Saturday, September 19, 2026 · 天火 · tianmu.org
Religious History
Studies and classics of Japanese religion, thought, and culture.
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Texts
Bushido — The Soul of Japan — Inazo NitobeInazo Nitobe's 1905 exposition of Bushido, the ethical code of the samurai, tracing its sources in Shinto, Confucianism, and Buddhism for a Western readership.Gleanings in Buddha-Fields — Lafcadio HearnLafcadio Hearn's 1897 essays on Japanese Buddhism, folk religion, and popular art, from a living god's monologue to Buddhist allusions in folk-song and a study of Nirvana.Japan, An Attempt at Interpretation — Lafcadio HearnLafcadio Hearn's 1904 synthesis of Japanese religious and social history, tracing Shinto ancestor-worship through its encounter with Buddhism, Confucianism, and Christianity.The Book of Tea — Kakuzo OkakuraKakuzo Okakura's 1906 essay on Japanese Teaism, tracing tea's history through Taoism and Zen to the aesthetics of the tea-room, flowers, and the tea-masters.The Religions of Japan — William Elliot GriffisWilliam Elliot Griffis's complete 1895 Morse Lectures on Shinto, Confucianism, Japanese Buddhism, Christianity, and religious change in Japan.The Shinto Cult — Milton Spenser TerryMilton Spenser Terry's complete 1910 Christian study of Shinto sources, mythology, sanctuaries, ritual, ancestor worship, and modern religious change.The Shundai Zatsuwa (A Japanese Philosopher) — Muro KyūsōAn 1892 English edition of Muro Kyūsō's Shundai Zatsuwa, a foundational Tokugawa-era Neo-Confucian text, with the translator's extensive introduction to Japanese Confucian philosophy.