Japan: An Attempt at Interpretation | Page 4

named Black, born in
Japan, whose proficiency [11] in the language is proved by the fact that
he is able to earn a fair income as a professional storyteller (hanashika).
But this is an extraordinary case .... As for the literary language, I need
only observe that to make acquaintance with it requires very much
more than a knowledge of several thousand Chinese characters. It is
safe to say that no Occidental can undertake to render at sight any
literary text laid before him--indeed the number of native scholars able
to do so is very small;--and although the learning displayed in this
direction by various Europeans may justly compel our admiration, the
work of none could have been given to the world without Japanese
help.
But as the outward strangeness of Japan proves to be full of beauty, so
the inward strangeness appears to have its charm,--an ethical charm
reflected in the common life of the people. The attractive aspects of that
life do not indeed imply, to the ordinary observer, a psychological

differentiation measurable by scores of centuries: only a scientific mind,
like that of Mr. Percival Lowell, immediately perceives the problem
presented. The less gifted stranger, if naturally sympathetic, is merely
pleased and puzzled, and tries to explain, by his own experience of
happy life on the other side of the world, the social conditions that
charm him. Let us suppose that he has the good fortune of being able to
[12] live for six months or a year in some old-fashioned town of the
interior. From the beginning of this sojourn he call scarcely fail to be
impressed by the apparent kindliness and joyousness of the existence
about him. In the relations of the people to each other, as well as in all
their relations to himself, he will find a constant amenity, a tact, a
good-nature such as he will elsewhere have met with only in the
friendship of exclusive circles. Everybody greets everybody with happy
looks and pleasant words; faces are always smiling; the commonest
incidents of everyday life are transfigured by a courtesy at once so
artless and so faultless that it appears to spring directly from the heart,
without any teaching. Under all circumstances a certain outward
cheerfulness never falls: no matter what troubles may come,--storm or
fire, flood or earthquake,--the laughter of greeting voices, the bright
smile and graceful bow, the kindly inquiry and the wish to please,
continue to make existence beautiful. Religion brings no gloom into
this sunshine: before the Buddhas and the gods folk smile as they pray;
the temple-courts are playgrounds for the children; and within the
enclosure of the great public shrines--which are places of festivity
rather than of solemnity--dancing-platforms are erected. Family
existence would seem to be everywhere characterized by gentleness:
there is no visible quarrelling, no loud harshness, no tears and
reproaches. Cruelty, even [13] to animals, appears to be unknown: one
sees farmers, coming to town, trudging patiently beside their horses or
oxen, aiding their dumb companions to bear the burden, and using no
whips or goads. Drivers or pullers of carts will turn out of their way,
under the most provoking circumstances, rather than overrun a lazy dog
or a stupid chicken .... For no inconsiderable time one may live in the
midst of appearances like these, and perceive nothing to spoil the
pleasure of the experience.
Of course the conditions of which I speak are now passing away; but

they are still to be found in the remoter districts. I have lived in districts
where no case of theft had occurred for hundreds of years,--where the
newly-built prisons of Meiji remained empty and useless,--where the
people left their doors unfastened by night as well as by day. These
facts are familiar to every Japanese. In such a district, you might
recognize that the kindness shown to you, as a stranger, is the
consequence of official command; but how explain the goodness of the
people to each other? When you discover no harshness, no rudeness, no
dishonesty, no breaking of laws, and learn that this social condition has
been the same for centuries, you are tempted to believe that you have
entered into the domain of a morally superior humanity. All this soft
urbanity, impeccable honesty, ingenuous kindliness of speech and act,
you might naturally interpret [14] as conduct directed by perfect
goodness of heart. And the simplicity that delights you is no simplicity
of barbarism. Here every one has been taught; every one knows how to
write and speak beautifully, how to compose poetry, how to behave
politely; there is everywhere cleanliness and good taste; interiors are
bright and pure; the daily use of the hot bath is universal. How refuse to
be charmed by a civilization in which every relation appears to be