The was issued in the name of

Emperor Meiji , also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figur ...

on January 3, 1870 (February 3). �
歴代の詔勅
�� p.66 河野省三内閣印刷局、1940年（国立国会図書館） It declared

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

(the "way of the gods") as the guiding principle of the state. The concept of

Divinity Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine

was placed on the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

, and

become designated as the

state religion A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular state, secular, is not n ...

of the

Japanese Empire The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...

, which was designated as a state with " unity of religion and rule".

Commentary

After the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, the theory of unification of ritual and government increased, centering on

Kokugaku ''Kokugaku'' ( ja, 國學, label=Kyūjitai, ja, 国学, label=Shinjitai; literally "national study") was an academic movement, a school of Japanese philology and philosophy originating during the Tokugawa period. Kokugaku scholars worked to refo ...

scholars of the

Hirata Atsutane was a Japanese scholar, conventionally ranked as one of the Four Great Men of Kokugaku (nativist) studies, and one of the most significant theologians of the Shintō religion. His literary name was , and his primary assumed name was . He also u ...

school, which dedicated itself to the restoration of Shinto, and on July 8, 1869, a Missionary Office was established within the

Department of Divinities The , also known as the Department of Shinto Affairs, Department of Rites, Department of Worship, as well as Council of Divinities, was a Japanese Imperial bureaucracy established in the 8th century, as part of the ''ritsuryō'' reforms. It was fi ...

. The Missionary Office was established, and

Nakayama Tadayasu Marquess Nakayama Tadayasu (Japanese 中山忠能, 17 December 1809 – 12 June 1888) was a Japanese nobleman and courtier of the Edo period and then one of the Kazoku of the post-1867 Empire of Japan. He was the father of Nakayama Yoshiko (183 ...

was appointed as the missionary director and Fukuha Yoshishige as the vice-director. Fukuha served as Ministry of Divinities, the de facto chief executive officer after the Ministry of Divinities was renamed Ministry of Divinities. This was followed by the issuance of an imperial decree in the name of the

of the time, which set forth the principle of "clarifying the doctrine of jikkyo and proclaiming the way of godliness. In direct opposition to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

, it proposed the promotion of Shinto and national protection through Missionary Offices. However, the confusion caused by the movement to abolish Buddhism, the conflict with the

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

philosophy of the clans that still functioned as local governments, and the conflicts among national scholars within the Ministry of Divinities, combined with the demand from the west to stop the suppression of Christianity, led to the continued sluggish movement toward Shinto nationalization The establishment of the Ministry of Religion on March 14, 1872 (April 21, 1872), the separation of Miyanaka rituals, and the abolition of Missionary Office forced a review of the Taikyo Mission, and the Taikyo Institute, which aimed to rebuild and strengthen the line of the Taikyo Mission, was established the following year. The following year, the Taikyo Institute was established with the aim of rebuilding and strengthening the line of the Taikyo Mission.

Three Great Teachings

In the proclamation, there was a promotion of three great teachings: # Respect for the gods, love of country; # Making clear the principles of Heaven and the Way of Man; # Reverence for the emperor and obedience to the will of the court. These are still kept by

Shintō Taikyō Shintō Taikyō (神道大教), formerly called Shinto Honkyoku (神道本局), is a Japanese Shintoist organization, and was established by Meiji officials in 1873. It is recognized officially, and its headquarters are in Tokyo. It has many shr ...

. The "Taikyo" is the same as the "Great Teachings" of the

Great Teaching Institute The was an organization under the Ministry of Religion in the Empire of Japan. History It was founded in 1872 to train ''kyōdo shōku'' or religious teachers because the Missionary Office and Department of Divinities were unsuccessful in ...

, and the Taikyo of

References

State Shinto 1870 in Japan 1870 in law Japanese Imperial rescripts Taikyo Institute Pages with unreviewed translations {{State Shinto

Commentary

Three Great Teachings

See also

References