NACHI FALLS, Wakayama, Japan
The area stretching from the middle of the Kii Peninsula, where the prefectures of Wakayama and Nara sit together, towards the sea of Kumano to the south is designated the Yoshino-Kumano National Park. Deep in the mountains of Kumano, the landform is extremely precipitous. This, together with the thick forest fed by plentiful rain, makes access difficult for people.
Mt. Nachi-san, a generic name for the mountains surrounding Kumano Nachi-taisha Shrine located upstream of the Nachi-gawa River in the southeast of Wakayama, is part of Yoshino-Kumano National Park. Its whole neighborhood is a timberland called Nachi primeval forest and has been revered as a place of asceticism for mountain god worshipers.
In the Mt. Nachi-san area is the Kumano Nachi-taisha Shrine having five Shinto buildings called "Kumano-Gongen" (avatar of Kumano) structure, which are important cultural properties of Japan and are the architectural style of the 8th through 10th century. Other places worth a visit include the Seiganto-ji Temple with a vermilion three-storied pagoda, a Mt. Nachi-san's symbol, and the Hiryu-jinja Shrine, the holy to worship the Nachi-no-Otaki Falls, also known as "Ichi-no-taki", as what symbolizes the divine spirit. The three-storied pagoda of the Seiganto-ji Temple was reconstructed in 1972, and its view spot affords a full view of the Nachi-no-Otaki Falls.
It is no wonder that since ancient times people have considered the area to be a mythical place. Since the 10th century, centered around the so-called Three Mountain Shrines of Kumano, including Hongu, Nachi, and Shingu, belief in the mystic powers of the mountains of Kumano has flourished. One of these beliefs was that the Kumano mountains cache the Buddhist paradise and that, if a worshipper prays at the Three Grand Shrines, he or she can attain salvation and enter paradise while still alive. The shrines thus attracted many pilgrims ranging from members of the Imperial family to the common people. Every summer, the Kumano Nachi-taisha Shrine annual grand festival is staged. Known as "Fire Festival of Nachi (Nachi-no-Hi-Matsuri) ", it climaxes in the "purification of Ogi-mikoshi" that takes place at the stairways of Hiryu-jinja Shrine, where twelve units of Ogi-mikoshi (1-meter-wide and 6-meter-long portable shrine decorated with fans) are "burned" by way of purification with the sparks from twelve giant torches weighing 50 kilograms that the bearers swing around as they go up and down the stone stairs.
After visiting the lower viewing deck, we then walked up several flights of steps, which ultimately ended up at a shrine area (called the Seiganto-ji Temple). We didn't spend too much time in this area given our rush. However, we were able to see a pretty over-the-top majestic view above the treeline with the cliff-diving Nachi Waterfall in its context and a beautiful pagoda juxtaposed with it.
The one thing about visit that was kind of a shame was that Julie and I were quite rushed during our visit thanks to an utterly inconvenient boat shuttle schedule that linked the Hotel Urashima to the rest of Kii-Katsuura. Apparently, the shuttle wouldn't run between 14:50 and 19:00 as well as between 7:35 and 10:00, and so that forced our hand into trying to squeeze in a visit in barely an hour so as to not be stranded away from our hotel in the four hours between 3pm and 7pm. What an utterly useless schedule!
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