Department of Divinities

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

The Department of Divinities was a government organization in 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..[1][2] However, it was first mentioned in the Asuka Kiyomihara Code.[3]

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..[1][2] 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 celestial and terrestrial deities based on a code called jingi-ryō.[3][1]


The Department of Divinities, also known as the Department of Shinto Affairs, was a Japanese Imperial bureaucracy established in the 8th century to oversee almost all matters related to Shintō and kami worship. While the department existed for almost a century, there were periods of time where it was effectively non-existent, such as during the Ōnin War when it was burned down. During the Meiji period, the department was briefly reinstated and then dissolved, succeeded by the Ministry of Divinities (神祇省, jingi-shō) and Ministry of Religion (教部省, kyōbushō)...[3][1]

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  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Shinto: A History. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. 2016-12-01. ISBN 978-0-19-062171-1.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Pye, Michael (1994). Macmillan Dictionary of Religion. doi:10.1057/9780230379411. ISBN 978-1-349-38861-5.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Encyclopedia of Shinto詳細". 國學院大學デジタルミュージアム (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2021-10-21. Retrieved 2022-12-03.

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