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For most of the premodern period, Shinto was definitely
subordinate to Buddhism, being thought of as representing the locally valid
Japanese variants of universal Buddhist truths and deities. But Buddhists
fervor waned after the sixteenth century, while the native origins of Shinto
and its association with the foundation myths of Japan and with the cult of
the imperial ancestors focused attention on it in a Japan that was becoming
more nationalistic and eventually came to seek a new unity under symbolic
imperial rule. A sort of Shinto revival, centering around reverence for the
emperor, became part of the movement that led to the overthrow of the
Tokugawa and the founding of the new regime in 1868.
The leaders of the Meiji Restoration were thoroughly
anti-Buddhist, brutally cutting it off from Shinto, and they attempted at
first to create a Shinto-centered system of government.
 Although they soon
discovered that this concept could not be mixed successfully with their
basically Western political patterns, they did create a system of state
support for the great historic Shinto shrines, and also developed new
national ones, such as the very grand and beautiful Meiji Shrine in Tokyo
dedicated to the first modern emperor and the Yasuduni Shrine, also in
Tokyo, for the souls of military men who had died trying to protect their
country. In order to maintain the claim that Japanese enjoyed complete
religious freedom, this nationalistic “state Shinto” was officially defined
by the government as being not a religion but a manifestation of patriotism.
In a sense this was correct, because, even though it did not impinge, at
least in form, on the field of religion in its enforced worship at Shinto
shrines.
The American occupation attacked “state Shinto” with
enthusiasm as a dangerous manifestation of hyper nationalism, and in the
general postwar reaction against militarism and patriotism it disappeared
almost completely. The occupation also demanded that a sharp line be drawn
between government and religion. The great religious shrines were thrown
back on their own individual sources of income, and as a result most found
their way into great financial debt. Although a few had wide support, which
has allowed them to generate new sources of income, the ban on public funds
for institutions connected with religion hit most of them hard and also
contributed to the slowness with which the government came to aid the
private universities, many of which have Buddhist, Shinto, and Christian
affiliations.
With “state Shinto” gone, Shintoism has reverted to a more peripheral
role in Japanese life. Shrines of all types are scattered everywhere, often
in places of great beauty and charm, though usually with signs of quiet
decay. They are visited by a few believers in the efficiency of their
rituals and prayers to their deities or, if they are historically famous or
are known for their natural beauties, by many sightseers. In a manner
reminiscent of prewar days, even top government leaders will come to visit
one of the shrines, such as the one at Ise, dedicated to the sun goddess
ancestress of the imperial line, while the Meiji Shrine continues on as a
kind of national monument, similar to our Lincoln Memorial, it plays homage
to the “unknown soldier.” Children are often taken to shrines at prescribed
points in their lives--shortly after birth, at special festivals in their
third, fifth, and seventh years, and at annual boys’ and girls’ festivals.
Shrines are also the setting for many marriages and homes frequently have
“god shelves” where offerings can be made to Shinto deities.
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