Glossary: bettou-ji

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bettou-ji (別当寺)

Bettou-ji, or administrative temples, were (Buddhist) temples attached to (Shinto) shrines before the syncretization of Shintoism with Buddhism was completed in the Edo Era. The temple managed the shrine. Because the organizer of rituals, services, and festivals was called the "bettou," or "chief administrator", these temples came to be called "bettou-ji."