The Last Samurai Religion

Have you ever thought what are the religions that Japanese people have? We all know that Shinto and Buddhism are Japan’s two major religions. Shintoism believed that all living thing in nature contains gods. On the other side, Buddhism is all about following a code of ethics of conduct in one’s life. Most Japanese consider themselves both. Japanese religion is a private and it’s separate from the state and most Japanese people turn to religious rituals in death, birth, etc. But what are the ones of the most respected religions in the world? Japanese religions - Buddhism, Daoism, Shinto, Confucianism – are ones of the most respected religions in the world. These religions can all be seen in the film, “The Last Samurai” and all four religions were blended together and

However, Katsumoto understands that Taka’s husband deserves his death for he tried to kill Algren. Due to the doctrine of Karma, Algren’s life was spared for Katsumoto may have fear karma and do not want anymore deaths in his family and army. Also, despite of Algren killing Taka’s death, everyone in the village was still polite to him. This is because the belief of karma gives fear to the people and also gives justice to the killing of Taka’s husband. Another religious element from the Buddhist religion that stands out in the film is the art of meditation. Right from the beginning, the film starts with a samurai meditating and this rite is practice by the samurais and later on exercise by Algren. Meditation also helps in the transformation of Algren from his desire and dependency with a vice – alcohol. When the statement, “No Mind” was said by Nobutada and “Life in every breath” by Katsumoto, these phrases initiated Algren’s change to focus on the present and stop thinking about the past, as a result, meditation helped with his post-traumatic stress