Shinmei shrines () are

shrines A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daemon, or similar figure of respect, wh ...

dedicated to the worship of the Japanese solar deity

Amaterasu , often called Amaterasu () for short, also known as and , is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. Often considered the chief deity (''kami'') of the Shinto pantheon, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the () ...

. The head Shinmei shrine is

Ise Grand Shrine The , located in Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the solar goddess Amaterasu Ōmikami and the grain goddess Toyouke-hime (Toyouke Omikami). Also known simply as , Ise Shrine is a shrine complex composed of many Shi ...

which inspired the

Shinmei-zukuri is an ancient Japanese architectural style typical of Ise Grand Shrine's ''honden'', the holiest of Shinto shrines.Encyclopedia of Shinto It is most common in Mie Prefecture.JAANUS History Ancient shrines were constructed according to the style ...

architectural style.

History

The solar goddess of

Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...

, Amaterasu Omikami, is considered to be the ancestral deity of the

Imperial House of Japan The is the reigning dynasty of Japan, consisting of those members of the extended family of the reigning emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present constitution of Japan, the emperor is "the symbol of the State ...

, and is widely worshiped in agricultural rituals. During the

Kofun Period The is an era in the history of Japan from about 300 to 538 AD (the date of the introduction of Buddhism), following the Yayoi period. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes collectively called the Yamato period. This period is ...

, a number of Shinmei Shrines, such as

, were constructed and dedicated to Amaterasu. In national rituals, only the

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

was permitted to make offerings towards the deity. However, as the power of the imperial court declined in the middle of the

Heian Period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

, the central government could no longer financially support the Shinmei Shrines. As a result, the responsibilities of their maintenance fell onto local feudal lords, who were also given the right to relay prayers. Local lords donated part of their own estates (

Shōen A was a field or Manorialism, manor in Japan. The Japanese language, Japanese term comes from the Tang dynasty Chinese language, Chinese term "莊園" (Mandarin: ''zhuāngyuán'', Cantonese: ''zong1 jyun4''). Shōen, from about the 8th to th ...

) as Shinryo () to construct shrines dedicated to Amaterasu, including

Nishina Shinmei Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Ōmachi, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. The shrine is the oldest extant example of ''shinmei-zukuri'', one of three architectural styles which were conceived before the arrival of Buddhism in Japan. It predates in fact the more f ...

in Ōmachi, Shinmei Shrine in

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

, and Amatsu Shinmei Shrine in Kamogawa. Some of the Shinmei Shrines, such as the Shiba Great Shrine, were said to have predated the Shōen System. The priests of Shinmei Shrines, also known as Oshi (), temporarily enshrined the talisman

Jingū Taima Jingu may refer to: People *Empress Jingū (c. AD 169–269) *Toshio Jingu (born 1948), a Japanese fencer Other uses *Jingu Stadium, Tokyo, Japan *Jingū, a name for Shinto shrines connected to the Imperial House of Japan *Busanjin District, Sou ...

in their branch offices in the eastern part of Japan, and some of these offices later developed into Shinmei Shrines as well. During the

Kamakura , officially , is a city of Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. It is located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 people per km2 over the tota ...

and later Muromachi Periods, Oshi's influence began to spread among both high-ranking samurai class and the common people. Especially in

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

, an increasing number of shrines outside of the traditional Shinryo were given permission by Oshi to enshrine Amaterasu. These shrines came to be known as "Imashinmei" () or "Hishinmei" (). In the

Edo Period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

, the Ise faith became even more popular, spreading throughout the country and permeating a wide range of social classes. In 1632, Ise Shrine published the Ise Calendar in 1632, which recorded dates for agricultural activities and was widely used before the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

.Nishigaki 1983, pp.156-157 As the influence of Ise Shrine and its deity Amaterasu grew, the number of Shinmei Shrines increased further.

History

Major shrines

References

Bibliography