Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 1.djvu/209

THE HEIAN EPOCH at sixty those of sixty. Recovery from serious illness being generally attributed to the mercy of Buddha, men began to receive the tonsure as an evidence of gratitude, and many did so from a mere altruistic conception, namely, that if a person entered the priesthood, the future salvation of nine families related to him would be secured.

All these things refuse to be reconciled with the theory that the religious sentiment is deficient among the Japanese. They have proved themselves as accessible to supernatural influences as any nation known to history.

Undoubtedly Buddhism contributed immensely to the nation's moral and material progress. But its teachings had an unwholesome effect in the Heian epoch. The character of the Japanese underwent very marked modification during the first sixteen centuries of their history. At the time of their arrival as invaders they were hardy, fierce people, fond of fighting and ready to reduce to slavery every one that they overcame by force of arms. But by degrees the comparatively genial climate of their new home, its soft scenery, the introduction of Chinese civilisation with its endless codes of ceremony and etiquette, and the spread of a literature which occupied itself chiefly with tender sentiments and scenic charms, produced enervating effects. The rude warriors were transformed, first into votaries of pleasure, then into hysterical profligates, and finally into blasé pessimists. Buddhism greatly assisted the growth of 183