refers to independently organized Shinto groups that were excluded from the Imperial Japanese government-sponsored State Shinto in 1882. In contrast to mainstream Shrine Shinto, which primarily emphasizes ritualistic practices, Sect Shinto often focuses on specific theological doctrines.景山春樹 「神道」『世界大百科事典』 219頁。 Many of these sects are affiliated with the .
Prior to World War II, there were 13 officially recognized denominations of Sect Shinto. These were commonly referred to as the "thirteen Shinto sects". The number of non-Shrine Shinto sects has grown since then.
Its counterpart, Shrine Shinto, represents a collective tradition of various local shrines and customary beliefs throughout Japan. Those various shrines and beliefs were later unified under the authority of the Ise Grand Shrine during the Meiji period.
Sect Shinto is rooted in (), a school of thought that emphasized Japanese classical literature and Shinto philosophy.
Although Tenrikyo has historically been classified as a form of Sect Shinto, it is commonly regarded as a distinct monotheistic religion.Fukaya, Tadamasa, "The Fundamental Doctrines of Tenrikyo," Tenrikyo Overseas Mission Department, Tenri-Jihosha, 1960, p.2
History While Sect Shinto can be traced to the late Edo period, it became more firmly established during the Meiji era following the Meiji Restoration. Its development was influenced by the religious policies of the Meiji government, and occurred during a period of expanding theological discourse involving individuals from a broad range of social classes, rather than only intellectuals.
In 1868, the new Meiji government issued the Shinto-Buddhist Separation Order, resulting in , a philosophy advocating the abandonment of Buddhism in Japan and the restoration of the unity of ritual and government systems. Following the Taikyo Proclamation, which designated Shinto as the state religion, the Great Teaching Institute was established. It was soon reformed into the Bureau of Shinto Affairs, and later as Shinto Taikyo.
During these early religious policies, the Meiji government promoted a nationalized system of Shinto education known as . However, as principles like the separation of church and state and freedom of religion grew in popularity, the ended. This led to 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 Sect Shinto.
This separation strengthened the efforts 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 to organize the ideas unique to Japan. It was independent of the Bureau of Shinto Affairs and was later succeeded by Kokugakuin University.
Establishment Formation of a united government The driving force for denominational Shintoism was the separation of Shinto and Buddhism, which began in 1868 (first year of Meiji), with the revival of the Department of Divinities. This started the Shinto-Buddhist Hanzen Order, a pre-modern imperial government directive. This directive led to the formation of the unity of ritual and government, and a Shinto government was revived. At that time, official decrees abolished the hereditary system of Shinto priests, ending the jurisdiction of the Shirakawa and Yoshida families 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). In the same year, it was succeeded by the Bureau of Shinto Affairs, 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 by 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. This led to 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, Koga Takemichi, and Inaba Masakuni. Later, with the addition of Yoriyasu Tanaka, the grand priest of the Ise Grand Shrine, they became a four-part system. Simultaneously, 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 Toho Kami (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 and Kioicho and later in Masukami and 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 In March 1875, the Bureau of Shinto Affairs was formed just before the dissolution of the Taikyo Institute. It was formed 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 no organization 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, the Grand Priest Suechi Sanjonishi received permission to establish the Bureau of Shinto Affairs. On April 8, he requested that the Ministry of Religion put this into action. The content of the request was that even small shrines, centered on the Imperial Shrine at Ise, should be able to cooperate for the purpose of propagating Shinto. On April 15, the Bureau was opened in the Tokyo Branch Office of the Jingu Shinchosha. Once it was prepared, bringing together the traditionally existing shrines, Shinto , and congregations following folk beliefs, various denominations 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. Additionally, 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 was reorganized, later becoming the sect Shinto Taikyo.
Controversy over shrine deities In 1880, the opinion of Senge Takatomi on the deities to be worshiped in the Bureau of Shinto Affairs' temples was controversial, leading to the division of Shinto into the Ise and Izumo factions. By order of the Meiji Emperor, a conference on Shinto was held in January 1881 (Meiji 14), attended by 118 people, including all the chief priests of government buildings and the instructors of sixth grade and above. The conference could not decide on the issue, and the Meiji Emperor made the final decision as to which deities would be worshipped 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 as separate from State 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 the 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, the Lord of Home Affairs. 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