Kumano Hongu Taisha Shrine and Oyunohara

Oyunohara was the former location of Kumano Hongu Taisha. At the time, the grounds were several times larger than the current scale with five complexes of 12 shrine buildings, a two-story Romon gate, Kagura-den dance stage, Noh theater stage and other facilities. A great flood in 1889 swept away many of the buildings, but four buildings which survived the disaster were relocated and enshrined in the current Kumano Hongu Taisha location. Today, as if to protect the land, Japan's largest torii gate standing 34 meters tall and 42 meters wide towers over the thick forests of Oyunohara, a magnificent sight which can be seen from a great distance away.

Built using locally sourced lumber, the wooden, one-story building of the Kumano Hongu Heritage Center is located right in front of Kumano Hongu Taisha. The center houses the offices of the Kumano Hongu Tourist Association, the base for various tourism information, and the Wakayama World Heritage Center, which serves to maintain and utilize the World Heritage site. There are also exhibitions introducing the history of the shrine and the worship and pilgrimage of Kumano, as well as an area where visitors can learn about the World Heritage site of the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range. The warm interior built from local Kishu lumber is designed to express the beautiful natural view of Koya and Kumano, as if standing among the sunbeams filtering through the cedar forest of the Kii Mountain Range.