Database: Kumano Nachi Taisha

The Kumano Nachi Taisha is the third shrine of the Kumano Sanzan shrines, located to the south of the Hongū and Shingū, on the slopes of Mount Nachi, 5 kilometers from the sea. Originally, the shrine was located at the present site of the Hiro Shrine, in front of the Nachi waterfall which was the source of spiritual devotion. The Nachi Shrine joined the Kumano Hongū and Kumano Shingū by the end of the 11th century to form the Kumano Sanzan, all venerating the same deities. However, only Nachi-sha includes the worship of the special divinity of the waterfall, which it places at a higher rank than the three shared deities. During the same period, the god Nachi was believed to be Guanyin (Kannon Bosatsu), whom the medieval people worshipped as the giver of goods in this life. It was relocated to its current home sometime before the end of the 12th century. The Nyoirindo Temple, mainly dedicated to Guanyin, was built near the main shrine and was designated as the first step of the pilgrimage to the 33 Kannon sites in the central region of the country. When the Japanese government separated the Shinto shrines from the Buddhist temples in the 19th century, Nyoirindo Temple was not affected because it was an important part of the pilgrimage, so it became independent from the Kumano Taisha with the new name of Seiganto-ji Buddhist Temple.