Kumano Nachi Taisha is a Shinto shrine in Nachikatsuura, Wakayama Prefecture, in the Kii Mountains. It blends Shinto with Buddhist elements, and its main deity is Fusumi no kami, also known as Izanami no mikoto. It is one of the three Kumano Sanzan shrines and one of four sites on the Kumano Kodō pilgrimage route. UNESCO lists it among the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range.
Cedar forests surround the site. A sacred camphor tree about 850 years old stands between the shrine and Seigantoji temple, marked with a shimenawa rope. The 436-foot (133-meter) Nachi Waterfall is worshiped at the nearby Hiryū Shrine.
Each July 14, the Nachi-no-Hi Matsuri fire festival takes place. Men in white carry 20-foot (6-meter) portable shrines, and oversized torches symbolically purify the waterfall.
Comments