Ko-Shintō (古神道) refers to the animistic religion of Jōmon period Japan, which is the alleged basis of modern Shinto.
By the time Japan was producing literature, its native religion had already intermixed with Taoism and Buddhism.
In this era, Japan's shrine rituals were being "purified" of their religious nature and turned into national forms, a process called State Shinto today.
[2] Early folklorists such as Kunio Yanagita were also seeking a purely Japanese tradition.
Onisaburo Deguchi, the founder of Oomoto, was an extremely influential Koshinto researcher in the Imperial period.