Yengishiki

Audience

The audience for the Yengishiki was many layered. Its primary audience consisted of court officials, administrators, civil functionaries, and other members of Japan’s governmental apparatus, from the imperial court down to local communities. To the extent that the Yengishiki deals with matters involving succession to the throne, it functioned as a kind of constitution. Additionally, a target audience for those portions of the Yengishiki having to do with Shinto rituals and prayers included any persons who conducted or led rituals and prayers, especially priests. By standardizing prayers and rituals, the Yengishiki imposed a kind of unity on Japanese culture at a time in the nation’s history when it tended toward fragmentation.