Kumano area in Wakayama Prefecture is famous as Kumano 3 Shrines called Kumano Sanzan,
- Kumano Hongu Taisha Shrine, the main enshrined deity is Susanoo-no-Mikoto who is a younger brother to Amaterasu.
- Kumano Hayatama Taisha Shrine, the main enshrined deities are Kumano-Hayatama-no-Ookami and Kumano-Fusumi-no-Ookami who are husband and wife.
- Kumano Nachi Taisha Shrine, the main enshrined deity is Kumano-Fusumi-no-Ookami and originally, it was Nachi Fall itself from nature worship.
Those 3 shrines are connected with Kumano Kodo Nakahechi Roads in 20~40km distance. Deities in Kumano were originally based on nature worship. During Nara Era and Heian Era, Kumano became a sacred area of Buddhism, esoteric Buddhism and Japanese mountain asceticism incorporating Shinto and Buddhist concepts, and some people thought Shinto deities are Buddhas. Those 3 shrines became closer as their influence and worshipped same 12 deities (=Buddhas). Therefore, Kumano 3 Shrines enhanced their mystique and in the end of Heian Era, many members of the imperial family and many nobles who considered this are was an entrance to the Pule Land visited Kumano 3 Shrines through Kumano Kodo Nakahechi Roads. To visit the entrance to the Pule Land and coming back mean death and rebirth. Still nowadays, Kumano 3 Shrines are the focus of people’s worship as a sacred area of rebirth.
The big stone in the photo is called Gotobiki Stone in Kamikura Shrine which is managed by Kumano Hayatama Taisha Shrine. According to the old book called “Kumano-Gongen Suizyaku Engi” and other old books, deities in Kumano came down to the Gotobiki Stone in Mt. Kamikura and established shrines in current places and they moved there. In another old book called “Nihon Shoki”, Emperor Jinmu who was the first Emperor in Japan visited Kamikura. As mentioned above, a worship of nature was the first worship awing and fearing nature.
Gotobiki is a dialect word in Shingu City which means toad because the stone looks like toad. Gotobiki Stone is an object of worship believed to contain the spirit of a deity.
To see this big stone which is the origin of Kumano worship, you need to climb up 538 stone stairs and you may be surprised at the big stone with the 30m length of the Shinto straw festoon and 200kg of the weight.
This stone and Kamikura Shrine is a part of a UNESCO World Heritage site of the “Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range”. Of course, Kumano 3 Shrines are also parts of this. Please don’t forget to visit Gotobiki Stone, spiritual power spot, when you visit Kumano area.
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