The Japanese Mind: Understanding Contemporary Japanese Culture

by Roger J. Davies

“Zen always aims at grasping the central fact of life, which can never be brought to the dissecting table of the intellect”

It is hard to imagine from the present state of industrialized Japan that Japanese society was controlled by samurai until about 150 years ago.

in Japan, even if people know that something is wrong, it is sometimes difficult for them to defend their principles, because rather than being absolute, these principles are relative and are easily modified, depending on the situation and the demands of the larger group to which people belong.