A Vision For an Army-less World

<This post is an extract of the article Uchimura wrote on April 1926 in his newspaper The Japan Christian Intelligencer. As if these words of Uchimura are written for our times.> -- Samuel Lee

The vision was that of a warless world. Civilization! Civilization which exist only under the aegis of squadrons and army crops ia an anomaly. It is not civilization, it is barbarism pure and simple! The Western civilization which existed only by and under the protection of strong armament could never be a civilization. And such civilization proved its own destruction. The beast whuch presumed to protect it, devoured it, and now reigns supreme in its naked animalism.

"An impracticable vision" do you say? But was your armed civilization a practicability? Dis it not prove its own impracticability? ... The old Japanese samurai thought himself ver unsafe when he was deprived of his swords by an Imperial decree; but once deprived of his weapon of offence and defence, he found himself safer than ever before! ... The Bull and the Bear have not yet learned the strength of the martial weakness because they have not tried it; and the Eagle (USA) let astray by successful shows of the Bull-and-Dog, is now arming itself at this late hour. Does not the Bible plainly teach than : "My (God's) strength is made perfect in weakness?" And you who by sending missionaries taught us all these years to receive the bible and follow it? We (the Japanese Christians) teach you now out of the same Bible to do the same, and know to your satisfaction that what your Bible teaches is very, very true, if you yourself put it into practice in your state policies as in your private conducts.

Alas, for my dear country (Japan), that under its young inexperienced politicians of Meiji Era (1868-1923), she accepted this western civilization, which is no civilization, in its entirely. That the first thing that Japan learned from Europe was its army and navy is greatly to be deplored. True, Japan by its adoption of the Western methods of warfare, has won her place among the great powers of the world within a century; but what has she lost? Forty years ago she was the most beloved nation in the world; whole world was open to her children; they were welcomed everywhere. But how different now (1926). By three successive victorious wars, she gained Formosa, Korea and South Sea islands; but within them she lost the love of the whole world. Now the whole world is closed against her; het children are feared and disliked everywhere. Japan westernized herself and the West-disowned her! Hers is a case of a foolish young man who went after a harlot; and the great Harlot. -- Europe-America is her name-- deceived him and now bids him to be gone.

Now is the time for Japan to awake fro, sleep. This western civilization with its big budget for fighting machinery is to be completely disowned. .... What a day will it be when my own Japan, by its sovereign decree, will decree the disarmament of the nation, as it is decreed the disarming of samurais fifty years ago... As I pen these words, another oracle of the Jew Isaiah comes to my lips and makes me write:

"Oh House of Jacob (Japan), come ye, and let us walk, in the Light of the Lord. (Isaiah 2:5)