In the Edo Period and before, only a few shrines, including the following, were built in the shinmei-zukuri style: Ise-jingu Shrine, Nishina-shinmeigu Shrine, which was under the control of a Shinto priest of Shinano Province (present day Nagano Prefecture), and Kono-jinja Shrine in Tango Province (present day Kyoto Prefecture).
神明造の社殿は、江戸時代以前は伊勢神宮と、信濃国（現在の長野県）の神宮の所領とされた仁科神明宮、丹後国（現在の京都府）の籠神社など少数であった。