the village to support them. They had only a few
worshippers. All the remaining shrines were of the fifth class but
one, and it was of the fourth class. In the county there was a
second-class shrine and in the whole prefecture there were two or
three first-class shrines. The villagers had agreed among themselves
which of their own shrines should be made an end of. A shrine which
was dispensed with was burnt. The stone steps approaching it were also
removed. Burning was not sacrilege but purification. On the closing of
a shrine there might be complaints on the part of some old man or
woman, but the majority of people approved. One Shinto shrine guardian
lived at the fourth-class shrine and conducted a ceremony at the
sixteen fifth-class shrines. Of the twenty Buddhist temples in the
village (300 families cultivating an average of a _cho_ apiece),
twelve were Hokke, five Shingon, two Shinshu and one Zen. All the
priests were married.[131]

I have used the phrase "Buddhist temple" loosely and may do so again,
for it conveys an idea which "Buddhist church" does not. A temple
(_do_) is properly an edifice in which a Buddha is enshrined. This
building is not for services or burial ceremonies or anniversary
offerings for departed souls. It may or may not have a guardian
(_domori_). He is never a priest with a shaven head. A Buddhist church
(_tera_) is a place where adherents go as anniversaries come round or
for sermons. It possesses a priest. There is a considerable difference
in the style of Buddhist edifices according to their denomination--Zen
buildings are particularly plain--but all are more elaborate than
Shinto shrines.

A large Shinto shrine is called _yashiro_ (house of god); a small one
_hokora_. A _hokora_ is transportable. Originally it was and in some
places it still is a perishable wooden shrine thatched with reed or
grass straw which is renewed at the spring and autumn festivals. It
may be less than two feet high and may be made of stone or wood. But
it cannot be regarded as a building. Inside there are _gohei_ (upright
sticks with paper streamers). In a rich man's house a _hokora_ may be
seven or eight feet high or bigger than the smallest _yashiro_, and
may be embellished with colour and metal.

Returning to Buddhism, if a priest has a son he may be succeeded by
him. But many Buddhist priests marry late and have no children. Or
their children do not want to be priests. So the priest adopts a
successor. S