Date of Graduation

2007

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MA

Committee Chair

Gregory A. Elmes

Abstract

Sacred space is a critical cultural construction of all religions. It is within this space that people are able to commune with deities and step out of the common, profane world. Japanese Shinto sacred space has undergone many changes throughout its history. One of the largest alterations was the introduction of the Shrine Merger Policy in 1906. Across the nation, thousands of shrines were demolished and merged under governmental authorization. The goal of this study is to map the shrine change from before the policy to after to determine areas of change. An emphasis on centrality from the capital in Tokyo will be examined to determine its influence on shrine location. Finally, maps of the shrine situation after 1945 will gauge the religious atmosphere of Japan to the present day. Shrine merging was enforced differently in different prefectures due to a multitude of cultural and political factors. Additionally, the location of the capital was found to have no influence on shrine location. The number and ratio of shrines has dropped considerably from the pre-war levels, but change has slowed over the last 20 years. The Shrine Merger Policy had a great deal of influence on all aspects of religious space in Japan. More localized work on intra-prefectoral implementation of the policy would be beneficial.

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