Priest

Shinto

 * Priests


 * Miko


 * their functions

Buddhist

 * Wandering Monks


 * Temple Monks


 * Warrior Monks

The Warrior Monks of Japan were Buddhist Monks who did not follow the teachings of "causing no harm to sentient beings". They often sold their services to the highest bidder or fought on the side of their own choosing to further their cause and maintain their hold on properties and valuables that had been "donated" to them. They appear specifically as the white-hooded fighters carrying Naginata (halbreds), defending Izu-Toyas castle in the third Inuyasha movie "Swords of an Honarble Ruler".

Those warrior-monks were a major problem for every warlord ruler of Japan since approximately 700 AD. A great number of them were exterminated when they got involved in the war between the Taira and Minamoto clans in 1180’s. In 1580 Oda Nobunaga nearly wiped them out, but Toyotomi Hideyoshi was still troubled, and Tokugawa Ieyasu was forced to deal with the remains of them in 1615.


 * Pilgrimages

Mountain Priests

 * Yamabushi

While Pre-Edo Japan lumped the Mountain Priests into the same category as  Shinto most agree that they are a different breed. The Mountain priests will often accompany Shinto priests in specific ceremonies pertaining to the spirits of their area.