Abstract

In spite of the officially secular character of public institutional life, including education, religion is a pervasive undercurrent which affects moral education, both at home and in school. In different ways Buddhism, Shinto, Confucian traditions and new religious movements are all influential. The nationalist emphasis, which became prominent in the period 1872-1945, was replaced by a deliberately secular social studies or citizenship in keeping with the spirit of the war settlement. Latterly patriotic features have been re-introduced alongside a stated priority for international understanding. Significantly, however, Western thought is nominated alongside Buddhism and Confucianism in government decrees on the curriculum as now integral to Japanese tradition.