The May 11th issue of Jinja Shinpō includes a two-page spread reporting on a discussion between the chairman of Jinja Honchō, Revd Takatsukasa, and its president, Revd Tanaka. Long-term readers of this blog may remember that there have been tensions between these two, but they seem to have kept it civilised. The occasion for the discussion and article was the 80th anniversary of Jinja Honchō, and since they are both just over 80 a great deal of it was reminiscences.
Revd Takatsukasa grew up where the main offices of Jinja Honchō now are, when it was the residence of the chief priest of Meiji Jingū — a post held by his grandfather. Despite that, and the fact that his adoptive mother became the Saishu (representative of the Tennō) at Isë Jingū, he worked as an engineer and had no real connection to Shinto until he retired and was asked to be Senior Chief Priest of Isë Jingū. Revd Tanaka, on the other hand, was the youngest son of a family with a long connection to Iwashimizu Hachimangū (I believe they are descended from the Buddhist monk who founded it), but he thought one of his older brothers would take over, and had no real interest in becoming a priest.
(Can a foreigner become a Shinto priest? Absolutely. Can someone foreign-born become president of Jinja Honchō? Well, how old are you? If you are, say, 15, I can’t rule it out, because a lot can change in fifty years. The same applies, of course, if you are Japanese and not from one of a few dozen jinja families. If you are female, a priest, and from one of those families, then I am not willing to entirely rule out the possibility that you might become president of Jinja Honchō — as long as you are currently under, say, 45.)
The discussion also directly engaged with the future of Shinto, and of Jinja Honchō. Revd Takatsukasa raised his concerns.
He said that he thought it was important for people within the Shinto community to take the lead. There need to be people saying “Jinja are good. We should put jinja at the centre as we move forward”. However, Revd Takatsukasa said that he didn’t think that was happening, and that as this idea needed to become the way people naturally thought, it would take ten to twenty years for it to become an organic part of the Shinto community. Thus, he thought it could be achieved by the centenary of Jinja Honchō. He raised the need for priests to serve as role-models for this, and emphasised that there would be problems in the absence of such people. Of course, he said, there are such people in the Shinto community, but it was time for them to step forward into the limelight, and into leadership positions.
I mentioned that there were tensions between the chairman and the president, right?
Revd Tanaka’s response did not directly engage with Revd Takatsukasa’s comments, but he did talk about the need for a shared understanding of the situation that the Shinto community is in, and the ways to move forward. He mentioned the split between a few wealthy jinja and the overwhelming majority that can barely support a single priest, and also the massive changes in the world, such as the spread of AI.
I think the Shinto community would benefit from people with a positive and inclusive vision for the future, and the position, charisma, and ability to put it into practice. But such people are not common, and we have to work with the situation as it is.