Sadly, gorseddphungus, I remain unconvinced that you are as versed in Japanese history and religion as you claim to be. You say, for example, that -
>The very fact of talking now about shinto is equally just an intellectual waste of time although there is an enormous bulk of literature (mostly Western of course like there is about Japan). And the rituals involved are kept and known only by the monks, which is also, in my opinion, very 'megalithic'.<
Strange, anyone with a proper understanding of Shinto will know that there are <i>no</i> monks in Shinto - there are only priests (and very megalithic?).
Again you say that -
>...what is the most suitable word for 'temple' - it is jinja. I call them all temples but strictly speaking only the temples are the places where there is a worship of Buddhism (ie the imported organised religion).<
Quite, no-one (Japanese or non-Japanese) with a proper understanding of Shinto would refer to a Shinto <i>jinja</i> (shrine) as a temple. Buddhist temples are referred to either as <i>otera</i> (you omitted the honorific 'o') or the name of the Buddhist temple is suffixed with <i>ji</i> (eg Ryoan-ji, Daitoku-ji). Shinto shrine names are suffixed with <i>jinja</i> or <i>jingu</i> (eg Ise-jingu, Yasakuni-jinja). To refer to a Shinto shrine as a 'temple' is as bizarre as referring to St Paul's Cathedral as St Paul's Temple! These differences are <i>extremely</i> important and anyone who claims to know, or to have travelled in Japan, would be aware of them.
As this line of discussion is becoming increasingly off-topic I will now close on the matter.
