The term refers to the unification of

ritual A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized ...

and

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...

. Festival in festival-politics means "festival" and

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

. The word "politics" means "festival" and politics. 、In Japan, the Oracle of

miko A , or shrine maiden,Groemer, 28. is a young priestess who works at a Shinto shrine. were once likely seen as shamans,Picken, 140. but are understood in modern Japanese culture to be an institutionalized role in daily life, trained to perfor ...

can be traced back to the ancient

theocracy Theocracy is a form of government in which one or more deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries who manage the government's daily affairs. Etymology The word theocracy originates fr ...

, including the

Yamato Kingship The was a tribal alliance centered on the Yamato region (Nara Prefecture) from the 4th century to the 7th century, and ruled over the alliance of noble families in the central and western parts of the Japanese archipelago. The age is from the ...

, where the Oracle of Wu had political authority, as well as the

Ryukyu Kingdom The Ryukyu Kingdom, Middle Chinese: , , Classical Chinese: (), Historical English names: ''Lew Chew'', ''Lewchew'', ''Luchu'', and ''Loochoo'', Historical French name: ''Liou-tchou'', Historical Dutch name: ''Lioe-kioe'' was a kingdom in the ...

, a system of government that was based on the

. Shinto is an

animistic Animism (from Latin: ' meaning ' breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, ...

religion, and one of its characteristics is the unity of ritual and government. Although not necessarily restricted to Shinto in Japanese, rites and ceremonies are used in English as Saisei itchi as a term for Shinto. Keiichi Yanagawa defined ritual government as different from theocracy, in which a professional clergyman directly governs.Between Unity and Separation: Religion and Politics in Japan, 1965-1977 Yanagawa Keiichi and David Reid, Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 6/4 December 1979. p.502 Ritual and political unity has been referred to primarily in the context of the ancient emperor system.

Ritual and Political Unity in Japan

On March 13, 1868, 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 ...

announce the Restoration of the Monarchy and the reestablishment of 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 ...

in a "Dajokanbudan". Also used on January 3, 1870, in the "Declaration of the Great Teachings" (Dai-kyo Sengen). Later in the Meiji era the theory came to be replaced with Secular Shrine Theory, the idea that

Shinto Shrines A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...

were secular in their nature rather than religious.

References

Bibliography

* 世界大百科事典&マイペディア第2版 D-ROM��ISBN 978-4816981838 * 広辞苑第六版 DVD-ROM版，ISBN 978-4001301618 * 安丸良夫・宮地正人編『日本近代思想大系5　宗教と国家』岩波書店，1988，ISBN 978-4002300054 * * * * * * {{refend Religion and politics Political history Pages with unreviewed translations Japanese imperial history Japanese Imperial Rituals

Ritual and Political Unity in Japan

See also

References

Bibliography