ABSTRACT
Japan’s ritsuryo¯ system was based on contemporary Chinese law. The Japanese Ministry of Kami Affairs (Jingikan), however, was a Japanese innovation which diverged radically from Chinese precedent. Although on paper this ministry enjoyed the same status as the Ministry of State (dajo¯kan), it did not have any policy-making powers, and was in practice a sub-office of the Ministry of State, carrying out its orders. The Ministry of Kami Affairs was responsible for the performance of official kami rituals in accordance with detailed regulations laid down in a special body of ‘kami law’ (jingiryo¯), and further specified in so-called shiki procedures. The general outline of kami law was in place already in Tenmu/Jito¯’s Kiyomihara code (689), and took on a more permanent form with the issuance of the Taiho¯ code in 701. Responsible for the implementation of these laws and regulations was the Ministry of Kami Affairs, which employed one head, two assistant heads, two secretaries, and two clerks, while controlling the services of thirty kami households, twenty diviners, thirty attendants and two servants.
