"The path to enlightenment, I discovered, began with a blessing, a wish, and a series of jumping jacks on an unseasonably warm morning in April." ---Lale Arikoglu regarding the Kumano Kodo Trail.
Leaving from Kyoto, it took a bullet train, a regular train, and a very overcrowded bus to reach the rugged stretch of the Kii Peninsula, where the Kumano Kodō unspools across the mountain range like veins on a leaf. We started at the quiet Takijiri-oji shrine that marks the entrance to Kumano’s Nakahechi route. Our guide for the trail, Jennifer (a Filipina turned Japanese citizen) said a prayer for us. Little did we know how much we needed it to get through Day 1! The trail had us winding our way along 10th-century trails, past crumbling and abandoned structures, small stone oji shrines (99 in total along the way, many of which are overgrown)-- all easy to miss when you’re sidestepping bulging tree roots and slippery moss-covered rocks. (Reminiscent of numerous East Tennessee hikes!) These days, the routes are popular with both local and foreign hikers, but it was once where Japan’s retired emperors and samurai chose to go to repent their sins. The isolated routes are notoriously steep, and pilgrims would walk for months with their entourages to pray at one or all of the three Grand Shrines (the actual goal of the walk), some members dying from exhaustion along the way. We weren't sure at certain points if we wouldn't meet a similar fate.
We often walked for long distances without encountering another soul, though Shinto worshippers would disagree: They believe that spirits congregate among the trees in this sacred part of Japan, and small markers punctuate the paths to acknowledge the deaths of fallen pilgrims, like Koban Jizo, who died from fatigue in 1854 with a single gold coin in his mouth—payment for transporting his body back down to the town below. The shrine for Koban Jizo was built by the villagers to let future pilgrims know the village is only 100 meters ahead.
In 2004, Kumano Kodō was registered as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO as part of "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range." This was the first time in Japan that a road was registered as a World Heritage site, and the second case of a World Heritage site as a whole, following the "Pilgrimage Route of Santiago de Compostela" in Spain which is considered a sister pilgrimage. In fact, you can get a compostela as a Dual Pilgrim. Paul and I qualified but could not find the office to get our certificate. Next time?
Our Kumano guide, Jennifer.
The first of the three great temples is Hongu. Hongu, a very small town of less than 4,000 people is located among the mountains in the interior of the Kii peninsula in the middle of network of pilgrimage routes that link the shrines throughout the peninsula.
For most of its history the shrine-temple complex was located nearby on a sandbank of the river called Oyunohara. In 1889 a severe flood seriously damaged or destroyed much of the shrine and so it was relocated to its present site on the hilltop. A long flight of stairs leads up from below to the main gate. Inside the main compound the shrine buildings are lined up beyond a large area of white gravel. What is noticeable here, compared to the other two Kumano Shrines at Shingu and Nachi where much of the architecture is vermilion, is the dark, almost sombre use of natural dark wood, allowing the shrine to blend in with the forest surrounding it. One symbol you will see around the shrines is a three-legged crow which is also the symbol of the Japanese National Soccer Team.
All in all, this was another hard hiking day with some long, rocky/rooty, uphill stretches but there were many flatter areas and just being in the tall forest was very relaxing and gave one a sense of peace without interference from trouble of the outside world.
The next day was a big treat in our journey to Shingu Shrine: A boat ride along the Kumano River. This is the traditional way that pilgrims travelled to the Shrine over the years and it was sunny day to boot.
This was a beautiful and impressive shrine. After admiring it, we walked into town afterward to get a lunch and catch the train to the coastal seaside town of Nachikatsuura, the staging point for the hike to the last temple.
We got a good night's rest before setting off to the third and final Great Shrine of the pilgrimage: Nachi. We were stoked because the guide told us it was not much elevation change and we would only be walking about 4 kilometers. We felt that we were ready for a "light hiking" day. Haha. Joke on us! Most of the walk was STAIRS. And not nice stairs either. Slippery, moss-covered uneven rock stairs in a drizzle. My glutes were screaming at the end of it. I kept looking to see if there was an elevator somewhere. But the reward of seeing the shrine, a Buddhist temple, a pagoda and a waterfall essentially all on top of one another made it worth the effort.
The veneration of the Kumano shrines as holy sites of Shintoism predates Buddhism's introduction to Japan in the mid 6th century. Once Buddhism arrived in Kumano, it took root quickly, and rather than competing with the indigenous religion for religious authority, it began a long process of harmonious mixing. A product of this congenial relationship can be seen at Nachi Taisha. Directly beside the eminent shrine is the Buddhist temple, Seigantoji. In fact, for most of their history the buildings were not even under separate control and functioned as one religious institution. The buildings of both the shrine and the temple are impressive, and among the buildings of Seigantoji there is a three-story pagoda. The shrine and temple were separated during the Meijii Period by the emperor and now these structures are no longer built together. (That doesn't mean, however, that you don't often find them side by side. )
This pilgrimage was harder overall in elevation gains and losses than the last 100 miles of the Camino Santiago, but also more peaceful and in November at least, not really crowded in most spots. I really enjoyed this opportunity and am very grateful that I had the opportunity to walk through these beautiful, quiet forests and reflect on life and all my good fortune. It was a great prelude to Thanksgiving.
“It’s good to suffer some." Jennifer, our local guide, when someone complained about their feet hurting. (After all, it is a pilgrimage to repent your sins!)
Paul's Ponderings: Lots of tough walking the last few days, mainly due to the terrain and ascents/descents, which is along rocky/rooty paths and various assemblages of rock posing as stairs with moss or moisture on them. We all made it and saw some incredible scenery and temples. The Japanese mountains in the clouds were a high point of the trip. We've been really lucky on weather, with just a tiny bit of moisture from above while we were out (it seems to rain a lot overnight in the mountains). This area is the heart of the old pilgrimages and is extremely attractive -- reminiscent of the Appalachians in various ways. We definitely earned our dinners these days.
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