English
Take again their pedantic and wearisome Zazkhz [the Great Limit], 17u Kz [the Limitless], Yz and Yang [ Positive and Negative Principles of Nature], Ch’zen and K’un [Celestial and Terrestrial Principles], Pa&wa | Eight Dia- grams of the Book of Changes], and Wu-hing [Five Elements], which are pure inventions of the Chinese, and for which there is in reality no sound reason. What consummate folly it is for those who would interpret our sacred books to rely implicitly on principles of this kind. In recent times even those who try to divest themselves of Chinese prejudices in their interpretations fail to understand the falseness of their doctrines of the Principle of Ten, and of the Positive and Negative Powers of Nature, and do not succeed in bursting the barrier because they do not put thoroughly away from them their Chinese notions, nor resolutely rouse themselves from their deluding dreams. Moreover, the refusal of some to identify Ama-terasu no Ohomi Kami [the Sun Goddess] as the Sun of Heaven is owing to their being 332 JAPANESE LITERATURE steeped in Chinese narrow-minded reasonings, and so become blind to the wondrous and profound principle of the true way.” Towards Buddhism his antagonism is less pronounced. He acknowledges elements of good in it, and for Laotze he confesses to a certain measure of sympathy, prompted no doubt by the circumstance that the doctrines of this philosopher are irreconcilable with the teachings of the Sung schoolmen. On the question of the immortality of the soul he formally declines to give an opinion. Motoéri’s religion is frankly anthropomorphic, as in- deed it could hardly fail to be if he attached any credence to thestatements in the Kazkz. He says in so many words that the Shinto deities had hands and legs. When pressed with the obvious inconsistencies which are involved in this belief, Motoori has nothing better to say than they are “a proof of the authenticity of the record, for who would have gone out of his way to invent a story so ridiculous and improbable, if it were not true. [ Credo quia imposstbile.| The acts of the gods are not to be explained by ordinary principles. Man’s intelligence is limited, and there are many things which tran- scend it.” Not the least of Motoori’s achievements was his creation of a new literary dialect. It is true that his style was more or less modelled on that of his teacher Mabuchi. But the latter was content to use the pure Japanese language, or Wabun, as it is called, just as he found it. Stiff and antiquated, it was by no means an apt instru- ment for the expression of modern ideas. In Motodri’s hands it became flexible, picturesque, and expressive. All foreign students have felt the charm of his lucid and flowing style. But it is marred by one terrible fault, MOTOORI He air prolixity. This is partly inseparable from Motoori’s purism, which leads him to reject many useful and thoroughly naturalised Chinese words in favour of Japanese forms of expression, however circuitous, and is partly owing to an inveterate habit which he has of repeating himself, especially when an opportunity offers of denouncing Chinese proclivities or of magnifying the merits of Shinto. Motoéri’s Wabun has had many imitators, and it has exercised a perceptible influence on some departments of the more recent Japanese literature. CHAPTER Vil NINETEENTH CENTURY HIRATA—KANGAKUSHA—SHINGAKU SERMONS— BUDDHIST LITERATURE THE eminent theologian HIRATA ATSUTANE ! (1776-1843) was born in Kubota, a town of the remote province of Dewa. His parents belonged to the Samurai class, and he traced his genealogy on the father’s side through the Mikado Kwammu, up to the Sun Goddess herself. In his youth he followed the usual course of instruc- tion in the Chinese classics, and had also made fair progress in the study of medicine, when, at the age of nineteen, he suddenly made up his mind to run away from home. He left a paper behind in which he informed his parents of this resolution, and set out for Yedo with one rio in his pocket. On arriving in the capital he applied for help neither to the officials of his province nor to private friends, but sought an upright and virtuous teacher under whose guidance he might devote himself to learning. For four or five years he lived from hand to mouth, having sometimes to resort to manual labour for a livelihood. In 1800 he was adopted by a Samurai of the Matsuyama Daimiate, 1 For a full account of Hirata and his theology, I would again refer the reader to Sir E. Satow’s ‘‘ Revival of Pure Shinto,” in the 7ransactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, 1875. 334 HIRATA "435 and his position thus became assured. “The following year he first became acquainted with Motoéri’s writings. This led him to give himself up entirely to the study of Japanese antiquity. His first published work, a criticism of a treatise by the famous Kangakusha, Dazai Shuntai, was written two years later. In 1804 he began to take pupils, and from this time forward not a year passed without some publication by him. He also practised as a physician. In 1808 he was sent on a mission to instruct certain Shinto official guardians in the principles of the old faith, and acquitted himself with credit of this duty. In 1811 he retired to Suruga, where he composed the Setbun, which was the most important work he had yet written. In 1822 the Abbot of Uyeno (an Imperial prince) asked for a copy of his works, and sent him a handsome present in return. This led subsequently to his visiting Kidto, and having his work brought to the notice of the Mikado and his court. Some of his later writings gave offence to the Shogun’s Government, and in 1841 he was ordered to return to his native province and to publish nothing more. He at once started from Yedo and proceeded to Akita. The arrival of the dis- tinguished scholar caused no little excitement in that remote place. His contemporary relations were mostly dead, but he was welcomed by numerous nephews and other younger branches of the family. The social duties thus imposed upon him, together with the demands upon his skill as a physician, soon wore out his strength. He died two years later at the age of sixty-seven. That in view of their own interests the Shogun’s Government were perfectly right to put a stop to Hirata’s career is not to be doubted. The attention drawn by 336. JAPANESE LITERATURE his writings to the divine descent of the Mikados, and their unquestioned and unquestionable claim to be con- sidered the de jure sovereigns of Japan, was tending slowly but surely to sap the authority of the de facto rulers. It was, however, a little late in the day for them to interfere. Nothing could undo the work of nearly forty years of assiduous propagation of his views both through the press and by vzvd voce lectures to his hun- dreds of disciples... His published works amount to several hundred volumes. It is impossible to notice more than a very few of them here. The Kishin Shinron (1805), or “ New Treatise. on the Gods,” is a characteristic specimen of Hirata’s writings. He here combats the rationalistic theories of the Kanga- kusha by proving, or attempting to prove, that the ancient Chinese believed in a real God called Shangti or Tien,! who dwells in heaven, and guides the affairs of this world, but whom the Sung schoolmen endeavoured to explain away as a mere allegory, attributing all phenomena to the action of principles without life which they called Yin and Yang (Positive and Negative Principles of Nature), ‘“ But how,” argues Hirata, “can there .be action without life? Certainly the existence of activity presupposes a living God from whom it proceeds.” “In this connection,” Hirata goes on to say, “I will relate a story. Of late some people have introduced the learning of a country called Holland. It has found a good number of students here in Great Yedo. It may be true, as I am told, that the men of this country are fond of examining profoundly the principles of things. Among other inventions they have a machine called ‘electer,’ which they say is constructed by an application 1 In Japanese Zen, HIRATA 337 of the principles of thunder and lightning. I saw this - machine some years ago. [Here follows a description of the electric machine and its operation.] The friend who showed it to me said, ‘Thunder and lightning are caused truly by this same principle. Why, then, should we fear them? The reason why some people dread them so much is that they do not understand their prin- ciple. This is very foolish.’ ‘Verily,’ replied I, ‘this is an admirably constructed machine. Whether the actual thunder and lightning are really of the same nature is a matter on which I am unable to form an opinion. But supposing that to be the case, is not the production of lightning [the electric spark] by it dependent upon you and me and our friend, one holding one thing, another another, while the third turns a handle? Well, then, the same principle applies to the real thunder and lightning of the universe. It cannot be produced without the action of something corresponding to you and me. Moreover, this machine, made by the skill of man, is merely a small engine, entirely subject to our.control, and so there is no need to fear it. But the real thunder rages among the clouds, turning them to confusion, or, leaving them, comes down to earth and indiscriminately splits trees or grinds rocks to powder. It may be thought a thing of no feeling, yet there are frequent instances in history of evil things and wicked men having been destroyed Pyaite Mutatis mutandis, is not this precisely the position taken up by Paley in his well-known apologue of the watch ?