The
volcanic springs and a
geyser at Atami were regarded in ancient Japan as manifestations of the
kami, and
ancient records indicate that a shrine already existed here by 594 AD. The actual date of the shrine's foundation is unknown, with shrine legend mentioning the semi-legendary
Emperor Kōshō and
Empress Suiko as possible candidates. The shrine legend also claims that it was appointed as an official shrine for prayers to the
Imperial clan under
Emperor Nintoku,
Emperor Seinei,
Emperor Bidatsu,
Emperor Kōtoku and
Emperor Go-Nara. The shrine later became a center of the
Shugendō mountain cult. After he was exiled to Izu,
Minamoto no Yoritomo worshipped at Izusan Shrine for divine assistance in his struggle to overthrow the
Heike clan in the
Genpei War. He also used the shrine grounds as a location to rally the local
gōzoku clans to his side. Izu Shrine is also noted as the location to which Yoritomo and
Hōjō Masako eloped – an event which brought the
Hōjō clan to his side and which was instrumental in the successful establishment of the
Kamakura shogunate. Yoritomo and Masako later had the shrine rebuilt on a large scale, and its holdings extended as far as
Echigo Province. The shrine was later patronized by the
Odawara Hōjō, the
Imagawa clan and the
Tokugawa clan. During the
Edo period, visitors to Atami increased due to its location near the
Tōkaidō connecting
Edo with
Kyoto, and the need for
daimyōs to make regular journeys because of the
sankin-kōtai system. The shrine was granted revenues of 300
koku by the
Tokugawa shogunate. Most of the shrine records and many of its structures were lost in the destruction of the
shinbutsu bunri movement following the
Meiji Restoration. Crown Prince
Hirohito visited the shrine in 1914, and a
Japanese Black Pine was planted next to the
Honden to commemorate the visit. The shrine was granted the rank of National Shrine, 3rd rank (
Kokuhei Shōsha) under
State Shinto in 1928. ==See also==