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Shinto priests (神職,shinshoku) are members of the clergy at aShintoshrine (神社,jinja) responsible for maintaining the shrine and leading worship of thekami there.[1] In Japanese, they are also commonly referred to askannushi (神主, "divinemaster (of ceremonies)"). The characters forkannushi are sometimes also read asjinshu with the same meaning.Kannushi originally referred only to the highest-ranking member of the clergy at a shrine, but has since expanded to become a collective term for all members of the clergy, synonymous withshinshoku.
Another office calledshinkan (神官; lit. "religious official") used to exist, but the position was abolished during the removal of Shinto from government oversight during the establishment of the Japanese constitution.[2]
Very little is known about the operation ofshrines in ancient Japan until the advent of thejingi (神祇) cult of shrines under imperial authority during theHeian period, whose priests came from hereditary lines. Most shrines in Japan, however, were not included in thejingi cult and there is almost nothing known about them.[3] In the 8th century, imperial offerings to local shrines were distributed to provincial governors, but by the time theEngi shiki was compiled in the 10th century, these offerings were instead going tohafuri (祝; priests) who were selected from officially assignedkanbe (神戸;kami household), when there was one present, or from a commoner selected to becomehafuri by the governor when there was nokanbe.[4]
After thejingi cult and the imperial court declined over the following centuries, shrines and shrine-temple complexes struggled to maintain their lands, particularly from the 14th century onwards.[5] Most village shrines during this period were too poor to have a dedicated priest, and so rituals were conducted by laypeople.[6] Many of these village shrines came to be run by exclusive groups of landowners later referred to asmiyaza (宮座), and the village priest was selected from themiyaza members, with the priest often also being the village headman, though it is possible that priests were selected by lottery in ancient times.[7][6] Whilemiyaza membership was largely limited to men, there were some cases of all-female or mixedmiyaza, though the women usually played a lesser role in mixedmiyaza.[8] Larger complexes sought to encourage pilgrimages to bring in funds, which in some cases led to the creation of non-clergy positions such assendatsu (先達) andonshi (御師; also readoshi), particularly in the case ofIse Shrine.[9]
Yoshida Shinto was established in the 15th century byYoshida Kanetomo who gained the power to distribute shrine licenses as a representative of the emperor.[10] By the mid-16th century, his descendant was distributing these licenses far and wide, and having these licenses determined what ritual garb a priest could wear.[11] The Shrine Article (神社条目,jinja jōmoku) of 1665 detailed how shrine priests obtained court rank, and gave the Yoshida family control over these assignments of rank and the types of ritual garb priests wore, bringing thousands of provincial priests under Yoshida authority.[12] The Yoshida family was opposed by the Shirakawa family in the 18th century who similarly recruited regional priests.[13]
The Yoshida and Shirakawa family lost their power with theMeiji Restoration (1868), though they retained some control over imperial rites.[14] The priesthood was put under the authority of the newly established Bureau of Rites and the Yoshida and Shirakawa licenses were invalidated, requiring priests to be recertified through a national examination, with some removed and replaced.[15] Hereditary priest positions were outlawed in 1871, though many shrine family lines remained intact.[16]
The 1880s and 1890s saw the first unified priesthood when priests across Japan began an organized movement to reestablish theDepartment of Divinities in order to protect their livelihood, resulting in the establishment of the Fellowship of Shinto Priests (神官同志会,Shinkan Dōshikai) which was renamed to theNational Association of Shinto Priests.[17] Several regional organizations were also formed at this time, and priests were urged to refrain from the religious acts of preaching and proselytizing and instead remain enactors of rituals.[18]
The Association of Shinto Shrines was established in 1946 after the dismantling of the State Shinto system during the American occupation following World War II which removed all government support of shrines.[19] While the Association’s primary agenda is to rebuild the public function of Shinto rituals, individual priests are free to operate as they wish.[20] A 2024 survey on religious organizations by theAgency for Cultural Affairs found there are approximately 65,000 Shinto priests in Japan, though the definition of priest was left open for the answering organization to determine.[21]
Within the same shrine, such as atIse Jingū orŌmiwa Shrine, there can be different types ofkannushi at the same time; these may be called, for example,Ō-kannushi (大神主),Sō-kannushi (総神主), orGon-kannushi (権神主).[22][23]Kannushi are assisted in their religious or clerical work by women calledmiko.
Shinto priests can marry, and their children usually inherit their position.[24] Although this hereditary status is no longer legally granted, it continues in practice.[25]
The clothes priests wear, such as thejōe, theeboshi andkariginu, do not have any special religious significance, but are simply official garments previously used by the Imperial court.[24] This detail reveals the close connection betweenkami worship and the figure of the Emperor.[24] Other implements used by priests include a baton calledshaku and a wand decorated with white paper streamers (shide) calledōnusa.
The duties of Shinto priests can be broken roughly into five categories:[26]
To become a Shinto priest, anovice must study at a university approved by theAssociation of Shinto Shrines (神社本庁,Jinja Honchō), typicallyTokyo'sKokugakuin University orIse'sKogakkan University, or pass an exam that will certify their qualifications.[25]Women can also become Shinto priests, and widows can succeed their husbands in their job.[25]
Shinto priests are given a rank (階位,kaii) and placed within a hierarchy (職階,shokkai) at their shrine which results in varying levels of relative status, though the relative importance of the shrine they work at has no affect on their status. For example, the head priest of abeppyo shrine is of equal status to a head priest of a small regional shrine. Additionally, rank and hierarchy are not the same, with hierarchy more important for determining status than rank. For example, a head priest of onlyseikai rank would be higher in status than an assistant priest of themeikai rank.
TheAssociation of Shinto Shrines has regulations that confer one of five ranks calledkaii (階位) on clergy members based on their level of education and passing of exams. Up to the second highest rank,meikai (明階), can be reached through study alone. The names of the ranks come from the four virtues of Shinto: purity (浄,jō), light (明,mei), correctness (正,sei), and forthrightness (直,choku). There were originally only four ranks until 1961 when the ranks were reformed and the fourth rank ofgonsekai (権正階) was added.[27]
Jōkai (浄階): The highest rank. Given to those with a long history of contributions to Shinto research.
Meikai (明階): The rank necessary to become a head priest or assistant head priest at abeppyo shrine. A clergy member with this rank can take a head priest position at any shrine other than Ise Shrine's high head priest position which requires imperial sanction.
Seikai (正階): The rank necessary to become an assistant priest or interim head priest (宮司代務者,gūji daimusha) at abeppyo shrine.
Gonsekai (権正階): The rank necessary to become a head priest or interim head priest at a standard shrine, or a junior priest at abeppyo shrine.
Chokkai (直階): The rank necessary to become an assistant priest or junior priest at a standard shrine.
The clergy of a shrine is ranked in a hierarchy calledshokkai (職階). The exact hierarchy may vary based on the scale and history of the shrine but, in general, the hierarchy from highest ranking to lowest is head priest (宮司,gūji), assistant priest (禰宜,negi), and junior priest (権禰宜,gonnegi). There is generally only one head priest and one assistant priest per shrine. Somebeppyo shrines have an assistant head priest (権宮司,gongūji) role ranking below the head priest and several assistant priests. An overview of their roles is that the head priest is the head of the shrine, the assistant head priest is the secondary leader, the assistant priest(s) support the head priest in their duties, and the junior priests perform general tasks.Ise Shrine is an exception in that its ranks are as follows: master of ceremonies (祭主,saishu), high head priest (大宮司,daigūji), low head priest (少宮司,shōgūji), assistant priest (negi), junior priest (gonnegi), shrine administrator (宮掌,gūshō), attendant (出仕,shusshi), and apprentice attendant (出仕前,shusshi-mae).[28]
Onshi (御師; also readoshi) is a low-ranking position at a shrine responsible for leading prayers for visitors, providing lodging and tours for pilgrims, and arranging performances ofkagura. They are most associated with Ise Shrine.[29]
There are two positions that may be called lower priests,gūshō (宮掌) andshuten (主典), though they are not technically considered members of the clergy as they have not yet received their rank (kaii) and are only present in some special shrines, such as Ise Shrine andAtsuta Shrine. They perform some duties under the guidance of higher-ranking priests.[30]
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