Department of Divinities

Department of Divinities
SuccessorMinistry of Divinities, Great Teaching Institute, Missionary Office
Extinction1871

The Department of Divinities (神祇官, jingi-kan) was a government organization in Ancient Japan that was created during the ritsuryō reforms in the 8th century. It had several names, including the Department of Shinto Affairs, Department of Rites, Department of Worship, and Council of Divinities. It was established under the Taihō Code, which also created the Daijō-kan. However, it was first mentioned in the Asuka Kiyomihara Code.

The Department of Divinities, also known as Jingi-kan, was a part of the Japanese Imperial bureaucracy established in the 8th century under the ritsuryō reforms. While Daijō-kan handled secular administrative affairs, Jingi-kan oversaw all matters related to Shintō, particularly of kami worship. This included overseeing kami-related affairs at court and provincial shrines, coordinating the provinces' ritual practices with those in the capital, and performing rites for the gods based on a code called jingi-ryō.

During the Meiji period, the department was briefly re-created and then dissolved. They made a new Ministry of Divinities (神祇省, jingi-shō) and Ministry of Religion (教部省, kyōbushō).. Eventually it became the Institute of Divinities (神祇院, Jingi-in)

They wrote three major parts of Shinto Scripture: the Kojiki the Nihon Shoki and the Engishiki.

Structure

In the Department of Divinities there was this organization.: 35 .: 25–26 

All of these clans are descended from figures who played significant roles in the Tenson kōrin [en] and descended from heaven with Ninigi, and many of them (Sarume clan, Inbe family, Nakatomi clan, and Urabe clan) descend from figures (Ame no Uzume, Futodama, Ame-no-Koyane, and Ame-no-Koyane respectively) played roles in the myth of Amaterasu in the cave.: 59 

Two clans: the Mononobe clan [en] and Inbe clan thought the Kojiki myths did not talk about them enough. The Mononobe clan [en] wrote the Kujiki to add their ancestor Nigihayahi. The Inbe clan wrote the Kogo Shūi [en] to tell their story too.

In 1161 the Shirakawa family [ja] took over the Department. They were a Kazan Genji clan. They rebuilt the Hasshinden in 1281. The Hasshinden was an ancient hall dedicated to the eight deities charged with protecting the imperial family, reinforcing its role in state rituals and the safeguarding of the imperial household. However, during the Onin War (1467–1477), the Shirakawa Hasshinden was destroyed amid the widespread turmoil and devastation that affected Kyoto.: 207–212 

Later the Urabe clan made a Hasshinden at Yoshida Shrine

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Hardacre, Helen (2017). Shinto: A History. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-062171-1.
  2. 1 2 Pye, Michael (1994). Macmillan Dictionary of Religion. doi:10.1057/9780230379411. ISBN 978-1-349-38861-5.
  3. 1 2 3 "§Shamei Bunpu (Shrine Names and Distributions)". Encyclopedia of Shinto. Archived from the original on 2021-10-21. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
  4. ↑ Shinto: A History. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. 2016-12-01. ISBN 978-0-19-062171-1.
  5. ↑ Picken, Stuart D. B. (2004). Sourcebook in Shinto: Selected Documents. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-26432-0.
  6. ↑ Roberts, Jeremy (2009). Japanese Mythology A to Z. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4381-2802-3.
  7. ↑ Coulter, Charles Russell; Turner, Patricia (2013-07-04). Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-96397-2.
  8. ↑ "Amenouzume". Encyclopedia of Shinto. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
  9. ↑ "Jingidōke". Encyclopedia of Shinto. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  10. 1 2 3 4 小向, 正司 (1992). 神道の本. Books Esoterica. Vol. 2. 学研. pp. 76–7.(zasshi code 66951-07; kyōtsu zasshi code T10-66951-07-1000)

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