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Summary
Travel is an act for human beings to visit new places and experience different cultures and histories. Through travel, people can actually feel historical events and people’s lives by visiting historical places and cultural heritage sites, and can gain a deeper understanding of history and broaden their own perspectives. In this section, we will discuss the historical background of the trip and the places visited based on Ryotaro Shiba‘s “Kaido yuku” (On the Road) about this journey and history.
Kaidou wo yuku Volume 8 Kumano michi.
In the previous article, the journey takes us to the northeastern seashore of Hokkaido to inquire about the mysterious “Okhotskers,” a tribe of marine fishermen. This trip will take us to Kumano in Wakayama Prefecture. In this article, I will introduce the Kumano Kodo and describe the Koza Kaido, a trip from Shikusanmi, Susami Town, Wakayama Prefecture, to Koza along the Koza River, passing by Shizuku no Taki Falls, Masago, Ichimaiwa, Myojin no Kawashujuku, Submarine Bridge, and Kawachi Shrine.
Kumano Kodo is an ancient pilgrimage route that stretches through Wakayama Prefecture in Japan, and has long been an object of worship and a leading power spot as a pilgrimage route to the three mountains of Kumano.
Kumano Sanzan (Kumano Hayatama-taisha, Kumano Hongu-taisha, and Kumano Nachi-taisha), the destination of the Kumano Kodo, is the center of Kumano worship since ancient times. The shrine was built in 33 BC and is located in Shingu City, Kumano Hongu-taisha, where Susanoo-no-Mikoto is worshipped as the main deity The main deities enshrined at Kumano Hongu Taisha are the husband-and-wife deity Kumano Hayatama and Kumano-Osumi no Mikoto. Kumano-Hayatama-taisha, where a giant nagi tree, a national natural treasure, is enshrined, and Kumano-Nachi-taisha, a sacred site with a waterfall, where 13 deities, including Kumano-Husumi-taijin, the main deity, are worshipped. The site was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993 as “Kumano Pilgrimage Routes and Related Heritage Sites.
The external appearance of each of the large shrines is as follows.
Kumano Kodo refers to the following six roads.
- Kii Road (Watanobezu – Tanabe)
- Kobeji (Koyasan – Kumano Sanzan, approx. 70 km)
- Nakaheji (Tanabe – Kumano Sanzan)
- Oheji (Tanabe – Kushimoto – Kumano Sanzan, approx. 120 km)
- Ise Road (Ise Jingu – Kumano Sanzan, approx. 160 km)
- Omine Okugakemichi (Yoshino – Kumano Sanzan)
These routes have been developed as pilgrimage routes since ancient times and are popular with many devotees and hikers. Each route has its own historical and cultural value and natural beauty to be enjoyed.
Among the Kumano Kodo routes, the Kiiji route, which is the route from the Osaka area, goes down the Yodo River from Toba Rikyu (present-day Jonanomiya), lands at Kubotsu in Settsu, passes through Kawachi and Izumi provinces while making pilgrimages to Oji shrines along the way, and enters Kii Prefecture by crossing the Onoyama Pass, which is also the present prefectural border. The route then passes through Wakayama City, Kainan City, Arita City, Arita County, Gobo City, and Hidaka County, and leads to Kumano Sanzan via Tanabe City, the junction with Nakaheji and Oheji.
Kobeji is the shortest route between Koyasan and Kumano Sanzan, and is the steepest of all the Kumano pilgrimage routes, traversing the central Kii Peninsula from north to south and crossing three mountain passes over 1,000 m in elevation, including Mount Hakuboshi along the way.
Nakahechi is the route from Tanabe, the end of the Kii Road, into the mountains to Kumano Hongu Shrine. The Nakahechi route is a long and steep mountain road that crosses the Kumano main shrine, which became the official pilgrimage route (Gokodo) during the “Kumano Gokou,” a pilgrimage that was repeated more than 100 times by the imperial family and nobles from the Heian to the Kamakura period (1192-1333).
The Oheji route, which follows the coastline from Tanabe to Kumano Sanzan, is longer than the Oheji route and was the route followed by Shugenja (mountain ascetic practitioners) and “sanjusankyoja” (33 times ascetic practitioners), who made 33 pilgrimages to the western part of the country. Since the Edo period (1603-1867), however, it has been known to be used by people for both religious and sightseeing purposes, and although the extent to which it has been well preserved in its original form is limited, it is a path blessed with beautiful scenery woven by the sea and mountains.
Ise-ji, which runs southward in the eastern part of the Kii Peninsula, connects Ise Shrine and Kumano Sanzan (three mountains) and was called “seven times to Ise, three times to Kumano,” a route of faith, and since the Edo period, Kumano pilgrimages have been held along Ise-ji after visiting Ise. The Kumano Kodo is a place where many Kumano Kodo tourists visit, not only for the stone pavements and bamboo forests typical of the Kumano Kodo, but also for the variety of scenery that can be enjoyed, such as the course from the mountain pass overlooking the Kumano-nada Sea, the course overlooking terraced rice fields said to be the best in Japan, and the pilgrimage route along the Kumano River.
Finally, Omine-Okugakemichi is a mountain trail that connects Kumano and Yoshino and traverses the Omine Mountains, which are said to have been founded by En no Gyoja, the founder of the Shugendo sect of mountain asceticism.
The Kumano Kodo books include “Kumano Kodo: Nakaheji/Iseji” as a hiking guide .
For historical and religious background studies, see “Kumano Sanzan: Seven Mysteries: The Origin of the Japanese View of Life and Death” and others.
Ryotaro Shiba‘s “Kaido yuku Kumano/Koza Kaido” describes the wakashugumi, a custom in western Japan that remains in Kumano. The wakashugumi was an organization that was characteristic of Japan’s unique rural society, and its basic principle was “equality,” and once a person joined, the children of landowners, tenant farmers, and peasants were all equal. This was a rare custom in medieval feudal society.
The main purpose of the wakashugumi was to hold community festivals, and it was considered to be an important institution that would guide individual youths to their own marriages. After joining the wakashu-gumi, the wakashu would not stay at their own house, but in a separate building called a “wakashu yado,” a lodging house for wakashu.
In Kozagawa-cho, Kumano, the remains of this “wakashu inn” can still be seen, and that is where they went to visit.
Another historically famous group in Kumano is the Kumano Suigun, a group of pirates. They visited Shirahama, which flourished as the base of the Kumano Suigun, and talked about its history. Shirahama is now a prosperous seaside resort.
After visiting Shirahama, he returned to Koza again to finish his Kumano/Koza Kaido trip.
The next trip will be to Tanegashima and Yakushima in Kagoshima Prefecture and the Amami Islands.
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