Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine (上色見熊野座神社)

Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine sits inside a cryptomeria forest so dense that the 100 stone torii gates ascending through it appear to emerge from shadow rather than earth. Each gate is covered in moss the colour of seawater, and the path they mark climbs 300 metres through a gorge to a cave carved into the cliff face — a cave that was a site of mountain asceticism centuries before the shrine was built. The anime Hotarubi no Mori e made the shrine famous in 2011, but its strangeness predates any modern pilgrimage: this is a place where the boundary between forest and shrine has dissolved completely.

The shrine was established in 1097 during the late Heian period, though the cave above it — known as Anagura no Iwaya — was used for religious practice long before. The site was chosen because of this cave, which local yamabushi (mountain ascetics) considered a direct entrance to the underworld. The shrine was built to enshrine Izanagi and Izanami, the creator deities, specifically in their aspect as gods who descended to Yomi, the land of the dead. During the Edo period, the stone torii gates were donated incrementally by local families and pilgrims, creating the long corridor that now defines the shrine’s identity. The forest grew around them undisturbed.

Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto are the primary deities, worshipped here in their chthonic aspect — not as creators of the islands of Japan, but as figures who crossed into death. Izanami died giving birth to fire and descended to Yomi; Izanagi followed her and witnessed her decay. The shrine also enshrines Tamayori-hime, a goddess associated with spirit possession and mediumship, reinforcing the site’s connection to liminal states and communication between worlds. This is not a shrine of beginnings, but of thresholds.

The cave at the summit is the centre of the shrine’s mythology. According to local tradition, the demon Ōkimishi lived in the cave and terrorised the region until the legendary archer Takeuchi Sukune — advisor to multiple emperors — came to subdue him. Takeuchi shot an arrow into the cave, and Ōkimishi was either killed or driven deep into the mountain, depending on the version. The indentation in the cave wall is said to be the mark left by Takeuchi’s supernatural strength when he kicked the rock face. The shrine was built to seal this portal and to honour the deities who govern passage between the living world and the dead. Pilgrims still leave offerings in the cave.

The shrine’s honden (main hall) is modest — a small wooden structure at the base of the torii path. The true architecture is the 100 moss-covered stone torii gates that climb the mountain in irregular intervals, some leaning, some half-buried in forest debris. The path is steep and uneven, following the natural contours of the gorge. At the top, the Anagura no Iwaya cave opens approximately 10 metres wide and extends back into darkness. A small stone altar sits at the cave mouth. The forest throughout is ancient cryptomeria (sugi), some trees over 400 years old, their roots interwoven with the torii foundations. Sunlight rarely penetrates the canopy.

• Reitaisai (Autumn Festival, October) — The main annual festival includes processions and offerings at both the main shrine and the cave altar, honouring the protective deities and the sealing of the demon.
• Hatsumode (New Year) — Local families make the climb to pray for safety and protection, a tradition that acknowledges the shrine’s role as a guardian against malevolent forces from the underworld.
• Individual Pilgrimage — The shrine has no formal group rituals outside festivals; most visitors come alone or in pairs to walk the torii path in silence, a practice that has intensified since the anime increased its visibility.

Early morning in autumn, particularly late October and November, when the humidity makes the moss luminous and the cryptomeria needles turn the forest floor copper. The shrine is remote enough that weekday mornings guarantee solitude. Avoid weekends and holidays, especially after rainfall when the stone steps become treacherous. Winter offers stark beauty but requires proper footwear for ice. Spring brings new moss growth. The climb takes 20 to 30 minutes at a careful pace; there is no artificial lighting.