Nachi Waterfall: A Lone White Waterfall to Which People Offer Their Prayers

Nachi Waterfall

(Higashimuro District, Wakayama)

【Taki (滝)】 means “waterfall” in Japanese. Water springs from the mountains, rushes over a cliff, and plunges into the pool below, turning into a cloud of white mist along the way. When you stand beside a waterfall, you can feel the fine spray on your skin, creating an cleansing sensation—as if even your mind were being washed clean. This feeling might be one reason people have revered waterfalls as sacred places since ancient times.

A tradition of worshipping nature itself as sacred developed in ancient Japan. Mountains, rocks, great trees, rivers, and waterfalls were all revered with a sense of awe and respect because they were believed to possess powers far beyond those of human beings. Mountains are seen as symbols of stillness, while waterfalls are regarded as symbols of movement.

Located in Wakayama Prefecture, Nachi Waterfall is one of the waterfalls that has been worshipped as sacred since ancient times, as well as one of the most famous waterfalls in Japan.

A torii gate stands in front of the waterfall. Beyond it, nature itself is regarded as the deity—the sacred presence believed to dwell there. Unlike ordinary shrines, where the deity is enshrined in a shrine hall, there is no shrine building here. Instead, people offer their prayers directly to the waterfall.

Standing before Nachi Waterfall, it is impossible not to sense the grandeur of the natural world that inspired people to pray here thousands of years ago. The thunderous sound of falling water and the fragrance of the surrounding forest create an atmosphere that makes you feel immersed in the nature.

The waterfall has also been depicted in numerous Japanese waka poems, which capture the feeling of being enveloped by the sacred atmosphere of the deep forest.

“The waterfall plunges down, a dense blue realm, thundering through”

(Mizuhara Syuoko)

According to the tradition recorded by the shrine, in 662 BCE, Jimmu, during his legendary eastern expedition and before becoming the first emperor of Japan, reached Nachi Waterfall while following the light of a shining mountain.

In later centuries, particularly during the medieval period, many emperors and emperor emeritus are recorded as having made pilgrimages to Nachi to seek the spiritual power and blessings of the sacred site.

The most iconic view of Nachi is a single white ribbon of water cascading down through the deep green forest, with a vermilion three-story pagoda standing quietly beside it. Even today, many visitors come to see this spectacular combination of nature and architecture.

There is also something deeply characteristic of Japanese religious culture in this scene. The waterfall is a sacred object of worship in Shinto, while the pagoda is a Buddhist structure. The two exist side by side in the same sacred landscape.

This reflects the syncretic tradition in which Shinto and Buddhist deities were worshipped together. Rather than being seen as contradictory, Shinto and Buddhism were intertwined and became part of everyday life, religious practice, and even the landscape itself.

The three-story pagoda had already existed here more than 500 years ago, unfortunately it was destroyed by fire during the Warring States period in the 16th century. The present pagoda was reconstructed in 1972, and visitors can climb to the third floor.

Nachi Waterfall is part of the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range, which was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Please visit the Kumano Hayatama Taisha website.