According to the shrine’s tradition, the origins of Tamaki Shrine date back to Emperor Jimmu’s eastern expedition, when he prayed for safety at this site guided by the Yatagarasu (a three-legged crow) on his journey from Kumano to Yamato.
Later, during the reign of Emperor Sujin, the 10th emperor, the shrine was established to pray for national peace and the dispelling of evil spirits.
After the opening of the Omine Okugake trail connecting Kumano and Yoshino – yama, the shrine became known as a spiritual training ground and has since been revered as the innermost sanctum of the Kumano Sanzan.
The mountains of Yoshino as seen from the parking area
The parking area is located in front of the First Torii Gate.
Mountains covered with trees
The shrine grounds are home to many giant cedar trees, and beyond them lies the main hall.
If you proceed further beyond the main hall, you can reach the summit of Mount Tamaki, which stands at an altitude of 1,076 meters.
The First Torii Gate
The approach to the shrine is lined with a series of banners of Tamaki Shrine.
It serves as the innermost sanctum of the Kumano Sanzan (Three Grand Shrines of Kumano).
The Kumano Sanzan refers to the three shrines:
Kumano Nachi Taisha
Kumano Hongu Taisha
Kumano Hayatama Taisha
Along the approach to the shrine, there is a “Pillow Lava Deposit Site.” Formed by lava that once flowed from an underwater volcanic eruption and cooled on the ocean floor, these pillow-shaped rocks can now be seen at this location, which stands at an elevation of 1,000 meters.
pillow lava
The path on the right is the approach to the shrine.
“I came across a towering cedar tree.
Beneath the main hall stands the “Great Cedar,” a towering tree revered as a silent guardian of the sacred grounds.
Next to the Great Cedar stands a twin-trunked cedar.
The purification basin below the main hall.
Climbing the stone steps, one reaches the sacred heart of the shrine—the main hall.
This is the main hall of the shrine.
Behind the main hall stands the Kamiyo-sugi—the “Sacred Cedar of the Age of the Gods”.
From the main hall, the path continues deeper into the sacred forest.
This is said to be the site where En no Gyōja—the ascetic who opened the rugged Ōmine Okugake trail over 1,300 years ago—buried a treasure for the sake of future generations.
The summit of Mount Tamaki marks the Tenth Nabiki along the rugged Ōmine Okugake trail. In the sacred tradition of the Kumano Kodo, a Nabiki refers to a spiritual waypoint—a revered site believed to be imbued with the presence of divine beings.
The view from the summit of Mount Tamaki offers a breathtaking panorama—rolling ridgelines, layers of mist-shrouded peaks, and the quiet majesty of the Kii Mountains stretching into the horizon.
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