Department of Divinities
| Successor | Ministry of Shinto, Daikyoin |
|---|---|
| Dissolved | 1871 |
The Department of Divinities (神祇官, Jingi-kan), also known as the Department of Shinto Affairs, was a Japanese Imperial bureaucracy established in the 8th century, as part of the ritsuryō reforms.
History
This Shinto administrative hierarchy was an intentional mirror of its Chinese counterpart, the Ministry of Rites (禮部).[1] The Jingi-kan was charged with oversight of Shinto clergy and rituals for the whole country. It was headed by the Jingi-haku (神祇伯). From the 10th century to the 15th, the Shirakawa-hakuō family held this position continuously.
In feudal Japan, the Jingi-kan became the final surviving building of the Heian Palace. During the Jōkyū War in 1221, most of the palace was evacuated and fell into disrepair; the Jingi-kan alone remained in operation. A 1624 memoir by a Jingi-haku reports that the Jingi-kan was still being used as late as 1585 and was demolished during renovations. In 1626, a temporary building was constructed to perform additional ceremonies.[2]
It was reinstated in 1869 at the beginning of the Meiji period, and at the outset was essentially under the control of the Hirata school of nativism. However, progressives within the government feared that Hirata influence would obstruct the project of modernization. As a result, the department was quickly replaced with a more "modern" system paralleling Western institutions and the Hirata followers were for the most part expelled. Afterwards, a system of regular offerings (hōhei) to 3,132 kami enshrined across the nation was instituted.[3] The department was disbanded under the 1945 Shinto Directive enforced by the Allied occupation. Its civilian duties were taken over by the Association of Shinto Shrines.
See also
- Engishiki, volume 1-10
- State Shinto
Notes
- ^ Breen, John and Mark Teeuwen (2000) Shinto in History: Ways of the Kami, p. 47., p. 47, at Google Books
- ^ Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon (1956). Kyoto: the Old Capital of Japan, 794-1869. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. p. 50.
- ^ Ueda Kenji "Concepts of Emperor and the State." Encyclopedia of Shinto; retrieved 2011-08-22
External links
- Kokugakuin University, Encyclopedia of Shinto, "Concepts of Emperor and State" (Jingi-kan)
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