has shown in the past so great a capacity
for living up to its ideals?

One more direct effect of Christian teaching upon Japanese society is
the great quickening of philanthropic and benevolent effort. Scattered
throughout the country are benevolent or educational societies,
orphanages, hospitals, free kindergartens, reform schools, and other
evidences of a desire on the part of the more fortunate to help the
unfortunate by some means or other; and if you study into the history of
any of these efforts, you will usually find that some Japanese
Christian, or some man who has come home impressed with the
philanthropies of Christian countries, has started the scheme, and has
created a society, and a public opinion behind the society, which
carries on the work. Even in the government institutions there is no
difficulty in tracing the influence of Christians and Christianity. The
Red Cross Society, with its seven thousand members, and its hospitals in
every prefecture of the empire, bears the sign of Christendom upon all
its property and employees. It seems to me quite safe to say that but
for the Christian influences of the past forty years, there would be
very little altruistic work done in Japan to-day; but by means of the
Christians and their teachings, the latest and best thought of the world
is working its way out in practical service for humanity in Japan, and
this service is ascribed by enlightened Buddhist and Shint[=o] believers
alike to the spirit of Christianity, which will not let the fortunate
rest while their less fortunate brothers are in want or sin.

No one who studies the religious question in Japan at all can fail to
notice the extraordinary revivifying of Buddhism for what it feels to be
a life and death struggle with an alien faith. The disestablishment of
the Buddhist church by the government at the time of the restoration
must be credited with its share of the awakening process; for the
priests, finding their own support and that of the temples dependent
upon the voluntary contributions of worshipers, were forced to bestir
themselves as they had not done since the old missionary days, when they
were working for a foothold in the country. But without the competition
of Christianity, it is extremely doubtful whether their efforts would
have been turned so largely along educational and philanthropic lines,
whether the standard of intelligence among the priesthood would have
been so quickly raised, wheth