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Shinto Timeline

(c. 500 BCE – Present)

Shinto is the indigenous religion of Japan, centered on the worship of kami (spirits or deities) found in nature, ancestors, and sacred places. Unlike religions with a single founder or fixed doctrine, Shinto evolved organically over millennia, shaping Japanese culture, rituals, and identity. It encompasses ancient folk beliefs, imperial rites, shrine worship, and modern practices, and coexists harmoniously with Buddhism in Japanese spiritual life. Less

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Ancient Origins

Yūryaku declares himself daiō

475

In the late 5th century, the imperial dynasty leader Yūryaku declared himself daiō ('great king') and established hegemony over much of Japan, laying the groundwork for the Yamato court's ritual authority over kami worship.

Image source: Emperor Yūryaku

Yūryaku declares himself daiō

Yamato ritual style spreads to other shrines

500

From the early 6th century CE, the style of ritual favored by the Yamato began spreading to other kami shrines around Japan as the Yamato extended their territorial influence across the archipelago.

Image source: Shinto

Yamato ritual style spreads to other shrines

Adoption of the Ritsuryō legal code

650

In the mid-7th century, a legal code called Ritsuryō was adopted to establish a Chinese-style centralised government in Japan, formalizing state administration including matters related to kami worship.

Image source: Ritsuryō

Adoption of the Ritsuryō legal code

Kami worship and Buddhism intertwined

700

From the 8th century, kami worship and Buddhism were thoroughly intertwined in Japanese society. From the 8th century onward up until the Meiji era, the kami were incorporated into a Buddhist cosmology in various ways through shinbutsu-shūgō.

Image source: Shinbutsu-shūgō

Kami worship and Buddhism intertwined

Completion of the Kojiki

712

In the early 8th century, Emperor Tenmu commissioned a compilation of the legends and genealogies of Japan's clans, resulting in the completion of the Kojiki in 712. It is one of the earliest written records of kami worship traditions.

Image source: Kojiki

Completion of the Kojiki

Compilation of the Nihon Shoki

720

The Nihon Shoki, completed in 720, together with the Kojiki recounts the origin of the kami and of Japan itself. Although the narratives differ in detail, these two 8th-century texts form the earliest written tradition regarding kami worship.

Image source: Nihon Shoki

Compilation of the Nihon Shoki

Imperial household adopts shinbutsu-shūgō

800

In the centuries following its emergence, shinbutsu-shūgō — the syncretic blending of kami worship with Buddhism — was adopted by Japan's Imperial household, cementing the fusion of the two religious traditions at the highest levels of society.

Earliest shrine mergers supported by authorities

1650

The earliest examples of shrine mergers are known from the mid-17th century; these occurred in certain areas of Japan and had the support of the local authorities, foreshadowing the large-scale shrine consolidations of the Meiji era.

Meiji Era and State Shinto

Tenpō Reforms treat shrines as government extensions

1841 - 1843

Even before the Meiji era, the government had already been treating shrines as an extension of government, as seen for example in the Tenpō Reforms, setting a precedent for later state control of shrine worship.

Fridell's characterization of the State Shinto period

1868 - 1945

Scholars call the period from 1868 to 1945 the 'State Shinto period' because, during these decades, Shinto elements came under a great deal of overt state influence and control as the government systematically utilized shrine worship to mobilize imperial loyalties for nation-building.

Image source: State Shinto

Fridell's characterization of the State Shinto period

Formative years of modern Shinto

1868 - 1915

Scholars Breen and Teeuwen characterise the period between 1868 and 1915, during the Meiji era, as being the 'formative years' of modern Shinto, when many of its defining institutions and practices took shape.

Buddhist influence expelled; State Shinto formed

1868 - 1912

During the Meiji era (1868 to 1912), Japan's nationalist leadership expelled Buddhist influence from kami worship and formed State Shinto, which some historians regard as the origin of Shinto as a distinct religion.

All shrine priests placed under the Jingikan

1868

In 1868, all shrine priests were placed under the authority of the new Jingikan, or Council of Kami Affairs, centralizing state control over kami worship as part of the Meiji government's restructuring.

Government recognises Shinto funerals for priests

1868

Following the Meiji Restoration, in 1868 the government recognised specifically Shinto funerals for Shinto priests, an early step in distinguishing Shinto as a separate religious tradition from Buddhism.

Female priests pushed out of their positions

1868

Historically, there were female priests in Shinto, although they were largely pushed out of their positions in 1868 during the Meiji reforms that restructured the priesthood.

Meiji Restoration

1868

The Meiji Restoration of 1868 was fuelled by a renewal of Confucian ethics and imperial patriotism among Japan's ruling class, ushering in sweeping changes to Japan's religious landscape and the role of kami worship.

Image source: Meiji Restoration

Meiji Restoration

New hierarchy of shrines introduced

1871

In 1871, a new hierarchy of shrines was introduced, with imperial and national shrines at the top, organizing all shrines into a state-controlled ranking system.

Image source: Modern system of ranked Shinto shrines

New hierarchy of shrines introduced

Jingikan replaced by the Kyobusho

1872

In 1872, the Jingikan was replaced with the Kyobusho, or Ministry of Edification, which continued the government's campaign to promote national doctrine through shrines.

Image source: Robert Govett

Jingikan replaced by the Kyobusho

Designation of 13 Sect Shinto movements

1882

In 1882, the Meiji government designated 13 religious movements that were neither Buddhist nor Christian to be forms of 'Sect Shinto', distinguishing them from state-administered shrine worship.

Image source: Sect Shinto

Designation of 13 Sect Shinto movements

Great Promulgation Campaign discontinued

1884

The government's campaign of national edification, promoted through the Kyobusho, was discontinued in 1884 after failing to achieve its goals of unifying religious teaching under state direction.

Village shrines merged nationwide

1906

In 1906, thousands of village shrines were merged so that most small communities had only a single shrine, where rites in honor of the emperor could be held, intensifying state control over local worship.

Imperial Expansion

1,640 shrines built in territories under Japanese control

1868 - 1945

In total, from 1868 to 1945, 1,640 shrines were built in territories under Japanese control, spreading State Shinto throughout the expanding empire as a tool of imperial loyalty.

Japanese emigration to Hawaii begins

1885

Starting in 1885, Japanese began to move to Hawaii, most of whom left Japan for economic reasons, carrying Shinto practices abroad and establishing shrines in their new communities.

Image source: Japanese diaspora

Japanese emigration to Hawaii begins

Government proclaims creation accounts factual

1900 - 1945

Although never of great importance to Japanese religious life, in the early 20th century the government proclaimed that the accounts of the kami and Japan's origins in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki were factual, supporting imperial ideology.

Empire of Japan exports Shinto abroad

1900 - 1945

With the formation of the Empire of Japan in the early 20th century, Shinto was exported to other areas of East Asia. The end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries saw the expansion of the Empire of Japan, which also led to the spread of Shinto in colonized territories.

Japanese emigration to Brazil begins

1908

Since 1908, emigration to Brazil also began, where the Japanese worked on coffee plantations. These communities brought Shinto traditions with them, extending the religion beyond East Asia.

Image source: Japanese Brazilians

Japanese emigration to Brazil begins

Postwar and Modern Shinto

Shinto themes blend into new religious movements

1945

Post-1945, Shinto themes repeatedly blended into Japanese new religious movements, as emerging groups drew on kami worship, ritual practices, and mythological motifs in their teachings.

Image source: Japanese new religions

Shinto themes blend into new religious movements

Association of Shinto Shrines formed

1946

In 1946, many shrines formed a voluntary organisation, the Association of Shinto Shrines (Jinja Honchō), to coordinate shrine activities after the disestablishment of State Shinto under the postwar constitution.

Image source: Association of Shinto Shrines

Association of Shinto Shrines formed

Tsu city purification case ruled unconstitutional

1965 - 1977

In 1965, the city of Tsu, Mie Prefecture, paid four Shinto priests to purify the site where the municipal athletic hall was to be built. Critics claimed this contravened the constitutional separation of religion and state; in 1971 the high court ruled it unconstitutional, though the Supreme Court overturned this in 1977.

Image source: Tsu Surf

Tsu city purification case ruled unconstitutional

Tenrikyo repudiates its Shinto identity

1970

Of the Sect Shinto groups, Tenrikyo was probably the most successful, although in 1970 it repudiated its Shinto identity, formally distancing itself from the tradition.

Image source: Tenrikyo

Tenrikyo repudiates its Shinto identity

Class-A war criminals enshrined at Yasukuni Shrine

1979

In 1979 Yasukuni Shrine enshrined 14 men who had been declared Class-A defendants at the 1946 Tokyo War Crimes Trials, generating domestic and international condemnation, particularly from China and Korea.

Image source: Yasukuni Shrine

Class-A war criminals enshrined at Yasukuni Shrine

Surveys on religious identification in Japan

2006 - 2008

According to surveys carried out in 2006 and 2008, less than 40% of the population of Japan identifies with an organised religion: around 35% are Buddhists, and 30% to 40% are members of Shinto sects and derived religions. In 2008, 26% reported often visiting Shinto shrines, while only 16.2% expressed belief in the existence of kami.

Image source: Religion in Japan

Surveys on religious identification in Japan

First non-Japanese certified as a Shinto priest

2012

In 2012, an Austrian who had completed the Shinto priest training program at Kokugakuin University became the first non-Japanese individual in history to be certified as a Shinto priest.

Image source: Kokugakuin University

First non-Japanese certified as a Shinto priest

Interfaith environmental conference held at Ise Shrine

2014

In the 21st century, Shinto has increasingly been portrayed as a nature-centred spirituality with environmentalist credentials; several shrines have collaborated with local environmentalist campaigns, and an international interfaith conference on environmental sustainability was held at the Ise shrine in 2014.

Image source: Ise Shrine

Interfaith environmental conference held at Ise Shrine

Key Facts

  1. Shinto has no single founder, no central scripture, and no fixed dogma; it developed from ancient Japanese animistic beliefs in kami, or divine spirits inhabiting nature.
  2. The Kojiki (712 CE) and Nihon Shoki (720 CE), Japan's oldest written chronicles, recorded Shinto myths, including the sun goddess Amaterasu as ancestress of the imperial line.
  3. During the Meiji Restoration (1868), Shinto was elevated to State Shinto, used to promote emperor worship and nationalism until it was disestablished after World War II in 1945.
  4. Shinto shrines (jinja), marked by torii gates, serve as sacred spaces for rituals of purification (harae), offerings, and festivals (matsuri); there are over 80,000 shrines in Japan today.
  5. Shinto coexists with Buddhism in Japan, with many people practicing both—Buddhism often associated with funerals and Shinto with weddings, births, and seasonal festivals.

Source

This Shinto timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

We work hard to keep these timelines accurate, but mistakes do get through. If you spot one, email us at [email protected] and we'll fix it for future visitors.

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