{{Short description|Former Japanese government agency}} {{Infobox organization | formation = {{start date and age|1900|04|26}} | predecessor = [[Bureau of Shrines and Temples]] | successor = [[Institute of Divinities]] | dissolved = {{end date and age|1940|11|09}} | parent_organization = [[Home Ministry]] }}
The {{Nihongo|'''Bureau of Shrines'''|神社局|Jinjakyoku}} was an internal department of the [[Home Ministry]] that existed until 1940. It was in charge of administrative matters related to [[Shinto shrine|shrines]], [[Shinkan (official)|''shinkan'']], and ''[[kannushi]]''.
It was split off from the [[Bureau of Shrines and Temples]] in 1900<ref name="www2kokugakuinacjp-2023a">{{Cite web |title=Glossary of Shinto Names and Terms: S |url=https://www2.kokugakuin.ac.jp/ijcc/wp/glossary/def_S.html#shaji_kyoku |access-date=2023-03-10 |website=www2.kokugakuin.ac.jp}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Basic Terms of Shinto: J |url=https://www2.kokugakuin.ac.jp/ijcc/wp/bts/bts_j.html#Jinjakyoku |access-date=2023-03-10 |website=www2.kokugakuin.ac.jp}}</ref> with other religions and [[Sect Shinto]] being covered under the [[Bureau of Religions]].<ref name="www2kokugakuinacjp-2023a" />
On April 26, 1900, under the basic policy of the Meiji Restoration government that "shrines are the state's religious ceremonies," the [[Home Ministry|Home Ministry's]] Bureau of Shrines and Temples was abolished and reorganized into the Bureau of Shrines, which oversaw [[State Shinto]], and the [[Bureau of Religion]]s, which oversaw other religions including Buddhism, and [[Sect Shinto]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Nihon kanryōsei sōgō jiten: 1868 - 2000 |publisher=Tōkyō daigaku shuppankai |year=2001 |isbn=978-4-13-030121-3 |editor-last=Hata |editor-first=Ikuhiko |location=Tōkyō |language=ja |script-title=ja:日本官僚制総合事典1868－2000}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=社寺局｜アジ歴グロッサリー |url=https://www.jacar.go.jp/glossary/term3/0010-0030-0040-0010-0200.html |access-date=2022-06-19 |website=www.jacar.go.jp}}</ref> In short, the Home Ministry's official regulations were revised, seven bureaus were established within it, the Bureau of Shrines was added before the regional bureaus, and the [[Bureau of Shrines and Temples]] was renamed the [[Bureau of Religion]]. The Bureau of Shrines was criticized by the [[Jōdo Shinshū|Shin Buddhism]] sect, despite it not being a very large organization.
It was staffed by one director, one secretary, one archivist, two engineers, one clerk, two assistant archivists, and others.
It was abolished on November 9, 1940 with the establishment of the [[Institute of Divinities]].
== Bibliography ==
* [[Ikuhiko Hata|秦郁彦]]編『日本官僚制総合事典：1868 - 2000』[[University of Tokyo Press|東京大学出版会]]、2001年。
== See also ==
* [[Department of Divinities]] * [[Ministry of Religion (Japan)]] * [[State Shinto]] * [[Association of Shinto Shrines]]
==References== {{reflist}}
{{State Shinto}}
[[Category:Government agencies disestablished in 1940]] [[Category:Government agencies established in 1900]] [[Category:State Shinto]] [[Category:Home Ministry (Japan)]] [[Category:Pages with unreviewed translations]] [[Category:Religious affairs ministries|Japan]]