PILGRIMAGES IN JAPAN

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19th century pilgrims Pilgrimages have traditionally been undertaken by people who hoped to receive a blessings from the gods in the form of good health, success in business, abundant harvests or some such thing. They were undertaken by people who visited certain shrine or temples or climbed specific mountains. In the old days, when there were rigid travel restrictions, pilgrimages provided the only means for villagers to escape from their villages and see the world.

In the old days pilgrims often walked long distances and traveled for a considerable period of time. They often carried little more than the clothes on their back, a walking stick and a few possessions worn in a clothe tied around their shoulders. They begged for food along the way. People willingly gave them food out of the belief that would earn merit and win favor from the gods the pilgrims were seeking out.

There are Seven Major Historic Pilgrimages in Japan: 1) Aizu Kannon pilgrimage, linking 33 statues of the Kannon,,the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy in Northern Japan; 2) Dewa Sanzan in Yamagata in northern Japan; 3) Chichibu 34 Kannon, near Tokyo; 4) Nakasendo, connecting Kyoto and Tokyo; 5) The Kumano Trail (Kodo); 6) Mount Mitokul; and 7) Shikoku Henro.

Circuit of 88 Temples Pilgrimage 88 Temples site Shikoku Henro Trail ; Shikoku Pilgrimage Guide Mandala.ne ; Kumano Trail Japan Guide japan-guide.com ; Kumano Kodo tb-kumano.jp ; JNTO PDF file JNTO ; Hongu Kumano Kodo hongu.jp ; Kumano Kodo Ise Route kumadoco.ne ; UNESCO World Heritage site: UNESCO website ; Nara Prefecture site pref.nara.jp ; Wikipedia Wikipedia ; Buddhist Channel buddhistchannel.tv ; JNTO article JNTO ; Hongu Kumano Kodo hongu.jp Kumano Kodo site tb-kumano.jp ; Yoshino-Kumano National Park Japan National Parks env.go.jp ; Kansai Window kippo.or.jp ; Nara Prefecture site pref.nara.jp ; Totsukawa site totsukawa-h.ed.jp Totsukawa site totsukawa-h.ed.jp Japan Guide japan-guide.com ; Photos taleofgenji.org

Kumano Trail

The Kumano Trail (southeast of Nara) is route that was used by pilgrims traveling from Kyoto and Ise to the famous shrines on the Kii Peninsula. The mountains and the forest of this region were traditionally the stomping ground of “yamabushi”, mountain ascetics who are members of Esoteric Shingon and Tendai sects of Buddhism.

The Kumano Trail became very popular in the 10th century among the aristocracy, with members of Imperial family sometimes taking part. One emperor made the trek 33 times, each time accompanied by an entourage of 1,000 retainers. In the 14th and 15th centuries the routes became popular with ordinary people. At one time so many participated in the journey it was called the "pilgrimage of ants." Many embarked on the a visit to the shrines in the belief that miraculous powers attributed to the Kumano sect would be passed on to them. The 370-kilometer route from Kyoto to Kumano Hongu Taisha was the most popular route. It took about a month to traverse. Reaching the other two shrines took longer.

The trails are known for its giant cryptomeria and fir forests, mossy earth, odds-shaped rocks, jagged peaks, and temples associated with nature spirits. There isn't much wildlife along the route. Occasionally hikers see monkeys. The destinations of Kumano Trail are three major shrines of Kumano Sect in the southern Kii peninsula: Kumano Hongu Taisha, Kumano Nachi Taisha and Kumano Hayatama Taisha. The Kumano sect emphasize nature worship and worships 12 primary god. At Kumano Nachi Taisha, an additional god associated with a nearby waterfall is worshiped. The Kumano area is believed to be the place where the Izanami, the creator of the Japanese islands, entered the World of Death and was reborn.

Shikoku 88 Temples Pilgrimage

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another 19th century pilgrim The 88 Temples of Shikoku is a pilgrimage route popular today that consists of 88 temples scattered across the island of Shikoku that were visited by the famous monk Kobo Daishi (774-835), who founded the Shingon sect of Buddhism after a visit to China. Some temples are only a few kilometers apart and five or six can be visited in a day. Others are more than 100 kilometers apart. To visit them all requires a trek of about 1,400 kilometers (870 miles). Many wear the traditional pilgrims outfits (a white robe and a conical straw hat) and carry a walking stick. For the visit to be official pilgrims carry a special book that is stamped at each temple.

Most pilgrims visit most of the temples by tour bus on several visits over a long period of time. A few still do it on foot. They need at least 45 to 60 days. With a car all 88 can be visited in about 10 days. The pilgrims, known as henro, are treated with great reverence and hospitality, often given osettai, free lodging, food and in some cases cash.

There is nothing particularly extraordinary about the temples. The route is what matters. Completing the entire circuit is said to rid the soul of 88 evil desires defined by Buddhist doctrine. Much of the route is along narrow, sometimes busy road. There are several tunnels after Temple No. 222 that worry some pilgrims that they are going to get hit by a passing vehicle.When pilgrims visit the temples they submit notebooks or scrolls on which they receive a written certificate verifying their visit which features the name of the Temple and its principal Buddhist image, together with a vermillion seal. Each notebook entry cost ¥300; a scroll entry ¥500.

Modern Pilgrims in Shikoku

The Shikoku 88 temple pilgrimage hosts about 300,000 pilgrims a year in the lodgings that circle Shikoku — the island of the Daishi's birth. About five weeks after Naoto Kan stepped down as prime minister, he donned the clothes of a pilgrim and resumed his pilgrimage that he had been undertaking to Shikoku’s 88 main temples, which he began back in 2004 with a shaven head. Christal Whelan wrote in Daily Yomiuri, “This marked his sixth journey in a pilgrimage done in sections over an eight-year period along the 1,400-kilometer route. His lone figure--a pilgrim's staff in hand and wearing a conical sedge hat, white trousers and jacket--presented an archetypal image of the pilgrim on a quest for healing and rejuvenation through exposure to objects and places held sacred. Pilgrimages--journeys to holy places traditionally made on foot--are thriving worldwide.” [Source: Christal Whelan, Daily Yomiuri, November 6, 2011]

Not only have pilgrim numbers soared on ancient, established routes, but visitors to these places historically affiliated with a specific religious and cultural tradition are increasingly coming from far-flung parts of the world. These "pilgrims" may not even share the religion associated with the pilgrimage they are undertaking. What they seek is to connect with the charisma rather than the dogma of a given faith.

The steady increase in both pilgrims and pilgrimages dates back to 1953, when the change in the Road Traffic Law allowed huge chartered buses to begin operation. Improvements in road networks, packaged bus tours, increase in car ownership, a growing economy and improved bridge infrastructure in the decades that followed all contributed to the surge in pilgrimages.

But this alone would not have been enough to mobilize a population were it not for the galvanizing influence of an NHK TV series on the Shikoku pilgrimage. Broadcast between 1998 and 2000, this program offered just the right blend of the idyllic and the cultural. Indeed, the transformation of pilgrimage from a wayfaring journey to a motorized experience has blurred the boundary between tourist and pilgrim in recent decades, and created a huge potential for the propagation of pilgrimages of a dramatically new kind.

Dewa Sanzan and Yamabushi

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yet another 19th century pilgrim Dewa Sanzan (north of Yamagata city) is a cluster of three sacred peaks — Mt. Haguro-san, Mt. Gas-san and Mt. Yudono-san — that for centuries have been pilgrimage destinations of yamabushi (mountain priests). It is possible to hike one or two of the mountains in a day. Many people stay at the 30 shukubo (temple accommodation) in the town of Toge.

For the Yamabushi, each of the three mountains embodies a different deity and a different step on the road to rebirth. Mount Haguro represents the present, and people pray here for worldly happiness. Mount Gassan, the Mountain of the Moon, is the past, where the spirits of the ancestors rest. Here, people pray for a peaceful afterlife. Mount Yudono is the future, and the place of rebirth.

Some of trails used to be reserved for yamabushi. Now anyone, regardless of age or fitness, can experience do them and experience the therapeutic effects of Dewa Sanzan's Journey of Rebirth. As the Yamabushi say: "Back to Nature, back to yourself."

Kiso Road — a Section of the Nakasendo

The Kiso Road (Kisoji) refers to a road that runs through tree-covered mountains that connects old 11 post towns (precursors of rest stops).on the section of the old Nakasendo road.Thomas Swick wrote in Smithsonian magazine, “For centuries, the 51-mile Kiso Road was the central part of the ancient 339-mile Nakasendo, which connected Edo (Tokyo) and Kyoto and provided an inland alternative to the coastal Tokaido road. For centuries, merchants, performers, pilgrims, imperial emissaries, feudal lords, princesses and commoners traveled it. “Murders, robberies, elopements, love suicides, rumors of corruption among the officials,” Shimazaki Toson wrote in his epic novel, “Before the Dawn” , “these had all become commonplace along this highway.” [Source: Thomas Swick, Smithsonian magazine, October 2010]

The road was officially established in 1601, but carried travelers as early as 703, according to ancient records. Unlike the industrialized Tokaido, the Kiso Road remains very well preserved in places. Large flat stones appeared underfoot, part of the Kiso Road’s original ishidatami (literally “stone tatami”). Some of the Kiso Road follows modern Route 19 which runs along much of the original Kiso Road.

The hike from Hideshio to Magome is about 90 kilometers (55 miles). Magome is one of the Kiso Road’s 11 post towns. Hirasawa has some nice lacquerware shops. Narai is a thin town stretched along railroad tracks. The main street is lined by dark wooden houses filed with day-tripping tourists. There are sloping roofs, small shops, and cloth banners.The path to Torii Pass narrows, steepens and turns to dirt. Switchbacks break the monotony. An hour and a half of climbing brings hikers to level ground. Next to a wood shelter stood a stone fountain, a ceramic cup placed upside down on its wall.

Fudo Pilgrimage

There are a number of smaller pilgrimages in Japan lesser known that the 88 Temple route in Shikoku. Christal Whelan wrote in Daily Yomiuri, “I embarked on one of these--the Kinki 36 Fudo pilgrimage--with the intention of walking the whole route that takes in 36 temples, including notable images of Fudo-myoo, the Buddhist Immovable King of Light. The majority of the temples on the Fudo pilgrimage belong to either the Shingon or Tendai sects of Buddhism. Twelve are located in Osaka Prefecture, 11 in Kyoto Prefecture, Nara, Shiga and Wakayama prefectures have three temples each, while Hyogo Prefecture has four. Established in 1979 by the late Yoshiharu Shimoyasuba, a devout lay Buddhist with a talent for reviving defunct pilgrimages and creating new ones, the Fudo pilgrimage spans the whole Kansai region.

Fudo is an attractive focus of reverence for a pilgrimage. Typically depicted as a bare-chested man of chubby muscularity, either seated or standing on a pile of stones enveloped within a blazing fire, he represents the beginning of the religious quest, the unfolding of a Buddha-like mind, and fierce compassion. The sword in his right hand cuts through human nonsense, and the coiled rope with weights in his left hand catches those ensnared by their own passions and leads them home. The goma or fire ceremony, a central ritual of Shingon, Tendai and Shugendo, invokes Fudo's presence with fire to purify the wishes written by people on wooden sticks that are subsequently fed to the flames.

The Fudo pilgrimage promoted by the Kinki 36 Fudo Pilgrim Association attracts about 10,000 pilgrims a year. Unlike the full regalia expected of a pilgrim who walks Shikoku, this pilgrimage requires no special clothing. That also means that there is no way for the public to recognize the pilgrims and treat them accordingly. Osettai--the practice of giving money, food or lodgings to a pilgrim and receiving "merit" as a reward--is a venerable tradition in Japan that has long linked pilgrims to the communities through which they pass.

Because the Fudo pilgrimage spans a whole region and the available guidebooks (in Japanese) offer maps with directions only for transportation by train, bus or car, the walking pilgrim faces various challenges. I often asked resident priests at the temples I visited to draw me a map to the next temple--a request sometimes met with astonishment and a recommendation to take public transportation, or the kind offer of a lift.

Since no designated route exists, but only points to be reached, this pilgrimage took me through industrial Osaka Prefecture, sometimes dangerously close to fast-moving traffic, and through the longest covered shopping arcade in Japan. I crossed over the Kanzakigawa and Yodogawa bridges. I had previously only seen the latter from train windows. Unlike more established pilgrimages, the pilgrims on this route should also bear in mind that temples are likely to close as early as 4 p.m. and many have no lodgings for pilgrims or guests. This is hardly the Santiago de Compostella pilgrimage with its 24-hour open-door policy for pilgrims.

Both the creator and the current promoters of the Fudo pilgrimage envisioned a journey done in sections, whereby the pilgrim visits temples on day trips in one prefecture via public or private transportation. To walk the entire route continuously would otherwise take over a month and require hotel or hostel bookings in advance. However the pilgrim chooses to travel, a nokyo, or small cloth-covered book with thick blank sheets for collecting ink stamps and calligraphic signatures from each temple, is a worthy investment and can be acquired at Shitennoji--the first temple on the route. Here, too, other religious items are available.Wearing a white kimono, it is possible to practice misogi or purification under a waterfall when a temple offers this option. after all, Fudo is associated as much with water as with fire.

In the final analysis, a pilgrimage is a temporary rupture from daily routine but eventually the pilgrim must go home and reintegrate the lessons learned, for the return is as important as the journey.

Contact Information: Kinki 36 Fudoson Reijokai (Kinki 36 Fudo Pilgrimage Association), (0721) 56-2372, www.kinki36fudo.org ; Henro Michi Hozon Kyoroku-kai (Shikoku Pilgrimage Preservation Association), (089) 951-2506 www.iyohenro.jp ; Shitennoji temple in Tennoji Ward, Osaka, (06) 6771-0066, www.shitennoji.or.jp ; Chishakuin temple, Higashi Ward, Kyoto, Daily goma ceremony starts at 6:45 a.m. (075) 541-5361 www.chisan.or.jp/sohonzan/ .

Image Sources: Ray Kinnane Visualizing Culture, MIT Education, JNTO

Text Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Daily Yomiuri, Times of London, Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO), National Geographic, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, Reuters, AP, Lonely Planet Guides, Compton’s Encyclopedia and various books and other publications.

Last updated January 2024