In The Mix

Summer 2006

Nachi-no-taki Falls
by Jeff Hayward

 

Kiloware, mixtures and packets, I just never seem to be able to purchase enough.  Hunting through these lots every month provides many stamps for my topical and country collections.  In each issue of NATURE’S WONDERS I will write about some of my favorite EPF finds.

 

 

Whenever I go through mixtures from Japan I am never disappointed.  With too many stamps to list this month I have selected one of my favorites from the mix, Nachi-no-taki Falls.  This stamp was issued as a se-tenant pair highlighting the Mountains and Sea of the Southern Kii Peninsula in the Wakayama Prefecture of Japan on April 28^th, 1999.  The falls are located in Yoshino-Kumano National Park in the Wakayama Prefecture.  The other stamp from this se-tenant pair shows Engetsutou Island.  Unfortunately the Engetsutou did not show up in my mix.

 

Yoshino-Kumano National Park extends through parts of the Mie, Nara, and Wakayama Prefectures.  The Wakayama Prefecture is located on the southwestern side of the Kii Peninsula on the island of Honshu.  The falls and the area surrounding the falls are considered sacred and several temples and shrines located there.  In the surrounding area of the 133 meter high(436 ft) falls are the Hiro Shrine which is dedicated to the falls, the Kumano-Nachi Shrine which is dedicated to the surrounding mountains and the Seigantoji Temple which is dedicated to the Buddhist goddess of mercy, Kannon.  The surrounding primeval forests of the Nachi Mountains are the source of the falls.