Kumano Nachi Taisha

Kumano Nachi Taisha is one of the three grand shrines of Kumano – a sacred region that has drawn pilgrims for well over a thousand years. Together with Kumano Hongu Taisha and Kumano Hayatama Taisha, it forms the heart of the Kumano Sanzan, linked by the ancient Kumano Kodo pilgrimage trails and inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The shrine's origins lie not in a building but in a waterfall: Nachi Falls, at 133 metres Japan's tallest single-drop cascade, revered since ancient times as the dwelling of a deity. Worship here is said to have begun when the legendary first emperor, Jimmu, came ashore nearby, saw the mountain shining, and found the falls. The shrine buildings were later raised on the mountainside in the early fourth century, and Nachi remains unusual among the Kumano shrines for enshrining the waterfall's deity alongside its principal goddess, Kumano Fusumi no Okami – one deity more than its sister shrines.

The falls themselves are worshipped at Hiro Shrine, a sub-shrine at their base. There is no hall here: worshippers face the cascade directly, as the sacred object itself. From a viewing platform reached in a few minutes' walk, you can stand almost level with the plunging water and drink from the pool, said to grant long life.

The grounds hold their own quiet treasures – an 850-year-old sacred camphor tree, its hollow trunk open to walk through, and weeping cherries said to descend from trees planted by retired emperors, which flower each spring. But the shrine's most beloved symbol is the Yatagarasu, the three-legged crow. In myth it was the divine messenger sent to guide Emperor Jimmu through the mountains to Yamato; having finished its task, it is said to have returned to Nachi and turned to stone, a rock still shown in the grounds. It's enshrined here as a deity of guidance and safe travel.

And it has an unexpected modern life. The Yatagarasu is the emblem of the Japan Football Association, worn on the national team's shirts — a choice made in honour of Nakamura Kakunosuke, the father of Japanese football, who was born here in Nachikatsuura. Fans of the Samurai Blue sometimes make the pilgrimage to see where their crest comes from.