An ancient shrine dedicated to Susanoo-no-Mikoto, located just north of Kumamoto Castle and mentioned in records since the Muromachi period. Kato Kiyomasa especially revered it as the guardian of the castle's northern approaches during his construction of Kumamoto Castle (1601–1607), renovating the shrine buildings under the belief that castle and shrine together protected the castle town. It has …

The exact founding date of Kitagaoka Shrine remains unknown, but the shrine is traditionally believed to have stood in present-day Kumamoto since ancient times, enshrining Susanoo-no-Mikoto as its principal deity. Records dating to the Muromachi period (14th–16th centuries) already mention the shrin…