equalled.  His pamphlet is called The Invention of a New Religion, and is published by the Rationalist Press Association.  He points out that, until recent times, the religion of Japan was Buddhism, to the practical exclusion of every other.  There had been, in very ancient times, a native religion called Shinto, and it had lingered on obscurely.  But it is only during the last forty years or so that Shinto has been erected into a State religion, and has been reconstructed so as to suit modern requirements.[48] It is, of course, preferable to Buddhism because it is native and national; it is a tribal religion, not one which aims at appealing to all mankind.  Its whole purpose, as it has been developed by modern statesmen, is to glorify Japan and the Mikado.

Professor Chamberlain points out how little reverence there was for the Mikado until some time after the Restoration:—­

The sober fact is that no nation probably has ever treated its sovereigns more cavalierly than the Japanese have done, from the beginning of authentic history down to within the memory of living men.  Emperors have been deposed, emperors have been assassinated; for centuries every succession to the throne was the signal for intrigues and sanguinary broils.  Emperors have been exiled; some have been murdered in exile....  For long centuries the Government was in the hands of Mayors of the Palace, who substituted one infant sovereign for another, generally forcing each to abdicate as he approached man’s estate.  At one period, these Mayors of the Palace left the Descendant of the Sun in such distress that His Imperial Majesty and the Imperial Princes were obliged to gain a livelihood by selling their autographs!  Nor did any great party in the State protest against this condition of affairs.  Even in the present reign (that of Meiji)—­the most glorious in Japanese history—­there have been two rebellions, during one of which a rival Emperor was set up in one part of the country, and a Republic proclaimed in another.

This last sentence, though it states sober historical fact, is scarcely credible to those who only know twentieth-century Japan.  The spread of superstition has gone pari passu with the spread of education, and a revolt against the Mikado is now unthinkable.  Time and again, in the midst of political strife, the Mikado has been induced to intervene, and instantly the hottest combatants have submitted abjectly.  Although there is a Diet, the Mikado is an absolute ruler—­as absolute as any sovereign ever has been.

The civilization of Japan, before the Restoration, came from China.  Religion, art, writing, philosophy and ethics, everything was copied from Chinese models.  Japanese history begins in the fifth century A.D., whereas Chinese history goes back to about 2,000 B.C., or at any rate to somewhere in the second millennium B.C.  This was galling to Japanese pride, so an early history was invented long ago, like the theory that the Romans were descended from AEneas.  To quote Professor Chamberlain again:—­