A survey of the history of cultural life in Japan from the earliest times to the present. Beginning with the first glimmerings of civilised life in the remote past, the author traces the development through the ages of religion, thought, literature, theatre, the visual arts, and other forms of culture and art. He also provides a discussion of Japan in the twentieth century, focusing particularly on the cultural consequences of Japan's defeat in World War II, the postwar development of arts and literature, and Japanese adaptation of Western forms and technology in architecture and films.