In premodern times, only Kitsuki Taisha Shrine (presently Izumo Taisha Shrine) and Kumano Taisha Shrine (both in Shimane Prefecture) bore the shrine name 'taisha,' but by the pre-war period Izumo Taisha Shrine was the only one to do so.
大社は前近代には杵築大社（現出雲大社）・熊野大社（いずれも島根県）しか名乗っていないが、戦前は出雲大社のみが大社を名乗っていた。