The date of Okuni Shrine's foundation is unknown. Shrine tradition gives a date of February 18, 555 (during the reign of
Emperor Kinmei) as the date when a shrine was first constructed on the summit of six-kilometer distant 511-meter Mount Hongū, which now forms part of the shrine's grounds. The shrine only appears in historical records from an entry within the
Shoku Nihon Kōki dated June 14, 884 and it is mentioned again in the
Engishiki records, but is still listed as a "minor shrine". It has been styled the
ichinomiya of Tōtōmi Province since at least 1235, and continued to be referred to as the “Ichinomiya” until the end of the
Edo period. Due to the waning power of the Imperial Court, imperial messages ceased to be sent to the shrine from the Muromachi period. The shrine was destroyed when
Takeda Shingen invaded Tōtōmi in 1572 and the shrine's priests sided with
Tokugawa Ieyasu. It was rebuilt by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1575, and subsequent generations of Tokugawa
shōguns continued to support the shrine. During the
Meiji period era of
State Shinto, the shrine was rated as a prefectural shrine in 1873, and was promoted to a under the
Modern system of ranked Shinto Shrines in 1874. The shrine is located a 50-minute walk from
Tōtōmi-Ichinomiya Station on the
Tenryū Hamanako Railroad ==Events==