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Show 9 0lwliVw,Ww'UW I T Japanese Keep .Secrets The minds of Iho greatest naval and military strategists of tho world aro M now Intensely Interested In solving tho fl problem of the phenomenal successes of Japan In tho Far Kastorn conflict. m Tho overwhelming victory In tho 8tralt of Tsushima, annihilating ono of tho finest tlcots of modern times, requires an explanation. It Is easy to say thnt Rojcstvensky simply placed I himself In tho hands of Togo, and tho result could not havo been other than as It was. This, however, docs not i explain why tho brilliant Itusslan admiral ad-miral sailed Into tho trap with apparently appar-ently open eyes. As a matter of fact, ' ho did not know there was a trap, for ho Imagined, or was led to bellovo, that tho Japanese fleet was miles nway from Its actual position. This ngaln but adds to tho mystery. Tho question now Is not as to tho superior fighting ability of tho Japanese, Japan-ese, but how tho Imperial government was ablo successfully to accomplish tho unprecedented fact of keoplng Its I Gateway to Temple, own pcoplo and tho rest of tho world for moro than two months In absoluto Ignoranco of tho plans and whereabouts where-abouts of tho combined naval forces of tho empire. As ono Bomowhat familiar fa-miliar with tho enigmatical features of Japanese character, I bellovo that In accounting for this marvelous strategic strate-gic achievement a largo placo must bo given to tho persistent csoterlclsm which forms so marked a characteristic characteris-tic of the whole nation. In Japan csoterlclsm Is a flno art. Hero in tho West tho word reminds us only of Buddhistic cults or tho occult vagaries of tho lato Madam Blatvat-sky, Blatvat-sky, but In Japan tho word standB for lira itself. A not inconsiderable experience) ex-perience) among tho natives of Dal Nippon leads mo to tho conviction that they always havo secrets to keep, and that nono knows better how to keep them. Tho humblest citizen of Tokio Is absolutely silent on any question ho deems nono of tho foreigner's business, busi-ness, and there Is everywhere among tho peoplo n persistent and Inscrutablo reticence on all matters of whlcli it Is thought tho foreigner may disapprove. Tills obtains more so on questions under un-der tho ban of tho censor. No offtmHo In the cntegory of crime 1b deemed worthy of more condign punishment than tho giving away of secrets, or even intermeddling with I them. One of the greatest Ministers of State. Viscount Mori, who had graced the olllce of Plenipotentiary m tho Court of St. James and also as Minister nt Washington, was stabbed to death by a government clerk for daring to push nslilo with his cano a curtain that guarded tho secret chain ber where only a priest might gazo on tho repose of the Impcrlul ancestors. ances-tors. In Japan tho secrets of tho dead aro as Inviolablo as thoso of the living. Due to Two Influences. This esoteric tendency of tho Japanese Japa-nese mind, which has played so conspicuous con-spicuous and Important a part In their past soclnl and political history and In their recent victories over Russia, Is duo to two influences that for centuries centu-ries havo been running as a united stream through tho minds of tho people, peo-ple, bearing them on Us way. It Is undoubtedly, first of all, a characteristic char-acteristic Inherited from China, where from tho remote past, by tho Institutions Institu-tions of guilds and other secret bands, iho Inner life of tho pcoplo becomes Jlnrlklsha. largoly n mystery to tho foreigner, and he to them nothing but a "whllo dovll." Thoro It stnndB as a wall that no Intruding curiosity mil yet been ablo to ploice. International honesty and gonulno brotherhood may somo day break It down, but so far dlplo mncy has signally fnllud to outer tho Hacrod precincts. Ah In Chlun so In 'npan, tho oracular words, hidden, ret tradition"; hljutsii. "secret art," and okugl, "Inner .Hysterics," havo n high placo In all achievement "It Is not only a question of advlsa bllity or of delicacy and good taste," but tho national way of doing things, and in times of war, at least, has proved n most efficient factor, not only In conccnllng plans from tho enemy, but from tho wholo world. Influenced by Shlntoltm. A second Influence under which this historic Inheritance trom China has been developed and employed Is esoteric eso-teric Shlntolsm. Tho adherent of this ; faith believes that tho human spirit never dies, but, under tho lnflucnco of tho gods, Is In constant circulation on behalf of men. Every Japanese Is open to tho Inlluenco of theso nnccs-I nnccs-I trnl spirits, because, being a- son of i Heaven, ho Is no less holy than his i neighbors. Esoteric" Shlntolsm teaches that tho ancestral spirits can be mndc to circulate for particular ends, nnd In this wny tho Emperor can mako tho Infinite myriads of the Immeasurable past pcrmcato tho n tilt human forces of to-day. It Is difficult for us to realize or even appreciate tho apparently superhuman super-human courngo with which a man Is Inspired who believes that tho Infinite llfb of tho past Is potvrlng Itself out through him for the defense of his ancestral an-cestral shores. Depend upon It, this nccounts In no small measure for tho unexampled bravery and patriotism of tho Japanese soldier. Let any who doubt this read tho Imperial message to Admiral Togo, whero In his Majesty takes occasion to say, "Wo are glad that by tho loyalty of our officers and men, wo havo been ablo to respond to tho spirits of our ancestors," to which tho Admiral duly replies, "That wo havo gained a Bticcess beyond our expectation ex-pectation Is duo to tho brilliant virtue of your Majesty and to tho protection of tho spirits of your Imperial ancestors, ances-tors, nnd not to the action of any human hu-man being." Family Is the Unit. In another and no less effective way, also, does this faith tend to perfecting tho Jnpancso soldier. In that country tho family, not tho Individual, Is tho unit of tho nation. Ho Is taught from childhood to sink hit Individuality In his family, and that of his family In tho nation. If you ask mm how old be Is, do not be surprised If he answers four or flvo hundred years, meaning his family; as for himself, ho has no Individual exUtenco or age. Japan Is a nation of families, and the wholo nation na-tion is one family. In tho language c. Image of Buddha at Kamakura. tho pcoplo distinctions of person and number aro generally Ignored, and truo personal pronouns aro entirely lacking. In ancient times If ono member mem-ber of tho family camo under tho condemnation con-demnation of tho law, all tho members had to suffer with him, oven wife and children. Tho duty of prlmnry importance import-ance to tho head of a houso is to per-potuato per-potuato tno family and kcop tho Stato supplied with defenders. Higher than duty to family and arising aris-ing out of it Is duty to tho Emporor, which supersedes all tlio duties of man. In a recent tidal wave In tho northern part of Japan a father turned a deaf car to tho cries of his drowning wlfo and children, permitting them to perish, that ho might savo tho Empor-or's Empor-or's plcturo, and ho was applauded for tho act. A Bplrlt of patriotism such ns this, heartless as It seems, leaving wlfo nnd children to chnnco charity and piling up tho dead In war, when charged with a faith In tho Inlluenco of teomlng myriads of Its ancestral ghoBtd under tho guldnnco of osoterlc Shlntolsm, Is n not unimportant factor In producing tho Invlnclblo soldlor thnt Is today driving Russia out of tho East. J. Ingram Bryan In Philadelphia Philadel-phia ledger. |
