Japanese Zen

Japanese zen is often confused as a religion, as it often combined with the teachings and practices of Buddhism. Robert Sharf states that Zen "...is not a religion at all...Rather, Zen is a 'pure experience' itself---the ahistorical, transcultural experience of 'pure subjectivity' which utterly transcends discursive thought" (Sharf, 1993). Zen was seen in the Westernization of Japan in the Meiji period (1868-1912) (Sharf, 1993). However, this idea of Zen has existed in culture for centuries before this reconstruction from the Meiji period. Sharf's writings pertain to the nationalism that emerged from this Zen spirituality, but it shows how profoundly deep the idea of Zen is in the culture of Japan. Zen also encapsulates the idea of being connected with everything, all at once, which is opposite of Western individualism (Nagatomo, 2019). This idea of existing with nature, as a collective extends into the art and culture of Japan, as seen in the examples shown in this website.