Some Cultural Traits and Religions of Japan

Abstract

Neo-Confucianism is explained as a development of Confucianism which pays more attention to the purification of our inner spiritual life or the transformation of the unconscious potentials of evils and expounds a moral life which includes greater super-moral or metaphysical vision. For the last three hundred years, the trends of thought have moved from depth of thought to a broadening of thought and from meditation on the spiritual and moral life to a consideration of the values of natural and social life. This transformation should be considered an extensive development of the human value-consciousness as the preparation of the spiritual ground of the coming age-an age which should pay more intensive attention to the importance of spiritual values and should integrate the various kinds of social and natural values into a Great Harmony. HIDEO KISHIMOTO