The sacred nagi tree is a thousand years old: legend says it was planted by a 12th-century general.
The shrine enshrines Kumano Hayatama-no-Ōkami and Kumano Fusumi-no-Ōkami: according to tradition the deities first came down on the Gotobiki rock, on Mount Kannokura, and were later moved here, hence the name ‘Shingū’, new shrine. In the grounds grows a nagi (Nageia nagi, a conifer sacred to the Kumano cult), a National Natural Monument since 1940: about 20 metres high and 6 round the trunk, with an estimated age of a thousand years. Legend attributes it to Taira no Shigemori, a 12th-century general.
One of the three grand shrines of the Kumano Sanzan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2004. The site is a National Historic Site as part of the ‘Kumano Sanzan’, and it holds ancient treasures classified as National Treasures.
ℹ️ Free entry. 15 minutes on foot from JR Shingū Station, or local bus.
🚉 Shingu · 16 min walk
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Nearby
Kamikura Jinja, the shrine of the sacred Gotobiki-iwa rock1.1 kmphoto by helohelon · CC BY-SA 3.0
Daimonzaka, Kumano Kodō10.2 kmphoto by Nekosuki · CC BY-SA 4.0
Nachi Falls10.9 kmphoto by Raita Futo from Tokyo, Japan · CC BY 2.0
Seiganto-ji, first temple of the Saigoku pilgrimage11.1 kmphoto by Naokijp · CC BY-SA 4.0