The Western world has long been intrigued by the apparent exoticism and uniqueness of Japanese civilization. Now, one of the world's leading social theorists provides a monumental synthesis of Japanese history, religion, culture, and social organization. Equipped with a dazzling command of the literature, Eisenstadt explores the Japanese historical legacy and its impact on the Japanese experience of modernity. Eschewing the polemicism of structuralist or culturalist approaches, he expands his investigative framework to include a keenly systematic, broadly comparative analysis. What emerges is an innovative new approach, focusing on the nonideological character of Japanese civilization as well as its infinite capacity to recreate community through an ongoing past.