Senge Takatomi
Baron Takatomi Senge was a Japanese priest and politician. He served as governor of their prefectures. He was Governor of Saitama from 1894–1897, Governor of Shizuoka from 1897–1898, and Governor of Tokyo from 1898–1908. He was also a member of the House of Peers.
He was an organizer of the 1907 Tokyo Industrial Exhibition.
He was a Shinto Priest and the founder of Izumo-taishakyo, and the 80th high priest of Izumo-taisha.
He founded the a Japanese political faction dedicated to representing the interests of barons over higher nobility.
Ancestry
The descendants of Amenohohi-no-mikoto, the second son of Amaterasu, the sun goddess whose first son is the ancestor of the imperial family, have been, in the name of Izumo Kokuso or governor of Izumo, taking over rituals because when Izumo-taisha was founded Amenohohi-no-mikoto rendered service to Okuninushi-no-kami. The family's conflict around 1340 made them separated into two lineages, Senge and Kitajima.In 1871, Izumo-taisha was designated as an Imperial-associated shrine and the government sent a new administrator so Izumo kokuso families were no more the administrators of Izumo-taisha. So Senge's father was exiled and Takatomi Senge never managed to be high priest of the shrine.
Senge reorganized the traditions of Izumo Taisha under the organization Izumo-taishakyo and was instrumental in the development of Sect Shinto.
It was only in 1947 under the Allied Occupation of Japan that the Senge family managed to become high priests of Izumo Taisha again. Takatoshi Senge, the 83rd-generation Izumo no Kuni no Miyatsuko of Senge lineage, was chosen to be the chief priest of Izumo-taisha in 1947. He died in February 2002 at the age of 89.