What is Shimogamo Shrine?
{{Infobox religious building|name=Shimogamo Shrine<br />下鴨神社|religious_affiliation=[[Shinto]]|image=Shimogamo 01.jpg|caption=Shimogamo Shrine|map_type=Japan|coordinates={{coord|35|02|20|N|135|46|21|E|region:JP_type:landmark|display=title,inline}}|map_size=|map_alt=|map_relief=|map_caption=|location=59 Shimogamo Izumigawa-chō, [[Sakyō-ku, Kyoto|Sakyō-ku]], [[Kyoto]], [[Kyoto Prefecture]]|deity=''tamayoribime'' (玉依姫命)<br />''kamotaketunuminomikoto'' (賀茂建角身命)|festival=[[Aoi Matsuri]] <br />(Kamo no Matsuri; May 15th)|type=Shikinaisya<br />Yamashiro no Kuni ichinomiya<br />[[Twenty-Two Shrines]]<br />Former [[kanpeitaisha]]<br />[[Chokusaisha]]<br />[[Beppyo jinja]]|leadership=|website={{URL|http://www.shimogamo-jinja.or.jp/pg150.html}}|architecture_style=[[Nagare-zukuri]]|founded_by=|established=6th century|date_destroyed=}} {{Nihongo|'''Shimogamo Shrine'''|下鴨神社|Shimogamo-jinja|lead=yes}}, is a significant Shinto holy site in [[Kyoto]] city's Sakyō ward in the Shimogamo district. The formal name of the shrine is {{Nihongo|Kamo-mioya-jinja|賀茂御祖神社}}.<ref>Richard, Ponsonby-Fane. (1964) '' Visiting Famous Shrines in Japan,'' pp. 1-118.</ref> Shimogamo Shrine is among the oldest Shinto shrines in Japan, dating back to the 6th century. It is also recognized as one of the seventeen Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, designated by UNESCO as a [[World Heritage Site]]. The name [[Kamo Shrine|Kamo-''jinja'']] refers generally to Shimogamo Shrine and [[Kamigamo Shrine]], which are two traditionally linked shrines in Kyoto.<ref>Terry, Philip. (1914). [https://books.google.com/books?id=9ipbUA13CHoC&dq=tadasu+no+mori&pg=PA479 ''Terry's Japanese empire'', p. 479.]</ref> Shimogamo Shrine is the older of the two Kamo shrines in Kyoto, believed to be around 100 years older than Kamigamo. It dates back to the 6th century, which is centuries before Kyoto became Japan's capital in 794 (known as Heian-kyō). The Kamo-jinja serve the purpose of guarding Kyoto from harmful forces.<ref>Miyazaki, Makoto. [http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/column