Shirakawa family

The family was founded in 1025 (Manju 2) when Emperor Kazan's grandson, Prince Nobuzane, was granted the Minamoto surname. He called himself King and became the hereditary Jingihaku (chief priest of the Shinto Bureau), and was called Hakuke, a position that continued until the Meiji Restoration. Later, he became a Hakuke. Since the Muromachi period, the family has been dominated by the Yuitsu Shinto beliefs of the Urabe (Yoshida) family, and even in the Edo period, many local shrines came under the control of the Yoshida family, especially with the Shogunate's Negikannushi Hatto (laws on shrine priests and priests) of 1665 (Kanbun 5). However, in later periods, the Shirakawa family also actively sought to organize shrines, and with the shogunate's approval, the number of shrines under the Shirakawa family's control increased from 64 during the Horeki period (1751-1764) to 292 during the Bunka period (1804-1818) (Shirakawa family's "Register of Shrines in Various Provinces"), and competition with the Yoshida family for shrines under their control continued in various regions until the Meiji Restoration.

[Takano Toshihiko]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

花山(かざん)天皇の皇孫(こうそん)延信(のぶざね)王が1025年（万寿2）源姓を賜り興した家。王を称して世襲で神祇伯(じんぎはく)（神祇官長官）となり、伯家(はくけ)とよばれて明治維新まで続く。のち伯爵になる。室町期以来、卜部(うらべ)（吉田）家の唯一神道(ゆいいつしんとう)に押され、江戸時代もとくに1665年（寛文5）の幕府の諸社禰宜神主法度(ねぎかんぬしはっと)によって多数の地方神社は吉田家支配下になった。しかし後期には白川家も積極的に神社組織化を企図し、幕府も容認したので、白川家の配下神社は宝暦(ほうれき)期（1751～1764）の64社から文化(ぶんか)期（1804～1818）の292社に増えており（白川家「諸国神社附属帳」）、明治維新まで、各地で吉田家との配下神社の争奪が続けられた。

［高埜利彦］

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