In the Ryōbu Shintō milieu, initiation rites known as abhiṣeka (kanjō) unfold as esoteric Buddhist consecrations that have been thoroughly reinterpreted through a Shintō lens. The ritual setting itself expresses this dual inheritance: altars juxtapose Buddhist mandalas with Shintō mirrors and other kami symbols, and sacred space is prepared so that buddhas and kami are honored together. The overall structure follows Shingon and Tendai tantric models, especially the dual mandala consecrations of the Garbhadhātu (Taizōkai) and Vajradhātu (Kongōkai), yet the presence of kami is never merely decorative. Through the honji suijaku paradigm, specific kami are identified with particular buddhas and bodhisattvas, so that a single ritual act simultaneously addresses both dimensions of the sacred.

The rite typically begins with purification, where Shintō forms such as misogi and other harae practices are combined with Buddhist confession and mantra recitation. This preliminary cleansing prepares the initiate to enter a mandala that is at once Buddhist and Shintō: images or symbols of kami are placed alongside, or explicitly correlated with, the deities of the esoteric mandalas. Offerings such as rice, sake, salt, and evergreen branches stand together with incense, flowers, and lamps, signaling that the ritual economy of giving and receiving spans both traditions. Within this carefully ordered space, mantras and mudrās are performed in tandem with norito prayers, so that speech, gesture, and contemplation enact the unity of the kami and the buddhas.

At the heart of the abhiṣeka lies the consecration with water, which has been ritually empowered through esoteric procedures and is accompanied by invocations of both kami and Buddhist deities. This anointment on the crown of the head is not merely symbolic; it functions as an empowerment to enter the nondual realm that Ryōbu Shintō envisions as the integration of the “two parts” of the mandala. In more formal initiations, the blindfolded flower‑throwing onto a mandala may be employed to reveal a root deity, which in this context is interpreted through a paired kami–buddha identity. The initiate may also receive a religious name and an explanation of personal linkage to specific kami–buddha correspondences, thereby inscribing individual destiny into the broader sacred network.

These rites can be graded in depth and scope, from basic initiations that establish karmic connection with the mandala and its kami, to more advanced empowerments authorizing ritual performance and teaching. Across these levels, the transmission of esoteric teachings consistently interprets kami as manifestations of cosmic buddhas, while still preserving the integrity of Shintō ritual forms. The abhiṣeka thus serves not only as a technical empowerment within esoteric Buddhism but as a consecration into a syncretic vision where the worlds of buddhas and kami are experienced as a single, continuous sacred field.