KUMANO SHRINE
(Based on a photograph by Aoi Tokugawa).
No one comes here any longer.
The shrine slowly weathers and crumbles into dust.
Are we so advanced that we can forget the kami?
A Kumano shrine (熊野神社 Kumano Jinja) is a type
of Shintō shrine which enshrines the three Kumano mountains: Hongū, Shingū, and
Nachi (Kumano Gongen (熊野権現)). There are more than 3000 Kumano shrines in
Japan, and each has received its kami from another Kumano shrine through a
process of propagation called bunrei (分霊) or kanjō (勧請). The point of origin of the Kumano cult is the Kumano Sanzan shrine
complex, which includes Kumano Hayatama Taisha (熊野速玉大社) (Wakayama Prefecture,
Shingu), Kumano Hongu Taisha (Wakayama Prefecture, Tanabe), and Kumano Nachi
Taisha (Wakayama Prefecture, Nachikatsuura).
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