Reiheishi
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Reiheishi were missions sent annually from the Imperial Court to give offerings at major Shinto shrines.
During the Edo period, these missions visited only Ise Shrine and Nikkô Tôshôgû, establishing fairly early on (the first reiheishi to Nikkô was in 1646 only ten years after the shrine was built) the great importance of Nikkô Tôshôgû amongst the shrines in the realm.
The road to Nikkô used by these missions came to be known as the reiheishi kaidô, or "reiheishi highway."
References
- Maehira Fusaaki, "Edo bakufu to Ryûkyû shisetsu - Tôshôgû sankei wo chûshin ni" 江戸幕府と琉球使節～東照宮参詣を中心に, in Ryûkyû shisetsu, Edo he iku!, Okinawa Prefectural Museum (2009), 67.
