**Shimbutsudo** ---- | {{:wiki:shimbutsudo.png?nolink&200|}} || ^ An icon based on the [[Araragi Temple]] pagoda, commonly associated with Shimbutsudo. ^^ ^ Classification | Syncretic between indigenous Tenzanese pantheon and [[Mahagaurava]] | ^ Scripture | //[[Kyūsaisho]]// and //[[Uzansho]],// [[White Flower Sutra]] | ^ Theology | Partially [[Mahagaurava]] theology | ^ Region | [[Tenzan]] | ^ Primary religious body | Office of Temples and Shrines | ^ Headquarters | Araragi Temple, Araragidono Ward, [[Keiyū]]; Amaba Shrine, [[Kamigata]] | ^ Head of faith | Emperor [[Kongen]] (symbolic only) | **Shimbutsudo** (Tenzanese: 神佛道 //Shinbutsudō//, lit. "Way of Gods and Prajnas") is the [[Tenzan|Tenzanese]] ethnoreligion, built on a systematic syncretism between regional philosophy and worship of an indigenous pantheon, with [[Mahagaurava]] [[Nirvanism|Nirvanist]] doctrines. In Shimbutsudo, both **//[[kami]]//** (神 //kami, shin//, "Gods") and **//hotoke//** (佛 //hotoke, butsu,// "[[prajna|Prajnas]]," also 般若 //hannya//, the default word for //prajnas// like in Nirvanism) are revered within a single integrated cosmology. Rather than seeing the //kami// as merely local and overshadowed by realization of transcendence, Shimbutsudo asserts that divinity and enlightenment interact: the //kami// embody the raw, built-in forces of nature, lineage, and place, while //prajnas// and //jnasattvas// represent the perfected, transcendent states of awakening. ==== Kami of Shimbutsudo ==== Central to Shimbutsudo is the layered link between //kami// and //prajnas// or //jnasattvas//, especially through frameworks around manifestation, with the two groups understood to have specific overlaps between each other. Whether godhood or enlightenment takes precedence is implicit, with //kami// related to the imperial household often having their godly nature emphasized, and the most common names of a //kami// coming with honorifics based on their most important characteristics, according to worshipers. The most notable of //kami// in Shimbutsudo are: * **[[Murasakinomiya|Murasakinomiya no Kami]]** (群咲󠄁之御屋神) - First of the gods of creation, //god-jnasattva// of the heavens, the North Star and all natural phenomena * **[[Osarafuruki|Ōsarafuruki no Sakarani]]** (大皿古不離) - //God-prajna// of the universe, the land and medicine (see also Ikazuchiyake no Amagimi) * **[[Fushiki|Fushiki no Mikoto]]** (不死氣命) - Brother-husband of Menari no Mikoto, //god-prajna// of creation, life, writing, hunting, fishing, medicine, knowledge and inner peace * ↳ **[[Kandatsukuri|Kandatsukuri no Mikoto]]** (神田造尊󠄂) - An aspect of Fushiki no Mikoto, as grandson of his own daughter Ikinagu; //god-prajna// of governance * **[[Menari|Menari no Mikoto]]** (女成命) - Sister-wife of Fushiki no Mikoto, //goddess-jnasattva// of creation, life, the underworld and all-beneficence * ↳ **[[Ihotoki|Ihōtoki no Sakashikami]]** (伊法時賢神) - An aspect of Menari no Mikoto, as her own son whose birth was the cause of her mortal burning; //god-jnasattva// of fire * **[[Ikinagu|Ikinagu no Ōkami]]** (息和大神) - One of the spawns of Fushiki no Mikoto alone; manifestation of Fushiki no Mikoto's wisdom AND Menari no Mikoto; //goddess-jnasattva// of the sun, truth, compassion, phenomena and soul-guidance * ↳ **[[Komikado|Komikado no Kami]]** (黃御門神) - Descendant and son-in-law of Ikazuchiyake no Amagimi, manifestation of Ikinagu no Ōkami (thus Fushiki no Mikoto and Menari no Mikoto); god of nation-building, agriculture, writing, medicine, time, magic, wealth, luck, fertility and sexuality * **[[Yotsuki|Yotsuki no Sakarani]]** (良月不離) - One of the spawns of Fushiki no Mikoto alone; androgynous //god-prajna// of the moon and longevity (see also Emperor Shōmu) * **[[Ikazuchiyake|Ikazuchiyake no Amagimi]]** (雷宅天君) - One of the spawns of Fushiki no Mikoto alone; manifestation of Ōsarafuruki no Sakarani; //god-prajna// of the sea, storms, fields, pestilence, health and medicine * **[[Mitakasa-hime|Mitakasa-hime no Mikoto]]** (御高朝󠄁姬命) - First cousin once removed (aunt)-wife of Kandatsukuri no Mikoto, goddess of Mount Mitakasa, blossoms and life * **[[Oyahaha-hime|Oyahaha-hime no Amabito]]** (親母姬天人) - Daughter of Ikazuchiyake no Amagimi, by ritual on his talisman through Ikinagu no Ōkami; goddess of water, the arts, learning, healing, love, luck and wealth * **[[Kisakitsuchi|Kisakitsuchi no Sakashikami]]** (妃土賢神) - Manifestation of Ikinagu no Ōkami (thus Fushiki no Mikoto and Menari no Mikoto) and Oyahaha-hime no Amabito; //goddess-jnasattva// of crops, soil, the land, agriculture, industry, trade, foxes, fertility and success * **[[Emperor Soryū]]** (祖龍皇帝󠄁 //Soryū Kōtei//) - Also **Kamuyama Kotohokibiko no Mikoto** (神山言祝彥尊󠄂); descendant of Ikinagu no Ōkami, first emperor of Tenzan by traditional order; considered founder of Tenzan * **[[Emperor Shōmu]]** (正武皇帝󠄁 //Shōmu Kōtei//) - Also **Shōmu Kenjin** (正武賢人) or **Masatake no Mikoto** (正武尊󠄂); an aspect of Yotsuki no Sakarani; god-prajna of archery, warriors, fishermen and farmers; guardian of Tenzan * **[[Bukun|Kūman Bukun Daitennin]]** (空滿舞君大天人) - Personal name **Hoshikawa no Fumizane** (星川史實), combined manifestation of the gods; //god-jnasattva// of knowledge, learning, luck and immortality Worshipers navigate between karmic currents, relationships with the divine, harmonious coexistence with the universe, and the search for liberation from suffering. Even with the imperial highlights, the religion remains largely pluralistic and regional, within a landscape where folklore and philosophy coexist to honor both primordial divinity and compassionate wisdom. The //[[Kyūsaisho]]// and //[[Uzansho]]// (the two oldest Tenzanese books) hold a privileged role in Shimbutsudo as foundational mytho-historical texts, providing the genealogies and narratives that anchor the divine status of the imperial line and key //kami// within the national story. Alongside these, core Nirvanist scriptures such as the [[White Flower Sutra]] inform the religion's salvation and philosophy dimensions, shaping its understanding of enlightenment, karmic causality, and cosmic interdependence. Together, they form a dual canon, blending mythic legitimacy with spiritual universality. Since its legal codification, despite no enforced absorption of Nirvanist temples in Tenzan, implicit institutional favoritism for shrines and temples declaring formally for Shimbutsudo instead of Nirvanism has eaten away at more purist Nirvanist practice, and reinforced the ethnoreligion's strength and place in the life of ethnic [[Uyama]] people, even in the years of the [[Rational Calendar]]. Nevertheless, Nirvanism continues to exist as a separate recognized religion in Tenzan. {{tag>religion shimbutsudo}}