The Gist of Japan: The Islands, Their People, and Missions

by R. B. Peery

[[2]] Dr. Verbeck.

Foreign employees have played an important part in this peaceful revolution. At first nearly everything that was adopted was under foreign superintendence; but the Japanese are such apt learners that they are now capable of managing this new civilization for themselves, and the foreign employees have been mostly dispensed with.

With this brief history of Japanese progress before us, let us now examine into the present condition of Japanese civilization.

One of the best indicators of the civilization of a country is its literature. No writers of world-wide fame have arisen in Japan, yet the country has a literature of which she is not ashamed. In ancient times the Chinese classics were alone studied, and all literature was molded by Confucian ideas; to-day these models have been cast aside, and a school of young, independent writers has arisen, by whom history, political and moral science, botany, sociology, belles-lettres, and numerous other subjects are discussed with vigor and originality.

In the number of newspapers and magazines published Japan can compare favorably with any country of equal size. The great dailies have not yet grown to such importance as those of America or England, but they already wield a mighty influence. Nearly every small town has its morning and its evening sheet. Even in our backward old town of Saga we have two very good dailies. There are a large number of able magazines published. Nearly every branch of learning has a magazine devoted exclusively to its interests, as is frequently the case in the West. The very existence of this innumerable multitude of newspapers and magazines shows that the Japanese are great readers.

The educational system in vogue is a good index of a nation's civilization. Perhaps no nation of the West has a better organized and developed free-school system than has Japan. Schools are found in every village and hamlet, and as all children of a prescribed age are required to attend, they are full to overflowing. The little round-faced, sleek-headed Japanese children swarm round them like bees. There are four grades of schools: the primary lower, the advanced lower, the lower middle, and the higher middle. The lower schools are found everywhere; the higher ones only in the large towns and cities. Of the higher middle schools (which correspond to our American colleges of middle grade) there are seven, distributed at various points over the empire. At the head of this whole system stands the Imperial University in Tokyo, which is itself the outgrowth of several colleges, and is largely modeled after the German universities. The lower schools are modeled after our American schools. Unfortunately, so large a part of the time of the school-children must be spent in studying Chinese characters that it takes about eight years to learn to read. What a pity that the awkward, antiquated system of Chinese writing is not abandoned! It seems that the native kana, of which there are about forty-eight, with a few of the more common Chinese characters, would answer all purposes; then the long years spent in studying Chinese could be devoted to other things, to the immense advantage of the student. In the lower schools very little is studied except Chinese. In the middle schools the branches studied are just about what American youths study in the academies. Formerly considerable stress was laid upon the study of modern languages, and all students of the middle schools were required to study English and either French or German. But in recent years only English has been required, and it, even, is not studied so carefully as it was. Since the revision of the treaties the study of foreign languages seems to be on the increase.

The Imperial University compares very favorably with Western universities of the middle class. It has six faculties, namely, law, medicine, literature, science, engineering, and agriculture. The medical department is under German influence; the others have professors of various nationalities, mostly English, German, and Japanese. The students number over 1000. The government has recently undertaken the establishment of another university in Kyoto. It also supports two higher normal schools, a higher commercial school, naval and military academies, fine-arts school, technical school, the nobles' school, the musical academy, and the blind and dumb school. Professor Chamberlain, of the Imperial University, says the leading idea of the Japanese government in all its educational improvements is the desire to assimilate the national ways of thinking to those of European countries. In view of the difference between the East and the West, this is an enormous task; and great credit is due that brave body of educators who, fighting against fearful odds, are gradually accomplishing their purpose.

The Japanese are a nation of artists. Life in one of the most beautiful countries in the world has, to a rare degree, developed in them the love of the beautiful; and this has expressed itself in the various phases of national art. In general, Japanese art is pretty, but small, isolated, and lacking in breadth of view. Its chief use in former times was largely decorative, to paint a screen or a piece of porcelain, and the artists did this to perfection. As a nation the Japanese are very skilful with the pencil. Long writing of Chinese characters has given them a control of the pencil or crayon not commonly found among the people of the West. Drawing is taught in the schools, and every school-boy can draw pretty pictures. But in art, as in other things, the Japanese are frequently inconsistent, and show a haughty disregard of details. They excel in portraying nature.

The government of Japan is progressive and enlightened. In reality it is an absolute monarchy, ruled by the "heaven-descended mikado." The empire belongs to him by divine right, and none has ever disputed this. Unquestioning, implicit obedience is the duty of all subjects. But the present emperor, who is a liberal-minded monarch, has graciously given his people a voice in the government. In 1889 the constitution was promulgated, which laid the foundation for a new order of things. It established the Diet, consisting of two houses, and gave many rights to the people, including local self-government, within certain limits. The franchise is so limited in Japan that a man must annually pay a stipulated amount of tax before he can either vote or run for office.