THE P7rHICS OF JAPAX.'^ 



By Baron Kenciio Suyematsu, B. A., LL. M. 



I have been asked by your council, to read l)efore you a pajjer on the 

 ethics of Japan, and this is my attempt in response to that request, 

 though very imperfect it must necessarily be. 



There are three sources of factors which influenced the molding of 

 the ethical system in Japan, namely, Shintoism, Buddhism, and Con- 

 fucianism. The first is the native religion of Japan ; the second is, 

 needless to say, a religion originated iij India and introduced to 

 Japan through China and Korea, and the third is the moral teaching 

 of China. As to the relative positions of these three, I have already 

 fully explained this in an article entitled " The religions of Japan," 

 in the December number of the Independent Review. They are not 

 antagonistic to one another, as people not living in Japan might 

 imagine, and as would only appear natural to them from their own 

 notions of religion. Of these three. Buddhism is the most religion- 

 like in the ordinary sense of the term. Shintoism ranks next, but it is 

 very simple and liberal if vieAved in the light of a religion. Confu- 

 cianism comes last; it is ordinarily classed by western writers as a 

 religion, l)ut as a matter of fact its religious aspect is very vague, and 

 it is not considered a religion by the Orientals. Perhaps a better term 

 for it would be the Chinese teaching of morality, because moral 

 notions which can be gathered from Chinese study are comprised in 

 all sorts of Chinese writings, and Confucius, the great sage, is only 

 one of the exponents thereof. Confucius, however, takes a very high 

 place among those exponents, and therefore he came to be revered 

 more than anj^ others by Orientals, and thus Chinese teaching came 

 to be usually associated with the name of the great sage. I can not 

 do better than follow this example and call Chinese teaching by the 

 name of Confucianism. 



Comparing these three systems of teachings with regard to ethics, 

 Confucianism stands out very prominently in its systematic exposition 



1 Reprinted, hy permission, from .Journal of the Society of Arts, London, No. 

 2729, Vol. LI 11, March 10, 1905. 



293 



