Kumano Kodō

[注釈 2] The area around Kumano was a place of nature worship, as mentioned in the Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of Japan).

Currently, the Wakayama Prefectural Tourism Promotion Division is playing a central role in developing the routes and making it a tourist attraction by organizing stamp rallies and other events.

In September 2011, many people died and infrastructure and geology in the area was heavily damaged by landslides and flooding caused by Tropical Storm Talas (Typhoon #12).

According to the diary of Fujiwara no Teika, who accompanied Emperor Go-Toba on his Kumano pilgrimage in 1201 during the Kamakura period (1185-1333), the journey was made on foot in principle, with luggage carried on horseback, and the roads were maintained accordingly.

Each shrine has a particular focus for the benefits that the gods convey and the fortunes they bestow on the past, present, and future respectively.

They are embodied in natural wonders - Nachi Falls, a giant boulder at Mount Gongenyama, and the sacred Kumano River.

The completion of the pilgrimage is said to automatically grant entrance into the bodhisattva of compassion Kannon's pure land upon death.

Izanami-no-Mikoto Kumano-Fusumi-no-Okami The Kumano Gongen are similar to many other gods in Japan, in that they are understood by Buddhists, under the principle of honji suijaku, to be incarnations of buddhas and bodhisattvas.

[6] Shugendo monks (Yamabushi) have served as guides on the trail since ancient times and form an integral part of the religion of the area.

The pilgrimage became popular among boatbuilders and fishermen as it is said to be where Susano created the first boat after witnessing a drowning spider climb onto a leaf.

Among these are the daru spirits, serpentine witch beings who can turn invisible and penetrate a pilgrim's body to apply physical torments.

[8][6] While not as popular today, the ancient Kōshin religion persists along the Kumano Kodo in the form of monuments and shrines.

One of the central features of this religion is the belief that three parasites live in the human body and will ascend to heaven once a month to report the person's sins.

Today, the majority of the Kiiji route is paved roads and rural and urban areas that show little resemblance to the past.

While there is tourist information available for this route, it is not frequently travelled today and is primarily freeways which can make it dangerous for a walker to traverse.

From Hongū, most pilgrims would take a boat down the Kumano River to The Nakahechi route was the most popular for pilgrimages from Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan.

The trail has a long history of use by people with diverse belief backgrounds, leading to mixed religious symbolism overlaid and incorporated into the setting and stages of the pilgrimage.

[citation needed] The UNESCO World Heritage registered section begins at Takijiri-oji, which is considered to be the point of entry to the sacred area of Kumano.

[citation needed] The Akagi-goe is a relatively recent route that was established within the last few hundred years to reach Yunomine onsen more quickly from the west before continuing onto Hongū.

It covers 6.5 km from Mikoshi-toge pass to Yunomine onsen and is a relatively leisurely walk along steep mountain ridges.

This 40 km section of the Kumano Kodō is the only river pilgrimage route that is registered as a World Heritage site.

The section between Koguchi and Kumano Nachi Taisha is called the Ogumotori-goe and features the hardest part of the whole pilgrimage, the Dogiri-zaka or 'backbreaking slope' which climbs one kilometre in elevation.

This route travels from Nachi through rural suburbs until reaching the seaside town of Nachikatsuura, where Fudarakusan-ji temple is located.

This temple was a base for Kumano monks who would be sealed in enclosed boats with a small amount of supplies and sent off into the Philippine Sea to find the southern pure land.

The route then continues roughly perpendicular to the coast and Kinokuni JR train-line and follows the freeway and local streets.

[9][citation needed] Today, much of the Iseji walk is on paved roads through urban and rural coastal areas.

The route connecting Mount Ōmine to the Kumano Sanzan is an extremely steep and difficult one traversed by yamabushi (Shugendo monks) of Shogo-in temple in Kyoto as part of their religious practice.

These people would travel to Kumano Hongu Shrine and the Yunomine Onsen baths in the hope of being cured of their illnesses.

The reason why the Kiiji route is not World Heritage registered is because it was repaired and widened as a prefectural road and a mountain trail.

This is still the case today, and as a result, the main modern transportation routes parallel or overlap with the paths pioneered by the ancients.

An ancient statue of a young boy riding a cow and a horse at the same time by straddling both at once. The boy is an early emperor on the Kumano pilgrimage. It is set within the forest and is near sacred Buddhist sites.
Gyuba-doji, a statue of the young Emperor Kazan on pilgrimage riding a horse and a cow. The emperor named the area Chikatsuyu .
An image of Nachi Falls, part of the Kumano Nachi Taisha shrine complex, the waterfall is visible over a three-storied Buddhist pagoda.
Nachi Falls in the background of the Kumano Nachi Taisha shrine complex. The pagoda is Seiganto-ji .
Monks with cropped hair and walking staves hiking up a steep mountain trail in white robes.
Yamabushi on the Omine route.
A talisman in the form of ricepaper that has been stamped with kanji symbols except the symbols are made of crows.
Gyuoh Hoin talisman from Kumano Hongu Taisha.
A hanging fabric at Kumano Nachi Taisha, depicting two three-legged crows holding a plant.
A depiction of Yatagarasu at Kumano Nachi Taisha.
An image of Takijiri-oji shrine, the formal entryway into the holy land of Kumano. It is a wooden shrine building with stone lanterns in the front set against forested mountains.
Takijiri-oji shrine, the formal entryway into the holy land of Kumano.
An image of the entrance of Kumano Hongu Taisha, a torii gate stands prominently in front of tall green trees. To the side are Japanese paper lanterns, and a prominent banner stands in front of a three-legged-crow.
The entrance to Kumano Hongu Taisha and terminus of the first leg of the Nakahechi.
An image of a hot spring bath carved out of rock in a wooden building.
Tsuboyu, ancient onsen at Yunomine.
An image of a steep path with roughhewn cobblestones through a pine forest plantation, the road is old and very worn.
Steep cobblestones on the Ogumotori-goe road.
A reproduction of a sealed wooden boat.
A reproduction of a boat used by the Fudarakusanji monks setting off for the southern pure land.
An image of monks in orange robes walking on a stone path with Buddhist monuments in the background.
Buddhist monks at Mount Koya, the start of the Kohechi route.
An image of Ise Grand Shrine Naikū, one of the large wooden shrines that make up the most sacred Shinto site in Japan. The site enshrines Amaterasu and there are many imperial symbols visible.
Ise Grand Shrine Naikū
An image of the forest covered hills of Mount Omine and Mount Misen, the rolling mountains are popularly likened to the waves of the sea stretching to the horizon.
Mount Ōmine next to Mount Misen, an example of the 'ocean of mountains' in the region.
An image of people walking on a gravel forested path, the central focus is a large rock monument with a brass plate commemorating the establishment of the UNESCO World Heritage site.
UNESCO World Heritage monument on the Dainichigoe road.