Syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism
Buddhism arrived in Japan during the reign of the 29th Emperor Kinmei / 欽明天皇 (period of reign 539-571), according to the Nihon-shoki / 日本書紀. At first, its dogma could not be understood and Buddhas were deemed to be foreign Kami. These thought that reconciled Buddhism with Shinto was formulated from around the eighth century and was later called "Syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism".
Emancipation of Shinto kami by Buddhism
- 神身離脱 -
In the early time of beginning,
the first idea was that Buddhism had to save and liberate Kami
who suffered from karma and transmigration in the same way as human beings.
Buddhist bonzes began to build Buddhist temples (called Jingu-ji / 神宮寺) from the early Nara period
and chanted sutras in Shinto shrines,
believing that by doing so they could lead Shinto Kami to a state of enlightenment and liberation.
The construction of Jingu-ji temples was actually started in provincial areas.
Shinto kami protecting Buddhism
- 護法善神 -
Another view of the relationship between Shinto and Buddhism began to be advocated in the capital city of Nara.
This idea was that Shinto's Kami protected Buddhism.
Shinto's Kami were enshrined in Buddhist temples while Shinto shrines were constructed near Buddhist temples.
Moreover, when a new Buddhist temple was built,
the Shinto’s kami were worshipped by the bonzes as a guardian deity.
The Nara period (710-784), was an era governed by the Imperial Court.
The capital called Heijokyo / 平城京 was located in Nara.
The 45th Emperor Shomu / 聖武天皇 was famous for a devout Buddhist
who declared the construction of Todaiji’s Great Buddha / 東大寺留遮那仏像
to pray for peace and prosperity of the nation in 743.
Honji-Suijaku
- 本地垂迹 -
The syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism was further developed during the Heian period
with a new theory called “Honji-Suijaku”.
The Heian period (794-1185), the Imperial Court governed the country during this period.
The capital called Heiankyo / 平安京 was located in Kyoto.
This idea was that Buddhas provisionally appeared as Shinto kami in order to save the Japanese people spiritually.
According to this theory,
the Shinto kami were the manifestations (Suijaku) of the Buddhas,
and the Buddhas were the original ground (Honji) of the Shinto kami.
The theory of Honji-Suijaku gradually spread throughout Japan.
By the end of the Heian period,
the kami worshipped at each shrine was assigned a specific Honji
in the form of a particular Buddha / 如来,
likes Mahavairocana / 大日如来 and Amitabha / 阿弥陀如来, or Bodhisattva / 菩薩.
And the other divine title “Gongen / 権現 (avatar / incarnation)” appeared
during the first half of the tenth century,
on the basis of the theory of Honji-Suijaku, likes Kumano Gongen / 熊野権現 and San-noh Gongen / 山王権現.
Gongen meant “a Buddha that provisionally manifested itself as a Shinto kami”.
With the development of the theory of Honji-Suijaku,
Shinto kami and Buddhas were deemed the same images of kami
and Buddhas were placed in the main buildings of Shinto shrines,
many Buddhist temples were constructed within the precincts of Shinto shrines.
Moreover, in some shrines, bonzes performed rituals and managed shrines together with Shinto priests.
These phenomena persisted until the Meiji Restoration in the latter part of the 19th century
when the separation of Shinto from Buddhism was decreed.
Separation of Shinto from Buddhism
- 神仏分離 -
In contrast to the Buddhists attempts to absorb Shinto’s kami into Buddhism,
during the Kamakura period and the Muromachi period,
Shintoists began to think that they should study and explain Shinto in order to maintain its independence
and gain its ascendancy over Buddhism.
The Kamakura period (1185-1333), the first Samurai government in Japanese history,
beginning with the establishment of the Kamakura Shogunate / 鎌倉幕府 by MINAMOTO-no-Yoritomo / 源頼朝.
The Muromachi period (1338-1573), it began when Takauji ASHIKAGA / 足利尊氏 established the shogunate / 室町幕府 at Muromachi in Kyoto.
In the Edo period (1603-1867), it began when Ieyasu TOKUGAWA / 徳川家康 established the Tokugawa Shogunate / 徳川幕府 in Edo (now Tokyo),
the Shogunate had supported Buddhism over Shinto and used Buddhist temples
as administrative offices to govern the people,
especially in order to block Christianity.
People were required to register with a nearby Buddhist temple
and their funeral ceremonies were carried out by the bonzes.
With the support of the Shogunate,
Buddhist temples tended to have a higher financial and social status than Shinto shrines.
This situation was opposed to the long history and tradition of Japan,
and a reaction accordingly surged with the Meiji Restoration.
The Meiji Restoration / 明治維新, the period before and after the collapse of the Tokugawa Shogunate and
when the Meiji government established centering on the Emperor in 1868.
The newly established Meiji government decreed the separation of Shinto and Buddhism in 1868.
This put an end to the fusion of Shinto and Buddhism that had started in the Nara period
and developed throughout the medieval and modern periods prior to the Meiji Restoration.
