The subject of this paper is the influence of Zen Buddhism on certain chapters of the Japanese traditional culture of contemporary Japan. In contemporary Japanese culture, Zen Buddhism, which conquered Japan in the twelfth century, still has a strong influence on society as a whole, and on culture and the arts in particular, which are - in many cases - intertwined. The goals arising from the problems and subjects of this research are to analyze the impact of Zen Buddhism on those chapters of Japanese culture that are related to the direct relationship between man and nature, namely the tea ceremony, bonsai, ikebana and landscape gardens. The structure of the paper The Influence of Zen Buddhism on Certain Chapters of Japanese Traditional Culture of Contemporary Japan with an introduction and conclusion is divided into two parts in which problems are analyzed and research results are presented. The chapter Zen Buddhism in Japan introduces the emergence of Zen Buddhism in Japan, briefly explains the teaching and practice of Zen, and provides a historical overview of the acceptance of Zen Buddhism, with special emphasis on aesthetic principles. The chapter that follows, Zen in Japanese Traditional Culture analyzes the influence of Zen Buddhism on the tea ceremony, indirectly on calligraphy, then on the art of plant design: ikebana and bonsai, and finally the influence on Japanese landscape gardens. As the basic principles of Zen are the transmission of learning from teacher to student and independence of words and ideograms, it can be concluded that these chapters of culture are traditional because learning about them, over the centuries, was transmitted mainly orally and practiced with the teacher. As a result of the research, the conclusion is that it is impossible to separate Japanese culture from Zen Buddhism, as well as that it is impossible to understand it without knowing and understanding the basic tenets of this Buddhist doctrine and the principles of its aesthetics.