Abstract
In this article the author discusses particular characters of the Confucian heritage in Japan, China, and Korea. Generally speaking, in the area of the "cultural sphere of Confucianism," the author has focused on particular characters through a comparative perspective. Above all, Confucian religiosity must be mentioned as part of background knowledge. In the field of Chinese Confucianism, the perspective of Tu Weiming (Research Professor of Harvard University) is contrasted with that of Ren Jiyu and Fang Keli. As the result, the author points out the difficult situation of the Confucian heritage in the present day. The above situation can be described as the distress of researchers who are aiming for a complicated and complex combination of atheism and theism. Furthermore, while depicting the dynamic condition of Korean Confucianism in Korean society today, the author argues that the vitality of Korean Confucianism is due to a complex combination of Oneness constructed on "the thought of Heaven" and "the theory of Confucianism." In conclusion, based on the statement above, the author argues that the specific and complicated interior condition of Japanese Confucianism is a result of the syncretistic fusion of Shintoism and Buddhism. While taking a look at some details of Japanese history, specifically from the Edo to Meiji period, the author comments on Confucian heritage in present-day Japan.
