Shinke refers to families which were not daimyo (Japanese territorial lord) or former court nobles but were allowed to join the nobility as a reward for their contribution at the Meiji Restoration (families of the so-called genkun) or for services to the nation thereafter.
旧大名・旧公家を除いた家々の事であり、特に明治維新で活躍した元勲の家とその後の国家への功労によって華族に加えられた家を指す。