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THE REASON 307
an all-absorbing devotion which inevitably made
them invincible. Other factors have contributed
—the physical strength and soundness of the
people ;
the sober, healthy life ;
the simple,
rational diet, all of which have enabled them to
stand the awful strain of a modern war. They
have beaten the Russians, as I feel convinced
they would have beaten any other army ;
and if,
after the tension and the elation of the war is
over, they can keep up to their present high stan-
dard, Japan is likely to become a world-power of
the first magnitude. Considering what they have
achieved, and the intellectual and physical quali-
ties of the people, there is little doubt that the
young-old nation has before it a great future.
There is only one danger—or shall we say
hope ?—for, in spite of all that has been said and
thought by people who do not know the real
conditions, the rise of Japan is a grave danger to
European interests, not only in the Far East, but
in all Asia—the only possibility, then, is that in
accepting the Western civilization, the people will
not, as hitherto, chiefly adopt only what is good
and sound, but will also come to appreciate the
less beneficial sides of Western modern life. Signs
are not wanting that this may happen. Especially
in places where there are large foreign settlements
the wealthier classes of the people have begun to
adopt the easier and more comfortable ways of
living of the European, and even in the broader
strata of the masses the pretensions to life have
become greater ;
the people want more ease and
more luxury, and, as life grows more pleasant,
they grow less willing to give it up for the hard,
dangerous life of a soldier. So far, signs are not
numerous, though I have on several occasions
spoken to soldiers, especially men of the 2nd
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