Kumano Nachi Taisha

Kumano Nachi Taisha is a mystical sacred site nestled on the mountainside of Nachi-yama with the great Nachi waterfall as its object of veneration. It maintains a unique form of worship wherein faith in the Hiryuu Shrine, which venerates the waterfall itself, and the rituals at the main shrine on the mountaintop are unified. The principal deity is Kumano Fusumi Okami, a water deity who descends with the waterfall's roar. Since the Heian period, numerous ascetic practitioners and pilgrims have visited this place, pursuing spiritual and physical purification through waterfall austerities and mountain training. The landscape created by the beautiful vermillion-painted three-tiered pagoda and the Nachi waterfall truly embodies Japan's primordial nature. This is a sacred space where one can feel the origins of nature worship.