Sakura trees along traditional pilgrimage routes - Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range 1142; Traditional skills, techniques and knowledge for the conservation and transmission of wooden architecture in Japan 01618
What and Why
Mount Yoshino (Japanese: 吉野), at altitude 455 m, has been described for many centuries as one of Japan's most beautiful cherry and sakura blossom spots during spring. The hill is of historical and modern importance in religious pilgrimages for its Shintō (神道) shrines and Buddhist temples, with a well documented history of traditions over 1,200 years. The hill is of exceptional natural beauty with a panorama of waterfalls, trees and hiking trails.
Toponymy
Yoshino (吉野) is a a common Japanese surname, which means lucky-wild literally in Japanese. This implies a lucky field and originates from this area.
Kii (紀伊) is one of the three senior houses of the famed Tokugawa (徳川) dynasty, under the Tokugawa Yorinobu (徳川 頼宣), the tenth son of Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川 家康).
See
We followed the usual route and took the cable car which is just around 200 m away from the train station and then walked up the hill. From there it would be a straight line. The shrines are again typical examples of ancient wooden Japanese architecture.
Kane-no-Torii (銅鳥居)
The main entrance gate to the shrines, Kane-no-Torii (銅鳥居), meaning the gate of copper bird, is actually the oldest copper gate in Japan.
Kinpusen-ji (金峯山寺)
Kinpusen-ji (金峯山寺) is the main temple of a branch of the Shugendō (修験道) religion, meaning the tao for meditative training, which is a form of mountain asceticism drawing from Shinto and Buddhist beliefs.
The temple's main building, the Zaōdō (蔵王権現), is the second largest wooden structure in Japan after Tōdai-ji (東大寺) in Nara (奈良).
Notenokamiryuoin (脳天大神)
From the Kinpusen-ji, you can walk to a temple that worships academic achievements and intelligence Notenokamiryuoin (脳天大神). As an academic of course I had to pay a visit to ensure I be blessed.
Yoshimizu-jinja (吉水神社)
Yoshimizu-jinja (吉水神社), meaning blessed water temple, is dedicated to Emperor Go-Daigo (後醍醐, né 後醍醐 尊治, Go-Daigo Takaharu), and the samurai Kusunoki Masashige (楠木 正成). The temple is erected in the late 13th century CE. In 2014 CE the temple was embroiled in a scandal when it was discovered that head priest Satō Kazuhiko (佐藤 和彦)'s private blog contained extreme hate speech towards Chinese and Koreans. Part of it is now a small Japanese spa.
Mount Ōmine (大峰山）
From there one can walk up to the sacred hill of Mount Ōmine (大峰山), literally the big peak. This is one of the mountains that ascertain the challenges through ritualistic tests of courage and devotion under Shugendō.
Clearly the most significant of Mount Ōmine is the sakura and cherry blossom during spring. Picture as above. Unfortunately when we went up to the mountain it was raining quite heavily and it was autumn and we could not witness the pinkish hillside.
Near the summit of the mount, there is a very sexist sign known as Nyonin Kekkai (女人結界), literally women forbidden. Traditionally, women in Japan were not allowed to climb mountains sacred to the Shintō religions. This applies to other sacred mountains as it is believed that the reason for this ban was to remove thoughts of temptation from the monks, who attended the Kinpu Shrine (金峯神社).
Buy and Do
As in typical tourist spots, there are plenty of street shops around the hillside, selling all sorts of tourist souvenirs.
Eat and Drink
Arrowroot (くず)
Yoshino is famous for various desserts made from arrowroot (くず, kudzu). These desserts exist in the form of a sweet noodle, a mash or jelly. Honestly I did not enjoy it.
Getting There and Around
Yoshino is easily accessible from Ōsaka (大阪) through a 2-h Japanese Railway (JR) train ride. Once you disembark the train, the cable car station is 100 m in front. A good full-day of hike.
UNESCO Inscriptions
Set in the dense forests of the Kii Mountains overlooking the Pacific Ocean, three sacred sites – Yoshino and Omine, Kumano Sanzan, Koyasan – linked by pilgrimage routes to the ancient capital cities of Nara and Kyoto, reflect the fusion of Shinto, rooted in the ancient tradition of nature worship in Japan, and Buddhism, which was introduced from China and the Korean Peninsula. The sites (506.4 ha) and their surrounding forest landscape reflect a persistent and extraordinarily well-documented tradition of sacred mountains over 1,200 years. The area, with its abundance of streams, rivers and waterfalls, is still part of the living culture of Japan and is much visited for ritual purposes and hiking, with up to 15 million visitors annually. Each of the three sites contains shrines, some of which were founded as early as the 9th century.
The conservation and transmission of wooden architecture in Japan consists in a set of traditional skills, techniques and knowledge. Roughly seventy per cent of the country is forested. Therefore, wood has been used in houses since ancient times. In fact, the world’s oldest surviving wooden structure is the Horyu-ji temple that was built in the early seventh century. Some examples of the seventeen skills described in the nomination file, include sakan plastering, the harvesting of Japanese cypress bark, lacquer painting of traditional structures, the production of tatami mats (flooring material), and many more. Until the nineteenth century, master craftsmen trained apprentices as successors to transmit knowledge of the traditional skills. Due to modernization, however, this process became more difficult, so preservation associations were formed. Knowledge includes not only techniques for building new structures, but also restoring existing ones. Due to the country’s hot and humid climate, repair work must happen often. At restoration sites, craftspeople with different skills must complete the work together. Some maintenance work also requires the involvement of local residents. For example, reed or straw thatch on a roof needs to be completely renewed every twenty years, which is a labour-intensive job. The element thus serves a social function by fostering cooperation and social cohesion and strengthens Japanese people’s sense of cultural identity.
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