2 10 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



ages. The first characteristic I have in my mind is about the 

 objects of Shinto worship. The second is the fact that Shinto is a 

 religion of 'purity. The third and last characteristic I have to 

 mention is about merrymaking, which plays so prominent a part 

 in Shinto worship of all ages. 



The objects which our forefathers worshiped or held in rev- 

 erence were of different kinds. Among these objects ancestors 

 were most important and are to be mentioned first. Then certain 

 natural phenomena and objects are to be noticed, for certain 

 natural powers, objects, and even animals were called deities and 

 were held in reverence. 



The fact that our forefathers worshiped these different kinds 

 of objects is consistent with the meaning of the Japanese word 

 for god namely, kmni. This word primarily means high or 

 above, and is generally used in this primary sense. The upper 

 half of the human body is called hami, in contrast to its lower 

 half, which is called shimo. In our feudal times the governor of 

 a province or district was called karai, being the head of the 

 province or district. Even at the present time the local or cen- 

 tral government is often called o-kami in the mouth of a country 

 farmer. No doubt, when the term was applied to a god or gods, 

 it was used in the same sense, meaning something standing high 

 above human beings and possessing powers more than human. 

 Thus a kami is simply an object of worship, and almost anything 

 was regarded by our forefathers as an object of worship, in so far 

 as it was mysterious and suggestive of good or evil influence. To 

 them all their ancestors, who were wise in council or brave in war 

 or even quick in temper, were suggestive of help or harm, and be- 

 came the centers of myths and legends. To them the sun, which is 

 the source of light and life ; the moon, which does " wax and wane 

 as if it were alive " ; the fire, which is prone to anger and can 

 consume everything in an instant ; the thunder, which peals and 

 roars, often striking men and beast to death ; the mysterious prin- 

 ciple of life, which propagates itself through and is represented 

 by the organs of reproduction, and the like, are all wonderful and 

 fear-inspiring. The cunning fox, which is peculiarly famous in 

 Japan, was no doubt an object of fear and respect, while the mys- 

 terious serpent that " walks without feet " must have been a god 

 also. Thus our forefathers could not help seeing an impressive 

 object almost every where, and each one of these objects was called 

 kami and was worshiped. 



This fact is still more plainly seen in the absence in Shinto of 

 any tendency toward idolatry the tendency, I mean, to assimi- 

 late and embody the objects of worship in the visible form of 

 man or beast. This tendency is absolutely lacking in Shinto. 

 I freely admit that in the Koziki, the oldest book of Shinto, 



