Show belialon bELI GLON OF JAPAN responsible FOR JAPA itse alio somewhat ettl leitera thought the spirit not regularly until gentleman not long ngo visited a drug store on the third in this city and asked for a postage stamp tho stamp was duly supplied by abo head of tho drug store who wish lug to be pleasant and to the foreigner said well sir which do yon like better america or china tho gentleman indignantly replied may I 1 suggest sir eliat it is your business to sell drugs and stamps and that yon should confine yourself to chepo I 1 am not a chinaman but a native of japan and it is a mark of your ignorance of eliat you do not know tho difference without apologizing for tho rudeness of tho gentleman of japan wo venture to remark that western peoples even tho most educated among as du not seem to carefully distinguish between japan and china tho japanese havo always regarded themselves as far iu advance in civilization and tharo is nothing which offends abo nativo of tho island of japan more than to bo taken for a chinaman very much of tho liberal attitude of tho people it japan toward western thought and custom arises from the tact that its national religion is shintoism most goopio imaging that buddhism is tho religion of japan and bonso conso tho national cult of shintoism is a religious belief until tho last SO years biad never been heard of in alio western world for centuries japan was a tarri incognita to tho rest of humanity although its history dates from COO when jimmer tenno was kins and shintoism was his creed buddhism wad not introduced trod into japan of the christian era when it came from india by way of korea alio term shinto ia of chincio origin and is expressed by tho almost unpronounceable noun ceable japanese word of kamino kami no michi lie meaning of both words being tho way of tho spirits tho essential principle of shintoism is a combination of ancestor worship and nature worship and it would seem that tho latter of abeso elements is largely due to tho contact of japan with alio taoism of china is the veneration of tho country heroes and benefactors of empry age legendary historical ancient and modern the essential of shintoism is its liberal attitude toward other religious beliefs and when buddhism was brought into the country alio priests of the ancient belief extended tho right hand of fellowship toward its missionaries but tho same liberality has not always been returned by alio clergy of buddhism and not very long ago ono of tho great temples at tokyo was burned by tho buddhists to prevent its falling into tho hands of the shinto priests shintoism lias been equally liberal toward modern missionaries for before alio church of england edifice at tokyo now known as st andrews church was built the present shinto government lent one of the shinto temples for church of england services whenever opposition to christianity lias arisen it has como from the old nobility alio arc opposed to all change and aro zealous supporters of buddhism although shintoism has been the ancient religion of japan than 24 it had never been declared tho established religion of japan until the year 1808 when for reasons wholly political it became the established religion of the country A grant of a year was made for tho maintenance of tho shinto temples and shrines which aro said to be somewhere about in number the buddhism of japan had been exceedingly cee aggressive and had almost subverted tho ancient of shintoism but now when a child is born it is taken by its parents cither to n shinto or a buddhist tempio for dedication funerals aro now conducted by either shinto or buddhist priests as tho relatives may prefer the first great god of the is mingo no mikoto tho remote ancestor of tho priest mikado who is said to have been descended from tho god and goddess of tho diun tiun tho mikado is known among alio japanese as or the son of heaven on account of his celestial descent alio title of mikado mean ing very much the samo as tho porto of tho ottomans namely tho presence an so common in oriental landa for exalted personages it is aid that when the goddess of the sun mado be mi remote ancestor mingo sovereign of japan eho delivered to him tho way of the gods and decreed eliat his dynasty should bo as immovably as tho sun and tho moon benco tho need for making shintoism alie established religion she also gave him a mirror as a sacred emblem ray ing look upon this mirror as my spirit keep it in alio same bouso and upon tho samo with yourself and worship it as if you acro worshiping iny actual enca tho story is that thia backed mirror is still in alie shinto torn plo of balku at yamada although it has never been seen by a western traveler the shintoism occupied a conspicuous in tho rules of the court of japan and there are ten sections of the sacred book known as tho shiki devoted to court ceremonies it must bo understood that according to belief tho great incarnate god is alio mikado himself but tho gods of shintoism aro numbered by thousands P hughes in new york sun abo reference to shaving Is found in abo fourteenth verso of the forty first chanter of genesis |