THE PATRIOTISM OF JAPAN.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2057, 18 April 1907, Page 4

THE PATRIOTISM OF JAPAN.

Patriotism, if the word is used in the Western sense, is totally inadequate to cover all that it implies to a Japanese mind (says Air Archibald 15. Culquhoun, writing in the Monthly Review). Taken iii the Japanese sense, it may well be regarded as a religion, since it possesses the essentials of any true religion—tho recognition of supremo power- controlling the afla.irs of man, the practice of certain rites of praver and praise, and conformity with rules of life. Patriotism means loyalty not in any limited sense, but to the family (dead and living), to the elan or community, and to tho State as the largerfamily. It covers a range of obligations which constitute an unwritten but binding, code of morals. It involves acquiescence in the ethical code of the “way,” without which no patriot can hope to bo a

worthy son of his country. At the same timo it carries with it that sense of moral responsibility, not only for himself, but for the State of which he is a unit, which is such an extraordinary inspiration to the patriot, and inspires him to such heights of self-sacrifice. The lives spent in the. practice of patriotism do not always lie in the more showy paths of personal bravery. They are to be seen in the classroom, in the factory, in the Government office, in every department of modern life and work where the modern Japanese is striving, without hope of personal reward, pecuniary or otherwise, to urge forward the development of his country. The genuine nature of this inspira-tion,-the lofty character of its ideal, cannot be denied; but the whole fabric rests on a foundation of semimythical belief and antiquated social customs, which will now have to stand the shock of contact and rivalry with the forces of democracy. Japan has deliberately adopted a course which commits her to competition with Western nations and without doubt competition is a cruel master. The ethical basis of Japaniese life must bo shaken by it, and the conditions it imposes destroy for ever the ancient civilisation founded on mutual responsibility and forbearance. The extremes of poverty and wealth and the other disquieting and inevitable accompaniments of advanced industrialism are already making their appearance. The most dangerous disintegrating factor, however, will be the doctrine of individualism, and it remains to bo seen whether the peculiar form of patriotism hi Japan, which makes it synonymous with religion, can be adjusted to make it fit in with this essentially Western and highly infectious doctrine.