On is a best and must be repaid，but in Japan all repayments are regarded as fall-ing into another category entirely。The Japanese find our morals，which confuse these two categories in our ethics and in our neutral words like obligation and duty，as strange as we would find financial dealings in some tribe whose language did not separate“debt-or”from“creditor”in money transactions。To them the primary and ever-present in-debtedness called on is worlds apart from the active，bowstring-taut repayment which is named in a whole series of other concepts。A man's indebtedness（on）is not virtue；his repayment is。Virtue begins when he dedicates himself actively to the job of gratitude。
It will help Americans to understand this matter of virtue in Japan if we keep in mind the parallel with financial transactions and think of it as having behind it the sanctions a-gainst defaulting which property transactions have in America。Here we hold a man to his bond。We do not count extenuating circumstances when a man takes what is not his。We do not allow it to be a matter of impulse whether or not a man pays a debt to a bank。And the debtor is just as responsible for the accrued interest as he is for the original money he borrowed。Patriotism and love of our families we regard as quite different from all this。Love，with us，is a matter of the heart and is best when freely given。Patriotism，in the sense of putting our country's interests above everything else，is regarded as rather quixot-ic or certainly as not compatible with fallible human nature until the United States is at-tacked by the armed forces of an enemy。Lacking the basic Japanese postulate of great in-debtedness automatically incurred by every man and woman born，we think that a man should pity and help his needy parents，should not beat his wife，and should provide for his children。But these things are not quantitatively reckoned like a debt of money and they are not rewarded as success in business is。In Japan they are regarded quite as finan-cial solvency is in America and the sanctions behind being able to pay one's bills and the interest on one's mortgage。They are not matters that must be attended to only at crises such as a proclamation of war or the serious illness of a parent；they are one's constant shadow like a small New York farmer's worry about his mortgage or a Wall Street financier's as he watches the market climb when he has sold short。
The Japanese divide into distinct categories，each with its different rules，those re-payments on on which are limitless both in amount and in duration and those which are quantitatively equivalent and come due on special occasions。The limitless repayments on indebtedness are called gimu and they say of it：“One never repays one ten-thou-sandth of（this）on。”One's gimu groups together two different types of obligations：re-payment of one's on to parents，which is ko，and repayment of one's on to the Emperor，which is chu。Both these obligations of gimu are compulsory and are man's universal lot；indeed Japan's elementary schooling is called“gimu education”because no other word so adequately renders the meaning of“required。”The accidents of life may modify the details of one's gimu，but gimu is automatically incumbent upon all men and is above all fortuitous circumstances。
Both forms of gimu are unconditional。In thus making these virtues absolute Japan has departed from the Chinese concepts of duty to the State and of filial piety。The Chi-nese ethical system has been repeatedly adopted in Japan ever since the seventh century and chu and ko are Chinese words。But the Chinese did not make these virtues uncondi-tional。China postulates an overriding virtue which is a condition of loyalty and piety。It is usually translated“benevolence”（jen）but it means almost everything Occidentals mean by good interpersonal relations。A parent must have jen。If a ruler does not have it it is righteous for his people to rebel against him。It is a condition upon which one's gift of loyalty is predicated。The Emperor's tenure and that of his officials depended on their doing jen。Chinese ethics applies this touchstone in all human relations。
This Chinese ethical postulate was never accepted in Japan。The great Japanese student，Kanichi Asakawa，speaking of this contrast in medieval times，says：“In Japan these ideas were obviously incompatible with her imperial sovereignty and were therefore never accepted in entirety even as theories。”In fact jen became in Japan an outlaw vir-tue and was entirely demoted from the high estate it had in Chinese ethics。In Japan it is pronounced jin（it is written with the same character the Chinese use）and“doing jin”or its variant“doing jingi”is very far indeed from being a virtue required even in the highest quarters。It has been so thoroughly banished from their ethical system that it means something done outside the law。It may indeed be a praiseworthy act like putting one's name on a subscription list for public charity or granting mercy to a criminal。But it is emphatically a work of supererogation。It means that the act was not required of you。
“Doing jingi”is used in another sense of“outside the law，”too；it is used of vir-tue among gangsters。The honor among thieves of the raiding and slashing swashbucklers of the Tokugawa period-they were one-sword men as contrasted with the two-sworded swashbuckling samurai-was“doing jingi”；when one of these outlaws asked shelter of another who was a stranger，that stranger，as an insurance against future vengeance from the petitioner's gang，would grant it and thereby“do jingi。”In modern usage“doing jingi”has fallen even lower。It occurs frequently in discussions of punishable acts：“Common laborers，”their newspapers say，“still do jingi and they must be punished。Police should see to it that jingi is stopped in the holes and corners where it flourishes in Japan。”They mean of course the“honor among thieves”which flourishes in racketee-ring and gangsterdom。Especially the small labor contractor in modern Japan is said to“do jingi”when，like the Italian labor padrone at American ports at the turn of the cen-tury，he enters into outside-the-law relationships with unskilled laborers and gets rich off farming them out at a profit。The degradation of the Chinese concept of jen could hardly go farther。The Japanese，having entirely reinterpreted and demoted the crucial virtue of the Chinese system and put nothing else in its place that might make gimu conditional，filial piety became in Japan a duty one had to fulfill even if it meant condoning a parent's vice and injustice。It could be abrogated only if it came into conflict with one's obliga-tion to the Emperor，but certainly not when one's parent was unworthy or when he was destroying one's happiness。
In one of their modern movies a mother comes upon some money her married son，a village schoolmaster，has collected from the villagers to redeem a young schoolgirl about to be sold by her parents to a house of prostitution because they are starving in a rural famine。The schoolmaster's mother steals the money from her son although she is not poor；she runs a respectable restaurant of her own。Her son knows that she has taken it but he has to shoulder the blame himself。His wife discovers the truth，leaves a suicide note taking all responsibility for the loss of the money，and drowns herself and their ba-by。Publicity follows but the mother's part in the tragedy is not even called in question。The son has fulfilled the law of filial piety and goes off alone to Hokkaido to build his character so that he can strengthen himself for like tests in coming years。He is a virtu-ous hero。My Japanese companion vigorously protested my obvious American verdict that the person responsible for the whole tragedy was the thieving mother。Filial piety，he said，was often in conflict with other virtues。If the hero had been wise enough，he might have found a way to reconcile them without loss of self-respect。But it would have been no possible occasion for self-respect if he blamed his mother even to him-self。
Both novels and real life are full of the heavy duties of filial piety after a young man is married。Except in“modan”（modern）circles it is taken for granted in respectable families that the parents select their son's wife，usually through the good offices of go-be-tweens。The family，not the son，is chiefly concerned about the matter of a good selec-tion，not only because of the money transactions involved but because the wife will be entered in the family genealogy and will perpetuate the family line through her sons。It is the custom for the go-betweens to arrange a seemingly casual meeting between the two young principals in the presence of their parents but they do not converse。Sometimes the parents choose to make for their son a marriage of convenience in which case the girl's father will profit financially and the boy's parents by alliance with a good family。Sometimes they choose to select the girl for her personally acceptable qualities。The good son's repayment of parental on does not allow him to question his parents'decision。After he is married his repayment continues。Especially if the son is the family heir he will live with his parents and it is proverbial that the mother-in-law does not like her daughter-in-law。She finds all manner of fault with her，and she may send her away and break up the marriage even when the young husband is happy with his wife and asks nothing better than to live with her。Japanese novels and personal histories are just as apt to stress the suffering of the husband as of the wife。The husband of course is doing ko in submitting to the break-up of his marriage。