First published in 2005. Written as a companion to Eliot's 3-volume Hinduism and Buddhism, this title begins with a brief survey of Buddhism as practiced in India and China before delving deep into the history of Buddhism in Japan. It traces the evolution of the Buddhist movement in Japan from its 'official' introduction in AD 552, through the Nara, Heian and Tokugawa periods, detailing the rises of the various Buddhist sects in Japan, including Nichiren and Zen. Thoroughly researched and well-written, it was the last work published by Eliot, one of the great scholars of Eastern religion and philosophy at the time.

Part I A Survey of Buddhism in India and China; Chapter I The Canons; Chapter II The Doctrines; Chapter III Buddhism in India; Chapter IV The Pantheon; Chapter V Buddhism in China; Part II History of Japanese Buddhism; chapter VI Prefatory Remarks; chapter VII Introduction of Buddhism; chapter VIII Nara Period: The Older Sects; Chapter IX Heian Period: Tendai and Shingon; Chapter X Rise of New Sects: J?do and Shinsh?; Chapter XI Rise of New Sects: Nichiren and Zen; Chapter XII The Dark Ages; Chapter XIII Tokugawa Period: Crystallization of the Church; Part III The Sects and their Doctrines; Chapter XIV Tendai; Chapter XV Shingon; Chapter XVI Amidism; Chapter XVII Zen; Chapter XVIII 1For authorities in English see especially Anesaki, Nichiren, the Buddhist Prophet, Harvard, 1916; and Lloyd, The Creed of Half Japan, 1911, chaps. 24 and 25.References in this chapter to the works of Nichiren give the page numbers in the Tokyo edition of 1904 known as ., G. B.Sansom;