Minamoto no Yoritomo deeply venerated Kumano and donated extensive estates to the Three Grand Shrines during the Bunji era (1185-1190). After establishing the Kamakura shogunate, he continued to make offerings and prayers to Kumano Hongu, positioning Kumano devotion as one of the religious pillars of warrior rule. Because the Kumano Betto family had sided with the Minamoto in the Genpei War, Kumano was also an important religious ally for Yoritomo.

Hojo Masako was also a devout adherent of Kumano worship and, after Yoritomo's death, continued to extend shogunal patronage to the Three Grand Shrines. She conducted proxy pilgrimages and prayers at Kumano Hongu for the repose of the Minamoto clan and the stability of the shogunate. Throughout the Kamakura period under the Hojo regents, Kumano devotion penetrated deeply into warrior society, providing the foundation for the popular surge of pilgrimage known as the 'ants' pilgrimage to Kumano.'

Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa (1127-1192) made 34 pilgrimages to Kumano in his lifetime — the most by any emperor or retired emperor. His devotion to Kumano formed the core of religious policy during the Insei period, and he extended wide-ranging patronage centered on Hongu including land donations, sanctuary construction support, and improvements to the portable-shrine processions. His pilgrimages were the driving force that spread Kumano devotion nationwide.