This book makes no pretense of furnishing a mirror of contemporary Japanese religion. Since 1868, Japan has been breaking the chains of her intellectual bondage to China and India, and the end is not yet. The author's purpose has been, not to take a snapshot photograph, but to paint a picture of the past. It is something like this - "to the era of Meiji (AD 1868 - 1894+) which Griffis has essayed. Hence he is perfectly willing to accept, in advance, the verdict of smart inventors who are all ready to patent a brand new religion for Japan, that this presentation is antiquated.