v “In order to understand Japanese religion,
we must comprehend it within its own
context, in its own historical setting, and
though its own activities. The materials in
this book are selected and organized to aid
this understanding and at the same time to
cover aspects of Japanese religion as
possible: the content of the various
traditions the basic characteristics of the
religious heritage as a whole, the changes
and ambiguities through the passage of
time”(Earhart, 3)