ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the reason that the Miwa-jinja Shrine was ranked as Kansha in 796, and why the shrine was granted shrine rank in 880. The emperor commanded Ōtataneko-no-Mikoto to worship the god at Mt. Miwa and commanded Ikuhi to present the god with Japanese rice wine. Ōtataneko-no-Mikoto was the ancestor of the Ōmiwa-no-Ason clan. The principal objectives of this series of legends were twofold. The first is that Ōtataneko-no-Mikoto was a descendant of Ōmononushi-no-Mikoto and lifted the curse of the god. The second is that Ōtataneko-no-Mikoto was the ancestor of the Ōmiwa-no-Ason clan, and the clan served the Yamato Kingdom by conducting religious services for Ōmononushi-no-Mikoto. In short, these legends explained the origin of the Ōmiwa-jinja Shrine and the legitimacy of the Ōmiwa-no-Ason clan. Miwahito clan and Miwahirobe clan conducted religious services for Omononushi-no-Mikoto in various localities under the control of the Omiwa-no-Ason clan, who lived in Yamato Province. They lived in the Kozuke and Dewa Provinces.
