It was built in 1619 (Genna 5) on the orders of Lord Tokugawa Yoshinao of Owari, two years after the construction of Nikkō Tōshō-gū.

[1] The shrine was moved from the Sannomaru enceinte of Nagoya Castle to its present location in the late 19th century.

The original main hall burned during the air raids of the Pacific War.

[2] The present main hall was a mausoleum for Lord Yoshinao's consort Haruhime (春姫), which used to be located at Kenchū-ji temple, and was moved to the site in 1953 as a replacement.

A model of the old shrine's main hall is kept at the Engineering Faculty of Tokyo University.