Yasaka Jinja

Before there was Kyoto, there was Gion Temple, established in 656. By the mid tenth century, Gion Temple had gained a Tenjin-do - a Shinto hall for rituals to placate goryo, the ghosts of exiled or shamed leaders. A few centuries later, the Tenjin-do was the focal point of the institution, so when the 19th-century Meiji government ordered a separation of Shinto and Buddhist worship, Gion Temple disappeared, and the Tenjn-do was renamed Yasaka Jinja. These days the shrine is best known for New Year celebrations and the Gion Festival.