Nachi Falls, Waterfall in Nachikatsuura, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan
Nachi Falls drops 133 meters down a nearly vertical quartz porphyry cliff, 13 meters wide at its lip. At the top the rock has a notch that splits the water into three streams, which is why it is also called the Three-Threaded Waterfall. A shimenawa rope of white cloth hangs at the lip, renewed each New Year and before the Nachi Fire Festival.
Monks traveling through the Kumano mountains discovered the waterfall during the Heian period and built a shrine beside its base. Excavations in the early 20th century uncovered mirrors and statues left by pilgrims over many centuries.
The falls are the shintai, the bodily presence, of Hiryū Gongen, the kami also worshipped at Kumano Nachi Taisha. A shimenawa rope of dried cloth hangs at the lip of the fall and is replaced each New Year and before the Nachi Fire Festival. A Shinto priest makes offerings at the water early each morning.
Visitors reach the waterfall by taking a bus from Kii-Katsuura station and then descending stone steps that can become slippery after rain. A small viewing platform allows close observation of the water without standing directly beneath the falling stream.
Two rocks at the top of the cliff mark the seat of guardian spirits according to local tradition, watching over the water below. Most visitors do not notice these stones because they are barely visible from the viewing platform at the base.
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