ABSTRACT
The amalgamation of kami cults and Buddhism began almost as soon as Buddhism arrived in Japan. It is usually described as a process in three stages. First, the eighth century saw the appearance of ‘shrine-temples’ (jingūji), founded by itinerant mountain ascetics at the request of provincial lords and village heads, whose local kami asked to be saved from their kami state by means of Buddhist ritual. The idea behind these shrine-temples was that kami could be rendered both more beneficent and more powerful when served a menu of Buddhist services. The building of temples at shrines resulted in integrated temple-shrine complexes that became hot-houses of the amalgamation process. 1 Towards the end of the same century, a parallel process inaugurated a second stage with the identification of the kami Hachiman as a protector-deity of the Buddhist Law, and, somewhat later, even as a bodhisattva. This was followed by the adoption of tutelary kami (chinju) by temples all over the country. Now, shrines were built at temples, taking the institutional amalgamation of kami cults and Buddhism an important step further. The third stage of the process began in the ninth century, which saw the origin of the notion that some kami are skilful means, emanations of buddhas, bodhisattvas or devas who ‘soften their light and mingle with the dust’ (wakō dōjin) in order to lead us to the Buddhist Way. Between the ninth and eleventh centuries, an increasing number of kami were ‘promoted,’ in Buddhist terms, from potentially dangerous spirits whose character should be improved through contact with the Buddhist Law, to local emanations of buddhas and bodhisattvas, embodying their wisdom or compassion. 2 By worshipping such kami, it was now possible to unleash the magical powers (riyaku) of Buddhist divinities ranging from Śākyamuni to Fudō Myōō, or to escape to the Pure Lands of Amida, Kannon or Yakushi. 3
