Kumano Kodō

A series of ancient pilgrimage routes crisscrossing the Kii Peninsula, the largest peninsula in Japan. The trails carry pilgrims to the Kumano Sanzan, the Three Grand Shrines of Kumano (Kumano Hongū Taisha, Kumano Nachi Taisha and Kumano Hayatama Taisha) the holiest sites of the old syncretic Kumano religion. People have walked them seeking healing and salvation for more than a thousand years, peasants and emperors alike, guided by Shugendō monks. In July 2004 some of the roads and the shrines they serve were inscribed, with Koyasan, Yoshino and Ōmine, as the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range.