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

by R. B. Peery

It is interesting to conjecture as to the influence Christianity has had upon Tenrikyo. It does not seem probable that Omiiki was at all influenced by it, unless the traditions of the Catholic Christianity of some two or three hundred years previous reached her in some way. But the expansion and development of the system by its later teachers have been very much affected by Christianity. Some of its present preachers, in constructing their sermons, borrow largely from Christian sources. In the minds of the common people Tenrikyo is generally associated with Christianity.

There are several other small religious sects in Japan, such as the Remmon Kyokwai, Kurozumi Kyokwai, etc., but they are not of sufficient importance to command notice here.

Any statement of the religions of contemporary Japan would be incomplete without notice of Christianity, but that will be reserved for another portion of this book.

The three great religions, Shinto, Buddhism, and Confucianism, are completely woven into the warp and woof of Japanese society. As Christianity has shaped the political, social, and family life of the West, so these ancient faiths have that of the East. The laws, the morality, the manners and customs of these peoples all have been determined by their religions. And to-day the masses of the people look to them for principles to guide their present life, and for their future spiritual welfare, with just as much confidence and trust as my readers look to Christianity. The missionary, in his work, must encounter and vanquish all of these religions, which is no light task. They all have elements of superstition, and their origin and supernatural teachings will not bear the search-light of the growing spirit of criticism and investigation. Each one of them is even now modifying gradually its doctrines in some features, so as to bring them into harmony with true learning and science; and as the nation progresses intellectually the hold of these ancient faiths upon the common mind will become more and more precarious. We expect to see them gradually retreating, though stubbornly resisting every inch of ground, until they shall finally leave the field to their younger and more vigorous antagonists, Christianity and civilization.

VIII

FIRST INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY

One of the most interesting chapters of Japanese history is that relating to the introduction and growth of Catholic Christianity in the sixteenth century. This story has been eloquently told in nearly all European languages, and is familiar to the reading public. The terrible persecutions then enacted are vividly represented in paintings and other works of art on exhibition in art galleries of Europe and America. This chapter is not written with the hope of saying anything new upon the subject, but because a story of mission work in Japan would be incomplete without it; and it may be that some for the first time will here read this story.

In order rightly to appreciate the introduction and spread of Christianity in Japan, it is necessary that we take a bird's-eye view of the internal condition of the country about the middle of the sixteenth century. The Japanese were not then, as now, a homogeneous people with a strong central government. The emperor, although the nominal ruler, was in reality the creature of the shogun, who was the real ruler. His title to the shogunate was frequently disputed, however, and rival claimants waged fierce war upon him. The whole of Japan was divided into warring factions that were hardly ever at peace with one another. The feudal lords of the various provinces were only bound to the central government by the weakest ties, and were continually in a state of rebellion. Many of these daimios were great and powerful, able to wage war with the shogun himself. Jealousy and rivalry between the provinces kept up constant quarrels and divisions. Bad government, internal wars, the disputes and quarrels of different clans, and the ambitions and jealousies of their rulers had destroyed the resources of the country and had devastated her rich and beautiful cities. Even the fine old capital of Kyoto is represented as at that time in a state of dilapidation and ruin, its streets filled with unburied corpses and all kinds of debris and filth. Kamakura, the seat of the shogun's government, once boasting 1,000,000 inhabitants, was in ashes.