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The notion of Shinto as Japan's "indigenous religion" stemmed from the growth of modern nationalism between the Edo and Meiji periods; [33] this view promoted the idea that Shinto's origins were prehistoric and that it represented something like the "underlying will of Japanese culture". [34]
Shinto is a blend of indigenous Japanese folk practices, beliefs, court manners, and spirit-worship which dates back to at least 600 CE. [7]: 99 These beliefs were unified as "Shinto" during the Meiji era (1868–1912), [6]: 4 [12] though the Chronicles of Japan (日本書紀, Nihon Shoki) first referenced the term in the eighth century.
Shinto is a religion native to Japan with a centuries'-long history tied to various influences in origin. [1]Although historians debate [citation needed] the point at which it is suitable to begin referring to Shinto as a distinct religion, kami veneration has been traced back to Japan's Yayoi period (300 BCE to CE 300).
Shinto (神道, Shintō), also kami-no-michi, [a] is the indigenous religion of Japan and of most of the people of Japan. [14] George Williams classifies Shinto as an action-centered religion; [15] it focuses on ritual practices to be carried out diligently in order to establish a connection between present-day Japan and its ancient roots. [16]
Shinto and Buddhism are the primary religions of Japan. According to the annual statistical research on religion in 2018 by the Government of Japan 's Agency for Culture Affairs, 66.7 percent of the population practices Buddhism , 25.6 percent practices Shintoism, 7.7 percent other religions. [ 28 ]
Foxes sacred to Shinto kami Inari, a torii, a Buddhist stone pagoda, and Buddhist figures together at Jōgyō-ji, Kamakura.. Shinbutsu-shūgō (神仏習合, "syncretism of kami and buddhas"), also called Shinbutsu-konkō (神仏混淆, "jumbling up" or "contamination of kami and buddhas"), is the syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism that was Japan's main organized religion up until the Meiji period.
With time, Shinto and Buddhism gradually became intertwined with each other in Japanese culture, rather than being viewed as mutually exclusive. The first conclusive appearance of western religions in Japan was Christianity, which had been introduced by European travelers beginning in 1549.
As a result "religions" such as denominational Shinto and Buddhism and Shrine Shinto separated, and declared that Shinto was a national, not religious, ritual. [10] Although the Religion Bill of 1899 did not include Shinto or Christianity, denominational Shinto began to be referred to as national Shinto toward the end of the Meiji period.