Meiji Restoration

A series of revolutionary changes that led to the collapse of the Tokugawa shogunate and the establishment of the new Meiji goverment.
These changes commenced in Vovember 1867 when the last Tokugawa shogun, Yoshinobu, agreed to return political rule to the emperor, and culminated in January 1868 when the restoration of imperial rule under Emperor Meiji was proclaimed.
Besides formally transferring political power from the Tokugawa clan to the emperor, the Meiji Restoration triggered Japan's transition from a decentralized feudal system to a unified modern state.

Battle od Toba-Fushimi

   Fought in January 1868 on the outskirts of Kyoto, in the towns of Toba and Fushimi, this battle between the Tokugawa shogunate troops and the rebellious proimperial forces belonging to the Satsuma and Choshu domains resulted in the defeat of the shogunate troops and ensured the success of the Meiji Restoration.

Yoshida Administrative Office of Shinto

  Yoshida Shinto, also known as Yuiitsu Shinto (the "Only Shinto"), was a school of Shinto dating from the thirteenth century that was transmitted through the Yoshida family, hereditary priests of the Yoshida Shrine in Kyoto. By the Edo period, the Yoshida family's administrative office controlled most of the Shinto shrines in Japan and had monopolized the authorith to appoint Shinto priests. This office was abolished by the Meiji government in 1870.

Omiwa Shrine

I went to the large Miwa Shinto shrine the other day.

The entire mountain is an object of worship.

It prays in an old Shinto shrine in the form of old times.

The History of Miwa-myojin

The Enshrined Deities :	Omononushi-no-Okami  Onamuchi-no-kami  Sukunahikona-no-kami
The Place of Dedication :	Mount Miwa (Mount Mimoro)  Miwa, Sakurai-shi, Nara-ken.
The Annual Festivals :	Spring Grand Festival......April 9  Autumn Grand Festival......October 24

The History of the Shrine
Omononushi-no-kami, who is enshrined at this Mount Miwa the object mountain of worship, is widely known by the divine name Okuninushi-no-mikoto (or so called Daikokusama) as the deity of cultivation, and is fully called Yamato-no-Omononushi-kushi-mika-tama-no-mikoto.�@According to the classics, he is the guardian deity of the human life, and in the age of the gods, cooperating with Sukunahikona-no-mikoto, cultivated the land and developed every industry such as agriculture, industry and commerce, and contrived to augment every social welfare such as curing disease, charming, brewing, medicine manufacturing, and marriage, etc. 

�@Afterwaed, according to his own will, he stayed his soul (Saki-mitama and Kushimitama) at the said Mount Miwa (Mimoro-no-Kamunabi) in eternity.�@Since then, the whole Mount Miwa has been worshipped as the object mountain (Shintai-zan) as it was. �@As the result, there is no main shrine even today, and the ancient form of worshipping has been handed down as it was. 

�@Since the reign of Sujin Tenno the tenth Imperial generation (about 2,000 years ago), the worshipping of this shrine has become popularized unusually, and moreover, since the middle age it has been worshipped as the Top Shrine (Ichi-no-miya) of Yamato pro-vince and has won popular faith as one of 22 shrines.�@And, in the middle age, so called "Miwa shintoism" was advocated as a special religious philosophy, adding a system and philosophy to the ancient faith.

�@Judging from the fact that the most of so called top shrines in the whole land are worshipping the branch soul of our great deity,we can see how extensive the divine merit is. 

�@As you can presently understand when you worship befor the steps of the sanctuary hall, there are varieties of prayers recited by the worshippers.�@Some worshipper recites Oharae-no-kotoba, while another worshipper recites Prajna Sutra.�@Thus, our great deity has won the deep faith as the deity of industry, medicine, prosperity of fortune, Iongevity, especiahy Yakuyoke (talisman against evils) and Hoyoke (talisman against directional curse) regardless of Shinto, Buddhism, Christianity or other religious sects.

Shintai-zan (The object mountain of worship)

Since old, the said Mount Miwa has been praised as Yamato-no-awogaki-yama, Mimuro-yama, Kami-yama, and Miwa-yama.�@It is indeed a graceful conical mountain of 16 k.m. girth and about 4,000,000 s.m. surface area.�@It has been famed in songs including Mannyoshu since old.�@The mountain itself makes the main shrine where the divine spirit is enshrined and has been worshipped as the object mountain of worship Shintai-zan.�@Since old, the old 'ceder has been the center of this holy mountain as the ceder of Miwa 
(Miwasugi) .