SHINTO, THE OLD RELIGION OF JAPAN. 215 



greatest annual festivals naturally come in autumn that is, our 

 harvest time. It is in these festivals that the sake, the " Japanese 

 rice beer/' that " cheereth gods and men," plays such an impor- 

 tant part that no festival can be complete without it. The kagura 

 is also indispensable in these festivals. It is a theatrical per- 

 formance, where music and dancing come together to entertain 

 the gods as well as men. Many other religious dances of both 

 comical and dignified natures are also performed. The wrestling 

 too was at first a part of a religious festival. Of course, during 

 these festivals many and generous offerings are made to the gods 

 to show gratitude, while at the same time alms and gifts are very 

 freely given to the poor. Thus it is plain that in the mind of the 

 early Japanese the gods were not very different from them nor 

 very far from them. The gods and their worshipers lived together, 

 enjoying each other's company. The festivals were as much for 

 gods as for men. The offerings were not for the poor, as in Chris- 

 tianity, but they were real and actual offerings to the gods them- 

 selves. The music was not* merely to praise the gods, but was 

 mainly for the purpose of pleasing them. 



Thus, Shinto is a religion of merrymaking, a religion of en- 

 joying this life to its utmost extent. I say " this life," but this 

 does by no means imply that Shint(") denies the future existence 

 of the soul. Surely it implies the belief in such an existence. On 

 this point a great mistake was made by some. No error can be 

 more superficial than this, but, strange to say, even some mis- 

 sionaries fell into it ! Plainly enough Shinto does not expressly 

 teach the eternal existence of the soul or the doctrine of .eternal 

 punishment. It does not know the immortality of the soul, as 

 we have it in Christianity. Such a dogma is foreign to Shinto, as 

 the Buddhist doctrine of transmigration is foreign to it. But the 

 fact that Shinto implies and even teaches some kind of future 

 existence is indisputable from the very fact of ancestor worship, 

 which necessarily implies the belief in the existence of the now 

 deceased ancestors somewhere. 



This belief, however, must have been very vague and indefi- 

 nite. Our early forefathers did not believe their religion in order 

 to be saved from tortures in the next life. To them religion was 

 something of more immediate concern. They did not care much 

 for the next world. All that they cared was to enjoy this pres- 

 ent life as best they might. To this end they did what they could, 

 and were happy and satisfied. But they were mortals and could 

 not help dying. ISTo doubt death was not pleasant to them, and 

 they did not like it. Yet to them death did not have any asso- 

 ciations of a hideous nature, such as going to hell, eternal tor- 

 ments, and the like. They thought probably that after death one 

 will continue to live somewhere else than here, on this earth. 



