The Nachi no Ogi Matsuri takes place every July 14 at Kumano Nachi Taisha Grand Shrine, one of the three great Kumano shrines, and unfolds against the backdrop of Nachi-no-Taki, Japan's tallest single-drop waterfall at 133 meters. Twelve enormous fan-shaped portable mikoshi, each representing a deity enshrined at Nachi Taisha, are carried down and then back up the shrine's long stone staircase in a ceremony symbolizing the deity's purification in the sacred waterfall. The giant fans, measuring up to 2 meters tall, are decorated with golden imagery of the waterfall itself. The festival is part of the UNESCO-recognized Kumano pilgrimage culture.
- Type
- Festival
- Category
- Matsuri
- Season
- Summer
- Month
- July 14
- Region
- Kansai
- Prefecture
- Wakayama
- City
- Nachikatsuura
Highlights
- ◆12 giant decorative fan mikoshi carried to Japan's tallest waterfall
- ◆Sacred ceremony at UNESCO-linked Kumano Nachi Taisha
- ◆133-meter Nachi-no-Taki waterfall as dramatic backdrop
- ◆Ancient purification ritual with waterfall deity symbolism
- ◆White-robed priests and centuries-old Shinto ceremony