Senge Takatomi



Baron Takatomi Senge was a Japanese priest and politician. He served as governor of two prefectures, Governor of Tokyo from 1898 – 1908, and in the House of Peers.

He was an organizer of the 1907 Tokyo Industrial Exhibition.

He was a Shinto Priest and the founder of Izumo-taishakyo, and the 80th high priest of Izumo-taisha (an eightieth generation descendant of the first Izumo no Kuni no Miyatsuko).

He founded the The Thursday Association (木曜会) a Japanese political faction dedicated to representing the interests of barons over higher nobility.

Ancestry
The descendants of Amenohohi-no-mikoto (天穂日命), the second son of Amaterasu-ōmikami (天照大御神), the sun goddess whose first son is the ancestor of the imperial family, have been, in the name of Izumo Kokuso (出雲国造) or governor of Izumo, taking over rituals because when Izumo-taisha was founded Amenohohi-no-mikoto rendered service to Okuninushi-no-kami. The family's conflict around 1340 made them separated into two lineages, Senge (千家) and Kitajima (北島).

In 1871, Izumo-taisha was designated as an Imperial-associated shrine and the government sent a new administrator so Izumo kokuso families were no more the administrators of Izumo-taisha. So Senge's father was exiled and Takatomi Senge never managed to be high priest of the shrine.

Senge reorganized the traditions of Izumo Taisha under the organization Izumo-taishakyo and was instrumental in the development of Sect Shinto.

It was only in 1947 under the Allied Occupation of Japan that the Senge family managed to become high priests of Izumo Taisha again. Takatoshi Senge (千家尊祀), the 83rd-generation Izumo no Kuni no Miyatsuko of Senge lineage, was chosen to be the chief priest of Izumo-taisha in 1947. He died in February 2002 at the age of 89.

Political offices
Senge held many political offices in his life. He was a member of Japan's House of Peers, a group of nobles who were like the British House of Lords. He was also the Governor of Saitama Prefecture from 1894 to 1897, the Governor of Shizuoka Prefecture from 1897 to 1898, the Governor of Tokyo from 1898 to 1908 and the Minister of Justice in 1908.