Since the disestablishment of State Shinto during the Occupation of Japan, the offices of chief priest and most sacred priestess have been held by former members of the imperial family or their descendants. The current chief priest of the shrine is , adoptive son of Takatsukasa Kazuko. He succeeded Kitashirakawa Michihisa, a great-grandson of Emperor Meiji, in 2007. Takatsukasa Kazuko was succeeded by her younger sister, Ikeda Atsuko. In 2012, Ikeda was joined by her niece Sayako Kuroda, sole daughter of Emperor Emeritus Akihito, to serve as a high priestess under her. On 19 June 2017, Sayako officially replaced her aunt as supreme priestess.