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History of Shinto
Shinto is a religion native to Japan with a centuries'-long history tied to various influences in origin.
Although historians debate[citation needed] the point at which it is suitable to begin referring to Shinto as a distinct religion, kami veneration has been traced back to Japan's Yayoi period (300 BCE to CE 300). Buddhism entered Japan at the end of the Kofun period (CE 300 to 538) and spread rapidly. Religious syncretization made kami worship and Buddhism functionally inseparable, a process called shinbutsu-shūgō. The kami came to be viewed as part of Buddhist cosmology and were increasingly depicted anthropomorphically[citation needed]. The earliest written tradition regarding kami worship was recorded in the 8th-century Kojiki and Nihon Shoki. In ensuing centuries, shinbutsu-shūgō was adopted by Japan's Imperial household. During the Meiji era (1868 to 1912), Japan's nationalist leadership expelled Buddhist influence from kami worship and formed State Shinto, which some historians regard as the origin of Shinto as a distinct religion. Shrines came under growing government influence and citizens were encouraged to worship the emperor as a kami. With the formation of the Japanese Empire in the early 20th century, Shinto was exported to other areas of East Asia. Following Japan's defeat in World War II, Shinto was formally separated from the state.
Even among experts, there is no definitive agreement on what Shinto is, what it encompasses, or even where the history of Shinto begins. Shinto scholar Shōji Okada argues the bedrock of Shinto was laid between the Yayoi period and the Kofun period but also lays out four possible points in history when organized Shinto came into being as a religion. These are as follows (with the primary scholar supporting that theory in parentheses):
While there is no agreed-upon argument for when Shinto began as a religion, its foundations can be seen in ancient times. It begins with the development of nature worship on the Japanese archipelago which saw nature as one with kami, a belief that developed along with the introduction of rice production in the Jomon and Yayoi periods. This faith was spread across the archipelago through state rituals conducted by the Yamato Kingship in the Kofun period. Rituals were held at early shrines such as Munakata Taisha and Ōmiwa Shrine, forming a template for future Shinto. Upon entering the Asuka period, the establishment of the Ritsuryō system led to a systemization of rituals, shrines, and ceremonies and the creation of the Department of Divinities which oversaw Ritsuyō rituals. Tang dynasty codes were used as reference for the regulations regarding the management and administration of rituals in this system. As the Nara period began, Japanese myths and history were compiled in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, linking the imperial family to these rituals. As the Ritsuryō system was relaxed in the Heian period, the emperor and his attendants became directly involved in the rituals of regional shrines without going through the Department of Divinities. Buddhism then began to fuse with this faith in kami that had originated in ancient times in a process called shinbutsu-shūgō, but it is also possible to see the opposite, a shinbutsu-bunri mindset, with a clear division being placed between Shinto rituals and Buddhism. The Shugendō and Onmyōdō faiths also developed in this period and had an influence on Shinto.
In the Middle Ages, there was a movement to create doctrine for Shinto and make it a societal norm among the people. In the Kamakura period, the Kamakura shogunate's worship of kami resulted in protections for shrines throughout the regions of Japan and the widespread worship of kami such as Kumano Gongen, Hachiman, Inari Ōkami, Amaterasu, and Tenjin beyond the limited regions in which they had seen significant worship by the common people in ancient times. As this form of Shinto spread, the intelligentsia began experimenting with interpreting Shinto through Buddhist philosophy, a movement which began with Ryōbu Shintō established by mikkyō monks, and supported the honji suijaku theory which claimed the kami were manifestations of Buddhas. As shrines began to feel threatened by this, they responded by creating systemized theories such as a version of the honji suijaku theory which placed kami in a superior position in relation to the Buddhas with a foundation in a background belief of Japan as a divine land following Japan's victory against the Mongol invaders. They also created Ise Shinto based on the Shintō Gōbusho (神道五部書; "Five Shinto Scriptures"). Later, when many ancient texts were lost in the Ōnin War during the Muromachi period, the opportunity allowed Yoshida Kanetomo to create false documents which he used to establish Yoshida Shinto, the first Shinto theory that was independent from Buddhism but had its own unique doctrine, texts, and rituals. Yoshida Shinto quickly rose to prominence, helped by the societal instability of this period of war, resulting in widespread adoption among the upper class which made it the core form of Shinto at the time. Yoshida Shinto was also involved with the establishment of shrines dedicated to Sengoku Daimyō from the Sengoku period to the Azuchi–Momoyama period.
Japan's modern era primarily consists of the Edo period. During this period, the Tokugawa shogunate reformed the administration of shrines, and the improved societal stability and transportation infrastructure of the time led to increased religious activity among the common people in the form of pilgrimages to Ise Shrine and people-led festivals. In contrast, Buddhism, which had previously enjoyed a position as the state religion, had entered a period of philosophical stagnation. As this was happening, mainstream Shinto philosophies of the early Edo period become more closely linked with the Cheng-Zhu school of Neo-Confucianism as they became critical of Buddhism, leading to a shift from Buddhist Shinto to Confucian Shinto such as Suika Shinto. In the mid Edo period, there came a development of the academic field of kokugaku which integrated Shinto into the empirical study of Japanese classics, such as the study of poetry and linguistics. Kokugaku engaged with Confucian Shinto and flourished in this period. Kokugaku scholar Motoori Norinaga strongly criticized the practice of interpreting Shinto through Buddhism or Confucianism, which had been transmitted from China, and was a proponent for the empirical research of Shinto texts. In the late Edo period, Hirata Atsutane's Fukko Shinto adopted these religious studies of Motoori, though modified some aspects. Fukko Shinto placed a strong emphasis on the afterlife after being influenced by Christianity and also claimed all the myths of the world, from China, India, and in Christianity, were variations on Japanese myth. It then became involved in the restoration of imperial rule. However, Motoori's arguments faced criticism in the Mito Domain for rejecting Confucianism. In this region, scholars fused kokugaku with the Confucian ethics of loyalty and filial piety to create late Mitogaku. By connecting Confucianism and Shinto, Late Mitogaku advocated for the imperial rule of Japan, becoming fertile grounds for the development of shishi philosophies of the final years of the Edo period.
After the shogunate fell and Japan entered the modern era, the Decree for the Restoration of Imperial Rule tied Shinto to government in a move by the new government to unify ritual and rule. The Taikyo Proclamation led to the spread of Shinto proselytization, while the Shinbutsu Hanzen-rei (神仏判然令; "Order for Distinguishing Shinto and Buddhism") aimed to separate Shinto and Buddhism, resulting in an extreme form of haibutsu kishaku in which many Buddhist temples and statues were destroyed. The Meiji government then formed a system for State Shinto, where the state administrated over shrines with the stance that the rituals of Shinto were state rituals. Afterwards, the faction supporting the union of government and religion were ousted by those seeking a separation of church and state. This resulted in Shinto being defined as non-religious and the creation of Secular Shrine Theory which provided shines with status as government organizations, and regional shrines were cut off from government funding. In response, the Shinto priesthood formed the National Association of Shinto Priests and began a movement to reinstate the Department of Divinities in order to receive public funds. Members of the Shinto priesthood who opposed the government as well as Shinto philosophers criticized the State Shinto system for defining Shinto as non-religious and for eliminating the teaching of Shinto philosophy, and private Shinto organizations were established in the form of the thirteen sects of Sect Shinto. After the end of World War II, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) issued the Religious Corporations Order which identified State Shinto as a source of nationalistic ideology and changed shrines into religious corporations under the umbrella of the Association of Shinto Shrines. Shrines lost their status as government organizations, but gained the freedom to conduct religious activities, allowing some shrines to achieve a financial prosperity previously unattainable. Now, shrines play a steady role in annual events and ceremonies for life events.
As rice cultivation spread through the Japanese archipelago from the late Jomon into the Yayoi period, a type of nature worship based on the cultivation of rice also arose. This belief was based on the idea that nature and the kami were one, and that sacrifices and rituals prevented the kami from ravishing the land in the form of natural disasters.
History of Shinto
Shinto is a religion native to Japan with a centuries'-long history tied to various influences in origin.
Although historians debate[citation needed] the point at which it is suitable to begin referring to Shinto as a distinct religion, kami veneration has been traced back to Japan's Yayoi period (300 BCE to CE 300). Buddhism entered Japan at the end of the Kofun period (CE 300 to 538) and spread rapidly. Religious syncretization made kami worship and Buddhism functionally inseparable, a process called shinbutsu-shūgō. The kami came to be viewed as part of Buddhist cosmology and were increasingly depicted anthropomorphically[citation needed]. The earliest written tradition regarding kami worship was recorded in the 8th-century Kojiki and Nihon Shoki. In ensuing centuries, shinbutsu-shūgō was adopted by Japan's Imperial household. During the Meiji era (1868 to 1912), Japan's nationalist leadership expelled Buddhist influence from kami worship and formed State Shinto, which some historians regard as the origin of Shinto as a distinct religion. Shrines came under growing government influence and citizens were encouraged to worship the emperor as a kami. With the formation of the Japanese Empire in the early 20th century, Shinto was exported to other areas of East Asia. Following Japan's defeat in World War II, Shinto was formally separated from the state.
Even among experts, there is no definitive agreement on what Shinto is, what it encompasses, or even where the history of Shinto begins. Shinto scholar Shōji Okada argues the bedrock of Shinto was laid between the Yayoi period and the Kofun period but also lays out four possible points in history when organized Shinto came into being as a religion. These are as follows (with the primary scholar supporting that theory in parentheses):
While there is no agreed-upon argument for when Shinto began as a religion, its foundations can be seen in ancient times. It begins with the development of nature worship on the Japanese archipelago which saw nature as one with kami, a belief that developed along with the introduction of rice production in the Jomon and Yayoi periods. This faith was spread across the archipelago through state rituals conducted by the Yamato Kingship in the Kofun period. Rituals were held at early shrines such as Munakata Taisha and Ōmiwa Shrine, forming a template for future Shinto. Upon entering the Asuka period, the establishment of the Ritsuryō system led to a systemization of rituals, shrines, and ceremonies and the creation of the Department of Divinities which oversaw Ritsuyō rituals. Tang dynasty codes were used as reference for the regulations regarding the management and administration of rituals in this system. As the Nara period began, Japanese myths and history were compiled in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, linking the imperial family to these rituals. As the Ritsuryō system was relaxed in the Heian period, the emperor and his attendants became directly involved in the rituals of regional shrines without going through the Department of Divinities. Buddhism then began to fuse with this faith in kami that had originated in ancient times in a process called shinbutsu-shūgō, but it is also possible to see the opposite, a shinbutsu-bunri mindset, with a clear division being placed between Shinto rituals and Buddhism. The Shugendō and Onmyōdō faiths also developed in this period and had an influence on Shinto.
In the Middle Ages, there was a movement to create doctrine for Shinto and make it a societal norm among the people. In the Kamakura period, the Kamakura shogunate's worship of kami resulted in protections for shrines throughout the regions of Japan and the widespread worship of kami such as Kumano Gongen, Hachiman, Inari Ōkami, Amaterasu, and Tenjin beyond the limited regions in which they had seen significant worship by the common people in ancient times. As this form of Shinto spread, the intelligentsia began experimenting with interpreting Shinto through Buddhist philosophy, a movement which began with Ryōbu Shintō established by mikkyō monks, and supported the honji suijaku theory which claimed the kami were manifestations of Buddhas. As shrines began to feel threatened by this, they responded by creating systemized theories such as a version of the honji suijaku theory which placed kami in a superior position in relation to the Buddhas with a foundation in a background belief of Japan as a divine land following Japan's victory against the Mongol invaders. They also created Ise Shinto based on the Shintō Gōbusho (神道五部書; "Five Shinto Scriptures"). Later, when many ancient texts were lost in the Ōnin War during the Muromachi period, the opportunity allowed Yoshida Kanetomo to create false documents which he used to establish Yoshida Shinto, the first Shinto theory that was independent from Buddhism but had its own unique doctrine, texts, and rituals. Yoshida Shinto quickly rose to prominence, helped by the societal instability of this period of war, resulting in widespread adoption among the upper class which made it the core form of Shinto at the time. Yoshida Shinto was also involved with the establishment of shrines dedicated to Sengoku Daimyō from the Sengoku period to the Azuchi–Momoyama period.
Japan's modern era primarily consists of the Edo period. During this period, the Tokugawa shogunate reformed the administration of shrines, and the improved societal stability and transportation infrastructure of the time led to increased religious activity among the common people in the form of pilgrimages to Ise Shrine and people-led festivals. In contrast, Buddhism, which had previously enjoyed a position as the state religion, had entered a period of philosophical stagnation. As this was happening, mainstream Shinto philosophies of the early Edo period become more closely linked with the Cheng-Zhu school of Neo-Confucianism as they became critical of Buddhism, leading to a shift from Buddhist Shinto to Confucian Shinto such as Suika Shinto. In the mid Edo period, there came a development of the academic field of kokugaku which integrated Shinto into the empirical study of Japanese classics, such as the study of poetry and linguistics. Kokugaku engaged with Confucian Shinto and flourished in this period. Kokugaku scholar Motoori Norinaga strongly criticized the practice of interpreting Shinto through Buddhism or Confucianism, which had been transmitted from China, and was a proponent for the empirical research of Shinto texts. In the late Edo period, Hirata Atsutane's Fukko Shinto adopted these religious studies of Motoori, though modified some aspects. Fukko Shinto placed a strong emphasis on the afterlife after being influenced by Christianity and also claimed all the myths of the world, from China, India, and in Christianity, were variations on Japanese myth. It then became involved in the restoration of imperial rule. However, Motoori's arguments faced criticism in the Mito Domain for rejecting Confucianism. In this region, scholars fused kokugaku with the Confucian ethics of loyalty and filial piety to create late Mitogaku. By connecting Confucianism and Shinto, Late Mitogaku advocated for the imperial rule of Japan, becoming fertile grounds for the development of shishi philosophies of the final years of the Edo period.
After the shogunate fell and Japan entered the modern era, the Decree for the Restoration of Imperial Rule tied Shinto to government in a move by the new government to unify ritual and rule. The Taikyo Proclamation led to the spread of Shinto proselytization, while the Shinbutsu Hanzen-rei (神仏判然令; "Order for Distinguishing Shinto and Buddhism") aimed to separate Shinto and Buddhism, resulting in an extreme form of haibutsu kishaku in which many Buddhist temples and statues were destroyed. The Meiji government then formed a system for State Shinto, where the state administrated over shrines with the stance that the rituals of Shinto were state rituals. Afterwards, the faction supporting the union of government and religion were ousted by those seeking a separation of church and state. This resulted in Shinto being defined as non-religious and the creation of Secular Shrine Theory which provided shines with status as government organizations, and regional shrines were cut off from government funding. In response, the Shinto priesthood formed the National Association of Shinto Priests and began a movement to reinstate the Department of Divinities in order to receive public funds. Members of the Shinto priesthood who opposed the government as well as Shinto philosophers criticized the State Shinto system for defining Shinto as non-religious and for eliminating the teaching of Shinto philosophy, and private Shinto organizations were established in the form of the thirteen sects of Sect Shinto. After the end of World War II, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) issued the Religious Corporations Order which identified State Shinto as a source of nationalistic ideology and changed shrines into religious corporations under the umbrella of the Association of Shinto Shrines. Shrines lost their status as government organizations, but gained the freedom to conduct religious activities, allowing some shrines to achieve a financial prosperity previously unattainable. Now, shrines play a steady role in annual events and ceremonies for life events.
As rice cultivation spread through the Japanese archipelago from the late Jomon into the Yayoi period, a type of nature worship based on the cultivation of rice also arose. This belief was based on the idea that nature and the kami were one, and that sacrifices and rituals prevented the kami from ravishing the land in the form of natural disasters.