[3] While Daijō-kan handled secular administrative affairs of the country, Jingi-kan oversaw almost all matters related to Shintō, particularly of kami worship.
[3][1] The term jingi-kan is composed of the Chinese character kan (官), "council" or "department," and jingi (神祇), which is an abbreviated form of tenjin chigi (天神地祇), "celestial and terrestrial deities."
[1] Therefore, there are several ways to translate the term jingi-kan in English: This Shinto administrative hierarchy was an intentional mirror of its Chinese counterpart, the Ministry of Rites (禮部).
[1][2] In 1870, the Meiji administration attempted to create a new national religion under the term "Great Teaching" (大教, taikyō), primarily to keep Christianity from accumulating popularity and influence on the Japanese society and to re-educate the population about the significance of the imperial rule.
[1] The goals of the Great Teaching campaign was deemed too ambiguous or too general to be able to be formed into practice, making it difficult for jingi-shō to provide a theoretical and spiritual content to be spread among the public.
[3] In addition to that, jingi-shō also lacked staffs to oversee their two major functions, Shintō affairs and propaganda.