Historical
Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Trails
Alena EckelmannFor over 1,000 years Kumano has attracted Japanese worshippers and seekers, and old trails, more or less intact, cross-cross Wakayama's..
Kumano Kodo
For over 1,000 years, Japanese people from all walks of life, including retired emperors and aristocrats, have made the arduous pilgrimage of Wakayama. The Kumano Kodo is a network of ancient pilgrimage routes that traverse the Kii Peninsula in southern Wakayama Prefecture. These sacred paths have become Created to serve as pilgrimage routes to enter the sacred Kumano Sanzan area, which includes the three great shrines of Kumano Hongū Taisha, Kumano Nachi Taisha and Kumano Hayatama Taisha. In July 2004, the Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Routes were established as part of the "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range" added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
There are 4 main routes in total: The Nakahechi Route is the most popular route. From the 10th century onwards, the Nakahechi route was used extensively by the imperial family on pilgrimages from Kyoto. The Kohechi route connects the Buddhist temple complex of Koyasan and Kumano-Sanzan. Hikers should be well prepared if they want to take this route. The Ohechi Route offers picturesque views over the Pacific, while the Iseji Route features a variety of mountain passes, bamboo forests, terraced rice fields and beaches.
Overview
Address
Nachikatsuura, Higashimuro District, Wakayama 〒649-5302 (Map) (Directions)Price
Free
Website
Highlights
Nakahechi Route
Takijiri-oji shrine marks the beginning of the Nakahechi trail, one of several old pilgrimage trails that crisscross the Kii Peninsula. Takijiri-oji is considered to be the point where “the passage into the precincts of the sacred mountains begins.”
Discover Nakahechi Route
Ohechi Route
The Ohechi Route (大辺路) follows the 92 km southern coast trail around the Kii peninsula, from Tanabe to the west, around to Nachi Taisha.
Kohechi Route
The Kohechi Route (小辺路) is a 64 km trail connecting the Kumano Sanzan area to the Buddhist mountaintop temple complex of Koyasan to the north. Following rugged mountainous terrain, it is considered one of the most strenuous routes. This joins up with another sacred route, the 24 km Koyasan Choishimichi route which originates at Jison-in temple at the foot of Mount Koya, in the Kudoyama area of Wakayama.
Iseji Route
Hike the ancient path of the gods, following the 170 km Iseji Route (伊勢路) which connects Kumano Sanzan to Japan's most sacred shrine of Ise to the east in Mie prefecture.
Kiji Route
One of the three main Kumano Sankeimichi (熊野参詣道), the Kiji Route travels along the western coast of Wakayama (originating as far as Osaka/Kyoto), before splitting into two routes, the inland Nakahechi Route and the coastal Ohechi Route.
Omine Okugake Trail
The 80 km Omine Okugake trail (大峯奥駈道) stems north past the Omine mountains to the Yoshino area's Kinpusenji temple – a sacred place for Shugendo. Photo: Indiana Jo /CC BY-SA 4.0
What's unique
- UNESCO World Heritage Site
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