Taoism is a Chinese philosophy which arose about the same time as Confucianism in the fifth century BC. Unlike Confucianism with its social and political focus, Taoism was metaphysical, nearly religious. In its popular forms, it is very much a religion. It rejects conformity with the institutions of society in favor of the individual’s unity with nature, the Tao or Way (this word is often used in Japanese as in the Way of the Warrior, the Way of the Sword or the Way of Buddhism).
