A budget of letters from Japan; reminiscences of work and travel in Japan

Preface

During my leisure hours, while a sojourner in " the land of the gods and of the rising sun," I made it a practice — partly as a matter of recreation, and partly from a desire to secure accurate information — to carefully reduce to writing my observations and experiences while dwelling in that beautiful country, in order that I might always have something tangible wherewith to refresh my memory in coming years when those vivid impressions had become dimmed through lapse of time. In the course of years, these " wayside jottings " accumulated in a manner quite surprising to myself. Throwing out all matter that had been dwelt upon to any extent by other writers upon Japan, and retaining only that which seemed to me to be fresh material upon this subject, I reduced the substance of my journals to a book, adopting the form of correspondence as being conversational in its nature and best suited for conveying to other minds the results of my own observations and experiences. Submitting the work to several impartial readers, I was strongly urged by them to have it published as containing matter of general interest presented in a readable manner. Bowing to their judgment in the matter, I now submit this " Budget of Letters" to the individual opinion of each reader, hoping that each may derive as much profit and pleasure from the perusal thereof as I have derived from the composing.

Arthur C. Maclay.

32 Park Place, New York City, July 1, 1886.

Preface To The Second Edition

The unexpected kindness and commendation with which my Budget was received by the critics of the Press in the United States, Canada, and Japan, very naturally afforded me much pleasure and encouragement. As was predicted by the New York Herald, that portion of my book which shows the measureless inferiority of Buddhism when compared with Christianity, — "although the logic is unassailable." — did not much recommend it to the favor of the Theosophists. In 1S83 I attended a missionary meeting in one of the most orthodox churches of one of the most orthodox sects in the city of Brooklyn. I there heard one of the clergymen addressing the meeting commit himself unreservedly to the statement that the fundamental principles of Christianity were substantially the same as those of Buddhism. Of course, the Bishop in whose presence this reckless assertion was made strongly protested against any such doctrine. I noticed, however, that the people seemed to be rather amused than offended at the statement of the speaker. Subsequent inquiry revealed to me the fact that there existed a widespread sentiment in the community that perhaps the assertion was based on fact after all. This incident set me to thinking. The first broad conviction that forced itself upon my mind was that the speaker's statement certainly did not coincide with my conclusions on that subject, as drawn from many years of observation and study in China and Japan. Can it be possible, queried I to myself, that one who has been brought up among Buddhists, and who has imbibed their doctrines from childhood up to mature years, must be informed that Buddhism is not understood by those who practice its precepts ?

Can it be possible that the time spent with the monks up in the serene altitudes of the Kushan Monastery among the mountains of Fookien in southern China, discussing with them in their own language the mysteries and the ceremonies of their creed, was productive of no insight into their doctrines ? Did the scholarly missionaries who discussed the subjects with them, not understand the fundamental principles of Buddhism when they urged the religion of Christ upon them ? And, then, when I remembered that all that I had learned about Buddhism in China had been corroborated and verified by four years of study and observation in Japan, I further queried to myself, " What is this thing called Buddhism in the United States?" It surely differs vastly from the original article. Surely, if there had been such doctrines in Buddhism as people here claim, what prevented me from being a Buddhist myself? — for their magnificent ritual created a far deeper impression on my youthful mind than the simple services of the Christian religion. It did not take me very long, however, to discover that Buddhism as understood and practised by the pagans themselves was a very different article from the spurious substance held up by those people in this country who were anxious to elevate some heathen creed up to the level of Christianity in order to deal the latter religion a foul blow, and. if

Preface To The Second Edition. Vu

possible, thus to neutralize its claim to being of divine origin. Buddhism as understood by pagans is one thing, and Buddhism as pictured by those who would like to twist it to suit their own views, is quite another thing. Having made these interesting discoveries, I came to the conclusion that when a layman must listen to an orthodox clergyman recklessly asserting that the fundamental principles of that religion which has everywhere dignified and elevated human existence, and has rendered human life worth living, are substantially the same as those of a creed which has stagnated and degraded human existence wherever it prevails, and which pronounces human existence to be but a curse, — that then it was about time for some protest to be heard from the pews. Accordingly I wrote my chapter on Hiyeisan, which shows that the fundamental principles that were incorporated into Buddhism by its founder are totally different from the fundamental principles incorporated into Christianity by its founder. This chapter has run a severe gauntlet and has come forth verified. Not a single statement has been refuted. The Boston Da ily Advertiser pronounces the remarks to the point, and adds, " We do not remember to have seen the wide difference between the two (religions) better set forth in a few pages than in this volume." In this matter I desire to see fair play, and no foul blows delivered. If the fundamental principles of these two religions be the same, in the name of justice, let that fact be established fairly. Until that be shown by such evidence as would hold in a court of reasonable and fair-minded persons, I shall continue to assert the divine origin of Christianity, and to assert the human origin of every other religion the world has ever produced. As the Alta California well expresses it, " The author denies that Christianity is a mere development of human wisdom and experience, and gives the unnamed Boston philosopher, whom he so ably refutes, something to ponder over besides the unproven vagaries of Buddhism."

But how about the " Light of Asia " ? some one has asked. Doesn't that sweep away the distinction between the two religions ? By no means. In the first place, I most cordially admit that the " Light of Asia" is a most beautiful poem. In the second place, it pictures the doctrine of Nirvana in an exquisite and correct manner. In the third place, the gifted author has woven through his verses (unconsciously, I presume,) a vast mass of Christian sentiment that does not belong to Buddhism, and which greatly misleads the reader, who is thus made to believe that the difference between the two religions is merely nominal. I will venture to assert that a Buddhist could never have written the " Light of Asia." That is to say, a mind that was the product of many generations of Buddhistic thought and teachings, and whose sentiments by the laws of heredity were the outgrowth of such doctrines, could never have written such a poem. At all events, Buddhistic intellect has had twenty-five centuries wherein to produce some such poem, and has not done so. I will venture the further assertion that none but a Christian intellect could have written the " Light of Asia." That is to say, none but a mind evolved from a Christian ancestry whose sentiments and inspirations had been transmitted to it by the laws of heredity, could have pro-

Vlll PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.

duced such a poem. At all events, this poem has been produced within one century from the time when intellects that had been developed and operated upon by the principles of Christianity came into familiar contact with the teachings of Buddhism.

In conclusion I fain would propound this query to those Christianized intellects that have so generously rushed to the rescue of this form of paganism : If the fundamental principles of these two religions be the same, why is it that the Empire of Japan to-day trembles on the verge of Christianization ? Why has that haughty and aristocratic nation cast aside a religion founded by a king's son, and, after but thirty years of inspection, become willing to adopt one founded by a Jewish peasant? Verily that was a shrewd summing up of the case by one of my pagan pupils : " You foreigners in Europe and America have shown yourselves to be the leaders of the Nineteenth Century in the arts, the sciences, and in literary culture and political development. You are keen, observing, and profound in of all your investigations. Your intellectual capacity is wonderful. Yet, if we are to believe infidels, you worship a man who was a bastard, a lying impostor, and a criminal justly executed under the laws of his country for his insolent blasphemy in claiming to be the son of the great God that created the universe ! It is incredible that you foreigners, who have shown yourselves to be no fools in other things, should be such colossal idiots in this matter of Christ. Therefore, when such great nations manifest such credulity, it is better not to scoff at them, but to carefully investigate the grounds of their belief. Therefore, I wish to carefully study your Bible, and to probe this mystery for myself, because I deem the subject worthy of my closest attention." Accordingly that young man investigated the subject for two years, and came to the conclusion that Jesus of Nazareth must have been precisely what he claimed to be, the Son of God. Any other hypothesis branded the Caucasian race as an aggregation of colossal fools. No sane Jew could honestly have made such a claim. To suppose that some Nazarene could have been hallucinated with such an idea, thus courting torture and crucifixion, involved a supposition entirely too violent for this "hard-headed" young man. Nor could he see any sense in the hypothesis that a madman, or a mild idiot, could have produced a system of moral ethics so matchlessly pure and perfect. In short, he found that all other hypotheses required far greater stretch of credulity to accept than merely to take Christ at his word, and to believe on him as the Son of God, the Redeemer of the human race from that subtle and mysterious innoculation of sin instilled into our blood by our common progenitor, that innate tendency toward degradation and corruption to which every family and nation under heaven have borne abundant testimony. In one of his letters he exclaimed : " I wish to become a disciple of this Christ ! " So says the Empire of Japan to-day. What say you to this, infidel ? In the light of your alleged exposures and denunciations, be they fools ?

Arthur C. Maclay.

New York City, September, 1888.

EXPLANATORY REMARKS.

New York City, February i, 1886.

Dear Public:

Inasmuch as introductions are, subjectively and objectively, a bore, permit me to be very brief in introducing to you my friend Theophilus Pratt. He was a school-teacher in Japan for four years. He taught in various parts of the Japanese Empire from the year 1873 to the year 1878. During that time he wrote me quite a number of letters, which to me were very interesting. They are upon a variety of topics, including house-keeping, rebellions, and assassinations. They describe the halcyon days of school-teaching in Japan. They also touch upon events of general interest to Americans and Europeans.

These letters, I repeat, were very interesting to me. Hence I naturally inferred that they might interest others. Therefore I have arranged them in book form, and now present them for your perusal. Hoping that our tastes in this matter will coincide, I remain,

Very respectfully yours,

Julius Marcellus Van Tag.

LETTER XXI. Farewell to Japan 385

ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE

The Yomei Gateway Frontispiece

Casting up Accounts 21

iwa-ki-san 35

Street Vender 43

Gossiping at the Well 51

Old-style Warriors 57

Third Moat of the Tokio Castle 68

Our Postal Service 81

MAYEBARA gg

Street Scene in Hirosaki in

AlNOS I3 o

The Ubiquitous Jinrikisha 145

The Kago X 62

The Tomb of Tokugawa Iyeyas 173

Glimpse of Chiusenji Lake 186

View of the Third Terrace, Nikko Temples 196

The Citadel of Owari Castle 219

The Great Bell at Dai-Butz Temple, Kioto. 243

The Death of Buddha 258

Image of Dai-Butz at Kamakura 272

The Citadel of Kumamoto Castle 287

Ruins of the Citadel of Aidzu Castle 303

A Quiet Corner in a Buddhist Cemetery 333

At Home 346

The Three Estates 365

A BUDGET OF LETTERS FROM JAPAN.

Letter I. The Farewell

San Francisco, California, October to, 1873.

I AM off for Japan. I left New York in such a hurry that I was unable to give you a parting call. I therefore present my apologies and explanations by letter. I expect to be gone for three or four years; and I wish to open a regular correspondence with you during my sojourn abroad. If you agree to this plan, be so kind as to notify me to that effect.

Why did I decide so suddenly to go to Japan? Permit me to explain. You will remember that my studies were interrupted by the failure of my eyesight last year. This inopportune event laid me on the shelf, colloquially speaking. About six weeks ago I received a letter from my friend Adamson, in Yokohama, urging me to go out to

Japan and teach school. He said the work would be agreeable and not too hard for my eyes. He also said that the pecuniary considerations were by no means to be overlooked. He advised me to go right on to Yokohama so as to be ready to make application for the first vacancy that might occur. This was the only way to do, for there was no probability that a Japanese delegation would wait upon me in the United States. He said I might have to wait a year, or I might have to wait only a month, for one of these flitting opportunities.

In almost every transaction in life we are obliged to incur a certain amount of risk. Success is the result of an ever-varying equation. The science of life is to calculate that there is a reasonable probability of a given set of circumstances producing a plus quantity, and then to go ahead. In the present case, the circumstances and conditions augur well for success.

The journey across the continent was not specially exciting. We came through from New York with the same car-load of passengers with which we started. We had the usual assortment of travelers. There was the bridal couple going to visit the Yosemite. There was the Englishman returning to China via America despite the warning of anxious friends who had cautioned him to beware of the free fights and the railway disasters of the reckless Americans. There was the elderly lady with spectacles, who had come to write a book on Mormonism, and wanted to silence all

THE FAREWELL. 3

assailants with the fact that she had seen the things therein stated with her own eyes and could not be mistaken. There was the man going to get up a lecture on the Chinese immigration question, and wanted to convince his audiences of his impartiality by stating that he had been in California and could testify whereof he knew. And then there was the party of ubiquitous " Globe-T rotters " with their Cook's Guide. We were given to understand that they represented several millions of dollars and also a rare assortment of refinement and culture. And, finally, there were Mrs. What'sher-name, from Boston, and her husband, — but he didn't count. She had strong scientific tastes, and made many very wise observations. She thought that the country, through which we passed yesterday, gave strong evidence of glacial erosion. To-day she wishes that she could obtain some of those fossils in the ledge of rocks to our right, for she feels positive that the place gives indications of much geological interest. Her meek husband then expresses profound regret that the sordid aspirations of the lucre-loving railroad company will not allow the scientific passengers to spend an hour or two per day at these carboniferous outcroppings. She then pines for some of those lovely endogenous bulbiferous plants that are growing beside yonder marsh, for she feels sure that they must be some new species, and heaves a regretful sigh as the train passes on. Whereupon her husband turns around and looks wildly down the car, as if seriously contemplating the immediate stopping of the train, or some other desperate maneuver whereby the bulbiferous endogens may be procured. But, on second thought, he settles down and delivers himself of a diatribe against the vile mercenary spirit of railroad corporations in general and of the Union Pacific in particular. Enlisting the florid effusions of some of his choice oratorical efforts, he warmly asserts that corruption in high places should be closely scrutinized ; that bribery and trickery among our public officials should be ferreted out, and an indignant public should excoriate the same with withering scorn ; and that the surest way of staying this frightful torrent of chicanery, and of heralding in pure politics, was to grant universal and unrestricted suffrage to the much-abused and downtrodden female sex. To all of which an approving amen was smiled by the budding scientist whose genius was thus being rudely blighted by the grasping avarice of the Union Pacific.

It took us about seven days to cover the distance between the oceans. The journey was a most enjoyable one. The greater part of our company will take the same steamer for Yokohama. This will make it quite home-like. I have not cumbered myself with very much luggage. A trunk and a box of books tell the tale. They say that Yokohama furnishes all articles needed by Europeans and Americans. I hope you will excuse the brevity of this letter. Also, its abrupt termination, for I must go down to Santa Clara

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this afternoon to visit some cousins living there. Keep me posted on all home news, and I will post you on all news relating to Japan. Truly yours,

Theophilus Pratt.

Letter II. A Voyage Across The Pacific

Yokohama, Japan, December 18, 1873.

I HAVE been here about a month. I have not yet secured a position ; but my friend Adamson says that patience is a great virtue, particularly in Japan. He says that more than half the battle is won by being here on the ground. I hope to report progress in my next letter. My mornings I spend in walking over the delightful hills surrounding Yokohama. For two hours after tiffin I am engaged in teaching a couple of Japanese gentlemen. After that, I have some time for reading. And then before dinner I take another walk through the city or along the Bluffs. I have already been over almost every path within a radius of five miles of this place. Everything is so novel that it seems as if I were in a new world. Private teaching here is not very remunerative. Japanese do not feel able to pay more than five dollars per month for tuition ; and the majority feel heavily taxed when they have to pay two dollars per month. Unless a person can secure a contract under the government, he will find school-teaching

A VOYAGE ACROSS THE PACIFIC. J

a poor business. But all this is not answering your questions about my voyage across the Pacific.

Let us imagine ourselves on the wharves at San Francisco. We pass up the gangway of the huge paddle-wheel steamer chained to the pier. Its accommodations are superb. Upon the upper deck is a social hall where we can have music and dancing. Upon the same deck is a fine broad promenade. Here, the children, the terror of seagoing folks, spend most of their time. These steamers take about twenty-six days to reach Yokohama in moderately fair weather. The propellers take about eighteen days. They are not, however, so comfortable, and many of the ladies prefer the extra time, with comfort.

Having arranged our stateroom, we lean over the taffrail beside the main gangway, and watch the passengers coming up from the pier. Here comes the English party. They recognize us and exchange nods, for in journeying we dispense with formal introductions. Behind this party come three or four Japanese gentlemen dressed in European style and armed with patent leather valises. Then follows a Chinese Commissioner leading his two boys. They are all dressed in their native costume. And their well-greased pig-tails flaunt gently in the breeze. They come stalking up the gangway as consequentially as if they owned the ship. The contrast between them and the Japanese is characteristic of the two nations.

The tide of passengers and leave-taking friends is now surging up and down the plank in a continuous stream. It is within a few minutes of high noon, and we are preparing to start. Ah ! here comes the admirer of bulbiferous endogens. And beside her is the denouncer of corrupt railroad corporations, our friend Mustaches. That feeble old gentleman meekly following them is the father of the gushing scientist. We came near being deprived of their society across the Pacific. Time's up ! The gang-plank is drawn away. The hawsers are cast loose, and the vessel swings from the wharf. Round go the wheels, and the spray sprinkles the crowd on the pier. The extending wake of boiling waters now marks our course down the bay.

Have you ever seen your native cliffs sinking beneath the waves? And have you ever felt as you gazed mournfully astern through the misty air that your farewell might be final, and that you might never see those blue mountains rising from the sea ? Then you can appreciate our feelings.

The passengers crowd the hurricane deck and wave their handkerchiefs to the crowded shore. Many eyes moisten as the gap widens and the responsive flutterings become obscured by the distance. Even the officers wear a resigned expression. But the saddest group of all is the little party of missionaries just abaft the paddle-box. They necessarily feel the situation far more keenly than people who are going abroad for self-interest, expecting to return in a few months, or two or three years at most. Their outlook is gloomy. For they are to be gone for ten years at least, unless death or disease steps in to shorten their exile. Now, in the Sunday schools we used to get the impression that missionaries were a species of beings so divinely constituted that they were not apt to be affected by ordinary human woes ; but here we see simply a sad little company of devoted people who are greviously afflicted, like ordinary mortals, with homesickness. And as they hurry down into the cabin we grimly wonder how many of the church members at home, who believe in missionaries never leaving the foreign field, and in their going to heaven by way of India and China, and who are so loud in dictating about the economical disposal of missionaries, as if they were pieces of church furniture, would thus ostracize themselves from home, friends, and civilized' society.

But our voyage is begun. The peculiarity of a sea-voyage across the Pacific is that you get almost all nationalities represented. English, French, Germans, Jews, Chinese, Japanese, and Americans are apt to be well represented. All grades of society, all creeds, and all professions are also apt to be represented. The cosmopolitan character of the passengers usually promotes good nature and sociability. You, of course, know what a sea-voyage is. There is much sameness in the general run of events. Eating is our prime occupation. Coffee and toast at seven ; breakfast at eight ; tif-

IO LETTERS FROM JAPAN.

fin at twelve ; a regular dinner at five ; and tea at nine ; there you have it.

Our interludes we fill in with reading and gossip- Sometimes the Japanese passengers are criticised. You are duly informed how many cigars they smoke per day; how many bottles of wine they drink at dinner ; how often they pace up and down the spar-deck indorsing the civilized method of exercise ; how little Tanaka, while pacing the deck with the dignity of a tycoon, had his high hat blown over the quarter-rail and came very near going over himself while frantically hopping after it ; and how sociable, genial, and chatty they are.

Then you will hear a long yarn about the missionaries. How the stewardess says the ship always meets a storm when they come aboard ; and how foolish it is for people to spend thousands of dollars in sending them abroad when there are so many heathens at home.

Then you will hear about the English. How they bet on every imaginable thing, — on the weather, on the number of miles run per day, on the prospects of rain, on the continuance of the wind, and on the length of the voyage.

Then the Americans catch it. And our English cousins furnish us with a series of dissolving views upon society, politics, and morality in all that portion of dangerous territory called by civilized nations America, but which we designate the United States.

They always advance the same arguments, and

A VOYAGE ACROSS THE PACIFIC. II

tenaciously cling to the same line of assertion. They get most of their ideas from English newspapers and journals, and never think for themselves as to whether their ideas are accurate. I have had several tilts with them and have now become so familiar with their mode of attack that I begin to wish they would start a new journal in England so that we can have a little variety in our discourses. After a short conversation you can tell by what London newspaper an Englishman swears.

We have had several animated after-dinner discussions. As a matter of recreation, I have dramatized these belligerent talks. I here insert a copy of my humble efforts. It will serve as a sample.

Scene I

(Captain's table. Dramatis Persona?. — Captain, two Germans, three Englishmen, and two Americans. All busily engaged in eating nuts and raisins.)

Dr. Smith of London. — I say, would you mind just passing that dish of almonds ?

Mr. Brown of New York. — With pleasure.

Dr. S. — An uncommonly auspicious beginning for our passage, you know.

Mr. B. — It is, indeed. But I fear we shall have some cases of seasickness before we reach Japan.

Dr. S. — I am rather inclined to think so myself, you know.

Mr. B. — This Pacific has a false reputation, I think. The captain thinks we will have some rough weather before we're through.

Dr. S. — So the "fright dark" told me.

Mr. B.— Excuse me, but I didn't catch the gentleman's name.

Dr. S. — That gentleman near the purser.

Mr. B.—0\\ ! Freight clerk, you mean — that individual with a red moustache.

Dr. S. — Ah ! That's another one of the peculiarities of the American language. You know, I am often floored by some of your odd provincialisms. You never know when you are going to turn the corner sharp upon one of them. It's confoundedly awkward, you know.

Mr. B. — I don't think much difference exists in the cultivated language of the two countries. The colloquial does vary somewhat, I believe.

Dr. S. — But you Americans are changing the English language, you know.

Mr. B. — All languages, sir, that live must grow, you know. Even in England the language has changed within a century.

Dr. S. — But your American phrases and patois, so to speak, are sometimes quite unintelligible.

Captain.— To hear you talk, doctor, one would think that the English language was spoken in full perfection in England. But I have been to places within two hours' ride of London where you positively can't understand the people and they can't understand you. Just go over the Sussex Downs some time. And as for patois, you have a number of them even in so small a space as England ; to say nothing of the barbaric lingo you find in Wales, Ireland, and Scotland.

Mr. Jones of Liverpool.— And don't you find the same thing in America ?

Captain. — No. You can go from Maine to California and be perfectly understood, except among the Indians.

Dr. S.— Quite true. Yes, quite true. But I'm afraid you don't fully grasp my meaning, you know. I refer more particularly to the newspaper literature of America. I think you'll own that American editors are guilty of the most unjustifiable liberties in distorting the English language. Look at the Police Gazette, the Buckeye Democrat, and the infernal orthography of Artemus Ward and Naseby.

Mr. B. — Be fair, doctor. You are not selecting standard papers. And then you must remember that no American pretends to recommend the spelling of Ward and Naseby. These writers are popular both in England and America because they are humorous and witty.

Mr. Griggs of New York. — Guess you'd better try again, doctor. Why don't you quote the Harpers', the Atlantic Monthly, and the North American Review ?