Kumano Sanzan
Located at the southeastern part of the Kii Mountain Range, Kumano Sanzan includes the three shrines of "Kumano Hongu Taisha", "Kumano Hayatama Taisha" and "Kumano Nachi Taisha", and two temples of "Seiganto-ji" and "Fudarakusan-ji" that are distributed 20 to 40 km apart from each other and connected by "Kumano Sankeimichi Nakahechi".
Although these three shrines have original distinctive forms, they have exchanged their gods with each other and have been worshiped as "Kumano Sansho Gongen".
They came to be revered as the destination of the Kumano Pilgrims by "the Shinto-Buddhism Unity Theory" that teaches God is the manifestation of Buddha and the fact that their main gods were considered as the incarnation of "Amida-nyorai", "Yakushi-nyorai" and "Senju-kannon".
The Seiganto-ji and Fudarakusan-ji became closely associated with Kumano Nachi Taisha during the Shinto and Buddhism Unification.
Seiganto-ji became well known as the first sacred place of the West Province Pilgrimage, and Fudarakusan-ji became well known as a temple for the faith of shipping out to the "Pure Land of Kannon".
Kumano Hongu Taisha
Hongu Hongu Town Tanabe City, Wakayama Prefecture [MAP 2-A]
Formerly called "Kumanonimasu-jinja", this shrine deifies Ketsumikonokami. Although since the foundation of the ancient times this shrine had been located on the sandbank of the Kumano River, after the flood of 1889, the surviving upper three buildings of four shrines were relocated and rebuilt at the present place.
Still, a stone base survives at the Kyushachi Oyunohara, where the shrine
buildings were located, and has been repaired as a ground base. At the
center of the base, small stone shrines that deify the lost four center
shrine buildings, and four lower shrine buildings stand.
Law protection: Compound (Historic Site), Three Shrine buildings including two ridge boards (Important Cultural Property)
Kumano Hayatama Taisha
Shingu Shingu City, Wakayama Prefecture [MAP 2-B]
Located at the river mouth of the Kumano River, this shrine enshrines Hayatamanokami. Centered by the compound of the shrine, this property includes "Gongenyama" in the back, "Mifunejima" and "Otabisho". And a sacred huge Nagi tree that is designated as Natural Monument spreads its leaves in the compound.
Halfway up the south side of Mt. Gongen is 'Kamikura-jinja", which enshrines a huge rock called Gotobikiiwa from which it is said that god first descended.
Law protection: Compound (Historic Site), Nagi Tree of Kumano Hayatama Taisha (Natural Monument).
Kumano Nachi Taisha
Nachisan Nachikatsuura Town Higashimuro County Wakayama Prefecture [MAP 2-C]
Located at the halfway up the Nachi Mountains, this shrine originated in the ancient faith to a waterfall, and enshrines Fusuminokami. As one of the three shrines in Kumano, this shrine enshrines twelve Kumano Gongen. "Hiro Gongen", which deifies the Nachi Waterfall, is said to be the thirteenth Kumano Gongen.
Unlike Kumano Hongu Taisha and Kumano Nachi Taisha, shrine buildings of Sansho Gongen, the main five shrine buildings, eight shrine buildings and Miagatahikosha do not stand in a single form but stand in a hooked line.
Law protection: Compound (Historic Site), Six main shrine buildings, Miagatahikosha building, Suzumon gate and Mizugaki fence (Important Cultural Property).
Seiganto-ji
Nachisan Nachikatsuura Town Higashimuro County Wakayama Prefecture [MAP 2-D]
This temple had been called "Nachi no Nyoirindo" before the 1868 Shintoism and Buddhism Separation Degree, and is located next to Kumano Nachi Taisha buildings. Along with Kumano Nachi Taisha, this temple is the only example that shows the shape Shinto and Buddhism Fusion in Kumano Sanzan.
As the first sacred place of the West Province Pilgrimage which began in the late 12th Century, even now this temple is visited by many pilgrims as an important sacred place.
Law protection: Compound (Historic Site), Main building including a Zushi chest and Hokyo-in stone stupa (Important Cultural Property).
Fudarakusan-ji
Hamanomiya Nachikatsuura Town Higashimuro County Wakayama Prefecture [MAP 2-G]
Next to Omiwa-yashiro (Hamanomiya Oji), this temple was formerly dedicated to Kumano Gongen, and is known as the place where Fudarakutokai priests shipped out to the sea.
Fudarakutokai is the faith of suicidal shipping out to the southern sea in search of Fudaraku Pure Land. Fudarakutokai were conducted twenty times between 9th Century and 18th Century.
Law protection: Compound (Historic Site)
Nachi no Otaki
Nachisan Nachikatsuura Town Higashimuro County Wakayama Prefecture [MAP 2-E]
Nachi Waterfall is called "Misuji no Taki", "Nachi no Taki" or "Ichi no Taki" as water falls down from three mouths of the waterfall, and has kept its form of Kumano Faith. Gathering four rivers from Eboshiyama, Okumotoriyama, Myohozan, and Funami Toge, water falls down a vertical 133m-high cliff from a 13m wide mouth of the waterfall, and is one of the most famous waterfalls in Japan. In upper Nachi no Otaki, there are forty-eight waterfalls called "Nachi Shijuhattaki" and they are the training stages for Shugen ascetic practitioners.
Law protection: Natural Beauty (including Ni no Taki)
Nachi Primeval Forest
Nachisan Nachikatsuura Town Higashimuro County Wakayama Prefecture [MAP 2-F]
This forest extends about 33.5ha to the east of Nachi no Otaki, and has been protected since ancient times as a sanctuary, and keeps its primeval nature along with the waterfall. It's main feature is a mixture of cool region and warm region road-leaf evergreen plants, which are the most typical in this region and keep character of a natural forest. There are many species in this forest and it has rich plant characteristics.
Law protection: Natural Monument
Kumano Hayatama Jinja no Nagi
Shingu Shingu City Wakayama Prefecture [MAP 2-B]
It is said that this tree was planted by Taira no Shigemori in 1159 to celebrate the construction of the shrine. This old tree is 17.6m high, 5.45m around at the bottom and 4.45m around at human height. As there is no main trunk, it is considered that some trunks gathered and formed the present shape.
Law protection: Natural Monument
Nachisan Kyusando no Sugi Namiki
Nachisan Nachikatsuura Town Higashimuro County Wakayama Prefecture
Among the pilgrimage routes from the mountain foot of the Nachi Mountains
to Kumano Nachi Taisha and Seiganto-ji, the 600m long stone-paved part
is called "Daimonzaka".
Along both sides of Daimonzaka, about 200 cedars, hinokis and camphors
form a row of trees.
Law protection: Prefectural Natural Monument
Introduction to the properties