State Shinto
State Shintō (国家神道, Kokka Shintō) is a term coined by the United States General Headquarters in 1945 to describe the use of Shinto as an ideological tool. The definition was used to identify and remove aspects of nationalistic ideology, such as worship of the Emperor, from Japan's native traditional spiritual practice of Shinto. Generally, scholars agree the term can be used to describe the state's attempts to regulate Shinto to this end, though there is disagreement as to the extent to which the government was successful. As a result of this debate, controversy remains around the role of certain Shinto symbols, such as the Emperor and Yasukuni shrine, when used in state functions.
Origins of the term
Shinto is an amalgamation of indigenous folk practices, court practices, and spirit-worship which dates back at least to the sixth century. These beliefs were not unified under the term "Shinto" until reforms in the Meiji era, though the term was used in the Chronicles of Japan (日本書紀, Nihon Shoki) during the 8th century. Shinto has no set of doctrines or founder, but derives from a set of creation myths described in books such as the Kojiki.
