Kamigamo Shrine is one of the oldest shrines in Kyoto with a history dating back to 677.
Its official name is Kamowakeikazuchi-jinja, and together with Kamo-gozo-jinja (Shimogamo-jinja), also located in Kyoto City, it is called Kamo-jinja.
On the shrine grounds, the main hall and gonden, rebuilt in 1863, are national treasures,
Most of the 34 buildings, many of which were constructed during the Edo period, are registered as Important Cultural Properties.
It is one of the “Cultural Properties of Ancient Kyoto” on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
The shrine is dedicated to the god Kamo Betsudo, and is worshipped as a guardian deity of misfortune, protection from all directions, and electricity.
Kamo Shrine was already powerful in the Nara period (710-794), and after the capital was moved to the Heian period (794-1185), it became the guardian deity of the Imperial Castle,
After the capital was moved to Kyoto in the Heian period, it became a guardian shrine for the imperial castle.
After the relocation of the capital to Kyoto in the Heian period, Kamosha was deeply involved in the formation of the city of Kyoto.
Tate-suna is said to be the origin of "purifying sand" and "heaping salt.
According to shrine legend, Kamo Betsurai-no-mikoto descended from the mountain at the foot of Kamiyama during the reign of Emperor Jinmu.
This shrine is modeled after Mt. Kamiyama, which served as a primitive shrine for ancient rituals.
The clear stream that runs through the shrine grounds, which is mentioned in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu (One Hundred Poems of Ogura), is called "Nara no Ogawa" (Narano stream).
The river is called "Nara no Ogawa" (Narano Stream), which is the confluence of the Gomotsukawa River and the Mitarashi River,
Outside the precincts of the shrine, it is called Myojin-gawa (Myojin River).
Outside of the shrine grounds, a former shrine town still remains on the south side.
8:30-17:00
Special visit to the National Treasure Honden (main hall)
Reception: 10:00 - 16:00 (until 16:30 on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays)
Free to visit the precincts of the temple.
National Treasure Honden Special Worship Service
First fee: 500 yen/person
15 min. by city bus from Kitaoji Sta. on Subway Karasuma Line