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Kasuga Taisha Shrine - 春日大社 (built 768 onward)

Kasuga Grand Shrine is a Shinto shrine that was built in 768 on a spot of land that had long considered hallowed by the gods. The shrine was originally used only by members of the Fujiwara family and two of the four gods enshrined here are said to be the ancestral founders of the Fujiwara line. These are Amenokoyan-no-mikoto and Himegami. The other two gods were originally from the area around Tokyo and were moved here more recently. These are Takemikazuchi-no-mikoto and Futsunushi-no-mikoto.

Kasuga Taisha was originally owned and run by the monks at nearby Kofukuji. By the 16th century the temple’s fortunes had declined and at the time of the Meiji restoration the government mandated the separation of Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples.