Japan. Various

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СКАЧАТЬ elapsed. During the first thirty-two years of that period, Buddhism failed to obtain a footing in Japan, but from 584 it gradually extended throughout the empire, until in 627 there were in Japan 46 temples, 816 priests, and 569 nuns.

      Let us now observe some features of the life of the nation and the profound influence wrought upon it by the introduction of the continental civilization and of Buddhism. It is not too much to say that, at least around the seat of the central government, the arts and sciences of China and the creed of Buddha greatly changed the simplicity of Japanese life and imparted to it a character of refinement and pomp hitherto unknown. Chinese literature not only taught Japan the art of writing and composition, but also brought with it an advanced ethical sense of fidelity, piety, benevolence, and justice. The Emperor Ōjin's son, who was the first Japanese student of Chinese literature, had acquired such an accurate knowledge of the rules of composition and calligraphy that when a memorial was presented to the throne by Korean ambassadors, he detected the presence of disrespectful ideograms and rebuked the envoys. His attainments won for him the favor of his father, who nominated him heir in preference to his elder brother; nevertheless, on the death of the emperor, this prince resigned his claim in behalf of his brother. For such self-denial his scholarship had prepared him. So, too, the erudite Emperor Nintoku dwelt for the space of three years in a dilapidated palace, in order that his people might have relief from taxation during a famine, and know the sense of love and duty his learning had taught him. The prosperity of the nation, he said, was his own prosperity, their poverty his poverty.

      The doctrine of Confucius inculcated reverence toward Heaven, respect for ancestors, loyalty to the sovereign, love of the people, and discharge of the duties of filial piety. On the other hand, Buddhism proved an ennobling influence upon the mind of the nation. Hitherto the people naïvely attributed every happy or unhappy event, every fortunate or unfortunate incident, to the will of the gods, whom they appeased by offerings and sacrifices that evil might be averted. The gods looked and acted like men. Highest among them stood the celestial and terrestrial gods; lowest were certain wild animals and venomous snakes, which also were propitiated by worship. Gods were near men, and some of the latter were conceived as scions of the former. This primitive notion of a deity was not materially affected by the introduction of the Confucian philosophy, the tenets of which offered no contradiction to the ancient idea. Buddhism, on the contrary, told of a past and of a future; announced the doctrine that virtue would be rewarded and vice punished in a future state; and taught that the Buddha was the supreme being and that whosoever had faith in him should receive unlimited blessings at his hands. No longer were the deities the only objects of fear and reverence, for now a being of supreme wisdom and power loomed upon the mental horizon of the people. Even the sovereign himself was seen worshiping Buddha, whose servant he was pleased to regard himself. Prejudices at court against the Hindu doctrine were dispelled by the growing light shed by the deeper knowledge of Buddhism, while the golden images of Buddha and the imposing structures enshrining them, as well as the gorgeous paraphernalia of the temples and the solemnity of the rites performed therein, allured the common folk into the faith. At the same time, the people's reverence for the ancient gods of the nation remained unshaken, so that Shintōism, Confucianism, and Buddhism existed side by side, supplying the defects of one another and answering different moral needs of the race.

      Along with learning and religion, various arts of civilized life were profusely supplied from Korea to vivify the general progress of the nation. Among the most important was the production and manufacture of silk, which was largely studied by the people and encouraged by the Emperor Yūryaku. Many Chinese artisans of the fallen dynasties migrated through Korea to Japan, where they were naturalized and transmitted their knowledge of the western arts and sciences. In architecture, also, with the coming of Buddhism a need arose for lofty and large edifices, the erection of which must have greatly changed the appearance of the capital. The art of pottery made a great advance, as did the blacksmith's craft of forging swords and other articles of iron. Nor were medicine and the calendar neglected, while the new art of carving and decorating as well as drawing the image of Buddha, gave a powerful impetus to painting and sculpture. The collective influence of all these and other new changes upon the life of the people, nearer the center of the government at least, must have been very great. With the development of the art of weaving, apparel was improved by the addition of silk garments; as agriculture progressed, rice and other cereals furnished agreeable aliment; the influence of Buddhism gradually produced a distaste for animal food. The introduction of the science of architecture soon effected a marked change in the dimensions and decoration of dwelling-houses. Transmission of intelligence was facilitated by the imported art of writing, the moral, intellectual, and political thinking of the ruling classes began to take a more or less definite shape from the coming of the Chinese classics, while Buddhism spread over the nation a charm which was at once captivating and ennobling. A new era of history had begun.

      We shall now turn our attention to the remarkable political evolution which followed and was in fact to a large extent occasioned by the introduction of Buddhism. In the earliest days of the empire, administrative posts were transmitted by heredity from generation to generation. It thus resulted that family names were derived from official titles, as, for example, the official title for persons performing religious rites was Nakatomi or Imbe, which titles became family names of holders of that office. Similarly Ōtomo and Mononobe were family names of officials having control of troops or direction of military affairs. Among commoners, also, there were many who performed certain kinds of work for the government, the art of which they bequeathed to their children by heredity. Each occupation of this description was organized into a guild, and each guild was under the control of a headman who belonged to some influential family. Not only were public offices and private guilds similarly organized by the principle of heredity, but also there was no rigid line drawn between the public property and the personal possession of a nobleman. The higher one's position among the aristocracy, the more exalted was his office and the more plenteous his treasury. Under these circumstances, it is not strange that the administration of the state gradually fell under the control of the heads of a few powerful clans. Originally, during the reign of the first emperor, the Nakatomi and Imbe families discharged religious functions, and the Ōtomo, Kume, and Mononobe families performed military duties. The influence of these families was then about equal. But subsequent events resulted in the decline of the Kume, while the Ōtomo were in the main intrusted with the control of Korean affairs. Domestic administration remained chiefly in the hands of the Mononobe and the new family of Soga, descendants of Takenouchi, the tactful minister of the Empress Jingō. The Mononobe stood at the head of all the noble families bearing the honorary title of Muraji, and the Soga, of those likewise designated as Omi. It was inevitable that the mutual jealousy of the two leading houses should bring them to a clash of interests, while the introduction of Buddhism had the effect of greatly accentuating their hostility. It will be remembered that the Mononobe family adhered steadily to conservative principles and opposed the spread of Buddhism, which the Soga, on the contrary, zealously upheld. So long, however, as both families bowed implicitly to the imperial commands, their dispute did not attain serious proportions. But when, in the reign of Yōmei, not only was the empress dowager a daughter of the Soga family, but also the emperor himself inclined to the worship of Buddha, the final struggle between the two families could no longer be deferred.

      On the death of the emperor, Mononobe Moriya sought to secure the succession for a brother of the deceased sovereign, as against another prince, son of the empress dowager. His plot was discovered, and he was defeated and killed. The Mononobe being thus overthrown, the supremacy rested with Umako, the head of the Soga, and the throne was occupied by his own prince. But the prince could not long bear the arbitrary conduct of Umako, who then caused him to be assassinated. The empress dowager, a daughter of the Soga, despite the presence of direct successors in the male line, ascended the throne under the title of the Empress Suiko. This was the first instance of the scepter being held by a female. On the death of Umako, his son, Emishi, succeeded him, and wielded even larger influence than his father. Emishi crushed an opposition offered by his own uncle, and placed in succession to the empress a prince of his choice, and under the latter's rule as Emperor Shōmei, Emishi behaved as he pleased. After Shōmei's death, his consort ascended the throne under the name of Kōkyoku. Emishi's son, Iruka, who СКАЧАТЬ