[1] The Ko-ji-ki (section XXX) has this remarkable combination: "The luxuriant-reed-plains-land-of-fresh-rice-ears-of-a-thousand-autumns-of-long-five-hundred-autumns." The Ritual of the Great Purification and other rituals call Japan "the luxuriant reed-plain region of fresh young spikes." The word "spikes" here is a synonym for ears of rice.

[2] Understood to be Sir Ernest Satow.

[3] "Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan," vol. xvi, part I, page 73.

[4] Westminster Review, July, 1878, p. 18.

[5] It may not be improper to suggest that some of the notions of the Western peoples as to the backwardness of Japan in the past, and the relative stage of civilization reached generations ago in the island empire may be very ludicrous to the mind of a self-respecting, thoughtful son of Japan. The Mikado's minister at Paris is reported to have said: "We have for many generations sent to Europe exquisite lacquer work, delicately carved figures, beautiful embroidery, and many other things which show our artistic ability and accomplishments, but the Europeans said we were uncivilized. We have recently killed some 70,000 Russians, and now every European nation is wondering at the high civilization we have at last attained!"

[6] It is published as a Supplement to vol. x of the "Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan," pp. lxxv and 369. Yokohama, 1883.

[7] There is an English translation of the Nihongi, by W. G. Aston: 2 vols. London, 1896. It is published as a Supplement to "Transactions and Proceedings of the Japan Society, London."

[8] These appear in vols. vii, ix, and xxvii of the "Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan." Over thirty-five volumes of these Transactions have appeared, and they are an invaluable repository of information on the history, customs, religion, and literature of Japan. Other journals of like value are the "Transactions and Proceedings of the Japan Society of London" and the "Deutsche Gesellschaft fÜr Natur- und VÖlkerkunde Ostasiens in Tokio."

[9] Sketches of these men and numerous extracts from their works may be found in Satow's essay on "The Revival of Pure Shin-tau," published as Appendix of vol. iii of the "Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan."

[10] Japanese cosmology seems to postulate eternal matter, but "it is matter almost completely lacking consistency—an indescribable, nebulous, unsubstantial, floating, muddy foam"—"Japan: Its History, Arts, and Literature." By Captain F. Brinkley. Vol. V, p. 108. (J. B. Millet & Co., Boston and Tokyo.)

[11] In the rituals he is often called "The Sovran Grandchild," though an adopted son of the Goddess; so "the sovran grandchild" is first applied to the founder on earth of the Mikado's dynasty, and afterward to each and all of his successors on the throne of Japan.

[12] See Chamberlain's English translation of the Ko-ji-ki, p. iv. It is interesting to compare the story of Ezra dictating the lost sacred books of Israel, from a memory inspired supernaturally, while five rapid scribes wrote down what was told them. See 2 Esdras, chap. xiv.

[13] We may compare the fact that in our book of Genesis the formation of the earth and the heavens is called "the generations of the heavens and the earth" (Gen. ii, 4). In a paper of the "Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan" (vol. xvi, part I), Dr. J. Edkins has an interesting comparison of "Persian elements in Japanese legends," in which he shows analogies between Mithra and Amaterasu, the seven Japanese deities of wood, water, fire, wind, earth, sea, and mountain with the Mazdean Amesha-spentas, and analogies of the underworld in several other mythic cults.

[14] See the valuable paper on "The Beginning of Japanese History, Civilization, and Art," by the Rev. I. Dooman, in Vol. XXV of "Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan;" especially his chapter iv, on "The Fundamental Religious Ideas of the Early Japanese."

[15] See Satow's "The Revival of Pure Shintau, in Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan," vol. iii, Appendix, p. 71.

[16] Lafcadio Hearn puts this whole matter very tersely, thus: "The ethics of Shinto were all comprised in the doctrine of unqualified obedience to customs originating, for the most part, in the family cult. Ethics were not different from religion; religion was not different from government, and the very word for government signified 'matters of religion.' All government ceremonies were preceded by prayer and sacrifice; and from the highest rank of society to the lowest every person was subject to the law of tradition. To obey was piety; to disobey was impious, and the rule of obedience was enforced upon each individual by the will of the community to which he belonged."—"Japan, an Interpretation," p. 175.

[17] This respect for the Sun-Goddess points to an aboriginal worship of the sun among the ancestors of the Japanese people.

[18] Strictly speaking, the Shinto sanctuaries are shrines rather than temples, so that the Japanese would always speak of Shinto shrines as distinct from Buddhist temples.

[19] A kind of evergreen, like the pine, and peculiar to Japan.

[20] "The Shintau Temples of IsÈ." "The Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan," vol. ii, p. 108.

[21] "The Shintau Temples of IsÈ." "Transactions of Asiatic Society of Japan," vol. ii, p. 104.

[22] Satow's "The Shintau Temples of IsÈ," pp. 119, 120.

[23] According to Aston, ancestor worship, in the sense of a deification and honoring of the departed spirits of one's own ancestors, was no part of the oldest Shinto cult, but rather a later importation from China. See his "Shinto, the Way of the Gods," pp. 44-47. London, 1905.

[24] "Japanese History of Civilization and Arts." "Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan," vol. xxv, p. 89.

[25] "Japan: an Interpretation," pp. 52, 53. New York, 1904.

[26] In vol. xix, pt. I, of the "Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan," pp. 93, 94.

[27] This cheery and jubilant aspect of Shintau worship ought not to be deemed an objectional element of true religion. Rather the opposite idea, that religion is a matter of soul-peril and seriousness so grave as to produce fear or dread of the deity, is a perversion of the truth. True love of God (or of the gods) must needs have wholesome reverence for what is adorable, but also ought to inspire a warmth of affection and a confidence that drives out superstitious fear and begets exquisite delight in the heart and soul and mind of the true worshiper.

[28] See "Ancient Japanese Rituals," translated and annotated by E. Satow, in "Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan," vol. vii, part II, and part IV; vol. ix, part II. Also by Karl Florenz, in vol. xxvii, part I. In vol. vii, part II, pp. 106-108, Satow gives a list of the Norito rituals contained in the Yengishiki, to the number of twenty-seven. Of these he translates only nine.

[29] "Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan," vol. vii, part II, p. 127.

[30] "The priests who officiated at the chief festivals belonged exclusively to two families, the Nakatomi and the Imbibi, both of whom were descended from inferior deities, who accompanied the 'Sovran Grandchild' when he came down to earth."—Satow, in Westminster Review for July, 1878, p. 16.

[31] The reader of the ritual here personates the Mikado.

[32] Temples here used by metonymy for deities.

[33] In vol. xxvii, part I, of "Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan." From this our extracts are taken. Florenz gives in great detail the various practices, and the ancient and modern forms of the ritual, and the customs at different shrines. He also discusses the question of the origin and age of the ceremony.

[34] See the interesting article by Thomas R. H. McClatchie on "The Sword of Japan," in "Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan," vol. ii, pp. 50-56.

[35] "Japan: an Interpretation," p. 208.

[36] "Shinto, the Way of the Gods," p. 360.

[37] It is admitted by all writers on Japan that the practical ethics of Confucianism has from the first largely nullified the more subtle and dreamy elements of Buddhism. The common sense of the Japanese people, in spite of all peculiarities, has made it necessary for Buddhism to adjust itself to the popular mind.

[38] Satow, in "Transactions of Asiatic Society of Japan," vol. ii, p. 121. Compare the statement of Mabuchi as given in Satow's paper on "The Revival of Pure Shin-tau," in Appendix to vol. iii of "Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan," p. 14.

[39] "The Soul of the Far East," p. 166.

[40] For interesting information on this mystic phase of Shinto see the articles of Percival Lowell on "Esoteric Shinto," in "Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan," vols. xxi and xxii.

[41] "The gods of Japan," writes Gulick, "are innumerable in theory and multitudinous in practice. Not only are there gods of goodness, but also gods of lust and of evil, to whom robbers and harlots may pray for success and blessing." But in all this multitudinous pantheon there is no one Supreme Deity. "There is no word in the Japanese language corresponding to the English term God. The nearest approach to it are the Confucian terms Jo-tei, 'Supreme Emperor;' Ten, 'Heaven,' and Ten-tei, 'Heavenly Emperor;' but all of these terms are Chinese; they are therefore of late appearance in Japan, and represent rather conceptions of educated and Confucian classes than the ideas of the masses."—"Evolution of the Japanese," p. 311.

[42] "The World's Parliament of Religions," vol. ii, p. 1282. We must not overlook the fact that the modern Shintoism has its sects, as well as Buddhism. There is the sect called "Ten-Ri-Kyo" ("Heaven-Reason-Teaching"). Also the Kurosumi sect, putting noteworthy emphasis on morality.

[43] Gulick's "Evolution of the Japanese," p. 294. Whatever may be the defects of Japanese character in general, it is common for nearly all travelers who have visited the country and studied the habits of the people at their homes, to speak of them as mild, courteous, cleanly, frugal, intelligent, quick to learn, and gifted with a genius for imitation. Their soldiers have proved themselves a match for the most renowned warriors, and are marvelously apt to make the most of opportunities.

[44] In his "Evolution of the Japanese" (p. 75) Gulick quotes from the Japan Mail (of September 30, 1899) a number of special instructions to be given to the pupils in the Japanese schools touching their behavior toward foreigners. One of the orders reads thus: "Since all human beings are brothers and sisters, there is no reason for fearing foreigners. Treat them as equals and act uprightly in all your dealings with them." Such instruction should surely, in time, enlarge the world-conception of the Shintoist.

[45] Vol. iv, 1906, pp. 19-41.