is a Shinto shrine located in Tanabe

Tanabe, Wakayama

is the second biggest city in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan.As of 2008 , the city has an estimated population of 80,398 and a density of 78.3 persons per km². The total area is 1026.77 km². The city was founded on May 20, 1942.Tanabe is on the coast and surrounded by mountains...

, Wakayama Prefecture

Wakayama Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located on the Kii Peninsula in the Kansai region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Wakayama.- History :Present-day Wakayama is mostly the western part of the province of Kii.- 1953 Wakayama Prefecture flood disaster :...

, deep in the rugged mountains of the Kii Peninsula

Kii Peninsula

The is the largest peninsula on the island of Honshū in Japan. The area south of the “Central Tectonic Line” is called Nankii , and includes the most poleward living coral reefs in the world due to the presence of the warm Kuroshio Current, though these are threatened by global warming and human...

 of Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. It is included as part of the Kumano Sanzan in the UNESCO World Heritage site "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range

Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range

Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located on the Kii Peninsula in Japan.- Selection criteria :...

". The main deity enshrined is Kumano Gongen

Gongen

During the era of shinbutsu shūgō , in Japan a During the era of shinbutsu shūgō (religious syncretism of kami and buddhas), in Japan a During the era of shinbutsu shūgō (religious syncretism of kami and buddhas), in Japan a ( was believed to be a Japanese kami which was really just the local...

(熊野権現). All of the ancient Kumano Kodō

Kumano Kodo

The ' is a series of ancient pilgrimage routes that crisscross the Kii Hantō, the largest Peninsula of Japan. These sacred trails were and are still used for the pilgrimage to the sacred site "Kumano Sanzan" The ' is a series of ancient pilgrimage routes that crisscross the Kii Hantō, the largest...

 Pilgrimage routes lead to this Grand Shrine.

It was originally located at present , on a sandbank at the confluence of the Kumano River and Otonashi River. In 1889 it was partially destroyed in a flood and the remaining shrine buildings were relocated at its present site.

Access

• Buses from:
  • JR West, JR Central Shingū Station on Kisei Main Line
  • JR-West Kii-Tanabe Station on Kisei Main Line
  • Nanki Shirahama Airport

External links

Tanabe City Kumano Tourism Bureau

Official Site (Japanese)