What is the story of Yasaka Shrine?

How did it begin?

The shrine gives two accounts:

1. 656Irishi, an envoy from Korea, enshrined Susanoo-no-Mikoto here, in the Yasaka district of Yamashiro.
2. 876Ennyo, a Buddhist monk from Nara, built a hall here, and the same year the deity of Gion came down in the Gion woods at the foot of the Higashiyama hills.

Legend also says a dragon's den lies under the Main Hall, home of the Blue Dragon that guards the east of the old capital. It is sealed with plaster today.

Timeline

1. 869An epidemic spreads; 66 halberds, one for each province, are raised and mikoshi are sent to Shinsen-en garden to pray for it to end. This Gion Goryo-e is the origin of the Gion Matsuri.
2. 1072Emperor Go-Sanjo visits: the first imperial visit to the shrine.
3. 1467The Onin War burns the city; the Gion Matsuri stops for 33 years.
4. 1571Oda Nobunaga burns Mt Hiei, freeing the shrine from Enryakuji, whose branch it had been.
5. 1654The present Main Hall is built on the orders of the fourth shogun, Tokugawa Ietsuna.
6. 1868The name changes from Gion Kanshin-in (Gion-sha) to Yasaka Shrine, as shrines and temples are separated by the new government.
7. 2019The Gion Matsuri marks 1,150 years.
8. 2020On 23 December the Main Hall is designated a National Treasure.

Sources: history, top page (shrine's official site, Japanese). Checked 20 October 2026.

Who is enshrined?

Susanoo-no-Mikoto, who slew the eight-headed serpent Yamata-no-Orochi; his wife Kushinadahime; and their eight children.

The Main Hall and its worship hall stand under a single roof, a style the shrine says is found nowhere else. It has been a National Treasure since December 2020, and 29 more buildings are Important Cultural Properties.

Questions

What is Yasaka Shrine known for?

The Gion Matsuri, which is its festival; the vermilion West Gate at the end of Shijo-dori; and the lanterns of the Dance Hall at night. It is the head shrine of about 2,300 Yasaka and Gion shrines across Japan, and people in Kyoto call it "Gion-san".

How old is Yasaka Shrine?

The shrine gives two accounts: that it was founded in 656, or in 876. The present Main Hall was built in 1654.

Who is enshrined at Yasaka Shrine?

Susanoo-no-Mikoto, who slew the eight-headed serpent Yamata-no-Orochi; his wife Kushinadahime; and their eight children.

Why was it called Gion-sha?

Until 1868 the shrine was called Gion-sha or Gion Kanshin-in, and Shinto and Buddhism were practised together there. When the new government separated shrines and temples, it took the name Yasaka Shrine.