Shrine Shinto is a form of the

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 ''Shint ...

religion. It has two main varieties:

State Shinto was Imperial Japan's ideological use of the Japanese folk religion and traditions of Shinto. The state exercised control of shrine finances and training regimes for priests to strongly encourage Shinto practices that emphasized the Emperor a ...

, a pre-World War II variant, and another centered on

Shinto shrine 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, meanin ...

s after World War II, in which ritual rites are the center of belief, conducted by an organization of clergy. Today, the term Shinto usually refers to Shrine Shinto. Shrines throughout Japan serve as places of worship. Until 1945 all Shinto shrines were under the jurisdiction of the

Jingin The is one of the former state agencies of Japan. Ministry of the Interior's foreign bureau. Showa's early Divinities revival movement and movement to establish special divine offices In response to the 1940, it was established on the occasion ...

, an external department of the

Home Ministry An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...

. The

Shinto Directive The Shinto Directive was an order issued in 1945 to the Japanese government by Occupation authorities to abolish state support for the Shinto religion. This unofficial "State Shinto" was thought by Allies to have been a major contributor to ...

issued by the GHQ in December 1945 abolished the

, which was reorganized as one religious corporation, the

Association of Shinto Shrines The is a religious administrative organisation that oversees about 80,000 Shinto shrines in Japan. These shrines take the Ise Grand Shrine as the foundation of their belief. It is the largest Shrine Shinto organization in existence. Descript ...

. Shinto shrines and Shinto rituals are performed in accordance with sacred texts such as ''

Kojiki The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperia ...

'' and '' Nihon Shoki''. The ''

Kannushi A , also called , is a person responsible for the maintenance of a as well as for leading worship of a given .* ''Kannushi'' (in Japanese), Iwanami Japanese dictionary, 6th Edition (2008), DVD version The characters for are sometimes also re ...

'' are in charge of the rituals, holding positions such as priests, priests-in-charge, and administer the rituals. The

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 ...

of Shinto shrines are not included in the priesthood. A ''

Kagura is a type of Shinto ritual ceremonial dance. The term is a contraction of the phrase , indicating the presence of gods () in the practice. One major function of is , involving a procession-trance process. Usually a female shaman will perfor ...

'' dancer may participate in Shinto rituals, but may not preside over or perform Shinto rituals.

Education

Two universities and seven technical/vocational schools exclusively offer training programs for the priesthood. The length of study ranges from one to four years. These educational institutions accept students from standalone shrines and from shrines belonging to

Sect Shinto Sect Shinto () refers to several independent organized Shinto groups that were excluded by law in 1882 from government-run State Shinto. These independent groups may have more developed belief systems than mainstream Shrine Shinto which focuses m ...

Administration

After World War II, the

Jinja Honcho The is a religious administrative organisation that oversees about 80,000 Shinto shrines in Japan. These shrines take the Ise Grand Shrine as the foundation of their belief. It is the largest Shrine Shinto organization in existence. Description ...

supervised the largest number of shrines. But since technically the religious corporation status is a condition for membership, small shrines that do not have a juridical character are not eligible and are not allowed to belong to the Honcho. Fewer than half of juridical shrines, such as in Higashiosaka City are not members of the Association. Several Shinto shrines throughout Japan, such as

Kamakura-gū is a shrine in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It was erected by Emperor Meiji in 1869 to enshrine the spirit of Prince Morinaga, who was imprisoned and later executed where the shrine now stands in 1335 by order of Ashikaga Tadayoshi. For ...

Yasukuni Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Emperor Meiji in June 1869 and commemorates those who died in service of Japan, from the Boshin War of 1868–1869, to the two Sino-Japanese Wars, 1894–1895 and 1937–1945 resp ...

, Fushimi Inari-taisha, Keta Shrine, Fushimi Inari-taisha, Nikko Toshogu, Keta Shrine,

Tomioka Hachiman Shrine is the largest Hachiman shrine in Tokyo. History The shrine was established in Fukagawa in with reclamation of a shoal. Hachiman, whom the shrine reveres, was also a local kami of the Minamoto clan, thus the shrine received cordial protection ...

, and Hizengu Shrine. 80,000 Shinto shrines were under the jurisdiction of

, consisting of 7,800 managed by the Association of Shinto Shrines and others that became standalone shrines. Outside the Association, 91 shrines belong to Seishin Meiseikai, 78 to Jinja Honkyo, 72 to Jinja Sandonkyo, 60 to , 23 to Japan Jingu Honcho, and 15 to Japan Shrine Kyodan.

History

The term Shrine Shinto was created to distinguish it from denominational Shinto after the Meiji era. In 1868, the Restoration Government established 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 ...

to centralize administration. However, the

policy was unsuccessful, so the

Ministry of Shinto The Ministry of Shinto was established on September 22, 1871 and lasted until April 21, 1872, replacing the Department of Divinities, which had been in charge of rituals and administration of the Shinto gods since the Ritsuryo system. Although ...

was established and a campaign to proclaim the Imperial Way was launched. On January 24, 1882, the Ministry of the Interior issued Ministerial Instruction No. B7, "Jikko-kamikami ha kyōdōshi ni kyōdōshi ni kyōsoku wo kyōsoku wo kyōdōshi no kanryūmono mono to sasaru mono" ("Shinto Priests are not a religion") and declared that

Secular Shrine Theory Secular Shrine Theory or was a religious policy and political theory that arose in Japan during the 19th and early 20th centuries due to the separation of church and state of the Meiji Government. It was the idea that Shinto Shrines were secular ...

(denominational Shinto and Buddhism) and Shrine Shinto separated, and declared that

was a national, not religious, ritual. Although the Religion Bill of 1899 did not include

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 popula ...

, denominational Shinto began to be referred to as national Shinto toward the end of the Meiji period. Shinto shrines were included in the Shinto religion, but did not have the same teachings and precepts as Buddhism. They were protected by the government until the end of World War II. In 1917, the Japanese Christian Church rejected

on the grounds that students were forced to worship at shrines. A further complaint was filed that the coercion violated the

freedom of religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedo ...

specified in the

Meiji Constitution The Constitution of the Empire of Japan (Kyūjitai: ; Shinjitai: , ), known informally as the Meiji Constitution (, ''Meiji Kenpō''), was the constitution of the Empire of Japan which was proclaimed on February 11, 1889, and remained in for ...

and Shrine Shinto were named in 1924. 加藤玄智（陸軍士官学校教授・東京帝国大学神道講座助教授）は 1924年（大正13年）の著書『東西思想比較研究』以降、この説を展開した。 Before World War II, Shrine Shinto referred to the rituals, ideology, and organization of shrines, which in modern times have been subject to government control. Shinto was once to be administered by the

Shinto Secretariat Shinto Secretariat was the successor to the Daikyoin, which was founded in 1875 (Meiji 8). In the religious administration of the Meiji era, it is an organization that brings together Shinto factions nationwide. It is a public central institution ...

, but was eventually separated from Shrine Shinto as

, with the Shinto Secretariat called

Shinto Taikyo 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 sh ...

. The Shinto shrines were then administered by the

. Under the influence of the National Spiritual Mobilization Movement, they were separated from Shinto shrines in 1940, becoming independent.

References

Bibliography

* {{Cite book , title= 世界大百科事典 , date=1978 , publisher= 平凡社 , volume=16巻 , orig-date=1972-04-25 Shinto Pages with unreviewed translations

Education

Administration

History

See also

References

Bibliography