Ohsui Arai (1846-1922) was a follower of 'the true religion,' who lived from the last period of Edo through the Taishō Era. Completing his education in Confucianism, Arai spent 28 years in a religious community run by Thomas Lake Harris (1823-1906) in the suburbs of New York and California. Arai spent a life of self-containment and deepened his theological contemplation in the community of Harris who received great influence from Swedenborg's theology. Arai established his original theology based on Christianity there, and after coming back to Japan, he taught a few disciples and wrote some notes for lectures on his theology.

Arai's theology represents a peculiar view on religion, which was backed by Confucianism, one of the major philosophies in the East. Arai pursued the deepening of the inner spirit of human beings through his theology, called 'Jukiichinyo' (the Unity of Confucianism and Christianity).

Daisetz T. Suzuki also pursued 'Spirituality' in his religious philosophy backed by Zen Buddhism, another major religious philosophy in the East. Comparing Arai's theology and Suzuki's philosophy of 'Spirituality,' it becomes clear that they share some common features in their understanding of the inner quality of human beings. Swedenborg's theology is useful for the analysis of Arai's and Suzuki's spiritual quality.

For the comparison of the religious concepts of Arai and Suzuki, the following four perspectives are examined. They are (1) the concept of universal truth and its recognition, (2) the inner structure of human spirit, (3) the way of selfimprovement, and (4) their contribution to society.

(1)Arai's 'Dōshin (the Heart of Tao)' and Suzuki's 'Spirituality' can be analyzed to have equal quality and function of universal truth revealing itself. In both cases, recognition of universal truth is considered to play an important role for the religious awakening of a person.

(2)Although the very core of human spirit, Arai's 'Dōshin' and Suzuki's 'Spirituality,' share equal features, the surrounding structures of their cores present different aspects. The difference is analyzed to follow from their religious views in Christianity and in Zen Buddhism. Arai acknowledges the presence of the 'Ego' in human spirit, while Suzuki denies it in accordance with Buddhist philosophy of 'Mu' (nothingness).

(3)The way of self-improvement of Arai is 'Shindoku/Seiza' (quiet sitting) and that of Suzuki is 'Zazen.' Although their approaches seem different, reflecting their religious views, the actual procedures and effects can be analyzed equally.

(4)The difference in their religious ethics results in different approaches to the contribution to society. Arai's 'Daigaku no michi' (Tao of Daigaku) reflects the direct contribution of men to society, in which the virtue of a spiritually awakened person is to construct ethics of his society. Suzuki's 'Shigu Seigan' (Four Vows of Buddha) is to pray for the individual enlightenment of all humanity, and the spiritually awakened would only affect the ethics of his society indirectly.

Although there are some differences in their approaches, it can be concluded that they share fundamental views of religion. Both Arai and Suzuki consider that universal truth is hidden in the individual interior as the core of human spirituality. Recognition of this core by means of self-improvement is the key to one's spiritual evolution. They both consider that the recognition of one's spirituality is the major purpose of religion.