RELIGION.
S u c h are the contradictions among the several writers on Japan upon
the subject of the religion of the country, that it is not easy to discover
what is the precise truth. Nor is this discrepancy much to be wondered at,
for, since the extirpation of Christianity from the Kingdom, there is, probably,
no topic on which a Christian would find it more difficult to obtain from
a Japanese accurate information than on the subject of religion. There are,
however, certain particulars in which all agree, and which are doubtless correct.
The original national religion of Japan is called Sin-syu, (from sin, the
gods, and syu, faith,) and its followers are called Sintoos. Such, at least, is
the statement made by some writers; but Siebold says the proper Japanese
name is Kami-no-miisi, which means “ the way of the Kami,” or gods; this
the Chinese have translated into Shin-tao; and the Japanese have modified
the Chinese into Sintoo.
I t is said that the only object of worship among the Sintoos is the sun-
goddess, Ten-sio-dai-zin, who is deemed the patron divinity of Japan. But
there are thousands of inferior deities, called Kami, of whom the greater
number are canonized or deified men. I t is through these and the Mikado,
as mediators, that prayers are made to the sun-goddess, who is too great
and holy to allow of an independent approach to her in prayer. The Mikado
is supposed to be her lineal descendant. But with all these divinities the
Sintoos are not idolaters. They have no idols in their temples; there are
images indeed of their Kami, but, as it is alleged, not for purposes of worship.
This statement, however, is very questionahle. The only decorktions
of the old temples were a mirror, the emblem of purity of soul, and many
strips of white paper formed into what is called a gohei, also an emblem of
purity. Siebold thinks the image of the Kami, introduced into the temples,
is a foreign innovation, and never existed before the introduction of Buddhism.
The numerous Kami he considers as analogous to the saints of the
Romanist. MaeFarlane looks on the Sintoo worship at this day as thoroughly
permeated with Buddhism. Meylan would make the original religion of
Japan a pure theism. I t is not easy to say what it was or is. As to the
Sintoo creed, its leading features, according to Siebold, are some vague notion
of the immortality of the soul, of a future state of existence, of rewards and
punishments, a paradise and a helL Its five great duties are : 1st. Preservation
of pure fire as an emhlem of purity and instrument of purification.
2d. Purity of soul, heart, and body to be cherished, the first by obeying the
dictates of reason and the laws, the last by abstaining from whatever defiles.
3d. Observance of festival days, which are numerous. 4th. Pilgrimages,
which at oertain times in the year are imposing and costly; and 5th. The
worship of the Kami, both in the temples and in private habitations. Impurity
may be contracted in various ways : By associating with the impure,
by hearing obscene or wicked language, by eating certain meats, and by coming
in contact with blood, or with a dead body. For all these there are the
prescribed modes of purification.
The festivals all begin with a visit to the temple. There the votary
performs his ablutions at a reservoir provided for the purpose; he then kneels
in the verandah, opposite to a grated window, through whieh he gazes at the
mirror, and then offers up his prayers, with his saorifiee of rice, fruit, tea, or
the like. This done, he drops his coin in the money-box, and retires. This
is the usual form of Kami worship at the temples. The moneys contributed
are applied to the support of the Kaminusi, as they are called. These are
the priests of the temple, and their name or title means, literally, the landlords
of the gods. These priests live in houses within the grounds of their
respective temples, and are hospitable to strangers. Siebold says that they
marry, and that their wives axe priestesses, who have prescribed religious
duties; though we have been told by an intelligent Japanese, in reply to our
inquiries, that the Sintoo priests do not marry.
Prilgrimage, however, is the great religious duty of the Sintooites. There
are two-and-twenty shrines in the Kingdom commanding such homage ; hut
the great and most sacred one is that of the sun-goddess, Ten-sio-dai-sin, at
Isye. To make at least one pilgrimage to this shrine is incumbent upon
everybody of the Sintoo faith. The very pious go annually. Even the
Buddhists (with the exception of the Bonzes or priests) perform this pilgrimage.
The Ziogoon is permitted to perform this religious duty vicariously,
and annually sends an embassy of pilgrims to Isye.
The Kam/musi are the regular clergy of the Sintoo religion in Japan;
but the European writers on the subject mention two institutions or religious
orders, if they may be so called, composed entirely of the blind, and constituting
a quasi clergy. The Japanese tell romantic stories about their origin.
One of the fraternities they say was founded many centuries ago by Senmi-
mar, a prince of the Empire, and the younger son of the then reigning Mikado.
The prince was one of the handsomest men in the Kingdom, and
loved a princess whose beauty was a match for his own. She died, and such
was his grief, that he wept himself blind. He then founded this order. The
other association had a different, but not less remarkable origin. In the
times of Yoritomo, of whom we have spoken in the last section, there was a
general named Kakekigo, who commanded a part of the troops of Prince
Feki. In battle with Yoritomo, Prince Feki was slain, and Kakekigo was
taken prisoner. So great was the renown of the prisoner, throughout Japan,