334 
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. [Sess. 
But there was something peculiar to our people, which has persisted through 
all those changes, and that is what we call “ Yamato Damashii,” or the 
Japanese spirit. This spirit, which Motoori, the founder of Neo-Shintoism, 
has characterised in a famous ode as “ like the blossom of the mountain 
cherry blooming in the morning sun,” consists essentially in the intense 
love of country and reverence for and devotion to the Imperial House. The 
peculiar reverence that we J apanese have for the Imperial House, our loyalty 
and devotion, is a heritage of many centuries. The relation between the 
Emperor and the people is not simply one between the present Emperor and 
the present generation of the Japanese people, but a relation between his 
ancestors and our ancestors for many centuries. On this point we are in 
direct opposition to the teaching of Chinese philosophers, for the Chinese 
are democratic in this respect ; two of the most revered of their Emperors, 
Yao and Shung, bequeathing their throne not to their sons but to whom 
they deemed to be the worthiest successors. We have borrowed a great 
deal from China, but in our exaltation of loyalty and reverence to the 
Imperial House we have kept throughout all ages our own peculiar ideals 
as distinguished from the Chinese, notwithstanding the respect in which 
the Chinese ethics have always been held. 
This relation between the Imperial House and the people is the 
fundamental character of our nationality. It goes back to the days of 
mythology, when the first ancestor of the Imperial House, the goddess Ama- 
Terasu-O-mi-Kami, or the great goddess of Celestial Light who reigned in 
the Taka-Ma-ga-Hara or High Heavenly Plain, sent down her grandson to 
Japan, saying, “ This is the land of which my descendants shall be the lords. 
Do thou proceed thither and govern it. Go ! The prosperity of thy dynasty 
shall be coeval with Heaven and Earth!’ These last words are continually 
occurring in our literature, and are regarded as “ the charter of the land ” by 
the Japanese. It was, however, the great-grandson of this prince who finally 
succeeded in establishing himself in the province of Yamato, and founded 
the Japanese empire. From this first Emperor, known as Jimmu Tenno, 
there has been one unbroken line of descent to the present Emperor. This 
unique character of our Imperial dynasty, together with the ancestor- 
worship or reverence for ancestors, has brought about the peculiar relation 
that I have mentioned as existing between the Imperial House and the 
people. 
The ancestor-worship which I have just mentioned is another of our 
national characteristics which has persisted from the earliest times to the 
present day, and it is closely connected with the relation between the 
Imperial House and the people; for were there no spirit of reverence for 
