298 THE ETHICS OF JAPAN. 



recognizes in a measure the existence of some supreme power. It 

 speaks of heaven in the sense of a power ; it speaks of the " order 

 of heaven ; " it even speaks of the '' supreme emperor," meaning 

 the Supreme Being. It also recognizes the immortality of the soul, 

 though in a vague manner, and pays great attention to festivals 

 given in honor of one's ancestors ; to use a common phrase, it worships 

 the ancestors. But the parts of Confucianism which relate to the 

 future of man only form a subordinate element of it, so nuich so that 

 Confucius himself once said, " I do not yet know the living, how can 

 I know the dead? " At all events I, in common Avith most Orientals, 

 do not regard Confucianism as a religion in its ordinary sense. There 

 are of course many customs and matters of etiquette sanctioned by 

 Confucianism, or rather enforced by it, which are absurd or imprac- 

 ticable in the eyes of the Japanese, but there is no necessity for me to 

 dwell upon these shortcomings here. 



Let us now see what is Shintoism. It is essentially indigenous to 

 the soil of Japan. It may be regarded as religion, and yet if it be a 

 religion it is certainly of a unique kind, having nevertheless much 

 similarity to the ancient cults of the Greeks and the Romans. It has 

 no founder, nor has it any dogmas, in the ordinary sense of a religion. 

 It has grown up with the customs and traditions and general char- 

 acteristics of the nation. It recognizes the immortality of the soul ; 

 it acknowledges the existence of supernatural powers; it reverences 

 the ancestral spirits, and therefore it may be called a religion of 

 ancestral worship. In that respect it resembles Confucianism. It 

 concerns itself, however, with temporal afl'airs far more than with 

 spiritual affairs. In this respect also it very largely resembles Confu- 

 cianism. It has existed in Japan from time immemorial, long before 

 the introduction of Confucianism and Buddhism. 



From an ethical point of view it has more teaching in it than 

 Buddhism, but it is not so elaborate as Confucianism. Nevertheless 

 it has a tight grasp of the Japanese mind. It is supremely content 

 Avith its simple tenets, so much so that a well-known scholar, Avho 

 was a devout supporter of it, when speaking of its ethical teaching 

 in comparison with Confucianism, once said that " We do not want 

 ho many nomenclatures as Confucianism requires to signify all sorts 

 of virtues and good conduct, and our simple teaching is quite enough 

 to cover all." 



Shintoism is also based upon a patriarchal form of connnunity. 

 Its essential notion of ethics is cleanliness of conscience; but the 

 idea of cleanliness is applied not only mentally, but also physically — 

 hence its tendency to bodily cleanliness as well as other cognate mat- 

 ters. It speaks of good and bad ; it designates bad minds as " black " 

 or " muddy," and good minds as " red " or "clear." Its ideals of 

 conduct are honesty and straightforwardness. It reverences its 



