Kumano Nachi Taisha

Kumano Nachi Taisha, located in Nachisan, Nachikatsuura Town, Higashimuro District, Wakayama Prefecture, is one of the three Kumano Sanzan shrines. The principal deity is Kumano Fusumi-no-Okami, identified with Izanami-no-Mikoto. It stands at about 350 m elevation on the mountain slope, adjacent to Seigantoji, the first temple of the Saigoku Sanjusansho pilgrimage. About 500 m to the southeast rises the 133 m Nachi Waterfall, with its branch shrine Hiro Shrine venerating the waterfall itself as Onamuchi-no-Mikoto (Okuninushi). The twelve subordinate halls enshrine the twelve Kumano gongen, including Ketsumimiko-no-Okami (Susanoo) and Hayatamano-Okami (Izanagi). According to tradition, the shrine originated when Emperor Jinmu venerated Onamuchi-no-Mikoto via the Nachi Waterfall during his eastern campaign, with a foundation date of 317. It became part of the Kumano Sanzan during the peak of mid-Heian Kumano imperial pilgrimages. The Nachi no Ogi Matsuri on July 14, one of Japan's three great fire festivals, is an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property.