How was Japanese animism referred to before 国家神道 (State Shinto) was created?


Pre-Meiji:

  * What was Japanese animism popularly called before 国家神道 (State Shinto) was [created](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Shinto) in the early Meiji period (19th century)? Prior to that, was the word 「神道」 a common term among the populace, or was it part of a jargon that the average Japanese person did not use in normal conversation or did not generally know of?
  * How was Japanese animism (i.e. what might now be retroactively called ['proto-Shinto,'](http://www.greenshinto.com/wp/2011/10/30/proto-shinto-in-manyoshu-poems/) 'historical origins of Shinto,' or 'early Shinto') referred to before the word [「神道」 was coined](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinto)? According to a book referenced in Wikipedia, the oldest recorded usage of the term (read as 「しんどう」) is as recent as the second half of the 6th century.
  * How was Japanese animism referred to before the importation of the concept and word of 「宗教」 (religion), which happened in early Meiji? In other words, what were the beliefs/practices considered to be rather than religious practices?

Meiji and Onwards:

  * How was 神道 referred to during early Meiji when the government was insisting that 国家神道 not be referred to as a "religion?"
  * I have heard that 国家神道 adapts more from Chinese animism leading up to Meiji than from ancient Japanese animism. How are these differing roots described in Japanese (i.e. are there technical terms that differentiate Chinese-influenced Shinto from indigenous Shinto)?




To look for a time before the word "Shinto" was used, you must look back to
the Asuka period, as the question suggests. At this time, the educated term
for Japanese ritual was _jingi_ 神祗. But I would caution against thinking of
this as Shinto. The formation of Shinto as a nationwide ideal for ritual,
practice, and teaching, did not happen in the classical period, even though
there were already ritual traditions at Ise, Izumo, and other places. The
_Kojiki_ and _Nihon Shoki_ , at that time, were simply history books, not
sacred texts, and the kami were part of the Buddhist macrocosm.

We should instead think of _jingi_ as the word for Japanese court ritual in
contrast to Buddhist ritual. This contrast faded into the background with the
end of the Heian period. In the medieval period there was _shinbutsu-shūgō_
神仏習合, free mixture of kami and buddhas, and identification of kami as avatars
for boddhisatvas, and thus little need for a separate category. I think modern
Shinto really began with [Yoshida
Shintō](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshida_Shint%C5%8D), a medieval attempt
to construct a non-Buddhist theory of shrines, and developed apace in the Edo
period.

In the Edo period, literate Japanese said that their country had "three
teachings" 三教. This was a borrowing from Chinese civilization, where
Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism existed alongside each other, sometimes in
conflict and sometimes in harmony. In fact, back at the dawn of the Heian
period the Japanese Buddhist genius Kūkai had written a book called _Sangō
Shiiki_ 『三教指帰』 that discussed these "three teachings"; the third was Daoism,
even though there were no Daoists in Japan (that we know of), because he was
endeavoring to compare it to Buddhism. Kūkai was responsible for putting the
Japanese kami in a Buddhist cosmos.

But by the Edo period, the third teaching was no longer Daoism; it was already
Shinto, or _kami-no-michi_. Shinto was recognized as having its own ritual
tradition and style of practice, which was clearly not Chinese. This was due
to the medieval tradition of commentary on the _Nihon Shoki_ and Yoshida
Shintō, as well as other pre-Edo ritual practices which are not so well-
understood.

What happened to Edo period Shinto? You could write a book about this --
indeed, I plan to -- but to put it very simply, the Kokugaku school claimed
that the existing schools were too _private_ in character; that is to say,
they were too religious. The goal of Kokugaku was to create a "national
teaching", but simultaneously to create a _public_ -facing teaching, something
like what we would think of as "secular".

So what did ancient Japanese people call their animism? Likely nothing at all,
since there was nothing to contrast it with.




To look for a time before the word "Shinto" was used, you must look back to
the Asuka period, as the question suggests. At this time, the educated term
for Japanese ritual was _jingi_ 神祗. But I would caution against thinking of
this as Shinto. The formation of Shinto as a nationwide ideal for ritual,
practice, and teaching, did not happen in the classical period, even though
there were already ritual traditions at Ise, Izumo, and other places. The
_Kojiki_ and _Nihon Shoki_ , at that time, were simply history books, not
sacred texts, and the kami were part of the Buddhist macrocosm.

We should instead think of _jingi_ as the word for Japanese court ritual in
contrast to Buddhist ritual. This contrast faded into the background with the
end of the Heian period. In the medieval period there was _shinbutsu-shūgō_
神仏習合, free mixture of kami and buddhas, and identification of kami as avatars
for boddhisatvas, and thus little need for a separate category. I think modern
Shinto really began with [Yoshida
Shintō](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshida_Shint%C5%8D), a medieval attempt
to construct a non-Buddhist theory of shrines, and developed apace in the Edo
period.

In the Edo period, literate Japanese said that their country had "three
teachings" 三教. This was a borrowing from Chinese civilization, where
Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism existed alongside each other, sometimes in
conflict and sometimes in harmony. In fact, back at the dawn of the Heian
period the Japanese Buddhist genius Kūkai had written a book called _Sangō
Shiiki_ 『三教指帰』 that discussed these "three teachings"; the third was Daoism,
even though there were no Daoists in Japan (that we know of), because he was
endeavoring to compare it to Buddhism. Kūkai was responsible for putting the
Japanese kami in a Buddhist cosmos.

But by the Edo period, the third teaching was no longer Daoism; it was already
Shinto, or _kami-no-michi_. Shinto was recognized as having its own ritual
tradition and style of practice, which was clearly not Chinese. This was due
to the medieval tradition of commentary on the _Nihon Shoki_ and Yoshida
Shintō, as well as other pre-Edo ritual practices which are not so well-
understood.

What happened to Edo period Shinto? You could write a book about this --
indeed, I plan to -- but to put it very simply, the Kokugaku school claimed
that the existing schools were too _private_ in character; that is to say,
they were too religious. The goal of Kokugaku was to create a "national
teaching", but simultaneously to create a _public_ -facing teaching, something
like what we would think of as "secular".

So what did ancient Japanese people call their animism? Likely nothing at all,
since there was nothing to contrast it with.

