Succession and Qualification of the Head Office at Kitano Shrine During the Muromachi Period

Hideyuki Kai

Religious institutions and religious specialists in  medieval and early modern Japan

AUSTRIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES　Institute For The Cultural and Intellectual History of Asia

オーストリア、ウィーン、IKGA

For the study of shrine organization in early modern Japan, it is necessary to examine shrine organization prior to the Edo period. In most previous studies of shrine organizations in the medieval period, research has focused on the relationship between the Muromachi shogunate, the shogun, and important figures in the shogunate. This is based on the perspective of power and shrine organization in that period. This is useful in understanding the relationship between shrine organizations and the power of the shogunate. However, since shrines are religious organizations, it is also necessary to consider what religious rituals were performed within them.
In this study, I take Kitano Shrine in the Muromachi period (1333-1573) and examine the “priestly” character of Shobaiin -inshu(Head Officer at Kitano Shrine), who was the chief priest of the shrine.