Modern system of ranked Shinto shrines
On May 14th, 1871, the  issued a decree establishing the modern shrine system. This system ranked Shinto shrines hierarchically and specified the levels of priests who could officiate at each level of shrine. However, these rankings were abolished in 1946 when they were considered "" by the Occupation . The  currently maintains a slightly different list of Special Shrines known as Beppyo shrines