The Kumano Kodo is a thousand year old pilgrimage where you can walk in the footsteps of ancient Samurai and Japanese Emperors. Located on the rugged Kii Peninsula, nestled in the misty Kumano mountains, the Kumano Kodo leads you round three mystic shrines...
Written for AUSWALK WALKING HOLIDAYS
The Kumano Kodo Story
Natural Origins
The Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage exists simply because the Kumano mountains are blessed with incredible natural beauty, and the forests, waterfalls and hot springs have been drawing people to the area for thousands of years. The Japanese propensity to appreciate and worship nature even developed into a religion – Shinto – which remains one of the strongest faiths in Japan to this day. Shinto doesn’t have a founder or a particular scripture to follow, and the Shinto gods, or ‘kami’ take the form of natural elements such as wind, rain, mountains, trees and rivers. Over time the three grand Shrines of the Kumano were built to represent these natural spirits, and now they form the centre piece of the Pilgrimage.
The World of Darkness
The Kumano region actually used to be called Yomi-no-kuni, which also comes from Shinto, and translates to the Land of the Dead or The World of Darkness. Yomi-no-kuni isn’t a fire and brimstone kind of place though, it’s simply an underworld where you go when you die, regardless of how you behaved when you were alive. In other words, it’s a Japanese form of heaven.
Buddhism Arrives
In the 6th Century Buddhism arrived in Kumano, and the area became a center of ascetic practices. Eventually the Shinto spirits were believed to be emanations of Buddha, and the three shrines began to be worshipped as one – called the Kumano Sanzo. This peaceful blending of religions is alive and well today. People happily worship separate deities, or the same ones for different reasons, throughout the region. Official Kumano pilgrim etiquette even states that you should respect the faith of past and present worshippers, and that you greet others with a smile and a warm heart.
Royalty & Aristocrats
Two centuries later, the next swathe of pilgrims began visiting the region....
The Samurai
Towards the end of the 12th Century....
Kumano democratised
By the 15th Century an emerging economy allowed...
In 2004 Kumano was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the natural beauty of the area is being discovered once again by Japanese, and overseas pilgrims alike.
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