Shrine Consolidation Policy
The Shrine Consolidation Policy was made to decrease the power of Shinto, and the government wanted to control the remaining shrines. The goal was to make the shrines easier to manage. Even though many people didn't like it, 77,899 Shinto shrines were closed in the first twenty years of the policy. The Shrine Consolidation Policy was in effect until the end of World War II, but it had the biggest impact in the first six years after it started in 1906. By 1912, the number of shrines that were closed decreased significantly.