In antiquity, one member of the clan served as ōhōri (大祝 'great priest', old orthography: おほはふり ohohafuri; also rendered as ōhafuri) of the Kamisha, considered to be the visible embodiment of Suwa-myōjin himself and as such, a living god (arahitogami) and an object of worship in his own right [REF].
According to a medieval legend, the very first priest - a boy by the age of eight - was chosen by Suwa-myōjin himself in a vision.