The Islands Their People And Missions By the Rev. R. B. Peery, A.M., Ph.D. With Illustrations New York — Chicago — Toronto Fleming H. Revell Company M DCCC XCVII Copyright, 1897, by Fleming H. Revell Company To My Wife To whose Kindly Sympathy and Help is Largely Due Whatever of Value there may be in these Pages This Book is Affectionately Dedicated...

Although a great deal has already been published in English concerning Japan and the Japanese people, nothing, to my knowledge, has yet been published which attempts to give a full treatment of mission work in Japan. "An American Missionary In Japan," by Dr. Gordon, is the only book I am aware of that deals exclusively with this subject; but its scope is quite different from that of the present volume. Therefore I have been led to believe that there is a place for this book. I have written for t

The empire of Japan consists of a chain of islands lying off the east coast of Asia, and extending all the way from Kamchatka in the north to Formosa in the south. Its length is more than 1500 miles, while the width of the mainlands varies from 100 to 200 miles. The entire area, exclusive of Formosa, recently acquired, is 146,000 square miles—just about equal to that of the two Dakotas or the United Kingdom of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. On this territory, at the beginning of the year

Nothing definite is known concerning the origin of the Japanese people. Some authorities think that the southern portion of Japan was first peopled by sailors and fishermen from Malay, who were drifted thither by the strong current of the Black Stream. That this has happened to shipwrecked sailors in the present time is cited in confirmation of this view. Some of the northern islands are within sight of the mainland, and it is possible that tribes from northern Asia made their way across the nar

It is next to impossible for an alien to judge accurately the characteristics of a people. That a foreigner's interpretation of a nation's character, and of the moral influences that direct and mold its life, is apt to be imperfect and erroneous is now a recognized truth. An Englishman cannot understand a Frenchman, nor a Frenchman an Englishman. Even people so closely related as the English and Americans, with a common ancestry, common history and traditions, a common speech, common laws, and a

A study of the manners and customs of foreign peoples is both interesting and profitable. If we have no knowledge of the customs of other nations we are apt to think that our own customs have their ground in eternal reason, and that all customs differing from ours are necessarily false and wrong. But if we study the manners of other lands, and learn of the daily observance of customs many of which are squarely opposed to our own, and which nevertheless work well, we will be led to value our own

The question is often asked, Are the Japanese a civilized people? The answer will entirely depend upon our definition of civilization. If civilization consists in a highly organized commercial and industrial life, in the construction and use of huge, towering piles of manufactories and commercial houses, such as are seen in New York and Chicago, in amassing enormous capital, controlling the trade of the country by monopolies, and doing the work of the world by machinery that moves with the preci

Japanese morality has been much written about by men of the West, and many dogmatic judgments have been pronounced upon it. At one extreme, we have been told that "they are the most immoral people on the face of the earth"; at the other, we are told that in morality "they have nothing to learn from the people of Christendom." There is about as much—or rather as little—truth in the one statement as in the other. The fact is that it is necessary to have an experimental acquaintance with Japan befo

The Japanese are by nature a religious people. In the earliest times a conglomerate mass of superstitions and mythological ideas was made to do service as a religion. Fetishism, phallicism, animism, and tree- and serpent-worship were very common. The line of distinction between the Creator and the creature was not clearly marked; gods and men mingled and intermingled, and were hardly known apart. But it is not our purpose here to trace the ancient religious ideas of Japan, but rather to give a s

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,

Roman Church The Roman Church was not discouraged by the fierce persecutions she was called upon to endure during the seventeenth century. Nothing daunted, she continued to send missionaries at intervals during the eighteenth century; but they were thrown into prison or executed as soon as they landed. In order to be in readiness for the opening of the country, which could not be much longer delayed, the pope, in 1846, nominated a bishop and several missionaries to Japan. These men took up their

During Japan's period of seclusion, when no foreigner dared enter the country upon pain of death, many godly people were praying that God would open the doors, and some mission boards were watching and waiting for an opportunity to send the gospel to the Japanese. When, in the year 1854, treaties were made with Western powers, and it became known that Japan was to be reopened to foreign intercourse, great interest was at once manifested by the friends of missions in the evangelization of this la

For mission work, as for every other calling in life, some men are naturally adapted, others are not. Those by nature fitted for the work will in all probability have a reasonable degree of success, while no amount of zeal or spiritual fervor can make successful those not so fitted. It is true to a large extent that missionaries are born, not made. How important it becomes, then, that mission boards and societies should carefully consider the qualifications of all applicants before they are sent

It is our purpose in this chapter to show the churches at home something of the life which their missionaries lead in Japan. We will attempt to draw aside the veil and look at their private life—the holy of holies. This is a delicate task, and I hesitate to undertake it. And yet I think a knowledge of the trials, perils, discouragements, temptations, hopes, and fears of the missionary may be very profitable to those who support our missions. Missionaries are men of like appetites, passions, hope

Missionaries attempt in various ways to evangelize the nations to which they are sent. The extent and variety of the work which the missionary is called upon to perform are much greater than the people at home are apt to think. He must be at the same time a preacher, a teacher, a translator, a financier, a judge, an author, an editor, an architect, a musician. The great variety of the work necessitates a well-rounded man. All of these offices are, in an indirect sense, ways of doing mission work

Many of the hindrances that oppose the progress of Christianity in Japan have already been indirectly suggested in other portions of this book. But that they may be more clearly apprehended by the friends of missions at home, and that the effect of their militating influence may be fully felt, we will endeavor in this chapter to arrange them in order and show just how they oppose our work. For the sake of clearness and logical order we will consider the subject under two divisions: 1. Hindrances

In the broad sphere of labor which the missionary must fill he daily meets most difficult problems, whose solution requires the exercise of consummate judgment, skill, and patience. Although these problems are not given a prominent place in mission reports, and are not therefore very well known at home, they loom up mountain-high before every missionary. They have a practical importance in the field surpassed by none other. Men differ so widely in regard to their solution that they not infrequen

It is exceedingly difficult to form a reliable conjecture concerning the future state of Christianity in Japan. In this land the unexpected always happens. It has been called a land of surprises. Instability, vacillation, and change are its characteristics. What is in favor to-day may be out to-morrow; what is out of favor to-day may be in to-morrow. The signs of the times may clearly indicate a certain trend of events for the next year, but ere that year has come all may change and the happenin