35 History

The development of Shinto throughout much of Japanese history shows a continually changing relationship in regard to Buddhism and other religious and political ideas that came from the East Asian continental culture. This development falls into three main time periods:

Establishing and Recording the Myths: 6th – 8th centuries CE

  • Recording the myths: Kojiki and Nihon Shoki
  • Dainichi Nyorai, the “Sun Buddha” and Amaterasu the sun goddess.

Shinto-Buddhist combinations during the Medieval Period:

  • Honji-suijaku theories during 10th – 16th centuries CE

Establishment of Shinto as a “state” religion:

  • 17th -19th centuries: Tokugawa period regulations
  • 19th – 20th centuries CE: modernization, colonization of Asia, defeat in World War II.

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Seeing the World Through Religion and Culture Copyright © by Diane Riggs and Anderson Hagler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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