Kamomioya Shrine (Shimogamo Shrine)

Kamomioya Shrine is an ancient Kyoto shrine standing where the Kamo River and the Takano River meet. Because it lies downstream on the Kamo River and the character for duck, read kamo, has long been used for it, it is also called Shimogamo Shrine. Its official name comes from its enshrining the ancestral deities of the Kamo clan: Kamotaketsunumi-no-Mikoto in the west sanctuary and his child, Tamayorihime-no-Mikoto, in the east sanctuary. The exact founding date is unknown, but there is a record of the shrine fence being repaired in the 7th year of Emperor Sujin (90 BC), and the shrine explains that worship here began even earlier.

When the capital moved to Heian-kyo, prayers for the success of its construction were first offered at this shrine, and afterwards the imperial court honored it, together with Kamigamo Shrine, as a guardian of the capital and the nation. A system was established in which an imperial princess served the shrines as the Saio priestess, and the shrine often appears in court literature such as The Tale of Genji and The Pillow Book. Shikinen Sengu, the periodic renewal of the shrine buildings, began with its first round in 1036, and today it is carried out every 21 years, centered on repairing damaged parts. The shrine grounds were inscribed as a World Cultural Heritage site in 1994.

The two National Treasure buildings are the East Main Sanctuary and the West Main Sanctuary, both late Edo buildings constructed in 1863 (Bunkyu 3). Both are in the sangensha nagare-zukuri style with cypress-bark roofs. The two identical sanctuaries stand side by side, east and west, and Tamayorihime-no-Mikoto of the East Main Sanctuary is regarded as the mother of the deity of Kamigamo Shrine. In addition, 53 other shrine buildings are designated Important Cultural Properties. The Ura-no-Kairo corridor that runs around the back of the main sanctuaries was used for shihohai, worship of the main shrine from all four sides; it was removed during the war and restored at the 34th Shikinen Sengu.

Tadasu no Mori forest spreads across the southern part of the grounds. Covering about 124,000 square meters, it is a forest with clear streams that keeps the look of the original wild land. The Kirishiba at the center of the forest is said to have been a place of ritual since ancient times. Mitarashi Pond is where the Saio-dai of the Aoi Festival dips her hands to purify herself, and the Ashitsuke ritual of wading in the water is held here on the Day of the Ox in the midsummer doyo period. The grounds also hold the seven Kotosha shrines to the guardian deities of the zodiac signs, and the Korin plum tree, said to be the model for Ogata Korin's screen painting of red and white plum blossoms.

In the special viewing area you can see the Oidono (an Important Cultural Property), the kitchen of the deities, where replicas of offerings such as the special food offerings of the Aoi Festival and cooking utensils are displayed. The viewing area also shows a reconstruction, based on research, of the small hut where Kamo no Chomei, author of An Account of My Hut (Hojoki), lived. The main festival is the Kamo Festival (Aoi Festival) on May 15, preceded by the horseback archery ritual on May 3 and the purification rite of the Saio-dai on May 4 (held in alternate years with Kamigamo Shrine). The two Kamo shrines are also linked through the myths of their deities, so visiting Kamigamo Shrine as well makes the relationship clear.