Wikipedia

Yamakage Shinto

Yamakage Shinto (Japanese: 山蔭神道, Hepburn: Yamakage Shintō) is a New Sect Shinto-based[3] shinshūkyō (Japanese new religion) that is based on the legacies and traditions of Ko-Shintō. The founder of the modern form of the religious organization was Yamakage Motohisa (山蔭基央).[2] Yamakage Hitoyoshi (山蔭仁嘉) is the current 81st head of Yamakage Shinto.[4]

Yamakage Shinto
山蔭神道
Kirei-gū (貴嶺宮), Yamakage Shinto's headquarters in Kōta, Aichi
Head (Priest)Yamakage Hitoyoshi (山蔭仁嘉)
HeadquartersKōta, Aichi[n 1]
FounderYamakage Motohisa (山蔭基央)
Origin1954[2]
Members1,618 in 2025[3]
SloganAjimarikan (アジマリカン)
The entrance of Kirei-gū (貴嶺宮), Yamakage Shinto's headquarters in Kōta, Aichi
Portraits of Yamakage Motohisa (山蔭基央) (left) and Nakayama Tadanori (中山忠徳) (right) inside Kirei-gū's main worship building
A portrait of Nakayama Tadafusa (中山忠英) (right) inside Kirei-gū's main worship building

History

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Yamakage Shinto came from generations of families that preserved and practiced Ko-Shintō traditions for generations.[5] The earliest recognizable form of Yamakage Shinto started its origins before the Bakumatsu period and right before the Meiji Restoration. Below is the list of leaders of the earliest Yamakage Shinto with the descriptions of their spiritual or national achievements:[5][6]

  • The 75th head, Yamakage Kazuhira (山蔭昌衡)[n 2] who revived aspects of Ko-Shintō and incorporated doctrinal elements of Suika Shinto.
  • The 76th head, Nakayama Tadakore (中山忠伊)[n 3] (1804 – 1864) who made a contribution to the collapse of the Tokugawa shogunate.
  • The 77th head, Nakayama Tadafusa (中山忠英)[n 4] (1846 – 1916) who participated in the national governance under Emperor Meiji to elevate the social and political status of the Imperial House of Japan with the additional help of his own organization, Kōdōkai (皇道会), which was later renamed as Dai Nihon Kōdō Ritsukyōkai (大日本皇道立教会).

The 78th head Nakayama Tadanori (中山忠徳)[n 5] (1898 – 1957)[6] converted to Ontakekyō in 1921 and created his own separate religious organization called Ontake Honkyō (御嶽本教) in April 1927 and renamed it to Jinrui Aishin Taisokyō (人類愛信太祖教) two years later.[8]

Afterwards, it was renamed as Aishinkai (愛信会) after the Occupation of Japan in 1954; afterwards it merged with Yuiitsu Shintō Tensokyō (唯一神道天祖教)[n 6] to change its name to Tensha Yamakage Shintō Aishinkai (天社山蔭神道愛信会)[n 7] in 1956 and finally Nakayama Tanadori's adopted son as well as the 79th head, Yamakage Motohisa (山蔭基央) (11 March 1925 – July 2013),[11][12] renamed it to Yamakage Shinto in 1966.[13]

Belief

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The two important kami figures in Yamakage Shinto are Ōkuninushi and Sukunabikona.[14]

Activities

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It is known as a Sect Shinto-based new religious organization that performs vigorous publication of literature for laypeople, especially under Yamakage Motohisa.[14]

Chinkon meditation is practiced in Yamakage Shinto.[15] The Shinto sect, headquartered at Kirei-gū (貴嶺宮) in Kōta, Aichi Prefecture, is associated with the modern koshintō (古神道) revival movement.[16] Chinkon meditation in Yamakage Shinto is performed while seated on the floor and is performed using techniques such as breathing exercises, counting numbers, mudras, meditating on a mirror, and ritual chanting.[15]: 48–58 

Incantation

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The most sacred incantation in Yakamage Shinto is Ajimarikan (アジマリカン).[14][17] It is also written as 天地真理観.[18]

Branch Shrines

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  • Mizuho Shrine (瑞穂神社) based in Yokohama[19]
  • Yamagake Shintō Nichiran Shinzensaigū (山蔭神道日蘭親善斎宮) based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.[20] It is lead by Paul de Leeuw, a Dutch Shinto priest.[21][22]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ↑ It is situated directly across the road from Chūsei Shrine, a Shinto-based religious facility that houses the spirit of Chiang Kai-shek as a kami.[1]
  2. ↑ He came from a family that managed the system of Yoshida Shinto under the patronage of the Tokugawa clan.
  3. ↑ He was the son of Emperor Kōkaku and Emperor Kōkaku's concubine, resulting him illegitimate in the imperial succession.[7]
  4. ↑ He was the biological son of Nakayama Tadakore.
  5. ↑ He was the third son of Nakayama Tadafusa.
  6. ↑ The Kōchi-based Yuiitsu Shintō Tensokyō was originally a faction of Omiyakyō (御祖教) that became independent.[9] Omiyakyō stll survives in Kōchi as of 2026.
  7. ↑ Tensha Yamakage Shintō Aishinkai was based in Osaka.[10]

Further reading

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References

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  1. ↑ "＜ＭＩＫＡＷＡサーチ＞　（３５）幸田町に蒋介石を祭る神社" [Mikawa Search #35:]. Chunichi Shimbun (in Japanese). Nagoya. 2021-07-24. 中華民国（台湾）の初代総統を務めたことでも知られる蒋介石（しょうかいせき）を祭る神社が日本で唯一、幸田町にある。蒋介石の本名が「蒋中正」だったことから名付けられた中正神社（同町荻（おぎ））に足を運ぶと、日本の戦争の歴史と向き合うことになった。 [There is Japan's only shrine that enshrines [the spirit of] the first president of the Republic of China (Taiwan), Chiang Kai-shek, and it is situated in Kōta (幸田町). Due to Chiang Kai-shek's original name being 'Chiang Chung-cheng' [or Chūsei in Japanese], if you visit the Chūsei Shrine (located in Ogi [or 荻 in Japanese] within Kōta), one would encounter the Japanese war history.]
  2. 1 2 Inoue (page 308) "山蔭神道　…　【創始者】山蔭基央（昭和二九年＝現）" [Yamakage Shinto: … Founder – Yamakage Motohisa (from 1954 to present)]
  3. 1 2 Religion Almanac 2025 (page 62) "（新教派系）／項目：山蔭神道／信者：１，６１８" [(New Sect Shinto Religions) / Entry: Yamakage Shinto / Followers: 1,618]
  4. ↑ Religion Almanac 2025 (page 108) "（名称・法人番号：山蔭神道（２１８０３０５０００７０９）／代表役員：山蔭仁嘉" [Name & Religious Corp. Number: Yamakage Shinto (2180305000709) / Represenatitve Individual: Yamakage Hitoyoshi]
  5. 1 2 Dictionary Of Organizations And Figures In New Religions by Inoue, Nobutaka (page 308) "【概要】山蔭家は歴史的に表面には現れていないが、歴代皇室に仕えて信任あつかった古神道家という。現在の山蔭神道設立にいたる前史をみると、山蔭家第七五代山蔭昌衡は、吉田神道の分家の嫡男で、古伝神道を復活し、垂加説なども摂取して山蔭神道と称し、第七六代の中山忠伊（光格天皇の皇子）とともに倒幕運動に挺身した。第七七代の中山忠英も明治維新に参加し、明治二三年（一八九〇）には建国精神・王政復古を標榜する皇道会を組織した。これは大正三年（一九一四）には大日本皇道立教会として再編される。" [Summary – The Yamakage family may not appear on historical records, it is said to be a Ko-Shintō family that served successive Imperial families. When looking at the history that led up to the establishment of the present day Yamakage Shinto, the seventy-fifth head of the Yamakage family by the name of Yamakage Kazuhira, the eldest [also legitimate] son of a branch of the family that controlled Yoshida Shinto, revived Ko-Shintō and incorporated in elements such as the general theory of Suika Shinto (垂加神道) and called it Yamakage Shinto; the seventy-sixth head of the Yamakage family, Nakayama Tadakore (a child of Emperor Kōkaku) contributed to the toppling of the Shogunate. The seventy-seventh head, Nakayama Tadafusa, also joined the process of Meiji Restoration and established Kōdōkai in 1890, which advocated the foundational spirits of modern Japan and the restoration of the Japanese imperial family. It later reorganized as the Dai Nihon Kōdō Ritsukyōkai in 1914.]
  6. 1 2 Post-War Research on Sectarian Shinto by Inoue, Nobutaka "…中山忠伊（一八〇四～六四）…中山忠英（一八四六～一九一六）…中山忠徳（一八九八～一九五七）…" [… Nakayama Tadakore (1804 – 1864) … Nakayama Tadafusa (1846 – 1916) … Nakayama Tadanori (1898 – 1957) …]
  7. ↑ Post-War Research on Sectarian Shinto by Inoue, Nobutaka "第七六代中山忠伊（一八〇四～六四）は光格天皇の庶出の皇子であり…" [The seventy-sixth head, Nakayama Tadakore (1804 – 1864), was the illegitimate son [through the concubine] of Emperor Kōkaku…]
  8. ↑ Dictionary Of Organizations And Figures In New Religions by Inoue, Nobutaka (page 308) "その三男・中山忠徳が山蔭家第七八代となる。忠徳は大正一〇年御嶽教に入信、五年後二九歳の若さで御嶽教管長に選ばれるが、数カ月で辞任し、昭和二年（一九二七）の四月、御嶽本教を組織し、太祖教主となる。二年後、これは人類愛信太祖教と改称され、文部大臣の認可を受ける。" [His (Nakayama Tadafusa) third son, Nakayama Tadanori, became the seventy-eighth head of the Yamakage family. He converted to Ontakekyō (御嶽教) in 1921 and was nominated as a priest of Ontakekyō five year later at the age of 29, eventually founded Ontake Honkyō (御嶽本教) in April 1927 as the head priest [bearing the title, Taiso Kyōshu (太祖教主)]. Two years later, his organization was renamed as Jinrui Aishin Taisokyō (人類愛信太祖教) and was approved by the Minister of Education, Science, Sports and Culture.]
  9. ↑ 宗教要覧 [Manual for Religions] (in Japanese). Tokyo: Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture. 1952. p. 67. 唯一神道天祖教　（１）教務庁　高知市常盤町１　（２）管長　内田守彥　（３）本教は、高知市鷹匠町に、昭和２２年唯一神道天祖教として設立せられ、２３年御祖教と改められた教派からの分派である。すなわち現在北代明道を主管者として長岡郡にある御祖教（教派別項参看）に対し、内田等同教草創当時の主要人が北代管長らと意見を異にするため、昭和　２５．８．１　一派独立して登記した。 [Yuiitsu Shintō Tensokyō: (1) Headquarters – 1 Tokiwa-chō (常盤町, today's Minamihōei-cho), Kōchi (2) Superintendent – Uchida Morihiko (3) This religious group was founded in 1947 and was based in Takajōmachi (鷹匠町), Kōchi, and was splintered out from a religious organization called Omiyakyō (御祖教) in 1948. Therefore in other words, regarding Omiyakyō (see also the separate section for sects) that is based in Nagaoka District and currently headed by Kitadai/Kitashiro Meidō/Akimichi, Uchida and other key figures from the organization's founding period had differing opinions from the Head Priest Kitadai/Kitashiro and others, eventually became independent and registered on 1 August 1950.]
  10. ↑ Japan's Religions: Directory No.4 (日本の諸宗教). Tokyo: International Institute for the Study of Religions (国際宗教研究所). 1958. p. 48. TENSHA YAMAKAGE SHIN[T]O AISHIN KAI 天社山陰神道愛信会… Headquarters: 35-1 Konahama Higashi-no-machi, Sumiyoshi-ku, Ōsaka 教務庁：大阪市住吉区粉浜東之町１の３５
  11. ↑ Dictionary Of Organizations And Figures In New Religions by Inoue, Nobutaka (page 601) "山蔭基央（山蔭神道）　旧名・大植明正。大正一四年（一九二五）三月一一日～" [Yamakage Motohisa (Yamakage Shinto) Former Name – Ōue Akimasa; Date of Birth – 11 March 1925]
  12. ↑ "山蔭基央 プロフィール" [Biography of Yamakage Motohisa]. HMV Japan (in Japanese). Tokyo. ２０１３年（平成２５年）７月逝去… [[Yamakage Motohisa] died in July 2013 …]
  13. ↑ Dictionary Of Organizations And Figures In New Religions by Inoue, Nobutaka (page 308) "戦後昭和二九年、単立宗教法人愛信会を新たに設立。昭和三一年、この愛信会は包括法人唯一神道天祖教と合併して天社山蔭神道愛信会と名称変更し、その主幹には、戦後すぐ中山忠徳の養子となった山蔭基央が就任。昭和四一年、現在名の山蔭神道に改称。" [After the Pacific War, a new separate religious corporation, Aishinkai (愛信会), was established in 1954. Then afterwards, Aishinkai merged with the umbrella religious corporation, Yuiitsu Shintō Tensokyō (唯一神道天祖教) and changed its name to Tensha Yamakage Shintō Aishinkai (天社山蔭神道愛信会) in 1956, with Yamakage Motohisa, who had been adopted by Nakayama Tadanori shortly after the war, took the role of the leader in charge [of the organization]. Its name was changed to its current name, Yamakage Shinto, in 1966.]
  14. 1 2 3 Dictionary Of Organizations And Figures In New Religions by Inoue, Nobutaka (page 308) "以後、管長の盛んな著述宣伝布教活動により、古神道系の新宗教教団として知られるようになる。山蔭神道とは、古伝によれば、大己貴神と少名彦神、二神の伝えた古神道といい、また「山蔭」の「山」は天皇を意味し「蔭」は侍することを意味し、天皇の蔭となって天皇の意志を宇内に行うことを祈る役目をかつて負っていたものであるという。山蔭神道には、古代の天皇の聖言であったアジマリカンが神呪として伝えられ、その意味は、もしこれがヘブライ語とすれば「全ての罪を背負う祭司長」になるとも説かれる。" [Since then, this religious organization became well-known as a Japanese new religion based on Ko-Shintō thanks to the [currently former] leader's active publication of writings, propagation, and missionary activities. According to an ancient legend, Yamakage Shinto is the form of Shinto taught by the two kami entities, Ōkuninushi (Ōnamuchi-no-Kami) and Sukunabikona (Sukunahiko-no-Kami), and [as for parsing 'Yamakage'] the kanji for 'yama' symbolizes the emperor, while 'kage' [in which it means shadow] symbolizes the works of retaining the emperor; ultimately meaning a certain set of tradition from the ancient times by taking the role of praying for the spread of the emperor's governance in his realm by acting as his shadow. Within Yamakage Shinto, the sacred phrase (聖言) from ancient times, Ajimarikan, was passed down today as a divine incantation, with the meaning in the expression of Hebrew parlance 'a chief priest who bears all sins'.]
  15. 1 2 Yamakage, Motohisa; Komuro, Yoshitsugu (trans., ed.). (19xx). Shinto: A Mirror held up to the Cosmos. Kireigu.
  16. ↑ Yamakage, Motohisa (2006). The Essence of Shinto. Tokyo: Kodansha International. ISBN 978-4-7700-3044-3.
  17. ↑ Post-War Research on Sectarian Shinto by Inoue, Nobutaka "…古代天皇の聖言であったとされる「アジマリカン」が神呪として伝えられている。" … The sacred incantation (神呪) 'Ajimarikan' is passed on as a holy phrase (聖言) of an ancient emperor.]
  18. ↑ Mizumoto (水元), Kotoshi (ことし) (2024-01-18). "那須川天心、絵馬に書いた"５文字"が難しい…　意外な読み方とその意味に驚く人も" [The five-letter word that Tenshin Nasukawa wrote on an ema is difficult… People are surprised at its unexpected reading convention and were surprised at the meaning of it]. Sirabee (in Japanese). Tokyo: Mediagene. 「天地真理観」と書いて「あじまりかん」と読み、「山蔭（やまかげ）神道」という神道の宗派に伝わる神秘的な呪文のひとつ。災いを祓い、本来持つ能力を発揮するといった効果があり、願いを叶える強大なパワーを持った言葉だという。 [While it is written as '天地真理観' in Kanji and is read as 'Ajimarikan', It is one of the mystic incantations from a Shinto sect called Yamakage Shinto. It is said to be a powerful incantation that wards off disasters, allows one to unleash their inherent abilities, and grants wishes.]
  19. ↑ "瑞穂神社について" [About Mizuho Shrine]. Mizuho Shrine (瑞穂神社) (in Japanese). Yokohama. 天社瑞穂神社（あまつやしろみずほじんじゃ）は、約2000年の伝承を有する古神道「山蔭神道（やまかげしんとう）」の神社です。 [Amatsu Yashiro Mizuho Jinja is the shrine of Ko-Shintō-based 'Yamakage Shinto' that is inherited for approximately two thousand years.]
  20. ↑ "神道のこころを欧州に響かせたい、オランダ人宮司の願い" [The Dutch Shinto Priest's Wish to Spread the Understanding of Shinto to Europe]. Europe Magazine (in Japanese). Tokyo: Delegation of the European Union to Japan. 2018-03-13. オランダのアムステルダムにある「山蔭神道日蘭親善斎宮」で、こうした儀式をつかさどり、神道のこころを伝えているポール・ド・レオ宮司。 [Within the 'Yamagake Shintō Nichiran Shinzensaigū' in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, there is the head priest, Paul de Leeuw, who performs such [Shinto] ceremonies while spreading the teaching of Shinto.]
  21. ↑ "Europe's Only Shinto Master Adapts Faith to Dutch Culture". The Pluralism Project. 2006-02-09. Retrieved 2026-05-27.
  22. ↑ "About Us". Shinto in Europe. Retrieved 2026-05-27.
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