JAPAN. 



JEUNE, FRANCIS. 



Japan passed in 1868, by the abolition of 

 the office of Tycoon and the reestablish- 

 ment of the supreme power of the Mikado, is 

 accompanied by an effort to effect a complete 

 change in the state religion of the^ country. 

 An American missionary writes on this subject, 

 under date of December 26, 1868, as follows : 



Here the Buddhist religion is, or was, the estab- 

 lished religion, and the priests have a monopoly of 

 burying people and praying for them afterward. The 

 aboriginal Shinto religion has fallen into disuse, 

 poverty, and consequent disfavor and disgrace. This 

 state of things commenced about three hundred 

 years ago under Jeyasu, the founder of the Taicun 

 dynasty. In the wars which he waged he was often 

 beaten, and in his flight and in other times of calami- 

 ty, he and his adherents found shelter and sympathy 

 in many a Buddhist monastery. At last, when he 

 reached the throne, he liberally rewarded all those 

 priests who had befriended him in his adversity, 

 paying them a fixed sum out of the public treasury, 

 and bestowing grants of land to be held as temple 

 grounds, the revenue from which was devoted to the 

 support of the temple. From that time Buddhism 

 flourished in Japan, and Shintoism decayed. _ The 

 nation followed the example of the victorious Taicun, 

 and thus Buddhism became established and popular. 

 Still, as the Taicun did not_ ignore the Mikado, but 

 allowed him to be the nominal head of Japan, and 

 even paid some outward respect to him, in the same 

 way Buddhism did not ignore or displace Shintoism, 

 of which the Mikado is Pontifex Maximus. "Where 

 the aboriginal Shinto gods were worshipped before, 

 the Buddhist divinities did not replace or supersede 

 them, but were added to them, and thus, in many 

 places, a singular union was effected. Buddhism and 

 Shinto divinities are worshipped together, and the 

 priests of both divisions often reside in the same 

 temple. "When this is the case, such temples are 

 called Eyobu, which might be rendered union tem- 

 ples, i. e., pure Buddhist ; pure Shinto, and the mixed 

 or union temples. During the recent revolution a 

 great effort has been made by the adherents of the 

 Mikado to revive the ancient faith and cast off what- 

 ever is of foreign origin, whether derived from China 

 or India. Efforts are made to eliminate the whole 

 mass of Chinese characters from the language and 

 literature of the land, and to return to the ancient 

 simple and alphabetical manner of writing. The 

 same principle is at work in the reaction against the 

 established religion, which is of foreign origin, intro- 

 duced from China and India 1,500 years ago. Since 

 the Mikado's Government has been established, it 

 has decreed that, where Buddhist and Shinto divini- 

 ties are worshipped in the same temple, the former are 

 to be set aside and the latter alone reverenced. The 

 priests of the former religion are urged to embrace the 

 ancestral and national faith, in which case they may 

 continue to hold their places. At various points 

 over the empire there are deserted Shinto temples. 

 The ancient god holds his place, but, not being a 

 popular god, his shrine is forsaken by officiating 

 priests and worshippers. The new Government has 

 made inspection and found that in many cases these 

 shrines so sadly neglected are the shrines of the true 

 and ancient gods. These must be reerected and en- 

 dowed with Government support. What has been 

 taken from the disendowed Buddhists will, no doubt, 

 most of it be given to the Shintos. Now when one 

 of these old temples is reerected and endowed, the 

 office of priest in it becomes desirable. Not only has 

 it a revenue from Government, but the people sud- 

 denly wake up to a knowledge of the fact that this 

 same forgotten god in the olden time worked 

 wonders. The early history of the divinity is in- 

 volved in obscurity, and on the principle " Omne igno- 

 turn pro magnifico," it is magnified ; worshippers bring 

 their offerings, new votive tablets are set up, and the 



revenue hence accruing, added to what is bestowed 

 by Government, makes a priest's office a desirable 

 one, especially as he is exempt from all military 

 service. Many, therefore, now seek to obtain this 

 position, but, on presenting their petitions at the seat 

 of Government, it is generally decided that it is desir- 

 able to have these places filled by adherents of the 

 Mikado from the south. 



JESSUP, WILLIAM, LL. D., an eminent ju- 

 rist and Christian philanthropist and reformer, 

 born in Southampton, Long Island, June 21, 

 1797; died in Montrose, Pa., September 11, 

 1868. He was a graduate of Yale College in 

 the class of 1815, removed to Montrose, Pa., 

 in 1818, and was admitted to the bar in that 

 county, in 1820, and soon acquired a large and 

 lucrative practice. He became a professor of 

 religion in 1827, and was from that time very 

 active in the promotion of all Christian enter- 

 prises. He was especially interested in the 

 cause of missions, and two of his sons became 

 missionaries to the East. He was for many 

 years one of the vice-presidents of the A. B. C. 

 F. M. In all other good enterprises he was 

 foremost ; a pioneer in the causes of education 

 and temperance in Northern Pennsylvania, and 

 the chief founder of the County Agricultural 

 Society. His eminent legal attainments and 

 his incorruptible integrity led to his appoint- 

 ment in 1837" as presiding Judge of the Judi- 

 cial District in which he resided, and to his re- 

 appointment in 1848. He was greatly esteemed 

 by the members of the bar, and by all who de- 

 sired to see justice strictly administered, yet 

 tempered with mercy. In April, 1861, he was 

 one of the committee of three, sent by the Gov- 

 ernors of Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio, 

 to confer with President Lincoln in regard to 

 raising 75,000 men, and was subsequently ac- 

 tive, though advanced in years, in raising troops, 

 but in that year his right side was partially 

 paralyzed, and subsequent attacks prostrated 

 his strength and injured his memory and men- 

 tal faculties, and finally caused his death. The 

 degree of LL. D. was conferred on him by 

 Hamilton College in 1848. 



JEUNE, FKANCIS, D.D., Lord Bishop of 

 Peterborough, an English prelate and educa- 

 tional reformer, born in Jersey, of a respectable 

 French family, about 1800 ; died at Peterbor- 

 ough in September, 1868. He came to Ox- 

 ford University, and entered Pembroke College, 

 a stranger and unbefriended, but won his way 

 to a first class and a fellowship in his college. 

 Soon after receiving A. M., he was appointed 

 Public Examiner, and tutor of Pembroke ; and, 

 after some years' service in this capacity, went 

 to Canada for two or three years as tutor of 

 Lord Seaton's sons. On his return fre was ap- 

 pointed head master of King Edward's School 

 at Birmingham, and, a vacancy occurring while 

 Lord John Eussell was Premier, he was made 

 Dean of Jersey. In 1843 he was chosen head 

 master of Pembroke College, and, returning to 

 Oxford, he at once commenced a course of re- 

 form in that college which raised it from a low 

 position to nearly the first rank among the col- 



