Takakamo Shrine

Takakamo Shrine (Takakamo-jinja) stands in Kamonokami, Gose City, Nara Prefecture, at the eastern foot of Mount Kongo in the Katsuragi region. It is an Engishiki myojin taisha and the self-identified head shrine of the nationwide network of Kamo (Kamo/Kamo/Kamo) shrines, including the Kamigamo and Shimogamo shrines in Kyoto. The main enshrined deity is Ajishikitakahikone-no-Mikoto, recorded in the Kojiki (712 CE) as the offspring of Okuninushi-no-Kami and Takirihime-no-Mikoto, and identified as the ancestral deity of the Katsuragi Kamo clan. The first documentary mention is in the Nihon Shoki (720 CE) entry for the tenth month of the ninth year of Emperor Tenmu (680 CE), recording an offering to "Takakamo no Kami." The shrine is also listed in the Engishiki (927 CE) jinmyocho of the Katsuge district of Yamato Province as "Takakamo Ajisuki-Takahikone-no-Mikoto-jinja, Myojin Dai." About 500 varieties of Japanese primrose are cultivated in the precincts.