Jinmu tenno-sai Festival commenced in the generation of Emperor Komei in the closing days of the Edo bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun), and it was regulated under the 'Shiji Saiten Teisoku' (the Regulations of Seasonal Ceremonies), which was defined in September 1871.
神武天皇祭は幕末の孝明天皇代に始まり、明治4年（1871年）9月に定められた「四時祭典定則」で規則化された。