Only a few shrines, such as Ise-jingu Shrine or Sumiyoshi-jinja Shrine, had Saijin whose names were expressly recorded in the Kojiki (the Records of Ancient Matters), the Nihonshoki (Chronicles of Japan), or the Manyoshu (Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves); most Saijin were just called by the name of the place of enshrinement or by the name of the shrine with the word "kami "(god) added as a suffix.
記紀や万葉集などでも、祭神の名が記されているのは伊勢神宮、住吉神社などごくわずかであり、ほとんどの神社の祭神は、鎮座地名や神社名に「神」をつけただけの名前で呼ばれていた。