On the other hand, the
efforts, both archaeological and practical, which have been made in
recent years by fiercely zealous Shint[=o]ists, savor of the smartness
of New Japan more than they suggest either sincerity or edification. It
often requires the finest tact on the part of both the strenuous
Buddhists and the stalwart purists of Shint[=o], to extricate the
various gods out of the mixture and mess of Riy[=o]bu Shint[=o], and to
keep them from jostling each other.
This reclaiming and kidnapping of gods and transferring them from one
camp to another, has been especially active since 1870, when, under
government auspices, the Riy[=o]bu temples were purged of all Buddhist
idols, furniture and influences. The term Dai Mi[=o] Jin, or Great
Illustrious Spirit, is no longer officially permitted to be used of the
old kami or gods of Shint[=o], who were known to have existed before the
days of K[=o]b[=o]. In some cases these gods have lost much of the
esteem in which they were held for centuries. Especially is this true of
the infamous rebel of the tenth century, Masakado.[26] On the entrance
into Yedo of the Imperial army, in 1868, his idol was torn from its
shrine and hacked to pieces by the patriots. His place as a deity (Kanda
Dai Mi[=o] Jin, or Great Illustrious Spirit of Kanda) was taken by
another deified being, a brother to the aboriginal earth-god who, in the
ages of the Kami, "resigned his throne in favor of the Mikado's
ancestors when they descended from Heaven.
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