Part 2: Shinto between 1600-1868

This is Part Two in my series on Shinto as a civil religion, which you can find here!

Shinto between 1600-1868 (also known as the Tokugawa period), mainly existed in three different versions. All these were in relation to Buddhism. The most known about for many is the ritual practices of the Japanese Emperor and his court. One of the emperor’s main functions in the Tokugawa period was religion. The emperor and his court followed a ritual calendar from the “Engishiki”. But, the emperor didn’t only perform rituals relating to Shinto, but to Buddhism as well. The emperor was officially a Shingon Buddhist and was cremated according to Buddhist traditions.

The second aspect of Shinto between 1600-1868

The second aspect of Shinto was the Great Shinto Shrines. This refers to the shrines large enough to have a priesthood that was inherited, a bunch of smaller shrines, and owning an extensive amount of land. Despite these shrines’ size, there was no organization between them. Instead, the connection between shrines came with a common kami (deity). This happened through the establishment of smaller shrines around the country dedicated to the same Kami as the Great Shrines. You would think that when these were Shinto shrines with great networks of smaller shrines that all practiced rituals and worshipped Shinto kami, there would be no Buddhist involvement. Well, you would be wrong! Buddhist monks were still often a part of rituals as well as pilgrimages at these shrines! Much to many Shinto priests’ dismay.

The third aspect of Shinto between 1600-1868

The third aspect of Shinto and the most widespread one was the local shrines. These were dedicated to a small local kami. These shrines didn’t have educated Shinto priests to tend the shrine but were instead managed by the local men. This often happened in an organized rotation, so every man got a turn.

You might be suspecting that there was some kind of organization going on, to connect all these seemingly separate aspects of Shinto. Yet, that was not the case! Before 1868 there was no religious organization around Shinto. There were no educational standards for the priests and no dogma (religious rules) besides the values in Japanese society at the time. Shinto only existed as the rituals performed by the priests and mostly in small communities.

The consequences

Because of this Shinto was kind of absorbed into Buddhism. It wasn’t uncommon that shrines were led by monks. Additionally, many shrines existed in combined temple/shrine complexes where the shrine was ranked lower than the temple. This didn’t only happen with the shrines; the kami were also ranked lower than the Buddhist gods. The kami were seen as unenlightened beings and the Buddhist monks would recite Dharma to them, so they could reach enlightenment through Buddhism. They were essentially trying to convert a god. The kami were sometimes seen as simply different aspects of the Buddhist gods. And in some cases mere protectors of the land.

All this cumulated in Buddhist monks ranking high in society and forcing Buddhist funerals onto Shinto priests. The Shinto priesthood wasn’t happy with any of this of course. Unfortunately for the priests, their lack of organization meant that their many, many protests went unheard.

This would change in 1868 when the new Japanese government chose to separate Shinto and Buddhism.

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