Recorded Joy·Rakusai / Ōyamazaki

Birthplace of Egoma Oil

This shrine in Ōyamazaki is said to have begun in 859 with the invitation of the Usa Hachiman deity, and to take its name, "Detached Palace Hachiman," from the former villa grounds of Emperor Saga. In the Heian period the lever-press called nagaki is said to have been devised here, bringing the pressing of oil from egoma perilla into full swing, and the shrine was revered as the "font of oil." In medieval times the Ōyamazaki oil guild, based here, supplied lamp oil across the home provinces and grew into one of Japan's largest, before declining after the Ōnin War and the spread of rapeseed oil.

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These notes come from desk research. Local traditions vary.