ows
beyond doubt how large a part of a nation's character is due to the
system of thought that for one reason or another prevails, rather than
to the essential race character.

The other term mentioned above, "mei," literally means "command" or
"decree"; but while the English terms definitely imply a real being
who decides, decrees, and commands, the term "mei" is indeterminate on
this point. It is frequently joined to the word "Ten," or Heaven;
"Ten-mei," Heaven's decree, seeming to imply a personality in the
background of the thought. Yet, as I have already pointed out, it is
only implied; in actual usage it means the fate decreed by Heaven;
that is, fated fate, or absolute fate. The Chinese and the Japanese
alike failed to inquire minutely as to the implication of the deepest
conceptions of their philosophy. But "mei" is commonly used entirely
unconnected with "Ten," and in this case its best translation into
English is probably "fate." In this sense it is often used. Unlike
Buddhism, however, Confucianism provided no way of escape from "mei"
except moral conduct. One of its important points of superiority was
its freedom from appeal to magic in any form, and its reliance on
sincerity of heart and correctness of conduct.

Few foreigners have failed to comment on the universal use by the
Japanese of the phrase "Shikataga nai," "it can't be helped." The
ready resignation to "fate," as they deem it, even in little things
about the home and in the daily life, is astonishing to Occidentals.
Where we hold ourselves and each other to sharp personal
responsibility, the sense of subjection to fate often leads them to
condone mistakes with the phrase "Shikataga nai."

But this characteristic is not peculiar to Japan. China and India are
likewise marked by it. During the famines in India, it was frequently
remarked how the Hindus would settle down to starve in their huts in
submission to fate, where Westerners would have been doing something
by force, fighting even the decrees of heaven, if needful. But it is
important to note that this characteristic in Japan is undergoing
rapid change. The spirit of absolute submission, so characteristic of
the common people of Old Japan, is passing away and self-assertion is
taking its place. Education and developing intelligence are driving
out the fear of fate. Had our estimate of the Japanese race character
been based wholly on the history of Old Japan, it might have been easy
to conc