426 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION B. 



our era (552 a.d.). With the coining ol' Buddhism there was intro- 

 duced into Japan a system of religion in which were temples with all 

 that was attractive to the eye, gorgeous ritual, scriptures, priesthood, 

 codes of morals, rigid discipline, and a system of dogmas, and 

 metaphysics in which all was made positive and clear, that made the 

 variant myths and legends somewhat uniform. This new religion did 

 more than make powerful appeals merely to the senses; it also 

 supplied food and nourishment for the imagination, partly by the 

 doctrine of transmigration and the descriptions of distant worlds,, 

 which, with their angels and Buddhas in splendour and glory, were 

 held out to adherents of all stations in life as the goal which all 

 might attain. Buddhism, ever tolerant, peaceful, and accommodating 

 itself to old religious conditions, diplomatically received the native 

 Sliinto gods — avatars of the ancient Buddhas. So, many Shinto cere^ 

 monies connected with the Court were retained, although Buddhist 

 ceremonies took the first place even in the thoughts of the converted 

 descendants of the sun. 



Buddhist metaphysics were too profound, Buddhist ritual was far 

 too gorgeous, the Buddhist moral code was far too exalted for the 

 puny fabric of Shinto to offer any effectual resistance. This form of 

 Buddhism, favoured by the authorities, spread very rapidly and be- 

 came the really popular religion. In fact, the religious feelings of the 

 nation went over to Buddhism. By gaining adherents at Court and 

 amongst the leading men, Buddliism reacted upon the national 

 traditions, thus compelling their collection and arrangement into- 

 definite formulas. In due time mythology, poetrj^, and Shinto ritual, 

 various fragmentaiy legends and local usages, previously handed down 

 by word of mouth, were committed to writing, and the whole system 

 called Shinto — the way of the gods — the term being introduced in 

 order to distinguish the old native way of thinking from Butsudo — ^the 

 v/ay of the Buddhas — the doctrine imported from India and China. 



Shinto subsequently broke up into numerous petty sects, which 

 gathered some little vitality by the fragmentaiy lore which they 

 annexed from Buddhism and from Taoism, e.g. — divination and 

 sorceiy. At Court only, and also at a few great shrines, e.g. — Ise 

 and Izumo, was a knowledge of Shinto maintained in its native 

 simplicity. Indeed, for a thousand years many, if not most, of the 

 Shinto temples were served by Buddhist priests, to whom is due the 

 introduction of Buddhist (i.e., Indian) architectural ornamentation, as 

 well as ceremonial, e.g., elaborate cai-vings, the form of the two- 

 storied sammon, or outer gate, and even the pagoda itself, which, 

 tliough essentially Buddhistic, was found in the most popular Shinto 

 shrines. 



By the edict of leyasu, the first Shogun of the Tokugawa djmasty, 

 the bonzes (Buddhist priests) were appointed to keep the registers and 

 to officiate at funerals, even those of the Shintoists. In several 

 instances, e.g. — in the temples of Kompira and Hachiman, the so- 

 called Shinto deities worshipped were probably unknown in pre- 

 Buddhist ages, and owed their existence to priestly ingenuity. 



The formation of a mixed religion, termed Ryobu Shinto, the' 

 fusion of Buddhism with the old gods and heroic legends of the 

 Japanese — a compromise between tlie old creed and the new — nO' 



