A 'messenger with offerings'. Formerly this referred to visits by the emperor or local governors to selected shrines (kenpeisha). In the postwar period the Jinja Honcho sends a kenpeishi with offerings, usually heihaku, to all of its shrines at their annual festivals. The Ise jingu and shrines eligible for a chokushi are visited by the president of the Jinja Honcho, others by the head of the prefectural Jinja Cho.
A Popular Dictionary of Shinto. Brian Bocking.