The are a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese sacerdotal kin group which traces its roots from a Yayoi period

Yayoi period

The is an Iron Age era in the history of Japan traditionally dated 300 BC to 300 AD. It is named after the neighbourhood of Tokyo where archaeologists first uncovered artifacts and features from that era. Distinguishing characteristics of the Yayoi period include the appearance of new...

 shrine in the vicinity of northeastern Kyoto. The clan rose to prominence during the Asuka

Asuka period

The , was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710 , although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period...

 and Heian

Heian period

The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...

 periods when the Kamo are identified with the 7th-century founding of the Kamo Shrine

Kamo Shrine

is a general term for an important Shinto sanctuary complex on both banks of the Kamo River in northeast Kyoto. It is centered on two shrines. The two shrines, an upper and a lower, lie in a corner of the old capital which was known as the due to traditional geomancy beliefs that the north-east...

.

Kamo Shrine

The Kamo Shrine's name references the area's early inhabitants, many of whom continue to live near the shrine their ancestors traditionally served. The formal names of corollary jinja memorialize vital clan roots in a history which pre-dates the founding of Japan's ancient capital.

The Kamo Shrine encompasses what are now independent but traditionally associated jinja or shrines—the in Kyoto's Kita Ward and; and the in Sakyo Ward. The jinja names identify the various kami

Kami

is the Japanese word for the spirits, natural forces, or essence in the Shinto faith. Although the word is sometimes translated as "god" or "deity", some Shinto scholars argue that such a translation can cause a misunderstanding of the term...

or deities who are venerated; and the name also refers to the ambit of shrine's nearby woods.
Although now incorporated within boundaries of the city, the location was once Tadasu no Mori

Tadasu no Mori

, which literally means "Forest of Correction," is a sacred grove associated with an important Shinto sanctuary complex known in Japanese as the Kamo-jinja, situated near the banks of the Kamo River just north of where the Takano River joins the Kamo River in northeast Kyoto city, Japan...

 (糺の森), the wild forest home of the exclusive caretakers of the shrine from prehistoric times.

Notable clan members

• Kamo no Chōmei
  Kamo no Chomei
  was a Japanese author, poet , and essayist. He witnessed a series of natural and social disasters, and, having lost his political backing, was passed over for promotion within the Shinto shrine associated with his family. He decided to turn his back on society, take Buddhist vows, and became a...
  
   (1155–1216)
• Kamo no Mabuchi
  Kamo no Mabuchi
  was a Japanese poet and philologist of the Edo period.Mabuchi conducted research into the spirit of ancient Japan through his studies of the Man'yōshū and other works of ancient literature...
  
   (1697–1769)

Although Ieyasu Tokugawa never used the surname Matsudaira before 1566, his appointment as shogun was contingent on his claim to Matsudaira kinship and a link to the Seiwa Genji

Seiwa Genji

The ' were the most successful and powerful of the many branch families of the Japanese Minamoto clan. Many of the most famous Minamoto warriors, including Minamoto Yoshiie, also known as "Hachimantaro", or God of War, and Minamoto no Yoritomo, the founder of the Kamakura shogunate, were descended...

. Modern scholarship has revealed that the genealogy proffered to the emperor contained falsified information; however, since the Matsudaira

Matsudaira clan

The was a Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Minamoto clan. It first originated in and took its name from Matsudaira village, in Mikawa Province . Over the course of its history, the clan produced many branches, most of which also centered around Mikawa Province...

used the same crest as the Kamo clan, some academics suggest that he was likely a descendant of the Kamo clan."