22 SEPTEMBER 1894, Page 24

Religion in Japan. By George A. Cobbold. (S.P.C.K.)—Shin- toism, Buddhism,

and Christianity are the subjects of Mr. Cobbold's excellent little essay. The first is of no great import- ance as a factor in the religious thought of the nation, though it occupies a part of some consequence in its politics. Buddhism is quite another matter. That four hundred millions of the human race acknowledge its power is in itself a great fact. And it un- doubtedly exercises a certain fascination for the Western mind in certain of its developments. We have here a most fair and

candid examination of its claim to attention. Mr. Cobbold also puts with groat plainness the objections which lie on the surface to Christianity, and reviews the prospects of its success in the near future.