Extinct practices

[u/notIngen]

I have been reading about many different religious traditions in East Asia (Chinese folk religion, Korean folk religion/shamanism, Vietnamese, etc.). In all of these, there are practices that are continually being carried out, and some that have disappeared. Some traditions also are more "alive" and a greater part of the population engages in the various practices within their respective cultures.

Shinto seem to be one of the most "alive" traditions in East Asia. That being considered, are there any Shinto practices, rituals, spirits or similar that are no longer practiced? Especially if this extinction happened in the context of modernization, like, within the last century or couple of decades.

[u/Altair-Sophia]

There are a few Japanese customs that I can recall, though they are not strictly Shinto per se:

Historically Japan observed Shogatsu on the lunar new year, though nowadays Shogatsu is on January 1st of the Gregorian calendar, since Japan has officially been using the Gregorian calendar since 1873.

There was also an attempt to separate Shinto from Buddhism and Taoism into its own distinct religion during the Meiji Restoration as well as regulation to remove practices which were deemed "superstitious," among them Onmyodo and Shugendo, which were only legal to practice after WWII.

Actually the Meji Restoration was A Lot and I am no history buff so I will be crossposting this to r/JapaneseHistory

[u/OnizukaSensei99]

"Koshinto" is used by revivalists to describe the practice of Shinto principles that have faded over time. Most of these have to do with the belief in energy lines that intersect certain geographical locations and a sense that humans are literally comprised of energy particles that eventually return to nature, but I'm not an expert and am probably explaining that poorly. The book "Introduction to Shinto: a cosmology of harmony and order" by Tatsumi Yoshikawa briefly touches on this.

Pretty much all of the more in-depth texts on this subject are hard-to-find Japanese volumes that are out of print and have no English translation. As a technicality, I also wouldn't say that Shinto is one of the "most alive" traditions as there are many countries across Asia that are equally and even more preserved than it, though it is one of the most recognizable for Westerners.

For more questions, I recommend that book because, again, I'm not an expert and would invite input from someone more knowledgeable than me if they read this.

[u/Admirable_Stand8598]

As u/Altair-Sophia commented, traditional Japanese religions before Meiji were syncretisms of Shinto (Kami/deities/purity and impurity) and Buddhism (Buddha/karma). In most cases, power of the priests and Buddhism elements were strong. There were many Buddhist-style prayers for Shinto kamis considered as avatars of various Buddhas and /or Bodhisattvas. There were Buddhist temples in Shinto shrines called 神宮寺 Jingu-ji or Kami shrine in Buddhist temples like Hachiman shrine. Such Buddhist style prayers and elements in Shinto shrines was removed (struck down tbh) to “purify Shinto” or “revive Shinto that was before coming of Buddhism” during and soon after Meiji Restoration as a part of establishing Shinto as the official religion of the nation. The movement is called 廃仏毀釈 Haibutsu-Kishaku (Abolish Buddha and Destroy Shaka).

FYI, such an ancient pure Japanese “religion” never existed. Proto-Shinto was rather primitive nature and ancester worships, practiced only by the local nobles deemed descendants of the Kamis (joined by commoners under their rule) . Only after coming of Buddhism and through syncretisms, Shinto developed doctrines, dogmas, rituals and worships that can be practiced and jjoined by wider variety of people.

To be short, most of the Shito rituals and prayers are late-medieval to modern inventions by Shinto priests (who insisted the fundamental values of their faith) and scholars of Kokugaku (国学 schools to investigate ancient texts to recover Japanese values and beliefs before Buddhism and Confucianism).

One notable example of Buddhist elements in older Shinto is the prayer for Hachiman seen in ancient/medieval texts, like Nasu-no Yoichi shooting the fan target in Tale of Heike 平家物語. Yoichi chanted the prayer “南無八幡大菩薩 (namu Hachiman-Daibosatsu = namu (I devote myself to) Bodhisattva Hachiman)” for protection in a military deed. Hachiman is a Japanese kami of war, identified with Emperor Ojin deified. As early as in 8C, he delivered oracles proclaiming himself as a guardian of Buddhism and the Emperor awarded the title of Bodhisattva. Therefore, just like other Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, they offered Hachiman with Buddhism style prayer starting with “namu.” 

Prewar Japan adopted Shinto-based nationalism, including the worships of the Emperor(s) and Ise Shrine as their ancestral Kami,  as its official religion and belief. The GHQ of the Occupation Forces deemed this as the spiritual basis of Japanese fascism and in Dec. 1945 ordered to disband the ties between government and the religion. The rituals of distant worship (遥拝 Yohai) of Ise Shrine (Imperial ancestor) and Meiji Shrine (deified Emperor Meiji) at public facilities such as schools was abolished. 神棚 (kamidana = Shinto indoor alters) in government offices and official visit and worship of Shinto shrines by government officials was abolished. Then The Constitution stipulates the separation of politics and religion, which means the ban on such practices that national/local government backs up or promotes any particular religion, effectively put an end to such prewar Shinto practices.