Matsunoo-taisha

Matsunoo-taisha in Nishikyo Ward, Kyoto, is an Engishiki Myojin-Taisha and one of the Twenty-Two Shrines of the upper rank (Joshichisha). Founded by the Hata clan of immigrant lineage, it stands among the oldest shrines of the Kyoto basin. The shrine sits at the eastern foot of Mount Matsuo (223 m); a sacred rock on the summit serves as the okumiya. The main deities are Oyamakui no Kami and Nakatsushima-hime no Mikoto (Ichikishima-hime). Kojiki (712 CE) explicitly states "Oyamakui no Kami, also called Yamasue no Onushi no Kami, dwells on Mount Hiei in Omi and at Matsuo in Kazuno." Nakatsushima-hime is one of the three Munakata goddesses enshrined at Munakata Taisha in Fukuoka. Shrine tradition records that Hata no Imiki Tori transferred the deity from the summit rock in 701 CE. After the Heian relocation it was raised to one of the highest-ranked official shrines together with Kamo Shrine. From the medieval period it has been linked with Hata-clan sake-brewing techniques and is venerated as the deity of sake brewers. The April Matsuo Festival is among the great spring rites of Kyoto.