The was issued in the name of

Emperor Meiji , posthumously honored as , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the List of emperors of Japan, traditional order of succession, reigning from 1867 until his death in 1912. His reign is associated with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which ...

on January 3, 1870 (February 3).�
歴代の詔勅
�� p.66 河野省三内閣印刷局、1940年（国立国会図書館） It declared

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 ...

(the "way of the gods") as the guiding principle of the state. The concept of

Divinity Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a single ...

was placed on 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 ...

, and

become designated as the state religion of the

Japanese Empire The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From 1910 to ...

, which was designated as a state with "

unity of religion and rule The term refers to the unification of ritual and politics. Ritual in ritual-politics means "ritual" and religion. The word "politics" means "ritual" and politics. In Japan, the Oracle of miko can be traced back to the ancient theocracy, includi ...

Commentary

After 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 ...

, the theory of unification of ritual and government increased, centering on

Kokugaku was an academic movement, a school of Japanese philology and philosophy originating during the Edo period. scholars worked to refocus Japanese scholarship away from the then-dominant study of Chinese, Confucian, and Buddhist texts in favor of ...

scholars of the

Hirata Atsutane was a Japanese scholar, conventionally ranked as one of the Four Great Men of Kokugaku (nativist) studies, and one of the most significant 19th century theologians of the Shintō religion. His literary name was , and his primary assumed name ...

school, which dedicated itself to the restoration of Shinto, and on July 8, 1869, a Missionary Office was established within the

Department of Divinities 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 reforms. It was first establish ...

. The Missionary Office was established, and

Nakayama Tadayasu Kazoku, Marquess Nakayama Tadayasu (Japanese: 中山忠能, 17 December 1809 – 12 June 1888) was a Japanese nobleman and courtier of the Edo period and then one of the Kazoku of the post-1867 Empire of Japan. He was the father of Nakayama Yos ...

was appointed as the missionary director and Fukuha Yoshishige as the vice-director. Fukuha served as Ministry of Divinities, the de facto chief executive officer after the Ministry of Divinities was renamed Ministry of Divinities. This was followed by the issuance of an imperial decree in the name of the

of the time, which set forth the principle of "clarifying the doctrine of jikkyo and proclaiming the way of godliness. In direct opposition to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

, it proposed the promotion of Shinto and national protection through Missionary Offices. However, the confusion caused by the movement to abolish Buddhism, the conflict with the

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius ...

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

philosophy of the clans that still functioned as local governments, and the conflicts among national scholars within the Ministry of Divinities, combined with the demand from the west to stop the suppression of Christianity, led to the continued sluggish movement toward Shinto nationalization The establishment of the Ministry of Religion on March 14, 1872 (April 21, 1872), the separation of Miyanaka rituals, and the abolition of Missionary Office forced a review of the Taikyo Mission, and the

Taikyo Institute The was an organization under the Ministry of Religion in the Empire of Japan. History It was founded in 1872 to train ''kyōdo shōku'' or religious teachers because the Missionary Office and Department of Divinities were unsuccessful in ...

, which aimed to rebuild and strengthen the line of the Taikyo Mission, was established the following year. The following year, the

was established with the aim of rebuilding and strengthening the line of the Taikyo Mission.

Three Great Teachings

In the proclamation, there was a promotion of three great teachings: # Respect for the gods, love of country; # Making clear the principles of Heaven and the Way of Man; # Reverence for the emperor and obedience to the will of the court. These are still kept by

Shintō Taikyō (), formerly called (), is a Japanese Shintoist organization, and was established by Meiji officials in 1873. It is recognized officially, and its headquarters are in Tokyo. It has many shrines, and Tenrikyo used to be under its jurisdiction. ...

. The "Taikyo" is the same as the "Great Teachings" of the Great Teaching Institute, and the Taikyo of

References

{{State Shinto State Shinto 1870 in Japan 1870 in law Japanese Imperial rescripts Taikyo Institute Pages with unreviewed translations

Commentary

Three Great Teachings

See also

References