The Japanese have two long-established religions, Shintonism and Buddhism. However a code for living and rules of conduct for day-to-day life are also provided by the sayings of Confucius. Confucius does not involve the worship of God, but still it will be classified as a religion because people respect for his teachings. These three do not seem incongruous for the Japanese to follow. It is not necessarily always to distinguish among them.
Most religious festivals in Japan are Shinto festivals. Weddings are Shinto occasions, whereas funerals are Buddhist. While Shintoism relates to Gods and their festivals, the teachings of Buddha and Buddhism relate to the worship of God and how to live everyday life. Shintoism does not set codes of behavior. Buddhism preaches a high moral code and a way of life and meditation leading to enlightenment. Confucious’ sayings cover many aspects of living, but are particularly noteworthy for his teachings on good government and the duties of rulers to those they rule. His teachings of particular relevance to this review of the Japanese relate to the following virtues: thrift, filial piety, work, loyalty, good government.
Confucianism and Buddhism came to Japan from Korea and China in 6 & 7 centuries. At this stage, Japan realized that they were backward compared with Korea and China. Exchanges of priests and scholars took place to improve the education and skill including understanding of politics and government, execution of the arts and craftsmanship, and improvement of agricultural techniques. As Shintoism did not have teachings on how to live, Buddhism has influenced Japan more. Under Buddhism influence, art, calligraphy, poetry, dancing and architecture have flourished. However, science and engineering were not part of the Buddhist tradition and remained very rudimentary.
(R Hannam, 1993, Kaizen for Europe, pp9-12)
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