go to the United States, and, like England, more and more will Japan need a sure American base for foodstuffs and raw material. Let it be noted that these war rumours often originate on the continent of Europe which would profit most from the estrangement of the United States and Japan. A war rumour may sometimes serve diplomacy by diverting attention from an important corner of the international checkerboard to one less important, or it may be but a conscienceless banging on the linotype to increase the sales of a daily newspaper. Every time that Arizona, Colorado, or Idaho digs an irrigating ditch, Japan lays down new keels to import more of American wheat and cotton. And every time that Seattle, San Francisco, or Los Angeles adds a hundred thousand to their population, Japan increases tenfold more and covers more hills with tea and mulberry bushes that her own children may be fed from the sales of tea, silk, cloisenne, and other art products to the United States. Japan needs our sympathy because upon her rests painfully heavy the burden of armaments and because Western powers in the economic or martial subjugation of all of Asia have taught Japan the power of gold and the sword. Japan's much desired treaties on an equality were not granted till after the war with China, and resident ministers were not raised to the rank of ambassadors till after her war with Russia. A Japanese of note said: "A nation, in order to maintain her independent position in the midst of international rivalries, must command sources of power which will inspire other nations not simply with respect, but fear."* A young Japanese acquaintance of mine said that when a small boy in school, his teacher told the class that China was in the right in the Opium War, but that England conquered by weight of force. He then decided that he would become * Baron Kaneko, in the North American Review, November, 1904. a statesman if he could and thereby help to establish the power of Japan, for it seemed to him that might and not right was the final appeal among the great world powers. Japan needs our sympathy because her large population, crowded upon a small area, is being impoverished to support her large army and navy. Why does not Japan segregate all her lepers, house all her insane, furnish telephones to all applicants, and give every aspiring youth a chance for an advanced education that will fit him industrially or mentally to earn his way? The answer is, because of the burden of armaments and the interest on war loans. Yesterday Tokyo had a heavy snow, and in the slush and ice, I saw many a footprint where, protruding beyond the cloth or straw sandal, the bare toes had left their impress. One mother who walked in front of me was bare-legged to the knees and bore a wee babe on her back. She belonged to the class who, of late, in large numbers, have committed suicide rather than face cold or starvation. Japan has tried hard to get ahead in the world and deserves the praise she has received in wholesale fashion, but mission leaders must not place her beyond sympathetic consideration. The rising tide of unbelief and the shaking of moral foundations has resulted in a turn to conservatism and the past. As an example, the suicide of General Nogi, the night of the Emperor's funeral, became a national event which called forth praise that was practically universal. His funeral was attended by thousands. A popular ceremony was given in his honour, culminating in Shiba Park, Tokyo, in which more than a thousand Buddhist and Shinto priests took the lead, dressed in their official robes. There have been great religious gatherings in Europe and America, but where can be found the equal of the enthusiasm displayed when a million pilgrims attended the ten days' celebration at Kyoto, in 1911. It was the 650th anniversary of Shinran, a founder of a sect of Buddhism. He had received posthumous honours during the reign of the late Emperor. A special station had to be built to accommodate the visitors. Money was squandered lavishly on the special robes worn by the zealots who could afford them. One thousand persons paid over $100 per robe, and one hundred and twenty gave $5,000 per robe.* Many were crushed to death in the crowds. An eyewitness said, " The devotion of the people to Buddhism and its leaders is nothing less than marvellous." And yet with all the pomp of idolatry, the burning of prayers, the chanting of priests, the elaborate services. for the dead, the vital question is, What does it really do for the living? A member of the Japanese Parliament said: "Since the war with Russia, the public sentiment has inclined to profligacy, levity, and vanity, while social manners and morals have become debased."† A friend of the Japanese says: "Religion is excluded from the schools. There is practically no religious instruction in the homes. The educated portion of the population is already largely naturalistic and agnostic. Few educators have any use for religion at all." 66 Japan claims our sympathy because of her dire need of Christ and utter helplessness without Him as the future will show, unless there is a speedy spread and acceptance of the Gospel. Now is the time to pray for Japan. We are as much bound to pray while on earth as angels are to praise while in heaven." Astronomers tell us that but one part in 2,735,000,000 of the sun's fiery energy reaches the earth, the balance wandering into space. But what would our earth be without this incomprehensible fraction of the sun's light and heat? * Missionary Review of the World, September, 1912, p. 701. +Japan Chronicle's translation, January 27, 1909. D. B. Schneder, quoted from the Edinburgh Missionary Conference, Vol. I, p. 67. Despise not thy prayer and its power to bless when energized by the way of the Heavenly throne. Japan needs large sums of money for the erection of Christian schools, especially a great central Christian University. "Government and public schools have advanced a hundred paces, while Christian education has taken but a few faltering steps."* Recently, I read in an American paper, of our harvest of three billion bushels of corn and one and a half billion of oats and wheat, enough to fill a river bed from Chicago to New York. Christians may share God's harvest, but not His rewards and favour, except "the poor have the Gospel preached unto them." Before the world gets in motion, a big motion toward the millennium, larger sums of money must be consecrated to God. The Kingdom of God is not of this world, and yet money is needed to propagate, to educate, to print and distribute the truths which are the essence of Christianity. The whole Orient to-day is shifting and changing. Destructive and constructive forces are at work. Crises, great moral crises, are in the process of shaping, or just at hand. Society is like the waters of a bay in the dark, whose waters rush this way and that, churned by two opposite currents-the old and the new. Into this vortex, into this centre of world interest, God has thrown some thousands of His missionaries. Each one is a lightbearer, each one is a distributor of life-belts. There are plenty of ways to lend a hand. The brave and resourceful soul will find ten times more than his hand can do. * President Tasuku Harada, quoted, Japan Evangelist, November, 1912, p. 532. † Christian Herald, November 27, 1912. |