Horses have been central to the identity of the Kamo people and thus, to the shrine's ritual cycle. The shrine's principal kami, Wake Ikazuchi, said to an oracle that he wanted to be worshiped with the use of the hollyhock flower and by the running of horses on the shrine's precincts. Since as early as the late sixth century CE, one of the shrine's major rituals (in early April) entails the pairing up of two teams who then pair off against each other and race highly boisterous horses in a flat-out sprint from one end of the grounds to the other (some 300 meters). Today, a crowd of several thousand people watches the yearly event, which is staged almost in its entirety by the Kamo clan descendants.
All photos and text © Copyright John K. Nelson, 1999