ABSTRACT
Suwa Shrine consists of two main sites, the Upper Shrine (kamisha) and the Lower Shrine (shimosha) by Lake Suwa in central Japan. During the medieval and early modern periods, it was not a “Shinto” shrine because Buddhist symbols, institutions and practices were significant parts of this renowned religious center. Its early history is obscure, but it is probable, considering the date of the shrine-temples ( jing¨ji) in the principal shrines (ichi no miya) of other provinces, that the Jing¨ji of Suwa Shrine was also founded during the Nara period.1 Under the patronage of the powerful Suwa (also called Miwa or Kanasashi) clan, the descendants of the Kuni no Miyatsuko of Shinano province, these Buddhist temples developed interdependently with the shrines of kami, and formed a sizable religious complex by the middle of the Kamakura period. With their doctrinal and cultural resources, the Buddhist institutions contributed to the spread of the cult of Suwa Daimyøjin and the prosperity of the complex. At its peak during the medieval period, there were more than thirty sub-temples (in, bø) in the Lower Shrine complex alone. Though the number decreased during the Edo period, the shrinetemples continued to play indispensable roles, such as the observance of special Buddhist rites for the kami. The Buddhist parts of the combination, however, were singled out and destroyed at the beginning of the Meiji period during the so-called “separation of kami and buddhas” (shinbutsu bunri), and this destruction was so radical that the pre-modern history of the Suwa Shrine has been almost completely forgotten today. This chapter traces the history of Buddhist and Shinto interactions at this renowned shrine, focusing on the Upper Shrine during the late Edo and early Meiji periods. Our survey of shinbutsu bunri in the first year of Meiji will show that Suwa
Shrine was fundamentally transformed by the “dissociation” imposed by the central government.
