The Human Race Part 26

"I will not stop to describe another part of the pageant, intended doubtless to complete and enhance the effect of the rest, namely the banners embroidered with the armorial bearings of all the ancient n.o.ble families of the empire. Perhaps they were intended to remind the Tac.o.o.n, that, in the eyes of the old territorial n.o.bility, he was nothing but a _parvenu_; if so, the _parvenu_ could smile complacently at the thought, that the whole of the j.a.panese grandees, the great as well as the lesser damios, are, nevertheless, obliged to pa.s.s six months of the year, at his Court in Yeddo, and offer him their homage in the midst of the n.o.bles of his own creation.

"The most numerous and the most picturesque ranks of the procession were those of the representatives of all the sects who recognise the spiritual supremacy of the Mikado. The dignitaries of the ancient creed of the Kamis are scarcely distinguishable, as to dress, from the high officials of the palace. I have already described their costume, it reminds the spectators that the j.a.panese possessed originally a religion without a priesthood. Buddhism, on the contrary, which came from China, and rapidly spread throughout the empire, has an immense variety of sects, rites, orders, and brotherhoods. The bonzes and the monks belonging to this faith composed in the procession endless ranks of devout-looking individuals, with the tonsure or with entirely shaven heads, some of them uncovered, and some wearing curiously shaped caps, mitres, and hats with wide brims. Some of them carried a crozier in their right hand, others a rosary, others again, a fly-brush, a sea-sh.e.l.l, or a holy water sprinkler made of paper. They were dressed in ca.s.socks, surplices, and cloaks of every shape and hue.

"Behind them came the household of the Mikado. The pontifical body-guard in their full dress, aim beyond everything at elegance. Leaving breast-plates and coats of mail to the men-at-arms of the Tac.o.o.n, they wear a little lacquer-work cap, ornamented on both sides with rosettes, and a rich silk tunic trimmed with lace edgings. The width of their trousers conceals their feet. They are equipped with a large curved sabre, a bow, and a quiver full of arrows.

"Some of the mounted ones had a long riding-whip fastened to their wrist by a coa.r.s.e silken cord.

"A great deal of brutality is too often hidden beneath this imposing exterior. The wildness and the dissipation of the young n.o.bles of the j.a.panese pontifical court have supplied history with pages recalling the worst period of papal Rome, the days of Caesar Borgia. Conrad Kramer, the envoy of the Dutch West Indian islands to the court of Kioto, was allowed to be present in 1626 at a festival held in honour of a visit of the temporal emperor to his spiritual sovereign. He relates that the following day, corpses of women, young girls, and children, who had fallen victims to nocturnal outrages, were found in the streets of the capital. A still larger number of married women and maidens, whom curiosity had attracted to Kioto, were lost by their husbands and parents in the turmoil of the crowded streets, and were only found a week or a fortnight later, their families being utterly unable to bring their abducers to justice.

"Polygamy being a legal inst.i.tution for the Mikado only, it was perhaps natural for him to make some display of his prerogative. It costs him sufficiently dear. It is the abyss hidden with flowers that the first usurpers of the imperial power dug for the feet of the successors of Zinmou. It is easy to imagine the cynical smile on the lips of the Tac.o.o.n as he saw the long row of the equipages of the Dari making its appearance.

"A pair of black buffaloes, driven by pages in white smocks, were harnessed to each of these c.u.mbrous vehicles which were made of precious woods and glistened with coats of varnish of different tints. They contained the empress and the twelve other legitimate wives of the Mikado seated behind doors of open latticework. His favourite concubines, and the fifty ladies of honour of the empress followed close behind, in covered palanquins.

"When the Mikado himself leaves his residence, it is always in his pontifical litter. This litter, fastened on long shafts, and borne by fifty porters in white liveries, can be seen from a long distance off towering above the crowd. It is constructed in the shape of a _mikosis_, the kind of shrine in which the holy relics of the Kamis are exposed. It may be compared to a garden summer-house, with a cupola roof with bells hanging all round its base. On the top of the cupola there is a ball, and on top of the ball there is a kind of c.o.c.k couchant on its spurs, with its wings extended and its tail spread: this is meant as a representation of the mythological bird known in China and j.a.pan under the name of Foo.

"This portable summer-house, glistening all over with gold, is so very hermetically closed that it is difficult to believe that any body could be put inside it. A proof, however, that it is really used for the high purpose attributed to it, is that on each side of it are seen walking the women who are the domestic attendants of the Mikado. They alone have the privilege of surrounding his person. To the rest of his court as well as to his people, the Mikado remains an invisible, dumb, and inapproachable divinity. He kept up this character even in the interview with the Tac.o.o.n.

"Amongst the group of buildings that const.i.tute the right of Kioto to be styled the pontifical residence, there is one that might be called the Temple of Audience, for it is constructed in the sacred style of architecture peculiar to the religious edifices of the faith of the Kamis, and it bears like them the name of Mia. Adjoining the apartments inhabited by the Mikado, it stands at the bottom of a large court paved and planted with trees, in which are marshalled the escorts of honour on high and solemn festivals.

"A detachment of officers of the artillery and of the body-guards of the Tac.o.o.n (fig. 143), and several groups of dignitaries of the Mikado's suite drew up successively in this open s.p.a.ce.

"The women had retired to their own apartments.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 143.--THE TAc.o.o.n'S GUARDS.]

"Deputations of bonzes and different monastic orders occupied the corridors along the surrounding walls. Soldiers of the Tac.o.o.nal garrison of Kioto, posted at intervals, kept the line of the avenue which led to the broad steps reaching up to the front of the building.

Up this avenue the courtiers of the Mikado, clad in mantles with long trains, pa.s.sed with measured tread, majestically ascended the steps, and placed themselves right and left on the verandah with their faces turned towards the still closed doors of the great throne room. Before taking up their position they took care to lift the trains of their mantles and throw them over the bal.u.s.trade of the verandah, so as to display to the crowd the coats of arms which were embroidered on these portions of their garments. The whole verandah was soon curtained with this brilliant kind of tapestry.

"Presently the sound of flutes, of sea-sh.e.l.ls and of the gongs of the pontifical chapel, proceeding from the left wing of the building, announced that the Mikado was entering the sanctuary. A deep silence fell upon the crowd. An hour pa.s.sed away in solemn expectation, whilst the preliminaries of the reception were being performed. Suddenly a flourish of trumpets announced the arrival of the Tac.o.o.n. He advanced up the avenue on foot and without any escort; his prime minister, the commanders in chief of the army and navy, and a few members of the council of the Court of Yeddo, walked at a respectful distance behind him. He stopped for a moment at the foot of the great staircase, and immediately the doors of the temple slowly opened, gliding from right to left in their grooves. He then ascended the steps, and the spectacle which had held in suspense the expectation of the mult.i.tude at last unveiled itself to their eyes.

"A large green awning of cane-bark fastened to the ceiling of the hall, hung within two or three feet of the floor. Through this narrow s.p.a.ce, could be perceived a couch of mats and carpets, on which the broad folds of an ample white robe spread themselves out. This was all that could be seen of the spectacle of the Mikado on his throne.

"The c.h.i.n.ks in the plaits of the cane awning allowed him to see everything without being seen. Wherever he directed his gaze, he perceived nothing but heads bent before his invisible majesty. One alone remained erect on the summit of the stairs of the temple, but it was one crowned with the lofty golden coronet, the royal symbol of the temporal head of the empire. And even he too, the powerful sovereign whose might is boundless, when he had reached the last step, bent his head, and sinking slowly, fell on his knees, stretched his arms forward towards the threshold of the throne-room, and bowed his forehead to the very ground.

"From that moment, the ceremony of the interview was accomplished, the aim of the solemnity was gained. The Tac.o.o.n had openly prostrated himself at the feet of the Mikado.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 144.--A LADY OF THE COURT.]

"The interview at Kioto, had for its result two facts. By the first, the bending of the knee, the temporal sovereign showed that he continued to be the traditional obedient son of the high pontiff of the national religion; but, by the second, that is to say by accepting this act of homage, the theocratic emperor formally recognised the representative of a dynasty sprung from a source alien to the only legitimate one."

As the art of war is of some importance in j.a.pan, we quote a few details from M. Humbert, on the equipments and the uniforms of the Tac.o.o.n's soldiers.

"The common soldiers are," M. Humbert tells us, "inhabitants of the mountains of Akoui. They return to their homes after a short service of two or three years. Their uniform is made of blue cotton stuff, striped with white across the shoulders, and consists of a tight-fitting pair of trousers, and a shirt like that worn by the followers of Garibaldi. They wear cotton socks, leather sandals, and a waist-belt supporting a large sword in a j.a.panned scabbard. Their cartridge-pouch and their bayonet are slung to their right side by a baldric. Their get-up is completed by a pointed hat, sloping at the sides, and made of lacquered cardboard; but they only wear it when on guard or at drill.

"As for the muskets of the j.a.panese troops, they have all, it is true, percussion-locks, but they vary both in calibre and in make, according to where they happen to come from. I saw four different kinds in the racks of some barracks at Benten, which a Yakounine did me the favour to show me. He showed me first a Dutch sample musket, and then one of an inferior quality manufactured in some workshops that had been started in Yeddo to turn out arms copied from this sample; he then pointed out an American gun; and finally, a Minie rifle, the use of which a young officer was teaching a squad of soldiers in the barrack-yard."

The dress of the j.a.panese soldiery is curious in this respect, that it reproduces and preserves the whole military paraphernalia of European feudal times. A helmet, a coat-of-mail, a halberd, and a two-handed sword, such are the equipment of the better cla.s.s of soldiery.

Fencing is held in high esteem in the j.a.panese army. The men are very clever at this exercise, which keeps up their vigour and their skill.

Even the women practise it. Their weapon is a lance with a bent piece of iron at the end of it. The ladies learn how to use it in a series of regular positions and att.i.tudes. The j.a.panese Amazons can also skilfully make use of a kind of knife, fastened to the wrist with a long silken string. When they have hurled this weapon at the head of their enemy, they draw it back again by means of the cord. The men also hurl the knife, but without fastening it to their wrist, and in the same way as they practise throwing the knife in Spain.

The j.a.panese n.o.bles carry very costly weapons. The temper of their sword-blades is matchless, and their sword-hilts and scabbards are enriched with finely chased and engraved metal ornaments. But the chief value of their swords lies in their great age and reputation. In old families, every sword has a history and tradition of its own, whose brilliancy corresponds with the blood it has shed. A maiden sword must not remain so in the hand of its purchaser. Till an opportunity turns up of dyeing it with human blood, its possessor tries its prowess on living animals, or better still, on the corpses of executed criminals. The executioner, having obtained permission, hands him over two or three dead bodies. Our j.a.panese then proceeds to fasten them to crosses, or on trestles, in a courtyard of his house, and practises cutting, slashing, and thrusting, till he has acquired enough strength and skill to cut a couple of bodies in two at one stroke.

The sword, in j.a.pan, is the cla.s.sical, the national weapon.

Nevertheless, in process of time, it will have to give way to the new improved firearms. In spite of the traditional prestige with which the j.a.panese n.o.bility still endeavour to surround the former old-fashioned weapon; in spite of the contempt they affect for military innovations; the rifle, the democratic arm of arms, is becoming more and more used in j.a.pan. This weapon will inaugurate a social revolution that will put an end to the feudal system. The rifle will cause an Eastern '89 in j.a.pan.

We have said that two creeds are followed in j.a.pan, the Buddhist faith and the religion of the Kamis. The latter, with its ancient rites, has been replaced, however, nearly throughout the empire by the former.

We quote some of M. Humbert's remarks on Buddhism.

"Our imagination can hardly conceive," says this traveller, "that nearly a third of the human race has no religious belief but that of Buddhism, a creed without a G.o.d, a faith of negation, an invention of despair.

"One would wish to persuade oneself that the mult.i.tudes who follow its doctrines, do not understand the faith they profess, or at least refuse to admit its natural consequences. The idolatrous practices engrafted on the book of its law seem in fact to bear witness that Buddhism has neither been able to satisfy or destroy the religious instinct innate in man, and germinating in the bosoms of all nations.

"On the other hand, it is impossible not to recognize the influence of the philosophy of final annihilation in many of the habits and customs of j.a.panese life. The Irowa teaches the school children that life disappears like a dream, and leaves no trace behind. A j.a.panese, arrived at man's estate, sacrifices with the most disdainful indifference his own life or that of his neighbour, to appease his pride, or for some trifling cause of anger. Murders and suicides are of such every-day occurrence in j.a.pan, that there are few families of gentle birth who do not make it a point of honour to boast at least one sword that has been dyed in blood.

"Buddhism is, however, superior in some respects to the creeds it has dethroned. It owes this relative superiority to the justice of its fundamental axiom, which is an avowal of a need for a redeeming principle, grounded on the double fact of the existence of evil in the nature of man, and of an universal state of misery and suffering in the world.

"The promises of the religion of the Kamis had all reference to this life. A strict observance of the rules of purification would preserve the faithful from the five great ills, which are the fire of heaven, sickness, poverty, exile, and early death. The aim of their religious festivals was the glorification of the heroes of the empire. But were patriotism idealized and exalted into a national creed, it would still be true that this natural feeling, so precious and so appropriate, could never suffice to satisfy the soul and answer its every craving. The human soul is more boundless than the world. It needs a belief to raise it beyond the earth. Buddhism to a certain extent met these aspirations which had been hitherto neglected. This circ.u.mstance alone will explain the success with which it is propagated, in j.a.pan and elsewhere, by the mere force of persuasion. At all events we may well believe that it is not its abstract and philosophical form that has made it so popular, and nothing is a better proof of this than its present state.

"The bonzes Sinran, Nitziten, and twenty or thirty others, have made themselves a reputation as founders of sects, each of which is distinguished by some peculiarity worthy of rivalling the ingenious invention of Foudasi.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 145.--A KAMIS TEMPLE, j.a.pAN.]

"Thus one particular brotherhood has a monopoly of the patronage of the great family rosary. It must be explained that a Buddhist rosary can only exercise its power if its beads are properly enumerated. Now in a numerous family there is no guarantee against errors being committed in the use of the rosary; whence the inefficiency it is sometimes accused of. Instead of indulging in recrimination, however, the plan pursued is to send for a bonze of the Order of the Great Rosary to set matters right again.

"This good man hastens up with his instrument, which is about as big as a good-sized boa-constrictor, and places it in the hands of the family kneeling in a circle, whilst he himself, standing in front of the shrine of the domestic idol, directs operations with a bell and a small hammer.

At a given signal, father, mother, and children, intone with the whole force of their lungs the prayers agreed upon. The small and the large beads of the rosary and the strokes of the hammer fall with a cadenced rhythm that inspires them. The rosary ring grows excited, their cries become pa.s.sionate, their arms and hands work like machinery, the perspiration streams down them, and their bodies get stiff with fatigue.

At last the close of the ceremony leaves everybody breathless, exhausted, but radiant with happiness, for the interceding G.o.ds must be satisfied!

"Buddhism is a flexible conciliating, insinuating religion, which accommodates itself to the bent and the habits of the most different races. From the very first, the bonzes in j.a.pan managed to get themselves entrusted with some of the shrines and small chapels of the Kamis, in order to protect them in the enclosures of their sanctuaries.

They hastened to add to their ceremonies symbols borrowed from the ancient national faith; and in short, for the purpose of better fusing the two creeds, they introduced into their temples, Kamis deities invested with the t.i.tles and attributes of Hindoo divinities, and at the same time, Hindoo G.o.ds transformed into j.a.panese Kamis. There was nothing inadmissible in these exchanges, which were explained in the most natural manner by the dogma of transmigration. Thanks to this combination of the two creeds, which received the name of Rioobou-Sintoo, Buddhism has become the prevalent religion of j.a.pan.

"... . Within their temples the bonzes officiate at the altar, in the sight of the people, beyond the sanctuary which a veil separates from the crowd. The latter are only directly addressed by them in preaching, and only on the special festivals consecrated to this practice.

"They are only allowed to go in procession at certain periods of the year, and then only in the presence of the government officials who superintend public pageants.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 146.--j.a.pANESE PAG.o.dA.]

"The pastoral portions of their duty have been cut down to such narrow limits, that I can only find one word to apply to the duties that remain. They are simply the duties of a mute. In fact, the bonzes perform the sacramental ceremonies that the j.a.panese of all sects are accustomed to see accompany the last moments of the dying. They arrange the funeral procession, and provide, according to the wishes of the relatives of the deceased, for the burial or for the burning of his remains, and for the consecration and protection of his tomb."

THE INDO-CHINESE FAMILY.

The people of Indo-China, whom we consider to belong to the Yellow Race, have a darker complexion than the Chinese and the j.a.panese. Their stature is smaller, and their civilization is less developed. They are generally of an indolent disposition.

To this group belong the Burmans, the Annamites and the Siamese.