THE JAPANESE NATION. 677 



The influence of this religion was not confined to the daily life, but 

 acted upon the literature and art. 



For a time it seemed as if Buddhism would supplant Shintoisin and 

 become the religion of Japan, but instead of that it elevated and 

 spiritualized Shintoism, so that it regained much of its hold upon the 

 people. The priesthood is not a caste, nor is the whole life of the priest 

 devoted to religious observances. In the Shinto temple neither idols, 

 images, nor pictures are found; only the altar on which are laid offer- 

 ings of fish and fruit. At different times eminent men in each of these 

 religions have formed sects, with many followers. 



Christianity has made many converts in Japan since the ports were 

 opened, whose numbers are steadily increasing, but Buddhism is still 

 their religion. 



ART. 



The art of the Japanese differs from that of the Aryan or Indo- 

 European, for it is not as with them the grafting of one style upon 

 another, but the accumulated knowledge of many centuries, unaffected 

 by foreign influences. Within its confined scope it was in advance of 

 the art of other nations when the country was opened to foreigners. 

 For her art as well as her literature, Japan is undoubtedly indebted to 

 China and Korea, as among the most skillful workmen of the famous 

 Satsuma faience are the descendants of Korean artists. After the 

 introduction of art its development was greatly promoted through 

 the influence of the feudal system. The Daimios required swords and 

 armor, and their retainers were employed in their fabrication. What- 

 ever time or labor was required to produce the finest and most beauti 

 ful article was freely given, and thus skillful artists were trained first 

 in the fabrication of swords, and then in works of art. There was 

 great rivalry among the Daimios and these artists to produce the most 

 beautiful works, and this rivalry was farther stimulated by the custom 

 of sending beautiful presents from one lord to another. 



Pictorial art has never attained any great importance, but the dec- 

 orative and industrial art of Japan is original, and excites the admira- 

 tion of the world. The children early use the brush in making the 

 many lines and curves required to form the complicated Chinese char- 

 acters, and thus acquire that accuracy of eye and skill of hand neces- 

 sary for artistic work. They have no knowledge of the architecture or 

 art of Egypt, Babylon, and Greece, on which that of Europe and 

 America is founded. They know little of either sculpture or music in 

 their highest development, and their delineations of the human form, 

 although showing skill, are only bizarre and grotesque; but they have 

 the closest and most sympathetic appreciation of tiature in her most 

 delicate and beautiful aspects, and their exquisite representations of 

 the varied forms of animal, insect, and plant life make their work the 

 wonder and envy of our Western artists. 



In porcelain, pottery, and lacquered ware and in metals and bronzes 



