This article explores the transformation of Emperor Antoku’s mortuary temple Amidaji into a new shrine, Akamagū, which took place in the process of haibutsu kishaku in the early Meiji period. The focus of this article is on two aspects of this transformation: the change that the rituals in Antoku’s death anniversary underwent, and the process that led to the official designation of Akamagū as Antoku’s imperial mausoleum. After reviewing the history of Amidaji and the general context of haibutsu kishaku, this article investigates the two aspects in the context of the principle of Kokka Shinto, under which the Meiji government redefined the various roles of Shinto shrines, rituals, and imperial mausolea. Among such redefinitions, this article reviews in particular how the government redefined the notion of pollution and sanctity involved in imperial mausolea. It will be revealed that the political goals of the central and local governments largely defined the mode of the transformation of Antoku’s mortuary site as well as the design of the new shrine and its rituals, which have survived to this day.
