Minamimuro

Southern Muro lies on the rugged Kumano coast of Kii, where mountains meet the open Pacific. At Hana no Iwaya, a great rock facing the sea is revered as the burial place of Izanami, mother of the gods in Japanese myth. Flowers offered in her honour are said to have given the shrine its name. Instead of a conventional sanctuary, the rock itself forms the sacred object around which worship is conducted.