Most japanese do not exclusively identify themselves as adherents of a single religion ; rather, they incorporate elements of various religions in a syncretic fashion known as shinbutsush ugo amal gamation of kami and buddhas?). Shinbutsu Shugo officially ended with the Shinto and Buddhism Separation Order of 1886, but continues in practice. shinto and japanese buddhas are therefore best understood not as two completely separate and competing faiths, but rather as a single, rather complex religious system.