Helen Hardacre > Quotes

“the period from the Meiji Restoration of 1868 to the creation in 1900 of a branch of government solely dedicated to shrine administration. In 1868, Shinto finally achieved independence from Buddhism through a government-mandated separation of shrines from temples, and the Jingikan was briefly reinstated. It was downgraded and then abolished, however, as provisions were made for the emperor to begin performing rites based on ancient jingi in the new palace in the capital Tokyo.”
― Helen Hardacre, Shinto: A History

“I argue that although the term Shinto scarcely appears, we can identify Shinto’s institutional origins in the late seventh- and early eighth-century coordination of Kami worship, regarded as embodying indigenous tradition, by a government ministry following legal mandates.”
― Helen Hardacre, Shinto: A History

“Oaths sworn to the Kami show that the Kami were increasingly perceived as requiring people to conform to a moral code. The Great Purification Prayer was fully loosed from its original moorings in annual jingi rites. It came to be used in shortened form for all manner of personal, individual, and private devotional purposes.”
― Helen Hardacre, Shinto: A History