ingle utterance of certain magic prayers, were taught
to be quite enough for the salvation of the common man from the worst
of sins. Where release is so easily obtained, the estimate of the
heinousness of sin is correspondingly slight. How different was the
consciousness of sin and the conception of its nature developed by the
Jewish worship with its system of sin offerings! Life for life.
Whatever we may think of the efficacy of offering an animal as an
expiation for sin, it certainly contributed far more toward deepening
the sense of sin than the rites in common practice among the
Buddhists. So far as I know, human or animal sacrifice has never been
known in Japan.

In response to the not unlikely criticism that sacrifice is the result
of profound sense of sin and not its cause, I reply that it is both.
The profound sense is the experience of the few at the beginning; the
practice educates the multitudes and begets that feeling in the
nation.

Ceremonial purification is an old rite in Japan. In this connection we
naturally think of the "Chozu-bachi" which may be found before every
Shinto shrine, containing the "holy water" with which to rinse the
mouth and wash the hands. Pilgrims and worshipers invariably make use
of this water, wiping their hands on the towels provided for the
purpose by the faithful. To our eyes, few customs in Japan are more
conducive to the spread of impurity and infectious disease than this
rite of ceremonial purification. No better means could be devised for
the wide dissemination of the skin diseases which are so common. The
reformed religion of New Japan--whether Buddhist, Shinto, or
Christian--could do few better services for the people at large than
by entering on a crusade against this religious rite. It could and
should preach the doctrine that sin and defilement of the hearts are
not removed by such an easy method as the rite implies and the masses
believe. If retained as a symbol, the purification rite should at
least be reformed as a practice.

Whether the use of purificatory water is to be traced to the sense of
moral or spiritual sin is doubtful to my mind; in view of the general
nature of primitive Shinto. The interpretation given the system by
W.E. Griffis, in his volume on the "Religions of Japan," is
suggestive, but in view of all the facts does not seem conclusive.
"One of the most remarkable features of Shinto" he writes, "was the
emphasis laid on cleanliness. Pollution was