Gion Shrine (Kyoto)

Japanese: 祇園社（京都） - ぎおんしゃ

...A place name in Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto City, that refers to the area including Yasaka Shrine (commonly known as Gion), Gion-cho, Gion Shinchi, and the surrounding Gion area. The word "Gion" originates from the Buddhist "Giju Gitsu Kodoku-on" and "Gion Shoja", but the place name came into use around the middle of the Heian period in response to the spread of the so-called "goryo" faith and the development of Gion-sha (the former name of Yasaka Shrine), which was the guardian deity of Yasaka-go, and became familiar to the people. This area was the property of Gion Shrine and showed signs of becoming a temple town from the end of the Heian period, but in the Kamakura period, it gradually began to develop into an urban area, mainly to the south of Gion Shrine (in the direction of Shimokawahara and Yasaka, which are in front) and to the west (in the direction of Shijo Street, which faces the Nishidaimon Gate), with the increase in housing being particularly remarkable in the west.

From Hiromine Shrine

... was awarded the rank of Junior Fifth Rank, as well as Hayakaze Takeo-no-kami. This is said to be the first historical record of Hiromine-sha Shrine. During the Heian period, as faith in the spirit of the deity and plague-deity festivals became popular, Gozu Tenno, who was syncretized with Susanoo, was enshrined on Mount Hiromine, but it is said that this was moved to Yasaka in Kyoto and became Gion-sha Shrine (Yasaka Shrine). According to the Annotated Texts of the Twenty-Two Shrines, Gozu Tenno of Gion-sha Shrine first left a trace in Akashiura, Harima Province, before moving to Hiromine, and then to Kitashirakawa Toko-ji Temple, and finally to Gion Kanshin-in Temple during the Gangyo era (877-885).

From Yasaka Shrine

...Former government-sponsored grand shrine. The current name was given to the shrine in 1868 (Meiji 1) when Shinto and Buddhism were separated. Before that, the shrine was called Gion-sha and Gion Kanshin-in (Kanshin-in was the head temple). Even today, the locals call the shrine "Gion-san."

From [Wataza]

...a troupe that sold cotton. In 1343 (Kokoku 4/Koei 2) during the Nanboku-cho period, the Cotton Company of Gion-sha Shrine was located in Sanjo-cho and Shichijo-cho in Kyoto, and absorbed the cotton merchants in Nishiki-cho, which was attached to the Shifu Kagosho-cho troupe, and added them to the main troupe. Therefore, it is believed that the Cotton Company of Gion-sha Shrine had established a monopoly on sales by this time.

*Some of the terminology that refers to "Gion Shrine (Kyoto)" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

Japanese:

…京都市東山区内の地名で，八坂神社(通称，祇園)と祇園町，祇園新地や周辺の祇園廻りなど一帯の総称。〈祇園〉の語は仏教でいう〈祇樹給孤独園（ぎじゆぎつこどくおん）〉〈祇園精舎（ぎおんしようじや）〉に発するが，当該の地名としては，いわゆる御霊（ごりよう）信仰の弘通と，八坂郷の鎮守であった祇園社(八坂神社の旧称)の発展に応じて，平安時代の半ばころから用いられるようになり，人々に近しくなった。このあたりの地は祇園社領として，平安時代末期より門前町化の萌芽を示していたが，鎌倉時代に入ると祇園社の南(正面に当たる下河原，八坂の方面)と西(西大門に面する四条通の方面)とを中心にしだいに市街地化しはじめ，ことに西方での人家の増加がいちじるしかったようである。…

【広峰神社】より

…速風武雄神，並びに従五位下を授く〉とあるのが，広峰社の史料上の初見とされる。平安時代に御霊信仰と疫神祭が盛んになる中で，スサノオと習合した牛頭天王が広峰山にまつられたが，これが京都の八坂に移されて祇園社(八坂神社)となったといわれる。《二十二社註式》によると，祇園社の牛頭天王は初め播磨国明石浦に跡を垂れて広峰に移り，その後北白川東光寺に移り，元慶年中(877‐885)に祇園感神院に移ったという。…