Kamigamo-jinja Shrine enshrines the Kamo clan ancestral deity Kamowakeikazuchi-no-mikoto. Wakeikazuchi’ means ‘young thunder’ and signifies the god of thunder full youthful energy.
600 CE
There are numerous theories regarding the establishment of the shrine. According to legend, Kamowakeikazuchi-no-mikoto descended to the Miaresho at the foot of Mt. Kamo-san during the reign of Emperor Jimmu. The ancient text “Yamashiro no Kuni Fudoki” tells that Tamayorihime became pregnant after placing on her bed a vermilion-lacquered arrow that flowed down from the upper reaches of Kamo-gawa River, and that when she gave birth to Kamowakeikazuchi-no-mikoto, he was enshrined by the Kamo territorial ruling family of Anitamayorihiko’s descendants. The vermilion-lacquered arrow is said to be Ho-no-ikazuchi-no-kami (the god of fire and thunder) enshrined in Otokuni-jinja Shrine or Oyamakui-no-kami (the deity of Mount Hiei in Shiga Prefecture). Tamayorihime and her father Kamotaketsunumi-no-mikoto are enshrined within Shimogamo-jinja Shrine. The first mention in Japan’s Six National Histories from March 21, 698 (Emperor Mommu’s reign) states that horseback archery had been banned on the day of the Kamo Festival and we also know that the shrine was revered by the Imperial Court with an approximately 2.5 acre field being donated by the Emperor in 750.
Japan
How far back?
2020 | Present
