Into the Rising Sun 8

    ‘There are, if I may so say, three powerful spirits, which have from 
     time to time, moved on  the face of the waters, and given a 
     predominant impulse to the moral sentiments and energies of 
     mankind. These are the spirits of liberty, of religion, and of honor.’
                                                            Hallam, Europe in the Middle Ages

The liberty part was a non-starter. The honour part was implicit. But the religious part, for the samurai, was a problem.
Buddhism and Zen, and to a lesser extent Confucianism and Shinto, had influenced samurai culture. Shinto would get them into trouble with the outside world. Confucianism would get them into trouble with each other. Buddhism would get them into trouble with themselves.
Francis Xavier, on his first visit in the mid1500s, had observed a ‘natural goodness’ of the Japanese, ‘among barbarous nations.’ They are of a kindly disposition, not at all given to cheating, wonderfully desirous of honour and rank. Honour with them is placed above everything else.
Shinto was unique Japanese ‘way of the gods,’ and would become the subliminal justification for actions abroad. Confucianism emphasized loyalty a samurai was required to show his daimyô, and the importance of the lord-retainer relationship. But Buddhism, while bringing samurai warriors the Zen meditation process for calming their minds, also brought them conflicted feelings about killing.

           ‘When Ichiin resided in the Toba Palace, an osprey flew in and 
           caught fish in the pond every day. One day he decided to have it 
           shot, and asked if there was anyone suitable for the job in the 
           Warriors’ Office. Mutsuru happened to be there. When 
           summoned, he was given this imperial order: “An osprey has 
           attached itself to this pond and catches many fish. Shoot it. 
           However, it would be cruel to kill it. His Majesty’s wish is to have 
           neither the bird nor the fish killed. Find an appropriate scheme to 
           do the work.” There was no way Mutsuru could decline the order. 
           He left at once and soon returned with a bow and an arrow. The 
           arrow was fork-tipped. Standing near the edge of the pond, he 
           waited for the osprey to come. As expected, it flew in. It caught a 
           carp and was flying up when Mutsuru shot at it with a full-drawn 
           bow. The arrow hit its target but the osprey flew away. The carp 
           dropped to the pond and floated with its white belly up. When 
           Mutsuru tugged the fish in and offered it for an imperial 
           inspection, it turned out that the osprey’s foot clutching the carp 
           had been severed. Its foot was severed, but it didn’t die that 
           instant. The fish, too, did not die even though it had been clawed 
           by the bird. In accordance with the order that neither the bird nor 
           the fish be killed, Mutsuru had worked out this scheme.’

Faced with the prospect of continued reincarnation and rebirth, some samurai gave up violence and became Buddhist monks. Some were killed as they came to terms with these realizations on the battlefield. Still others would survive by maintaining their ignorance about Buddhism until they were older. 

           ‘It is a great mistake for a young samurai to learn about 
          Buddhism. The reason is that he will see things in two ways. A 
          person who does not set himself in just one direction will be of no 
          value at all. It is fine for retired old men to learn about Buddhism 
          as a diversion, but if a warrior makes loyalty and filial piety one 
          load, and courage and compassion another, and carries these 
          twenty-four hours a day, until his shoulders wear out, he will be a 
          samurai.’
                Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Hagakure- The Book of the Samurai, 1716

And what of our modern salaryman, what is his religion? One of the things that makes Japan so strange and fascinating is that, because of its historical isolation, from both official policy and its instinctive resistance to European cultural imperialism and the Christian missionary activity that had envenomated the rest of the world, its people are wired differently. I could only guess what was going on deep in the minds of the shiny suits in my carriage. I knew that there were still profound influences from Confucius and Buddha, and Shinto and Zen. But an influence is not a faith, and nowhere near the whole enchilada.
Some salarymen invest their souls in otaku, a form of intense specialized geekiness or nerdity. They become otariimen, appearing quite ordinary at work, but otherwise unable to relate to reality, self-identify with one of at least a dozen esoteric subcultures when they escape- manga Japanese comics, idol otaku, travel otaku, PC otaku, video game otaku, automobile otaku, animation (anime) otaku, mobile IT equipment otaku, audio-visual equipment otaku, camera otaku, fashion otaku, or railway otaku. Not just a hobby.