A Bird’s-Eye View by WALTER L. FOSTER

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Nov 4, 1909

A Bird’s-Eye View

By WALTER L. FOSTER

DAI-NIPPON, or Niphon, is “the great kingdom of the rising sun.” The Japanese say, “Japan of yesterday is not Japan of to-day.” Certainly it is not great in area, but it is acting a great part in the history of the far East.

To get a picture of Japan, let us consider it a range of mountains, with four large peaks and hundreds of little ones appearing above the waters of the Pacific. Fuji-san, Mt. Fuji, is the sacred mountain of Japan, an object of worship. The beautiful little islands and the low ranges of mountains clothed with luxuriant green, present a pleasing picture to the eye; but all is not beautiful, and all is not good, for the curse of sin rests heavily upon the people.

Over thirty societies are at work in Japan, but only little has been done. Climb with me to the top of a neighboring peak, and you will see the tile roofs of homes that contain a million souls without Christ,—people that go each day to the temples to make an offering, to bump their heads on the stones, and to offer their prayers to Buddha, or perhaps to an idol of wood or stone.

If our brethren in the more favored America could only realize the needs of these dark lands, the greatness of the work, and the shortness of time, they would double their efforts to finish the work. WALTER L. FOSTER.