The Bureau of Shrines and Temples.
(社寺局, Shaji kyoku)[1] was a bureau of the Meiji government.
[1] It was established in 1877 to administer matters related to religion, including shrines and temples, and Sect Shinto such as Tenrikyo and Kurozumikyō.
[1] It was a bureau of the Home Ministry.
[2][3][4] This was an official acknowledgement of Secular Shrine Theory or the idea that Shrine Shinto was not a religion and as a result under state control, hence the separate Bureau of Shrines under the Home Ministry.