The Jingikan

The Jingikan was the department of the ancient Japanese bureaucracy responsible for rituals honouring the kami. This essay includes a translation of the Jingiryō, the laws governing the Jingikan, and discusses the staff of the Jingikan, the kami they honoured, and the rites they performed. The most important priests were girls known as Mikannagi, and although they venerated the kami on behalf of the Tennō, the many kami they honoured did not include Amaterasu Ōmikami.

Torii image © Dean Spencer, used with permission. All rights reserved.