[2] This shrine holds several Important Cultural Properties, including Ichi-no-shinden (一の神殿), Ni-no-shinden (二の神殿), and Rōmon (楼門).

[2] The earliest records of the shrine are found in Chinese historical chronicles like the Zuisho-Wakoku-Den from the 07th century that states that the people of Aso held festivals every time Mt.

[4] Historical information of the shrine can also be found in the Nihon-Shoki, Nihon-Kiryaku, Shoku-Nihon-Kouki, Montoku-Jitsuroku, Sandai-Jitsuroku, and the Chikushi-no-Kuni-Fudoki-Itsubun.

[5] During the ascendancy of the Kamakura shogunate, the Hōjō clan exercised a significant influence over the affairs of Aso Shrine.

[2] Yabusame is an annual festival which brings together horse-mounted archers, special arrows and targets, and Shinto ritual at Aso Shrine.

The shrine's main kami is Ichinomiya Takeiwatatsu-no-mikoto (一の宮健磐龍命) the creator of Aso and the God credited with teaching the villagers about agriculture.

Another legend states that the deity of the volcano, entered the body of Takeiwatatsu-no-mikoto turning him from a human into a divine being.

The Aso shrine's U-no-matsuri (卯の祭) is a 13-day event that occurs in March to welcome spring and pray for the beginning of the rice planting season.

The shrine's Guuji San perform sacred Shinto music and dances every day of the festival while praying for a rich harvest.

[17] The Daihimonjiyaki (大火文字焼き) is part of the Noyaki (のやき, burning of the hills) that occurs in Aso, at the beginning of March every year.

The hills are burnt to stop the growth of trees allowing the grass to take over, thereby maintaining Aso's famous grasslands.

The Tazukuri Matsuri is held in accordance with the belief that if the deities of the shrine got married before the rice planting season, the harvest would be rich.

This is a fire-swinging ritual where bales of hay are lit on fire and swung around by the villagers to welcome the Bride Deity to Aso shrine on the evening of her nuptials.

The procession, called a Gyouretsu (行列) includes the Unari (宇奈利, 14 women clad in white),[19] 4 mikoshi (神輿) containing the Gods, and farming dolls.

The third set consists of the unari which are women from the village, clad in white and carrying the food for the Gods on their heads.

[21] Next in the lineup for the procession are young village boys who dress in white and carry dolls on wooden sticks with the faces of an old man and woman and an ox.

The God of navigation (Sarutahiko no Mikoto) and the Representative of people who plant rice (Saotome) also join the procession.

The Guji San at Aso shrine conduct special ceremonies to give thanks to the Agriculture kami for the successful harvesting of the rice.

As a sign of their gratitude to the gods, the farmers of the neighboring village give their first crop of rice as an offering.

On the morning of the 25th of September, the farmers and Guji San gather at Aso shrine where they conduct the necessary rituals.

[4] The Kaza-matsuri is held twice a year; 4 April of the lunar calendar (mid-May now) and July 04th (mid August now).

This date corresponds to the mid-summer day where hotter temperatures bring general fatigue on the farmers.

On the night of the 06th, the farmers walk around Aso village singing Tauta songs for the last time, in their efforts to banish sleep .

[16] The origins of the festivals can be traced back 700 years from the Aso-jinja-shinnoubutsu-chumon-utsusi, an old book detailing the chronicles of Aso shrine.

Thousands of years ago, the crater now known as Aso city was said to be filled with water and was thereby a huge lake surrounded by the outer rim of the caldera.

Kihachi's head ascended as a deity vowing to exact revenge on Takeiwatatsu-no-Mikoto's village of Aso.

A ritual called the Hitaki-Shinji was started where a fire is kept for 2 months to pray for a good harvest and prevent frost damage to the crops.

They remained in prominence until the 16th century as their feudal lord continued to rule over half of what is now known as Kumamoto Prefecture.

It is flanked on both sides by two smaller gates called the Kangyomon (還御門) and Kamikomon (神幸門)both built in 1849 (嘉永2年).

[23] Aso Shrine was heavily damaged during the 2016 earthquakes that struck Kumamoto on April 16, 2016, at 1:25 am JST, at a magnitude of 7.0.