section_path: Others/Japanese
section_name: Japanese
paragraph_text: Japanese
  
  Japanese philosophy is characterized by its engagement with various traditions, including Chinese, Indian, and Western schools of thought. Ancient Japanese philosophy was shaped by Shinto, the indigenous religion of Japan, which included a form of animism that saw natural phenomena and objects as spirits, known as kami. The arrival of Confucianism and Buddhism in the 5th and 6th centuries CE transformed the intellectual landscape and led to various subsequent developments. Confucianism influenced political and social philosophy and was further developed into different strands of neo-Confucianism. Japanese Buddhist thought evolved particularly within the traditions of Pure Land Buddhism and Zen Buddhism.
  
  In the 19th and 20th centuries, interaction with Western thinkers had a major influence on Japanese philosophy, particularly through the schools of existentialism and phenomenology. This period saw the foundation of the Kyoto School, established by Kitaro Nishida (1870–1945). Nishida criticized Western philosophy, particularly Kantianism, for its reliance on the distinction between subject and object. He sought to overcome this dichotomy by developing the concept of basho, which is usually translated as "place" and may be understood as an experiential domain that transcends the subject-object distinction. Other influential members of the Kyoto School include Tanabe Hajime (1885–1962) and Nishitani Keiji (1900–1990).