Paper short abstract:

Taisei-kyō advocates three traditions of Shinto: Sōgen, Saigen and Reisō. The one that is peculiar to Japan alone, is Saigen shinto. It symbolizes the legitimacy of the imperial reign and the Three Regalia. These two characteristics attracted were discussed by intellectuals of the Edo period.

Paper long abstract:

Taisei-kyō is usually depicted as a text that advocates the notion of 'The Three Teachings (i.e. Shinto, Buddhism and Confucianism) being One' (sankyō itchi 三教一致), but it is 'The Way of the Gods' that arguably is alloted the position of Primus inter pares. The Way of the Gods in Taisei-kyō, distinguishes three traditions: Sōgen (Yoshida), Saigen (Inbe) and Reisō (Aji). Saigen shinto is defined as the Way of the Gods that is peculiar to Japan: the proceedings of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu and of Izanagi and Izanami, the legitimacy of the human imperial reign and the Three Regalia as symbols of it, and, finally, the relationship between ruler and object: these are all characteristics of Saigen shinto and Taisei-kyō elaborates on them in great detail.

Taisei-kyō pretends to be a text that was compiled by Shōtoku Taishi (574-622), and therefore its contents could not directly refer to historical events that happened after the reign of Empress Suiko (554-628). Being an apocryphal text that probably was created in the first half of the seventeenth century, however, its compilers employed various techniques to indirectly comment on Japan's [recent] past and contemporary situation. Taisei-kyō never became the corner stone text of an official school, but its influence has been vast and profound, stretching from the eighteenth century well into the Meiji period.

In my paper, I will first present a digest of how Taisei-kyō presents the characteristics and significance of Saigen shinto. Then, I will discuss some examples of the influence of Saigen shinto in the eighteenth century and thereafter. One specific example will be the case of how Saigen shinto was positioned in Mizen hongi, fascicle 69 of Taisei-kyō, which contains the Crown Prince's predictions for the future in the period 622 to 1621.