Engi shiki

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The Engishiki (延喜式, "Procedures of the Engi Era") is a Japanese book of laws and customs. The major part of the writing was completed in 927.[1]

History

Emperor Daigo ordered the compilation of the Engishiki in 905. Although previous attempts at codification are known to have taken place, neither the Konin nor the Jogan Gishiki[2] survive, making the Engishiki important for early Japanese historical and religious studies.[3]

Fujiwara no Tokihira began the task, but work stalled when he died four years later in 909. His brother Fujiwara no Tadahira continued the work in 912 eventually completing it in 927.[1]

While the Engishiki was presented to the throne in 927, it was not used as a basis for enacting policy until 967. Possible reasons for this delay in application include a need for it to be revised, the fact that it was simply a record of already existing systems, and also that some of those systems functioned in name only.[4]

Contents

The text is 50 volumes in lengths and is organized by department:

Engishiki Jinmyōchō

The Engishiki Jinmyōchō is the part of the Engishiki where the main shrines and kami of Japan are listed. Shrines listed in the Engishiki are referred to collectively as shikinaisha (式内社, "in Engishiki shrines") while shrines that existed at the time but were not included are called shikigesha (式外社, "out of Engishiki shrines").[6]

There are 2,861 shrines and 3,132 kami listed in the Engishiki, divided into four categories based on whether they were imperially or nationally run, and major or minor[7]:

  • Major imperial shrine (官幣大社, kanpei taisha) - 198 shrines and 304 kami
  • Minor imperial shrine (官幣小社, kanpei shōsha) - 375 in total and 433 kami
  • Major national shrine (国幣大社, kokuhei taisha) - 155 in total and 188 kami
  • Minor national shrine (国幣小社, kokuhei shōsha) - 2,133 in total and 2,207 kami

In addition to listing officially recognized shrines and kami, the Jinmyōchō notes 285 kami of those officially recognized as having the title of myōjin (名神) due to their particularly noteworthy power.[8]

Shrine lists

These are non-exhaustive lists of shrines of the given categories defined by the Engishiki

List of Myojin Taisha

List of Shikinai Taisha

List of Shikinai Shosha

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Engi-shiki" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 178.
  2. ^ "Jogan Gishiki" in Stuart D. B. Pecken, ed., Historical Dictionary of Shinto. Second edition. (Lanham, MD, USA: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2011) p. 139.
  3. ^ " Engishiki" in Stuart D. B. Pecken, ed., Historical Dictionary of Shinto. Second edition. (Lanham, MD, USA: Scarecrow Press, Inv, 2011) p. 92.
  4. ^ Shively, Donald H., ed. (2007). The Cambridge history of Japan. 2: Heian Japan / ed. by Donald H. Shively and William H. McCullough (Repr ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Pr. p. 366. ISBN 978-0-521-22353-9.
  5. ^ " Engishiki" in Stuart D. B. Pecken, ed., Historical Dictionary of Shinto. Second edition. (Lanham, MD, USA: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2011) p. 92.
  6. ^ 神社の由来がわかる小事典 [The Little Dictionary for Understanding the Origin of Shrines] (in Japanese). 東京: PHP研究所. 2007. ISBN 978-4-569-69396-5.
  7. ^ Hardacre, Helen (2017). Shinto: a history. New York (N.Y.): Oxford University press. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-19-062171-1.
  8. ^ Bowring, Richard (2008). The religious traditions of Japan, 500 - 1600. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press. p. 186. ISBN 978-0-521-72027-4.

Further reading