Ministry of Education

An educational and religious administration agency in the early Meiji period. In order to revise the direct policy of making Shinto the state religion that had been in place since the Meiji Restoration, the Meiji government abolished the Ministry of Shinto and the Department of Shrines and Temples of the Ministry of Finance on March 14, 1872 (Meiji 5), and established the Ministry of Education as an agency to "control all affairs related to doctrine." The first minister was Saga Sanenaru, and the chief minister was Fukuba Bisei. Under this ministry, the government established the "Three Articles of Instruction," appointed not only Shinto priests but also monks as instructors, established joint Shinto and Buddhist schools, and launched a great educational movement (the Great Religious Proclamation Movement) to spread the Emperor's ideology to the people. However, this movement soon suffered a setback due to criticism from Western countries and calls for religious freedom from domestic enlightened thinkers, Buddhists, and Christians. The Ministry of Religion was abolished in January 1877, and religious administration was handled by the Bureau of Shrines and Temples of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

[Michio Nakajima]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

明治初年の教化・宗教行政機関。明治政府は維新以来の直接的な神道国教化政策を手直しするために、1872年（明治5）3月14日神祇(じんぎ)省および大蔵省戸籍寮社寺課を廃し「教義ニ関係スル一切ノ事務ヲ統理スル」機関として教部省を設置した。初代の卿(きょう)は嵯峨実愛(さがさねなる)、大輔(たいふ)は福羽美静(ふくばびせい)。政府はこの省の下で「三条の教則」を定め、神官のみならず僧侶(そうりょ)などを教導職に任命、また神仏合同の教院を設けて、天皇思想を国民に広める一大教化運動（大教宣布運動）を展開した。しかしながらこの運動は、欧米諸国の批判や国内における啓蒙(けいもう)思想家、仏教徒やキリスト教徒による信仰自由論によりまもなく挫折(ざせつ)し、教部省も77年1月に廃止され、宗教行政は内務省社寺局で扱われるようになった。

［中島三千男］

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