Umenomiya Taisha, Shinto shrine in Ukyō Ward, Kyoto, Japan

Umenomiya Taisha is a Shinto shrine in the Umezu area of Ukyō Ward, Kyoto. Its precinct is entered through a large stone torii over the road; inside, the raised wooden worship hall has a dark green curved roof edged with white round tiles and square blocks, a veranda with railing, and a short stair on the left. The main hall (honden), rebuilt in 1700, is a three-bay nagare-zukuri structure with cypress-bark roofing.

According to shrine tradition, the shrine was first founded in the Nara period by Tachibana no Michiyo in Ide, Yamashiro Province, and later moved to its present site by Tachibana no Kachiko (Empress Danrin) in the early Heian period. It appears in the Engishiki as a Myojin Taisha, and in 1180 it was granted the rank of Shoichii. The main hall burned in 1698 and was rebuilt in 1700 under Tokugawa Tsunayoshi.

The shrine's name comes not from plum trees but from the umé (plum) fruit associated with its deity Sakatoké-no-kami, a god of sake brewing; the shrine crest is the tachibana (citrus). Brewers still worship here, and sake-related rites are held through the year. The main festival, Umenomiya-sai, was once a court ceremony with kagura and dance, now held on 3 May.

The shrine is about a 10-minute walk from Hankyu Matsuo Taisha Station on the Arashiyama Line, or 3 minutes from the Umenomiya Taisha-mae bus stop served by city buses 3, 28, 29, 67, 71 and Toku-71. Many cats live on the grounds; they belong to the shrine, and signs ask visitors not to feed them freely. Cat beds are set up beside the shrine office.

The shrine keeps many cats on its grounds; signs ask visitors not to feed them, and beds for the cats are set up beside the shrine office. Photographs of the cats are sold at the amulet counter, and in 2017 the shrine appeared in NHK BS's cat programme "Iwagō Mitsuaki no Sekai Neko Aruki".