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It is through the philosophy of ''honji suijaku'' that each ''kami'' deity is said to be a manifestation of a given [[Buddha]], [[bodhisattva]], or other Buddhist entity.

It is through the philosophy of ''honji suijaku'' that each ''kami'' deity is said to be a manifestation of a given [[Buddha]], [[bodhisattva]], or other Buddhist entity.

Though the ''honji suijaku'' held considerable strength throughout the pre-modern period, prominent figures such as [[Yoshida Kanemoto]] in the 15th-16th centuries, and various ''[[kokugaku]]'' scholars in the 18th-19th centuries, argued that the truth was the other way around: that the ''kami'' were the true deities, and Buddhist entities merely versions, aspects, or alternative manifestations of the ''kami''.<ref>Evelyn Rawski, ''Early Modern China and Northeast Asia: Cross-Border Perspectives'', Cambridge University Press (2015), 212.</ref>

Though the ''honji suijaku'' held considerable strength throughout the pre-modern period, prominent figures such as [[Yoshida Kanetomo]] in the 15th-16th centuries, and various ''[[kokugaku]]'' scholars in the 18th-19th centuries, argued that the truth was the other way around: that the ''kami'' were the true deities, and Buddhist entities merely versions, aspects, or alternative manifestations of the ''kami''.<ref>Evelyn Rawski, ''Early Modern China and Northeast Asia: Cross-Border Perspectives'', Cambridge University Press (2015), 212.</ref>

In the first years of the [[Meiji period]], the [[Meiji government]] made strong efforts to "separate Shinto and Buddhism" (''[[shinbutsu bunri]]''). Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines which had functioned for centuries as joint entities were separated, and on [[1868]]/3/28, referring to Shinto deities by Buddhist names was banned,<ref>James Ketelaar, ''Of Heretics and Martyrs in Meiji Japan'', Princeton University Press (1991), 9.</ref> as part of efforts to elevate Shinto, and the notion of the Japanese nation as a "land of the gods."

In the first years of the [[Meiji period]], the [[Meiji government]] made strong efforts to "separate Shinto and Buddhism" (''[[shinbutsu bunri]]''). Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines which had functioned for centuries as joint entities were separated, and on [[1868]]/3/28, referring to Shinto deities by Buddhist names was banned,<ref>James Ketelaar, ''Of Heretics and Martyrs in Meiji Japan'', Princeton University Press (1991), 9.</ref> as part of efforts to elevate Shinto, and the notion of the Japanese nation as a "land of the gods."