A UNESCO World Heritage Site since December 1998, this is the head shrine of the 3,000 or so Kasuga Jinja scattered around the country. It is one of the 22 Shrines and is one of the 37 shrines listed in the Engi-Shiki for Sonokami district in Yamato Province.

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It traces its origins to 768, when Empress Shotoku, the 45th ruler of the country, ordered Fujiwara-no-Nagate to oversee the construction of a shrine to honour four Kami,  Takemikazuchi, Futsunushi, Amenokoyane, and Hime-Gami. The site chosen was in the foothills of the sacred Mt. Mikasa, which is now known as Mt. Kasuga.

 

The shrine is closely related to the Fujiwara Clan. Takemikazuchi-no-Kami and Futsunushi-no-Kami are both guardian deities of the clan: Takemikazuchi is the kami of Kashima Jingu in Kashima, Ibaraki-ken, Futsunushi that of Katori Jinja in Katori, Chiba-ken. Amenokoyane-no-Mikoto is the clan's ancestral deity and the Kami of Hiraoka Jinja in what was Kawachi Province, now Higashi Osaka. Hime-Gami is Amenokoyane's wife, although there is a theory that she is in fact Amaterasu-Okami.

Over 2,200 festivals are held at the shrine each year. The most important of these is the Kasuga Festival, which is held on March 13, and has been for over 1,200 years. It is attended by an imperial messenger. Another important festival is the Kasuga Wakamiya Onmatsuri Festival. In 1135 Wakamiya-sama appeared and built a new main shrine hall at the current location of the shrine. The following year a festival was held to commemorate this. It has been held ever since, and has been designated as an Important Intangible Folk Culture Asset​.

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There are at least twenty-seven nationally designated tangible Important Cultural Properties in the shrine. Perhaps the most well-known of these is the main torii. 7.75m high, it was rebuilt in 1638, and is one of the Three Main Torii Gates of Japan: the other two are  those at  Kehi Jingu Jinja in Tsuruga, Fukui-ken and Itsukushima Jinja in Itsukushima in Hiroshima-ken.

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There are over 3,000 of the lanterns shown here in the shrine; each one is a donation.

Enshrined Kami:  

Main

Takemikazuchi-no-Kami   武甕槌命

Futsunushi-no-Kami        経津主命 

Amenokoyane-no-Mikoto  天児屋命

Hime-Gami                     比売神 

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In-ground Subordinate Shrines:

Wakanomiya Jinja  若宮神社

Hongu Jinja             本宮神社

Enomoto Jinja         榎本神社
Mizuya Jinja             水谷神社
Kii Jinja                      紀伊神社
Tejikarao Jinja          手力雄神社   
Hiraiden Jinja           飛来天神社 
Hachirai Jinja            八雷神社

Kurikara Jinja            栗柄神社
Umimoto (?) Jinja      海本神社 
Sugimoto Jinja          杉本神社
Sagun Shrine            佐軍神社
Aosakaki Jinja            青榊神社
Karasasaki Jinja         辛榊神社 
Anaguri Jinja              穴栗神社
Iguri Jinja                    井栗神社
Iwamoto Jinja            岩本神社
Taga Jinja                    多賀神社
Tsubakimoto Jinja     椿本神社
Kazenomiya Jinja       風宮神社
Tsugo (?) Jinja             通合神社 
Tejikarao Jinja            手力雄神社 
Miwa Jinja　　　　　三輪神社
Hyozu Jinja                  兵主神社
Nangu Jinja                  南宮神社
Hirose Jinja                  広瀬神社
Katsuragi Jinja              城神社
Sanjuhassho Jinja       三十八所神社
Sarake Jinja                  佐良気神社 
Meoto Daikoku-sha    夫婦大国社
Kinryu Jinja                   金龍神社 

Munakata Jinja​　　　  宗像神社 

Sumiyoshi Jinja        　住吉神社     

Ichinoi Ebisu Jinja　　一井胡神社
Funato Jinja              船戸神社 
Sogu Jinja                 総宮神社 
Hitokotonushi Jinja      一言主神社 
Ryuo-Sha    　           龍王社 
Tsubogami Jinja           壷神神社 
Haraido Jinja             祓戸神社 
Kamadono Jinja         竃殿神社 
Sakadono Jinja           酒殿神社 
Atago Jinja                    愛宕神社
Seimei Jinja                  聖明神社 
Ukigumo Jinja             浮雲神社 
Tenjin-Sha                天神社
Hyoshi Jinja                  拍子神社

 

Outside Subordinate Shrines:
Naruikazuchi Jinja       鳴雷神社 
Kanno Jinja                 神野神社 
Kamimizuya Jinja        上水谷神社
Omiwa Jinja                大神神社
Takayama Jinja            高山神社 
Akachi Jinja                 赤乳神社
Shirachi Jinja               白乳神社 
Tejikarao Jinja             手力雄神社
Uneme Jinja                采女神社 
Nogami Jinja               野上神社
Ishiko Jinja                  石荒神社 
Minami-ichi Ebisu Jinja  南市恵毘須神社 
Takama-ichi Ebisu Jinja  高天市恵毘須神社
Hatsumiya Jinja            初宮神社 
Daifuku Inari Jinja         大福稲荷神社
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​Annual Festival:  March 13

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