The Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Routes
A sacred landscape shaped by nature and belief
For more than 1,000 years, pilgrims have walked through the mountains and forests of Japan’s Kii Peninsula to worship at the sacred sites of Kumano.
The Kumano region lies within a landscape of forested mountains, rivers, waterfalls and hot springs that has been regarded as sacred for centuries. Spiritual traditions developed in close connection with this natural environment, where mountains, rocks, trees, rivers and waterfalls were believed to embody or shelter kami.
The difficult journey through the mountains was itself an important part of the pilgrimage. Walking, purification and prayer allowed pilgrims to leave everyday life behind as they travelled towards the sacred sites of Kumano.
The spiritual traditions of Kumano
Before Buddhism reached Japan in the sixth century, the mountains, forests, rivers and waterfalls of Kumano were already revered as places where kami were present. As Buddhism spread, these earlier forms of worship were not displaced. Instead, the traditions gradually became intertwined.
Within this Shinto-Buddhist syncretism, known as shinbutsu shūgō, the kami of Kumano came to be understood as local manifestations of buddhas and bodhisattvas. Kumano was also associated with Buddhist Pure Lands, and pilgrimage through its mountains became a journey of purification, spiritual renewal and symbolic rebirth.
Shugendo developed within this same sacred landscape as a mountain ascetic tradition combining Buddhist practices, kami worship and other beliefs. Its practitioners, known as yamabushi, undertook demanding physical and spiritual training in the mountains and sometimes served as pilgrimage guides.
In 1868, the Meiji government ordered the formal separation of Shinto and Buddhism and prohibited Shugendo. Shrines and temples were divided, and many Buddhist objects were removed from Kumano’s shrine complexes. Despite these changes, the region’s long history of intertwined belief remains visible in its sacred sites, rituals and pilgrimage traditions.
The Kumano Sanzan
The Kumano Sanzan is the collective name for the three Grand Shrines of Kumano: Kumano Hongu Taisha, Kumano Hayatama Taisha and Kumano Nachi Taisha. Although separated by mountains and rivers, the three shrines form a connected sacred network and share closely related deities and pilgrimage traditions.
The Buddhist temples Seiganto-ji and Fudarakusan-ji are also closely associated with the Kumano Sanzan, reflecting the long history of Shinto-Buddhist syncretism in the region.
Kumano Hongu Taisha
Kumano Hongu Taisha lies deep within the mountains and is the destination towards which the major Kumano pilgrimage routes converge. The shrine was originally located at Oyunohara, a sacred sandbank at the meeting of the Kumano and Otonashi rivers.
After a severe flood destroyed many of the shrine buildings in 1889, the surviving structures were moved to higher ground. Oyunohara remains sacred and is now marked by an immense torii gate representing the boundary between the everyday and spiritual worlds.
Kumano Hayatama Taisha
Kumano Hayatama Taisha stands in Shingu near the mouth of the Kumano River, where waters flowing from the Kii Mountains meet the Pacific Ocean.
The shrine’s origins are also associated with Gotobiki-iwa, a massive sacred rock on nearby Gongen Mountain. Kamikura-jinja stands beneath the rock at the top of a steep stone staircase, preserving the connection between the Kumano deities and the natural landscape.
Kumano Nachi Taisha
Kumano Nachi Taisha is located on Nachi Mountain beside Nachi-no-Otaki, a 133-metre waterfall worshipped as a sacred presence since ancient times.
The neighbouring Buddhist temple Seiganto-ji forms part of the same mountaintop sanctuary. The shrine, temple and waterfall together provide one of the clearest surviving expressions of Kumano’s intertwined traditions of nature worship, Shinto and Buddhism.
More than 1,000 years of pilgrimage
Pilgrimage to Kumano grew in importance during the Heian period, when retired emperors and members of the imperial court began making long journeys from Kyoto to worship at the Kumano Sanzan.
These pilgrimages could take several weeks and involved far more than simply travelling between shrines. Pilgrims followed demanding mountain paths while undertaking purification rites, prayers and religious ceremonies. The physical difficulty of the journey was considered an essential part of leaving ordinary life behind and entering the sacred realm of Kumano.
Over time, pilgrimage spread beyond the imperial court. Samurai, monks, merchants and ordinary people joined the routes, and Kumano became known as a sacred destination open to pilgrims regardless of social position, religious affiliation or gender.
The number of people travelling to Kumano became so great that the processions were compared to lines of ants. This gave rise to the expression ari no Kumano mode, meaning the pilgrimage of ants.
For many pilgrims, Kumano represented a Buddhist Pure Land and a place of spiritual rebirth. The journey through the mountains symbolised a passage through hardship, purification and renewal before reaching the Grand Shrines.
The paths travelled by these generations of pilgrims became the network now known as the Kumano Kodo.
The five Kumano Kodo routes
The Kumano Kodo is not a single trail but a network of pilgrimage routes crossing the Kii Peninsula. These paths approached Kumano from different regions and connected the Grand Shrines with other important sacred sites.
The Nakahechi route
The Nakahechi begins near Tanabe on the western side of the Kii Peninsula and crosses the mountains towards Kumano Hongu Taisha. From Hongu, pilgrims could travel by river towards Kumano Hayatama Taisha or continue over mountain passes to Kumano Nachi Taisha.
From the tenth century, the Nakahechi was extensively used by retired emperors and members of the imperial court travelling from Kyoto. It remains one of the best-preserved routes and is now the most frequently walked section of the Kumano Kodo.
The route passes through forests, isolated mountain communities and numerous oji shrines. Its mixture of historic trail, demanding climbs and sacred sites provides a strong sense of the physical and spiritual journey undertaken by earlier pilgrims.
The Kohechi, Ohechi, Iseji and Kiiji routes
The Kohechi crosses the centre of the Kii Peninsula between Koyasan and Kumano Hongu Taisha. This remote mountain route extends for more than 65 kilometres and crosses several passes higher than 1,000 metres.
The Ohechi follows the southwestern coast from Tanabe towards Nachi. Its dramatic views over the Pacific Ocean attracted pilgrims, writers and artists, although many sections of the original route have since been absorbed into modern roads and development.
The Iseji approaches Kumano along the eastern coast of the Kii Peninsula from Ise Jingu. Surviving sections include stone-paved mountain passes, coastal paths, forests and traditional communities.
The Kiiji historically connected Kyoto and Osaka with Tanabe along the western side of the peninsula. At Tanabe, pilgrims could continue towards Kumano through the mountains on the Nakahechi or follow the coast on the Ohechi.
Oji shrines along the Kumano Kodo
Oji are subsidiary shrines of the Kumano Sanzan found along the pilgrimage routes. They enshrine the child deities of Kumano and traditionally served as places where pilgrims could worship, rest and undertake purification rites.
Their formation is associated with yamabushi mountain ascetics who acted as pilgrimage guides. Located at important points along the route, the oji provided spiritual protection and helped mark a pilgrim’s progress through the mountains.
Collectively, they became known as the Kyujukyu Oji, or Ninety-nine Oji. The number was symbolic and referred to the large number of shrines rather than representing an exact total.
Five were regarded as especially important and became known as the Gotai Oji. These were Fujishiro-oji, Kirime-oji, Inabane-oji, Takijiri-oji and Hosshinmon-oji.
Takijiri-oji traditionally marked the entrance into the sacred mountains of Kumano. Hosshinmon-oji stood closer to Kumano Hongu Taisha and signalled that pilgrims were approaching one of their principal destinations.
Many surviving oji are modest shrines or stone monuments, but they remain important places of prayer and reflection. Pilgrims can also collect stamps at oji and other sacred sites as a record of their journey along the Kumano Kodo.
World Heritage and the Dual Pilgrim tradition
In July 2004, the sacred sites and pilgrimage routes of the Kii Mountains were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range.
The World Heritage property includes three principal sacred areas: the Kumano Sanzan, Koyasan, and Yoshino and Omine. It also includes pilgrimage routes connecting these sites with the ancient capitals of Kyoto and Nara.
UNESCO recognises the area as an exceptional cultural landscape shaped by more than 1,200 years of interaction between nature and religion. Its shrines, temples, mountain paths, rivers, waterfalls and surrounding forests remain part of a living pilgrimage tradition.
The Kumano Kodo also shares a formal relationship with Spain’s Camino de Santiago. In 2014, Tanabe and Santiago de Compostela became Tourism Partnership Cities, agreeing to cooperate in preserving and promoting their respective pilgrimage traditions.
The Dual Pilgrim programme began in 2015. It recognises people who have completed qualifying sections of both the Kumano Kodo and the Camino de Santiago. Pilgrims can collect stamps in a shared credential as a record of their journeys before registering for Dual Pilgrim status.
Our name, Kumano Camino, reflects the relationship between these two pilgrimage traditions and their shared emphasis on walking, cultural connection and personal journey.
Walk the Kumano Kodo with Kumano Camino
Walking the Kumano Kodo brings more than 1,000 years of pilgrimage history to life through forest trails, mountain communities, oji shrines and the Kumano Sanzan.
Join experienced Australian Japan specialists on our small-group guided Kumano Kodo walking tour and discover the route with cultural insight, Japanese-language support and personal guidance.
