Kumano jinja

Ancient Region Known for Shugendo
Kumano Shrine stands on the northern mountain overlooking Suwa Taisha Shimosha Harumiya.
Surrounded by cedars, the stone steps continue through the dim green dappled sunlight.
This area, where Kumano Shrine is located, has been known since ancient times as a region where Shugendo (mountain asceticism) was popular, and it is said to have been founded as a guardian deity of the land.

Midway up the stone steps stands a building designated as a town cultural property, the Gyoya.
The Gyoya, built during the Edo period, served as a place for ascetic practitioners to train.
It functioned similarly to what we now consider community centers or public halls.

Climbing the stone steps leads to the worship hall and a hip-and-gable structure on the right.
It is unclear whether this building is used as another Gyoya, an office, or a shrine storehouse.
In front of the gabled worship hall stands an onbashira, with more stone steps and the main hall extending up the slope behind.

The shrine grounds feature numerous remnants of its history as a place for Shugendo, with various stone monuments and auxiliary shrines.
The nearby Fudō Waterfall, where ascetics purified their minds and bodies, adds to the shrine's deeply atmospheric setting.