| Successor: | Ministry of Divinities, Great Teaching Institute, Missionary Office |
| Dissolved: | 1871 |
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 Japanese: [[ritsuryō]] reforms. It was first consolidated under Taihō Code which established the and Daijō-kan, the .[1] However, the department and Daijō-kan made its first appearance in the Asuka Kiyomihara Code.[2]
While Daijō-kan handled secular administrative affairs of the country, Japanese: Jingi-kan oversaw almost all matters related to Shintō, particularly of kami worship. In other words, the general function of Japanese: jingi-kan includes to oversee kami-related affairs at court, provincial shrines, performance rites for the, as well as coordinating the provinces' ritual practices with those in the capital based on a code called, which roughly translates to "Code of Celestial and Terrestrial Deities" or "Code of Heavenly and Earthly Gods".[3]
While the department existed for almost a century, there are periods of time in Japanese ancient and medieval history where Japanese: jingi-kan was effectively inexistent, parallel to the evolution of the Japanese: ritsuryō system and Shinto, such as when the establishment of Japanese: jingi-kan was burned down during Ōnin War (1467-1477). Then, during the Meiji period, Japanese: jingi-kan was briefly reinstated in 1868 and then dissolved in 1871, succeeded by and Ministry of Religion (教部省, kyōbushō).
The term Japanese: jingi-kan is composed of the Chinese character, "council" or "department," and, which is an abbreviated form of, "celestial and terrestrial deities." The term, also known as amatsukami which translates to "celestial deities" or "heavenly gods" encompasses all kami gods in Shinto that resides in Takamagahara or "High Plains of Heaven," from whom the Japanese imperial line supposedly descended. The term, also known as kunitsukami, translates to "terrestrial deities" or "earthly gods" and encompasses all kami gods in Shinto that resides in or have appeared on the earth. Colloquially, the term jingi can also be used to refer to the rituals performed to the heavenly and earthly gods.
Therefore, there are several ways to translate the term jingi-kan in English:
This Shinto administrative hierarchy was an intentional mirror of its Chinese counterpart, the Ministry of Rites (禮部).[4] The Jingi-kan was charged with oversight of Shinto clergy and rituals for the whole country.
The Jingikan was staffed by four levels of managers, as seen below:
| 従四位下 - 神祇伯 | jingi-haku | Director, junior fourth rank lower grade | Japanese bureaucratic title: 大常伯（たいじょうはく, daijōhaku), 大常卿（たいじょうけい, daijō-kei）、大卜令（たいぼくれい, daibokurei）、祠部尚書（しほうしょうしょ, shihōshōsho） | |
| 従五位下 - 神祇大副正六位上 - 神祇少副 | jingi-daifuku,jingi-shōfuku | Senior vice-director, junior fifth rank lower gradeJunior vice-director (shōfuku), senior sixth rank upper grade | Japanese bureaucratic title: 大常小卿 (だいじょうしょうきょう, daijōshōkyō), 祠部員外郎 (しぶいんがいろう, shibuingairō) | |
| 従六位上 - 神祇大祐従六位下 - 神祇少祐 | jingi-daijō,jingi-shōjo | Senior assistant, junior sixth rank upper gradeJunior assistant, junior sixth rank lower grade | Japanese bureaucratic title: 大常丞 (たいじょうじょう, taijōjō), 大卜丞 (たいぼくじょう, taibokujō) | |
| 正八位下 - 神祇大史従八位上 - 神祇少史 | jingi-daisakan,jingi-shōsakan | Senior secretary, senior eighth rank lower gradeJunior secretary, junior eight rank upper grade | Japanese bureaucratic title: 大常録事 (たいじょうろくじ, taijōrokuji), 大卜令史 (たいぼくれいし, taibokureishi), 祠部主事 (しぶしゅじ, shibushuji)、祠部令史 (しぶれいし, shibureishi), 大常主簿 (たいじょうしゅぼ, taijōshubo) | |
| 伴部 (神部,卜部,使部,直丁) | tomobe (kanbe, urabe, shibu, jikichō) | Religious functionaries | Tomobe are staffs that serve under these officials. Tomobe is composed of thirty kanbe and twenty urabe, thirty shibu (servants), and two jikichō (laborers). |
In its early days, Japanese: jingi-kan has four main functions:
Japanese: Jingi-kan must carry out thirteen rites written in jingiryō. The rites are laid out in articles 2 through 9, as well as article 18. Those rituals are:
| Toshigoi no Matsuri or Kinen-sai | early spring | prayers for a good harvest | |
| Hanashizume no Matsuri | end of the 3rd month | prayers for freedom from illness | |
| Kamu miso no Matsuri | middle of the 4th month | offerings os summer vestments at Ise | |
| Saigusa no Matsuri | 4th month | the festival of the Isakawa Shrine in Yamato, a subshrine of the Miwa Shrine | |
| Õmi no Matsuri | 4th day of the 4th month | the festival of the Hirose Shrine, for the Kami of rain | |
| Kaze no Kami no Matsuri | 4th day of the 4th month | the festival of the Tatsuta Shrine, for the Kami of wind | |
| Tsukinami no Matsuri or Tsukinamisai | 11th day of the 6th month | prayers for a good harvest | |
| Michiae no Matsuri | last day of the 6th month | performed at a crossroads outside the capital, to prevent evil spirits from entering | |
| Hoshi shizume no Matsuri | after Michiae no Matsuri on the last day of the 6th month | prayers to prevent fires at the palace | |
| Great Purtification (Ōharai) | half of the year | purifies the emperor and the people of the transgressions and defilements of the first half of the year | |
| Ōmi no Matsuri | 4th day of the 7th month | ||
| Kaze no Kami no Matsuri | 4th day of the 7th month | ||
| Kamu miso no Matsuri | autumn repetition | ||
| Tsukinami no Matsuri | autumn repetition | ||
| Michiae no Matsuri | winter repetition | ||
| Hoshi shizume no Matsuri | winter repititon | ||
| Kanname-sai | 9th and 10th months | special offerings at the Ise Shrines of the wine and food made from the new rice crop | |
| Ainame-sai | 11th month | ||
| Niiname-sai | 11th month | ||
| Great Purtification (Ōharai) | last day of the 12 month | purifies the emperor and the people of the transgressions and defilements of the second half of the year |
From the 10th century to the 15th, the Shirakawa-hakuō family held this position continuously.
In feudal Japan, the Jingi-kan became the final surviving building of the Heian Palace. During the Jōkyū War in 1221, most of the palace was evacuated and fell into disrepair; the Jingi-kan alone remained in operation. A 1624 memoir by a Jingi-haku reports that the Jingi-kan was still being used as late as 1585 and was demolished during renovations. In 1626, a temporary building was constructed to perform additional ceremonies.[5]
On the thirteenth day of the third month of 1868, Emperor Meiji announced that the new Meiji government would restore direct imperial rule (王政復古, ōsei fukko) and unity of rites and government (祭政一致, saisei itchi). The department was reinstated in 1868 at the beginning of the Meiji period as a provisional step to achieve saisei itchi.
In 1870, the Meiji administration attempted to create a new national religion under the term, primarily to keep Christianity from accumulating popularity and influence on the Japanese society and to reeducate the population about the significance of the imperial rule. The attempt lasted from 1870 to 1884. Consequentially, in addition to overseeing Shintō affairs, Japanese: jingi-kan also had the role to oversee propaganda.
Then, Japanese: jingi-kan was demoted to, Ministry of Divinities, that lasted from 1871 to 1872, as part of the saisei itchi campaign, bringing Japanese: jingi-kan to an end.
The goals of the Great Teaching campaign was deemed too ambiguous or too general to be able to be formed into practice, making it difficult for jingi-shō to provide a theoretical and spiritual content to be spread among the public. In addition to that, jingi-shō also lacked staffs to oversee their two major functions, Shintō affairs and propaganda. Because of these two reasons, jingi-shō was abandoned and dissolved, and the Meiji administration established Ministry of Religion (教部省, kyōbushō), also known as Ministry of Doctrine.