Full bibliography

Every nation has its own peculiar character, and the Japanese in particular is a religious being because he is superstitious, fearing God (or the gods), himself, others, the group, and the environment — the islands he inhabits, the sea that surrounds him, and the sky that watches over him. To protect himself from everything and everyone, the Japanese found first in Shintoism, and later in Buddhism, principles and beliefs that shape him in dialogue with nature and society. Christianity, however, eluded him, for it proposed the synthesis of all beliefs but imposed the monopoly of truth.