WORKERS’ EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21054, 17 June 1930, Page 2

WORKERS’ EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION.

WOMEN’S CLASS. The lectures on “ Japan " given by Mrs , Benson continue to be very successful. At the last a very interesting paper was read by one of the students on “ Shinto, the National Religion of Japan." One writer says: “ Shinto is not really a religion, it has np set of dogmas, no' sacred book, no moral code. It is the name given to the mythology and vague nature —and ancestor-worship which preceded the introduction of Buddhism into Japan." Another, a Japanese, says: Shinto is the _ national religion of Japan, and the pilot on which the whoie life of the Japanese nation revolves. Shinto was the principle on which the country was founded at the beginning of time, and has been the guiding influence in Japanese national life for thousands of years.” The code of Shinto is simply conceived. Life seeks to live on, and to extend. As wo enjoy this life, we are grateful to the giver of it. Hence we get the sluntoistic , teaching of gratitudes. Ingratitude is very immoral. This enjoyment of life casts our thoughts back to our ancestors from whom we derive it, and the so-called ancestor-worship comes into being. In Japanese life the father 1 is the central figure representing the ancestors. In feudal days opposing Japanese forces in battle each proclaimed the names of doughty deeds of their auccs“.ors * Tim whole Japanese nation is thought of .as one family,ywith the Impcrial_ house as its head. Therefore, we have'in the Japanese family the family ancestors worshipped; in every village a special temple is dedicated to the worship of a common ancestor; while the place ot worship for the whole nation is ut tho imperial shrine in Ise, where the bun-goddess is worshipped, the Sungoddess being the principal ancestress of the. Emperor and of the whole nation, it is the belief of the people in the divine descent of the imperial house that to-day nmfaes them and renders them amenable to lug rule, even when innovators soniowhat disquiet their.minds. Purity, honesty, love of all mankind, these are very highly esteemed virtues in Shinto. Cleanliness of mind and body and the regarding of other people as equally clean and pure is-one of the essential requirements of a Shintoist. JBciore each temple shrine is holy water, jwth which to wash the hands and rinse the mouth—this not from any sense of wfth bU abL C rrmme. an,: P ° l,Uti ° n * ICgarded What is the mode of worship? ImmevJnah/1 °i“ n r inß tll °, worshipper, having fnv« lcd 118 % e , ancl rinsed his mouth, tui.ns sunward, clang his -hands, and reU + u era *i , 6imple V-eeting: mi,; ■ 0e this day, August One! " Ilns is done out of doors; returning to he prays before the Kamidana° a shelf on which are kept the tablets of o .“feestors These tablets are hLh • "l°°h eight inches high, inscribed with an ancestral Sididts " d k T f ° n " T > Shelf August blunts. Before these tablets are placed offerings of fish, wine, etc., while a iea? iZ™mi P “i re vegetable oil stands ‘‘nL a n ™ «; h l ed va ? c - labelled o aud *** }° us . e t° r the lamps of the nortnri u / e empl . oyed * foreign. matches reCo s tam . Phosphorus, made from &ote,'tSU" mnl "' .. n P i ubl t lc .u Wors^ ip varies according to the B ?. ds : simple offerings are made to minor deities, processions, music, sincing, dancing, and costly gifts celebrate the gieater coda. In festiv*fls elaborate ofiorof fish, fruit, and moulded rice are carried into the temple on white wooden trays by bearers whose faces are covered from the eyes down with sheets of white paper lest their breath pollute the food o £ the gods. The most important, of all biunto ceremonies is the six-monthly one of purification. Shinto has always been a religion of ablutions, and purity of heart is;, not less insisted on their physical purity. At this purification time each member oi the family is supplied by the parish 'temple with white .paper silhouettes, . of- the human ngure. Each person touches his head face, limbs, and body with, his own paper shape, at the same time uttering appro* pnate prayers. His age and sex is then written on the paper, which is returned to the temple and there burned > with rites ot purification. •

An -interesting custom corresponding somewhat to that of the old Hebrew scapegoat is still prevalent in remote districts. A community yearly appoints one of its number to devote himself wholly to the gods on behalf of the rest. He must lead a life of complete self-denial, pray at certain hours, keep vigil on certain nights. When, for a year, he has performed all his duties scrupulously, he becomes religiously free and another takes his place. Should any public misfortune fall on the community, fie will be suspected of breaking his vows, and in ancient times he would have been put to deaths ■ Even in this very superficial account of Shinto there can be seen clearly resemblances to more familiar modes of worship, as well as great dissimilarities. That the same purpose exists in all is recognised by a Japanese poet in these lines:— The roads leading to the top of a mountain May be mostly different from one another at the foot. But at the top tfie same moon will always be seen. ECONOMICS CLASS.

Even those who have testified by their membership of the W.E.A. their willingness to engage in strenuous efforts of thought are apparently not always prepared to carry their willingness to the point of making a systematic study of the science of economics, which, as one distinguished exponent of the science has recently declared, only the pompous and ignorant now describe as dismal. This year's economics class has accordingly undertaken a series of topical studies based on the reports of the Unemployment Committee and the Committee of Inquiry into the boot. industry, and the first half of the session’s work was completed by a study of problems associated with changes in methods of agricultural production and, in particular, with the revolutionary development or artificial fertiliser. A* second aeries will now begin, baaed on Volume XI of the 1926 Census Report, . dealing with distribution of income. This volume contains a variety of information, such as has never before _ been ayailable in any eoTmtry, and provides unrivalled material for realistic economic study. Opportunities will be given for new members to join up with the class for the second part of the season.