In the ancient days, there were some cases where shucho (the head of a community) worshipped a local god and conducted festivals, and where shucho who was qualified by the Yamato sovereignty (the ancient Japan sovereignty) as ujigami (the head of the ancestor of a family) led the festivals in a national-festival form.
古代においては、共同体の首長が在地の神を祀って祭りを遂行する例が見られ、ヤマト王権によって氏上として認定された首長によって国家的祭祀の色彩を帯びた祭祀形式を採ることもあった。