Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 46.djvu/220

208 ts express mention, as far as I know, first occurs in the Nihongi of 720

One fact which, although indispensable to the real understanding of this religion, is commonly overlooked, is this, that Shintō has a long history, for it has come down to us from the prehistoric ages of its native land, and during this long history it has experienced different for times and undergone different interpretations. Even at our own time there are at least nine distinct sects, which all go by the name Shintō, but are more or less different from one another, both theoretically and practically. The study of these present sects, their origin and characteristics, will be one of the interesting and instructive subjects of investigation. But for those who intend to study Shintō historically it will be quite convenient to divide the whole history of Shintō into three general periods—ancient, mediæval, and modern.

The ancient period, as I call it, commences with the beginning of the Japanese people, coming down to the close of the sixth century of the Christian era, when the influence of the foreign systems of religion and philosophy began to be strongly felt. This is the period during which Shintō remained almost in the state of original purity, and hence the period may be termed the "period of pure Shintō." The mediæval period of the history of Shintō begins with the seventh century and comes down to the latter half of the seventeenth century. It was during this period that Shintō lost its original purity and became alloyed with the philosophies and religions of China and India. Indeed, we know from history that during this period several attempts were made to amalgamate, in various proportions, these different elements from foreign as well as native sources, and the result was the appearance of diverse compounds thus made. "Ryōbu-Shintō" in the ninth century, "Yuitsu-Shintō" in the fifteenth century, and "Deguchi-Shintō" and "Suiga-Shintō" in the latter half of the seventeenth century, are some examples of these compounds. In fact, this period was not only the period during which Shintō lost its pristine purity, but also the period during which it was made to withdraw itself into the background, leaving the field to its foreign competitors. Its simple and naïve content could never be any match for the learned and orderly teachings of Buddhism and Confucianism. Hence this mediæval period may be called the "period of adulteration and decline of Shintō." The third and last period is the modern period, which covers the present century and the whole of the last. Toward the close of the seventeenth century, several circumstances which I can not enter upon here made a strong reaction against the foreign influences to set in, and the interest in the things primitive and purely Japanese was revived. In the next—