Sect Shinto

refers to several independently organized Shinto groups that were excluded by Japanese law in 1882 from government-run State Shinto. Compared to mainstream Shrine Shinto, which focuses primarily on rituals, these independent groups have a more developed theology. Many such groups are organized under the . Before World War II, Sect Shinto consisted of 13 denominations, which were referred to as the 13 Shinto schools. Since then, there have been additions to and withdrawals from membership.

Whereas Shrine Shinto is an aggregation of various shrines and customary beliefs in different parts of Japan (which became united under the Ise Grand Shrine after the Meiji period), Sect Shinto is based on the () school of philosophy. Tenrikyo was categorized as Sect Shinto but is often considered a separate monotheistic religion.

History

While its roots are in the late Edo period, Sect Shinto became more firmly established in the Meiji era after the Meiji Restoration. Its formation was stimulated by the religious policies of the Meiji government, emerging at a time of increasing theological discussion among people of a wider range of classes, rather than only intellectuals.

In 1868, the religious administration of the new Meiji government issued the Shinto-Buddhist Separation Order, resulting in (a philosophy espousing the abandonment of Buddhism in Japan) and the restoration of the unity of ritual and government system. Following the Taikyo Proclamation, which designated Shinto as the state religion, the Great Teaching Institute was established, though it was soon reformed into the Bureau of Shinto Affairs, and later the sect Shinto Taikyo.

During these early trial-and-error religious policies, the Meiji government promoted a nationalized system of Shinto education by religious instructors known as . However, with the spread of the ideas of separation of church and state and freedom of religion, the ended. This produced a division in Shinto between shrines for state-run public rituals and religious groups centered on edification. Groups that met certain conditions (such as the number of followers) were officially recognized as "independent denominations." This was the beginning of the denominational Shinto Sect.

This separation strengthened the idea that it was necessary to establish an institution that was a more developed version of the former Shodo Shido Practice Center. Accordingly, the Meiji government established the Office of Japanese Classics Research in Tokyo, independent of the Bureau of Shinto Affairs, in order to organize the exploration of ideas unique to Japan. It was later succeeded by Kokugakuin University.

Establishment

Formation of a united government

The impetus for denominational Shinto was the separation of Shinto and Buddhism, which began in 1868 (first year of Meiji) with the revival of the Department of Divinities and the separation of Shinto and Buddhism, which started with the Shinto-Buddhist Hanzen Order, a pre-modern imperial government directive. This led to the formation of the unity of ritual and government, and a Shinto government was revived. Around then, official decrees abolished the hereditary system of Shinto priests, thus ending the jurisdiction of the and over Shinto.During this transition, the concept of missionaries to propagate Shinto remained. In 1870 (Meiji 3), the imperial Taikyo Proclamation designated Shinto as the state religion. The Great Teaching Institute was established in 1872 (Meiji 5) as a missionary organization, but was dissolved in 1875 (Meiji 8). It was succeeded by the Bureau of Shinto Affairs in the same year, to which the originally disparate folk-belief religions belonged.

Ministry of Religion, , and the Taikyo Institute

In 1872, the Missionary Office was abolished and replaced with the Ministry of Religion. In April, Shinto priests and monks were assigned positions. The Ministry was later dissolved in 1877, and was abolished in 1884.

The priesthood was initially divided into two geographic divisions. The eastern division was headed by Konoe Tadafusa, priest of Ise Grand Shrine, and the western division by Senge Takatomi, the grand priest of Izumo Taisha Shrine. Since it was assumed that one's religious affiliation was free, there was a struggle for power between the Ise and Izumo factions. On January 30, 1873, the geographic division was abolished and the two regions were combined. However, they were once again divided later becoming a three-part system with Senge Takatomi, , and Inaba Masakuni, and then a four-part system with the addition of Yoriyasu Tanaka, the grand priest of the Ise Grand Shrine. On that same day, the Kurozumikyō and Shinto Shusei were specially established as denominational Shinto sects, and the compartment system was abolished.

In May 1873, the Ministry of Religion issued a religious ordinance, which set standards for the approval of (religious lectures or meetings). In August, the Ministry approved the Kurozumikyō, the Tohokami (later Misogi-Kyo), the Mitake, and the Fuji Isan (later Fuso-kyo), as well as Buddhist .

In 1873, the Great Teaching Institute was established—first in Kojimachi, Kioicho and later in Masukami, Shiba at Zōjō-ji—as the head temple for of a joint Shinto and Buddhist sect. The Taikyo Institute was initiated by the Buddhist side to concretize teaching by the Ministry of Religion, but it later became focused entirely on Shinto. The Buddhist side, led by Shinshū, broke away from the institute. On April 30, 1875, the Taikyo Institute was dissolved by order of the Ministry of Religion.

Bureau of Shinto Affairs

The Bureau of Shinto Affairs was formed in March 1875, just prior to the dissolution of the Taikyo Institute, by a group of Shinto shrines, at Ise Grand Shrine and other shrines throughout Japan, as well as by Shinto priests and instructors belonging to private Shinto-related . The Shinto side felt that there was no organization that corresponded to the various Buddhist sects, and on March 27, 1875 (Meiji 8), Grand High Priest Suechi Sanjonishi, Grand Priest-in-Charge Inaba Masakuni, Yoriyasu Tanaka, Hirayama Seisai, and Konosetsu Tsume jointly petitioned the Ministry of Religion for the establishment of a government office for Shinto.

The next day, on March 28, 1875, he received permission to establish the Bureau of Shinto Affairs. On April 8, he requested that the Ministry of Religion establish the Bureau of Shinto Affairs. The content of the request was that even small shrines, centering on the Imperial Shrine at Ise, should be able to cooperate with each other for the purpose of propagating Shinto. On April 15, the Bureau of Shinto Affairs was opened in the Tokyo Branch Office of the Jingu Shichosha. Once the Bureau of Shinto Affairs was prepared—bringing together the traditionally existing shrines, Shinto , and congregations following folk beliefs—various denominations that met certain conditions were able to branch out and become independent from it.

The following year, in 1876 (Meiji 9), a dormitory was established in the Shinto Office to train priests. Also that year, the Kurozumikyō and Shinto Shusei, which had been flourishing, became independent denominations.

Inaba Masakuni was the first president of the Bureau of Shinto Affairs. Yoriyasu Tanaka was the Chief of Ise Jingu and the first head of Jingūkyō. Hirayama Seisai was the grand priest of Hikawa Shrine and the first headmaster of Shinto Taiseikyo and Ontake-kyo. Kousetsu Tsume would become the second head minister of the Ontake Sect.

In 1886, the Bureau of Shinto Affairs was reorganized, later becoming the sect Shinto Taikyo.

Controversy over shrine deities

The Bureau of Shinto Affairs had a plan to make Jingu Haruhaiden (later becoming Tokyo Daijingu) the central temple and a center for missionary work. Since Jingu Haruhaiden was to enshrine a branch spirit of Amaterasu, the Ministry of Religion and the Emperor visited the building and obtained permission from the to begin construction, which was funded by donations from the Imperial Household Agency and various families.

In 1880, the opinion of Senge Takatomi on the deities to be worshipped in the Bureau of Shinto Affairs' temples was so controversial that it divided Shinto into the Ise and Izumo factions. By order of the Meiji Emperor, a great conference on Shinto was held in January 1881 (Meiji 14), attended by 118 people, including all the chief priests of the government buildings and the instructors of the sixth grade and above. However, the issue could not be decided by the conference. Therefore, the Meiji Emperor made the final decision as to which deities would be worshiped there.

Separation of ritual and faith

In January 1882, the separation of ritual and religion was enacted by the Ministry of Home Affairs through Bill No. 7, which prohibited those in the (priest-teacher position) from performing rituals, thereby promoting the separation of those who continued to be priests performing rituals or preaching the teachings, and solidifying the formation of Sect Shinto.After this, on May 15, 1882, the six factions (including Jingūkyō) became independent. Jingu Haruhayashiden (the source of the ritual god controversy) was transferred to Jingūkyō's ownership and renamed Daijingu Shrine, and Jingū Taima were distributed by Jingūkyō. Senge Takatomi took the opportunity to resign from his position as priest of Izumo Taisha Shrine and handed it over to his younger brother, who became the head of the Izumo Taisha Sect.

On August 11, 1884, the government issued a proclamation abolishing the position. In turn, this meant the Bureau of Shinto Affairs had lost its original reason for opening, and so in 1886, the Bureau reorganized. It later became Shinto Taikyo, one of the schools of Shinto.

Office of Japanese Classics Research

On November 4, 1881, the Office of Japanese Classics Research was established as a successor to the Bureau of Shinto Affairs. Like its predecessor, it was a unified Shinto missionary organization established to train Shinto priests. Funded by an imperial gift, it purchased a mansion in Iidacho, Kojimachi-ku (present-day Chiyoda-ku).

Immediately after the Great Council of Shinto, it was decided to establish the Office upon the proposal of Akiyoshi Yamada of . Prince Arisugawa Takahito was appointed as its first president, and announced his intention to pursue a unique Japanese academic discipline. In the "Announcement of the Establishment of the Imperial Academy" (jointly signed by Li-Kuro Kubo, Yorikuni Inoue, Nakasaburo Itsumi, and Hans Shishino), the intention of the establishment of the academy was to train personnel to maintain (national identity). The Imperial Institute established branches in the provinces and qualified students for priesthood.

The Office was later succeeded by Kokugakuin University.

Academics

In December 1868 (the first year of Meiji), the Imperial Academy was established in Kyoto but was abolished the following year. When the Ministry of Religion was established in 1872, it was responsible for research.

In 1882 (Meiji 15), institutes of imperial studies were established one after another. This was due to a keen awareness of the need for doctrinal studies in the rites and rituals controversy. The controversy was divided between the doctrinalists (denominational Shinto sects) and the national scholars (academics). As the doctrinalists became independent, the national scholars were stimulated and the separation of doctrine and learning progressed. On April 30, Jingūkyō established Kōgakkan University in Ise. On May 30, the Department of Classics was established at the University of Tokyo.

After World War II

On December 15, 1945, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (GHQ) issued the Shinto Directive aimed at dismantling State Shinto. In January of the following year, the Dai Nihon Shinto-kai, the Imperial Academy, and the Jingu Bonan-kai were dissolved to form the Association of Shinto Shrines, a religious corporation. In March, Jingu-Shogakukan University was abolished by the Shinto directive; in April, representatives of each denomination explained their denomination to the GHQ Civilian Information and Education Department at Broadcasting Hall 108. In June, at a meeting at Tenrikyo's Honshiba Grand Church between the presidents of the various schools and W. K. Vance, head of the Religious Affairs Division at GHQ, the occupying forces promised not to impose any restrictions on the religious activities of the Shinto sects.

Tenrikyo established a policy of restoration immediately in 1945, and Konkokyo established the Council for the Establishment of the Faith in 1951 to eliminate Shinto colors.

The system in which there were 13 Shinto sects and 13 Buddhist sects recognized by the government was broken up into even smaller groups as religious organizations when the Religious Corporation Law was enacted.

Shinto research institutions

Many of the scholars who had played a central role in Shinto research and education were expelled and replaced by folklorists such as Shinobu Orikuchi and Kunio Yanagita, as well as younger Shinto scholars who escaped expulsion. On March 20, 1946, Kokugakuin University became a corporation, and the training of priests, which had been commissioned by the Ministry of Home Affairs, was continued from April as a new commission through the Jinja Main Office. The following year, Vance and Woodard of the Religious Affairs Division of GHQ decided that there was no problem with the study of Shinto and training of priests as a private university, and in 1948, the Shinto Affairs Department was established to form a Shinto training organization.

The Shinto Scholarship Association, which had been conducting Shinto courses, was also dissolved in 1946. In July 1949, at a meeting of the Federation of Shinto Sects at the Kinko Grand Church of the Tenrikyo Tokyo Branch Office, it was decided that Shinto lectures would be held at the Shinto Training Department of Kokugakuin University on behalf of the Federation of Shinto Sects; this practice continued until 1966. Holding the Shinto course promoted the university as a Shinto university that combined both Shrine Shinto and Sect Shinto. As of 1996, Kokugakuin University was said to be the only university with a course on Sect Shinto.

Sects

Overview

There are five main groups of Sect Shinto:

# Fukko Shinto (Revival Shinto) lineage – includes Shinto Taikyo, Shinrikyo, and Izumo-taishakyo (which originates from Izumo Taisha)
# Confucian Shinto – and Shinto Shusei
# Mountain worship lineage – includes Jikkō kyō, Fuso-kyo, and Ontake-kyo
# Purification sects – Misogikyo and Shinshu-kyo
# Utopian groups – Kurozumikyō, Tenrikyo, and Konkokyo

Tenrikyo is now classified by the Agency for Cultural Affairs as one of the various religions, not as a Shinto denomination.

History

The first independent denominations were Kurozumikyō and Shinto Shusei in 1876 (Meiji 9). Jingūkyō was founded in 1882, but later reorganized into the Ise Shrine Offering Association in 1899 (Meiji 32).戦後に 神社本庁を形成する前身組織の1つ。

In 1895, eight denominations— Izumo Taisha-kyo, Kurozumikyō, Ontake-kyo, Jikkō kyō, Shinto Taiseikyo, Shinshu-kyo, Fuso-kyo, and Jingūkyō—joined to form the ().Inori and Tsudoi: A History of the 100th Anniversary of the Formation of the Shinto Federation of Churches, 1996, pp. 10-12. In 1899 (Meiji 32), the group was joined by Shinto Headquarters ( Shinto Taikyo), Shinrikyo, and Misogikyo, and the name was changed to ; the same year, Jingūkyō reorganized as Jingū Hōnsaikai and withdrew from the federation. In 1912 (Meiji 45), Konkokyo, Shinto Shusei, and Tenrikyo joined, forming 13 groups (14 if including the breakaway Jingūkyō), and the name was changed to . In 1934, the current name was adopted.

After World War II, Oomoto joined the federation, but Tenrikyo and Shinto Taiseikyo withdrew. Tensha Tsuchimikado Shinto was re-established after the war, but never joined the federation. Shinshu-kyo withdrew in 1959 but returned in 1994.

In 1995, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of its formation, the "100th Anniversary of the Formation of the Federation of Shinto Churches" was held. In addition to Misogi-kyo, Shinto Taikyo, Jingūkyō, Konkokyo, Kurozumikyō, Fuso-kyo, Ontake-kyo, Shinrikyo, Oomoto, Shinshu-kyo, Shinto Shusei, Izumo Taisha-kyo, and twelve other denominations, the presidents of Tenrikyo and Shinto Taiseikyo also attended.

Today, the federation has 12 affiliated groups.

Kurozumikyō

Kurozumikyō (黒住教) is a group highly linked to Amaterasu.

Shinto Shusei

is considered a form of Confucian Shinto. It was founded in 1849 by Nitta Kuniteru (1829–1902), who was known to have read the Analects at age 9. He founded the sect at age 20, and considered Japanese people to be descendants of deities. He considered allegiance to the Emperor of Japan to be central to his philosophy; he was a supporter of Sonnō jōi ("revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians") but supported the Boshin Rebellion (the civil war between the shogunate and forces supporting the emperor) and the Meiji Restoration later.

Alongside Kurozumikyō, it was one of the first two Shinto sects to gain independence in 1876. It has not been very active in the postwar era.

Jingūkyō

was a sect run out of Ise Grand Shrine which distributed Jingu Taima. It was a rival to Izumo-taishakyo and eventually left the federation and came to dominate State Shinto.

Izumo-taishakyo

was founded by Senge Takatomi. and has 1,266,058 followers. It is a Fukko Shinto lineage and at one point was a major rival with Jingūkyō.

Fuso-kyo

is a mountain worship sect traditionally seen to have been founded by Hasegawa Kakugyo (who was also associated with Jikkō kyō).

Jikkō kyō

is a mountain worship sect traditionally seen to have been founded by Hasegawa Kakugyo (who was also associated with Fusō-kyō).

Shinto Taiseikyo

is a Confucian Shinto sect founded by Hirayama Seisai.

Shinshu-kyo

is a "purification sect" alongside Misogikyo.

It was founded by Masaki Yoshimura (1839–1915), who was a survivor of the Ansei Purge. He worked at Ise Jingu and later was head of Tatsuta Shrine, but due to laws restricting teaching, he entrusted his children to Itō Hirobumi (before he became Prime Minister) and established a new branch based on his family traditions.

Ontake-kyo

is a mountain worship sect dedicated to Mount Ontake. It had 3 million members in 1930, which decreased to around 40,000 members in 2020.

Shinto Taikyo

is the direct successor to the Taikyo Institute. Its name "Taikyo" refers to the Three Great Teachings first proclaimed in the Proclamation of the Great Doctrine.

Shinrikyo

is a Shinto sect considered to be part of the Fukko Shinto lineage of Sect Shinto, alongside Shinto Taikyo and Izumo-taishakyo. The name "Shinrikyo" is relatively common among Shinto groups, and uses different kanji characters than Aum Shinrikyo, a cult and terrorist organization.

It was founded by in 1880. Sano had previously studied medicine and was an advocate of traditional Japanese medicine. He studied kokugaku in his youth under Nishida Naokai.

Sano's thought blurred the lines between monotheism and polytheism, entering transtheism. His concept of was aimed at resisting the propagation of Christianity while composing teachings that were in line with the aims of popular national indoctrination. His core elements of the concept of did not change throughout his life.

He believed the etymology of was derived from . He saw this as emphasizing the interconnectedness of everything, from humans to nature, and as such this could be interpreted as a monotheistic view. He saw all the as unified under a divine principle, hence the name of the group.

Misogikyo

is considered a "purification sect" alongside Shinshu-kyo.

The group is quite obscure today. It is very ritual-focused, with little theoretical theology. In this way, it contrasts with Yoshida Shinto. It emphasizes right state of mind and self-control. It has influence from Confucian Shinto but is its own tradition.

Konkokyo

is a faith that lies between traditional Shinto, and its own unique practices such as toritsugi mediation, which emerged from Shinbutsu-shūgō.

Tenrikyo

was a Sect Shinto group founded by Nakayama Miki. After it was free to do so in 1946, Tenrikyo established itself as an independent religion outside of the Shinto designation.

Tensha Tsuchimikado Shinto

In the Edo period, the Tsuchimikado family, descendants of Abe no Seimei, established Tensha Tsuchimikado Shinto influenced by Confucian Shinto through Suika Shinto. However, because of the inclusion of fortune-telling and magic, the Meiji government considered it pagan and issued the . After the war, it was restored as "Tensha Tsuchimikado Shinto Headquarters", and registered as a religious corporation rather than a Sect Shinto or a Shinto shrine.

Oomoto

is often seen as a new religion.

New Sect Shinto

is a subset of Sect Shinto, and consists of numerous organizations. It is influenced by Buddhism and Confucianism.

It is part of the Sect Shinto movement not centering upon 13 sects. New Shinto sects have shamanistic leadership, syncretism of religious and philosophical beliefs, closely knit social organization, and individualism. Some groups have characteristics of monotheism, in the extreme case making a compromise of Buddhism, Confucianism, and folk religion.

See also

* Ko-Shintō
* Shinbutsu-shūgō
* Haibutsu kishaku

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