Japan Travel: Travelling through History to Rediscover Yourself at Kumano Kodo, Wakayama 12

Kongobuji Temple, located center of Koya-Town in Wakayama Prefecture, was constructed in 1593 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in honor of his mother. Later merged with another temple, Kongobuji Temple became the head temple of Shingon Buddhism, a Buddhist sect introduced to Japan by Kobo Daishi in 805.

The vast grounds of the Kongobuji Temple have numerous buildings with different rooms for the various temple functions. Visitors are allowed to enter the building for a small fee but please be aware that wearing shoes within the premises is not allowed. Once paying the entrance fee, visitors will first approach the Ohiroma Room. Important rituals and religious ceremonies were conducted here. The room’s sliding doors (fusuma) are decorated with cranes painted by the famous Kano Tanyu.

Next to the Ohiroma Room are the “Plum” and “Willow” Room, so named by the paintings on the fusuma (sliding door). The Willow Room is where Toyotomi Hidetsugu ended his own life as he was ordered to do so by his uncle Hideyoshi.

Visitors will be directed to the long corridor which leads to a recent addition to the temple. In a large tatami room, visitors are invited to rest and enjoy some tea and a cookie.

Visitors will find rooms whose fusuma (sliding doors) are decorated in seasonal flowers in the adjacent building. Here, visitors can see displays about Kobo Daishi, his journey to China and his founding of Koyasan.

The Banryutei Rock Garden is located behind this building. The largest rock garden in Japan, Banryutei Rock Garden was constructed in 1984. The largest rocks are from Shikoku, the birthplace of Kobo Daishi. They represent a pair of dragons emerging from a sea of clouds.

The recommended temple route will lead back to Kongobuji’s main building. Here visitors can see the Jodannoma Audience room, an extravagant room used to receive visiting Dignitaries. The room’s walls and fusuma (sliding door) are covered in gold. The ceilings even have flower carvings.

The last room of the Kongobuji Temple tour is the kitchen. With its large hearth, the kamado stoves were large enough to feed up to 2000 people.

The Kumano Kodo is a network of pilgrimage routes which stretch across the mountainous region of the Kii Peninsula in Wakayama Prefecture. Kodo translates to the “old ways.” This old fashioned way of walking through the mountains is an important part for rigorous religious rites of worship and purification the pilgrims will undertake. It is believed this traditional approach played an important role in the region’s UNESCO designation. The Kumano Kodo is the only pilgrimage route besides the Camino de Santiago to be designated as a world heritage route.

The pilgrim routes developed so people were able to move between the sacred areas of the Kii Peninsula. Three Kumano Shrines lie at the center of this sacred area. Known as the Kumano Sanzan, the Kumano Sanzan comprises of the Hongu Taisha, Hayatama Taisha and the Nachi Taisha.

By the 12th Century, pilgrims from all around Japan were coming to pay respects to the Kumano Sanzan. Not just a path to the shrines, the Kumano Kodo was designed to be a religious experience in itself. The pilgrims most pass through difficult, at times dangerous mountain terrain.

The Kumano Kodo pilgrim trails also played an important role in linking the Kumano area to Kyoto, Koyasan (the headquarters of the Shingon Buddhism), Yoshino and Omine (centers of mountain worship) and Ise (Japan’s most important shrine).

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