Identifier: mikadosempire05grif (find matches)
Title: The mikado's empire
Year: 1894 (1890s)
Authors: Griffis, William Elliot, 1843-1928
Subjects:
Publisher: New York, Harper & brothers
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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on. They were letters, rehgion, philosophy, liter-ature, laws, ethics, medicine, science, and art. Heretofore the first un-foldings of the Japanese intellect in the composition of sacred hymns,odes, poems, myths, and tradition had no prop upon which to train,and no shield against oblivion but the unassisted memory. The Jap-anese were now to have records. Heretofore religion was simply therude offspring of human imagination, fear, and aspiration, withoutdoctrinal systems, moral codes, elaborate temples, or sacerdotal caste.Henceforth the Japanese were to be led, guided, and developed inmorals, intellect, and worship by a religion that had already broughtthe nations of Asia under its sway—a strong, overpowering, and ag-gressive faith, that was destined to add Japan to its conquests. Bud-dhism, bringing new and greater sanctions, penalties, motives, and apositive theology and code of morals, was to develop and broaden thewhole nature of the individual man, and to lead the entire nation
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Her Imperial Japanese Majesty, the Empress of Japan, Haruko, nee Ichijō Haruko. (From a photograph taken at Tōkiō, 1874.) THE INTRODUCTION OF CONTINENTAL CIVILIZATION. 83 forward. Chinese philosophy and Confucian morals were to formthe basis of the education and culture of the Japanese statesman,scholar, and noble, to modify Shinto, and with it to create newideals of government, of codes, laws, personal honor, and householdordering. Under their influence, and that of circumstances, havebeen shaped the unique ideals of the samurai; and by it a healthyskepticism, amidst dense superstition, has been maintained. The com-ing of many immigrants brought new blood, ideas, opinions, methods,improvements in labor, husbandry, social organization. Japan receivedfrom China, through Corea, what she is now^ receiving from Americaand Europe—a new civilization. For nearly a century after the birth of Ojin, the record of events isblank. In 249 a.d. a Japanese general, Arata, was sent to assist onesta

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