ABSTRACT
What happened when Buddhism arrived in Japan, and met the Japanese kami? How did the two relate to each other, and what changes occurred in religious thought and practice? These problems have been addressed by many scholars, not only from a purely historical perspective, but also as a starting point for reflection on the adaptation of foreign cultural elements in Japan. Traditionally, this topic has been approached from a purely doctrinal or intellectual angle, and it has taken the form of tracing the development of the relation between the kami and Buddhism as a process of progressive amalgamation. From one historical period to another, this relation is commonly thought to have passed through the consecutive phases of kami-Buddhist amalgamation (shinbutsu shūgō), honji suijaku, and, finally, inverted honji suijaku. 1
