Nestled in the mountains of south-eastern Wakayama Prefecture is one of the most beautiful shrines in Japan. My word on the matter means fairly little in this case as it is constantly voted and identified as one of Japan’s hidden beauties. The shrine is believed to have been built around the 4th century after a mythic man named Jinmu, came to Kumano and united all of Japan to become the first emperor. Though this origin story is likely false, what is true about this tale is that this shrine has been around practically as long as worship has existed in the area. The symbol of the shrine is a “yatagarasu,” or three-legged raven in English, and is synonimous with the Imperial family. In fact, the yatagarasu predates the current and most common symbol of the Imperial family: the 16 pedal golden chrysanthemum. In a very cool turn of events, the chrysanthemum crest likely originated from Emperor Go-Toba, a noted enthusiast of swordcrafting, who became emperor at a very young age in 1183. He used an imprint of a chrysanthemum as a personal seal on the hilts of swords he would forge. Emperor Go-Toba was also noted for his love of Kumano-Nachi Taisha and would often make the pilgrimage from Heian-kyo (modern Kyoto) to the Kii Penninsula (Wakayama Prefecture) to pay his respects at the shrine.
For the casual: 9. For the educated: 9.
So to start, this is not an easy shrine to visit. There are really only two ways for visitors to get to the shine and that is #1 a four hour express train ride from Osaka-Namba/Shin Osaka or #2 drive a car. Though the time difference favors the car slightly, it still takes several hours to get to the Katsuura area. Tours and other options do exist, but for a solo trip those two are your only options. If you’re visiting in a day trip I recommend spending the night in a place like Katsuura, Shingu, or Shirahama to simply help reduce any potential stress from the trip. Once you get to Kii-Katsuura station, you can take a bus up to the shrine.
There are two places you can get off the bus to advance to the shrine and both have their appeal and their limitations. I highly recommend that visitors get off at Daimon-zaka, an anceint trail that has been used by pilgrims for generations. This trail is made of cobbled stone stairways through the lush mos-covered underbrush of massive cedar trees. This stairway is often the site of major festivals and rituals that start in the valley and make their way up to the shrine. Downside of this trail is elevation as it makes its way up the hillsides. The ancient trail isn’t that difficult and the beauty of it all essentially forces visitors to stop and take lots of photos. The modern stairs afterwards up to the shrine are a different story as the path turns vertical for multiple long flights to the shrine. There are a fair number of taxis so if you do find that the ancient trail was just enough work, you can likely get a ride up the rest of the way. Visitors with difficulty walking steep paths should consider taking the bus to the shrine itself and from there, visitors can enjoy the shrine going downhill.
Unfortunately for me the shrine was undergoing structual rennovation while I was there, so much of the shrine’s beauty was obstructed by scaffolding and tarps. However, like many shrines in Japan, Kumano-Nachi Taisha is known for vibrant vermillian paint, dark wood roofs, and tall forked finials. Typically, the shrine is one part of a greater visual brilliance with the Nachi Falls acting as a natural backdrop to the greater shrine. The Nachi Falls are the tallest single uninterrupted waterfall in Japan and offer a jawdropping backdrop to a vermillian pagoda in the complex (See my post on Hiro Jinja for more information). In addition to the shrine, two small temples of the tendai sect (the primary Buddhist sect of Japanese nobility) are included in the complex and offer prayers to the Buddhist incarnation of the god of the Nachi Waterfall, as well as offerings to the spirits of the deceased. The Kumano area is sometimes referred to as the “Land of the Dead” because it is believed that Shinto spirits and spirits of deceased ancestors would reside in the area.
