Shimogamo Shrine: Ancient Primeval Forest & UNESCO World Heritage in Kyoto

Introduction

Shimogamo Shrine (officially Kamo-mioya Shrine) stands where the Kamo and Takano rivers meet in Kyoto’s Sakyo Ward and is the Ichinomiya (highest-ranking shrine) of old Yamashiro Province. Its exact founding date is unknown, but a record states that its sacred fence was repaired in the 7th year of Emperor Sujin (90 BCE). In 1994 it was inscribed as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto.”

The main sights are the Tadasu no Mori forest that surrounds the approach, Aioi Shrine for matchmaking, and Mitarashi Pond, said to be the origin of mitarashi dango. In May, the shrine hosts the Yabusame horseback archery ritual and the Aoi Matsuri.

Overview of Shimogamo Shrine

“Mioya” means “ancestor” or “parent”: the shrine enshrines the grandfather and mother of Kamo-wakeikazuchi, the deity of Kamigamo Shrine.

*Please check the official Shimogamo Shrine website for the latest visiting hours and fees.

In the viewing area on the site of the former shrine temple, a reconstruction of the “Hojo” hut of Kamo no Chomei, author of Hojoki, is on display.

Together with Kamigamo Shrine it forms the “Kamo Shrines,” revered by the imperial court as guardians of the capital since the move to Heian-kyo. The East and West Main Halls are National Treasures, and 53 other shrine buildings are Important Cultural Properties.

The West Main Hall enshrines Kamo-taketsunumi, and the East Main Hall his daughter Tamayori-hime. Kamo-taketsunumi is said to have taken the form of Yatagarasu, the three-legged crow that guided Emperor Jimmu; Yatagarasu also appears in the emblem of the Japan Football Association.

History of Shimogamo Shrine

1. The Age of Mythology: Ancestral Deities of the Kamo Clan and the Legend of Yatagarasu

According to shrine records, the sacred fence was repaired in 90 BCE, which suggests the deities were worshipped here even earlier. Excavations around Tadasu no Mori have uncovered ancient pottery and Yayoi-period dwelling sites. In a rebuilding of 677, the buildings are said to have changed from board and thatch roofs to cypress-bark and tile roofs.

The Nihon Shoki and Kojiki relate that when Emperor Jimmu lost his way in the mountains between Kumano and Yamato, Yatagarasu appeared and led him (sent by Amaterasu in the Nihon Shoki, by Takagi-no-kami in the Kojiki). This crow is said to be Kamo-taketsunumi in another form.

Tamayori-hime is Kamo-taketsunumi’s daughter. According to a surviving passage of the Yamashiro Fudoki, while she was playing in the Semi-no-Ogawa stream, a red-lacquered arrow (niuriya) floated down; she placed it by her bed, conceived, and gave birth to Kamo-wakeikazuchi, the deity of Kamigamo Shrine. The name of the Semi-no-Ogawa stream in Tadasu no Mori also comes from words attributed to Kamo-taketsunumi in the same text.

2. The Heian Period: Guardian Shrine of the Capital and the Flourishing of the Aoi Matsuri

When the capital moved to Heian-kyo in 794, prayers for the success of its construction were first offered at this shrine, and from then on it was revered with Kamigamo Shrine as a protector of the nation. The Kamo Festival (Aoi Matsuri), said to have begun in 544, was already so popular in 698 that the Shoku Nihongi records an order to police the crowds of spectators, and in the Heian period “the festival” simply meant the Kamo Festival; the famous carriage quarrel in the “Aoi” chapter of The Tale of Genji is set around it.

The Kamo Saiin system, in which an unmarried imperial princess served the Kamo deities as Saio, was also established in this period. Shikinen Sengu, the periodic renewal of the shrine buildings, was institutionalized with the first renewal in 1036, initially set at once every 20 years.

3. Medieval to Early Modern Period: The Age of Warfare and the Decline of Tadasu no Mori

By the late Heian period, more than 60 estates across Japan had been donated to the shrine, but as the country slid into civil war, contact with them gradually broke off and the faith of ordinary people came to support the shrine instead. War and famine sometimes stretched the renewal cycle to 30 or 50 years. In the Edo period, the shogunate granted the shrine lands.

4. Meiji to Showa: Transformation Through Modernization and Cultural Property Protection

With the separation of Shinto and Buddhism in the early Meiji era, Buddhist facilities were removed from the grounds, and the shrine was ranked first among the Kanpei Taisha (major imperial shrines). Tadasu no Mori remains a forest of deciduous broadleaf trees such as zelkova, hackberry and muku trees.

The present East and West Main Halls were built in 1863 and designated National Treasures in 1953. The shrine grounds, as well as the buildings, are designated national cultural properties.

5. Heisei to Reiwa: World Heritage Registration and Shimogamo Shrine Today

In 1994, the shrine was inscribed as a component of “Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto,” together with sites such as Kiyomizu-dera Temple and Kinkaku-ji.

Because the National Treasure and Important Cultural Property buildings cannot all be rebuilt, today’s Shikinen Sengu, held every 21 years, centers on re-roofing and repairing metal fittings and lacquer. The 34th was held in 2015, and the 35th is scheduled for 2036.

Highlights & Recommended Spots

1. Tadasu no Mori — A Sacred Primeval Forest from Ancient Times

Tadasu no Mori, which runs from the first torii to the tower gate, is a forest of about 36,000 tsubo (roughly 12 hectares) that, according to the Tadasu no Mori Foundation, has survived since the Jomon period. There are several theories about the name, including that “tadasu” means to expose falsehood. Streams such as the Semi-no-Ogawa, Izumigawa and Nara-no-Ogawa run along the path and have been celebrated in classical poetry.

Walking the path to the tower gate takes about 15 to 20 minutes at an easy pace. On the second Saturday of June, the Tadasu no Mori Foundation holds a firefly tea ceremony, “Hotarubi no Chakai.”

2. Aioi Shrine — A Power Spot for Romantic Matchmaking

Aioi Shrine, just before the tower gate, enshrines Kamimusubi-no-kami and is dedicated to matchmaking.

Next to it stands the sacred tree “Renri no Sakaki,” two trees joined into one partway up, long counted among the Seven Wonders of Kyoto. The current tree is the fourth; each time one dies, a new joined tree is said to appear somewhere in Tadasu no Mori.

The customary way to pray is to receive a matchmaking ema tablet at the amulet office, write your wish, walk around the shrine three times (women clockwise, men counterclockwise), and then hang the ema. Lines can form on weekends.

3. Mitarashi Shrine and Mitarashi Pond — The Sacred Spring Where Mitarashi Dango Was Born

Mitarashi Pond, in front of Inoue Shrine (Mitarashi Shrine) on the east side of the main hall, is one of the “Seven Wonders of Kamo” because clear water wells up around the pond and from the streambed during the midsummer doyo period in July. During the Mitarashi Festival (foot-dipping ritual) held around the Day of the Ox in doyo, visitors wade in knee-deep water and offer a candle (in 2026: July 18-30; candle offering 500 yen for adults). The Saio-dai purification ceremony for the Aoi Matsuri is also held at this pond. On the eve of Risshu (the start of autumn), the Yatori Shinji takes place, in which men in loincloths scramble for 50 sacred igushi sticks set up in the middle of the pond.

Mitarashi dango are said to be modeled on the bubbles rising from the pond. One legend tells that when Emperor Go-Daigo purified his hands here, one bubble rose, followed by four more. At “Kamo Mitarashi Chaya” near the shrine, the first of the five dumplings on each skewer is set slightly apart.

4. Kotosho — The Guardian Shrines of the Twelve Zodiac Signs

The seven Kotosha shrines in front of the main hall enshrine seven names of Okuninushi (Okunitama, Utsushikunitama, Omononushi, Okuninushi, Shikoo, Onamuchi and Yachihoko), each serving as guardian of certain zodiac signs. Because seven shrines share twelve signs, some protect two signs. Signboards show which is which, so after praying at the main hall, look for the shrine of your birth year. At New Year the shrine for that year’s sign is especially crowded.

5. The Yabusame Arena and the Aoi Matsuri — Heian Elegance Preserved Today

The Yabusame ritual on May 3rd takes place on a horse track of about 300 meters along the approach in Tadasu no Mori, where archers in hunting costume shoot humming-bulb arrows at three targets from galloping horses. It is a purification rite for the safety of the Aoi Matsuri procession, and paid seats are available on the day. Other rites lead up to the main festival on the 15th: the Saio-dai purification and a classical martial arts offering on May 4 (the purification alternates yearly with Kamigamo Shrine; Shimogamo in 2026), the Busha Shinji archery ritual on May 5, and the Mikage Festival on May 12.

The Aoi Matsuri (Kamo Festival) on May 15th is the annual festival of both Kamo shrines and one of Kyoto’s three great festivals, along with the Gion Matsuri and Jidai Matsuri. In the “Roto no Gi” procession, about 500 people in Heian court dress, led by the Saio-dai, travel from the Kyoto Imperial Palace to Shimogamo Shrine and then to Kamigamo Shrine. The name comes from the futaba-aoi (hollyhock) leaves that decorate participants and ox carts. It has a courtly character quite different from the Inari Festival of Fushimi Inari Taisha or the Gion Matsuri of Gion.

Nearby Attractions

Kamigamo Shrine (Kamo-wakeikazuchi Shrine) — The Other Sacred Site of the Kamo Shrines

About 3 kilometers upstream along the Kamo River, Kamigamo Shrine enshrines Kamo-wakeikazuchi, son of Tamayori-hime, and is also part of the World Heritage Site. It is about 15 minutes by City Bus No. 4 or a 40-minute walk along the river. Highlights include its National Treasure Main Hall and Gonden, and the conical sand mounds called tatezuna.

Kyoto Imperial Palace — Imperial History and Elegant Gardens

About 2 kilometers south, roughly 10 minutes by bus. The palace, home of the emperors until the Meiji Restoration, is managed by the Imperial Household Agency and open to the public free of charge (closed Mondays, or the following day if Monday is a holiday, and over the New Year period). You can see buildings such as the Shishinden and Seiryoden, and the Aoi Matsuri procession starts here. The wide grounds of Kyoto Gyoen offer city-center greenery quite different from Arashiyama.

Demachi Futaba — A Legendary Wagashi Shop with Lines Out the Door

A wagashi shop about a 10-minute walk south of the shrine, near Demachiyanagi Station. Its signature “Nadai Mamemochi” is a rice cake filled with coarse red bean paste and studded with red peas. Lines are common, and since mamemochi are best eaten the same day, buy them on the day you leave if taking them home. Buses toward Kennin-ji Temple also run from Demachiyanagi.

Access Information

By Train

• Keihan Railway: About 12 minutes on foot from Demachiyanagi Station (most recommended)
• From JR Kyoto Station: Take the JR Nara Line to Tofukuji Station, transfer to Keihan Railway to Demachiyanagi Station (about 30 minutes)
• Hankyu Railway: From Kawaramachi Station, take City Bus Route 4 or 205 for about 15 minutes, get off at “Shimogamo Jinja-mae”

By Bus

• Kyoto City Bus Route 4 or 205, get off at “Shimogamo Jinja-mae”
• Kyoto City Bus Route 1, get off at “Shimogamo Jinja-mae”
• From JR Kyoto Station, City Bus Route 4, about 30 minutes to “Shimogamo Jinja-mae”
• From JR Kyoto Station, City Bus Route 205, about 25 minutes to “Shimogamo Jinja-mae”

By Car

• About 25 minutes from Meishin Expressway Kyoto-Higashi IC
• Shimogamo Shrine West Parking Lot: 500 yen for the first hour, then 300 yen per additional 30 minutes (as of September 2026)
• Parking lots become extremely crowded during the Aoi Matsuri and New Year’s period; public transportation is recommended

Recommended Access Route

The recommended route is from Demachiyanagi, the terminus of the Keihan Main Line: cross the confluence of the Kamo and Takano rivers and enter the Tadasu no Mori approach. It is about a 12-minute walk to the tower gate. If you are also visiting Kamigamo Shrine, City Bus No. 4 connects the two shrines.

Summary

Shimogamo Shrine brings together Tadasu no Mori, its National Treasure main halls, Aioi Shrine, Mitarashi Pond, and the May Yabusame and Aoi Matsuri. Pair it with Kamigamo Shrine for a Kamo Shrines visit, or include it in a route with sites such as Nanzen-ji Temple and Ryoan-ji Temple.

Frequently Asked Questions