He who would understand the passion for cleanliness which characterizes
the Japanese must look for its source in their ancient religion. The
root idea of the word _tsumi_, which Mr. Satow translated as "offence,"
is that of pollution. On this basis, of things pure and things defiling,
the ancient teachers of Shint[=o] made their classification of what was
good and what was bad. From the impression of what was repulsive arose
the idea of guilt.
In rituals translated by Mr. Satow, the list of offences is given and
the defilements are to be removed to the nether world, or, in common
fact, the polluted objects and the expiatory sacrifices are to be thrown
into the rivers and thence carried to the sea, where they fall to the
bottom of the earth. The following norito clearly shows this.
Furthermore, as Mr. Satow, the translator, points out, this ritual
contains the germ of criminal law, a whole code of which might have been
evolved and formulated under Shint[=o], had not Buddhism arrested its
growth.
Amongst the various sorts of offences which may be committed in
ignorance or out of negligence by heaven's increasing people,
who shall come into being in the country, which the Sovran
GRANDCHILD'S augustness, hiding in the fresh RESIDENCE, built by
stoutly planting the HOUSE-pillars on the bottom-most rocks, and
exalting the cross-beams to the plain of high heaven, as his
SHADE from the heavens and SHADE from the sun, shall tranquilly
ruin as a peaceful country, namely, the country of great Yamato,
where the sun is soon on high, which he fixed upon as a peaceful
country, as the centre of the countries of the four quarters
thus bestowed upon him--breaking the ridges, filling up
water-courses, opening sluices, double-sowing, planting stakes,
flaying alive, flaying backwards, and dunging; many of such
offences are distinguished as heavenly offences, and as earthly
offences; cutting living flesh, cutting dead flesh, leprosy,
proud-flesh, .
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