"Above all things, men must practise charity: it is by alms-giving that wisdom is fed.
"Less than all things, men must grudge money: it is by riches that wisdom is hindered."
Books recommended. Full translation of the Dōji Kyō in Vol. IX. Part III. of the "Asiatic Transactions," and of the Jitsu-go Kyō in the "Cornhill Magazine" for August, 1876.
Mourning. The Japanese, like other nations under Chinese influence, are very strict on the subject of mourning. Formerly three mourning codes (Bukki Ryō) prevailed simultaneously. Of these one was for Shintō priests, another for the Kyōto nobility, and yet another for the Daimyōs and Samurai. The last alone has survived, and its prescriptions are still followed by old-fashioned persons. Mourning, be it remarked, consists of two things the wearing of mourning garments, and abstinence from animal food. This premised, the following table is self-explanatory:—
| Garments. | Food. | |||
| Great-great-grandparents[1] … | 30 | days | 10 | days |
| Great-grandparents[1] … | 90 | " | 20 | " |
| Grandparents[1] … | 150 | " | 30 | " |
| Real parents … | 13 | months | 50 | " |
| Adopted parents … | 13 | " | 50 | " |
| Step-parents … | 30 | days | 10 | " |
| Father's legitimate wife[2] … | 30 | " | 10 | " |
| Divorced mother … | 150 | " | 30 | " |
| (Woman's) parents-in-law … | 50 | " | 20 | " |
| Uncle and aunt[1] … | 90 | " | 20 | " |
| Husband … | 13 | months | 50 | " |
| Wife … | 90 | days | 20 | " |
| Brothers and sisters[1] … | 90 | " | 20 | " |
| Half-brothers and sisters … | 30 | " | 10 | " |
| Eldest son … | 90 | " | 20 | " |
| Other children … | 30 | " | 10 | " |
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 On the paternal side. The inferior status of women in the East causes a considerable reduction to be made in the period of mourning for corresponding relatives on the maternal side. A maternal grandfather, for instance, is only mourned for during 90 days, a maternal uncle during 30 days.
- ↑ A man's legitimate wife is considered the "legal mother" of any children he may have by a concubine. Such children mourn their "legal mother's" death during the period indicated in the text.
