Emperor Sujin
According the shrine legend, Kashima Jingū was established in the first year of the legendary [[Emperor Jimmu]], or approximately 600 BC. 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 , or private house of ritual was rebuilt in 649 AD on a site where the great celestial god descended from the heavens and where religious ceremonies and festivals had been held since the time of [[Emperor Sujin]], [[Yamato Takeru]] and [[Emperor Tenji]]. This region was the ancestral stronghold of the [[Nakatomi clan]], who were strongly allied to the [[Yamato dynasty|Yamato court]], and the area around Kashima became a center for strengthening the imperial court's control of eastern Japan following the [[Taika Reform]]. As both a war deity and a water deity, the Kashima "kami" were connected with military campaigns against the [[Emishi]] tribes of northern Japan. The treasury of the shrine has a one bucket said to have been a war trophy once owned by the Emishi leader [[Aterui]].