Paper short abstract:

My presentation deals with various external factors that influenced the emergence of Domain Shinto, in particular questions of ruler deification as well as intellectual trends such as Yoshida Shinto and Confucian Shinto.

Paper long abstract:

Our project on "Domain Shinto" (hanryō shintō) presented in this panel deals in essence with a series of religious reforms that seem to anticipate the well-known "separation of Shintō and Buddhism" (shinbutsu bunri) of the Meiji period: In the latter half of the 1660s, some leading daimyo whom the posterity labeled "illustrious lords" (meikun) reduced the Buddhist clergy in their domains by more than half, while at the same time renovating and re-establishing old shrine facilities. Other daimyo preceded these measures or followed lead although in more modest dimensions. In either case, the reforms seem to derive from a critical attitude towards Buddhism comparable to Meiji Japan. How do these facts fit with the general religious policy of the Tokugawa Shogunate? As has been pointed out in recent research, the Tokugawa saw Buddhism as their most important tool against Christianity and promoted Buddhist schools as agents of ideological control. What then prompted individual daimyo to put their emphasis on Shinto (and/or Confucianism) rather than on Buddhism? Was this an indirect criticism of the official government line or rather an attempt to make the anti-Christian inquisition prescribed by the state even more efficient? According to my present view, there was a mix of both aspects at work. In addition, I regard the need for religious or rather ritual autonomy on the part of local daimyo as an additional incentive to look for alternatives to Buddhism, especially in the field of death rites. This brings questions of daimyo deification, in particular the deification of Hoshina Masayuki, as opposed to the deification of Tokugawa Ieyasu to the fore. My lecture will discuss this in the context of Yoshida Shinto, Confucian Shinto, and the general situation of shrine priests.