THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
about the overthrow of the shogunate in 1868 and the restoration of imperial power. In connection with that great change the ancient department of Shinto rites was reestablished. Buddhist ornaments and ritual were banished from the ancient shrines, a grant equal to about $300,000 a year was made for their maintenance, and preachers were sent out to instruct the people in the ancient beliefs. This movement was shortlived. The department of Shinto rites was degraded until it became a subbureau of the home department, the Buddhists recovered many shrines, and in most respects people returned to their former ways. In 1899 the officials of the most honored Shinto shrine, that of Dai Jingu in Ise, obtained the government's consent to their request that they no longer be considered as forming a religious body, but as an association for performing rites in honor of the imperial ancestors and for conducting patriotic ceremonies. The tendency of recent years has been to consider Shinto itself a system for fostering patriotism and loyalty. This makes it possible, without violation of the freedom of conscience guaranteed by the national constitution, to claim that every Japanese ought to support it and take part in its ceremonies. While, however, the shrines are not considered religious buildings, there are frequently connected with them voluntary associations of a religious character called kyokwai, the name used by Christians to designate a church. The chief authority for the cosmogony and mythology of Shinto is the Kojiki (" Records of Ancient
Matters "), a compilation of legends
4. Its Wri- that was completed in 712 a.d. The
tings and Nihongi ("Chronicles of Japan"),
Cosmogony, though compiled only eight years later,
is much more affected by Chinese ideas. The Yengishiki describes the ritual as practised in the Yengi era (901-923) and includes prayers that had come down from more ancient times. According to the Kojiki, after heaven and earth were separated from the original chaos, three kami came into existence on the Heavenly Plain and afterward passed away. They were succeeded by others until finally there came two named Izanagi (" Male who Invites ") and Izanami (" Female who Invites "). Standing on the bridge of Heaven, these two thrust a spear into the liquid mass below them, and as they drew it back, the falling drops became an island, to which they descended. They there gave birth to the other islands of Japan and afterward to a number of gods and goddesses. The birth of the Fire-god caused the death of Izanami. Izanagi visited her in the underworld, but did not succeed in bringing her back to earth. After his return, as he purified himself from the pollution he had incurred, new deities were produced from each article of clothing and from different parts of his body. The most important of these was Amaterasu-O-Mi-Kami, the Sun-goddess, who, after a quarrel with one of her brothers, withdrew into a cave, leaving the earth in darkness. The 800 myriad deities lured her forth by offerings, dances, songs, and the exhibition of a mirror in which she seemed to see another being as splendid as herself. One of her descendants was Jimmu Tenno, the first em-
peror of Japan, whose ascension to the throne is said to have occurred 660 b.c.
A Shinto shrine in its purest form is of very simple architecture, being constructed of unpainted
wood and thatched with bark or thin 5. Its Wor. shingles. Before it is a torn or deship and tached portal. There is no visible Sects. object of worship, but hidden within
the sanctuary is something in which the spirit of the kami is supposed to reside. At the shrine in Ise there is a mirror said to have been bestowed by the Sun-goddess on her grandson when she sent him to subdue the land. Shrines where mirrors are exposed to view and those with tiled roofs or painted wood show the influence of Buddhism. Services consist chiefly of the recital of ancient prayers, the offering of articles of food, and dancing by priestesses. Ise and other prominent shrines are visited by large numbers of pilgrims, who carry home charms to be placed in their household shrines. Shinto lays stress on ceremonial purity. There is no formulated system of ethics, such being thought necessary only for the immoral people of other lands, while in Japan each person's heart teaches him what he ought to do. A number of popular sects have more of the religious element than has the Shintoism thus far described. The Kurozumi, Tenrikyo, and Remmonkyo sects are the best known. Springing up in the last century, they combine Shinto, Buddhist, and Confucian elements. Most of these sects make much of curing disease through faith or by incantations, and at times have gained large numbers of adherents.
2. Buddhism: Buddhism was introduced into Japan in 552 a.d. when the king of Kudara, a
Korean state, sent to the mikado a
1. ItsEs- golden image, some sutras, and other
tablishment religious objects. A temple was built
in Japan. ancj pUt under the care of the prime
minister. An epidemic that soon after broke out was attributed to the anger of the gods at the introduction of the foreign religion, and the temple was overthrown; but it is averred that all attempts to destroy the image proved vain, so that it is in existence at the present day, there being, however, two temples, each of which claims to possess it. Priests and nuns, with images and books, were soon after sent from Korea. Though Buddhism found much favor at court, there was a strong party that opposed the supplanting of Shinto by the foreign system, but an appeal to arms resulted in the defeat of the Shintoists. The new religion made a great gain when a Korean priest claimed to recognize in the mikado's infant son the reincarnation of a famous priest of China and obtained permission to superintend the boy's education. The prince, best known by his posthumous name, Shotoku Taishi (572-621), afterward became regent and was an earnest defender of Buddhism. An imperial edict in 621 made it the established religion of the country. There were at that time forty-six temples with 1,385 priests and nuns. Many of these had come from Korea and China, countries which had contributed to Japan their literature, arts, and sciences through the teachers of Buddhism. Appreciation of the new civilization