Shinbutsu bunri, kakuri, shūgō

The term shinbutsu bunri (神仏分離^?) in Japanese indicates the forbidding by law of the amalgamation of kami (native Shinto deities) and buddhas (buddhist deities) made during the Meiji Restoration. It also indicates the effort made by the Japanese government to create a clear division between native Shinto (kami) beliefs and Buddhism on one side, and Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines (jinja) on the other. Until the end of Edo period, local kami beliefs and Buddhism were intimately connected in what was called shinbutsu shūgō (神仏習合), up to the point that even the same buildings were used as both Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples.

The term shinbutsu kakuri (神仏隔離 isolation of "kami" from Buddhism^?) in Japanese Buddhist terminogy refers to the tendency in medieval and early modern Japan to keep some kami separate from Buddhism^[1]. While some kami were integrated in Buddhism, others (or at times even the same kami in a different context) were kept systematically away from Buddhism^[1]. This phenomenon had significant consequences for Japanese culture as a whole^[1]. It should not be confused with shinbutsu bunri ("separation of kami and buddhas"). While the first assumes the acceptance of Buddhism, the second actually opposes it.

Shinbutsu shūgō is the syncretism of Buddhism and kami worship which was Japan's religion until the Meiji period.

When Buddhism was introduced through China in the late Asuka period (6th century), rather than discard the old belief system the Japanese tried to reconcile it with the new, assuming both were true. As a consequence, Buddhist temples (寺, tera) were attached to local kami shrines (神社, jinja) and vice versa and devoted to both kami and Buddha. The local religion and foreign Buddhism never quite fused, but remained however inextricably linked all the way to the present day, always interacting.