budismo y shinto.pdf

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Masters Programme in Asian Studies

Spring semester 2013

Author: Fredrik Westman

Supervisor: Karl Gustafsson

LUND UNIVERSITY CENTRE FOR EAST AND SOUTH-EAST ASIAN STUDIES

Shinto-Buddhism Syncretism

- A historical peculiarity or a renewed spiritual paradigm?


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Abstract

The ong process of syncreti*ation +et!een Shinto and ,uddhis" has defined "uch of apan.s

phiosophica and theoogica history/ This process !as ony interrupted !ith the Meii estoration

foo!ing !hich the Meii govern"ent enforced an ideoogy of the t!o reigions +eing co"petey

separate as part of its State Shinto syste"/ Countess te"pes and ,uddhist treasures !ere ost in the

process and the apanese peope !ere tod for the first ti"e in their history up-do!n ho! to

conduct their reigious practices/ Though the State Shinto syste" has since +een a+oished the

Meii ideoogy has see"ingy re"ained infuentia Shinto and ,uddhis" co""ony vie!ed as t!o

separate reigions and syncretis" as a thing of the past/ o!ever there are actors see&ing a reviva

of syncretis" the +est e4a"pe +eing the 2005-for"ed Shinto and ,uddhis" oy 6aces

7rgani*ation/ That syncretis" and the separation are not unpro+e"atic "atters is cear and yet

very itte research is +eing conducted concerning the"/ This thesis ai"s to contri+ute to fiing the

research gap +y anaysing the apanese "ainstrea" ne!spaper discourse surrounding Shinto-

,uddhis" syncretis"/ This is done through a critica discourse anaysis of Asahi Shimbun and

Yomiuri Shimbunne!spaper artices reporting anything syncretis"-reated +et!een the period 2005

and 2012/ 8t is found that !hie syncretis" is not e4cusivey understood as a past pheno"enon it is

not often found in a conte"porary conte4t either/ 6ortrayas of syncretis" as e4ceptiona and as

"ost i"portant to the study of history a+ound and it is concuded that the Meii govern"ent.s

ideoogy of separation re"ain successfu and infuentia to this day/

Keywords: Critica discourse anaysis apan Shinto apanese ,uddhis" Shinto-,uddhis"

syncretis"shinbutsu-shuugou

Shinto-,uddhis" Syncretis"$ A historica pecuiarity or a rene!ed spiritua paradig"#


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Table of contents

A+stract//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////2

1/ 8ntroduction////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////9

1/1/ esearch pro+e" and purpose////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////9

1/2/ :isposition///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////;

1/3/

2/2/3/ Socia practices//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////10

2/3/ Meta-theory///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////10

3/ Literature revie!////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////11

3/1/ Shinto and ,uddhis" in history///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////11

3/2/ The an*en :irective and the State Shinto syste"/////////////////////////////////////////////////////19

3/3/ Conte"porary syncretis"////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////1?

9/ Anaysis//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////15

9/1/ Actors///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////15

9/2/ Conte4t of the !ordshinbutsu-shuugou......................................................................1>

9/2/1/ 6ast conte4ts///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////21

9/2/2/ 6resent conte4ts/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////30

9/2/3/ istory conte4ts/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////3;

9/2/9/ E4ceptiona conte4ts//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////92

9/2/?/ Uncear conte4ts/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////9=

9/3/ epresentation of the Shin+utsu eiou-&ai and the ina onchou////////////////////////////??

9/9/ Agency of the separation//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////?=

?/ :iscussion and concusion ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////?>

;/ eferences//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////;2

Appendi4 8/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////;9

Appendi4 88////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////=>



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1. Introduction

The inti"ate reation and interaction +et!een apan.s native reigious tradition no! co""ony

referred to as Shinto and that of the non-native reigion of ,uddhis" has shaped "uch of apan.s

reigious and phiosophica history since the atter !as introduced to apan in the ; thcentury/ This

interaction often ta&ing the for" of the +eief and custo"s syste"s co"pe"enting each other and

adapting to fit into the other.s !ord vie! has +een caed .Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis".

@shinbutsu-shuugou or sighty derogatoriy +y kokugakuschoars asshinbutsu-konkou1 and can +e

seen as a historica process continuing "ore or ess uninterrupted unti the onset of the Meii period

@15;5-1>12/ The (a"i and ,uddha separation poicies ordered +y the Meii govern"ent is

co""ony seen as speing the end for continued a"aga"ation and syncretis" +et!een the t!o

traditions Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" as a concrete pheno"enon +eco"ing a "ere fading

"e"ory/ Shinto is no! e4cusivey Shinto and ,uddhis" is no! e4cusivey ,uddhis"/ ,ut ust to

!hat e4tent is this understanding entrenched in the apanese societa discourse and ho! are any

surviving syncretic practices vie!ed in reation to this# This research ai"s to at east partiay

ans!er these Buestions through criticay anaysing apanese "ainstrea" ne!spapers. reporting of

the concept of syncretis"/

1.1. Research problem and purpose

The historica process of Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" has +een e4a"ined in detai +y various

history of reigion schoars such as (ishine @2009 (a"ata @200> and oshie @1>>;/ Their

definitions of .syncreti*ation. "echanis"s are iustrated +y case studies of historicay strongy

syncretic paces and rituas/ ,reen D Teeu!en @2010 for e4a"pe e4a"ine the shrine iyoshi

Taisha.s ong history of cose interaction !ith the ,uddhist Enrya&u-i Te"pe +eginning roughy

!ith the atter.s esta+ish"ent in the ate 5thcentury/ They aso e4a"ine ho! i"peria rituas have

adapted and changed as poitics de"anded the" to poitics not sedo" reated to Shinto-,uddhis"

syncretic theoogies/ 8noue et/ a/ @2000 discuss in detai ho! Shinto has deveoped aongside

,uddhis" throughout history/ Tsui @200= e4a"ines the syncretic nature of the cut surrounding the

god of !ar achi"an-in and S"yers @1>>> e4a"ines the cut of the god of fortune 8nari-o&a"i

discovering syncretic ee"ents re"aining intact to this day/

1 Shinbutsu-shuugou iteray "eans .syncretis" +et!een Shinto and ,uddhis". !hereasshinbutsu-konkou iteray

transates as ."i4ing up of Shinto and ,uddhis"./Kokugaku refers to the study of apanese phiosophy +y schoarsof the ate Edo period @1;03-15;5 "any of !hich a+horred the Shogunate and its advocated ,uddhis" and

Confucianis" and argued for "ore .pure apanese. practices/ Their thought ater greaty infuenced the ideoogy+ehind the Meii estoration and the su+seBuent Meii govern"ent/



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7f the schoars e4picity deaing !ith the concept of Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" very fe!

have thought of it as a conte"porary issue vie!ing it instead as a historica pheno"enon/Such a

state of affairs in itsef "ight suggest that the Meii period @15;5-1>12 govern"ent.s poicies ai"ed

at ending syncretis" and carifying !hich practices !ere Shinto and !hich !ere ,uddhist !ere

successfu/ This is despite the fact that the fied has seen the +irth of a ne! actor recenty$ the Shinto

and ,uddhis" oy 6aces 7rgani*ation @Shinbutsu Reijoukai henceforth eiou&ai a reigious

u"+rea organi*ation ai"ing at reviving syncretic practices/ Even so S"yers @1>>>$25 and Tsui

@200=$?= 295 de"onstrate that vestiges of Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" ive on to this day/ et

very itte research has +een done e4poring the conte"porary situation and a distinct research gap

can thus +e identified/

)eneray spea&ing it is the purpose of this thesis to fi this research gap and to contri+ute

to the s"a +ody of research deaing !ith the conte"porary state of Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis"/

The overa research Buestion !hich is necessariy genera and a+stract is phrased thus$

1$ 8s Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" reay a thing of the past#

'ays of ans!ering this Buestion incude a case study focusing e4cusivey on conte"porary

practices and recent data +ut case seection and research design is rendered very co"picated +y the

ac& of previous research/ This is +ecause there is very itte infor"ation avaia+e that coud guide

the case seection since as "entioned a"ost a iterature dea !ith the history of the issue/

ecogni*ing that discourses produce and reproduce socia identities socia reations and

&no!edge syste"s @orgensen D 6hiips 2002$;= and +earing in "ind that ne!spapers "ust

nurture a "utua identity !ith their readerships @ichardson 200=$>0 8 argue that e4a"ining

"ainstrea" ne!spaper artices deaing !ith the concept of Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" through a

critica discourse anaysis @C:A !oud +e the "ost feasi+e and indeed re!arding "ethod toe"poy at present/ The roe that Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" pays in the ne!spapers. discourse

!i correspond at east partiay to the roe it pays !ithin the overa societa discourse of apan/

E4a"ining this roe and the nature of the discourses that the concept of Shinto-,uddhis"

syncretis" is e"poyed !ithin !i et us understand ho! it is that the concept is discursivey

constructed and thus ho! it is vie!ed and treated in conte"porary apan/ )uided +y this choice of

"ethod and theory the second and "ain research Buestion !i thus +e$



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2$ o! is the concept of Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" discursivey constructed !ithin

the apanese conte"porary "ainstrea" ne!spaper discourse#

Apart fro" the separation poicies the"seves the entire State Shinto syste" of pre-!ar and

!arti"e 8"peria apan enforced this understanding of the t!o reigions as co"petey separate/

The


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na"es/ 6erson na"es are given in the apanese order !ith surna"e preceding given na"e/ :ou+e

Buotation "ar&s a!ays signify direct Buotations !hereas singe Buotation "ar&s "ar& a technica

ter" or a specific ter" ta&en out of its conte4t/

. %ethodolo$y

.1. !ata

The "ateria to +e studied !i +e apanese ne!spaper artices/ Artices fro" t!o apanese

ne!spapers !i +e anaysed so as to provide a co"parative perspective and to incude as arge a

portion as feasi+e of the overa societa discourse in apan/ The t!o ne!spapers seected are the

Asahi Shimbun @henceforth Asahi and the Yomiuri Shimbun @henceforth o"iuri/ They !ere

seected +ecause they are the t!o "ost read ne!spapers in apan and +ecause they are generay

regarded as +eing of differing stated ideoogiesG Asahi is "ore eftist-i+era !hereas Yomiuri is

"ore rightist-conservative/

Strategy-!ise this proect !i +e ocated so"e!here +et!een Buantitative and Buaitative

research/ C:A can through theoretica sa"ping choose a reativey s"a nu"+er of te4ts to

anayse in very great depth H this !oud +e on the Buaitative end of the spectru" of C:A strategies

@'oda& D Meyer 200>$2=-25/ o!ever theoretica sa"ping does not end !e to this proect

+ecause of once again the ac& of previous research/ There is aso the pro+e" of .cherry-pic&ing.

te4ts that serve to iustrate our hypotheses @8+id/ 11/

To!ard this theoretica +ac&ground 8 have dee"ed it necessary to e"poy a cear and

transparent sa"ping "ethod !ith as fe! criteria as possi+e/ The ony !ay to reaisticay +e

certain that an artice is reevant to this proect is if the !ord .Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis". @p/

Shinbutsu-shuugou appears in its +ody of te4t/ This !i +e the first criterion/ To achieve a

conte"porary fra"e and +earing in "ind that the year 2005 sa! the creation of the eiou&ai an

event thought to +e crucia to the conte"porary situation of Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" the

second criterion !i +e te"poraG ony artices pu+ished +et!een the year 2005 and the year 2012

!i +e anaysed/ Search Bueries in the t!o ne!spapers. data+ases !ith these t!o criteria yied 199

resuts in Asahi and 199 resuts in Yomiuri2/ A"ong these there are !ee&y su""aries event

infor"ation and +oo& infor"ation i/e/ artices not reporting ne!s events that have +een discarded

for the fina popuation/ This eaves the fina a"ount of artices at 139 for Asahi and 130 for

o"iuri totaing 2;9 artices/ efer to Ta+e 1 on the ne4t page for an overvie! of the data/

2 The identica nu"+er is thought to +e a coincidence/ A +rief overvie! suggests that it is not the e4act sa"e events!hich are +eing reported/



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2;9 artices 2005 200> 2010 2011 2012 Tota

Asahi 3; 35 15 21 21 130

o"iuri 3= 22 23 31 1= 139

Ta+e 1$ :ata overvie!/

.. Analytical procedures

Every C:A study "ust consider not ony the te4t itsef +ut aso the discursive and socia practices

that contri+uted to and infuenced its production @orgensen D 6hiips 2002$;5/ This study focuses

on the inguistic aspects of the te4ts anaysed +ut !i +riefy consider reevant discursive and

socia practices/

..1. &in$uistic analysis

Since !e are !or&ing !ith finite ti"e and space for research representation the "ore te4ts one

!ants to anayse the ess points of anaysis can +e considered/ 'ith a sa"pe of data as arge as 2;9

artices it is not feasi+e to consider a inguistic aspects of the entirety of each artice/ The

inguistic anaysis of the artices !i thus not +e anaysed !ord for !ord +ut according to the

foo!ing t!o procedures/

%irst actors and the actions attri+uted to the" !i +e considered/ ,y e4a"ining !hat actors

and actions are given reevance in the artices the discourse genre @or discourse strand that each

artice has +een situated in +y the author and editors can +e identified/ Scrutini*ing actors and

actions can aso revea potentia asy""etric po!er reations reinforced +y the ne!spaper since

attri+uting agency gives po!er to the agent and "entioning an action gives reevance to the action

@'oda& D Meyer 200>$?? ichardson 200=$9>/ :iscourse genres are interesting +ecause they can

te us so"ething of the genera ocation of Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" in the overa societa

discourse in apan/ 8f syncretis" is deat !ith in acade"ic discourses "ost of the ti"e for e4a"pe

a tentative concusion "ight +e that the concept is understood as an o+ect to +e acade"icay

studied rather than as spirituay significant practices and teachings/

Since considering each and every actor and action "entioned in a the artices is not dee"ed

pausi+e ony na"ed actors that are e4picity agents of actions in the events reported +y an artice

as !e as actors that are given space for Buotes !i +e considered for the deter"ination of

discourse genre/ Such na"ed actors !i +e counted and grouped into categories/ Unna"ed actors

such as kannushi @Shinto priest souryo @,uddhist "on& or senmonka @speciaist !i not +e

counted/



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Second the usage of the e4ica ter" .Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis". !hich constitutes ony

one four-character noun in apanese !i +e anaysed in-depth/ 'hat attri+utes are given to the

!ord and !hat is the !ord attri+uted to# 'hat &ind of !ord is it used as H a noun an adective or

so"ething ese# :oes it signify a process an event or a pace# 8s it paced in the past +y the tense

of sentences it appear in or in the present# These are a Buestions that can +e as&ed of the usage of

the !ord in each artice/ A inguistic anaysis guided +y these Buestions !i revea the Buaities and

functions attri+uted to the concept of syncretis" as !e as the function it is perceived as serving

not to "ention the !ay it is constructed +y the ne!spapers @and their readerships/ A instances of

the !ord !i +e anaysed according to this fra"e!or&/

%inay the sa"e e4ica anaysis as descri+ed a+ove !i aso +e carried out upon the ter"

.Shin+utsu eiou-&ai. and .ina onchou. to ans!er the third research Buestion/

... !iscursi'e practices

The discursive practices di"ension constitutes the sociay constructed settings that infuence the

production of the te4ts/ These are reated to the ne!spaper.s intended audience actua audience as

!e as to the stated poitica stance of the ne!spaper @ichardson 200=$=?/ 8t has aready +een

"entioned that Asahi is genera thought to +e eftist-i+era and rightist-conservative/ %ro" this it

can +e hypothesi*ed that Asahi !i +e "ore positive to!ards Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" than

o"iuri/

The ne!s vaue given to events !hat &ind of actors are given space the position given to

artices in the ne!spaper.s physica space the artices. ength etc/ is aso teing of ho! discursive

practices infuence the production of the te4t/ ,ecause not a digita artices have the physica

ocation noted this is a difficut point to anayse/ o!ever actors as !e as the reevance of

reporting certain events and not others !i +e considered to so"e e4tentG cross-referencing a 2;9

artices is not dee"ed feasi+e under the scope of this study/'hie there is aso the "atter of ho! the ne!spaper artices reate to other te4ts @i/e/

interte4tuaity and inguistic stye these points !i serve ony as "inor considerations on an artice

to artice +asis/



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..". Social practices

Socia practices refer to the institutions syste"s and vaues that infuence the production of the te4t

through their reation to the ne!spaper and to ournais" at arge @8+id/ 119/ o! the ne!spaper

treats poitica ca"paigns and ho! econo"ic practices infuence its production is reevant here +ut

aso ho! history and +roader societa conte4t infuence the ne!spapers. discourse/ Things to

consider aso are the history of Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" and !hether there are groups !ith

vaues or thought-syste"s that have an interest in infuencing the understanding of the concept 3and

if these groups can +e deter"ined to +e infuencing the ne!spapers/ Apart fro" the eiou&ai

another potentia such group is the onchou an u"+rea organi*ation for Shinto shrines that has

served as a sort of spiritua successor to the State Shinto syste"/

%or this study the history of syncretis" the state of any current practices as !e as the

consideration of the eiou&ai and the onchou !i constitute the ony aspects of anaysis reating

to socia practices the focus instead +eing aid on the inguistic anaysis/

.". %eta-theory

'hen !or&ing !ith C:A the episte"oogy of interpretivis" and the ontoogy of socia

constructivis" is generay incuded in the ."ethodoogica pac&age. that is C:A/ The notion that

discourse produces socia reations socia identities and &no!edge syste"s is rooted in the socia

constructivist idea that the socia !ord is constructed +y socia reations/ o!ever there are

discourse anaysis approaches that accept episte"oogica and I or ontoogica reais" @though these

"ethods "ay +e coser to conversation anaysis or content anaysis than to discourse anaysisG see

,ry"an 2009/ Thus it is usefu to reconsider !hat "eta-theories !e !or& !ith +ut aso to consider

e4acty !hat they signify for the proect at hand/

Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" as a concept and as a process has historicay +een defined +y

the societa conte4ts !ithin !hich it operated/ There is no such a thing as any one o+ective

pheno"enon that can fro" a privieged vie!point +e o+served to constitute Shinto-,uddhis"

syncretis"G !hat it constitutes is defined +y our reation to it and +y the discourses @re-producing

its "eaning/ The nature of syncretis" +oth as a concept and as an entity today is thus defined +y

pri"ariy those !ho reate to it and +y the nature of those reations/ Since discourse theory asserts

that anguage refects discourse and that discourse creates these reations @orgensen D 6hiips

3 8n a C:A approach that does not recogni*e the e4istence of non-discursive practices it !oud +e "oot to

differentiate +et!een socia and discursive practices/ The C:A approach to anaysing ne!spapers advocated +yichardson @200= and prgensen D 6hiips @2002 ho!ever does ac&no!edge the e4istence of such practices/



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2002$10-11 !e can reaffir" that C:A is a usefu "ethod to e"poy and !hich is in ine !ith these

"eta-theoretica considerations/

". &iterature re'iew

".1. Shinto and Buddhism in history

As a historica process Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" has +een discussed +y schoars fro" a variety

of +ac&grounds +ut its overa significance to the cutura deveop"ent of apan is often

underesti"ated according to oshie @1>>; and (a"ata @200>/ oshie argues that the process !as

and continues to +e crucia to the for"ation of "odern apanese society and (a"ata goes so far as

to state that syncretis" of any &inds @not ony reigious constitutes the very essence of apanese

cuture/

Jie!ing Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" as inti"atey connected to the changing ideoogy of

the a"ato Court9and ater oca po!er-hoders and !arrior fa"iies @an assertion that he shares

!ith (ishine oshie proceeds to divide the process of syncretis" into four stages$

The shrine te"pe stage

The vengefu spirit !orship stage

The ta+oo avoidance stage

The oni-suia&u stage

:uring the first stage ,uddhist te"pes @caed jinguu-ji shrine te"pes !ere +uit at the sites of

aready e4isting Shinto shrines +ecause it !as +eieved that Shinto &a"i i&e hu"ans !ere in need

of the +uddhas. savation/ 'hie this coud +e interpreted as ,uddhis" assi"iating Shinto the

origina shrine has never disappeared as a resut and the opposite idea na"ey that of Shinto &a"i

+eing su""oned to protect ,uddhist te"pes (caedshugo-jin kanjou,!as aso e"poyed !idey

@8+id/ 25/ 8t shoud +e noted that Mahayana ,uddhis" has a tendency to ac&no!edge the e4istence

of native deities as +eing "ore enightened than hu"ans +ut sti not of +uddha status @,reen D

Teeu!en 2010$35/

The shrine te"pe concept !as at first advocated +y oca andords !ho in principe rued

on the authority of their honoring the centra a"ato Court and its "ythoogy through participating

9 The a"ato Court refers to the ruers of ancient apan/ Though the sa"e dynasty as today the ter" refers to the

period +efore the dynasty !as &no!n as the 8"peria ousehod and !hen its ruers !ere referred to as great &ings@ookimiinstead of e"perors @tennou/



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in court Shinto festivas/ 8nfuenced +y ,uddhis".s idea of "ateria !eath +eing a chief cause for

pain and recogni*ing that their &a"i !ere the source of their authority they sought savation for

the"seves through the savation of their &a"i @oshie 1>>;$?>/ The Mahayana concept of ruing

cass reaching savation through supporting ,uddhis" !as aso sure to have contri+uted to their

decision to fund the construction of +oth standard ,uddhist te"pes and shrine te"pes ai&e/

As oca andords and po!er-hoders constructed "ore and "ore shrine te"pes they found

the reigious "otivation for continued support of the court festivas ess and ess necessary and

participation d!inded as a resut/ To pree"pt a tota change in reigion-+ased authority the a"ato

Court fro" the ate 5thcentury in turn +egan to support the syncretic practices enthusiasticay/

'hie the unti then effective a"ato syste" for ad"inistrating Shinto shrines the Jingikansyste"

eventuay coapsed as a resut of the changing reigious andscape the court sti "anaged to hod

on to its authority as a resut/

:uring the atter haf of the eian 6eriod the +eief that oca catastrophes and

"ishappenings !ere the resut of vengefu spirits fueed +y anger at their unfair ife fortune +egan

to spread/ Such vengefu spirits !ere often enshrined as Shinto &a"i so as to appease their !rath

and the shrines !ere often acco"panied +y ,uddhist esta+ish"ents that &ept the spirit in chec&

through daiy reading of sutras/ A fa"ous e4a"pe is that of Suga!ara no Michi*ane no!

!orshiped as Tenin and regarded as a god of poetry and earning/ ,efore he !as enshrined as such

he !as considered a vengefu spirit and even a sy"+o of anti-court rue/ This atter fact !as of

critica interest to the court !hich once again acted to pree"pt popuar +eief +y sanctioning

Michi*ane.s enshrine"ent as Tenin at (itano Ten"an-guu shrine/

The third stage is characteri*ed +y an increasing focus on the concept of i"purity @ kegare/

7riginay a pro"inent aspect of ancient Shinto @8+id/ 190 i"purity can +e descri+ed as an a"ora

negative energy that "ust +e avoided and in cases !hen it cannot +e purified/ Since death and a

deaings !ith it !ere seen as one of the gravest sources of i"purity Shinto !as in so"e!hat of adie""a on ho! to +est dea !ith it/ 7ne of the reasons that spurred 6ure Land ,uddhis".s rising

popuarity during the end of the eian period !as the +eief that the dead coud not reach savation

through Shinto/ Apparenty this +eief penetrated a ayers of society and even the court !oud

co"e to rey on ,uddhis" to dea !ith death/ The reiance of apanese reigious cuture on

,uddhis" for deaings !ith death continues to this day/

oni suia&u represents the fina paradig" of Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" according to

oshie.s "ode/ The ter" transates roughy into Ktraces of origina ground and is the over-arching



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na"e of the theoogica assertions +ased on the idea that Shinto &a"i are in fact "anifestations of

+uddhas +odhisattvas and other heaveny entities of Mahayana ,uddhis".s !ordvie!/ This can +e

seen as a theoogica ustification of syncretic practices and !as "ade possi+e +y ,uddhis".s

increased status as a "aor po!er in apanese reigious and poitica ife/ The !arrior fa"iies that

rose to po!er during the (a"a&ura Shogunate e"+raced the idea of oni suia&u !orshipping

syncretic gods of !ar and fortune @such as achi"an so as to redee" the i"purity they indicted

upon the"seves through their fighting @8+id/ 1>;/ The court had no choice +ut to ac&no!edge the

theory as !e est it aienate the !arrior fa"iies/

8t shoud +e noted that oshie does not consider the reigious practices of the Edo period

syncretic seeing the" instead as an e4tension of the Shogunate.s po!er +ased co"petey on the

authority of en ,uddhis"/ This is a strange assertion since the Shogunate.s reigious ideoogy

incuded the o+igatory !orship +y !arrior fa"iies of the Shogunate.s founder To&uga!a 8eyasu

enshrined as a &a"i at $192/ 7ther varieties of Shinto e"poying various for"s

of speciai*ed syncretic practices incude you+u Shinto and o&&e Shinto?infuenced +y Shingon

,uddhis" and 102/ That +eing said the +eief syste" no! &no!n as Shinto has ony +een

practised in apan "a&ing Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" so"ething uniBue to that country @athough

? Jarieties of Shinto such as these are generay referred to as Sect Shinto @kyouha shintou and ocai*ed in scope/

oshida Shinto ho!ever !as greaty infuentia during the Sengo&u period @19;=-1;03 and retained "uchinfuence unti the ate Edo period/ 8ts doctrines incude the reversa of honji suijakuand the idea that a the kamiof

apan are enshrined si"utaneousy in oshida-ina Shrine.s octagona inner sanctuary/ See 8noue et/ a/ @2000$11;192 for in-depth discussion of you+u Shinto and oshida Shinto/



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19

8noue et/ a/ @2000$20 29 strongy e"phasi*e that even ancient apanese practices had "any

si"iarities to other East Asian native traditions/ %urther it shoud +e noted that the Mahayana

,uddhis" that spread to apan through the (orean &ingdo"s in the ; thcentury !as aready fa"iiar

!ith adapting itsef to fit in to oca faiths. !ord-vie! hence its propensity to do the sa"e in apan

@8+id/ 110/

".. The (an)en !irecti'e and the State Shinto system

ust as the deveop"ent of various for"s of syncretic practices !ere a!ays "otivated +y not ony

reigious concerns +ut aso poitics and ideoogy so too !as the decision +y the Meii govern"ent

to put an end to syncretis" and Kcarify !hich reigious practices !ere Shinto and !hich !ere

,uddhist/ 8nvaria+y caed the ti"e of (a"i and ,uddha separation @shinbutsu bunri the officia

na"e for the a!-+inding edict !as the .(a"i and ,uddha @or Shinto and ,uddhis" Carification

:irective. @shinbutsu hanen-rei henceforth an*en :irective/

The an*en :irective speed not ony a co"pete change in reigious poicy and an officia

end to Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" +ut aso a reconstruction of apan.s native reigious practices to

!hat is today co""oiny referred to as Shinto/ 8ndeed ,reen D Teeu!en @2010 a"ong others

@a"+ei D Teeu!en @2003 and 8noue et/ a/ @2000 for e4a"pe argue that the reigious practices

co""ony referred to as Shinto today is a"ost entirey a construct of the Meii period/ %or !hie

the Meii govern"ent sought egiti"acy for restoring the e"peror to a position of upper"ost po!er

such egiti"acy !as actuay difficut to derive fro" unti that point syncretic ideoogies/ A

co"petey ne! syste" of ideoogy !as thus constructed +ased on the thought of pro"inent

nationaist schoars of ate 15thand eary 1>thcentury !ho in turn used ancient te4ts seectivey to

argue for a Kapanese !ay @,reen D Teeu!en 2010$;1/

'hie "ost top-do!n reigious poicies in apan.s history have +een ideoogicay

"otivated none have !rought so "uch "ateria destruction as the Meii govern"ent.s/ At ie

Shrine aone "ore than a thousand ,uddhist treasures !ere destroyed as Shinto priests and

foo!ers ai&e !ere urged @though not iteray in the directive to purge their Shinto shrines of a

traces of syncretic practices in a "ove"ent that has co"e to +e &no!n as the haibutsu kishaku

@e4pe ,uddhis" and destroy Sha&ya"uni "ove"ent @8+id/ 10>/

Since i"peria apan.s constitution !oud in theory ensure freedo" of reigion to its citi*ens

the Meii govern"ent "ade efforts to present the nationa Shinto syste" as not reigious +ut ritua-

and tradition-+ased so as to sti +e a+e to reBuire citi*ens to foo! it @(a"ata 200>$152/ 8t !as



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ony often ocai*ed versions of Shinto caed sect Shinto @kyoha shintou that !as recogni*ed as

reigions/ 'hie not initiay a too for raying the peope to support "iitaristic practices the

syste" too& on that nature as the poiticians and schoars !ho inherited the syste" fro" the Meii

govern"ent and origina kokugakuschoars radicai*ed it further @8+id/ 21=/

Athough the State Shinto syste" !as dis"anted on order of the occupation forces @Shi+ata

2009$92; the soon thereafter founded


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1;

!ith history and "entions recent deveop"ents ony in the fina t!o-sentence-ong paragraph

@(o&uga&uin 2013

As a counterpart to the onchou ,reen D Teeu!en ac&no!edges the eiou&ai.s

foundation as a possi+e catayst for a change in the reationship +et!een the t!o reigions @,reen D

Teeu!en 2010$220/The eiou-&ai.s for"ation !as sponsored +y Enrya&u-i Te"pe the Tendai

Schoo of ,uddhis".s headBuarters and a historicay very i"portant advancer of syncretic

practices especiay at ie-ina @for"ery iyoshi-taisha shrine/ La"enting the Meii

govern"ent.s poicies +ut aso affir"ing their +eief that the peace-see&ing spirit of the apanese

that have a!ays !orshipped +oth ,uddha and &a"i has re"ained unchanged the eiou-&ai

pro"otes a pigri"age route of 1?0 shrines and te"pes and hods cere"onies and rituas that

surpasses the +orders of the current esta+ish"ents @eiou&ai 2013/ An interesting point is that

shrines that are si"utaneousy "e"+ers of the onchou are aso incuded in the 1?0 and support

the route "ost pro"inent a"ong the" 8se-inguu itsef/ 8t is uncear to !hat e4tent such shrines

su+scri+e to the syncretis"-reviving aspirations of the eiou-&ai/

>>$2?/ At such paces syncretic rituas and

!orship have survived to this day aided not ony +y the "on&s +ut aso +y !orshippers. practices/

o!ever during intervie!s !ith Shinto priests and !orshippers at 8nari.s head shrine %ushi"i

8nari-taisha S"yers is "et !ith surprise upon infor"ing her intervie!ees of ,uddhist versions of

8nari and syncretic practices even at certain areas of 8nari Mountain the "ountain +ehind %ushi"i

8nari-taisha/ Such surprise Ksho!s the success of the govern"ent.s atte"pts to create separate

conceptua categories regarding sites and certain identities @S"yers 1>>>$21>/ Even so S"yers

continues to note that reigious practice re"ains "utipe and non-e4cusive/Though the shrine te"pe at achi"an-in.s "ain shrine Usa-inguu !as destroyed during

the Meii period Tsui notes that the site continues to +e a gathering point for supporters of

syncretis" and that ,uddhist versions of achi"an continue to +e !orshiped throughout the

country "uch in the sa"e "anners as ,uddhist versions of 8nari do @Tsui 200=$295 The concept

of a ,uddhist version as opposed to a Shinto version of achi"an is aso a construct of the Meii

periodG Tsui sho!s in detai ho! achi"an has +een !orshiped as +oth a &a"i and a +odhisattva

throughout "uch of history/



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1=

There are other case studies of singe sites as !e that sho! ho! syncretic practices have

re"ained intact to the present day @such as Tan 2011 +ut these are very fe! in nu"+er/ Certainy

there is "ore !ritten a+out the su+ect in apanese than in Engish +ut apanese schoars of reigion

tend to focus even "ore on history than those !riting in Engish/



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15

+. Analysis

+.1. Actors

%irst and fore"ost the na"ed actors in a artices !ere counted and divided into categoriesaccording to the considerations outined under section 2/2/2/ 'hie a actors !ere initiay divided

into as "any categories as there !ere !ords descri+ing the" in the ne!spapers "ost categories

turned out to +e very "inor and have +een grouped into the category .ay"en. "eaning they are

neither acade"ics nor reigious speciaists/ The su""ary of +oth ne!spapers. actors can +e found

in Ta+e 2 and Ta+e 3 +eo!/

ASA8 2005 200> 2010 2011 2012 TotaAcade"ics 21 13 > 9 ? ?2

eigious

speciaists

1; 1? 10 13 3 ?=

Lay"en 1= 23 2 2 2 9;

Ta+e 2$ Actors in Asahi

7M8U8 2005 200> 2010 2011 2012 Tota

Acade"ics 1; 13 ? 1? 11 ;0

eigious

speciaists

29 > 22 13 ; =9

Lay"en 13 15 12 3? 20 >5

Ta+e 3$ Actors in o"iuri

8t shoud +e noted first and fore"ost that the reativey arge ay"en categories arise fro"

the ne!spapers. especiay o"iuri.s tendency to offer guide-i&e tourist-targeted infor"ation in an

addendu"-i&e separate part of the artice/ 8n these parts restaurant o!ners oca crafts"en

visiting tourists as !e as "any other oca persona are "entioned +riefy and I or Buoted for at

"ost a ine or t!o/ %ar fro" +eing irreevant though these artice sections te us that "any sites or

events reported +y the ne!spapers are vie!ed as potentia tourist attractions/

Another pro+e" !ith the ay"en category is that 8 originay created it as the opposite of

the eigious speciaists category !ith the na"e .Lay practictioners./ My ai" !as to discern to !hat

e4tent the actua !orshippers and practitioners are given space in a reigious discourse/ o!ever it

turned out to +e i"possi+e to deter"ine !hether a co"pany e"poyee visiting a shrine did so



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1>

+ecause he !as a !orshipper or +ecause he had a vacation/ S"yers @1>>>$19 argu"ent that

reigiosity in apan is "ore connected to practice than faith co"es to "ind/

:isregarding the ay"en category for no! !e see that the argest group of actors in +oth

ne!spapers is that of .eigious speciaists./ Actors in this group are either ,uddhist "on&s or

Shinto priests of varying ran&/ The ony na"ed miko"!as not incuded in this category +ecause she

!as ceary stated as !or&ing part-ti"e !hie oo&ing for another o+ @o"iuri 2010-09-01/ The

"ost appearing reigious speciaist is 7&a"oto A&io head priest of (asuga-taisha shrine in


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20

as to suggest that Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" is co"petey a pheno"enon or idea of the past a

+ygone age/ The second category is that of .6resent./ 8n 6resent conte4ts the !ord is used to

descri+e current events cere"onies or sites/ The third category is that of .istory./ 8n istory

conte4ts the !ord is used to descri+e historica events sites or ideas/ The fourth category is that of

.E4ceptiona./ 8n E4ceptiona conte4ts the !ord is used in "uch the sa"e !ay as in 6resent

conte4ts +ut !ith additiona !ords conte4t or "odifications that causes the present pheno"enon to

appear e4ceptiona/ A present ritua that is ceary syncretic in nature can for e4a"pe +e reported

as +eing the e4ception to the rue that syncretic rituas do no onger ta&e pace in apan/ 8nstances of

the !ord that do not easiy fit into any of these four categories have +een put in to a fifth .Uncear.

category/ Many of the instances in the fifth category are purey ety"oogica$ the !ord is used ony

as a !ord !ithout any reigious or acade"ic conte4t surrounding it other!ise it is si"py the na"e

or the"e of a presentation or co"+ines the previous four categories in such a !ay as to "a&e easy

cassification difficut/ So"e of the instances in the fifth category are cear outier instances that !i

reBuire in-depth discussion in section 9/2/?/

%irst and fore"ost the +rea&do!n into categories can +e found su""ari*ed in Ta+e 9 and

Ta+e ?/ Each instance of the !ord has +een anaysed and paced in a category/ Certain dou+e

instances !hich !ere insepara+e fro" each other have +een counted as one instance/ 8f the instance

!as in an artice.s heading or if it !as especiay outspo&eny positive to!ard syncretis" that has

+een noted as !e/

ASA8 Tota 2005 200> 2010 2011 2012

6ast 11 ? 3 2 0 1

6resent 32 = 12 ? ; 2

istory =2 19 21 5 13 1;

E4ceptiona 2? 9 5 3 5 2

Uncear 2> > > 5 0 3

Neading 11 0 9 2 3 2

N6ositive > 2 3 3 0 1

N:ou+e

instances

; 2 3 1 0 0

Tota 1;> 3> ?3 2; 2= 29

Ta+e 9$ Su""ary ofshinbutsu-shuugouconte4t in Asahi/ 6ast 6resent istory E4ceptiona and Uncear refers to the five "ain

conte4tua categories identified in the data/ Neading refers to ho! "any instances of the !ord !ere found in headings of artices/N6ositive refers to ho! "any instances of the !ord !ere ocated in a to Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" favoura+e argu"ent or

opinion/ N:ou+e instances refers to ho! "any dou+e instances !ere counted as one +ecause there content !ere conte4tuayinsepara+e or identica/


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21

7M8U8 Tota 2005 200> 2010 2011 2012

6ast 12 1 2 2 9 3

6resent 33 12 = ? ? 9

istory ?5 11 10 12 15 =

E4ceptiona 2? 10 9 ? ; 0

Uncear 99 23 3 9 10 9

Neading 1? ; 2 3 9 0

N6ositive 5 3 3 1 1 0

N:ou+e

instances

; 3 0 0 2 1

Tota 1=2 ?= 2; 25 93 15

Ta+e ?$ Su""ary ofshinbutsu-shuugouconte4t in o"iuri/ 6ast 6resent istory E4ceptiona and Uncear refers to the five "ainconte4tua categories identified in the data/ Neading refers to ho! "any instances of the !ord !ere found in headings of artices/N6ositive refers to ho! "any instances of the !ord !ere ocated in a to Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" favoura+e argu"ent or

opinion/ N:ou+e instances refers to ho! "any dou+e instances !ere counted as one +ecause there content !ere conte4tuayinsepara+e or identica/


22/109

22

shoud +e "entioned in regards to @1 is that the !ordingjinguuji to iu jiinis as easiy interpreted as

.a te"pe na"ed inguu te"pe. as it is interpreted as .a &ind of te"pe caed a shrine te"pe./ That

the concept of a shrine te"pe is not used unpro+e"aticay itsef suggests that the genera

readership "ight not +e entirey fa"iiar !ith the ter"/ o!ever if that !as the case it "ight have

+een "ore reasona+e to e4pain the ter" instead of introduce it in an a"+iguous "anner/

Shrine te"pes are in fact often the foca point of !hat is defined as a syncretic aspect of a

site not ust in 6ast conte4ts either and the ter" itsef is sedo" unco"picated/

@2 QinguuiQ !a shin+utsu-shuugou ga futsuu datta Meii-i*en !a &a&uchi no ina de

sa&an ni &enritsu sareta ga Meii-seifu no shin+utsu-+unri no houshin de Monra&u-

in "o 15=2 @Meii ? -nen ni hai*etsu/

QShrine te"pesQ !ere vigorousy constructed at various shrines at the ti"e +efore

the Meii 6eriod during !hich Shinto-,uddhis" !as nor"a ho!ever !ith the Meii

)overn"ent.s Shinto-,uddhis" separation poicy Monra&u Te"pe !as a+oished

as !e in 15=2 @Meii ?/

@Asahi 2005-03-11

8n @2 the ter" is +rac&eted signifying it as not of part of the co""on voca+uary of the

ne!spaper/ egarding the 6ast conte4t in @2 it is here even cearer$shinbutsu-shuugou $a %utsuu

!atta/ ,efore the Meii period syncretis" !as nor"a/ 'hie this certainy is not necessariy a

categorica denia of any possi+e current syncretic practices it certainy enforces the idea that

syncretis" ended !ith the Meii period/ represent a instances of this &ind of 6ast conte4t in

Asahi/

@3 7nai shi&ichinai ni ina to tera ga aru shin+utsu-shuugou no idai ga naga&u

tsu*uita/

A period of Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" during !hich +oth a shrine and a te"pe



23/109

23

e4isted on the sa"e grounds continued for a ong ti"e/

@Asahi 2005-0>-1?

@9 Sono ta&i !o naga"eru ta&adai ni (u"ano -sei&i &ara Meii "ade tsu*uita shin+utsu-shuugou no idai !o i&&an

saseru/

The vie! fro" the eevation ga*ing do!n on the !aterfa of (u"ano th century unti the

Meii period/

@Asahi 2005-10-03

@? -0?-02

@; Shin+utsu-shuugou-idai no )o"a-dou-hon*on to tsuta!aru dou-ritsu*ou!a hino&i

no &i*u&uri de ta&asa >;> senchi/

The sa"e standing statue Rof %udou Myouou or Acaa is said to have +een the

principa o+ect of !orship at the )o"a a during the age of Shinto-,uddhis"syncretis" and is "ade of hino&i cypress and stands >;> centi"etres ta/

@Asahi 200>-0>-1?

@= ina de "itsu&atta no !a shin+utsu-shuugou no idai ni tera ga chi&a&u ni ari ina

de "o shiryou !o ho&an shiteita &ara to iu/

The reason that it Ra coection of scros containing the fu Mahapranapara"ita

Sutra !as found at a shrine is said to +e +ecause there !as a te"pe near+y during



24/109

29

the age of Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" and that it !as &eeping records at

the shrine as !e/

@Asahi 2010-09-0=

@5 Mata (anou )yo&uen


25/109

2?

ocated !ithin a Buote +y schoar of "edieva reigion Muraya"a (youi suggesting that this is an

understanding that even acade"ics can have/ 8t does not separate it fro" the ne!spapers.

understanding +ecause the choice of giving space to this particuar passage has +een "ade +y the

ne!spaper/

The ast 6ast instance in Asahi is not Buite as concrete as the ones so far discussed +ut

nevertheess i"pies that Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" is no onger a papa+e pheno"enon in the

present especiay since the rest of the artice ony discusses ho! syncretic treasures and practices

have +een ost since/ Consider @11/

@11 Meii-ishin-cho&ugo seifu !a Shintou no &o&&you&a !o "e*ashi -01-01

Though the ter" hitei shita@denied disar"s the action of "uch of the !eight it entaied this is sti

one of fe! e4a"pes in !hich an actor @a+eit one as a+stract as a govern"ent is i""ediatey

i"pied in the separation through direct action/

Moving on to the past instances of o"iuri !e see first and fore"ost the sa"e tendencies in

the instances/

@12


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2;

!ord of apan since then is si"pified into this singe state"ent/ Syncretis" is presented as a

pecuiarity that does not have "uch significance after the Meii period/

@13 and @19 are e4cerpts fro" the sa"e artice a cou"n !ritten +y phiosopher Uchiya"a

Ta&ashi !ho a"ents the destruction of Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis".s .!ord. and argues for a

reviva of that !ord/ 6ositive instances such as these can +e interpreted as 6ast as !e since they

dra! the ine at the Meii period and puts syncretis" in the past ust i&e other past instances/

@13 -05-1=

@19 Mou ichido shin+utsu-shuugou no se&ai !o tori"odoshi "ori no se&ai ga "ieru

you ni su+e&i deshou/

'e "ust recover the !ord of Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" and "a&e it so that the

rea" of the forest is once again visi+e/

@o"iuri 200>-05-1=

The ter"shinbutus-shuugou "ay aso +e paced into the past +y past tense copua !atta/ 8

have interpreted "ost such instances as "odifying a site and thus not containing a 6resentI6astudg"ent on the state of syncretis" as a !hoe/ o!ever there !as one such instance found here

in @1? in o"iuri that 8 dee" refers to syncretis" as !hoe/

@1? )assan-ina !a ya&u 500-nen-"ae 7ushuu-%ui!ara-shi no sandai idehira ga

&enritsu shita to sarete ori +onshou !a 1525-nen @,unsei 11-nen toui !a

shin+utsu-shuugou datta ta"e ryou&yuu&a shita shaden !o sai&en shita to&i ni

tsu&utta/



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2=

)assan Shrine is +eieved to have +een constructed +y the 7ushuu-%ui!ara can.s

third chief idehira roughy 500 years ago/ ,ecause that ti"e !as

Shinto-,uddhis" syncretic the te"pe +e !as constructed in 1525 @,unsei 11

!hen the aging shrine ha !as renovated/

@o"iuri 2010-09-20

The ter" touji transating into .at that ti"e. is used sighty "ore often in o"iuri +ut ji!ai is

freBuenty used as !e/

@1; A&ai ran&an ga a*aya&a na shinii&e no shin&you !a &atsute no shin+utsu-shuugou-

idai no nagori da to iu/

The divine +ridge !hich handrai is a vi+rant red is said to +e re"nant of the age of

Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis"/

@o"iuri 2010-0>-0=

@1=


28/109

25

@1> (a!a"ura-san !a Qi"a "o shin+utsu-shuugou no idai no +utsu*ou ga no&otte iru

no !a i"oto no hito+ito ga docha&u no shin&ou !o taisetsu ni "a"otte &ita

shirushi/ (ichou na shiryou !o &anshou shite hoshiiQ to hanashite iru/

(a!a"ura Rcurator at %u&ui 6refectura Museu" of istory is saying that Qthe fact

that a +uddha statue fro" the age of Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" sti re"ains is

proof that the oca peope have protected their indigenous faith deary/ 8 !ant

Rpeope to appreciate such an i"portant recordQ/

@o"iuri 2011-11-22-A

@20 Toui !a shin+utsu-shuugou ga go&u shi*en ni u&eirerarete ite souryo to &a"i to no

&an&ei !a chi&a&atta/

At that ti"e Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" !as accepted very naturay and the

reationship +et!een "on&s and &a"i !as cose/

@o"iuri 2012-09-25

The ter" hitei suruis used once +y o"iuri as !e though in the passive for" and thus not as

directy connected !ith an actor as in Asahi/ o!ever the Meii govern"ent is sti Buite i"pied in

@21 as they are seen as the instigators of the .stor" of hai+utsu &isha&u./

@21 Meii-seifu ni yori hai+utsu-&isha&u no arashi !a i&o-san ni "o fu&iareta/

Shin+utsu-shuugou !a hitei sare oo&u no +utsu*ou ya +ugurui ga sannitsu shita/

The stor" of ai+utsu &isha&u !rought +y the Meii govern"ent +e! vioenty over

Mt/ i&o/ Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" !as denied and "any +uddha statues and

+uddhist atar "aterias !ere scattered and ost/@o"iuri 2012-0?-0?

@22 found +eo! aso sho!s so"e i"pication of the Meii govern"ent as responsi+e for the

separation +ut ony as the ones !ho .ordered. it/ The part that ustifies a 6ast conte4t cassification

states ho! syncretic thought .!as part of co""on vaues unti the Meii govern"ent ordered the

separation./ The ter" ma!e "eaning unti is i&e !attaoften used to descri+e a site/ o!ever in

this instance 8 found it cear that it refers to syncretis" as a !hoe/ @22 !as ta&en fro" an artice



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that is a transcription of an intervie! +y the reporter and ay"an (oi"a 8chirou !ith the head

priest of (i+une-ina Shrine Ta&ai (a*uhiro/

@22 (ono "onogatari ni !a Meii-seifu ga shin+utsu-+unri !o "eiiru "ade


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30

6astinstances

Tota ji!ai hitei bunri suru !atta ma!e touji ko$ash

ita

torimo

!osu

Asahi 11 5 1 0 1 0 1 0 0

o"iuri 12 ? 1 1 1 2 @1 1 1Ta+e ;$ Su""ary of inguistic aspects of 6ast conte4ts/ So"e of these instances co"+ine the different inguistic aspects/ 8n suchcases the aspect used ast in the cause or predicate !as counted as it is dee"ed "ost i"portant to the sentence under a S7J

sentence structure/

+... resent conte,ts

6resent conte4ts are the ne4t east co""ony occurring conte4t after 6ast o+serva+e in 25

instances in Asahi artices and in 31 instances in o"iuri artices/ 'hie the definition of 6ast

conte4ts !ere that they put the entirety of syncretis" in 6ast construction 6resent conte4ts do nota!ays dea !ith the entirety of Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis"/ The "aority of 6resent conte4ts on

the other hand refer to a certain site ritua or event that is descri+ed !ithout any &ind of

pro+e"atic additiona !ords as +eing fuy in the present and syncretic in nature/

The vast "aority of 6resent conte4ts are characteri*ed +y the ter" shinbutsu-shuugou

"odifying a noun through the partice no,and then ending the sentence !ith a non-past ver+ or

copua aternativey ust stating that so"ething .is. syncretic as in shinbutsu-shuugou !a/ Consider

@29/

@29 Mainen 3-gatsu no a"a-ha&&ou-gyoui !a dou-shi Shi"onegori no ahata-ina ni


31/109

31

gyouji/


32/109

32

6resent conte4ts shinbutsu-

shuugou no&

shinbutsu-

shuugou !a

6redicate 7thers

Asahi 20 2 ; 3

o"iuri 23 1 ; 2Ta+e =$ Su""ary of inguistic aspects of 6resent conte4ts/

The .others. category in Ta+e = !arrants so"e specia attention/ Each instance in this category

presents a uniBue inguistic aspect/

@25 Sono hittou !o &a*aru no ga Q(inpu-dai+osaQ/ Shin+utsu-shuugou ni yotte +osatsu

no shougou de yo"areru ga a&ira&a ni (inpu-ina !o sasu/

The first position in the ist Rof deities &ept at Toudai-i Te"pe is adorned +y Qthe

great +odhisattva (inpuQ/ ,ecause of Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" it is read !ith

the +odhisattva tite +ut it ceary refers to (inpu-ina Shrine/

@Asahi 200>-03-10

8n @25 syncretis" is the cause for a ritua.s for"/ 8t shoud +e noted that this for" of causaity @O ni

yotte suggests a present continuing infuence earning its interpretation as a 6resent conte4t/

@2> Sanga&u de shugyou suru ya"a+ushi-ra no shin+utsu-shuugou-te&i na QshugendouQ

no &yoten to shite shirarete iru/

8t Rthe

Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis"-i&e reigion of theyamabushidoing ascetic practices

in the "ountains/

@Asahi 200>-0=-19

Moving on !e see another for" in @2> !rought a+out +y adding teki to shinbutus-

shuugou,"a&ing the construction .Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis"-i&e./ Athough this coud +e

interpreted as not e4picity referring to a present aspect of syncretis" it sti "odifies a site in non-

past tense/

@30 Ueshi"a-san no &aisetsu de (u"ano-&odou no se&ai-isan to shite no &achi ya se&ai

> Shugen!ou refers to a set of highy syncretic ascetic practices that invove see&ing enighten"ent through!orshipping and respecting nature/ See 8noue et/ a/ @2000$1?? for a "ore in-depth discussion/



33/109

33

no shuu&you-ga&usha-ra ga chuu"o&u shite iru shin+utsu-shuugou !o to&uchou to

suru (u"ano-shin&ou nado (u"ano-chii&i no "iryo&u ni se"aru/

8n Ueshi"a.s RUeshi"a (eii schoar of anthropoogy of reigion co""entary he

presses for the !ord heritage vaue of the (u"ano &odou pigri"age route as !e

as the appea of the (u"ano region.s (u"ano faith in focus +y schoars of reigion

the !ord over !hich featues Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis"/

@Asahi 200>-02-29

@30 is cose to +eing cassified E4ceptiona since the !ord tokuchoucan +e transated as

.pecuiarity./ o!ever 8 dee" that in this conte4t it shoud +e interpreted as .feature. or

.characteristic./ 7ther than this carification-reBuiring point @30 is a 6resent conte4t !ith a

predicate inguistic aspect/

@31 RSasa*ana"i Shin+utsu-shuugou shin-unpai de yasuragi !o Saga

Rippes Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" tranBuiity !ith ne! pigri"age route Saga

@o"iuri 2005-0>-23 T8TLE

eadings and su+-headings have +een counted as separate instances for the entirety of the

data as ong as they are not identica to the +ody of the artice they !ere found in/ @31 is an

e4a"pe of a heading that !as counted as one instance/ This instance aso reBuires specia attention

+ecause it consists of separated ter"s !ithout predicate not for"ing a coherent nor"a sentence in

the genera sense - a co""on enough pheno"enon in apanese ne!spaper headings/ 8 have

interpreted the phraseshinbutsu-shuugou in this instance as "odifying the other t!o phrases as if a

copua !a or no+ehind !as o"itted thus cassifying it as a 6resent conte4t/

@32 Tendai Shingon-ryoushuu !a shin+utsu-shuugou to iu &atachi de


34/109

39

The ast 6resent instance that de"ands specia attention is that of @32 retrieved fro" a

transcri+ed discussion/ The spea&er is (o+ayashi Soou senior "on& at Enrya&u-i Te"pe/

Shinbutsu-shuugou "odifies the ter" katachi @for" through a reative cause ver+ to iu @caed

thus. This ver+ coud easiy +e repaced +y no and sti have the sentence retain a"ost the sa"e

"eaning/ o!ever using it suggests that the spea&er does not consider the ter" perfecty natura or

easy to use in the discussion thus introducing it in this !ay/

The o+ects "odified +yshinbutsu-shuugou through the &noconstruction is su""ari*ed in

Ta+es 5 and >/ As can +e seen neary a nouns "odified thus have +y the"seves a reigious

character/ There is a tendency for o"iuri to repeat e4acty the sa"e constructions +ut this is "ost

i&ey a resut of reporting the sa"e event "ore than once at greater freBuency than Asahi does/

7ne thing !orth noting is that since "ost of the instances in the 6resent conte4ts do not dea

!ith syncretis" as a !hoe they "ay a +e interpreted as e4ceptiona in the sense that ony a

certain event or site is syncretic the rest un"entioned sites are not syncretic +y defaut/

-11-21 sugata shape I figure

200>-11-21 kaigan-houyou Enighten"ent service

200>-11-21 'enmu-tennou-shinou 8do of E"peror Ten"u

2010-09-12 shouchou-teki sonai sy"+oic ocation

2010-09-12 shinkou faith

2011-03-03 higi ritua

2011-09-22 a$aa suotto po!er spot



35/109

3?

2011-0?-05 namanamashii sugata vivid shape

2011-05-19 )ihon-rashii sugata apan-i&e I apanese for"

2011-10-13 !entou-gyouji traditiona event I r itua

2012-09-1= ba pace

2012-0=-21 senku-teki na kami precursor &a"i

Ta+e 5$ Su""ary ofshinbutsu-shuugou no& inguistic constructions of 6resent conte4ts in Asahi/

o"iuri shinbutsu-shuugou no... Shinto-,uddhis" syncretic///

2005-03-03 shin-juinai-ruuto ne! pigri"age route

2005-0?-0? moyooshi festivities

2005-0?-2= keishiki for"

2005-05-30 shin-junai-ruuto ne! pigri"age route

2005-0>-05 keishiki for"

2005-0>-0> keishiki for"

2005-11-09 saiten @reigious festiva

2005-11-0= kosatsu ancient te"pe @not a ruin

200>-01-03 !entou tradition

200>-02-1> arikata state of +eing

200>-09-30 chi territory

200>-05-10 )ihon-korai no shinkou apan.s ancient faith

200>-10-21 tera te"pe

200>-05-2> kuni country

200>-05-23 %ukugou-sha!en co"+ined shrine ha

2010-09-01 shouchou sy"+o

2010-09-1? koshiki ancient ritua

2010-0?-15 keishiki for"

2010-10-2; %ukugou-sha!en co"+ined shrine ha2010-03-0= chi territory

2011-0?-21 sekai !ord

2011-05-15 !aihyoukaku representative

2012-09-1? matsuri @reigious festiva

2012-11-11-A gyouji event I ritua

Ta+e >$ Su""ary ofshinbutsu-shuugou no& inguistic constructions of 6resent conte4ts in o"iuri/



36/109

3;

+..". (istory conte,ts

istory conte4ts are characteri*ed +y the !ord shinbutsu-shuugou +eing used in the conte4t of a

discussion or report concerning history !ith no roo" to interpret the instance as a 6ast or 6resent

conte4t/ 8 have identified si4 distinct su+-categories to this type of conte4t and the +rea&do!n of

+oth ne!spapers instances can +e found in Ta+e 10 +eo!/

istory

conte4ts

8te"@s 6ast site istory

of S,S

istory of

site

istory of

practice

istory of

person

6ast practice

Asahi 19 22 19 19 ; 1 1

o"iuri 21 12 19 > 2 0 0

Ta+e 10$ Su+-categories of istory conte4ts/

8nstances +eonging in the 8te" su+-category are defined +y shinbutsu-shuugou descri+ing

an ite" that is ony reported in the conte4t of its historica vaue/ They are often part of e4hi+itions

at "useu"s or e4cavated ruins +ut "ay aso +e a part of a present reigious site/ Even !hen the

atter is the case ho!ever there is nothing in the report to indicate that syncretis" sti pays an

active roe at the site in Buestion and ony the ite".s history or significance to the site.s history is

"entioned/

Consider @33/ The artice discusses the (asuga :eer Mandaa a "andaa !hich has +een

&ept at (asuga-taisha Shrine since the ate eian 6eriod/ Even though other atices often report

conte"porary syncretic practices at (asuga-taisha and other te"pes or shrines in


37/109

3=

An e4a"pe of the 8te" su+-category fro" o"iuri can +e found in @39/ ere uya"a

(enichi director of


38/109

35

&isha&u de haii-"ei ga deta/ Sore "ade tera no hondou datta &en+utsu !o ina ni

a&e!atashi &i&i !o "anugareta/

This RChi&u+u 8sand !as once a Shinto-,uddhis" syncretic isand +ut after the

Meii estoration.s haibutsu kishakupoicy a te"pe a+oition order !as issued/ The

structure that had so far +een the Rougon-i te"pe.s "ain ha !as surrendered to

the RTsu&u+usu"a-ina shrine thus averting the crisis/

@Asahi 2005-0;-13

@3; onden no yu&ashita ni !a geden to yo+areru saishi-shisetsu ga ari Meii-idai no

shin+utsu-+unri "ade !a +utsu*ou !o o&i futsui ga itona"areta to iu/ (ore "o

shin+utsu-shuugou no ara!are da/

,eneath the inner sanctuary Rof iyoshi-taisha Shrine ies a ritua cha"+er caed

the o!er sanctuary in !hich +uddha statues !ere &ept and +uddhist rituas

perfor"ed unti the Meii period.s separation poicy/ This is aso a "anifestation of

Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis"/

@Asahi 2010-09-12

The re"aining four su+-categories of istory conte4ts are harder to gean co""on inguistic

aspects fro"/ 8nstead !hat they have in co""on is that the conte4t in !hich the !ord shinbutsu-

shuugou !as used in the" is e4cusivey ocated !ithin a discussion or report a+out or a foray into

the history of a site practice person or Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" itsef then as a theoogica or

phiosophica syste"/ The aspect is ho!ever often past tense +ut not a!ays/

%irst !e !i consider the soe istory of person instance found in @3=/ The !ord

shinbutsu-shuugou-sei poitics of syncretis" itsef is "erey used as the o+ect of a reative cause

in the second sentence !hich does have past tense as its gra""atica aspect/ The rest of the reportdoes not contain any udg"ents a+out the current state of Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" +eing ony

a ta& a+out the history of E"press (ou&en/ 8t shoud +e noted that a schoar !as Buoted in this

instance - they often are !hen it co"es to istory conte4ts/

@3= (ou&en-tennou !a


39/109

3>

fu"i&onde +u&&you&ai no chouten to shite :ou&you !o "ochii shin+utsu-shuugou-

sei !o itsugen shiyou to shita &oto ga &i*o&u-tachi no hanpatsu !o &atta to

&angaete iru/

E"press (ou&en !as the daughter of E"press (ou"you and E"peror Shou"u !ho

+uit the great +uddha statue of


40/109

90

"ane&i &odai &ara no (ashi"a-inguu he no hito+ito no shin&oushin !o setsu"ei/

(ashi"a-inguu no re&ishi !o shitta ue de (atori-inguu to no &a&a!ari ya

Qshin+utsu-shuugouQ ni yotte sou&en sareta Qinguu-iQ ni tsuite &aisetsu suru/

Sasou Ma"oru professor in reigious studies at (o&uga&uin University !as invited

as ecturer Rto a presentation a+out the reationship +et!een the t!o shrines and

e4pained peope.s faith since ancient ti"es to!ard (ashi"a-inguu Shrine/ Upon

understanding the history of (ashi"a-inguu Shrine he !ent on to spea& a+out its

reationship !ith (atori-inguu Shrine and the Qshrine te"peQ +uit according to

QShinto-,uddhis" syncretis"Q/

@o"iuri 2010-0>-1>

istory of practice su+-category instances are often interconnected !ith a foray a+out a site.s

history or at the very east reated to a site/ 'hat sets the" apart fro" the istory of site su+-

category is that the "ain the"e of the reports they !ere retrieved fro" are particuar practices

shinbutsu-shuugou"odifying a practice @such as a ritua or !orship of a particuar deity instead of

a site/ The instance of shinbutsu-shuugou in @90 appeared in conunction !ith a description of a

cere"ony.s history/ 'hie this cere"ony is sti +eing hed today that cannot +e sur"ised fro" this

section aone and this instance of the !ord ony appeared as part of the cere"ony.s history

description earning it this cassification/ The "a&ing of acoho at te"pes and its historica ties to

Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" is the the"e of @91 and as it has reigious undertones it is easiy

cassified as a reigious practice/

@90 ououe !a tori ya sa&ana !o hanachi i&i"ono no inochi !o itsu&ushi"u gishi&i

de eian-idai &ara shin+utsu-shuugou no &atachi de tsu*u&erarete &ita to iu/

The ououe is a cere"ony in !hich affection to a ife is sho!n through reeasing+irds and fish and it is said that it has +een carried out in a Shinto-,uddhis"

syncretic for" since the eian period/

@Asahi 2011-0>-1;-,

@91 ,u&&you !a inshu !o i"ashi"eru ga tera de no sa&e-*u&uri !a "e*urashi&unai/

Shin+utsu-shuugou de inai ni "atsurareta &a"i no ta"e ni "i&i !o tsu&utta &oto ni

hai"aru/



41/109

91

,uddhis" for+ids the drin&ing of acoho +ut "a&ing acohoic +everages at te"pes

is not unco""on/ This practice +egan !ith the "a&ing of mikiRsacred !ine for the

kami that !ere enshrined !ithin te"pe grounds as a part of Shinto-,uddhis"

syncretis"/

@o"iuri 2011-0>-05

Lasty !e sha oo& at the istory of S,S @Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" su+-category/

These instances are different fro" the previous in that they do not discuss a particuar site practice

or person instead discussing ony the history of Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" in genera*/ Many of

the" do not even !rite a+out history the"seves instead reporting that a presentation a +oo& or

so"e other event !i +e ta&ing a+out the history of syncretis"/ This ast &ind of instance is

e4e"pified in @92/


42/109

92

atarashii chi !o "oto"ete ita/

Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" !hich deveoped during ancient and "edieva ti"es

!as a+soutey not so"ething that "i4ed a foreign +eief syste" irresponsi+y/ The

pre-e4isting kami !orship !as searching for the &ind of ne! &no!edge that

surpasses the narro! space-ti"e that hu"ans nor"ay ive in and predicts and

enco"passes everything/

@Asahi 200>-05-0>

@99 (atsushi&a o&usai ga u&iyoe Q%uga&u sanuu ro&&eiQ de too&u no %ui-san !o

oo&i&u chi&a&u no ta+i+ito !o chiisa&u egaita &oto !o rei ni age Qya"a no

son*ai&an !a nihon-in ni totte oo&ii "ono to iu dentou shin&ou ga atta &ara &osoQ

to &atari ya"a he no shin&ou ga +u&&you no oudo-shisou to "usu+itsu&i

shin+utsu-shuugou no genten ni natta to isetsu !o no+eta/

Ra"aori Tetsuo outined his o!n theory on ho! !orship of "ountains co"+ined

!ith ,uddhis".s idea of the 6ure Land to for" the origin of Shinto-,uddhis"

syncretis" +y using (atsushi&a o&usai.s series of ukiyo-epictures QThirty-si4

Jie!s of Mount %uiQ as an e4a"pe stating that dra!ing the far a!ay "ountain

arge and the cose traveers s"a is Qsurey +ecause of the apanese peope.s

tradition and faith in !hich the "ountain.s presence is argeQ/

@o"iuri 2005-12-12

The istory conte4t instances represent the "ost nu"erous instances in our data in +oth of

the ne!spapers and in a individua years/ The reevance of this !i +e discussed in chapter ?/

+..+. ,ceptional conte,tsThe E4ceptiona conte4ts have "uch in co""on !ith the 6resent conte4ts not east +ecause they

share virtuay the sa"e inguistic functions those +eing the !ord shinbutsu-shuugou "odifying a

predicate or a noun in the present tense/ o!ever there is one i"portant difference that sets

E4ceptiona conte4ts apart na"ey the presence of additiona !ords that suggest that the site ritua

or event that is .Shinto-,uddhis" syncretic. is an e4ception to the non-syncretic nor"/ efer to

Ta+e 11 for an overvie! of the freBuency at !hich the different constructions occur/



43/109

93

E4ceptiona

conte4ts

nokoru +

nokosu

nagori meurashii tsutaeru 7thers

Asahi 10 2 2 ? ;

o"iuri 11 9 9 2 9Ta+e 11$ Su""ary of E4ceptiona conte4t instances/

The "ost co""on E4ceptiona conte4t utii*es the ver+ nokoru @to re"ain or its transitive

counterpart nokosu/ Consider first @9?/ ere the !ord nokosu is the predicate in a reative cause in

!hichshinbuts-shuugou is the su+ect +ut the e4ceptionaity of the ocation is further e"phasi*ed

+y the !ording )ihon !e mo !hich actuay e"phasi*es the nationa i"portance of the ocation/

Seeing as the artice reports the efforts to have 7+a"a City.s shrines and te"pes registered as

'ord eritage sites it "ay see" natura that they are painted as this e4traordinary/ The fact

re"ains that this &ind of !ording suggests that Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" is so"ething unusua

in the rest of apan/

@9? Soshite Meii-seifu !a shin+utsu !o +unri shita ga Q7+a"a-shi !a shin+uts-

shuugou ga


44/109

99

shin+utsu-shuugou no &eishi&i !o no&osu/

o&ei-i Te"pe is a Tendai schoo te"pe said to have +een founded in =9> and

eaves +ehind Shinto-,uddhis" syncretic for"s/

@Asahi 200>-10-03

@9= (eidai ni !a rinsetsu suru you ni ,en*aiten !o "atsuru :ai+o-guu ga ari

shin+utsu-shuugou no sugata !o no&osu/

'ithin the pre"ises Rof Enou-i Te"pe there is a virtuay adacent shrine caed

:ai+o-guu that enshrines ,en*aiten and thus eaves +ehind the shape of Shinto-

,uddhis" syncretis"/

@o"iuri 200>-10-2?

Using the noun nagoriis a construction si"iar to the one achieved through using nokoruor

nokosu. Transating the kanjithis noun is !ritten !ith directy yieds the "eaning .fa"ous re"nant.

+ut dictionaries "ost often give ust .re"nant. or .traces./ An e4a"pe of this noun used is found in

@95 !here it serves as the cause for torii+eing found at a te"pe and for a oca practice/

@95 iin !a i"oto-uu"in-ra de &anri shi shi&ichi-nai ni !a shin+utsu-shuugou no

nagori de torii ga ari &eya&i !a Qgoshin"o&uQ to shite shitashi"arete &ita to iu/

The R%urudon issou-in te"pe is "anaged +y the oca residents and as traces of

Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" there are torii!ithin the grounds and it is said that the

keyakitrees have ong +een seen as divine/

@o"iuri 2011-12-22

The re"aining t!o su+-categories of E4ceptiona conte4ts @apart fro" the 7thers category!hich 8 !i discuss asty are defined +y !ords that are often used in conunction !ith the

previous categories. aspects such as nokoru/ 8n such cases the phrase ast in the sentence !as

chosen as the deter"ining factor since under the S7J !ord order of apanese the ast !ord is

usuay the one "odified +y the previous ones/ %or e4a"pe since the adective meurashii @rare

"odified into situationa adver+ for" meurashisouni !as the ast such phrase in @9> this instance

!as cassified as a meurashii su+-category/


45/109

9?

ne!spaper !anted to use this phrase and had to try hard to do so/

@9> atsu"oude ni oto*ureta oo&u no sanpaisha-ra !a shin+utsu-shuugou no dentou ga

no&oru gyoui !o "e*urashisou ni &a"era de toru nado shite ita/

Many of the !orshippers co"ing to the R(asuga-taisha shrine !ere ta&ing pictures

!ith ca"eras as if Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" traditions re"aining is rare/

@o"iuri 200>-01-03

@?0 is another e4a"pe of syncretis" +eing reported as rare here +y the director of a

"useu"/ Even though a reason is given and the e4ceptionaity "ight +e restricted to Miyagi

6refecture it is sti an E4ceptiona conte4t instance/

@?0 (iyota&e e&ishi-ha&u+utsu&an &anchou no Maeda irohito-san !a QMeii-&i no

hai+utsu-&isha&u ga hageshi&atta Miyagi-&en de shin+utsu-shuugou no ina !a

"e*urashiiQ to hanasu/

Maeda irohito director at the (iyota&e Museu" of istory says that QShinto-

,uddhis" syncretic shrines are rare in Miyagi 6refecture !here the Meii period.s

haibutsu-kishaku!as especiay vioent/

@Asahi 2005-01-20

There are aso instances !here tsutaeru @to trans"it or to convey is used !ithout

meurashiior any other e4ceptionaistic ee"ent/ 8 have interpreted a such uses as e4ceptiona

+ecause the idea that a certain aspect of a site or practice "ust convey the for" or history of Shinto-

,uddhis" syncretis" to the present suggests that !ithout the" the &no!edge is ost/ @?1 is one

such an e4a"pe and @?2 is another e4a"pe fro" o"iuri that aso eevates the e4ceptionacharacter +y stating that syncretic rituas are fe! in nu"+er/

@?1 Aoao to "ori ga hirogaru &eidai no shou"en ni a&ai torii ga den to &a"aeru/ ina to

o"oisou da ga shin+utsu-shuugou !o i"a ni tsutaeru tera da/

8n the front of the Ryousen-i te"pe.s verdant grounds a red torii stands

i"posingy/ 7ne "ight thin& that this is a shrine +ut it is actuay a te"pe that

conveys Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" to the present/



46/109

9;

@Asahi 200>-0;-20

@?2 eisai !a QSaru no shiniQ to "o yo+are *en&o&u-te&i ni "o &a*usu&unai shin+utsu-

shuugou no &oshi&i !o tsutaeru "atsurigoto de shirareru/

The annua festiva is aso caed the Q%estiva of the Mon&eyQ and is &no!n for

conveying an ancient Shinto-,uddhis" syncretic ritua so"ething !hich is fe! in

nu"+er even nationay/

@o"iuri 2010-09-1?

8nstances of E4ceptiona conte4ts that do not fit into any of these categories +ut nevertheess

serve to "a&e syncretic pheno"enon see" e4ceptiona !ere put in the 7thers su+-category/ 7ne

such aspect is the construction 1-nen buri transating into roughy .for the first ti"e in 190 years./

T!o instances in Asahi and t!o instances in o"iuri use this construction/ This ter" is used in

other conte4ts as !e !hen descri+ing rene!ed rituas or practices for the si"pe reason that it has

+een roughy that ong since the Meii estoration at the ti"e of the artices. !riting/ o!ever

!hie in the instances of such that !ere not cassified as E4ceptiona +y "e the construction !as

used to descri+e a specific practice @they !i +e ea+orated upon in the Uncear conte4ts section/

The instances +eonging in this category ho!ever report that it isshinbutsu-shuugou that has ta&en

pace for the first ti"e in 190 years "a&ing it see" very e4ceptiona @it is aso untrue if the ter" is

ta&en to refer to apan as a !hoe/ @?3 and @?9 are e4a"pes of this/ ,oth are fro" the headings

of artices so one "ight argue that it is the s"a space that "a&e it see" i&e the ter" 1-nen buri

refers to syncretis" as a !hoe/ That does not change the fact ho!ever/

@?3 190-nen-+uri shin+utsu-shuugou no inori 8!ashi"i*u achi"an-guu fu&&ou-

negai norito ya do&&you%irst ti"e in 190 years Shinto-,uddhis" syncretic prayer - noritoand sutra chanting

at 8!ashi"i*u achi"an-guu as part of reconstruction prayer

@Asahi 2011-0>-1>-A

@?9 8"a (u"ano-ina QShin+utsu-shuugouQ 190-nen-+uri fu&&atsu Shougo-in

no souryo ya ya"a+ushi "ane&u (yoto

8"a (u"ano-ina Shrine QShinto-,uddhis" syncretis"Q reviva after 190 years/



47/109

9=

Mon&s of Shougo-in te"pe andyamabushi Rshugeno!uascetics invited

@o"iuri 2005-0?-0?

Si"iar instances in the 7thers category descri+e syncretis" as having +een revived

@%ukkatsu or a certain cere"ony as signifying the first instance of syncretis" in the 21st century

@21-seiki hatsu no shinbutsu-shuugou/ Even !hen such instances are Buite positive to!ard

syncretis" in their anguage using these !ords sti i"pies that syncretis" !as stopped co"petey

during the Meii period and that the instances reported no! are e4ceptiona/ The shado! @ kage of

syncretis" is descri+ed as +eing pronounced at one site as !e/

A fina e4a"pe that 8 !i discuss here co"es fro" an artice in o"iuri that descri+es ho!

a "an +orn in (o+e !ho previousy ived in To&yo "oved to (unisa&i after having +een dra!n +y

the syncretic cuture there/ See @??/ There are +ound to +e e4a"pes of syncretis" even in (o+e

and To&yo @To&yo has the fa"ous e4a"pe of Toyo&a!a 8nari for instance yet the ne!spaper

fra"es (unisa&i as e4ceptiona/

@?? %unao-san !a (o+e-shi-shusshin/ (unisa&i-hantou !o oto*urete shin+utsu-shuugou-

+un&a ya shi*en ni "iserare 2001-nen To&yo &ara gappei-*en no (uni"i-chou ni

iuu/

%unao is fro" (o+e City/ After visiting the (unisa&i 6eninsua and +eing fascinated

+y the Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" cuture and nature he "oved to (uni"i

To!nship fro" To&yo in 2001 R+efore (uni"i To!nship !as "erged !ith other

s"aer units to +eco"e (unisa&i City

@o"iuri 2011-11-22-,

+../. 0nclear conte,ts

8nstances in the Uncear conte4t category are difficut to cassify in any of the previous four conte4t

categories +ecause they either do not fit at a or +ecause there are various additiona aspects that

"a&e the" so specia as to !arrant separate discussion here/

The Uncear conte4ts see" very arge in nu"+er at a first oo& at Ta+e 3 and 9/ A significant

portion of the" are ho!ever presentations or events about Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" that !ere

ony reported as such !ith itte to no reporting of the content of the event/ Such instances cannot

+e cassified as any of the previous categories +ut they say too itte to !arrant their o!n hence "y



48/109

95

putting the" in the Uncear category/ They !i not +e discussed in-depth here instead eaving

roo" for other Uncear instances/ The ter" shinbutsu-shuugou-kenkyuu @Shinto-,uddhis"

syncretis" research !as aso used in one instance and since there !as no ea+oration on !hat &ind

of research 8 grouped it !ith the 6resentation su+-category/

%irsty consider Ta+e 12 +eo! that +rea&s do!n certain tendencies a"ong the Uncear

instances/ 'e see i""ediatey that o"iuri has Buite the penchant for reporting ony that an event

is to ta&e pace +ut virtuay nothing of the content of the event as descri+ed a+ove/ T!o other su+-

categories are defined +y instances appearing in a discussion of 'ord eritage registration

pro"otiona activities and instances appearing in artices that are outspo&eny positive to!ard

Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis"/ 8nstances of this atter su+-category are never !ritten in the unna"ed

anony"ous reporter voice of supposed neutraity +ut +y cou"nists of various sections in the

ne!spaper/ They "ay aso +e part of Buotes/ 7ne +oo& revie! !as incuded here +ecause it !as

very detaied and +ecause it discussed a +oo& used as iterature for this proect$ (a"ata @200>/

Uncear instances

in

6resentations

events etc/ a+out

shinbutsu-

shuugou

'ord heritage or

cutura treasure

discussion

8nstances arguing

positivey for

syncretis"

7ther Uncear

instances

Asahi ; > 5 ;

o"iuri 2; ; = ?

Ta+e 12$ ,rea&do!n of Uncear instances

8 !i not go into further detai on the 6resentation su+-category e4cept for giving one

e4a"pe of ho! it can oo&/ Consider @?;/ As a fina note of an artice reporting a previous event

the ter" shinbutsu-shuugou appears ony in the tite of the ne4t event/ This is the case for a

instances in this su+-category @or it "ay +e not in the tite +ut descri+ed ony as an event about

syncretis"/

@?; i&ai !a ;-gatsu 1?-nichi ni Q(a"i to hoto&e to


49/109

9>

There are so"e recurring the"es in the data concerning the efforts of oca residents in

7+a"a City and the (unisa&i 6eninsua to have oca sites and I or practices registered as U


50/109

?0

hansei sarena&ere+a naranai/ Muuu no chosa&u ni !a tayou na &achi&an !o

"ito"etsutsu "o shin !a yuruganai seiu&u shita chie !o "iru &oto ga de&iru/

The "ainstrea" co""on &no!edge of "odern ti"es that considers Shinto-

,uddhis" syncretis" as so"ething i"pure "ust +e reconsidered/ 8n Muuu.s !or&

one can see a "ature !isdo" that ac&no!edges "any different vaues !hie

"aintaining an un"oving core/

@Asahi 2012-0;-2?

Another e4a"pe of a positive instance is given in @?> in !hich asuda Eiin senior "on&

at a&ushi-i Te"pe spea&s openy on ho! good he thin&s syncretis" is in a discussion !ith

(asuga-taisha Shrine.s head priest !ho is aso positive/

@?> 'atashi !a shintou to +u&&you ni !a iroiro &youtsuuten ga aru to o"otte i"asu/


51/109

?1

@Asahi 2005-09-12-A

The instance sho!n in @;1 is very si"iar to so"e of the 7ther instances under the

E4ceptiona category/ o!ever it has one i"portant difference to the" in that it is not syncretis"

as a !hoe !hich has +een revived after 190 years +ut a certain ritua/ 8t is does difficut to cassify

as any of the other categories/ The sa"e pro+e" arises in @;2 !hich descri+es the gathering of

+oth "on&s and priests in front of the restored eiou 6aace of


52/109

?2

@;3 @Shin+utsu ni deau otona no enso&u (u"ano no Michi$ ? (u"ano -0?-10

An interesting pheno"enon can +e o+served in the foo!ing three e4a"pes/ They are a

a+out a teevision sho! that payed on the characters used to !rite shinbutsu-shuugou +ut chose to

change na"e +ecause of criticis"/ The report of said criticis" in @;? and @;= is as cose as any

part of the data co"es to +eing interpreted as negative to!ard Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis"/

o"iuri reports that it !as reigious officias that co"pained raising the Buestion of ust !hat &ind

and !hy/ 'hat !e can assu"e fro" this episode is that there are reigious officias that "ust have anegative vie! of Shinto-,uddhis" syncretis" and do not !ant chidren to co"e into contact !ith

it/ egarding the conte4t of the actua !ord @;? @;; and @;= a use the !ord ony in its o!n

capacity as a noun "a&ing it i"possi+e to pace the three instances any!here ese than in the

Uncear category/

@;;


53/109

?3

Rthe progra" received co"paints that there is a !ord Raso read asshinbutsu-

shuugou, that denotes the fusion of apan.s ancient kami !ith ,uddhis" and it is

Qnot appropriateQ Rto use as a tite ca for a teevision progra""e

@Asahi 2010-09-2=

@;= ,angu"i-"ei !a QShin+utsu-shuugouQ to a :orifutaa*u no nin&i-+angu"i Q5-i da

yo enin shuugouQ ni chinande ori futari !a Q&atai i"eei n

budismo y shinto.pdf

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