PILGRIMAGE ROUTES
The pilgrimage routes are located in the heart of the Kii Mountains, where the cradle of Japanese spirituality lies. Pilgrimage routes to these sacred places include the Koyasan Choishimichi, Kumano Kodo, and Omine Okugakemichi. Kumano Kodo is an intricate network of ancient pilgrimage routes that all converge on Kumano Hongu Taisha, the historic Shinto shrine. These paths can be grouped into three routes, the Kiiji, Ohechi and Kohechi.
The kiiji road, runs along the west coast of the peninsula to the town of Tanabe where it splits in two. One of them, the Nakahechi, is the most popular, heading towards the interior of the mountains and is famous for its "Oj shrines" dedicated to the gods of Kumano Sanzan. It was used by pilgrims coming from Kyōto. The other road, the Ohechi, goes south along the coast.
The Ohechi road links Tanabe to Nachi-Katsuura and is 120 kilometres long. It connects nearly 33 sacred sites like the Kannon temples, Buddhist temples dedicated to the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara of the Shingon sect. Part of this road is by river, on the Kumano-gawa River.
The Kohechi road connects Koya-san to Kumano Sanzan. It is 70 kilometres long and is therefore the fastest route to reach both sites. It follows a North-South axis but is the most difficult to cover with passes to be climbed which are at an altitude of more than 1,000 metres. The road is characterised by numerous stone-paved sections in the middle of the forest. It consists of several paths, including the Iseji, which runs from Ise Jungu in Mie Prefecture to Kumano, and the Omine Okugake path, which connects the sites of Yoshino and Omine to Kumano.
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