the Far East that we must took to-day in order to find the cult
coexisting with an elaborate civilization. Now the Japanese
ancestor-cult--though representing the beliefs of a [31] non-Aryan
people, and offering in the history of its development various
interesting peculiarities--still embodies much that is characteristic
of ancestor-worship in general. There survive in it especially these
three beliefs, which underlie all forms of persistent
ancestor-worship in all climes and countries:--

I.--The dead remain in this world,--haunting their tombs, and also
their former homes, and sharing invisibly in the life of their living
descendants;--

II.--All the dead become gods, in the sense of acquiring supernatural
power; but they retain the characters which distinguished them during
life;--

III.--The happiness of the dead depends upon the respectful service
rendered them by the living; and the happiness of the living depends
upon the fulfilment of pious duty to the dead.

To these very early beliefs may be added the following, probably of
later development, which at one time must have exercised immense
influence:--

IV.--Every event in the world, good or evil,--fair seasons or
plentiful harvests,--flood and famine,--tempest and tidal-wave and
earthquake,--is the work of the dead.

V.--All human actions, good or bad, are controlled by the dead.