SOURCE: "Salvation of the Snake, the Snake of Salvation: Buddhist-Shinto Conflict and Resolution," in Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, Vol. 8, No. 1-2, March-June, 1981, pp. 83-113.

In the following essay, Kelsey examines the use of the snake figure in Buddhist and Shinto narratives of evil and redemption.

Introduction

Buddhism and Shinto have had a remarkably harmonious coexistence over the past fourteen centuries. This is most probably due to two factors: on the one hand, Shinto lacked a formal structure from which to organize resistance, and on the other, Buddhism had always assimilated the traditions native to the countries it entered. Even so, it is not realistic to maintain that the first period of contact between these two religions was completely free of strife. Indeed, one senses a sometimes violent conflict lurking beneath the surface of certain Japanese Buddhist stories.

This conflict which accompanied Buddhism's entry to the gates of...