中国的儒家思想传到日本之后,与其社会文化相结合,发生了多样化的适应与变异行为。特别是在日本江户时代,朱子学适应当时社会需要,演变成为日本社会的思想文化体系,进入了前所未有的繁盛期,开始作为一种软性思想力量被同时代的日本人所接受。这样朱子学不再仅仅是深层次的思想理念,而是转变为较具有实用性、功用性的思想工具,不仅影响了日本社会,而且根植于日本传统文化之中,成为其传统文化的重要内容。
Confucianism, with its propagation into Japan, has gone through diversified adaptation and variation, especially in the Edo Period during which Neo-Confucianism has been developed into the ideological and cultural system in Japanese society and experienced unprecedented prosperity with its adaptation to social needs. Since then Neo Confucianism has been accepted by the Japanese as a soft ideological power. In this way, rather than being a profound philosophy, Neo Confucianism has been adapted into a practical and functional ideological tool which has not only influenced the Japanese society, but also has rooted itself into the traditional Japanese culture and become an essential constitution of it.