ABSTRACT
Since with the exception of the Naikū, to Amaterasu Ōmikami and the Gekū to Toyoukehimenokami of the Kōtaijingū of Yamada in Ise, the Kwampeitaisha take the first place among the shrines of the whole Empire, it is reasonable to expect that the deities worshipped there should be the most important in the Pantheon. To some extent, but to some extent only, this expectation is realized, but there are several notable omissions and inclusions. Before, however, making a survey of the Kwampeitaisha and examining the list of Saijin, there is one fact with regard to their institution which has to be borne in mind, and which may, in some measure, account for some things otherwise puzzling.
