Danger of Oriental Philosophy
By L. A. S.
The following paragraphs from an article contributed to The Independent by Mr. Colgate Baker, who was for years a resident of Japan and is thoroughly familiar with the Japanese religion and character, give one an idea of the effect of Oriental philosophy upon minds representing the intelligence and civilization of Christian lands. It may be natural to suppose that Oriental philosophy is a thing suited only to inferior minds darkened by heathenism, and not dangerous to the Caucasian brought up under the influence and amid the advantages of the great centers of civilization; but this does not take into account the fact that heathen philosophy was not devised to suit minds darkened by centuries of ignorance and degradation, but that heathenism was the product of this philosophy, received when men knew God, but did not desire to retain him in their knowledge. Mr. Baker says:— It is my conviction that the Japanese character is the most insidious force that has ever menaced Christianity. The Japanese philosophy is diametrically opposed to Christian principles on all cardinal points. It is a philosophy which completely possesses those who believe in it, with a power almost hypnotic. One has only to observe the white men who have become Japanese to see how it wrecks the moral character of the Caucasian. The effect of the Japanese philosophy on the brain of the European or American is not unlike that of a subtle narcotic. It perverts all moral ideas, and poisons the very source of every thought and action. To the white man who falls under the sway of this mystic power Christian civilization, with its ideals, appears ridiculously quixotic. He has nothing but contempt for the men of his own race, and is even ashamed of the color of his skin. It is only natural that such an individual should forsake his own kind, don a kimono, become a Japanese, and try to lose himself in the great yellow mass. While sojourning in a small city on the Inland Sea, far from the beaten tracks of tourists, I was surprised to hear that a white man had come to the place with a troupe of Japanese actors, and was to give a performance at a local theater. Out of curiosity I witnessed the performance of this man, and subsequently invited him to dine with me. As I expected, the fellow, who called himself Yensaburo Black, was completely possessed by the Japanese philosophy. He was an Englishman, educated at Harrow, and his father, happily deceased, had been one of the pioneer newspaper editors of Japan. He preferred to converse with me in Japanese, rather than in his own mother tongue. Of course, he spoke enthusiastically of the Japanese life. He declared that he was supremely happy. It was painful for him to meet foreigners, he said, because they did not understand Japanese life and ideas, and because they reminded him of the contemptible Christian civilization he wished to forget. He assured me that before he had accepted my invitation, he had inquired whether I could speak Japanese and would entertain him in Japanese style, and had he not been satisfied on those points by the tea-house people, he would have stayed away. This man refused to touch the foreign dishes placed before him, explaining that he could eat only Japanese food. What the Japanese philosophy has done for Mr. Yensaburo Black it has done for others of stronger mind, greater abilities, and more distinguished position. The Japanese character, Mr. Baker says, possesses “exquisite esthetic sensibility,” which makes the Japanese “competent and enthusiastic art critics,” but along with this the same character reveals “an absolute lack of what the Christian world understands and cherishes as moral ideas.” “The high development of the poetic and artistic sense of the Japanese in no way affects the moral side of his character.” People are very much in error who imagine that education or the cultivation of poetic and esthetic tastes alone is able to create morality. The world’s supply of morality is drawn wholly from the Christian religion.