This wooden temple, absent of colour and next to the Shintō shrine Kumano Nachi Taisha, was last rebuilt in 1590, making it the oldest building in Kii (legend takes its founding back another 1000-plus years). The gong above the offering box in the main hall is the largest in Japan, a gift from warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
The temple's three-storey pagoda, a vividly painted modern reconstruction, has views of Nachi-no-taki waterfall from the upper level (admission ¥300). The pagoda foregrounding the waterfall has become the classic image of Nachi.
