that of temporal institutions. Some shrines exist only in one locality, while others are at the head of a network of . The spreading of a kami can be evoked by one or more of several different mechanisms. The typical one is an operation called kanjō (see the Re-enshrinement above), a propagation process through which a kami is invited to a new location and there re-enshrined. The new shrine is administered completely independent from the one it originated from. However, other transfer mechanisms exist. In Ise Grand Shrine's case, for example, its network of Shinmei shrines (from Shinmei, 神明; another name for Amaterasu) grew due to two concurrent causes. During the late Heian period the cult of Amaterasu, worshiped initially only at Ise Grand Shrine, started to spread to the shrine's possessions through the usual kanjō mechanism. Later, branch shrines started to appear further away. The first evidence of a Shinmei shrine far from Ise is given by the Azuma Kagami, a Kamakura-period text which refers to Amanawa Shinmei-gū's appearance in Kamakura, Kanagawa. Amaterasu began to be worshiped in other parts of the country because of the so-called phenomenon, the belief that she would fly to other locations and settle there. Similar mechanisms have been responsible for the spreading around the country of other kami. Notable shrines The Ise Grand Shrine in Mie prefecture is, with Izumo-taisha, the most representative and historically significant shrine in Japan. The kami the two enshrine play fundamental roles in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, two texts of great importance to Shinto. Because its kami, Amaterasu, is an ancestor of the Emperor, Ise Grand Shrine is the Imperial Household's family shrine. Ise Grand Shrine is, however, dedicated specifically to the Emperor and in the past, even his mother, wife and grandmother needed his permission to worship there. Its traditional and mythological foundation date goes back to 4 BC, but historians believe it was founded around the 3rd to 5th century AD. Izumo Taisha (in Shimane Prefecture) is so old that no document about its birth survives, and the year of foundation is therefore unknown. The shrine is the center of a series of popular sagas and myths. The kami it enshrines, Ōkuninushi, created Japan before it was populated by Amaterasu's offspring, the Emperor's ancestors. Because of its physical remoteness, in historical times Izumo has been eclipsed in fame by other sites, but there is still