Kumano Shrine (Yamagata)

Kumano Shrine, located in Yamagata Prefecture, is one of the regional Kumano branch shrines of the former Dewa Province. It enshrines the three Kumano deities Ketsumimiko-no-Okami, Hayatamano-Okami, and Fusumi-no-Okami, the principal deities of Kumano Hongu Taisha, Kumano Hayatama Taisha, and Kumano Nachi Taisha respectively, which form the Kumano Sanzan in Kii Province. Ketsumimiko-no-Okami is syncretized with Susanoo-no-Mikoto, Hayatamano-Okami with Izanagi-no-Kami, and Fusumi-no-Okami with Izanami-no-Kami. The exact founding date is unknown; the shrine belongs to the medieval expansion of Kumano shugendo from Kii into the Tohoku region, alongside the Dewa Sanzan shugendo of Yudonosan, Gassan, and Hagurosan. During the Edo period it was preserved as a local shrine within the Yamagata, Shonai, and Yonezawa domains, receiving the village shrine rank in the Meiji era. The annual rite in October retains traces of Kumano yamabushi practice.