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THE CITY OF TEE HAPPY WELL. 19
worshiped ; sixty-six fanes sacred to Kuanon, the
goddess of mercy, and twenty-eight edifices in which
are statues of Jizo, the patron of travelers and the
protector of children. The Shinto temples
are sim-
ple in structure and furnishing. In them little is to
be seen but unpainted wood, strips of white paper,
a polished metal disk, and what looks like a closet or
cupboard. This austere simplicity is in wonderful
contrast to the dazzling gold, gilt, brass, gorgeous
altar, incense smoke, and splendid robes of the
priests in the temples of the Buddhist sects. One
wonders what so many stone foxes, and Chinese
lions, and scowling demons, and idols of the two
kings gigantic fellows set at the gateways who
excel Hercules in the knotting of their muscles,
and are painted red and green
the service of man to his Maker.
have to do with
What kind of religion is taught in these temples
and by these priests, monks, and shrine-keepers ?
Some good things, no doubt, and much truth, but
the Maker of all things is ignored. Buddhism does
not teach or believe in a Creator. Everything in
the universe comes and goes like the seasons, but as
to the Who or What causes it to come and go
Buddhism says nothing.
Shinto, or the doctrine of the gods, teaches little
better and much less. The universe came out of
chaos, when the cloud and the warm mud separated.
Then out of the warm muck sprouted a rush, from
which grew a sort of a being ; from this came man
and woman, and then sprang into existence Japan