An alternative name for the Yasaka Jinja, Kyoto. It derives from Gion-shoja (Sanskrit: Jetavana-vihara) a monastery built in Koshala (Central India) by the rich merchant Sudatta, said to be the first donated to the Buddhist order. Gion is also a collective term for the purifying deities enshrined in the Yasaka Jinja; Susano-o-no-mikoto, Yasaka-no-sume-no-kami (Gion-san) and Inada hime-no-mikoto.
See Tenno and Gion matsuri.
A Popular Dictionary of Shinto. Brian Bocking.