Kumano Kodō 熊野古道

Kumano Kodô Pilgrimage Route / Pilgerweg

Kii Peninsula 紀伊半島

Kumano Kodô is the general name for pilgrimage routes leading to the Kumano Sanzan: Kumano Hongu Taisha, Kumano Hayatama Taisha and Kumano Nachi Taisha). It is also called the “Kumano Pilgrimage Road”, registered as a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2004. The Kumano Kodô is unique in that it has been used for more than a thousand years for the consistent purpose of Kumano worship, which flourished as the largest sacred site in Japan during the Middle Ages. In modern times, after its status as Japan’s largest sacred site was replaced by that of Ise Shrine, it began to transform itself into one of the pilgrimages to the 33 sacred sites of the kannon in the western part of the country, but the Kumano Kodô remained as a pure pilgrimage route on foot and is still busy in its own way today.