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* JAPAN. 132 JAPAN. giiage, English (then Frpnch or German), agriful- ture, goograpliy, history, nialhematics, natural history, jjliysics, chemistry, etc. In the higher grade the course covers two years of Latin, zo- ology, hotany. geology, mine»alogy, dynamics, surveying. j)hilosoj)hy, etc. (4) The university crowns the whole. Besides these there are normal schools and special schools. Instruction is not gratuitous, and the local school boards, which are elected by the people, have to provide for those too poor to pay. The school age is from six to fourteen. In 1898 the number of children of school age was 7,700,424. In 1899 the public -and private primary schools numbered 26,097, with 88.0(i0 teachers, and 4,.302,023 pupils in at tendance (2,072.372 boys, and 1,630,2.51 girls), or an average of 48.53 "to every teacher. These ligures do not iiuludo For- mosa, whore there is a special educational sys- tem. In that year public school iiroperly was valued at $2.5,o'(i0.90. including land, buildings, books, instruments, etc. In 1899 there were 190 middle schools, with 3083 instructors, and 08,88") pupils; 40 normal schools, with 830 instructors. and 12,820 students: 275 special and technical schools, with 1970 teachers, and 34.909 students; 30 superior schools for girls, with 430 tcacliers. and S474 pupils; 2li80 miscellaneous schools, with 57.33 teacliers. and 109,209 pui)ils (.30 of which with 1441 jnipils were in Hokkaido, and 1523 with 35,835 pupils were in Formosa ). There are 42 schools of law, medicine, political economy, literature, and science, with 782 pro- fessors (some of whom are foreigners), and 11,- C27 students; 120 schools of arts, manufactures, agriculture, commerce, etc., with 1033 professors (some foreign) and 15,772 students. The pre- paratory s.:-hools number 107. have 202 teachers, and 7324 pupils. Lastly, there are six schools for deaf mutes. One hundred students were also maintained abroad. The 38 libraries had 484,225 Chinese and .Japanese books, and 63,332 in Euro- pean languages. The total expenditure was $13,- 1'52.581. The Imperial University at Tokio was founded in 1809 by the consolidation of two schools — the Kai-sei-gakko and the Shoheiko, which had come into existence in the Shogun's time, and later other colleges were added. In 1900 it had 15 foreign and 211 Japanese pro- fessors and instructors, and 2880 students. The University of Kioto was ojjened in 1899 with one foreign and 69 native professors, and 300 stu- dents. It has a University Hall and four col- leges. In the same year the number of books published was 21.235," of which 4453 related to law and .administrative organization; 12.37 to agriculture; 1058 religion; 118 painting; diction- aries. 77; history, 20; and geography, 474; and 464,458,141 copies of 978 periodicals were issued. Reliciox. It is customary to speak of the Iwo religions of .Japan — Shinto and Buddhism (qq.v.) — but to these may now be added Chris- tianity, for the old prohibitions have been re- moved, and under the new Constitution of 1889 absolute freedom of speech and freedom of re- ligious opinion and belief are guaranteed. The first-mentioned of the three. Shinto, 'the way of the gods.' 'is a purely native cult. It has no creed, no doctrinal system, no moral code, no priests, and no images in its 191.962 temples and shrines, though it has nearlv 14,000 gods. before whom, or some of whom, certain offerings are nuide from time to time; to whom certain prayers are addressed on such occasions, and before whom certain ceremonious dances are per- formed in a very punctilious and decorous way. It appears to be a mild kind of ancestor and hero worship which has come down from jirimitive times. The chief deity is .Vnu>terasi, the 'sun- goddess,' from whom the mikados are descended. It exerts no particular iritluence for good on the l)eopl<>, though it docs tlicm no harm. From the nintli I'cntury onward it became nuich tinged and <orruptcd with Buddhism, indeed was practically,- absorbed by it, Kobo Daishi (q.v.) having appar- ently convinced everybody that the Shinto gods were merely manifestations or transmigrations of Buddhist deities. It is stated that 12 sects of Shinto now e.xist. Buddhism entered Japan by way of Korea in 552 along with the arts, sciences, and letters of China. Its gilded images and its gorgeous tem- I)les and ritual appealed to the .Japanese mind, and the new religion became popular. It gained both the favor and the patronage of the Imperial Court, and in 621 it was by edict proclaimed to be the established religion. Priests went to China, or were sent there by the Government to study, and these <m their return brouglit with them new scriptures, new sects, and ni'w iilcas which soon began to blossom out intu other new sects in .Japan. Kobo Daishi in 816 founded the Shingon (q.v.) or the sect with tlie form of 'true words;' the Zen or 'contemplative' sect was introduced in 1202; the .)odo or 'pure-land' sect (see T.s'ing-tu and Sukiiavati) in 1211; the .Shin-shiu or 'new sect,' an offshoot of the jire- ceding, in 1262; the Nichireii in 1282; and many others. Now there are 70 sects an<l sul)- sects, all based on or developments of the Ma- hayana or 'Northern Sch(M)l' of Buddhism in which Sakyannini, the historical Buddha, has little or no place. The most im])ortant of these as far as inlluencing the ])eople is concerned are the Jodo. which finds Nirvana too hard to attain to. and provides instead a 'Paradise in the West,' presided over by Aniida lUiddha, where the faithful may enjoy a blissful existence through untold ages, and whence, if they have to be re- born, it will be easy to reach the Nirvana state. The Shin-shiu, an offshoot from Jodo, has been called the 'Protestantism of .lapan.' It teaches that salvation may be obtained merely by faith in the mercy of Amida — the chief of the Buddhas — and his ability to save, without works of any kind. No change of heart or conduct is neces- sary .ind nothing is required beyond loving one another, keeping orderly, and observing the haws of the Government. Its priests may marry, and they are free to cat both flesh and fish. This, is the most powerful of the .lapanese sects; its temples are large and magnificent, arc found in the most crowded parts of the cities, and are thronged day and night with silent worshipers. In 1899 its temples numbered 19.213. Buddhism was disestablished in 1871, and disendowed in 1874, and there is now no State lelinjion. The great majority of the people arc Buddhists, but there are no organized bodies of church mem- bers as there are in Christendom. Among the upper classes agnosticism prevails. If Shinto can be called a religion, then Chris- tianity comes third. All its churches are enrolled by the Government, and are protected by law. In