Meiji Era's Shinbutsu Bunri and Its Causes
Anti-Buddhist feelings had been building up during the last two centuries of the Tokugawa period, and several groups had reasons to oppose Buddhism. The shinbutsu bunri was seen by the new government as a way to permanently weaken Buddhism and lessen its immense economic and social power. At the same time, it was supposed to give Shinto and its cult of the Emperor time to grow, while prodding the Japanese's national pride. The anti-Buddhist movement was led by Confucian, Neo-Confucian, Shinto, and Kokugaku scholars like Toju Nakae, Kumazawa Banzan, Yamaga Sokō, Itō Jinsai, Ogyū Sorai, Norinaga Motoori, and Hirata Atsutane. Because motives were different and often in contrast, there was no political unity among them. In fact, while there were modernizers, criticism often stemmed from a feudalistic mentality or from an emotional and simplistic nationalism.
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