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Hakuseki reported to his Government that it was impossible to witness without emotion Sidotti’s firm adherence to his own faith, and he-also spoke with warm appreciation of his kindly disposition and scientific know- ledge. ‘“ But,” said he, “ when this man begins to speak of religion his talk is shallow and scarce a word is intel- ligible. All of a sudden folly takes the place of wisdom. It is like listening to the talk of two different men.” The ‘ folly” which Hakuseki had more particularly in view was an outline of Bible history and Christian doctrine which Sidotti had dictated to him in the fulness of his heart. In its Japanese form it is a dry and soulless husk, which affords some excuse for Hakuseki’s obtuse- ness to its spiritual import. It should be a warning to missionaries not to attempt the teaching of religion until they have something more than a tyro’s command of the language. As Hakuseki’s attitude towards Christianity is essentially that of educated Japanese at the present day, I may quote some of his observations. “The foreign word ‘Deus,’ which the Western man used in his discourse, is equivalent to ‘Creator,’ and means simply a Being who first made heaven and earth and the ten thousand things. He argued that the universe did not come into existence of itself. ‘It must,’ he said, ‘have had a maker,’ But if this were so, then who made HAKUSEKI 258 Deus? How could he be born while there was yet no heaven or earth? And if Deus could come into existence of himself, why should not heaven and earth do so like- wise ? Again, there is the doctrine, that before the world existed, there was a heavenly paradise made for good men. I cannot understand how men could have any knowledge of good and evil while there was yet no heaven and earth. It is unnecessary to discuss all his notions about the beginning of the world and of mankind, of para- dise and of hell, as they are all derived from Buddhism. “What will be thought of the idea that Deus, pitying the heinous criminals who had broken the heavenly com- mands, and who of themselves could not give satisfaction, was three thousand years after, for their sakes, born as Jesus, and in their stead redeemed their guilt? This sounds very childish. At the present time, the judge who is charged with the infliction of punishment may yet take a merciful view of the circumstances and grant pardon or mitigation. And in the case even of the heavenly commands, what was there to prevent Deus from par- doning an offence against them, or mitigating the punish- ment, more especially as he himself was the author of the prohibition which was broken.” Hakuseki discusses Noah’s flood in the same spirit. The Ten Commandments, he thinks, were borrowed mainly from Buddhism, as well as the miraculous occur- rences connected with the birth of Christ, and His styling Himself “Deus.” The rite of baptism he refers to the same source. The result of Hakuseki’s examination was a report, in which he pointed out that the Shogun’s Government had three courses open to them: first, to send Sidotti back to his own country ; second, to retain him in imprison- 256 JAPANESE LITERATURE ment; and third, to put him to death as prescribed by law. He gave his own voice strongly in favour of the first course, but the second was the one actually adopted. Sidotti died in prison not long after. : On the death of his patron in 1713, Hakuseki wished to retire from public life. Butit was pointed out to him that his help was required to carry out certain measures already contemplated by the late Shogun. He therefore consented, from public motives, to continue his counsels. Iyenobu was succeeded by his son lIyetsugu, then four years of age. A momentous question now arose which convulsed official circles in Yedo for some time. Was a child of such tender years bound to wear mourning for his father or not? Hayashi Shuntai, the hereditary official representative of Chinese learning at the Shégun’s court, declared for the negative. But he was no match for Hakuseki, who maintained the affirmative proposi- tion, and fairly crushed his opponent under a weight of learning and argument which seems to us rather dis- proportionate to the occasion. In his autobiography Hakuseki tells the story of Shuntai’s discomfiture with great triumph. At Iyetsugu’s death in 1716, the reins of power passed into other hands. Hakuseki was no longer consulted, and spent the remainder of his days as a recluse among his dearly loved books. He died in 1725 in his sixty- ninth year. His life shows that in Japan at this time a career was open for talent. He owed little to any one but himself. It was sheer worth, force of intel- lect, and a self-reliant, uncompromising character which 1 The prineipal part of the Se’yo Kibun, from which the above particulars are taken, has been translated by the Rev. W. B. Wright, in the 7ransactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, August 1881. KIUSO 257 raised him to the unique position of influence which he held. His works, inclusive of state papers and reports to his Government, number over three hundred. In addition to those already mentioned, there may be named Yezo- dan Hikki (in MS.), which treats of the productions of Yezo, the Yezo language, and the Aino revolt of 1669; Nantoshi, a geographical work on Loochoo; Ketzat Tenket, or ‘‘ Principles of Finance”; Kwahet Ko, a work on the currency; Gunkt Kod, on arms; Kzshin Ron, a book on the nature of the gods; Gwakd Benran, a work on painting ; Ketsugoku Ké, on knotty points of criminal law ; Dobun Tsiko, on the various forms of script used in Japan; Skhuko Dzusetsu, an antiquarian work; 7éga, a dictionary of Japanese words in twenty books; and Sairan Igen, an expansion of the historical and geo- graphical part of the Sezyo Kibun. Muro KIuso was born at Yanaka, in the province of Musashi (not far from Yedo), in 1658. He was dis- tinguished from his earliest years by a love of learning. When only thirteen he was taken into the service of the Daimio of Kaga, who was so much struck by his pre- cocious talent that he sent him to Kidto to study under the famous Kinoshita Junan. In 1711, on the recommendation of his friend and fellow-pupil Hakuseki, Kiuso received a Government appointment in Yedo as Professor of Chinese. In 1713 he took up his residence in a house at Surugadai, a lofty platform which overlooks Yedo from the north, near the spot where a Christian church now stands, conspicuous to the whole city. Here he spent the remainder of his days, When Hakuseki retired from public life, Kiusd to some 258 JAPANESE LITERATURE extent took his place as adviser to the Shdgunate. The ~ Shogun Yoshimune (1716-1751) esteemed him highly and consulted him continually. Kiusd died in 1734 in his seventy-seventh year. Kiusd is best remembered by his Shundat Zatsuwa (1729),! a work of his old age. The title means “ Mis- cellaneous Talk on Surugadai.” It consists of notes taken of the discourses which he delivered in answer to “ those who believed in the Old Man and came to him with questions,” and covers a wide variety of subjects. It con- tains unsparing denunciations of Buddhism, superstition, and heresy from the faith as it is in Chu-Hi; pantheistic philosophy, metaphysics, politics, lectures on the arts of war and poetry, literary criticisms, and so on. Kaiuso propounds to the world no original ideas on these subjects. His philosophy is simply that of Chu-Hi1 in a Japanese garb. But in him, as in Hakuseki, the inner spirit and temper of mind which it fostered in Japan is seen at its best. Some Christian ideals are wanting. Forgiveness of one’s enemies is not to be found there, nor is a chivalrous consideration for the weak and for women very conspicuous. Buta noble enthusiasm for lofty ideals and high achievements with a scorn of mean- ness and duplicity pervades all the utterances of this Socrates of Surugadai. Loyalty to friends, devotion to duty, and a high-souled contempt for cowardice, dis- honesty, and self-seeking, are their unfailing character- istics. Kiusd, like the other seventeenth and eighteenth century expounders of Chinese philosophy, had a 1 Partly translated by Dr. Knox in the Transactions of the Asiatic Soctety of Japan, 1892. But a more complete and accurate translation is desir- able. KIUSO 259 supreme contempt for Buddhism. The Kangakusha’s ideal of life was essentially different. To the Buddhist the spiritual life is all-important. For its sake men should wean themselves from the things of this world, sever all family ties, and retire to hermitages or mon- asteries, there to spend pure and holy lives in pious meditation and religious observances. The Chinese philosophy, on the contrary, is eminently practical. It may be summed up in one word—duty. The various relations of human life being ordained by Heaven, it is man’s business not to evade the obligations thus imposed on him, as the Buddhists would have him do, but to fulfil them faithfully at all costs. Japan owes aprofound debt of gratitude to the Kanga- kusha of this time. For their day and country they were emphatically the salt of the earth, and their writings must have helped materially to counteract the pernicious in- fluence of a very different class of literature which now began to deluge the country, the pornographic writings of Jisho and his school. Kiusd’'s style is unequal to his matter. He is frequently obscure, and is somewhat too fond of learned allusions to Chinese history and literature. -In both respects he contrasts with his predecessor Yekken, and even with Hakuseki, though the latter could be erudite enough upon occasion.