Dangyō-no-taki Waterfalls has been selected as one of the 100 Best Waterfalls in Japan, as well as one of the 100 Best Waters in Japan.

As you approach the path to the waterfalls, two large Japanese cedar trees stand tall at the entrance before you. There is actually a story behind these trees. Every 60 years, Japanese cedar trees would be donated from the Oki Islands for the ceremonial rebuilding of Izumo Taisha Grand Shrine on the mainland of Shimane Prefecture. However, the local people of the area thought it was a waste to give away these trees for free after growing them, so they tried to think of ways to avoid having to cut them down. Then, one young local took down the first torii gate of the shrine and moved it so it would stand just behind the two trees. “These trees are outside the shrine grounds,” they could then say. “They aren’t shrine property; they’re private property, so they can’t be cut down.” In this way, it is said that the trees were able to remain untouched to this day.
Let’s pass between the pair of Japanese cedars and make our way to the waterfalls.

Like the trees, these waterfalls are also a pair. The larger waterfall on the right is called “odaki,” meaning “male waterfall,” and the smaller one on the left is called “medaki,” meaning “female waterfall.” Ono no Takamura, a Japanese poet who was exiled to the Oki Islands in the ninth century, visited here during his exile. He is said to have stood under the waterfall, letting the water strike him as he prayed to be able to return to the capital. His wish was granted, and because of this, the waterfall became known to locals as “winning water.” When a sumo tournament or ushi-zuki bull sumo tournament is held on the island, water is drawn from this waterfall during the night, and is then drunk by bulls and other participants during the starting ceremony of the tournament, to pray for victory.

Let’s walk up the stairs to get a closer look at odaki, the “male waterfall.” This waterfall has a height of about 50 meters. (For safety reasons it is not recommended to walk behind the waterfall, so please enjoy the view from the front only.)
If you look at the rock face behind the waterfall, you will notice a large hollowed-out indentation in the rock, where the lower part of the cliff is eroded more than the upper part. How did it come to be this shape? The answer is in the geology. The upper part of the cliff face is made up of hard lava, and the lower part is made up of softer volcanic ash. Since the lower part is softer, it eroded away more quickly. After that, part of the harder lava above it broke away, creating the shape you can see before you.

This also helps us understand the mechanism of volcanic activity. When a volcano erupts, volcanic ash comes out first, followed by lava. In this way, soft volcanic ash is deposited first, with lava flowing out to harden on top of it. The presence of volcanic ash further down in the basin of the waterfall and the thickness of the lava formation suggest that there was a volcanic crater close to here.

In Japan, it was believed that only a god could create such a large cliff, so a shrine was built here and the giant rock formation became an object of worship.