Shinbutsu bunri
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The term {{Nihongo|'''''shinbutsu bunri'''''|神仏分離}} indicates the forbidding in Japan of the fusion of [[Shinto]] and [[Buddhism]], and the effort to create a clear division between Shinto and Buddhism on one side, and [[List of Buddhist temples|Buddhist temple]]s and [[Shinto shrine]]s on the other. By the end of Edo period, Shinto and Buddhism were intimately connected in what was called ''[[shinbutsu shūgō]]'' (神仏習合), up to the point that even the same buildings were used as both Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples.
The tendency to try to separate the two religions can be seen already during the early modern era as a reaction to the spreading of Buddhism<ref name="EoSSB">[http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/entry.php?entryID=1110 Encyclopedia of Shinto - Shinbutsu Bunri] retrieved on July 3, 2008</ref>, but the term usually indicates the anti-Buddhist movement that, from the middle of the [[Edo period]] onwards, accompanied [[Confucianism]], the study of ancient Japanese literature and culture (or ''[[kokugaku]])'', and Shinto nationalism<ref name="Zen">[http://www.thezensite.com/ZenBookReviews/Of-Heretics_and_Martyrs.html#note1 The Zen Site - Of Heretics and Martyrs in Meiji Japan: Buddhism and Its Persecution] retrieved on July 3, 2008</ref>, all movements with reasons to oppose Buddhism. In a narrower sense, ''shinbutsu bunri'' is the policy of separation of Shinto and Buddhism pursued by the new [[Government of Meiji Japan|Meiji government]] with the ''Shinto and Buddhism Separation Order'' (神仏判然令 (しんぶつはんぜんれい)). This last event is of particular historical importance, partly because it triggered the ''[[haibutsu kishaku]]'', a violent anti-Buddhist movement which in the final years of the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] and during the [[Meiji Restoration]] caused the forcible closure of thousands of temples, the confiscation of their land, the forced return to lay life of monks, and the destruction of books, statues and other Buddhist property<ref name="EoSHK">[http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/entry.php?entryID=1354 Encyclopedia of Shinto - Haibutsu Kishaku] retrieved on July 3, 2008</ref><ref name="Zen"/>. Even Buddhist bronze bells were melted to make cannons<ref name="Zen"/>.
== The ''shinbutsu bunri'' in the early modern age ==
The ''shinbutsu bunri'', and the ''haibutsu kishaku'' it tended to cause, in the early modern age were a phenomenon encountered mostly in [[Han (country subdivision)|domain]]s where anti-Buddhist Confucianism was strong, as the [[Okayama Domain|Okayama]], [[Mito Domain|Mito]], and [[Yodo Domain]]s. For example, in the 1660's [[Tokugawa Mitsukuni]] in Mito forcibly closed a thousand temples and ordered the building of one shrine per village<ref>[http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/shinto/shin.html University of Cumbria, Overview of world religions - Shinbutsu Bunri]</ref>.
== The ''shinbutsu bunri'' of the Meiji era ==
The Restoration government tried to clarify the distinction between Buddhism and Shinto with a series of edicts. This was done in several stages.
A first order issued by the Jingijimuka on April 1868 ordered the defrocking of ''shasō'' and ''bettō'' (shrine monks performing Buddhist rites at Shinto shrines)<ref name="EoSSB"/><ref>[http://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN/publications/jjrs/pdf/6.pdf Thomas Burkman - The Urakami Incidents and the Struggle for Religious Toleration in Early Meiji Japan]</ref>.
A few days later, the Daijōkan banned the application of Buddhist terminology to Japanese ''[[kami]]'' and the veneration of Buddhist statues in shrines<ref name="EoSSB"/>.
The third stage consisted of the prohibition to apply the Buddhist term ''Daibosatsu'' to Shinto's deity [[Hachiman]] at [[Iwashimizu Shrine|Iwashimizu]] and Usa Hachiman shrines<ref name="EoSSB"/>.
In the fourth and final stage, all the defrocked ''bettō'' and ''shasō'' were told to become "shrine priests" (or ''kannushi'') and return to their shrines<ref name="EoSSB"/>. Also, monks of the [[Nichiren]] sect were told not to refer to some deities as ''kami''<ref name="EoSSB"/>.
Although the government's edicts didn't explicitly order the closing of temples, the destruction of Buddhist property and the defrocking of Buddhist priests and nuns, they were often interpreted as implying it, and the ''haibutsu kishaku'' movement soon spread to the entire country with tragic consequences<ref name="EoSSB"/>. A substantial part of the population that had felt financially exploited by the ''[[danka system]]'' (檀家制度 (だんかせいど) participated in the movement. This system, made mandatory by the Tokugawa in order to halt the spread of Christianity, obliged all families to be affiliated to and support a Buddhist temple<ref name="hur">[http://www.let.leidenuniv.nl/history/itinerario/bookreviews-16.html Review of ''Nam-Lin Hur, Death and Social Order in Tokugawa Japan: Buddhism, Anti-Christianity, and the Danka System''] retrieved on July 3, 2008</ref>.
The ''shinbutsu bunri'' policy was itself the direct cause of serious damage to important cultural properties. Because mixing the two religions was now forbidden, shrines and temples had to give away some of their treasures, thus damaging the integrity of their cultural heritage and decreasing the historical and economic value of their properties<ref name="KOT">{{nihongo|Kamakura Official Textbook for Culture and Tourism|鎌倉観光文化検定公式テキストブック}}, Kamakura Shunshūsha, 2008 {{ja icon}}</ref>. For example, [[Kamakura, Kanagawa|Kamakura]]'s [[Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū]]'s giant {{nihongo|[[Niō]]|仁王}}] (the two wooden wardens usually found at the sides of a temple's entrance), being objects of Buddhist worship and therefore illegal where they were, were sold to [[Jufuku-ji]], where they still are<ref>See article [[Jufuku-ji]]</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Mutsu|first=Iso|title=Kamakura. Fact and Legend|publisher=Tuttle Publishing |date=1995/06|chapter=Jufuku-ji|isbn=ISBN 0804819688|url=http://www.amazon.com/Kamakura-Fact-Legend-Iso-Mutsu/dp/0804819688/ref=sr_1_1/102-3997530-9203357?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1207616602&sr=1-1 |language=English}}</ref>. The shrine also had to destroy Buddhism-related buildings, for example its {{nihongo|''tahōtō''|多宝塔}} tower, its {{nihongo|''midō''|御堂}}, and its {{nihongo|''garan''|伽藍}}<ref name="KOT">{{nihongo|Kamakura Official Textbook for Culture and Tourism|鎌倉観光文化検定公式テキストブック}}, Kamakura Shunshūsha, 2008 {{ja icon}}</ref>. Many Buddhist temples were simply closed, like Zenkō-ji, to which the now-independent Meigetsu-in used to belong<ref>See article [[Meigetsu-in]]</ref>.
The ''shinbutsu bunri'' policy was meant as a first step towards making Shinto the official state religion; however, the movement failed and the idea was scrapped. In 1873 the government admitted that the effort to elevate Shinto above Buddhism had failed<ref>[http://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN/publications/jjrs/pdf/6.pdf Thomas Burkman - The Urakami Incidents and the Struggle for Religious Toleration in Early Meiji Japan]</ref>. This led to the coexistence of Shinto and Buddhism as we see it today<ref name="hur"/>.
In less than two decades, Buddhism not only had recovered, but had modernized itself, becoming once more a significant force<ref name="Zen"/>.
== Causes of the ''shinbutsu bunri'' ==
Anti-Buddhist feelings had been building up during the last two centuries of the Tokugawa period, and several groups had reasons to oppose Buddhism. The ''shinbutsu bunri'' was seen as a way to weaken Buddhism and lessen its immense economic and social power. At the same time, it was supposed to give Shinto and its cult of the Emperor time to grow, while prodding the Japanese's national pride. The anti-Buddhist movement was lead by [[Confucianism|Confucian]], [[Neo-Confucianism|Neo-Confucian]], [[Shinto]], and [[Kokugaku]] scholars like [[Toju Nakae]], [[Kumazawa Banzan]], [[Yamaga Sokō]], [[Itō Jinsai]], [[Ogyū Sorai]], [[Norinaga Motoori]], and [[Hirata Atsutane]]<ref name="Tamura131"/>. Because motives were different and often in contrast, there was no unity. In fact, while there were modernizers, criticism often stemmed from a feudalistic mentality or from an emotional and simplistic nationalism<ref name="Tamura131"/>.
=== The Tokugawa and the ''danka'' system ===
The relationship between Buddhism and the Tokugawa state was complex. Although the shogunate's official philosophy was lay [[Neo-Confucianism]]<ref name="loftus"/>, Buddhism had become an integral part of the state as a consequence of the Tokugawas' anti-Christian policy. To stop the propagation of Christianity, they had introduced the [[Danka system|''danka'' system]], which obliged families to affiliate themselves with a Buddhist temple<ref name="hur"/>, and in return this would certify that they were not Christian. Without this certification a normal life in Tokugawa Japan was impossible<ref name="hur"/>. Families had by law several obligations towards Buddhist institutions, among them monetary donations to their temple of affiliation<ref name="hur"/>. Because there were some 100,000 temples in a country of 30 million people, on average 300 persons had to support a temple, so the burden was considerable<ref>[http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~asiactr/publications/pdfs/Hur%20intro.pdf Nam-Lin Hur - The Rise of Funerary Buddhism in Tokugawa Japan]</ref>. This caused widespread discontent and ultimately lead to a backlash. The fact that Buddhism was so deeply involved with the shoguns also meant that it had become one of its symbols and an enemy of all those who wanted the shogunate's fall. All these parties wanted to see Buddhism cut down to size, and the strengthening of Shinto was considered a good way to achieve the goal.
===Neo-Confucianism ===
Neo-Confucian thought in Japan emphasized the use of reason and was essentially humanistic; it therefore rejected Buddhism as superstition<ref name="loftus">[http://www.willamette.edu/~rloftus/neoconfucianism.html Ronald Loftus, Willamette University - Neoconfucianism] accessed on July 3, 2008</ref>. It also emphasized loyalty to the emperor and was fiercely xenophobic<ref name="loftus"/>. Confucian anti-Buddhism was the cause for example of ''haibutsu kishaku'' episodes in the [[Aizu Domain|Aizu]], Okayama and Mito domains during the early modern era<ref name="EoSHK"/>. Some of the leaders of the Neo-Confucian movement were former Buddhist priests. [[Fujiwara Seika]], [[Hayashi Razan]], and [[Yamazaki Ansai]] were all former [[Rinzai]] priests<ref name="Tamura131">Tamura (2000:131-132)</ref>.
=== ''Kokugaku'' ===
''[[Kokugaku]]'' was a school of Japanese philology and philosophy originating during the Tokugawa period. ''Kokugaku'' scholars tended to relativatize the study of Chinese and Buddhist texts and favoured philological research into the early Japanese classics. ''Kokugaku'' scholars criticized the repressive moralizing of Confucian thinkers, and tried to re-establish Japanese culture before the influx of foreign modes of thought and behaviour. One of its most influential exponents was scholar Norinaga Motoori.
In the mid-nineteenth century, ''kokugaku'' students became involved in the fight against the shogunate and in favor of the emperor<ref>[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kokugaku-school/ The Kokugaku (Native Studies) School].</ref>. They claimed that ancient Japanese documents said the emperor alone was divinely authorized to rule Japan<ref>[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kokugaku-school/ The Kokugaku (Native Studies) School].</ref>
=== Modernizers ===
Modernizers stressed the unscientific character of Buddhism and the drain it was for the national economy.
== Notes==
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== References ==
*{{cite book|last=Tamura|first=Yoshiro|title=Japanese Buddhism - A Cultural History|publisher=Kosei Publishing Company|location=Tokyo|date=2000|edition=First Edition|pages=232 pages|chapter=The Birth of the Japanese nation|isbn=4-333-01684-3|language=English}}
[[Category:Japanese religions terms]]
[[Category:Shinto]]
[[Category:Buddhism in Japan]]
[[Category:Meiji Restoration]]
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