ABSTRACT
What is religion to the Japanese? The answer to this question depends on how “religion” is defined. Ordinarily, a religion is considered a system comprised of teachings (faith), rituals (practice), and congregation (organi zation). That this definition applies equally to the Roman Catholic Church and the Tendai School of Buddhism bears out its utility as a general index. However, when one starts speaking of Christianity or Buddhism as a whole, Roman Catholicism is joined by the various Protestant and Orthodox churches, and Tendai by other streams such as Tibetan and Theravada Buddhism. The discussion enters into too abstract a sphere, making it diffi cult to understand what “Christianity” means to an Italian, or “Buddhism” to a Japanese.
