Introduction
Shinto history
Shinto has been a major part of Japanese life and culture throughout the country's history, but for the greater part of that history Shinto has shared its spiritual, cultural, and political roles with Buddhism and Confucianism.
Periods of Shinto history
One of standard classifications of Shinto history reduces it to four major periods:
- Before the arrival of Buddhism in Japan
- Shinto and Buddhism together in Japan
- The Meiji reinterpretation of Shinto in the 19th century
- Shinto after World War II
Historians encounter some problems when trying to understand Shinto history as a discrete narrative.