Kumano Kodō

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The Kumano Kodō (熊野古道, Kumano Kodō^?) is a series of ancient pilgrimage routes that crisscross the Kii-hanto, the largest Peninsula of Japan. These sacred trails were and are still used for the pilgrimage to the sacred site "Kumano Sanzan" (熊野三山）, or the Three Grand Shrines of Kumano: Kumano Hongu Taisha (熊野本宮大社), Kumano Nachi Taisha (熊野那智大社) and Kumano Hayatama Taisha (熊野早玉大社). The Kumano Kodō pilgrimage routes that lead to Kumano can be geographically categorized into three sub-routes: "Kiji", "Kohechi" and "Iseji". The Kumano Kodō and Kumano Sanzan, along with Koyasan and Yoshino & Omine, were registered as UNESCO World Heritage on July 7, 2004 as the "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range".

The "Kiji" route runs along the west coast of the peninsula to the city of Tanabe where it forks into two: "Nakahechi" and "Ohechi". The "Nakahechi" route leads into the rugged interior mountains towards Kumano Hongu Taisha and the "Ohechi" continues south along the coast. The "Nakahechi route" was the most popular route used by pilgrimages from Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan. The earliest records of the use of this route dates from the early 10th century. The trail has a long history of use by people with diverse belief backgrounds leading to a variety of mixed religious symbolism overlaid and incorporated into the geographical setting and stages of the pilgrimage itself. 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. From here it is about 40 km of mountainous trial before you reach the mystical Kumano Hongu Taisha. Most pilgrimages break the journey into a two day walk. The Chikatsuyu-oji is about halfway and most pilgrims stay the night here at a local minshuku, or Family Inn.

In Hongu pilgrims often did purification rites in Yunomine Onsen (Yunomine Hotspring). Tsuboyu is a small cabin on the creek that runs through this isolated onsen village. Inside is a small rocky bath that is the only World Heritage hotspring that you can bath in in the world. For 750 yen you can reserve this historic bath for 30 minutes. It was not only used for purification rites but for its legendary healing effects. The Kumano Kodō Dainichi-goe route links Kumano Hongu Taisha with Yunomine. It's 2 km long and is a steep climb and descend over a small pass.

From the Kumano Hongu Taisha most pilgrims went by boat on the Kumano River to Kumano Hayatama Taisha in the coastal town of Shingu. This 40 km section of the Kumano Kodō is also World Heritage and the only river pilgrimage route in the world that is registered as UNESCO World Heritage. There is also an overland route which links Kumano Hongu Taisha with Kumano Nachi Taisha. Most pilgrims take two days to complete this walk staying in the small town of Koguchi. The section between Hongu and Koguchi is called the Kogumotori-goe and the section between Koguchi and Kumano Nachi Taisha is called Okumotori-goe.

The "Kohechi" route links Koyasan to the Kumano Sanzan. It runs North to South and is 70 km long. It is the shortest route connected Koyasan to Kumano but is a tough walk which traverses 3 passes of over 1000 meters.

The "Iseji" route links Ise Jingu (Ise Shrine) with the Kumano Sanzan. It wasn't until the 17th century that this route became used as part of the Saikogu pilgrimage, the first temple being the Seiganto-ji Temple that is closely related with the Kumano Nachi Taisha.