- ganized theological seminaries with high religious and intellectual standing in important centers of the country, we find many inefficient theological institu- tions. The same may be said of the higher Christian schools in Japan. An increasing number of Japanese Christians are raising their voices in opposition to denominational Christianity. One able leader thus expresses his sen- tument: “There is hardly any greater hindrance to the spread of Christianity than the present diversity of denominations.” Another writes: “In response to the demands of the time, it will be necessary sooner or later for the denominations to come together as one united church. The desire is general, for spiritual as well as economic reasons, to get rid as soon as possible of the denominational divisions brought in from foreign lands and to form a large and united Japanese body for the Christianization of the coun- try.” The January 1927 number of the Japan Chris- tian Quarterly is devoted to the question of church union. Happily, in spite of what has just been said, there is no marked denominational rivalry among Japanese churches, and no dogmatic or tenacious attachment to one particular denomination on the part of individual Japanese Christians. But the fact remains that pres- ent Japanese Christianity is largely denominational 5THE STATUS! OR CEIRTSTUANGY 715 and for this there is no fundamental justification. What would Christ say to a Japanese church of only 285,000 believers divided among thirty or more de- nominations of occidental origin? Some would hasten to say that what Christ desires to see is unity of spirit. Indeed yes, but it is undeniably true that unity of the spirit is greatly hindered by diversity of ecclesi- astical organizations. Japanese Christianity needs real conversion from denominationalism to a profound consciousness of unity of purpose and spirit in Christ. A fundamental orthodoxy also characterizes Japa- nese Christianity. Historically speaking, there have been a number of changes in Japanese Christian be- lief. The faith of the early Christians was simple. They accepted Christianity not because of its ration- ality or profound theology but because they believed in its power to save them and the nation. Such was the faith and conviction of the famous Kumamoto, Sapporo, Yokohama and other bands of Christians. But a great change came in the reactionary period of the ’nineties. Along with the influx of Western civilization there flowed into the country the mate- rialism, utilitarianism, agnosticism, higher criticism, and liberal theology of the West. Influenced by these ideas, especially those of higher criticism and liberal theology, some of the once exceedingly orthodox Christians, for example, T'surin Kanamori and Tokio Yokoi of the Kumamoto Band, wrote books advo-56 } APN) SiIPIAKS KOR HE RS EILE cating the liberal views. Mr. Kanamori, in his book on Present and Future Christianity in Japan, put forth his theory that Christianity should be treated wholly from the standpoint of higher criticism. Later he translated Pfleiderer’s Philosophy of Religion un- der the name of Liberal Theology. Under these in- fluences he completely changed his faith and left the Christian ministry, but he is now back in the fold as one of the strongest upholders of orthodox Chris- tianity, and is an internationally known evangelist. Mr. Yokoi published a book on The Problem of Christianity in Japan in which he held to a conglom- erate of Christian theism, ethical idealism, Spence- rian agnosticism, oriental pantheism, and liberal the- ology. Some men came to hold Shintoistic, Confucian, and Buddhistic ideas of theology. Others, once fanat- ically orthodox Christians, became extremely liberal in their views. Mr. Kaiseki Matsumura, who at one time was in danger of losing his life because of terri- ble persecutions against his preaching of the Chris- tian gospel, changed his faith and for many years has been propagating a kind of Christianized Con- fucianism, and no longer calls himself a Christian. These are extreme cases of departure from orthodox Christianity, but many Japanese have been influenced by the writings of these men and the example of their change of views.THE STATUS OF CHORIS DT TANTS Y 57 The influence of these men continued to operate through the ever increasing importation of foreign books on modern philosophy, science, and liberal theology. We have today all forms of Christian faith, from radical heresy to extreme orthodoxy. But underneath the diversity of beliefs and forms, the great bulk of Japanese Christians hold to what might be called orthodox Christianity in the best sense of the word. Such fundamental tenets of the Christian religion as the personal Fatherhood and Creatorship of God, the divinity and redeeming death of Christ, the immanence of God in the Holy Spirit, the Bible as the word of God sufficient unto moral and religious life, the church as the communion of believers, the es- tablishment of the Kingdom of God, and the hope of eternal life, are held by all the leading denomina- tions in the country. [he Japan Presbyterian church adheres to the Westminster Confession, the canons of Dort, and the Heidelberg catechism. The Japan Methodist church uses the Twenty-five Articles of John Wesley with the following additional clause: “Believing all authority is ordained of God, we sub- ject ourselves to the emperor, who reigns in an un- broken line of succession over the Japanese empire, and render strict obedience to the constitution and to all the laws of the nation.” The Japan Episcopal church, holding to the Four General Constitutions of Chicago and Lambeth, specifically states its belief5 s a eR cle 58 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF in the canons of both the Old and the New Testa- ments, the Nicene and the Apostles’ Creeds, the sac- raments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, as well as the discipline established by Christ, and in the apostolic succession of bishops, presbyters and dea- cons. [he Japan Congregational church, which is con- sidered quite liberal, has the following confession of faith: I. We believe in one infinite holy God, revealed in the Bible as the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. 2. We believe in Jesus Christ, God become man, who suffered, died and rose again for the salvation of sinful men. 3. We believe in the Holy Spirit as the giver of new life. 4. We believe in the Bible, written under the in- spiration of God, giving wisdom unto salvation. 5. We believe in a holy church, baptism by water, the Lord’s Supper, the Lord’s Day, eternal life, the resurrection of the dead, and in righteous rewards and punishments. Other denominations do not have any confession of faith, yet they all believe in the essential doctrines of the Christian religion. Thus all the Christian bodies now in Japan may be described as fundamen- tally orthodox. The same is true of such leading Christian thinkers as Kanzo Uchimura and Toku- maro Tominaga. The former has ever been and is ene ttn A oe Ae rea aire a Pea - aw = Ce ae Fe ee aaa nah eden a eeceeh Rania ET ia a THE STATUS OF CHRISTIANITY 659 today a staunch upholder of orthodoxy. The latter, though inclined toward a liberal view of Christianity, is nevertheless basically orthodox. In his learned treatises on The Fundamental Problem of Christian- ity and A System of Theism he emphasizes the per- sonality, creatorship and providential dealings of God, the full revelation of God in Jesus Christ, who is at once divine and human, the salvation of men in union with God through the redemptive sacrifice of Christ on the cross, and similar beliefs. If space per- mitted, I could cite other leading Christians in ex- ample. I may add a word as to the increasing sociological tendency in the thinking of Japanese Christians. When, in the first years of the present century, social problems came to be widely discussed, it was only Christians of decidedly liberal attitude who were in- terested in them. Today the situation is changed. Many Christians, irrespective of theological view- point, have become aware of the social and economic problems and movements in the country and are urg- ing a social interpretation and application of Chris- tianity. Several books by Rauschenbusch, Ward and Fllwood have been translated. Though no sociolog- ical interpretations of Christianity by Japanese have appeared in print, one often hears addresses on social Christianity, and articles on the same subject often appear in Christian magazines. Mr. Kagawa’s novel,60 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELE Crossing the Death-line, and others of his writings are doing a great deal to spread social interpretations of Christianity. The National Christian Council has a department of sociological research, and is endeav- oring to give guidance to Christian social workers as well as to foster a wholesome social view on the part of Christians. A further element in Japanese Christianity is occi- dentalism. Buddhism and Confucianism, imported from India and China, were soon assimilated into the life and the thought of the Japanese people. Chris- tianity has been in Japan nearly seventy years, but it is far from being a part and parcel of the nation. Professor Hiyane, of Aoyama Gakuin, a Methodist high school, in his recent book on The History of Religion in Japan states that Christianity in Japan has not passed beyond the period of importation from the West. That this is so has been indicated in this chapter. The Christianity introduced to Japan in modern times was not the Christianity of the New Testament; it was rather a Christianity which had appropriated to itself the civilizations of Greece and Rome and of the Germanic and the Anglo-Saxon nations of the West. So when the Christian church was established on Japanese soil, the Western mis- sionary’s idea of church polity and discipline had a determining influence upon tit. The initial impetus given to the early JapaneseDREGE SPA EUS? OFF @CPRUS TT PAN Tivy: “Gr churches by the missionaries has continued to this day. The position and place of the missionary have greatly changed in recent years, but the influence he exerted 1s still operative. The missionaries, with their Western type of Christian inheritance, with the West- ern financial aid of which they were the channels, and with the Western ecclesiastical and theological interests which they represented, could not help but give an occidental form and content to Japanese Christianity. Again, Japanese Christian leaders who studied in the West naturally taught, on their return to Japan, the type of Christianity they had learned abroad. Moreover, the books read and studied by our theological students and others are largely written by Western authors. Until very recent years special importance was attached to books on Christianity written by Western scholars. This has been true, to a degree, of books on general philosophy, the sciences, and other branches of learning, but it has been far more true of Christianity. The result is the produc- tion of a Western type of Christianity in Japan. This Western type is clearly seen in the polities, beliefs, and ideas of the various denominational bodies and of the Christians in general. In the field of theology Japanese Christianity has produced few original works. A fairly large portion of homiletical and devotional material has been written by Japanese Christians, using the Japanese62 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF background. Some commentaries on the Bible by Japanese authors have also appeared. But weightier original books on Christianity are rare. The articles that appear in the theological magazines are treated largely from the standpoint of Western scholarship. A glance at any theological library shows how pre- dominant are the Western books in the studies of theological students and their teachers. Probably less than one-tenth of the books in theological libraries are from Japanese sources. Indeed, Japanese Chris- tianity has not yet got beyond the stage of importa- tion, translation, and transplanting; it is still West- ern in form and content. But this condition of things should not continue long. Happily there are signs that Christianity, though universal in its fun- damental principles, is beginning to be interpreted for the Japanese through the experiences of Japanese Christians. Such a Christianity alone can move and captivate the hearts of the Japanese people. From the very beginning of Protestant missions in Japan there have always been strong advocates of a native Japanese expression of Christianity. One of the most interesting and instructive instances of this is the independent Japanese church organized as a result of the labors of Dr. Clark at Sapporo. This church stands for financial and ecclesiastical independ- ence, and has turned out men with a vision of in- digenous Christianity. Mr. Kanzo Uchimura 1s abs Ee ee ie oh a ee) - sj * DHE STAT US! OF (CHRIST VANITY: 62 conspicuous example. He is a great Christian leader, independent of all denominational connections, bit- terly opposed to Western denominationalism, and he never ceases to advocate a Christianity whose expres- sion shall be wholly indigenous. He is an able scholar, a great student of the Bible, and the author of many widely read exegetical and devotional books. For many years he has been editing a magazine en- titled Bible Study, which has a monthly circulation of 3,000. He conducts every Sunday a Bible study class which is attended by several hundred students, teachers, and officials. Some of his able followers have started their own independent Christian work. Like Mr. Uchimura, they all emphasize the study of the Bible and work zealously to spread Christianity as interpreted through Japanese experience. Mr. Tokumaro Tominaga, already referred to, 1s another instance. He 1s a writer and energetic worker, the pastor of an independent church which he started some years ago. Recently he established a theological seminary which is wholly marined and financed by Japanese Christians, as is the seminary established by the late Dr. Uemura. Mr. Tominaga also is a strong exponent of a Christianity that is interpreted through Japanese experience. Other instances might be cited to show that there is a growing tendency to formu- late and spread a Japanese type of Christianity, in order that it may become a real and controlling part64 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF of the life and the thought of the people, a healthy result of the developing consciousness of the Japa- nese church. Another element in Japanese Christianity is its in- difference to matters of doctrine that are vehemently contested in the West. Such doctrines as the virgin birth, the deity, the substitutionary theory of the atonement, the resurrection of the body, the second coming of Christ, the verbal inspiration theory of the Bible, the supernatural regeneration of man, the theory of evolution and the rest are not points of controversy today. In years past some of these doc- trines—for example, the deity of Christ and his second coming—were subjects of debate; but today theological disputes are rare. Japanese Christians are much amazed to learn of the bitter controversies that have been going on between the fundamentalists and modernists in the United States. The absence of theo- logical disputes in Japan does not, however, mean lack of appreciation of the intellectual elements in Christianity. The Japanese word shukyo, meaning religion, has, indeed, a too marked intellectual con- notation. The first Japanese believers in Christianity were the descendants of the samurai class of the Tokugawa government, who were compelled by the government to study Chinese classics and Confucian- ism. These first believers were themselves students. From the earliest day to the present, Christianity in. = Lae — = eae poe eal a th nceteti “— a cate ili Be age > EE SPAT US OF CERES RVAN Tek Y ~ 6s Japan has attracted to itself students and those in- terested in learning. Christianity has satisfied their intellects. Take any group of Christians at random and you will find them far more intelligent and in- tellectually minded than any of the Shinto or Bud- dhist groups in the country. This intellectual element in Japanese Christianity is both an asset and a liabil- ity; an asset in that it is free from the vast amount of superstitions prevalent in Japanese religions, a liability in that it has attracted only a portion of the middle class, failing to reach the masses and to ex- press itself in concrete life forms. One other noticeable element in Japanese Chris- tianity. Christians in Japan are Christian by strong conviction and by special choice. In the West, Chris- tianity, being the predominant religion, has an un- disputed prestige and a universal recognition. It is different in Japan. Among the Japanese people there are religions of all sorts, from crude nature worship to a highly developed philosophical Buddhism. In Japan, in addition to the conflict with scientific and practical materialism, with pantheistic theory, and with irreligion in general, Christianity has to cope with the active modern sects of Shinto and the strong sects of Buddhism. Consequently Japanese Christians have to contend for the faith that is in them in a special manner and with strong convictions. Such convictions characterize Japanese Christian leaders.66 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF They are persuaded that neither Shinto nor Buddhism in any form can effect a moral and spiritual regen- eration of the nation. It is the religion of Jesus Christ, with its messages of the Fatherhood of God, the infinite value of the human personality, the aton- ing work of Christ on an actual cross—an atonement wholly different from that symbolized by the myth- ical Amida of Buddhism—and the establishment of the Kingdom of God, that can save the souls and the social institutions of the people. Thus Japanese Christianity is of varied nature. Its most important feature is the growing tendency to formulate and to propagate a genuine Japanese type of Christianity, a type which attempts to inte- grate the best of Japanese culture with the universal elements of the Christian religion in terms suitable to the mind and the life of the people. The present Christian constituency is very small as compared with the millions claimed both by Shinto and by Buddhism. The total membership of all the Christian Japanese churches, including those of the Roman and Greek communions, is less than 300,000. The Protestant total is about 175,000, exclusive of 20,000 baptized non-communicants, the Roman Cath- olic is 75,000, and the Greek Orthodox 35,000. It is doubtful if this membership represents the actual number of Japanese Christians. In Japan there areSS ae ee eee py ee a a = ~ - “ aw — see r t E icented To ed - , ‘ yt ee eek , , . ¥ ee, . a : : - TIE SMeALUS OF GERIS DEANE LY 107 many Christian individuals and groups that are not affiliated with the recularly organized bodies. Aside from such groups as those of Mr. Uchimura and his followers, there are, in different parts of the country, similar groups outside the organized Christian move- ment. It is often said that a million people in Japan are ordering their lives in accordance with the prin- ciples and precepts of Christianity. But the actually professing Christians, inclusive of more than 30,000 Y.M.C.A. and Y.W.C.A. members, are far less than this number. The Japanese Christians are housed in 2,785 organized churches and preaching-places be- longing to Protestant, Roman and Greek commu- nions. Of the 1,692 organized churches of Japanese Protestantism, 412 are self-supporting, and in addi- tion there are 754 preaching-places. The self-sup- porting churches are found largely in the larger de- nominations. Contributions of money have trebled in recent years. Every church is putting forth every effort to become really autonomous. Several of the Protestant churches have now more than 1,000 mem- bers, of which the Fujimicho Presbyterian Church in Tokyo is the largest, with a membership of 1,600. The Christian churches in Japan are manned by 6,045 workers, including all the Japanese and foreign work- ers belonging to the three main divisions of Chris- tianity: Protestant, Roman and Greek communions.a ell Seen Scie ete Oi 68 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF 8 We may now speak of some of the activities of the Japanese church, to indicate its actual place in the lite of the nation. The most important activity is in the field of evangelism and of religious educa- tion. The church in Japan is a selt-propagating body. In addition to the regular services, special evangel- istic campaigns under the leadership of able Japa- nese evangelists and local pastors are constantly car- ried on. This year different Protestant churches in important centers of the country, in cooperation with the National Christian Council, are planning special campaigns to win the people for Christ. A special feature is the fact that the local churches are as- suming a far greater responsibility than in the past. In addition to such special evangelistic work, the Japanese church is extending its religious influence beyond the confines of the homeland. This is par- ticularly true of the large denominations, such as the Presbyterian, Congregational, Methodist, and Epis- copal churches. They are carrying on their work in Formosa, Korea, Manchuria, China, Singapore, and in some of the South Sea Islands which come under Japanese protection. The Japanese church is also a great agency for the religious education of youth. The future of Chris- tianity in the country depends in large measure uponFe Ee een “ aida ential pete at om —e on oa a , a Sa > . P 7 _ ™ " | ye Pape ae be TRE Sa Ar USO} iC HRS AN exe <106 a proper nurture of the children and youth of the land. The church is conscious of this fact and is in- creasingly emphasizing the importance of religious education. The Christian Sunday schools are more numerous than the churches, and the pupils are greater in number than the church members. These Sunday schools are very popular, and the churches are alive with crowds of children every Sunday. The Sunday school movement in Japan received a great impetus from the Eighth World’s Sunday School Association Convention held in Tokyo a few years ago, and is becoming increasingly efficient in the re- ligious education of the youth. The Japan Sunday School Association, through various conferences and training schools, is enabling the Sunday schools in the land to use up-to-date methods in religious edu- cation. The Christian Sunday school has a distinct place, both in the religious nurture and training of youth and in bringing the message of Christianity through them to the homes from which they come. Closely connected with the religious nurture of youth is the work in the field of education. Chris- tianity stands for the education of the whole man, body, intellect and soul. With this idea in mind the work of Christian education was early begun, and it has now a recognized place in the educational econ- omy of Japan. The supposed conflict between religion and education, owing to their separation by the gov-70 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF ernment, the fear that Christian education would run counter to nationalism, and the popular prejudice against Christian schools, have all disappeared, and both government and people have come to realize the importance of educating not only the body and the mind but also the inner motives and the spiritual aspirations of the youth. The Christian educational system ranges from the kindergarten to the univer- sity. At the top are two Christian universities recog- nized by the government. Leading up to these are 366 kindergartens with 12,603 pupils, 17 primary schools with 2,681 pupils, 81 middle schools for boys and girls with 27,589 students, 24 colleges for young men’ and women with 6,418 students, and 90 mis- cellaneous schools with 6,701 students, making in all 578 institutions, with 55,992 pupils and students, conducted under Christian auspices. These institu- tions are, on the whole, inferior to the government schools in equipment and scholarship, but they are being carried on by men of high moral and spiritual quality and their influence upon the youth is good and great. Moreover, Christianity is a strong social force in the country. The religion of Christ is a religion of love and service. This is indicated by the various Christian social institutions for orphans, ex-prisoners, the sick, the unfortunate lepers, the toilers in the factories and mines, as well as by the hostels for stu-Je ee rT, rm A AE ee ee ae so ’ THE STATUS*‘ONn CHRIST PANT Y 71 dents in the great centers of learning. While it 1s true that the government and the public are doing social work on a vastly larger scale and with greater resources than the Christian churches and organiza- tions, it should be emphatically stated that what 1s lacking in means is made up for by the high char- acter of the personnel and the spirit of service exem- plified in the Christian organizations. These workers and this work constitute a practical demonstration of the social genius of Christianity. They have, in a marked degree, Christianized the general social activ- ities of the nation. We must not fail to note the power of Christianity for social righteousness. Buddhism 1s doing much in the field of social service, but its fun- damental interest is not in this world of evil and illu- sion. Buddhist sutras teach social purity and temper- ance, but its exponents are far from being themselves socially pure and temperate. It is to Christianity that the nation is looking, in large measure, for the solution of the social evil and the evil of intemper- ance so manifest in the country. The Christian Tem- perance League, the Purity Society, the W.C.IT.U. and similar organizations are doing their best to create a better economic and social order in which righteousness and purity shall be uppermost. Again, we should not ignore the influence of liter- ature as an agency for the dissemination of the ideas of Christianity. Japan is a nation of readers. The72 PARAING SPEAKS FOR HERSELF public educational system has practically annihilated illiteracy. This fact offers a great opportunity for Christian literature. The Bible printed in many forms, the Christian hymnals, books on the Bible and Christianity, homiletical and devotional treatises, Christian magazines and periodicals, are all being sold and circulated in great numbers, and constitute a mighty force in sowing the seeds of Christianity in the minds of the people. Biblical sources and Chris- tian ideals are constantly reflected in general writing, in addresses, and in conversation. Various types of Christian literature are reaching many people who would otherwise have no knowledge of the Christian message. Conspicuous instances are found among Buddhists and literary men. Christian literature in this way becomes the forerunner of the gospel. The above are some of the important activities of the Japanese Christians, but their work is not confined to these. Japanese Christians are found in the councils of the state, in the Diet, on the facul- ties of universities and schools, among professional classes, as well as in the social, economic, and political reform movements of the time. The leaders of such economic and political organizations as the Japan Farmers’ Party, the Social Democratic Party, and other similar groups are many of them Christians. More might be written, but enough has been said toMd . “ Sa a ad or t-<~ ~~ FOP ee TT nn OC OR! petee-. “Tg =. -¥ . 4 5 7 DERE S’PATU SO} ( | L 4 DHE Sa) Avr U'S:. OP oGoHeRGrSviv gag Nen DY) 9c Never-ceasing prayer, great giving of ourselves, and the relentless labor of our hands, hearts and minds, these constitute the price that must be paid if Japan is to be brought to Jesus Christ. U. KawacucHI SendaiVI OPPORTUNITIES OF THE jAPANE SS CHURCH I. GENERAL HRISTIANITY in modern Japan was born in adversity and has grown up amidst many dif- ficulties. Its history can be divided roughly into three periods. The first period dates from the arrival of the first missionaries in 1859 to the withdrawal of the anti-Christian edict in 1873 and might be de- scribed as the time of patient waiting. During these fourteen years Christianity was an object of fear and hatred. To embrace the new faith meant imprison- ment, torture and even death. Missionary work was virtually impossible. Only a few converts were made. Most of these were the servants of missionaries who felt themselves safe under the protection of their foreign masters. The formal withdrawal of the edict in 1873 did not alter the age-long repugnance of the people to- wards Christianity; it did, however, remove legal ob- jections to its propagation. Missionaries from Eng- land and America, representing a great variety of denominational societies, began to flow into Japan 76— a i Pe eg ei ee _ er... eae aa ane he a Se ; ra "hs ad 1 : . THE JAPANESE CHURCH 77 in comparatively large numbers. Many converts were made and many churches built. The quiet, significant growth of Christianity during this period is an im- portant chapter in the history of modern Christianity in Japan. This state of things continued until 1889, When the imperial constitution was promulgated, granting to the people freedom of religious faith. The constitution made it clear that there was to be no state religion in Japan, and that legally everyone was free to choose his own religious faith. This was another great step forward, though obviously the old prejudice against Christians remained and has per- sisted to the present time with gradually diminishing vitality. From the promulgation of the constitution until the present marks the third period. Christianity was now confronted with a free field, from the legal and political points of view; persecution had been aban- doned, and equality with ancient faiths was guar- anteed by the constitution. Many almost insuperable difficulties were now to emerge from other sources and it was with these that Christianity was called upon to struggle during this third period of her history in Japan. To the Japanese, remembering the incidents of three hundred years earlier when Jesuit missionaries were driven out and native Christians persecuted, Christianity was an evil religion, harmful to indi-78 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF viduals and dangerous to the country. Nothing was so hateful to them as the name of Jesus and the sign of the cross. This bitter antipathy seemed a part of every man’s inheritance. There is a Japanese say- ing, “You dislike a thing without tasting it.” This was exactly the attitude of the Japanese people to- ward Christianity in those days. In the second period the nation became wide awake and began to introduce everything Western. As a consequence, prejudice against Christianity gradually faded out. Many welcomed it not because they found truth in it, but because it was Western. Everything Western was good, beautiful, and greatly to be de- sired. Missionaries, being representatives of Western civilization, were everywhere admired and their ad- vice and judgment were eagerly sought. Their pres- entation of Christianity was heard by many earnest people. The older generation of Japanese Christian leaders living today were converted in this period. The reaction against this tendency to abandon our own cultural heritage was swift and powerful. While it was predominantly a conservative reaction, one of its characteristics was discrimination. Western civili- zation and Christianity were subjected to severe anal- ysis and criticism. Careful selection, rather than wholesale absorption, became the watchword. It was soon discovered that all representatives of the West were not like those missionaries who were admired“ —_ ™ e _ —— - ” —_ » ON ee - oe ager Ce et ei - Peale br Rees . a ¥ 5 ‘ wt ; “ > 7 Ba | t . THE JAPANESE CHURCH 79 and respected. Moreover it was found that so-called Christian countries did not act in accordance with the spirit of the Christ whom the missionaries preached. The West seemed able to supply an impressive conglomeration of things and ideals. With Christ came anti-Christ, with the missionaries came anti- missionaries, with the Holy Scriptures came the bot- tle of whiskey. With the increase of knowledge of the Western world, with the development of facilities for communication and transportation between East and West, and with the revival of national pride, Christianity found itself without the prestige that for a brief moment had swept it into a position of wide but unstable popularity. The trend of thought is once more changing. [he tide which so furiously rose is slowly ebbing. [he fact that at official conferences the government has on several occasions invited representatives of Chris- tianity to sit with those of Shinto and Buddhism demonstrates the confidence of political leaders not only in the past record of Christianity in Japan but in its future as well. This official confidence has un- doubtedly been inspired by the practical contributions of Christianity to the general social welfare of mod- ern Japan. The once despicable religion has made a place for itself in the life of the nation through its unmistakable gift of moral and spiritual power. Christianity of the sixteenth century began at theEs ee - c« —< 4 MO ae eee i 80 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF top of society. It first met recognition and even sup- port from feudal lords, through whom it was trans- mitted to retainers and to the common people. Chris- tianity of the modern period had a very different be- ginning. The servants and language teachers of mis- sionaries were its first converts. Its most important conquests were made among the samurai, the stur- diest element of the middle class. The seeds of the gospel have never been sown beyond the confines of this class to any appreciable extent. We have today more Christians among elementary school teachers than among university professors, more among clerks and secretaries than among managers and directors, more among tenants than among landlords, more among members of town assemblies than among members of the Diet. The middle class is really the backbone of the nation. In that sense Japanese Christianity can be said to have had a very healthy beginning. But Chris- tianity cannot afford to remain the religion of the middle class. It must overleap its present boundaries or suffer serious handicaps. Here we find very slow progress. There are very few Christians among the nobles and peers, none among the members of the present Cabinet, and a quite limited number among the representatives of the Imperial Diet. Among the wealthy, Christians are still fewer. However, it should be kept in mind that although so few of the- P — . — oe rele Sania tees, Oro a sae acai gs hl a are Pe are es Se Thad al ’ % si E " cs a a ad * d ps j ‘ * . . ¥ t bd THE JAPANESE CHURCH SI upper classes are professed Christians, many of them admire and appreciate the fruits of Christianity. They have traveled widely and observed these fruits in Western lands. The noble characters of individual Christians, the home life of the Christian family, and the leavening influence of Christianity in general social life offer strong appeal to intelligent observers. They may not become students of Christianity, but they are constantly influenced by what they have seen with their own eyes of the consequences of Christian faith. Many men of this class are willing to let their wives and children go to church and even be bap- tized, but they themselves remain aloof from Chris- tianity and its institutions, largely for fear of sacri- ficing their social and economic prestige. Christianity in Japan may be compared to bamboo shoots. While still underground these shoots have extraordinary capacity for development and enrich- ment. With the coming of rain they burst forth sud- denly and grow with astonishing rapidity. The pres- ent is the period of quiet unobtrusive development. The day of expansion will, in my judgment, come soon. 8 Practically all Christian workers in Japan, men and women, are graduates of middle schools, which correspond roughly to American high schools. Most of them have taken the regular courses in theologicalee. a a ‘ 82 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF seminaries or workers? training schools. In addition, many are graduates of mission colleges and of uni- versities in the West. A few are graduates of the imperial universities. Compared with their foreign colleagues they are not as well trained in some re- spects, while in others they are doubtless better equipped for the task of evangelizing and Chris- tianizing Japan. Their knowledge of Scripture and the Christian tradition lacks the intimacy of those whose Christian education dates from childhood, but in theology, philosophy, and general intellectual at- tainment they are the equals of similar groups in other lands. Their capability as Christian workers among their own people naturally surpasses that of foreign workers. They understand the psychology of the people, speak the same language, and easily com- prehend the intricate and complicated family and social systems of their own race. Consequently their preachings and ministrations are to the point, and they do their pastoral work with greater effectiveness. The Japanese workers have some organizing abil- ity, but as executors they do not yet rank with for- eign workers. They work long and hard without ade- quate results. The fruit of their labor does not seem commensurate with the labor itself. They certainly are not businesslike, a defect they share with the Japanese people as a whole. Their standard of living is necessarily low, since salaries are hardly enough- . _ : ™ eel THE JAPANESE CHURCH 33 for them to educate their children properly. This is one of the reasons why the children of Christian workers rarely follow their fathers’ vocation. [he ministry of the Japanese church is on the whole sin- cere and consecrated. No class of people in Japan 1s more consecrated or more self-sacrificing on behalf of the cause to which they have given their lives. Without the missionaries the introduction and early expansion of Christianity in Japan would have been impossible. Up to within recent times, missionaries have not been judged fairly; that is, on their merits. Early opposition to them was the reflection of an enormous prejudice against the faith of which they were the harbingers. A little later the situation was reversed. Having been demons they now, so to speak, became angels. In the mad rush of Japan to become Westernized the missionaries came to be viewed as the sources of enlightenment in education and politics as well as religion. The tendency was to ascribe to them abilities and power which they did not possess. Neither of these extremes was fair to the missionary. Today the attitude of the Japanese people in gen- eral toward missionaries is far more normal. They are being judged critically and sympathetically. They are looked upon as men and women in the ordinary sense of the term, earnest and sincere, but not always sound in their judgment. This is especially the case in mat- ters connected with the history and psychology ofa a ee ee eee 3 4. JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF the Japanese people. The missionaries are good peo- ple, but not always able people. They know some things better than the Japanese, and other things not so well. They say generally that they have no na- tional or racial prejudice against the Japanese people. Possibly this is true, but unfortunately to the Japa- nese people among whom they live they appear to have some. Their preaching is not as popular now as it used to be, not because the people think they do not know their subject, but rather because they find it difficult to express themselves in the language of the people, to give to their ideas the form that ap- peals to the mind and heart of a Japanese. Owing to differences in language, in habits of thought, in customs and manners, misunderstandings between missionaries and their Japanese associates have at times arisen. But these misunderstandings have not been serious. Frank and open dealing be- tween brothers who view each other as equals is the basis upon which cooperation is possible today. Japanese Christians do not hesitate to say that the missionaries have done well and still are doing well for the spiritual welfare of the people in Japan. For myself, I think that they are needed now and will be in the future as well; and when I say this I believe I speak for most of my Japanese fellow Chris- tians, those who are interested in the future of Chris- tianity in the country.- . . ——— So amin Je ge rT Net et Sei ek be a - THE JAPANESE CHURCH 85 Missionaries are needed because the native Chris- tian workers are not sufficient in number for the evangelization of our people. Japan is advancing in all aspects of her national life. In order to keep pace Christianity must be strengthened. Missionaries are particularly needed because they represent a long history of Christian experience and tradition, and their influence and counsel are especially helpful in a land where workers and believers in general are only first or second generation Christians. They can do much in education and social work. They must be of the kind who by their lives reveal the mind and spirit of Christ, and his influence of peace and love. S It is often stated that there are in Japan today two kinds of Shinto, a secular and a religious Shinto. For- merly these were one, but in the reign of the Em- peror Meiji the Institution of Shrines was separated from Shinto proper and placed under a government bureau. It is the function of this bureau to preserve and stimulate respect for the imperial ancestors as well as for those who have done some meritorious deed for their country. While still a part of Shinto, the Institution of Shrines is officially declared to be without religious significance. Shinto is a religion of ancestor worship combined with the worship of nature, while the Institution of86 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF Shrines is an expression of affection and respect for imperial ancestors and the great men of the past. The government clearly defines the difference between the two. Ihe fact that the shrines were formerly the places of Shinto worship and that rites and ceremo- mies performed in shrines today still retain many features of Shinto, leads some of the people to think that the shrines are still] religious institutions. Shinto may die out with the development of a true religious consciousness on the part of the people, but the shrines will not. They may change the form of their ceremonies, but the spirit associated with them will live long within the nation. The attitude of Japanese Christians toward the shrines should be, I think, to understand them as the government wants them to be understood, and not to look upon them as very often the people do. That is to say, Christians in a Christian spirit can conscien- tiously go to the shrines and pay their respects to the imperial ancestors and the great and good men of the past in the manner regulated by the govern- ment. They may possibly be misunderstood for a time by non-Christians, but before long it will be- come known that these Christians are taking off their hats and making bows in the same respectful manner but not in the same worshiping spirit as others, and that they are just as loyal, and sometimes even more so, to the imperial family.=" ie 5 - —— - — , ol — [OE eat Mime A cate Ms , - ‘ J THE JAPANESE CHURCH 89 has resulted. The old spirit of nationalism has been profoundly modified, militarism has been weakened, and loyalty to international organizations has been stimulated to such a degree that Japan finds herselt today an ardent member and advocate of the League of Nations. In bringing about this creditable change various Christian organizations have had a part. Such or- ganizations as the Y.M.C.A., the Y.W.C.A., and the W.C.T.U., with their worldwide connections, have been active participants in the development. The World Alliance for Promoting International Friend- ship through the Churches is represented by a small but active group in Japan, and the National Chris- tian Council has a standing Committee on Justice and Goodwill. All Christian churches as well as many Buddhist bodies bear witness to the interna- tional ideal. In addition to these distinctly religious groups, organizations like the Japan Peace Society and the League of Nations Association are carrying on excellent educational work in behalf of interna- tionalism. Compared with thirty years ago, the popu- larity of the international ideal is indeed a source of ereat satisfaction. The Christian church may take pride in the contribution it has made to this end. Once fully introduced to the world and recognized as one of its leading powers, the Japanese people, through commerce, diplomacy, education and re-| | | 90 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF ligion, are being internationalized. To play a signifi- cant part it has been necessary for Japan not only to know the world but to make herself known to the world. International friendship and cooperation are impossible without the mutual understanding and respect that come from increasing opportunity to learn other people’s ways and motives. It is so among individuals; it must be so among nations. Japanese leaders feel keenly that they have been less successful in revealing themselves than they have been in studying others. This is largely due to old habits. As a result of long training, it has become a habit with the Japanese not to express themselves freely and frankly. Consciously or unconsciously, they are reticent about speaking what they think. When a certain representative of a missionary society in America came to Japan to study conditions in the interest of mission work it was my privilege to speak a few words of welcome. Among other things I pointed out that the Japanese people would not say all that they*felt or even all that they should say. They would be inclined to say half of what they had in mind and expect him to guess the other half. If he failed in this he would be in danger of being con- sidered stupid. This somewhat fundamental differ- ence in psychology may be illustrated by saying that Westerners speak in straight lines while JapaneseiS al oe a b 7 : fn lt et —— ‘ ae Fires. Jt I OT dt ai Raita dailelit cs Wiis aril Hillis ¢ ¥ a eg ° - - THE JAPANESE CHURCH gI speak in curves. Straight lines are obvious, curves may be complicated. There is still another reason why the Japanese people appear unknowable in the eyes of the world. They are by nature unsociable. They are sociable in the sense that they are kind and polite to relatives, friends and acquaintances, but in the past they have taken very little interest socially in people outside of these circles. This attitude of mind is not confined to foreigners, but is manifested towards their own peo- ple. It is a result of the old type of education. The Christian idea of love and humanity, combined with the development of international thought, is break- ing down this narrow idea of politeness and socia- bility. All Western peoples, whether Europeans or Americans, seem to the Japanese people to be one and the same race. To a few, of course, the various nationalities are distinguishable, but to the people generally they are not. They are all Hakujin (white people), Zjm (strange people), Gwaikokujin (for- eigners), Ketojim (hairy foreigners). They look upon Western peoples with a sense of racial difference that inspires appreciation, and rarely with any feeling of scorn. or disdain. There is no sense of inferiority to Western races. Any action that does violence to this notion of equality is bound to cause difficulty. Among the Japanese the Christians are those most92 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF interested in international and racial problems, and as a class they know most about other countries. It can almost be said that they take more interest in interna- tional politics than in Japan’s own internal political affairs. Christians must always be profoundly con- cerned with the problem of making their country a blessing to the life of the whole world. J. S. Moropa Tokyo Il, EDUCATIONAL Count Taxato Oxi was the first statesman of the island empire to present a plan of universal educa- tion in Japan. In 1872, to the surprise of the people, he announced his intention of establishing eight uni- versities, 256 colleges and high schools, and 53,760 common schools throughout the land of Japan. In- deed it seemed as though he were trying to build up all these out of nothing, without resources to rely upon. But he was exceedingly sanguine and did not spare his energies in order to realize his am- bitious dream. He invited prominent American edu- cators and requested them to establish normal schools and other institutions of learning in Japan, and he dared even to tell them that they could have perfect freedom in the organization of these institutions, in the introduction of Western habits and practices,MN = ~<é — = pa poner 7 van hy > me ed a - -~ a? — pean eee aaa. enna ae mn Ba cit tI tat ak i chr, See TE oe, pater) P.) 4 - THE JAPANESE CHURCH 93 regardless of Japanese customs and sentiments. The first normal school in Japan was established in Aoyama, Tokyo, in 1872 by Professor M. M. Scott, assisted by Dr. David Murray, of Delaware. The latter was the dean of the Tokyo Normal School for six years, from 1873 to 1879, and did efficient service in the organization of the first university in Japan. Strange things happened at times during the pio- neer period of Japanese education. Youths were ad- mitted into the university before even the elementary schools were organized. Textbooks in the university were mostly in English, and those in the common schools were generally translations of American text- books. One would find in the old readers such texts as, “God is the Lord of heaven and earth, and man the head of all creatures.” “Liquor and tobacco are injurious to health.” “Never grudge your labor when you work; and when you eat never eat to satiety.” It seemed as though America were shipped over in its entirety to Japan. The original Act of Education has been revised many times since then, and today the government 1s as zealous as ever before to carry out its highest ideal for the nation with the best system of education. Education in Japan is compulsory; children are re- quired to attend school for six years, beginning at the age of six. The time is now ripe to lengthen the 4 yas ‘94 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF period of compulsory attendance by two years; and it 1s encouraging to see that the average attendance of children of school age is above ninety-eight per cent. Six years in the primary school, five years in the middle school, three in the college or koto-gakko (higher school ranking between the middle school and the university), and three or four years in the university serve to complete the scholastic life of Japanese students. Some students remain in the graduate school for more than three years doing research work for their doctor’s degree. Some enter the normal schools after they finish their preliminary study in the primary schools, and remain there for five years to qualify for positions as common school teachers, or to prepare for the higher normal school where they may equip themselves for teaching in the secondary schools. There are also industrial schools, elementary and advanced, for the students of com- merce, technology, and agriculture. Professional edu- cation 1s given in the special schools, colleges, and universities. Admission to the first named is per- mitted to the graduates of the middle schools, while the graduates of the koto-gakko can apply for admis- sion to the college or university, but the number ad- mitted is limited. The oldest and best developed university is the Tokyo Imperial University, with its seven colleges of- . P : = : —_ — . a . Ls — —_— - 2 P * _ P * - P n | ie a ad alll i PP sitet tia ae ei oll nt a ee ee Lees Fe ee Tee ae eee ov. eee ee eee i ais a i a Rete : ; : at : es ag 23 : : ie : - ; ; , : ne THE JAPANESE CHURCH 95 law, medicine, engineering, literature, science, eco- nomics, and agriculture; and the youngest is the Keijo Imperial University, with its two faculties of agriculture, and law and letters. The four other im- perial universities in Kyoto, Fukuoka, Sendai, and Sapporo complete the list of six imperial universities in Japan. There are also five tankwa (single course ) national colleges under the direct surveillance of the imperial government. Twenty-nine higher schools, sixty-one government, seventy-seven private indus- trial and special schools, and 1,852 secondary schools for boys and girls, together with hundreds of other institutions both public and private, provide facili- ties for over a million students, not to mention the ten millions of pupils in the primary schools. Half a century of intense and assiduous application to education has more than enabled Japan to realize the dream of Count Oki. Yes, it seems like a miracle. Let me quote the forty-ninth annual report of the Department of Education concerning the status of primary and secondary schools in 1921-1922. On that date there were in Japan 94,608 schools, with 197,672 teachers and 10,298,933 pupils, and 1,550 high schools, with 23,051 teachers and 520,041 scholars. The school buildings, built in Western style, are spacious and bright and have good ventila- tion. They are well equipped with laboratories and up-to-date apparatus; teachers are mainly graduates re ep te ee oe nl96 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF of the normal and higher normal schools, colleges, and universities, well trained and with fair experi- ence in the work. The work has advanced steadily, and practically every subject taught in the Western schools is being covered here, with striking results. In the higher institutions of learning professors hold higher degrees and have studied and traveled in the countries of the West. These men, with splendid li- braries and plenty of time at their command, can prepare their lectures thoroughly, and prove them- selves masters of their own trade and leaders in sem- inary or laboratory. Thus when the young people begin their life work at about the age of twenty-four or -five, they are fairly well equipped in point of school education. But before I proceed further let me speak a little of the less bright side of Japanese educational work. In their zeal to assimilate Western civilization the Japanese did not have time to distinguish the essen- tial from the accidental, and, as might be expected, they were lured to adopt material improvements rather than spiritual. They built schools everywhere, as they thought that knowledge was power which could be received and given only in the school. “Seek knowledge overseas on a large scale” was part of the very first imperial message given by the late Emperor Meiji, of restoration fame. And the people vied one with another to fulfil the great command, but in do-™ - . o Sia = ” = ee —— ~ , - a . P ber a aa - * li ssiieeanmenic: mean’ vienna parietal a ee ee id a a Pe Oo es bak Secs ie oa med) ih 4 wn * \ . b ‘ i e-% iG A .-? i & 5 U a gia, #* : : 7 f ‘, j ; s THE JAPANESE CHURCH 97 ing so they had only a forward, not an upward, look. The result was that they did not take much time for meditation and introspection. The time-honored Bushido soon left them; in its place rushed in the utilitarian philosophy of Bentham, making the peo- ple literally materialistic. The gods were dead in Japan; at least it has seemed so to millions for the past fifty years. Temples and shrines were good places for fools; periodic observance of religious forms came to be but an empty service. Hypocrisy in enlightened places, debauchery among the rich, sham decorum in the proletarian class, and dishonesty in business and politics, all pointed to the dark state of Japan during this period. In thirty out of the forty-eight states in America the pupils in the grammar and high schools do not receive any religious instruction in school, since church and state are held separate, yet a large pro- portion of the teachers are Christians, as they are in British schools. Thus the children feel the influence of their teachers and are able to mould their charac- ters after the manner of the Great Teacher himself. When they enter college or university they receive instruction from men duly appointed for spiritual work both in the chapel and dormitory. Especially in England students are kept under the guiding sur- veillance of their tutors. In the two oldest universi- ties, Oxford and Cambridge, the students are sup- Thee Ge eee98 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF posed to be gentlemen in the first place and then scholars, so that either at home or in the world they have held before them high ideals of service for God and men. Such conditions we do not find in Japan, search as we may. All through school, from primary grade to university, teachers merely instruct their pupils, and professors only lecture on various sub- jects. True, they give occasional talks on morals, but these do not have the genuine ring. Nay, words with- out love or living experience are simply sounding brass and tinkling cymbals, Japanese students do not experience the sort of fellowship which exists between master and pupil in the West. Flonor is due to the American educators in Japan, especially to those indefatigable toilers who worked and labored to place Japan on a solid foundation dur- ing the formative period of her educational system. Fenollosa, Morse, Mendenhall, David Murray, and Ladd are familiar names in government circles as re- calling American educators who rendered great serv- ice to Japan; and we must not forget also such names as Guido Verbeck, Samuel Rollins Brown, and J. H. Ballagh. These three probably did not stand out in the high places as fully accredited educators, but their words dropped in private conversation or in friendly chat were destined to influence men like Prince Ito, Marquis Okuma, Marquis Inouye, and hosts of distinguished men in political and religiousTHE JAPANESE CHURCH 99 circles. In the early ’seventies Captain Janes went to Kumamoto, and out of the Kumamoto Band organ- ized under him came the leaders of the Congrega- tional church in Japan. John Ing went to Hirosaki and from thence came the original members of the Methodist church; Brown and Ballagh taught in Yokohama, and the foundation of the Presbyterian church in Japan was laid by their converts; Clark came to Sapporo and made his name especially mem- orable by his farewell words, “Boys, be ambitious,” and by his faithful Christian disciples, men like Sato, Nitobe, Uchimura, and Miyabe. Missionaries acted in a statesmanlike way in the task of winning Japan for Christ when in the early seventies they established mission schools in the lead- ing cities all over the empire. In-sptte ‘of imperfec- tions in equipment and in the téaching-staft of those pioneers, it is impossible to Over¢stimate the great contributions they have made to|Japarf. Indeed) /in their Christian influence and qn*their éxcellent serv- ice in training the better type\Wt Japanese studénts as masters in English, missionary teachers! have had matchless success. As the attendance in these schools was very small at the start, the teachers naturally had more contact with their pupils, so that the youngsters were more easily influenced, both in life and in char- acter. They had better opportunities, too, of talking with their teachers, and that in itself gave them better100 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF drill in English speaking. For some years it was al- most impossible to find any superior student of Eng- lish who had not been connected with a mission school at one time or other in his life. It is important to note that the first schools for girls in Japan were organized by the Christian mis- sionaries. As for centuries the women in Japan had been placed in subordination to men, the education of women was long neglected even after boys’ schools had been begun. The higher education of girls in Japan was thus in the hands of missionaries for many years. For a long time the mission schools were highly recommended, even by the opponents of Christianity, as the safest abode for their daughters. There they learned English and letters and science; there they imbibed the noble spirit of Christ through the lives of their teachers; there they learned the precious rights and supreme duties of women in equality with men. In fact, woman’s status was de- cidedly improved through the mission schools for girls throughout the empire. In the work of the Y.W.C.A., in temperance work, as editors of papers, as instructors in the kin- dergarten, as teachers of English, in the diverse fields of social service, and in the realm of the home, yes, no matter where they have been placed, the graduates of these schools have acquitted themselves splendidly and to the glory of their alma mater.a ' a a, Re aD See a a eg ae Fn ane ik sii ema Ae Ne nae tain ka a aE ea ie Ri eek ad eat Saati cs IDA THE JAPANESE CHURCH 101 Missionaries, again, have a large share in the theo- logical education of Japanese clergy. Except the one seminary established by the late Rev. M. Uemura, all the theological schools of any standing in Japan are under the patronage of missionary societies; with the exception of a few foreign-trained scholars and pastors, the majority of the Christian workers in Japan have been students in these theological schools. This means that the general care and nurture of the Japanese Christians have been greatly influenced by the missionaries. Even now a few missionary profes- sors still remain in theological seminaries, working alongside Japanese professors who were their stu- dents in the years gone by. The future of Japanese education is not altogether bright. We do not find much religion in our schools, and education without God and Christ is not ideal. Something must be done, and that soon. The mission schools do not wield as strong an influence as they did. They have lost the old spirit of bold venture. In their zeal to comply with the government require- ments they have forfeited much of their power. Have the missionaries lost their old enthusiasm to win their students, or have the non-Christian mem- bers in the faculty outrun the others, arresting their religious influence? That there are many learned pro- fessors without Christian heart or conviction, or worse still, with antipathy to Christianity, in these102 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF mission schools, does not speak well for their spiritual influence. May it not be wiser to resist the tendency to lift middle schools to koto-gakko, and koto-gakko to university grade, so long as it is not possible to get genuine and outstanding Christian professors? The Christians in Japan, both native and missionary, seem to have rushed after empty names rather than things real and substantial. Bricks and stone they have piled up imposingly on their college campuses, but do power and personality make it holy ground? Why should we not endeavor to achieve more in quality than in quantity? Better sell out your mission schools to money-making corporations, I say, if you cannot win souls for Christ in your magnificent halls of brick and stone. There is another important point. I will not go so far as to say that the mission schools get only the poorest students; but nowadays the pick of the boys especially, and also the girls, are more anxious to enter government and public institutions where the teachers are, in the main, stronger and the equipment usually better, than to go to the mission schools. And yet there are exceptions, as in the case of the Gyosei- Gakko, which is under the management of the French Roman Catholics. This is probably the best equipped private school in Japan, and as is naturally to be ex- pected, it has a crowd of applicants, the very best of students. The spiritual influence wielded by the teach-— — . . ” _— , . ee er, ~~ a ~ - — 2 — ae oe ieee 4 gael a gaia me Taal e Tale erie \ ox itn eres lone -; joer tions, SOR aT ERY Th al me fai! net. ali ope 5 - . LA Sy . : : f ' ; , ; ‘ , ; ees 4 f wr ‘\. THE JAPANESE’ CHURGHE 103 ers in this school is marvelous, so much so that it has earned nation-wide respect. Why should we not duplicate this situation in our Protestant schools? Let us try by all means to or- ganize a few but only the very best of middle schools and koto-gakko in our leading cities, instead of vainly striving to establish professional colleges that can be left in the hands of more competent organizations for some years to come. Limit the number of stu- dents in each to six hundred or less, so that the closest contact may be kept by the professors with the stu- dents, as in Eton and Harrow. Once the strength of these schools is recognized, thousands of the pick of students will rush for admission, and the servants of God will have golden opportunities for influencing them to their lasting good. Japan is still far behind in the higher education of women. Here is a great work the Western church can do at this critical time. The Tokyo Women’s Col- lege has been launched auspiciously, and it has al- ready gained the whole-hearted confidence of the general public. Christian life and character somehow seem to abide in that quiet quarter. Why not mul- tiply the same by three and four in the strategic points throughout the Land of the Mikado? Unlike the seats of Western universities, the social atmosphere of the Japanese university towns 1s any- thing but good and cheering. There are hardly anyroe JARAN SPEAKS FOR’ HERSELF healthy resources for lonely students wherewith to beguile their tedium; no normal companionship of the opposite sex, no refined amusement without some inherent temptation. To cap it all, the lodging-houses are often murky and dirty, while even the dormi- tories are bare sleeping-places without the urge of cheer, comfort, and aspiration which one finds in Princeton, Yale, and Harvard in America, and in Oxford and Cambridge in Great Britain. Given royal residences like these, with their tutors and guardians, and I am sure the student life in Japan will be trans- formed as never before. Years ago, when the Inter- Church Commission of Survey and Inspection came to decide upon the urgent work of Japan, the one great work they agreed upon for Sapporo was the es- tablishment of a hostel for the university students in the romantic city of Clark and his boys. Today this claim is stronger than ever. The enrolment of one thousand students has now doubled; the university has three faculties instead of one, with a prospect of having two more colleges in the near future. Surely the church in the West could do a great work for Japan in this direction. Another strategic enterprise, now much overdue, is to build a large gymnasium for the boys in Sapporo, which is the Edinburgh of Japan. This was pointed out by Mr. Galen M. Fisher, for a long time Gen- eral Secretary of the Y.M.C.A. in Japan. That was™ Se wf ~ - ~ ead _ —— a a a “ey ae Me P _ ed > me oe ee et, ieee oO. ee We Agee eer na ee a | Jer RT me | _ I acted : ae vd ad ears ae ees oT tiie Fo tas ei , See ; Peet eae Ltt ay it tg A ae td , eae eae ee ye Cron ; De i ar es re a * be offs | , a ’ es Sal 4 THE JAPANESE CHURCH 105 a short time before the Great War. He had received the consent of Dr. John R. Mott, as well as the hearty support of the Association in America for this great enterprise, but the war and its aftermath caused the plan to fall through. I still hold that Christian hostels and Christian gymnasiums are mighty bulwarks to save Japanese students from ruin and temptation, the more so since we cannot expect such institutions at the hands of the imperial govern- ment nor from the nonchalant Japanese people them- selves. With gymnasiums equipped with up-to-date apparatus and an able, enthusiastic personnel pos- sessing grit and gumption, and with Christian hostels directed by leaders with burning zeal like Clark, stu- dent life in Japan would be transformed. Oh, how I wish that the church in America and in Great Brit- ain might see the importance of such work in Japan and come to her help at once! Some persons may argue that the day of the mis- sionary evangelist is gone, that native preachers can do the work with a fuller knowledge of their own people and in their own tongue; but whether that view is correct or not, there is no doubt that there 1s big scope for the missionary in the diverse institu- tions of learning, whether government or private. For as I said, Christian Japan is still too young to have produced many educated Christian leaders of her own; and the great nations of Britain and Amer-1006 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF ica, blessed by the benign influence of Christ for cen- turies, can well afford to help her with deeds of love and service. Yes, give us more of your men of knowl- edge and of Christian character, full of faith and grace, and the future of Japan is sure. EK. TaKasuc! Sapporo III. SOCIAL Tue Christian church in the earlier part of the Meiji era (1870-1890) enjoyed supremacy in the realm of thought. But it is not so easy to make this claim now amid the clash of modern opinions. If Christianity is to expand it must be primarily along the ways of love and kindness. Today we are confronted with divers opportunities of employing this method. Peas- ants and fishermen, sailors and miners, the working classes in general and especially the sick and the poor, are one and all awaiting this service of love. Speaking from my experience of work among the poor during many years, I say definitely that the best way of reaching them is by means of the medical mis- sion. Some people think that such missions are no longer necessary in Japan. Medical missions operated by foreign workers may possibly be outgrown, but I feel to an increasing degree the need of such work being undertaken by Japanese. In the slums of Fu-Tet OE TT SEE OG Fs Ble a Re oi le a CT re bi f « : — oe - te ‘ ei "4 a , a . 5 id St ak, » { . 4 THE JAPANESE CHURCH 107 kiai1 Shinkawa in Kobe, though for a space of sixteen years I never gave up preaching by the wayside twice every week, yet I should say that I can reckon but few men who became Christians as a result of the method. Most of those whom I was able to lead to Christ were led by personal contact and friendship. There is no reason to doubt that a similar ratio will prevail in future, and that but few converts will be won by preaching though I should continue to preach for sixteen years more. On the other hand, if I were to select a method such as that of medical missionary work, I should have every reason to hope for good results. Between thirty and sixty per cent of the men and women who degrade the streets of the slums are sick or diseased. To save them there is no other means than the med- ical mission. If we want to give monetary aid to the poor we have to do it in secret, and even then we are up against problems like that of the ex-prisoner who has become a beggar, whose case is one of the most perplexing that I have had to face during the past ten years. But ministry in the homes of the poor is fortunately not merely one of money; it is ministry essentially of the spirit. In our country there are at least a million and a half persons living below the margin line of human subsistence, and it is to save them that we need the patient plodding medical mission. We need to send aros JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF number of young doctors, animated by the religious spirit, into the streets of the poor to open up medical missions. In Japan the poor can be divided into two classes, the poor of the city and the poor of the coun- tryside. Those in the former are, in the main, men and women who have become beggars, but in the country they have always been so, generation after generation. To evangelize these country poor there is no other method than that of the medical mission. Most of the doctors in Japan are to be found in the cities, though seventy-five per cent of the people live in the country. Villages have but few doctors, com- paratively. In my connection with peasants’ guilds, often and often I have had requests for doctors. I do not say that Japan has no doctors; but doctors filled with love and kindness are all too rare, and to evan- gelize the poor such doctors are wanted. The need is everywhere the same, whether among the working classes, in the villages of the fisherfolk, in the homes of the miners and the peasants, or among the thou- sands who dwell in boats. A task closely connected with that of medical mis- sions waits to be done among consumptives. In Japan it is estimated that 85,000 people die every year of consumption. There are ten times that number suf- fering from it. Many of these need help. Mr. Mat- suda, the head of the Consumptives’ Hospital run by the Salvation Army, reckons that there are nearly_ “ . ~ es ws ss — — , - , a a ge om ve ee Med Re eae Oe ee a a oe oe aia Meee - — - THE fARPAN ESE, GH Ur Gil 109 ten thousand persons in Tokyo alone who need free | treatment. To plan for the salvation of the victims of this fell disease is one of the great tasks confront- | ing the Christian church in Japan. It cannot be done | by ordinary doctors; we need to cultivate the special physician with the evangelistic spirit, who will give himself for these people. A very necessary institution in the evangelization of the working classes is the settlement. We need to- day many religious social settlements based on the lines on which Browning Hall in London is run. In such settlements there should be various ways pro- vided for bringing cheer into the life of the work- ingman, who goes forth day by day to his task in the city. A large center is not necessary; it 1s better to follow the plan adopted by the McAIl Mission in Paris for improving the laborers’ districts in that city, and set up here and there small evangelistic settle- ment houses. It is said that Mr. McAll established sixty-three in one district in Paris. He has given us a fine example to follow. In the large cities a very urgent matter is that of providing clean and good boarding-houses for labor- ers. If we could make such places self-dependent institutions, manned by two or three strong Chris- tians, I think they would provide a very interesting field for work. Such boarding-houses should not house more than thirty men at one time, and it wouldITO) ARAN SPRHAKS POR HERSELE be better if they housed not more than ten, for then the religious atmosphere could be made a more in- timate thing. I have two such houses in Honjo Ward in Tokyo. One, which contains about fifty men, is a comparative failure. It is almost impossible to main- tain the religious atmosphere. The other, in which there are only seven or eight, is much more satis- factory. The Band of Jesus in Kobe has such a center in which seven or eight men live, sharing a common life, and every one of these has become a Christian. I want to establish ten such boarding-houses centering round the Shikanjima settlement, which has recently been put up. We could do much to strengthen the Christian impact on Japan by establishing these houses. There is today a quickening of the social in- stinct and the spirit of service among young men, and if the churches will only avail themselves of this the results will be great. Many boarding-houses can be transformed into Sunday schools and become evan- gelistic centers for the neighborhood. Boarding- houses for women workers are just as necessary, and these have even greater likelihood of becoming strong religious centers. Among the peasant classes boarding-houses might be established in the pastor’s house, there providing accommodation for the younger men of the village. If we wish to begin work in the villages, the first need is to train leaders. Leaders are best trained inTHE JAPANESE, CPLU-R CH 111 the peasants’ schools. The training of peasants should center round the village church. Of course the ideal plan would be to have a school building and board- ing-house costing about twenty or thirty thousand yen. But if this is impossible it will suffice to have a peasants’ school which can also be used as a church. In my opinion, rather than build a church which 1s used for worship and sermon once a week, it would be better to establish peasants’ schools which can be used every day and every night and as a church as well. Denmark affords a good lesson as to how these peasant schools should be run. In winter, when the farmers are not busy, the school is open to the young men; when the farmers are busy, then the girls attend. In the poor villages of Japan, city-like methods of doing work are almost devoid of meaning. They sug- gest too much the bourgeois style of living, and are unintelligible to the country folk. A pastor who preaches once a week and for the rest of his time re- tires to his study to read books is beyond them. The villagers of Japan have seen so much of the Buddhist monks that they do not understand the psychology of ministers who get on their bicycles and visit them in their homes. But 1f such a minister were to gather together the young men of the village and establish an educational institution he would do much to win the confidence of the villagers. At all events it seems oe -_ * ed - ie :—————— m2 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF to me that country evangelistic work should develop along these lines. As for the social work inside the church itself, a guild of mutual aid is one of the most urgent things required. In popular opinion Christian words and Christian deeds do not seem quite to tally. From outside, Christians seem to love one another, but get inside and you find them divided into denominations and classes, and wholly devoid of the spirit of co- operation. This condition demands correction. A sense of fellowship may be established. A group of Chris- tians in Tokyo have organized a guild of mutual financial aid. I hope their example may be copied all through the country, so that if a Christian is ill or out of work he need not be filled with anxiety about the future. In the small block of Tanimachi in Ushigome Ward, Tokyo, the Baptist, Congregational, and Pres- byterian churches are all crowded into one narrow area and have no relation whatever with one another. It they could find some ground of mutual love and mutual aid it would be a comparatively easy task for them to evangelize their neighborhood. Much more might be said about the social tasks confronting the Christian church in Japan, but it has not strength at present to shoulder them so I will not say more. If the church will put forth its fullTHE JAPANESE CHURCH 113 strength in some of the directions which | have here named, we should see some wonderful progress during the next ten years in the evangelization of Japan. ToyvoH1ko KaGAawa Osaka _— preys oF am ly wz tags tM ke Y aati shinee aoe. ~ hVII COOPERATION FROM THE WEST I. HE missionary of today is no small problem. To make such a statement may sound unkind. Could the missionary who introduced Christianity to Japan and who has been such a great spiritual power be considered a problem? Yet however we may feel on the subject, the missionary is a real problem. He is widely discussed both among the Japanese and in missionary circles. There are several matters that enter into the discussion. The missionary, to begin with, is foreign in his ideals and in his manner of life. He endeavors, by his diligent study of the language, the history, and the institutions of the country to which he has come, to understand the life and the ideas of the people. Yet to all appearances he thinks the thoughts of the West and lives the life of his fatherland. Again, to support a missionary and his family and to provide for their travel involves a great expense. Might such an expenditure of money be more wisely and ad- vantageously used for the support of the native II4COOPERATION FROM THE WEST ars worker and the work of the native church? Further- more, is the present missionary equal to the many de- mands made upon him by modern Japan and the Japanese church? In the early days of the Christian missions in Japan the missionary, with a meager com- mand of the language and an imperfect knowledge of the people, could secure their respect and hearing. With the advance of modern Japan he is facing a new world. He must be a scholar, a philosopher, a psychologist, a linguist, a religious enthusiast. He may be all of this, yet the question still remains: 1S he really more efficient than, or even as efficient as, a native worker? This query brings me to the heart of the matter, the self-consciousness and the autonomy of the Japanese Christian church. Since the organization of the first Protestant church in 1872 the native church has grown to include 1692 organized churches and 754. preaching-places, with a membership of some 175,000 (including Formosa). There are 412 wholly self-supporting churches, and in addition there are about 1000 partially self-supporting churches. The contributions in recent years have trebled. Some wealthy Christians are making large donations to worthy Christian causes. While the number of churches and communicant members is small, their influence is greatly beyond their numerical strength. Three of the largest denominations, the Presbyterian,116 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF the Congregational, and the Methodist bodies, are entirely autonomous. In the rest of the denominations there is a growing tendency towards self-government. And we must particularly note that the Japanese church has developed a body of strong leaders, whose intelligence, faith, zeal, and general ability compare favorably with those of the best missionaries. Under the leadership of these able workers, the church is zealously engaged in the evangelization of the nation. It 1s this self-consciousness of the church concerning its history, influence, autonomy, strength, and respon- sibility to Christianize the nation that constitutes the most important factor in the creation of the mission- ary problem. ES Pare — “" In what follows I shall make no historical presen- tation of the subject. My main endeavor will be to make a tentative statement, on the basis of personal interviews and especially on the basis of replies to a questionnaire sent out to the leading Protestant workers of the Japanese church, on the present rela- tion of the church and the missionary. The question- naire consisted of the following points: 1. Do you think that the Japanese church needs the mission- aries or not! Give reasons. 2. Do you consider that the present number of missionaries should be increased or decreased? If so, to what extent? 3. If the Japanese church should need the missionaries, in what fields of work do you think they should be asked to take part—city or rural evangelism, general education, Ce cenieemees fl-“ —— a ‘ fa % o Ia =! . - ere ae — me - Picea, tl MI iia a Tl ee GOORERATION PROWE WH he Weiss: = 117 theological education, social work, Christian literature, church union, international relations, or the management of mission business! 4. Do you wish for the coming of specialists for the work of the church? If so, in what fields! s. Have you any criticisms or opinions, not called for by the above questions, on the relation of the church and the missionary! Several years ago the above list of questions was sent out to eighty-two Japanese workers, actively en- gaged in the work of the church. Of the forty-three persons who replied, five, with varying degrees of vigor, said no as to the need of the missionary. They stated their reasons in the fol- lowing manner: “Though we may not need to refuse financial aid for Christian work, I do not think the missionaries are much in demand. For those who are acquainted with the national conditions are few.”— “In our country the work of the missionary as such has come to an end. Though there is much need for Christian workers, the work of the foreign missionary has had its day of influence.”—“With the exception of very special persons, foreign missionary workers are now uncalled for. I believe the Japanese church can fully carry on its religious work without their as- sistance.’ —“Ideally speaking, the church in Japan does not need the missionary, although as a practical matter some as yet consider him necessary. He may be needed in educational or social work, but it 1s not—— 1s 6 APAN SPEAKS HOR HERSELF so in the gospel ministry. On the contrary, owing to the presence of the missionary the evangelistic work of the church is unable to make its natural develop- ment.” An emphatic negative answer was made by one able minister: “The missionary is unnecessary. So long as he is in the country, our own ministers and Christians are dull and lukewarm and cannot assume an earnest and vigorous attitude toward Christian work. If all the missionaries should withdraw from the country, Christianity in Japan would then lay the foundation for a genuine development and prog- ress.” This last is the most clear-cut denial I have so far come across, either through my correspondence or through my interviews. Too much of the “mission- arying” process, if I may coin such a word, would, it is feared by the above minister, produce a parasitic Christianity in Japan. There may be some truth in the idea. But the presence of the missionary is often- times a beneficial spur to the native worker and be- lever. About twenty replies stated the need of the mis- sionary on certain conditions. ““Whether or not the Japanese church needs the missionary depends on his character. The church work in Japan, to be sure, re- quires the native and the foreign worker alike. But the missionary who comes to Japan as though he were coming to an uncivilized country, and has only zeal_ _ "i fi. ean a ‘whe wi a > rs . wet ROE PP ORI IP EEN TO COOPERATION FROM THE WEST 119 and not real knowledge, is not needed. . . . Unless he is a man of exceptional character, he is not quali- fied to do any Christian work directly. Unless he 1s broad-minded enough to assume a position of helper to the Japanese worker, he is not called for.”—“We need the missionary but he must be different from those of the past. He must have special talents, gifts, abilities. The mistake of the missionaries of the past lay in the fact that they looked upon the Japanese as having no real insight and gifts.”—“Japan needs the missionary who not only knows the native worker’s point of view but understands the ideas of the people outside the church. With such knowledge of things Japanese, he will be.in a position to come to an un- biased heart-to-heart contact with the people. More- over, the Japanese church wants the missionary who glories in working under the native Christian leader, knowing the day of his leadership has passed. Such a missionary is a great benefit to the Japanese church and to Japan generally.”—“If the missionaries of to- day are such as those who came in the early years of the Meiji era they are needed in any number. But if they come as sightseeing visitors they are not needed. That is, if they are really self-sacrificing men they are much in demand.”—“‘The missionaries who came in the first years of the Meiji were really great and fine men. Such missionaries are of great value.” I make one more reference to the words of a lead-| ; ; i — j - } on 120 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF ing Christian worker, Mr. T. Kagawa. “I consider,” he said, “the foreign missionary needed in Japan. But we do not want the fashionable, ‘high-collared? missionary in Japan. That is, the missionary who works among the rich, lives a first-class life, goes in the summer to a summer resort, and in the winter time makes trips here and there, is not wanted. The real missionary must suffer with the people, live the life of the people, and live on the same level with the Japanese pastor.” So the missionaries needed by the Japanese church, according to these workers, are those who have real gifts, understand the life of the people, can work under Japanese leaders, have seri- ousness of purpose and a wide experience, and are willing to live with the people in the spirit of Jesus. “Tt is needless,” wrote President Ebina of Do- shisha University, “to discuss the question of the need of the missionary in Japan. For among the sixty million people there are only three hundred thou- sand Christians, one Christian to every two hun- dred people.” Bishop Uzaki, of the Methodist church, said similarly, ““We need the foreign mis- sionary because there is plenty of virgin soil in Japan.” Others in like strain stated: ““The mission- aries are needed, for we must reach every glen and hamlet in the country.”—‘“The missionaries are re- quired in any number until every last soul in Japan is saved.” It is the vastness of the non-Christian pop-CO@PERKRATION KROM “LH EF was) an ulation and the unevangelized condition of the coun- try that call for the missionary in the Christianization of Japan. Another reason is the scarcity and difficulty of securing native workers. “We need the missiona- ries because the Japanese workers are so few in num- ber that they are unable to carry out the great Christian program.”—“The missionaries are wanted simply because the Japanese workers are so few.” These words are based on fact. We have only two thousand native workers, and it is exceedingly difh- cult to secure candidates for the ministry. Practically every denomination is facing this problem. A fur- ther reason 1s the consideration that the missionary is specially qualified to do some kinds of work which the native worker is unable to undertake. “The mis- sionaries are wanted because they can do services which the Japanese workers and evangelists are in- capable of performing.” For example, they are peculiarly fitted to teach English, conduct Bible classes, and engage in social service. The above ref- erences are sufficient to show that in the opinion of the majority of the Japanese workers the foreign missionary in many denominations is a real need. Having shown that the Japanese church, on the whole, is held to be in need of foreign missionaries, our next problem is to ascertain the fields best suited to their activity. With the exception of the minister who flatly negatived the need of the missionary, and gee Y > 7 wt ed ey aA eM Ee © : 4zz JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF of a few persons who viewed the age of missionary activity as past, all the rest, generally or specifically, mentioned the missionary’s tasks. With respect to the evangelistic activity of the mis- sionary, four persons definitely stated that he is no longer adapted to this work. There were about ten persons who did not mention any evangelistic activity. But a large number of the Japanese workers held that the missionaries have a great field in rural evan- gelism. “The missionaries are needed in country evangelism.”—“In rural work the missionaries are required to cooperate with the native workers who are unable to reach this field with full force.”—“The missionaries are very much needed for the evan- gelistic work in cities and in country districts.”— “The primary work of the missionary is city and country evangelism.”—“It is better for the mission- ary to live in the country for its evangelization.”— “Missionaries with evangelistic zeal are wanted both in city and in country.”—“Missionaries are especially needed in rural evangelism.” I need not multiply the references further. While a few mentioned both city and rural evangelistic work for the missionary, the large majority held that the missionaries are chiefly needed in smaller towns and villages. Several urged that the missionaries from this time on can do far better and more needed work in the country than in the city. In cities the missionaries are usually wellCOOPERATION FROM THE WEST 423 known and the daily demands made on them are very great. But in the country districts they are compara- tively unknown, and this newness is in their favor. Moreover, the smaller towns and villages are prac- tically untouched by the native church. Here the mis- sionaries have a vast field for evangelistic work. The towns and the villages, with an aggregate population of forty-five million people, are almost wholly un- touched by the gospel message. The missionaries can really be pioneers in rural evangelism as they were in the past in urban evangelism, and indeed beginnings have already been made. But as yet the bulk of the over ninety per cent—is found in missionary force cities, especially in the large cities, Tokyo heading them all with a missionary force of two hundred. But this condition needs to be changed. As the Japanese workers are more and more engaged in local work in these larger cities, the missionaries can give them- selves to the evangelization of the unreached millions in the country. Social Christianity is the demand of our age. The standard by which the Christian religion is constantly judged in Japan is its application in social work. With the growth of capitalistic industrialism there have arisen various economic and social problems that are common to any industrial nation or community. The destiny of Christianity in Japan depends to a large extent on the solution of these problems. Unless are . é et ii \ mia Me eh oo ai he V ~ 4a a 124 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF Christianity does something in this direction, the present economic and social system will sap its vital- ity. A great urgency in the social activity of Chris- tianity is fully recognized both by native and for- eign workers. Some beginnings have been made in this field of social endeavor, but fundamentally it is untouched. Here is an important field for missionary undertakings. Of the fifteen persons who spoke of this work, only one person stated that the missionary may not be needed in this activity, thinking that the Japanese worker is more capable of undertaking it. The rest were positive in calling on the missionary to carry it on. Some were of the opinion that the Japa- nese church is not yet able to do this form of work to any large extent. It is probable that the missionary, with a wider experience along this line, may be able to render a valuable service in the social activities of the Japanese church. This is an age that emphasizes all international re- lationships. We need an international, interracial re- ligion. And we believe that Christianity is such a religion. Christianity has the important task of internationalizing Japan in ideals and life. Of the thirteen persons who mentioned this field of activity for the missionary, only one person stated that it may be hard for him to render this service here. One min- ister hopes that the missionaries may do much to fos- ter better relations between Japan and the UnitedCOOPRERATION FROM THE Wes. x25 States. Another minister, who is devoting much of his time to this work, said: “For the work of creating better international relations between this and the other nations, there should be at least one missionary in each of the large cities, giving all his time to this work.” Another: “In the coming age of internation- alism the leadership of Japan will inevitably be placed on the shoulders of Christians, and Chris- tian missionaries will become honored national teach- ers of Japan.” With the growth of civilization and culture in gen- eral and the development of the Japanese church in particular, a change has come about in the demands made upon the missionary. With the exception of the two persons who held that the Japanese church should do its own Christian work, practically every- one made an urgent call for specialists in the work of the church. Even those who were hesitant with re- spect to the increase of the missionary force were de- sirous that such specialists should come to Japan. Experts in city and country evangelism were urged to come. Several wanted specialists in theological education to teach the Bible, Hebrew, and Greek. A minister who does not desire ordinary missionaries engaged in theological education held that the coming of able theological professors to remain a term of years would be of great value in training Japanese theological teachers. Six persons wanted specialists20 GAP AN TSIPEAKS LHORVHERSE LF in religious education and in the education of young men. Seven desired specialists in religious music. Great preachers were urged to come, who would be stimulating to the young Japanese preachers. Emi- nent religious leaders were wanted. A visit like that of General Booth of the Salvation Army was held to be very valuable. Christian scholars like Dr. Hall and Professor Ladd were said to do good to the church in Japan. Experienced specialists in social work and in international relations were greatly desired. Such a specialist in international relations as Dr. Sidney Gulick was cited as helping Japan in the enterprise of creating a warless world. The Rey. K. Kozaki voiced the feeling of Japanese workers when he said: ‘This is a day when missionary specialists are needed in every line of Christian work.” It is men of special learning and character who are particularly demanded in the present-day work of the Japanese church. This applies to the foreign missionary but even more to the Japanese worker. The church, to make forward moves in every direction, needs men of preeminent learning and of the highest character. In the past the missionary, to obtain help in his work, hired the Japanese worker; the former was the employer and the latter the employee. That the Japa- nese workers are opposed to such a relationship was brought out in the following expressions: ““We do not want the missionary with a national bias and a boss-COOPERATION FROM THE WEST 7127 like attitude.”—“The irritation often found in the relation between the missionary and the Japanese worker is due largely to the boss-like attitude of the former.”—“After all, in Christian work in this coun- try there is no distinction between the native and the foreigner. . . . But we must pay special attention to this matter; if the foreign missionary, because he se- cures the money from his own country, should in any way assume a domineering attitude toward the native worker, there will certainly be bad effects in his work.”—“The missionaries should not consider the Japanese evangelists as their inferiors. Hitherto too many missionaries have imitated the manners of the capitalists and have done many things unbecoming to the disciples of Jesus. ... This manner of life should by all means be discontinued and they should be willing to wash the feet of the evangelists.”— “T as an individual have an ideal concerning the relation between the missionary and the Japanese worker. But if on account of financial considerations we have to be in an inferior position, this ideal cannot be realized. Therefore even if we may have to eat millet instead of rice we should get rid of the Amer- ican domination.” These last words cannot be consid- ered as expressive of the general attitude of the Japa- nese workers, but they are indicative of the fact that the money-is-power attitude which some missionaries consciously or unconsciously assume is oftentimes the SS ee ‘ ™ ag eee pr aE he = SS n te, ile. ah a Ai a iliele Be ee ‘128 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF main cause for the unpleasant feelings between them and the native pastors and evangelists. “In my forty- five years’ experience I never had such an unpleasant feeling as 1 had when I received my monthly salary from the missionary,” wrote a pastor. Formerly the missionary was preeminently the leader, the teacher, and the master, while the Japa- nese worker was one who was led, taught, and who obeyed. Now the tables are turning and the mission- ary 1s asked to be a friendly helper to the Japanese worker. “I'he missionary should always work from the rear of the Japanese worker. If the missionary either directly or indirectly stands in a forward posi- tion, he becomes an anachronism.”—“In all Chris- tian work the missionary should make the Japanese worker lead, and he should be his helper.”—“The churches wherein the missionaries are niggardly in giving over their rights to the Japanese pastors are small and not vigorous. But on the other hand the churches wherein the missionaries have willingly as- sumed the humble position of helpers to the Japa- nese workers have made rapid progress. The church in Japan hopes always for the missionary who is pos- sessed of this spirit. But alas it is like scanning the sky for a rain-cloud during a great drought.” It is a growing conviction of Japanese workers that the development of the native church can be best fostered by the transference of leadership from theCOOPERATION FROM PE WESit “129 missionary to the native worker. This principle has been recognized by the Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational bodies in Japan. Among these the Congregational body has taken the most advanced position. In 1921 the Japan Congregational church and the American Board missionaries became organi- cally one, and the missionaries assumed the position of helpers to the Japanese ministers and evangelists. This attitude is well expressed by a Congregational missionary, Rev. C. B. Olds, addressing the workers of the Japan Congregational church: “So far as our evangelistic work is concerned, we are ready to com- mit everything to you—our churches, our money, ourselves, all that we have, all that we are, for you to administer in any way that may seem best to you. We demand nothing, we ask nothing, we make no conditions. We believe in you, and we believe 1n your good judgment. We entrust the enterprise to you. Our one desire henceforth is to be your helpers in the fulfilment of the great program. And now use us.” Such an attitude is the best solution for any malad- justments that may exist between the missionary and the Japanese worker, and is the most effective way to speed up the development of the native church. About fifteen persons strongly insisted that the missionary should be fully acquainted with the actual life and the ideals of the Japanese people as an im- portant condition for his success. “Unless the mis-m0 JAPAN SPEAKS HOR HERSE ELSE sionary becomes completely Japanese in his attitude, he cannot save the souls of the people.”—“The mis- sionary in the past knew only colloquial Japanese and did not understand the ideas of the people. The missionary of the future should know the pantheistic and Confucian thought of Japan and should have a general knowledge of the past and the present liter- ature of the country to be in a position to influence the people.”—“I hope,” said a Christian educator, “that the missionary may fully understand Japan and its people. To know them he should not merely read books on Japan written in foreign languages, but he should particularly read the books written by Japa- nese authors. Conversation and social intercourse alone do not make one acquainted with Japan and its people.” Every person interviewed and consulted through the questionnaire either suggested or distinctly stated that the question of the missionary in his general re- lation to the Japanese church and its workers was fundamentally the question of personal character and real fitness. Even those who advocate large rein- forcements do not wish for an indiscriminate in- crease. We are in need of self-sacrificing men and women in Christian work in Japan as everywhere else in the world. “We want the broad-minded and deeply enthusiastic missionaries.”—“The mission- aries must be desperately earnest men.”—“If foreignsoit SH i eae 28 ODO eA AER ARO GE MIO. Tey Me COOPERATION FROM THE Wi SS; D 7¥3t peoples wish to send us missionaries we welcome them. But do please send first-class men,” writes an able Christian professor in the Imperial University. “In the last analysis, the question of the need of the missionary is to be decided largely on the basis of Christian character, personality, learning and abil- ity.” Such remarks are applicable to the Japanese workers as much as to the missionaries, or more So. 8 There has been an evolution in the task of the apanese church. In the early days of its history, when it had innumerable odds against it, the church had to be content with gathering into its fold a be- liever here and a believer there, who thereupon be- came socially ostracized because of their new faith. But things have changed enormously, and with this change the task of the church must undergo a change. The saving of the individual soul is a lasting work. But along with this task, the church today is con- fronted with a mission vastly greater, incalculably more difficult, and essentially more in accord with the spirit of Jesus; namely, to permeate the entire life of the people and the whole social order with the Chris- tian principles of world brotherhood, universal serv- ice, human equality; with an ageressive love for the creation of Godlike personalities, and with the desire to build a social and economic system and a righteous government that shall be conducive to the132 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF production and full expression of such personalities. The opportunity of the church for the accomplish- ment of its tremendous task was never so great. The sentiments of the people were never so encouraging. Christian ideals and principles of manhood and so- ciety are expressed in the pages of newspapers and magazines, and on the lips of public speakers. They form the subject-matter of private conversations. The people are clamoring for the actual practice of principles of brotherhood, equality, justice, love, peace and good-will throughout the world. The Japanese nation is surging with the desire for a new order of things. The new social order based on these ideals must be created by Christianity, or the present anti-human order will crush the Christian religion. There is an insistent craving for a vital religion, a religion that shall satisfy the needs of the heart and all life. The spiritually untouched sections in the cities and the vast unevangelized areas in the coun- try are open to the Christian message and influence. Here is an unparalleled opportunity for a live, work- ing church. The Japanese church is in great financial need. The native contributions are growing year by year, but they are utterly inadequate to enlarge the present work or to support the native worker. In one large denomination several pastors of independent churches receive less than thirty yen a month. One of the rea-COOPERATION FROM THE WES lr +833 sons why we are unable to secure candidates for the ministry is the shameful lack of support accorded the Japanese worker. To maintain the present mis- sionary force in Japan, on a very moderate average estimate of 2400 yen a year for each missionary, 1n- cluding salaries, travel, rents, etc., requires about 2,880,000 yen, which is more than three times as much as the aid given by all the foreign mission boards in 1921 for all other forms of evangelistic work in Japan. Western mission boards will be mak- ing a great contribution to their denominations 1n Japan if they send to them the money needed to support the new missionaries. It is untrue that the mission boards will not send financial aid unless they have their missionaries on the field, or unless they can send it in the form of support for new muis- sionaries. The ultimate end in all Christian work in Japan 1s not the creation of a church but the Christianization of a nation. Yet the Christian church is beyond doubt the most important agency in this work. Hence it 1s imperative to build up a vigorous Japanese church. To attain this we must have vigorous men, both native and foreign. The church in former years was a leading factor in the development of the nation in a far greater measure than it 1s today. The church and its workers are lagging behind the important movements in the nation. To regain its prestige and Tig-s* —_— . ee « is eee ee ) al aes * es pie ie or ™ i) \% | }134 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF be really able to lead the nation in things spiritual and moral, the church must possess and use vastly more able men than it commands today. The mission- aries, by developing to fullest capacity their latent energies, will be a mighty means of making the church perform its function in modern Japan. The missionary who is strong in character, in personality, In spirituality, in friendliness, in intelligence, and in performance of work, will render inestimable help toward the creation of an active native church. Indeed the creation of such a church is the great object of the missionary. He desires to see the church in Japan carry on its Christian program independ- ently of his assistance. In order to achieve this end most speedily, economically, amicably, and in the spirit of Jesus, he must prepare to recognize the leadership of the Japanese workers in all forms of Christian work, and to lay on them the full respon- sibility of handling funds, from whatever source, of arranging the distribution of Christian workers both native and foreign, and of executing the actual Chris- tian program. This has already been done in most of the larger denominations. It is the one effective method for the creation of a live, working, indige- nous church in Japan. By assuming such an attitude toward the native worker, the missionary will find that his services are welcomed in any field of Chris- tian activity to which he is adapted. The sooner the~ a ae ae en ee er ete poe ee a — i iihaaees Nha soci Mai hiatal aa ale " - < . es 7 j Sata 7 rs ie i . ni b a ba COOPERATION FROM THE WEST 135 missionary delegates his paternal instinct, his desire to possess and to control, his endeavor to direct and to lead, to his Japanese co-laborer, the sooner will his ideal of an independent, autonomous, native church see its realization, and the more lasting will be the period of his own usefulness in its accomplishment. Underneath the frank expressions made in the foregoing pages by the Japanese Christian workers and by the present writer concerning the missionary in Japan, there is an abiding respect for his Christian purpose, and a deep sense of gratitude for his unselt- ish service toward the spiritual renewal and the moral uplift of this island nation of the rising sun. U. KawaGucHI Senda Il. Tue mission boards have already done much in helping to build up the Kingdom in this em- pire, and no one would ever doubt their contribution in bringing about the present status of Christian 1n- fluence in the social and educational worlds, as well as in the field of direct evangelism. We believe the missionary has a brilliant future, at least for the next fifty years, provided he is well qualified in learning and personality, and properly located to meet the real needs of the community. Yet there seem to be ' Ee ge me eek Eee Ba36) WAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELE doubts nowadays in regard to the future of the mis- sionary in Japan. The time has come for us to stop and think; not only because the immigration problem has raised a wall between Japanese and Americans, but because the growth and progress of our national life make it imperative to reexamine our plan and program in the light of the experience of over half a century. It goes without saying that each mission field has its own peculiar needs and characteristics, and that the missionary must be allowed a large measure of free- dom as to his method of work and his theological point of view. There seems to be a growing tendency with some boards to accept present-day economic and capitalistic business methods, even at the cost of do- ing violence to the Christian ideal which is the very objective of the work. We have heard some such utterance as “The hand that writes the check must rule the mission field.” Certainly this is a concept which never ought to be introduced into the work of the Master. What is the gospel we desire and expect from the missionaries? Our people are burdened with too many systems of religion, and if the gospel is only to re- place superstition with another kind of superstition, we will no longer need the missionary. It is a plain fact that some classes of our people show their crav- ing for the “signs and miracles,” as did the Jews,, eT . pe a a eS ee , _ . = eed) Pre pee ag. oe ae ad C28 MOLLER aT FCN AE ARIE IE ANT : ald 4 + ' 4 t bs \ 4 ¥ COOPERATION FROM THE, WEST 137 | | but that can never be a reason for making the gospel cheap, or Christianity will have nothing more to give than Tenri or Omotokyo. And if it attempts to ap- peal to the utilitarian motive, Konkokyo will work much more efficiently. These religions have recently been putting forth their strength in propaganda. If Christian preaching should stand on that same level, our people in general will cease to feel their need of the true gospel. What we should have in Japan is not the Jewish garment of Christianity, nor the dogmatic coat of the apostolic age, but the kernel of the spiritual life embodied in the person of Jesus and revealed in his life and death as our Savior. Our nation can never be Christianized by a mere sensational gospel, but only by the fundamental Christian truth which appeals to the very depth of human nature. Certainly ours 1s the most difficult field in the world, but there is also a special opportunity for the missionary, we believe. To thoroughly Christianize Japan means to Chris- tianize the entire Orient. Then, after all, it is not a question whether or not we need the missionary. Let him go ahead heedless of the feelings of even the whole nation, if he has his own distinctive Christian message which he feels he ought to impart. The kind of missionary we need in the future must, first of all, be a student in scientific research, not necessarily to teach the sciences but to strengthen hisrr ne i ‘ 138 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF own belief. He must, of course, be well trained to teach religion. As a specialist in some single line of study, as, for instance, religious education or social or agricultural work, the missionary will find rare opportunities among us. Gradually public interest is centering in the agricultural problem, and it is certainly desirable to prepare for the solution of rural problems from a Christian standpoint. The educa- tional missionary has a great future so long as the mission school does not lose its distinctive Christian influence. A plan of exchange professors for courses of lectures to be given in government and mission schools by those competent and experienced would be advantageous for both America and Japan. As to the future work of the evangelistic mis- sionaries, there are many aspects of evangelistic work to be taken into account. Much depends on the per- sonality of the missionary concerned. For the sake of convenience, let us consider the subject under two headings: city and rural evangelism. We need at least one representative from each of the larger denominations working in Japan who will be located in the capital, an international ambassador of Christ not less significant than the representative of the Vati- can. In trying to Christianize American-Japanese re- lationships he would serve to influence the whole at- mosphere of political and international affairs. In every great educational and industrial centerCOOPERATION FROM THE WEST 139 there should be developed a well organized insti- tutional church, functioning to meet the definite needs of the community. The foreign missionary, if any, should be appointed as an associate pastor, to share responsibility in the work of teaching or to assist in leading the English service. The writer en- joys the privilege of such cooperation in his present pastorate. A Western specialist in social work for young people could also be appointed, and in most churches would be able to utilize his strength and ability to the full. Short-term service for two or more years on the part of a student missionary fresh from his college course in America was tried while the writer held a pastorate at Sapporo. A veteran missionary writing about the plan said: “The essentials to successful short-term service of this sort would naturally be, first, location in a church near a university where there are English students; and second, an English- speaking pastor to welcome and help any young American serving for a few years as his associate.” In the experience of the writer this plan was carried out satisfactorily. The young missionary left the city when his term expired, carrying back much experi- ence and leaving behind good impressions among the youth with whom he lived and worked. Let him speak for himself about his experience: “The teaching of English is a splendid drawing- # oe ee ee PR yb , eo ene es Op a A ee1440 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF card to reach the young Japanese. Through the medium of an English night school we have been able to draw under the roof of the church many young people who are perhaps receiving for the first time the seeds of the Christian spirit. A deep and sincere longing for help in the attainment of the highest values of life dwells in the hearts of these young men and women. Opportunities come almost every day to put in a word or deed which may start them in the Christian life. To guide the lives of Japanese youth is an inspiring challenge, the proper acceptance of which will bear untold fruit.” A missionary in a country village will find a unique place of opportunity such as city dwellers never dream of. The disadvantages and inconveniences may well be compensated for by the joy and pleasure received from contact with the simple people. A rural missionary will find ample time to deal with the individual, while the city dweller is liable to be absorbed in caring for groups and organizations. Through his contacts with the home the missionary can dispense counsel and influence the social life of the entire village. There is nothing to compare in effectiveness with country evangelism. A touring mis- sionary over a large area has unique and unparalleled opportunities, provided he is equipped with the lan- euage and with good health. It would increase his worth if he could remain in each place visited for aCOOFERATION EROM THE WEST x4 few months before moving on to another, thus imi- tating the method of Paul. Frequently he can make good use of religious films to illustrate the Christian message or manner of life. We have written about the future place of our missionaries, and we wish again to lay stress on the fact that Japan is a field where a Christian worker iS given rare opportunity to discover and build up universal civilization upon Christian principles. We might think of this field as a testing-ground for the missionary work of the world. So long as Christianity remains inactive, unable thoroughly to Christianize Japan, the world will remain with its dark hemi- sphere. Axrra Epizawa Sapporo “mn” fs ‘8 = ™-. ni ‘ <5,VIII YOUTH’S CHALLENGE TO YOUTH HE world is weary with its weight of mate- rial things. This ultra-sensuous civilization is too much with us. A Japanese cook in New York City, who is very fond of gardening, once told me that to grow a flower he was obliged to steal a hand- ful of earth from Central Park. This is a tragedy which saddens the heart. Whenever I reflect upon this encroachment of material civilization, I find myself reaching up and out to a better world where love is dominant over money. The fluctuations of the stock market and the whirlpool of gold coins have little charm for me. I do not claim that we must retreat from a mechan- ical civilization, though I am not blind to its dan- gerous results. Mass production, with its consequent surplus of goods, leads to a search for markets and colonies, and out of this forced production springs the restless imperialism which is demoralizing so much of our political and economic life. Furthermore, the mechanical revolution of the nineteenth century has not only mechanized individual and social life, but human thoughts as well. In a word, that which ap- peals to me as the higher community of the human 142VOUTH?S CHALLENGE TO YOUTH 14; spirit is subordinated to the machine-made civilization of today. But inasmuch as the East is more or less behind in the material and mechanical spheres, she has still a chance to reconsider and determine her fu- ture growth upon somewhat different lines. Japan is no longer the Japan of old. So marked 1s the transformation that a recent visitor remarked that what he found here seemed like part of America. Modern capitalistic civilization is spreading not only in America and Japan but everywhere. The revolt against this tendency can be seen in many places. Even in the East there is a powerful reaction in some quarters, a crying aloud for the destruction of capi- talism and of the over-mechanizing of life, a claim- ing that only by this means can a fundamental solu- tion of human problems today be worked out. This condemnation may perhaps sound strange to many who live in cities like New York and Chicago. Some persons have too many possessions, and others are too much immersed in the abnormal life of today, to be able to understand the meaning of this denun- ciation. Even Christians who are thought to be spirit- ually minded have become so accustomed to a formal Christianity that the Sermon on the Mount seems foreign to their religion. In the East we have two enemies. One is com- munism. It curses materialism and mechanism and at the same time forgets morality and the power of the ” e - ~ - wi A aR al it "ee ae | ) | |— = ae 1444 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF spirit. It hides behind such names as Marxism and Leninism, and, especially since the Russian revolu- tion, teaches men to ignore the most fundamental realities, God and the soul. In its present form it is like a huge monster in the pathway of man’s prog- ress. The second enemy is nominal Christianity. This is a form of religion not based upon but rather oblivious to the New Testament. It busies itself with the teach- ing of doctrines, forms, and traditions with a zeal that has resulted in disruption of Christianity into countless denominations. Too frequently its standard is a dead literalism rather than love, the love that perseveres even to the cross. We younger Japanese Christians are profoundly in earnest. When we became Christians we broke with an ancient tradition composed of Buddhist, Confu- cian and Shinto influences. This tradition is not only a powerful one, but has dominated individual and national ideals in Japan for many centuries. It is obvious that only young men and women of great courage and earnestness could break with the old and give their allegiance to Jesus Christ and his truths. It 1s sometimes said that there is great spiritual vitality in the Brahmanism of India. The same can be said emphatically of the Mahayana Buddhism of Japan. It is a living religion. Dr. Soto Tokutomi, the most famous of Japan’s living historians, onceVOU Hes CHALLENGE, M0; YOU Lit 745 remarked to me, “The religions of Japan are alive. In this fact is to be found the explanation of Japan’s modern progress, earlier than either China’s or Korea’s.” Indeed after traveling about in China and Korea I am astonished at the activity and vitality displayed by Buddhism and Shinto in Japan. It 1S true that evidences of the same mechanical civiliza- tion are to be found on every hand. But at the same time it must be acknowledged that there are signs of influences emanating from Buddhism and Shinto which demonstrate clearly the qualities of spiritual life in the old religions. Whatever may be said of the shortcomings of these religions, they certainly maintain standards of morality as high as those of some European countries where the teachings of a cheapened New Testament are in effect. Conditions in this country with respect to crime and divorce have improved to an astounding degree. In spite of Japan’s system of public prostitution, her divorce rate is lower than that of the United States, a nation proud of her Protestantism. The number of homicides in proportion to the population is also very much less in Japan than in the United States. I do not pretend that broad or decisive conclusions with regard to the comparative moral status of the two countries can be drawn from these comparisons, and yet the inference that they have some bearing on general moral conditions seems inescapable.1446 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF Looking at the situation from the standpoint of comparative civilizations, it is clear that missionaries from the United States, for example, can no longer come to Japan as the representatives of a higher civil- ization. Sixty years ago American missionaries could do this. At that time Japan admired America’s gallant struggle to free the slaves, and believed, indeed, that in the United States the world’s highest morality was exemplified. Today missionaries must stand as indi- vidual representatives not of their civilization but rather of their religion, in all its New Testament sim- plicity. This is emphatically true of American mis- sionaries since the passage of the Exclusion Act of 1924. By that Act the United States revealed to Japan her inability to maintain in national life the moral ideals of the religion she professes—an inability shared by almost every other nation today. For the moment it seems to me that about the only one of the so-called Christian nations that has a right to talk to Japan is Denmark. England is afflicted with too much territory, America with too much wealth, Germany with too much detached scholarship, and France with a too effeminate culture. Up until ten years ago Christianity was viewed as a dangerous intruder in Japan. The many young stu- dents who embraced the new faith did so in the face of persecution and opposition. Today Japan as a nation 1s confronted with other and more dangerousYOUTH’S CHALLENGE TO YOUTH 147 foes in the form of anarchism and Bolshevism. The result is that practically no Japanese, with the ex- ception of the most devoted advocates of the tra- ditional religions and the dwellers in remote rural sections, feel strongly opposed to Christianity. Roughly, I should say that from eighty to ninety per cent of the people no longer disapprove. On the con- trary, seeing the influence of Christianity upon per- sonal character, many now welcome it. Christianity has had a marked influence upon social work throughout Japan. The great cities, the various prefectures, and the national government as well, have all established social bureaus in which various kinds of welfare work and scientific plans and expert- ments for social betterment are engineered and super- vised. Among the leaders and officials connected with these bureaus there is an astonishing proportion of Christians. In other words, it is no longer considered strange to be a Christian. In fact, the story of Chris- tianity is known by virtually everyone. This general dissemination of social knowledge has been helped by the wide reading of such books as Les Miserables, which is printed here in editions of fifty thousand volumes. What is wanting in Japan, as in Britain, America, France and elsewhere, is not the knowledge of Chris- tianity but rather the practice of love. There is a famine of love throughout the world; in the1448 JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF churches, in the schools, in the factories, on the farm, everywhere. St. Paul said, “Love suffers long and is kind.” Belief in this eternal love led me to the ac- ceptance of Christianity. This eternal love of Christ finds a voice in the cross, it forgives humanity’s sins, it redeems us, it sanctifies us, it links the skill of science with the needs of daily life, it unites the nations, it binds the factory owner to the laborer, the intelligent to the ignorant, the favored nations to the less favored, and it teaches to each generation of the human family the profound lesson of sacrifice for succeeding generations. It is to this love that young Christians of Japan give their allegiance. They be- lieve it expresses the essential character of God and testifies to the eternal significance of Christianity. We cannot believe in a Christianity that discounts this redemptive love, or that fails to practise love in human relationships. Without this love no forms of communism or socialism, no kind of social recon- struction whatsoever, can succeed. I believe that in certain constructive aspects of such movements as Marxism and Leninism there are partial and frag- mentary revelations of this love, but they err fun- damentally in their belief that a revolution in social organization is possible without love. Love is the eternal and revolutionary principle, and without it social progress in any true sense is unthinkable. The clue to the meaning of this eternally revolutionary— - 7 “ _ . " - = —— = o o P J = . a “d " ‘ " , 7 ‘ $ , ' : is * > i f i » a a i a ’ a — re > —o a - —’ _ y 4 “ : 1 Pr ae « y < ‘f 1a — es si * = ~~ = = == ee < . . . , — 5 ES ons oe . 3 , _ , Tae Stee iealied : = ke? a in ida a il ‘ See oa te ee a aa ’ Ks ot eaeOhe, 5 ia mS. KX ee ae i?——e eeSe . sere ¥ . os , CA oes _ ; a - c: ' , - cs @ was ‘ Se" wt itd je -* Bais é Pd ere < ~ I C we c ? 7 + « es ‘7 7 toa fee eee eae Sa en Ow CT pete e ie ede es WA Ce fed Bee BOOKS ARE LENT FOR TWO WEEKS Fine of 10c for each Day after the Date DUE DUE APR 1 8 log’ THE MICHIE CO Usually books are lent for two weeks, but there are exceptions, and all loans expire on the date stamped in the book. If not re- turned then the borrower is fined ten cents a volume for each day overdue. Books must be presented at the desk for renewal. MAR27 '28 - SS Neer ee nearer ee ener eee ae