Hirata
Atsutane ON JAPANESE LEARNING
People
commonly speak of "learning" as if all learning were one and the
same; in fact, however, there are many different kinds of learning,
each of
which is centered on one particular discipline. Japanese learning
itself may be
divided into some seven or eight categories, the most important of
which is
Shinto, the Way of the Gods. We may also mention the study of poetry;
the study
of the legal code; the study of The Tales of Ise or The
Tale of
Genji, to which some scholars devote their chief attention; and the
study
of history, which deals with the events of the successive reigns of
emperors.
These various disciplines may in turn be divided into smaller
groupings. Chinese
studies, to which the Confucian scholars devote themselves, has its
schools,
and Buddhism is divided into sects. In the study of astronomy and
geography
known as rangaku, which is the learning of Holland, and in medicine there also
are
schools, both traditional and Dutch. We can see how many types of
learning are
to be found.
If
we asked which of them were the
greatest, we must answer, though it may seem slightly presumptuous,
that no
learning can equal that of Japan.
It is easy to see why this is true. The Confucians learn the Four Books
and the
Five Classics or the Thirteen Classics and similar books. Having once
perfunctorily run their eyes over the pages of these works and learned
how to
compose a bit of poetry and prose in Chinese, they qualify as Confucian
scholars. It is really not very difficult to read so limited a number
of books
and to acquire the rudimentary knowledge of Chinese composition that
they
possess. And yet this is the general level of those who pass for
Confucian
scholars.
Compared with these Confucian
scholars, the Buddhist monks have a much broader learning, for they are
required to read the more than five thousand volumes of the canon,
enough books
to make at least seven pack loads for a strong horse. Even assuming
that they
do not read the entire collection but only a tenth of it, this still
amounts to
at least twice what the Confucian scholars are supposed to read.
Moreover,
since it is not considered a defect in a Confucian scholar if he
neglects to
read Buddhist books, he naturally never does, with some very rare
exceptions.
The Buddhists, however, must study Confucian books from their childhood
days in
order to learn Chinese characters, and they write Chinese prose and
poetry just
as Confucian scholars do.
Buddhist learning is
thus broader in
scope than Confucian, but Japanese learning is even more embracing. All
the
various types of learning, including Confucianism and Buddhism, are
joined in
Japanese learning, just as the many rivers flow into the sea where
their waters
are joined. Because of the diversity and number of the different parts
of
Japanese learning, people are often bewildered and at a loss to
evaluate it.
Therefore, unless we can distinguish accurately the elements making up
this
vast amalgam of learning, the excellence of the true Way will remain
obscure. .
. . We must be aware of such matters in order to appreciate the pure
and
righteous Way of Japan. Japanese should study all the different kinds
of
learning—even if they are foreign—so that they can choose the good
features of
each and place them at the service of the nation. We may properly speak
not
only of Chinese but even of Indian and Dutch learning as Japanese
learning:
this fact should be understood by all Japanese who delve into foreign
studies.
[Hirata Atsutane zenshu,
vol. i, pp. 5-7; RT]
THE LAND
OF THE GODS
People all over the world refer to Japan as the Land of the
Gods and
call us the descendants of the gods. Indeed, it is exactly as they say:
as a
special mark of favor from the heavenly gods, they gave birth to our
country,
and thus there is so immense a difference between Japan
and all the other countries
of the world as to defy comparison. Ours is a splendid and blessed
country, the
Land of the Gods beyond any doubt, and we, down to the most humble man
and
woman, are the descendants of the gods. Nevertheless, unhappily many
people do
not understand why Japan
is the Land of the Gods and we their descendants. . . . Is this not a
lamentable state of affairs? Japanese differ completely from and are
superior
to the peoples of China,
India, Russia,
Holland, Siam,
Cambodia,
and all other countries of the world, and for us to have called our
country the
Land of the Gods was not mere vanity. It was the gods who formed all
the lands
of the world at the Creation, and these gods were, without exception,
born in Japan.
Japan
is thus
the homeland of the gods, and that is why we call it the Land of the
Gods. This
is a matter of universal belief and is quite beyond dispute. Even in
countries
to which our ancient traditions have not been transmitted, the
peoples recognize
Japan
as a divine land because of the majestic influence that emanates from
our
country. In the olden days when Korea
was divided into three kingdoms, we heard reports of how splendid,
miraculous,
and blessed a land Japan
was, and because Japan
lies
to the east of Korea,
they said in awe and reverence, "To the East is a divine land, called
the
Land of the Rising Sun." Word of this eventually spread all over the
world, and now people everywhere refer to Japan as the Land of the
Gods,
whether or not they know why this is true.
[Kddo taii, in Hirata Atsutane zenshu, vol.
i, pp. 22-23; RT]
From DeBarry, 511