Niutsuhime Shrine

Shrine World Heritage

Prefecture

Wakayama

Type

Shrine · World Heritage: Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range

N/A

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About This Destination

The main shrine of old Kii Province, in the quiet Amano basin below Koyasan. By the shrine's tradition its goddess gave the mountain to Kukai, and pilgrims were expected to pray here before going up. It is one of the component parts of the Kii Mountain Range World Heritage property. Entry is free; buses from Kaseda Station run five times a day.

Most people bound for Koyasan never see Amano. The shrine stands in a small farming basin about 450 metres up, between the Kinokawa valley and the mountain, a place the essayist Shirasu Masako wrote about as one of the 'hidden villages' in her book Kakure-zato. It is quiet in a way that Koyasan on a weekend is not.

Niutsuhime Shrine was the first-ranked shrine of Kii Province and is the head of the roughly 180 Niu shrines around Japan. Its story is bound up with Koyasan's. According to the shrine, and to tales such as those in the Konjaku Monogatari, Kukai was led here by a hunter with a white dog and a black dog, and the goddess Niutsuhime gave him the mountain for his monastery. Pilgrims were expected to pray here before climbing; going straight up was called a one-sided pilgrimage. The shrine is one of the component parts of the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range, listed in 2004 along with Kongobu-ji and the pilgrim paths.

You approach over the Rinkyo, a steeply arched bridge said to have been given by Yodo-dono, the consort of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The shrine's website says it is closed because its boards are damaged, so expect to go round it. Past the mirror pond and a second torii stands the vermilion two-storey Romon gate, and behind it four main halls in a row, both Muromachi-period work and Important Cultural Properties. You pray in front of the gate and see the halls over the fence, which is a little frustrating, but the roofline of four red halls is the picture.

On the 16th of each month except October the shrine's two Kishu dogs come out from 10:00 to 11:30 and 13:00 to 14:30, a nod to the dogs in the Kukai story. The bare site of a pagoda and a hall said to have been built by Hojo Masako, both pulled down in the Meiji separation of Shinto and Buddhism, is a reminder of how Buddhist this place once was.

The catch is getting here. Five buses a day come up from Kaseda Station, and there is almost no public transport on to Koyasan; by car it is about 30 minutes to the Daimon gate. Walkers on the Koyasan Choishi-michi can drop down from the Futatsu-torii by the Hatcho-zaka path, about 30 minutes each way, as pilgrims once did.

Location

Prefecture: Wakayama

Address: Katsuragi, Wakayama, Japan

Nearest Station: Niutsuhime Jinja-mae bus stop (community bus from Kaseda Station)

Best time to visit: Year-round; the 16th of any month except October if you want to meet the shrine dogs; autumn for the Amano rice fields and leaves

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Visitor Information

Credit Cards: Unknown

Official Website

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get to Niutsuhime Shrine without a car?

Take the JR Wakayama Line to Kaseda Station, then the Katsuragi town community bus (Amano course) to the Niutsuhime Jinja-mae stop, about 30 minutes for 200 yen. There are only five buses a day each way, so plan around the timetable or take a taxi from Kaseda, about 20 minutes.

Can I combine the shrine with Koyasan in one day?

By car, yes: the Daimon gate of Koyasan is about 30 minutes away. Without a car it is awkward, because there is almost no public transport between the two, and going back down to Kaseda and round by train takes most of a day. Walkers can reach the shrine from the Koyasan Choishi-michi via the Futatsu-torii and the Hatcho-zaka path, about 30 minutes each way.

When can I see the shrine dogs?

On the 16th of every month except October, from 10:00 to 11:30 and 13:00 to 14:30. The dogs are Kishu dogs, a breed from the Kii Peninsula, and the custom recalls the white and black dogs said to have led Kukai to Amano. The shrine cancels at short notice if a dog is unwell and posts it on its social media.

Why is the shrine part of the Kii Mountain Range World Heritage site?

Because it is the guardian shrine of Koyasan. By tradition its goddess gave the mountain to Kukai, pilgrims prayed here before going up, and for over a thousand years monks as well as priests looked after it. It was listed in 2004 as one of the component parts of the property, alongside Kongobu-ji, Jison-in and the Koyasan pilgrim routes.