The 1868 Meiji turnabout ripped the centuries-old tapestry of fused kami and buddhas right down the middle. When the new government proclaimed Shinbutsu Bunri—the formal divorce of Shinto and Buddhism—Ryōbu Shintō found itself caught in the crossfire. Shrines that once rang with Buddhist chants and bore esoteric mandalas suddenly had their statues and Sanskrit inscriptions hauled off, either to be destroyed or carted away to distant temples. A lot of prized Ryōbu manuscripts vanished into private collections or turned up in dusty temple basements, nearly forgotten.

State Shintō rose as the only “pure” expression of Japan’s native faith, sidelining those sects and practices that thrived on hybridity. Ryōbu priests were nudged—sometimes shoved—into picking a side. Some defected to pure Shinto roles, scrubbing Buddhist elements from their rituals. Others retreated underground, safeguarding secret manuals that combined Shinto norito and Buddhist dharanis, like relics whispered about but seldom seen.

Academically, kokugaku scholars became the darlings of official patronage. Their mission to rediscover an unadulterated ancient Japan eclipsed any appetite for studying Ryōbu’s layered theology. As shrines were reorganized under central control, esoteric lodges lost funding and public visibility. By the 1880s, Ryōbu Shintō was largely driven off the stage, surviving only through a few tenacious lineages in rural mountain shrines.

Fast-forward to recent decades, and there’s been a genuine revival of curiosity. Digital archives at universities such as Kyoto’s Rinsen and Tokyo’s Kokugakuin now host scanned scrolls once thought lost. Conferences on religious syncretism, spurred by broader global interest in pluralism, treat Ryōbu Shintō as a living case study rather than a footnote. The 2020 Tokyo Symposium on Sacred Arts even showcased reconstructed Ryōbu rituals alongside modern Shinto dances. It’s proof that, despite Meiji’s attempt to draw hard lines, those ancient threads of esoteric Buddhism and kami veneration still find ways to weave themselves back into Japan’s spiritual fabric.