ABSTRACT
The images of traditional Japan that spring to mind are almost all Buddhist inspired. Shintō, it is true, has its part to play, but the quiescence of the Tea Ceremony, the artistry of the swordsman or flower arranger, the skill of the No actor or the haiku poet all have their basis in Buddhist or more precisely Zen practice. These images, so unlike the ones connected with Buddhism elsewhere in Asia, would also lead one to believe that Japanese Buddhism is somehow more Japanese than it is Buddhist, that it has been altered more than any other type. There is perhaps some validity in this view but, even though the Japanese initially adopted Buddhism as an aspect of Chinese culture rather than as an independent religion, in its fullest expression it remains as canonical and hence as Indian as any other type.
