Religious Roles & Titles
Guji
Shinto Roles
Citation Formats
General Reference
APA Style
BibTeX
A guji is the chief priest of a Shinto shrine, holding overall responsibility for its rites and administration beneath the more general kannushi (priest) title that covers the shrine priesthood as a whole, with larger shrines further ranking gon-guji (deputy chief priest) beneath the guji, a hierarchy formalised under the modern shrine administration created after the Meiji restoration.
Facts
Status
Status TodayLiving tradition, practised today 1 Current StatusAn active office at Shinto shrines today, most of them affiliated with the Association of Shinto Shrines. 1 Significance
Sacred RoleThe chief priest of a Shinto shrine, responsible for its overall management and for presiding at its major rites; historically often hereditary, the position has been open to women since 1946. 1 Origins
Origin of the NameThe title combines characters for shrine and for administer, reflecting the guji's role as the shrine's chief administrator as well as its ranking priest. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Belongs to Tradition
Related To
Sources
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.