A is a type of Shinto shrine which enshrines the three Kumano mountains: Hongū, Shingū, and Nachi . There are more than 3000 Kumano shrines in Japan, and each has received its kami from another Kumano shrine through a process of propagation called or . The point of origin of the Kumano cult is the Kumano Sanzan shrine complex, which includes (Wakayama Prefecture, Shingu

Shingu, Wakayama

is a city located in Wakayama, Japan.As of May 1, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 32,288, with a household number of 16,003, and the density of 126.41 persons per km². The total area is 255.43 km²....

), Kumano Hongu Taisha

Kumano Hongu Taisha

is a Shinto shrine located in Tanabe, Wakayama Prefecture, deep in the rugged mountains of the Kii Peninsula of Japan. 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". The main deity enshrined is Kumano...

 (Wakayama Prefecture, 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...

), and Kumano Nachi Taisha

Kumano Nachi Taisha

is a Shinto shrine part of the UNESCO-designated World Heritage Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range. The Kumano Kodō route connects it to other sites under the same classification, all of which are in Nachikatuura, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan...

 (Wakayama Prefecture, Nachikatsuura

Nachikatsuura, Wakayama

is a town located in Higashimuro District, Wakayama, Japan.As of 2003, the town has an estimated population of 18,795 and a density of 102.45 persons per km². The total area is 183.45 km²....

).

Kumano Sanzan

The three Kumano Sanzan shrines are the Sōhonsha ("head shrines") of all Kumano shrines and lie between 20 to 40 km from each other. They are connected to each other by the pilgrimage route known as . The great Kumano Sanzan complex also includes two Buddhist temples, Seiganto-ji

Seiganto-ji

is a Tendai Buddhist temple in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. In 2004, it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with other locations, under the name "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range". According to a legend, it was founded by the priest Ragyō Shōnin, a monk...

 and Fudarakusan-ji

Fudarakusan-ji

is Tendai temple of the in Higashimuro district, Wakayama prefecture, Japan. It is said to have been founded by Ragyō Shōnin, a monk from India.In 2004, It was designated as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range.-External...

.

The religious significance of the Kumano region goes back to prehistoric times and therefore predates all modern religions in Japan. The area was, and still is, considered a place of physical healing. Each shrine initially had its own separate form of nature worship, but in the 10th century, under the influence of Buddhism, the three came to be worshiped together as the three deities of Kumano. Because at the time Japanese kami were believed to be emanations of Indian buddhas

Buddhahood

In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...

 (honji suijaku

Honji suijaku

The term in Japanese religious terminology refers to a theory widely accepted until the Meiji period according to which Indian Buddhist deities choose to appear in Japan as native kami in order to more easily convert and save the Japanese...

theory), the three came to be associated with the Buddhas Amida Nyorai, Yakushi Nyorai and Senju Kannon. The site became, therefore, a unique example of fusion between Buddhism and Japanese original cults (see the article Shinbutsu shūgō

Shinbutsu Shugo

, literally "syncretism of kami and buddhas" is the syncretism of Buddhism and kami worship which was Japan's religion until the Meiji period...

). Thereafter the Kumano Sanzan site attracted many worshipers and became a popular pilgrimage destination. In the 11th century pilgrims were mostly members of the Imperial family

Emperor of Japan

The Emperor of Japan is, according to the 1947 Constitution of Japan, "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people." He is a ceremonial figurehead under a form of constitutional monarchy and is head of the Japanese Imperial Family with functions as head of state. He is also the highest...

 or aristocrats, but four centuries later they were mostly commoners.

Other important Kumano shrines

• Kumanotaisha Shrine (Yamagata)
  Kumanotaisha Shrine (Yamagata)
  The is a historic shinto shrine in Miyauchi, Nanyo, Yamagata, Japan.It dates from the 9th century, and is one of only three large Kumano shrines in Japan....
  
   (Nanyo, Yamagata)
• Kumanotaisha Shrine (Shimane) (Matsue, Shimane)
• Kumano Kōdai Shrine (Karuizawa, Nagano)