Its official name is Kamomioya-jinja. Its exact founding is unknown, but records say its sacred fence was repaired in the seventh year of Emperor Sujin's reign (90 BC), and it was registered as a World Heritage Site in 1994. The Mitarashi Pond in its grounds is counted among the seven wonders of Kamo, because clear water wells up around it and from the streambed in the midsummer doyo days of July, and mitarashi dango are said to be shaped after the bubbles rising from the bottom of the pond. According to the information board, the record of the sixth periodic rebuilding in 1161 tells of praying for rain at the Mitarashi well in a time of drought.
Sources: shimogamo-jinja.or.jp shimogamo-jinja.or.jp youtube.com
This moment in the journey
Mitarashi dango by Shimogamo Shrine
One thing you must eat at a Kyoto teahouse is mitarashi dango, fresh off the grill. I headed to Kamo Mitarashi Chaya, across the road from Shimogamo Shrine. Beside the noren hung a sign reading Kyoto Specialty.
Shimogamo Shrine, one of the oldest shrines in Kyoto, is said to be the birthplace of mitarashi dango: the dumplings are said to be shaped after the bubbles that well up from the bottom of the Mitarashi Pond in its grounds. According to the information board, the sacred water rising by the three cedars of Tadasu no Mori has long nourished people's lives and fields. The vermilion gate glowed in the winter sun.
Five dumplings to a skewer, toasted until charred in spots and drenched in a sweet-and-salty sauce. I love their chewy bite. This is the taste of a teahouse that has been loved at the shrine's doorstep for over a hundred years.
Watch this scene on YouTube4:22
More notes from this journey
Kyoto City, Kyoto
Kyoto-style ozoni (white miso New Year soup)
Ozoni in and around Kyoto is built on kombu dashi and white miso, with round mochi, taro, carrot and daikon.
From: Making New Year's Eve soba in a Kyoto townhouse
Kyoto City, Kyoto
Osechi (datemaki, red-and-white namasu, decorated kamaboko)
Each osechi dish carries a wish.
From: Making New Year's Eve soba in a Kyoto townhouse
Kyoto City, Kyoto
Toshikoshi soba (nihachi soba)
The custom of eating soba on New Year's Eve is said to have spread among ordinary people in the Edo period.
From: Making New Year's Eve soba in a Kyoto townhouse
Kyoto City, Kyoto
Takase River
A canal running alongside the Kamo River.
From: Making New Year's Eve soba in a Kyoto townhouse
Kyoto City, Kyoto
Kagami-mochi
Kagami-mochi is the offering made when welcoming Toshigami, the deity of the new year, and every part of its decoration has a meaning.
From: Making New Year's Eve soba in a Kyoto townhouse
Kyoto City, Kyoto
Kyogoku Kaneyo
An eel restaurant said to date from the Meiji era (some say the Taisho era), in a wooden building that keeps the look of its early days.
From: Making New Year's Eve soba in a Kyoto townhouse
More notes from Kinki
Aridagawa, Wakayama
Chestnut rice (kuri gohan)
My first chestnut rice, made with chestnuts I had picked myself.
From: Chestnuts, saury and an autumn feast
Aridagawa, Wakayama
Charcoal-grilled saury with sudachi
Sanma is written 秋刀魚, "autumn sword fish," but that spelling only spread from the Taisho era on; older texts wrote it 青串魚.
From: Chestnuts, saury and an autumn feast
Aridagawa, Wakayama
Wakayama bonito and mandarin carpaccio
In contrast to the lean first bonito of spring, the fish that head south from around September are called modori-gatsuo, returning bonito.
From: Chestnuts, saury and an autumn feast
Aridagawa, Wakayama
Foil-grilled mushrooms with butter
Mushrooms are another essential of the autumn table.
From: Chestnuts, saury and an autumn feast
Aridagawa, Wakayama
Mehari-zushi
A Wakayama specialty: a large rice ball wrapped in salt-pickled takana leaves.
From: Sushi, Cosmos and Ramen
Aridagawa, Wakayama
Umeboshi and red shiso rice ball
Wakayama grows more ume than any other prefecture in Japan: 58% of the national harvest in 2024 (64% the year before).
From: Sushi, Cosmos and Ramen