Background
William Elliot Griffis was born on September 17, 1843 in Philadelphia, the fourth child of Capt. John Limeburner Griffis, of Welsh ancestry, and his wife, Anna Maria Hess, who was of German-Swiss descent.
(From the beginning of the Japanese empire, until the cent...)
From the beginning of the Japanese empire, until the century after the introduction of Buddhism, the mikados were the real rulers of their people, having no hedge of division between them and their subjects. The palace was not secluded from the outer world. No screen hid the face of the monarch from the gaze of his subjects. No bureaucracy rose, like a wall of division, between ruler and ruled. No hedge or net of officialdom hindered free passage of remonstrance or petition. The mikado, active in word and deed, was a real ruler, leading his armies, directing his Government. Those early days of comparative national poverty when the mikado was the warrior-chief of a conquering tribe; and, later, when he ruled a little kingdom in Central Japan, holding the distant portions of his quasi-empire in tribute; and, still later, when he was the head of an undivided empire - mark the era of his personal importance and energy. Then, in the mikado dwelt a manly soul, and a strong mind in a strong body. This era was the golden age of the imperial power. He was the true executive of the nation, initiating and carrying out the enterprises of peace or war. As yet, no military class had arisen to make themselves the arbiters of the throne; as yet, that throne was under no proprietorship; as yet, there was but one capital and center of authority. Contents: The Background. The Aborigines. Materials of History. Japanese Mythology. The Twilight of Fable. Sūjin, the Civilizer. Yamato-daké, the Conqueror of the Kuanté. The Introduction of Continental Civilization. Life in Ancient Japan. The Ancient Religion. The Throne and the Noble Families. The Beginning of Military Domination. Yoritomo and the Minamoto Family. Creation of the Dual System of Government. The Glory and the Fall of the Hōjō Family. Buddism in Japan. The Invasion of the Mongol Tartars. The Temporary Mikadoate. The War of the Chrysanthemums. The Ashikaga Period. Life in the Middle Ages. The Growth and Customs of Feudalism. Nobunaga, the Persecutor of the Buddhists. Hidéyoshi's Exterprises. The Invasion Of Corea. Christianity and Foreigners. Iyeyasu, the Founder of Yedo. The Perfection of Duarchy and Feudalism. The Recent Revolutions in Japan.
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(The Religions of Japan, from the Dawn of History to the E...)
The Religions of Japan, from the Dawn of History to the Era of Méiji By William Elliot Griffis
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(Excerpt from Sunny Memoirs of Three Pastorates: With a Se...)
Excerpt from Sunny Memoirs of Three Pastorates: With a Selection of Sermons and Essays These are not show sermons, but the average messages actually delivered during a busy pastor's ministry, and printed in substance as they were preached. It is the con gregation that makes the best sermon. Sometimes one face gives the preacher his audience. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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(This is a reproduction of a classic text optimised for ki...)
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William Elliot Griffis was born on September 17, 1843 in Philadelphia, the fourth child of Capt. John Limeburner Griffis, of Welsh ancestry, and his wife, Anna Maria Hess, who was of German-Swiss descent.
When William was five years old he entered a dame school, and from 1850 to 1860 was a pupil in the public schools.
Having been privately tutored, he entered Rutgers College, from which he graduated in 1869.
In 1877, Griffis graduated from Union Theological Seminary, New York City.
William had three months’ service with the 44th Pennsylvania Regiment in the Civil War and was at the battle of Gettysburg. He taught the first Japanese students sent to New Brunswick, New Jersey, on the advice of Dr. Guido Verbeck.
When in 1870 a call came from the Fukui clan in western Japan for some one “to organize schools on the American principle and teach the natural sciences, ” Griffis was selected by the Rutgers faculty for that responsible duty. He accepted the appointment, sailed from San Francisco on December 1, and landed at Yokohama on December 29.
After a few weeks in Tokio, he proceeded by boat to Kobe and Osaka, and then across the country to Fukui, where he equipped the first chemical laboratory in Japan. He took great pride in the claim that he was the only foreigner living who as a guest in a daimio’s capital in the interior, saw the feudal system of Japan in operation.
It was while he was there that the system was formally abolished, and he enjoyed the unique privilege of witnessing in Fukui castle the dignified ceremonies attendant upon that abolition and the farewell of the Prince of Echizen to his retainers.
Early in 1872, Griffis was called to Tokio to teach chemistry and physics in what is now the Imperial University, and he remained there till July 1874, when he returned to the United States. During all the rest of his life he spent much time in the great work of interpreting Japan to America with voice and pen. His first book, The Mikado’s Empire (1876) went into twelve editions, and has been a mine of information about Japan; and Corea - the Hermit Nation (1882) has been similarly valuable.
In 1877 he entered upon the work of the ministry, serving as pastor of the First Reformed Church, Schenectady, New York (1877 - 86); of the Shawmut Congregational Church, Boston (1886 - 93); and of the First Congregational Church, Ithaca, New York (1893 - 1903).
It is significant of his vigor and versatility that, in connection with his pastoral work, he kept up varied literary labors and was associated with many learned societies. From 1903, he devoted himself for twenty-five years to writing and lecturing. He wrote with avidity and has to his credit a list of about fifty books and hundreds of articles. Among the former are: Matthew Calbraith Perry: A Typical American N aval Officer (1887) ; Japan - in History, Folk-lore, and Art (1892) ; The Religions of Japan from the Dawn of History to the Era of Meiji (1895) ; Townsend Harris, First American Envoy to Japan (1895); America in the East (1899); Verbeck of Japan (1900); A Maker of the New Orient, Samuel Robbins Brown (1902); The Japanese Nation in Evolution (1907) ; A Modern Pioneer in Korea; the Life Story of Henry G. Appenzeller (1912) ; Hepburn of Japan (1913) ; and The Mikado - Institution and Person (1915).
It is a matter of wonder that he kept himself so well informed upon so many subjects. In the case of European nations, he kept in touch with their affairs by frequent visits. In the case of Japan, it was over fifty years before he visited the country a second time, but, by means of the printed page, by visits from Japanese (some of whom lived in his family), and by correspondence with friends in Japan, he was able to secure reasonably accurate information.
(Excerpt from Sunny Memoirs of Three Pastorates: With a Se...)
(From the beginning of the Japanese empire, until the cent...)
(The Religions of Japan, from the Dawn of History to the E...)
(This is a reproduction of a classic text optimised for ki...)
Griffis was a founding member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters (later to become the American Academy of Arts and Letters), the American Historical Association, and the U. S. Naval Institute.
He was twice married, first to Katharine L. Stanton, June 17, 1879, who died in 1898 and second, June 28, 1900, to Sarah F. King.