Tsukahara Bokuden (塚原 卜伝, 1489 - March 6, 1571), one of the most distinguished swordmasters in Japanese history, was a frequent visitor to the shrine and developed the school from a combination of his own experiences as a shugyōsha during Musha shugyō (武者修行) and the Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū (天真正伝香取神道流).

The Honden (main shrine building), Haiden (prayer hall) and Rōmon tower gate entrance are all Edo period structures, and are National Important Cultural Properties.

As he performed the act the blood dripped from his sword splashing onto the rocks below him, giving birth to several kami, two of which were Takemikazuchi along with Futsunushi (経津主神, Futsunushi-no-kami) the deity of Katori Shrine.

Per the Nihon Shoki, Takemikazuchi was the deity who provided Emperor Jimmu with a sword as he departed for the conquest of Yamato, which is one reason the shrine is regarded as a patron.

However, there is no mention of the shrine in either the Nihon Shoki or the Kojiki and the earliest written records, the Hitachi Fudoki, does not identify the Kashima-no-Ōkami with Takemikazuchi.

This is well into Japanese prehistory, and the oldest written records mentioning the shrine are in the Asuka period Fudoki (風土記) of Hitachi province, indicating that a kobe (神戸), or private house of ritual was rebuilt in 649 AD on a site where the great celestial god Kashima (香島の天の大神, Kashima-no-ten-no-Ōkami) descended from the heavens and where religious ceremonies and festivals had been held since the time of Emperor Sujin, Yamato Takeru and Emperor Tenji.

During the Nara period, the Nakatomi clan rose to prominence and changed their name to Fujiwara and played a central role in reorganizing the Shinto ritual system.

Although the Fujiwara clan lost much of its power into the Kamakura period, the shrine continued to enjoy high status and prestige with the warrior class and was strongly supported by successive samurai governments and local daimyō.

Minamoto no Yoritomo granted the shrine numerous estates, and many members of the samurai class entered the priesthood, sometimes advancing to very senior positions.

After the festival a special temporary logging known as an Angu (行宮) is constructed and the Mikoshi is taken there before being returned to its main shrine in the afternoon of the third day.