The modern system of ranked Shinto shrines (近代社格制度, Kindai Shakaku Seido, sometimes called simply shakaku (社格)) was an organizational aspect of the establishment of JapaneseState Shinto. This system classified Shinto shrines as either official government shrines or "other" shrines. The official shrines were divided into
Imperial shrines (kampeisha), which are parsed into minor, medium, or major sub-categories; and
National shrines (kokuheisha), which are similarly categorized as minor, medium, or major.[1]
Some shrines are the "first shrines" called ichinomiya that have the highest rank in their respective provinces of Japan.
The Ise Grand Shrine stood at the top of all shrines and thus was outside the classification.[2][3]