The true religion of Japan is not Buddhism, as is sometimes claimed, nor is it Shinto, as is also often claimed. The true religion which exists in people’s hearts is a mix of Buddhism, Shinto, ancestor worship and folk belief (such as Tanabata, Shichi-go-san and the Seven Lucky Deities, etc). In the past this all fell under the hyphenated composite of shin-butsu shugyo.
In 1868 the Meiji ideologues in their concern to create a state religion centred around a captive emperor artificially split this tradition that had more than a thousand years of history to it. In addition, they outlawed all the elements they saw as primitive or hostile to the new unifying principle. Genuine shamanism was out; fossilised ritualism was imposed.
On previous occasions Green Shinto has posted signs of a revival in Shinto-Buddhism, evident in such instances as new pilgrimage courses, festivals and shugendo rites. Now today comes news of a significant development in Kyoto.
| “Kitano Tenmangu shrine revives Shinto-Buddhist rite after 550-year hiatus to pray for an end to the coronavirus:,” runs the headline. For the full article, please see https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/09/04/national/kyoto-shrine-revives-kitano-goryoe/ Some pictures of the event here: http://mainichi.jp/english/graphs/20200904/hpe/00m/0na/001000g/1 |
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