The earliest movement had already appeared in the Medieval Period, but the Shinbutsu-bunri usually refers to the separation carried out in accordance with the advancement of Confucianism, Kokugaku (the study of Japanese classical literature), and the Fukko-shinto (Reactionary Shintoism) which occurred in and after the mid or late Edo period.In a more limited sense, it refers to the separation carried out throughout the country according to the ordinance issued by the new Meiji government, called Shinbutsu Bunri-rei (officially named Shinbutsu Hanzen-rei, which means the Edict for Separation of Shinto and Buddhism), which was a general term representing a series of official notices issued between April 5, 1868 and December 1, 1868, such as the edict of the Daijokan (Grand Council of State), the notification of the Jingikan (Department of Worship), and the notification of the Daijokan.
その動きは早くは中世から見られるが、一般には江戸時代中期後期以後の儒教や国学(学問)や復古神道に伴うものを指し、狭義には明治新政府により出された神仏分離令（正式には神仏判然令。