Japan

JAPAN. - Japan (from the Chinese Jih pèn, locally pronounced Nippon, or Nihon) consists of an archipelago of more than 400 islands, situated off the extreme eastern coasts of Asia and stretching from 30° (Togora Strait) to 46° N (La Pérouse Strait). These islands are arranged in an arc around the four largest: Hondo, or Honshū (223,520 sq. km., as much as Great Britain), Yezo, or Hokkaidō (77,993 sq. km., a little less than Ireland), Kyūshū (35,657 sq. km.) and Shikoku (17,756).

I. GEOGRAPHY

The territory has a markedly mountainous and volcanic character: the plains are few, and for the most part of modest size. More than three quarters of the country consist of short elevated belts of medium height. The highest peaks correspond to recent volcanoes (Fujiyama, 3776 m); of 165 of these, 60 are active, and their lava flows alone cover 1/5 of the surface of J. Seismic activity is intense (on average more than one earthquake a day), with sad frequency of catastrophes (also because of the concomitant action of seaquakes and eruptions). The coastal perimeter is more indented and provided with harbors than that of Greece. The meeting of the two sea currents of the Kura and the Oya shivo (the one warm, the other cold), off the eastern coast, makes the coastal regions extremely rich in fish. The climate is rather varied: at equal latitude, winters there are colder and summers hotter than in Europe, as a consequence of the monsoonal regime (cold continental winds in winter; warm maritime winds in summer). On the whole these are temperate or warm-humid subtropical climates, healthy. Rainfall is everywhere copious and distributed in all seasons, but the rivers, given the conditions of the relief, are short and of torrential character. The soil is covered with magnificent forests of conifers and broad-leaved trees (in the higher zones) in the N. and in the center, while in the S. a luxuriant subtropical vegetation develops, with woods of cedars and bamboo, and patches of evergreens.

The population of the archipelago, ethnically compact (the Japanese are Mongoloid, and therefore of short stature, with oblique eyes, straight black hair, scant beard and yellowish complexion, though somewhat different, physically and spiritually, from the Chinese and even more from the 17 thousand Ainu, of perhaps Europoid characteristics, who live in Yezo) has more than doubled in the last 80 years: from the 30 million of 1868, the era in which the country opened itself to European influence, it passed to 60 million in 1925, to 72 in 1940, to 83 in 1950. The average annual increase was 17% between 1937 and 1940; its pace has returned equally very strong after the war. The very high average density (220 inhabitants per sq. km.) reveals a strong demographic pressure, which an adequate migratory movement does not relieve (the Japanese living abroad were, in 1935, fewer than a million). 36% of the Japanese population lived in 1937 in urban centers, of which 4 with more than 1 million, 30 with more than 100 thousand and 54 with more than 50 thousand inhabitants.

The country's economy is centered on agriculture. Rice, which alone occupies half of the cultivated soil, is the basis of the local diet. Over the other crops (cereals, tobacco, sugar cane) those of soy and tea prevail. The scant importance of livestock raising finds compensation in sericulture, which has an enormous development throughout the country, and in fishing, to which belongs the world primacy in the quantity of the product (3-4 million tons annually) and which also feeds flourishing industries (canning, fertilizers, fish meals and oils). Great is the benefit drawn from the conspicuous forest resources (timber, camphor, celluloid, essences).

Despite the inadequate availability of raw materials of mineral origin (except for copper, and, to a much lesser extent, for some metals, but not for iron), J. had succeeded, before 1940, in creating for itself a formidable equipment no less for the variety and capacity of its branches (especially the textile, mechanical, chemical) than for the competitiveness of the products and the commercial organization intended to market them. On the other hand, large modern industry has not succeeded in stifling an equally active handicraft, brought into evidence by the exquisite artistic sense of a production respectful of the best traditional forms. The war has roughly halved the capacity of the industries, and closed many prospects for them: an efficient recovery will also depend on the possibility of balancing the increased deficit of the trade balance.

Internal communications, more than by the road network (8550 km.) and railway network (24,400 km.), are favored by easy maritime transport. The Japanese merchant fleet, which before the war was the third in the world, is now reduced to a second-rate position (1.5 million tons).

As a consequence of the defeat suffered in the Second World War, J. has lost its entire colonial empire, which in 1941 made it a State of 690 thousand sq. km. with 110 million inhabitants: Korea has become independent, the southern part of the island of Sakhalin and the Kurils have passed to the U.S.S.R., Formosa has returned to China, the oceanic mandated territories (Caroline, Mariana, Marshall) taken in trusteeship by the U.S.A., and the Ryū-Kyū still of uncertain destiny.

The data relating to the major islands are summarized in the following table:

On the basis of the new constitution (1947), the Japanese State is a hereditary constitutional monarchy. The democratic government rests on an elective bicameral representation. Pending the peace treaty with the victorious powers, the United States military occupation continues.

Giuseppe Caraci

II. CIVIL HISTORY

1. Beginnings

The first nucleus of the Japanese people was formed by successive immigrations of peoples coming from the Asian continent and from the islands of the South Seas. A group of tribes, identifiable on the basis of archaeological remains of the so-called yayoi type (Neolithic age), settled in the southern part of the island of Kyushu. The oldest literary sources, the Kojiki (712) and the Nihon-shoki (720), allude to a progressive expansion of these tribes along the coasts of the inland sea and assign to the 7th century B.C. the founding of the Empire at Yamato, by Jimmu Tenno, while historians move this date to the 1st century A.D. Literary and archaeological evidence attests that, from the earliest centuries of the Empire, relations with China and Korea were frequent. Chinese chronicles of the 3rd century designate the Japanese by the name of Wa. The merit of having created a first territorial unity of Japan is generally attributed to the empress Jingō, who would also have intensified relations with the continent. Chinese culture penetrated Japan especially in the 4th century, when its ideographic characters were officially adopted. Its assimilation, already long favored by the numerous immigrations of Chinese intellectuals and craftsmen, slowly but surely modified Japanese life, fostering there the rise of a philosophy that prepared the ground for the future spread of Buddhism. The society of the time, of a patriarchal type, was made up of family communities (uji) having the same origin and of groups of families practicing the same craft (be or tomo). Each community was governed by a hereditary chief, and its members inherited the social position of the community itself. During the Yamato period, political history was determined by the struggles of the great clans (Otomo, Mononobe, Soga) for the conquest of predominance. These struggles, begun in the 5th century, led, with the prevailing of certain families (6th century), to the ousting of the imperial dynasty. During the supremacy of the Soga (536-645) the introduction of Buddhism took place, championed by Prince Shōtoku.

2. Nara and Heian Era (710-1191)

The fall of the Soga led to the Taikwa reform (648), which set out to strengthen imperial authority and to create a political and social order on the model of that implemented in China by the T'ang. The reform entailed the creation of a capital (Nara), the appointment of governors in the eastern provinces, and the abolition of hereditary offices. The lands, declared property of the State, were given in usufruct to the peasants who, removed from the authority of the elders, became taxpayers of the State. In this period, since the government was engaged in the struggle against the tribes not controlled by the central authority (among them those of the Ainu, among the oldest inhabitants of Japan of Proto-Caucasian origin), relations with the continent weakened. This gave the Japanese the time to assimilate and, so to speak, to "Japanize" the imported elements of Chinese culture. In 794, the capital was transferred to Heian (Kyōto). The Fujiwara, who had contributed to the fall of the Soga, by intermarrying with the royal family consolidated their power (9th and 10th centuries) with the institution of the office of regent during the Emperor's minority, and retained this office until their fall, which occurred in the 12th century. Meanwhile the state land economy was overwhelmed by the progressive spread of large landed estates. The great landowners created militias to defend their properties, thus establishing the premises of a true feudal regime. The struggle against the Ainu continued while, against the power of the Fujiwara, the emperor Sirakawa rebelled, abdicating and taking refuge in a monastery (1081), from which he directed a political organization in opposition to the authority of Kyōto.

The military leaders of the Minamoto family consecrated the prestige of the samurai class by ousting the Fujiwara. Another warrior clan, that of the Taira, managed to impose itself so that one of its descendants was appointed prime minister (1167). The clash between the various rival groups led to the defeat of the Minamoto and to the predominance of the Taira, which lasted until 1185, after which the Minamoto reappeared on the scene. Yoritomo Minamoto received from the Emperor the title of shogun (generalissimo) and transferred his seat to Kamakura (1192), considering the influence of the great urban centers harmful.

3. Kamakura Era (1192-1337)

Yoritomo knew how to administer public affairs excellently, but after his death power passed to the Hōjō. The ousted military leaders attempted revolt, but the supremacy of the Hōjō lasted more than a century.

Buddhism had meanwhile spread among the people as well, and its most ascetic sect, called Zen, favored by the samurai class, constituted, with its mixture of Buddhist and Confucian moral principles, the foundation of Bushidō (the way of the warriors).

Two attempted invasions (of 1274 and 1281) by the Mongols were valiantly repelled and served to create a new sense of national solidarity. But the disagreements between the court and the Hōjō led to open conflict, which ended in 1333 with the defeat of the Hōjō.

4. Muromaci Era (1338-1602)

A short time later, the military leader Ashikaga Takauji, having rebelled, occupied the capital, settling in the Muromaci quarter, from which the era takes its name.

The war of the dynasties, caused by the simultaneous existence of two emperors, Go-Daigo at Yoshino and Kōmyo at Kyōto, the latter supported by Ashikaga, lasted until 1392 and ended with the abdication of the emperor of Yoshino in favor of the other. The peace was brief; new internal struggles (the Onin wars, 1467-77) marked the progressive decline of the shōgun and the affirmation of the feudal lords, ever at war among themselves. Nevertheless, in this troubled period (in which, among other things, raids by Japanese pirates [Wakō] organized by discontented samurai followed one another on the Chinese coasts) the arts and commerce, in which the feudal lords themselves were interested, began to flourish in the various local centers. In 1542, the introduction of firearms, by Portuguese sailors, marked a turning point in the art of war. In 1549, St. Francis Xavier brought the faith of Christ to Japan.

Among the feudal lords (daimyō), Nabunaga Oda, between 1560 and 1568, had occupied various provinces and the capital itself. His wise work of consolidating imperial authority and of administrative reorganization was interrupted by his death (1582) and was taken up again by Hideyoshi Toyotomi who, having succeeded in defeating the rebellious feudal lords, received from the emperor Goyōzei the title of Kwampaku (1588). Hideyoshi, by encouraging foreign trade, dreamed of founding an Asian empire comprising China, Korea, Formosa and the Philippines, under Japanese hegemony. The two expeditions against Ming China had no definitive results, since the death of Hideyoshi (1598) marked the abandonment of the enterprise.

5. Edo Era (1602-1867)

Ieyasu Tokugawa then obtained the title of Shōgun, established the capital at Edo (Tōkyō) and attended to the internal organization of the country by strengthening the central authority. Control over the dynasty and over the daimyō was exercised with such skill and energy that every revolt became impossible.

His successors initiated an isolationist policy which, under the pretext of preventing the spread of Christianity, aimed at crushing the political and economic activity of the feudal lords who had relations with foreigners. The expulsion of foreigners was therefore decreed, and the Japanese were forbidden to leave J. Peace was restored, but the discontent of the peasants, combined with the new authority of the bourgeoisie, undermined the prestige of the daimyō. In this period of forced calm, there was only one revolt, that of the Christians of Shimabara, drowned in blood (1637). Despite economic well-being and the flourishing of the arts, the prodromes of a political and social awakening were making themselves felt, while a vast ideological movement was taking shape, springing from historical studies and intended to restore the moral values of Confucianism and Shintoism.

6. Meiji Era (1868-1912)

The sending by the United States of a naval squadron under the orders of Commander Perry to force J. to re-establish relations with the West was the external cause of the fall of the feudal regime. Despite violent internal opposition, J. became a modern nation. In 1867, the Shōgun Keiki returned his powers to the Emperor Meiji and the capital was transferred to Tokyo. After various treaties with the Western powers, on 11 Feb. 1889 the Constitution was promulgated which brought the political order into line with that of the West, through the establishment of the two chambers and the adoption of the capitalist economic system. While commerce flourished again, J. reached, within a few years, the industrial and technical level of the West and entered the ranks of the great world powers, through a whole series of fortunate enterprises: with the war against China (1884) which broke out over the possession of Korea, with the victorious war against Russia (1904) which assured J. influence over Manchuria and Korea as well as possession of the southern part of Sakhalin, and with the annexation of Korea (1910). By virtue of the treaty stipulated with England (1902-21), J. took part in the First World War, obtaining from it, among other things, possession of the islands already belonging to Germany in the Pacific. But its growing influence in the Pacific and the efficiency of its navy sparked the first clashes with the Anglo-Saxon powers. There followed in succession the events determined by the expansionist policy of the militarists: intervention in Manchuria (1931), withdrawal from the League of Nations (1933), denunciation of the Washington Treaty (1934), the Anti-Comintern Pact with Germany and Italy, later transformed into a military alliance, the China campaign (1937), the occupation of Indochina (1940) and finally the attack on Pearl Harbor (1941) which saw J. at war alongside the Axis powers. Despite the resounding initial victories, Japanese industrial development was not equal to the enormous effort required. The destruction of the fleet decided the situation. While J. requested the good offices of Russia, to which it was bound by a treaty of friendship and neutrality (1941), the USSR declared war one week before the Japanese capitulation, which took place on 15 Aug. 1945. The new Constitution of 1946 proclaimed the definitive renunciation of war and of the armed forces.

Agostino M. Kanayama

III. EVANGELIZATION OF JAPAN

Christianity probably entered J. in the 8th century, through the work of the Nestorians. Bl. Odoric of Pordenone O.F.M. did not reach J., which was discovered only in 1543 by the Portuguese. The history of its missions begins with them and can be divided into two periods: the 16th and 17th centuries and the 19th century and following.

1. The missions in J. in the 16th and 17th centuries

Portuguese merchants and St. Francis Xavier converted Anjirō of Kagoshima, a friend of his and a servant of his. Baptized at Goa at Pentecost (20 May 1548) by the Franciscan bishop Giovanni de Albuquerque, they set out together with two other servants, with Xavier and with the Jesuits Fr. Cosme de Torres and Brother Giovanni Fernández, and on 15 Aug. 1549 they arrived at Kagoshima, received favorably by its prince, who later opposed Christianity. Xavier went, with two companions, to the island of Hirado, then to Yamaguchi. After two years he returned to Goa, leaving in J. 1,500 Christians, who by 1555 had risen to about 2,000. In 1561 there were eight Christian communities: Funai, Kutami, Hirado, Hakata, Kagoshima, Yamaguchi, Miyako and Sakai, cared for by six Jesuits. In 1563 that of western Kyūshū was added, its feudal lord Ōmura Sumitada (1532-87) having been converted, as well as that of the Shimabara peninsula; and, in 1566, the islands of Amakusa and Gotō. In 1571 there were in J. about 30,000 Christians. From 17 to 18,000 were converted at Ōmura in 1575; in 1583 there were over 30,000 at Nagasaki, and over 4,000 received Baptism at Shimabara together with the feudal lord Arima Harunobu. In 1587 they exceeded 60,000 in the region of Bungo, whose feudal lord had been baptized on 28 Aug. 1578. In 1587 the 205,000 Japanese Christians were cared for by 43 priests, assisted by another 73 clerics and brothers, 47 of whom were Japanese. But on 24 July of that year Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1535-98), until then favorable to the missionaries, issued an edict of proscription against the Jesuits, who had refused to place a ship at his disposal for his expedition against China. The persecution led to the crucifixion (5 Feb. 1597), at Nagasaki, of six Franciscans, three Jesuits and seventeen Japanese, who were canonized by Pius IX in 1862.

Alongside the Jesuits, from 1598 the Franciscans worked again (Fr. Girolamo De Castro founded the mission of Edo, now Tokyo, in 1599); from 1602 the Dominicans and the Augustinians: the former began their activity in the province of Satsuma, and the latter in that of Bungo. Nagasaki, through the work of the Jesuits, was entirely

Christian; the three mendicant Orders also built houses there and founded Christian communities in the northern provinces of Nambu, Oshu and Dewa. The blood of the martyrs truly bore fruit, and in 1613 J. counted over 300,000 Christians.

Around 1611 the Dutch and English Protestants whispered into the ears of Tokugawa Ieyasu, until then benevolent toward the missionaries, that these were preparing the ground for the Spaniards to conquer J., and the bonzes spoke to him of the threatening vengeance of the national gods if the Christian religion were not destroyed. Ieyasu indeed issued a decree of proscription and persecution (Miyako, 27 Jan. 1614): all missionaries were to be taken to Nagasaki, the churches demolished, the Christians forced to apostasy, and some of them, of noble condition, exiled. The attempts to revoke this edict came to nothing, and on 7 and 8 Nov. the ships sailed with their cargo of the proscribed. The few missionaries who remained hidden and the few who later returned clandestinely encouraged the Christians to persevere, and, together with them, attended to new conversions.

And there were martyrs throughout the whole 17th century. There were already some on 22 Nov. of that same 1614. Memorable was the "great martyrdom" of 10 Sept. 1622, in which nine priests, thirteen clerics and laymen belonging to various religious Orders, and thirty-four Christians were burned alive or beheaded at Nagasaki. On 4 Dec. 1623 at Shiba, near Edo, there was a hecatomb of those burned alive. Throughout the century there were martyrs, but because of the refinement of the torments, the prolongation of the persecution and the very small number of missionaries, not a few apostasies had to be lamented. Moreover, no bishop arrived in J. after the death of Lodovico Cerqueira (16 Feb. 1614). It was heroism for the Sicilian secular priest Giov. Batt. Sidotti to enter J. (1708). He was very soon captured and imprisoned in the prisons of Edo, where he died in 1715.

2. The missions of the 19th century and following

Thus J. closed itself almost hermetically within itself. Only a few Dutch and Chinese had a limited commercial relationship there. Christianity, according to the suspicions of the missionaries of China and Korea, must have been absolutely extinguished there. In 1844 Teodoro Augusto Forcade, of the Paris Foreign Missions, was able to land at Naha, in the Ryū-Kiū islands; but he could neither preach there nor penetrate further. The force of the American admiral Perry (1854) was needed to break J.'s hermetic isolation. The missionaries set foot there again in 1856. The death penalty against Christians was still in force there, of whom there was still a small group. It was discovered at Nagasaki (17 March 1865) by Fr. Bernardo Taddeo Petitjean, also of the Paris Foreign Missions. Over 25,000 Christians were also living in Kyūshū and the surrounding islands. In 1867 there were new martyrs. The missionaries continued their heroic work in silence. The manifestos against Christians were removed only in 1873. The persecutory laws were abrogated in 1876, after the remonstrances of the statesman Iwakura Tomoni (1825-

1880) who, traveling in America and Europe, had been ashamed to hear himself reproached that in J. they were still in force.

The modern era of the Church in J. begins in 1874. The exiled Christians returned, and, repentant, the apostates too, forming considerable nuclei for new foundations. Despite the uncertainty of the clauses of the Constitution of 11 Feb. 1889, which assured religious freedom, the Christian faith spread in a very promising manner, and Propaganda was able to erect in J. (22 May 1876) the two vicariates: of Tokyo for the eastern and northern provinces, and of Osaka for the others. Apostolic vicar at Osaka was Msgr. Petitjean and at Tokyo Pietro Maria Osouf, director of the Seminary of Paris. In 1878 missionary activity penetrated from the coasts into the territories of the interior. The movement toward Christianity, which manifested itself in 1889, decided Leo XIII (15 June 1891) to establish in J. the ecclesiastical hierarchy, erecting the archdiocese of Tokyo, with the suffragan dioceses of Nagasaki, Osaka and Hakodate.

To the missionaries of the Paris Foreign Missions were added (1895) the Spanish Dominicans coming from Formosa (following the cession of that island to J.), where they had already been working since 1859; and in 1904 they also entered Shikoku. The Franciscans arrived in Hokkaido in 1907 and the missionaries of the Society of the Divine Word on the island of Hondo; and in 1908 the Jesuits came to Tokyo to found a University there. The two world wars hindered, and almost brought to a halt in J., every activity of the aforementioned missionaries, and that of the Salesians who came in 1926 and of the Conventuals in 1930, and of the American missionaries of Maryknoll who came in 1935.

In J. there were, in 1884, 31,230 Catholics; 64,099 in 1910; and today about 127,000, who - worthy of note - receive Holy Communion, on average, 17 times a year, a guarantee of perseverance and a promise of further development.

Christianity, which in the 16th-17th centuries had found its greatest obstacles in the feudal lords and in Buddhism, from the 19th century onward still found them in Buddhism, but even more in Shintoism, especially after Shintoism, in 1870 and 1884, was declared the official religion of the State. The Catholic religion, despite everything, was highly esteemed in Japan for its morality of respect and obedience to the constituted authorities, and was held in even greater esteem after the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda Fide, with the Instruction of 26 May 1939, approved and recommended acts of civil homage to the emperor and to others. Official recognition of Catholicism by the State, on a par with Shintoism and Buddhism, came on 3 May 1941. Meanwhile, in the years 1940-41, indigenous bishops and ecclesiastical administrators had assumed the direction and administration of all ecclesiastical works (v. RITI GIAPPONESI).

On 6 Dec. 1919 an apostolic delegation was erected in Tokyo, and the Japanese government established a delegation to the Vatican, bringing to completion the diplomatic work of the popes Leo XIII and his successors. Nuns too have carried on their work in Japan since 1873 in orphanages, hospitals, and leprosariums, which are constantly multiplying and modernizing; and in schools of secondary education and of work. There are 28 female institutes, with 11,000 pupils, and 17 vocational schools, with 2,500 pupils entrusted to them and directed, by law, by indigenous religious personnel.

The Marianists opened a first school in Tokyo (1 Feb. 1888), today a secondary institute attended by more than 1,500 pupils, followed by their schools in Nagasaki (1892), Osaka (1898), and Yokohama (1901). The Society of the Divine Word opened a secondary school in Nagoya (1932); the Franciscans one in Sapporo (1934), and the Jesuits one in Hōbr (1938), who had already opened the "Sophia" University in Tokyo in 1913. The Salesians too have recently opened an industrial school in the vicinity of Tokyo.

The end of the Second World War marked for Japan a new era in its history. For the first time its soil was invaded by foreign troops, and many of its ancient traditions are undergoing a true transformation. Missionary activity can unfold in an atmosphere of greater understanding, all the more so since the entire ecclesiastical hierarchy is indigenous and foreign missionaries, who in recent years have increased considerably, exercise a ministry of collaboration.

The situation as of 30 July 1950 is indicated by the following table, in which it is stated that three apostolic prefectures and one apostolic vicariate are entrusted to foreign missionaries. Juridically this is true, but in practice they are governed by local apostolic administrators. The apostolic prefecture of Karafuto, on the island of Sakhalin, has been excluded, where, following the occupation of the territory by Russia, further missionary activity is not possible.

3. Protestant missions

Although the Dutch and English had had commercial relations with Japan since the beginning of the 17th century, Protestant missions began around the middle of the 19th century. After the attempts to penetrate from the Ryūkyū Islands (1844-55) proved vain, Protestantism entered there in 1859 with the missionaries of the American Episcopal Church G. John Liggins and C. M. Williams, later followed by missionaries of other sects. The first Protestant baptism in Japan occurred in 1864; however, other Japanese had become Protestants abroad. The first Protestant community, the "Church of Christ in Japan," was constituted in Yokohama on 10 March 1872, with only 9 members. The removal of the wall posters against Christians (1873) also favored Protestantism. It spread rapidly and in 1882 counted 4,367 adults, grown to 25,514 in 1888, thanks to the financial aid of American Protestants, which made possible an imposing activity of schools, press, and charitable works.

The great missionary Conferences (e.g., of Yokohama in 1872, of Osaka in 1883, of Tokyo in 1900) and the annual summer Congresses of Karuizawa addressed the various missionary problems, up to that of being able to unite all the various sects into a single "Christian Church in Japan," accomplished only in recent times on the basis of a formula of confession drawn up according to the Apostolic and Nicene

Creed and to the new articles of the "Evangelical Alliance." Although it was opposed by the nationalist spirit of Shintoism and Buddhism, which renewed the accusation that Christianity was undermining the State at its foundation, and by the hostility of the owners of brothels caused by the Protestants' struggle against the trafficking of girls, in 1900 the Protestants in Japan numbered 43,000, and of the 300 parliamentarians of the first Parliament, fully 13 declared themselves Christians. Protestants in 1925 numbered 177,683, and in 1940 over 220,000. The "Christian Church in Japan," because it was only an artificial union, had to leave individuals free choice with regard to the Faith, and disposing of spectacular financial means of propaganda (in 1940, 1,578,561 Christian books and 1,938,218 pamphlets and very numerous Bibles were distributed), it reached in Japan a number far greater than that of Catholics.

4. Russian Orthodox missions

Russian popes won a few Ainu families in the Kuriles over to the Orthodox Church; the real Russian Orthodox missionary activity, however, begins only in 1861 with Ivan Kasotkin, better known by the name Nicolai, who, as chaplain at the Russian consulate in Hakodate, while teaching Russian, carried on religious propaganda, and in 1868 was able to baptize the first three Japanese for his Church. The Holy Synod approved; but it did not want any collaboration from Russian missionary personnel. It granted Nicolai only financial means. Nicolai, in 1872, moved to Tokyo, where he was joined (1879) by the pope Anatolius, his successor at the embassy in Hakodate. In 1883 there were in Japan 8,863 Orthodox with 3 Russian popes, 11 Japanese ones, and 106 Japanese catechists. Nicolai, consecrated bishop, was appointed archbishop in 1906, and continued his work even during the war of 1904-1905, and brought the Japanese Orthodox (1917) to 36,265. Today they are barely 13,000, because nationalist religions suffer the fate of their governments. The Japanese Orthodox Church made itself entirely independent of the Russian one; and it counts many members distinguished for piety and fervor.

Doroteo Schilling

IV. THE JAPANESE MARTYRS

The Church of Japan has been one of the most illustrious for heroic examples of Christian and insuperable constancy.

In the first bloody persecution under the Taicosama Hideyoshi, 26 missionaries and Christians were condemned and crucified at Nagasaki on 5 February 1597.

They were: St. Peter Baptist, commissary O.F.M.; St. Francis of St. Michael, O.F.M.; St. Francis Blanco, O.F.M.; St. Gonzalo Garcia, O.F.M.; St. Philip Las Casas, O.F.M.; St. Martin of Aguirre, O.F.M.; St. John Soan de Goto, S.J.; St. Paul Miki, S.J.; St. James Kisai, S.J.; St. Paul Suzuki, St. Gabriel Duizco, St. John Quizuya, St. Thomas Idanqui, St. Francis Medico, St. Thomas Cosaqui, St. Joachim Saquiye, St. Bonaventure of Meaco, St. Leo Garassima, St. Matthias of Meaco, St. Anthony of Nagasaki, St. Louis Ibarchi, St. Paul Ibarchi, St. Michael Cosaqui, St. Peter Suquezico, St. Cosmas Taquia; St. Francis Fabelante, all Franciscan tertiaries. In 1627 they were beatified, in 1862 canonized.

In 1614 began the great persecution under the Daifusama (Shogun) Yeyasu and his successors Hidetada and Yemitsu, in which many missionaries and Christians suffered martyrdom. Despite the severity of the torments, many missionaries and Christians, nobles and plebeians, women, virgins and children suffered martyrdom. In 1867, 205 missionaries and Christians were beatified, who from 1617 to 1632 had been martyred. They were:

Peter of the Assumption, O.F.M.; John Baptist Machado, S.J.; Alfonso Navarrete, O.P.; Ferdinand of St. Joseph, O.E.S.A.; Leo Tanaca, catechist; Gaspar Fisoni, confrere of the Holy Rosary; Andrew Gioscinda, confrere of the Holy Rosary; John of St. Martha, O.F.M.; John of St. Dominic, O.P.; Leonard Chimura, S.J.; Andrew Tocuan; Cosmas Taquea; John Xoum; Dominic Giorgi; Bartholomew Xequi; Anthony Chimura; John Ivananga; Alexis Nacamura; Leo Nacanisci; Michael Tascita; Matthias Cozaca; Roman Matevoca; Matthias Nacano; John Mosaiana; Thomas Cotenda, of the blood of the kings of Firando: all enrolled in the Holy Rosary. Ambrose Fernandez, S.J.; Matthias of Arima, catechist; Simon Quiota, catechist; Magdalene, wife of the aforesaid; Thomas Guengoro; Mary, wife of the aforesaid; James, son of the aforesaid, enrolled in the Holy Rosary; Augustine Ota, S.J.; Louis Flores, O.P.; Peter de Zugnica, O.E.S.A.; Joachim Firaiana; Leo Suchelmon; John Fiamon; Michael Diaz; Mark Xineiemon; Thomas Coianagui; Anthony Giamanda; James Densci; Lawrence Rocuiemon; Paul Sanciqui; John Iago; Bartholomew Mofioie; John Nangata, enrolled in the Holy Rosary. Francis Morales, O.P.; Angelo Orsucci, O.P.; Alfonso de Mena, O.P.; Joseph of St. Hyacinth, O.P.; Hyacinth Orfanel, O.P.; Alexis, O.P.; Thomas of the Rosary, O.P.; Dominic of the Rosary, O.P.; Richard of St. Anne, O.F.M.; Peter of Avila, O.F.M.; Vincent of St. Joseph, O.F.M.; Charles Spinola, S.J.; Sebastian Chimura, S.J.; Gonzalo Fusai, S.J.; Anthony Chiuni, S.J.; Peter Sumpò, S.J.; Michael Xumpò, S.J.; John Ciongoni, S.J.; John Acafosci, S.J.; Louis Cavara, S.J.; Leo of Satzuma, Franciscan tertiary; Lucia de Freitas, Franciscan tertiary; Anthony Sanga, catechist; Magdalene, his wife; Anthony, catechist; Mary, his wife; John, twelve years old; Peter, three years old, their children; Paul Nangasci; Tecla, his wife; Peter, seven years old, their child; Paul Tanaca; Mary, his wife; Isabella Fernandez, wife of the martyr Dominic Giorgi; Ignatius, four years old, their child; Apollonia, widow, and aunt of the martyr Gaspar Cotenda; Dominic Xamada; Clare, his wife; Mary, wife of the martyr Andrew Tocuan; Agnes, wife of the martyr

Cosmas Taquea; Dominic Nacano, son of the martyr Matthias Nacano; Bartholomew Xichiemon; Damian Iamichi; Michael, five years old, his son; Thomas Xiquirò; Rufus Iscimola; Mary, wife of the martyr John Xoum; Clement Vom; Anthony, his son; Dominica Ongata; Catherine, widow; Mary Tanura, all enrolled in the Holy Rosary. Gaspar Cotenda, catechist; Francis, twelve years old, son of the martyr Cosmas Taquea; Peter, seven years old, son of the martyr Bartholomew Xichiemon; Thomas Zumarraga, O.P.; Mancius of St. Thomas, O.P.; Dominic, O.P.; Apollinaris Franco, O.F.M.; Francis of St. Bonaventure, O.F.M.; Peter of St. Clare, O.F.M.; Camillus Costanzo, S.J.; Louis Giaciqui; Lucia, his wife; Andrew, eight years old; Francis, four years old, their children. Peter Paul Navarro, S.J.; Dionysius Fugiacima, S.J.; Peter Onizuchi, S.J.; Clement, servant of Fr. Costanzo; Francis Galvez, O.F.M.; Jerome de Angelis, S.J.; Simon Jempo, S.J.; Diego Carvalhio, S.J.; Michael Carvalhio, S.J.; Peter Vasquez, O.P.; Ludovico Sotelo, O.F.M.; Ludovico Sosanda, O.F.M.; Ludovico Baba, O.F.M.; Caius of Korea, catechist; Francis Pacheco, S.J.; Balthasar de Torres, S.J.; John Baptist Zola, S.J.; Peter Rincesi, S.J.; Vincent Caum, S.J.; John Chinsaco, S.J.; Paul Scinsuche, S.J.; Michael Tozo, S.J.; Gaspar Sadamatsu, S.J.; Mancius Arachi; Matthias Arachi; Peter Arachi Colioia; Susanna, his wife; John Tanaca; Catherine, his wife; John Naisen; Monica, his wife; Louis, seven years old, their children, guests and servants of the Gesu Fathers; Ludovico Bertrando, O.P.; Mancius of the Holy Cross, O.P.; Peter of St. Mary, O.P.; Francis Curobioje; Caius Jemon; Magdalene Chiota; Frances, all Dominican tertiaries; Francis of St. Mary, O.F.M.; Bartholomew Laurel, O.F.M.; Anthony of St. Francis, O.F.M.; Gaspar Voz, Franciscan tertiary; Thomas Vo, Dominican tertiary; Francis Enfoie; Luke Chiemon; Michael Chiziemon; Ludovico Matzuo; Martin Gomez; Mary, all Franciscan tertiaries; Thomas Tzugi, S.J.; Louis Maqui; John, his son; Anthony of St. Bonaventure, O.F.M.; Dominic of Nagasaki, O.F.M.; Dominic Castellet, O.P.; Thomas of St. Hyacinth, O.P.; Anthony of St. Dominic, O.P.; John Tomachi, Dominic, sixteen years old, Michael thirteen years old, Thomas ten years old, Paul, seven years old, his children; John Imamura; Paul Aibara; Roman; Leo; James Palascida; Matthew Alvarez; Michael Jamada; Lawrence, his son; Ludovico Nisaci; Francis, five years old, Dominic, two years old, his children; Louisa, all servants and of the Third Order of St. Dominic. Michael Fimonio; Paul Fimonio; Dominic Xoboie, all three of the Third Order of St. Dominic. Michael Nacascima, S.J.; John Cocumbuco; Mancius; Michael Chinosci; Lawrence Scixo; Peter Cufioie; Thomas, all six of the Third Order of St. Augustine. Bartholomew Gutierrez, O.E.S.A.; Vincent Carvalhio, O.E.S.A.; Francis of Jesus, O.E.S.A.; Anthony Iscida, S.J.; Jerome de Torres, secular priest; Gabriel of the Magdalene, O.F.M.

Giovanni Rommerskirchen

V. LEGAL STATUS OF THE CHURCH

The last law before the Second World War that regulated the various Churches and religious organizations in Japan was that of April 8, 1939, no. 77 (Shukyo Dantai Ho): its purpose was to control any religious movement, assuring privileges and benefits (such as, for example, exemption from taxes) to those religious organizations that had applied for recognition and had therefore placed themselves within the framework of state organization and dependence. This law above all prohibited control by and dependence on bodies and persons not residing in Japan.

At the end of the war, this law was immediately repealed by the Allied Supreme Command, by virtue of the memorandum Removal of restrictions of political, civil, and religious liberties, sent to the Japanese government on October 4, 1945, and replaced by decree-law no. 719 of December 28, 1945, concerning the acquisition of juridical personality by religious bodies (Shukyo Hoojin Rei). By virtue of this decree-law, in order for a religious body to acquire juridical personality, it is required that it file a simple declaration with the Minister of Public

Education, while for individual Churches, convents and offices it is sufficient to file the declaration with the local prefecture: such a declaration is immediately registered, and by virtue of this the bodies, Churches and offices acquire juridical personality. There is therefore no need for any authorization, approval or concession on the part of the Japanese government; moreover, registration can never be refused, since there is no limit or prohibition on the propagation of doctrines, nor can any examination be made of the internal organization of religious bodies and offices. Hence full freedom of life and of the conduct of action and propaganda. Recognized persons are exempt from any tax, whether governmental, regional or municipal. There is no authority that controls such associations, and all religious bodies and offices thus established live their own life after registration has taken place; all are equal before the State, with complete freedom. Indeed, by the memorandum of the Allied Supreme Command of December 15, 1945 (Abolition of governmental sponsorship, support, perpetuation, control, and dissemination of State Shinto-Yokko Shinto-Jinja Shinto) all the privileges enjoyed by Shintoism were abolished, as well as all the ties that bound it in a privileged manner to the Japanese government. This freedom of action of religion was likewise sanctioned by the new Constitution (published on November 3, 1946, and entered into force on May 3, 1947), where in chapter 3 on "The rights and duties of citizens," article 19 provides: "Freedom of thought and conscience may not be violated," and in article 20: "Freedom of religion is guaranteed to all citizens. No religion may enjoy particular privileges granted by the State, nor engage in political activity. No citizen may be obliged to participate in religious acts, ceremonies or religious manifestations." The conduct of any religious manifestation is guaranteed by article 21, which states: "Freedoms of association, speech, press and any manifestation of ideas are guaranteed." Giulio Dante

VI. SCHOOL SYSTEM OF JAPAN

Japanese education passed through these periods: family education until 1864, Chinese-style school education until 1872, school education under American, English and German influence in the years 1872-90, and "Meiji" education from 1890 onward. In 1890 the Emperor Meiji indicated a path to be followed in the education of the Japanese people, which may be summarized in the following points: the first task of the school is to deepen the family sense, inasmuch as the family with its traditions is the basis of the unity of J.; the second task of the school is the moral education of the individual, who must be ready for any sacrifice and privation if the common good requires it; the third task of the school is the continuous adaptation of foreign cultures to the Japanese mentality.

Particular care is given to the education of the female sex, inasmuch as the continuity of Japanese tradition is embodied in woman. In schools of all levels the Japanese woman learns the tea ceremony, sewing, cooking, etiquette, painting, music, Japanese writing and poetry, as well as the art of cultivating plants, dance and the "no" play.

School attendance is compulsory and free, and education divided according to sex was abolished by the law of 1947, with which coeducation was introduced.

The school system comprises kindergartens for children from three to six years of age, the lower elementary school from 6 to 12 years of age, and the upper elementary school from 12 to 14 years of age. From the lower elementary school one may proceed to the two-year school, to the two-year vocational school, to the school for first-grade specialists lasting two years, and to the two-year after-school program. From the upper elementary school one may proceed to the school for second-grade specialists and to the seminary for the training of elementary school teachers.

From the lower elementary school one may furthermore proceed to the Kōtōjogakko, first-grade higher girls' schools, to the Chūgakko, first-grade higher boys' schools, and from these to the Kōtōjogakko, second-grade higher girls' schools, from which one may proceed to the universities. There are 8 imperial universities in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Sendai, Fukuoka, Sapporo, Keijō and Taihoku, 2 state universities in Tokyo and Hiroshima, 11 private universities, 2 public universities with one faculty, and 13 private universities with a single faculty.

Catholic instruction is imparted in 235 catechism and prayer schools, in 21 elementary schools, 26 lower middle schools, 14 upper middle schools, 12 vocational schools and 1 normal school. Famous is the Catholic University founded in 1913 by the Jesuits in Tokyo under the name Jochi Daigaku.

Catholic missionaries furthermore direct 1100 courses for students in foreign languages and commerce.

The education of the Catholic clergy takes place in 11 minor seminaries, in 12 novitiates and in 4 major seminaries. There are furthermore 6 schools for catechumens. - See plates XXXI-XXXII.

Stumpf Miroslav