Stroll alongside the thousand-year-old World Heritage Pilgrimage Path
The Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Route is without doubt one of the world's main non secular routes. Winding by means of the mountains of Honshu's Kii Peninsula, an space spanning the prefectures of Wakayama, Nara, Osaka and Mie, it has been walked by pilgrims on their option to enlightenment for greater than a millennium.
Fashionable vacationers come to expertise moments of quiet contemplation, communing with nature, and going deep into Japan's non secular historical past.
- Stroll the identical paths as earlier pilgrims, together with ascetics, samurai, emperors and monks
- Kumano Nachi-taisha Shrine and its temple, an ideal instance of Shinto-Buddhist fusion
- Reap the benefits of en-route baggage transportation companies so you possibly can trek baggage free of charge
Pilgrimage trails criss-cross the Kii Peninsula and entry will depend on your ultimate vacation spot and the way far you need to go. The primary technique of transportation to the realm are Osaka, Kyoto, and Nagoya utilizing the Kisei Fundamental Line (also called the Kinokuni Line).
Kumano Nachi Taisha Shrine and Nachi Seigantoji Temple are a 30-minute bus journey from Kii-Katsuura Station (on the JR Kinokuni Line) to the shrine and temple car parking zone.
Kumano Hayatama Taisha is a 15-minute stroll from JR Shingu Station, additionally on the JR Kinokuni Line.
Kumano Hongu Taisha is roughly one hour and quarter-hour from Kii-Tanabe Station (on the JR Kinokuni Line) by Ryujin Bus on the Kumano Hongu Line. Get off on the Kumano Hongu Taisha-mae cease.
Quick details
Your entire pilgrimage route consists of seven trails
In 2004, the normal trails, together with their sacred mountains, have been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Website
The legendary three-legged crow is the image of Kumano Kodo and the Japanese nationwide soccer workforce
Kumano, the abode of the gods
Since its beginnings, the Kumano area has been thought of a spiritually highly effective area the place gods inhabit the very material of the pure panorama.
Through the Heian interval (794-1185), former emperors started making the arduous journey to the area searching for non secular enlightenment. Since then, the pilgrimage has regularly gained wider consciousness.
The non secular triumvirate of Kumano Sanzan
Collectively they’re the sacred heart of the Kumano area. Uniquely designed, these three initially supplied separate types of nature worship and ultimately merged to turn into a significant pilgrimage web site.
99 Oji Shrines as Non secular Indicators
Whereas the Kumano Sanzan shrines stay a significant attraction of the pilgrimage, there are a lot of smaller shrines scattered alongside the route. Referred to as the 99 Oji shrines, their objective is to supply safety and steerage for wandering pilgrims.
Non secular concord by means of Shinbutsu-shugo
Earlier than political politics separated them within the late nineteenth century, Buddhism and Shinto coexisted fully as Shinbutsu-shugo, a fusion of the 2 perception techniques. Shinto gods have been thought of indigenous manifestations of Buddhist deities. This has been the usual in Japan for over a thousand years.
Within the nineteenth century, Buddhism was separated from Shinto and plenty of temples and Buddhist statues have been destroyed.
Though it’s fairly uncommon right now to search out interwoven Buddhist and Shinto components, the Kumano Nachi Taisha Shrine and the adjoining Nachi Seigantoji Temple illustrate the normal relationship very properly.
