Scrupulous fidelity to tradition is everywhere a characteristic of tribal religion. Its morality is based upon the sanctity of the communal life amounting to the adoration of blood kinship and the observance of social rules. The individual is almost nothing in the face of the community, and unreasoning submission to social sanction is the essential condition of individual life. Authority and tradition, not the person and conscience, are the ultimate foundation of morality which, though remaining still in force, are being modified by the influence of modern civilization on village life. This has been the strength and at the same time the weakness of Japanese morality. It was the force that solidified the feudal régime and still sustains the solidarity of the people as a body.