Rules of the Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range
The World Heritage property “Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii
Mountain Range” symbolizes the spiritual heritage of Japan rooted in the respect
and awe of the natural environment. In this unique cultural landscape, diverse belief
systems exist in harmony.
To preserve this area for future generations, we ask your cooperation to follow theserules.
1. Preserve the area as "heritage of all humankind".
2. Respect the faith of past and present worshipers.
3. Greet others with a smile and warm heart.
4. Protect the local flora and fauna. Do not remove or introduce animals or vegetation.
5. Be prepared. Plan your trip and equip yourself properly.
6. Stay on the routes.
7. Be careful with fire. Prevent forest fires.
8. Keep the routes clean. Carry out all waste.
Structure of the World Heritage of Wakayama Prefecture
2000

Setting up of Wakayama Prefecture World Heritage Registration Promotion Office within
the Education Board of Wakayama Prefecture
June Setting up of a “Wakayama Prefecture Council to Promote World Heritage Registration”
in the concerned cities and the prefecture
Setting up of a “Wakayama Prefecture World Heritage Registration Promotion Head Office ” within
the prefectural office
October Inauguration of a “Wakayama Prefecture World Heritage Registration Promotion Koya area Council”
and a “Wakayama Prefecture World Heritage Registration Promotion Kumano area Council”
Novem- Decision by the Ministry of Culture to enter “The Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii
ber
Mountain Range” in the established list of the country’s World Heritage
April

2001

“The Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range” are entered in theestablished list of the UNESCO World Heritage
May Inauguration of a “Three Prefectures’ Council for World Heritage Registration” by the
Wakayama, Mie and Nara prefectures
Septem- Establishment of "Koya/Kumano" World Heritage Record Academic Committee composedberof 8 individuals of academic standing
Opening in Wakayama Prefecture under the joint sponsorship of the Wakayama Prefecture,
the Ministry of Culture and the UNESCO World Heritage Center, of “the UNESCO Thematic
Expert Meeting on Asia-Pacific Sacred Mountains”
April

2002

Septem- Designation of "Tokugawa Reidai" and "Kongosammai-in" within the Kongobu-ji temple
bercomplex as historical sites

Inauguration of a “Wakayama Prefecture World Heritage Registration Promotion Ohechi area Council”
Creating of logo mark, etc., for the "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain

October Range" in a joint three prefecture project

Acknowledgment of the decision of the nation’s culture commission to recommend “TheSacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range” as World Heritage

DecemDesignation of 4 items and 11 buildings, including "Ohechi," as historical sites
ber

2003

January Remittance of a recommendation letter from the nation to the UNESCO World Heritage

Center (accepted by the UNESCO on the 27th)

October Investigation on site by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS)(from the 11th to the 19th)

28th World Heritage committee meeting (in Suzhou, China; from the 28th to July 7th)
Decision to register “The Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range” asWorld Heritage (on the 1st, 18:12 Japan time)
Formal registration (on the 7th, Japan time 18:26)

2005

March
April
July

Official proclamation of the regulations of the World Heritage of Wakayama Prefecture (on the 25th)
Setting up in Hongucho in Tanabe (former Hongu-cho).of a Wakayama Prefecture World Heritage Center
Enforcement of the regulations of the World Heritage of Wakayama Prefecture (on the 1st)

July

Establishment of the Wakayama World Heritage Expert system

April

Establishment of “Kii Spirit”, the space for display and promoting communication and interaction
between local people and visitors, within the Wakayama Prefecture World Heritage Center

July

Relocation of Wakayama World Heritage Center to "Kumano Hongu Heritage Center" (Tanabe
City facility)

2006 2007 2009 2011 2013 2014 2016

2004

June
July

Septem- Major storm, Typhoon Talas, hit Kii Peninsula and damaged the “Kumano Hongu Heritage
ber
Center’’ and “Wakayama Prefecture World Heritage Center”
January Re-opening of “Kumano Hongu Heritage Center” and “Wakayama Prefecture World Heritage

Center”

July

10th anniversary as a World Heritage Site

January Submission of a proposal for minor changes by the Japanese government to the UNESCOWorld Heritage Center
June Announcement of ICOMOS recommendation by the UNESCO
October 40th UNESCO World Heritage committee extraordinary meeting (in Paris, France; on the 24th)
Decision for additional registrations

Where the spiritual culture ofJapan lives on.
●Inquiries concerning the World Heritage:
Wakayama Prefecture World Heritage Center
100-1 Hongu,Hongu cho,Tanabe City
Wakayama Prefecture 647-1731
TEL:+81-735-42-1044 FAX:+81-735-42-1560
http://www.sekaiisan-wakayama.jp/index.html●Inquiries concerning this leaflet :Wakayama Prefectural Department of Commerce, Industry,
Tourism and Labour, Division of Tourism Promotion
1-1 Komatsubara-dori, Wakayama City, 640-8585
TEL:+81-73-441-2777 FAX:+81-73-482-8313
Front cover Photo: Sea of clouds on the Kumano River.

This leaflet uses ink that isenvironment - friendly

2017.3

Wakayama Prefecture, Japan
和歌山県、
日本

Wakayama
Prefecture

Nankai Koya Line

Niukanshofu-jinja

JR Wakayama Line
Wakayama Sta.

Kinokawa River

Yoshinoyama
Yoshino Mikumari-jinja

Jison-in

Kimpusen-ji
Yoshimizu-jinja

Koya Sankeimichi
Kongobu-ji

Niusakadono-jinja

Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes
in the Kii Mountain Range

Yoshino / Omine
吉野・大峰

Ominesan-ji

金剛峯寺

Koyasan Sta.

Niutsuhime-jinja
Fujishiro-oji

Kimpu-jinja

Hashimoto Sta.

Nara Prefecture

Koyasan
高野山

Kiinagashima Sta.
Kumano Sankeimichi [Kohechi]

Aridagawa River

JR Kinokuni Line

Omine Okugakemichi

Mt.Gomadan

Tamaki-jinja
JR Kisei Main Line
Kumano Sankeimichi [Kiiji]

Ryujin Onsen

Hidakagawa
River

Owase Sta.

Omine Okugakemichi

大峯奥駈道Nakahechi

中辺路

Kohechi

小辺路

Ohechi

大辺路

Iseji

伊勢路

Koya Sankeimichi

高野参詣道

Sacred Sites

Pilgrimage
RoutesCulturalLandscapes

Yoshino and Omine
Kumano Sanzan
KoyasanOmine Okugakemichi
Kumano Sankeimichi
Koya Sankeimichi

Mountains, Forests, Rivers,
Waterfalls, Onsens,
Rural areas,
Rows of houses, etc...

Kumano Hongu Taisha
熊野本宮大社

Kumano Sankeimichi [Nakahechi]
Kiitanabe Sta.

Takijiri-oji
Inabane-oji

Tokei-jinja

Kumano Sanzan

WataseOnsen

Kawayu
Onsen

Kokumotorigoe
Okumotorigoe
Kumano Nachi Taisha
熊野那智大社

Hikigawa River

熊野三山

Mt.Okumotori
Nachi no Otaki
Nachi Primeval Forest

Kumano Hayatama Taisha
熊野速玉大社

Asuka-jinja

Kushimoto Sta.

* Kumano Sankeimichi (熊野参詣道) means Kumano Pilgrimage Routes and is locallyknown as the Kumano Kodo (熊野古道).

Shingu Sta.
Fudarakusan-ji
Kiikatsuura Sta.

Mt.Myoho

Kozagawa River

Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes
in the Kii Mountain Range

Kumano Sankeimichi [Iseji]

Kumanogawa River

Nachisan Seiganto-ji

Kumano Sankeimichi [Ohechi]

Kumanoshi Sta.

Oyunohara

Yunomine
Onsen

Mt.Otou

Shirahama Sta.

Shirahama Onsen

Registered Heritage

Mie Prefecture
Hosshinmon-oji

Kirime-oji

routeNachi no Dengaku

The Pacific Ocean

Cultural LandscapeKatsuura Onsen

Intangible Cultural Heritage

A performance art with a history of approx.
600 years, Nachi no Dengaku is offered to
the gods at the Nachi Fire Festival.

“Cultural Landscape” is landscape manifesting the interaction
between humankind and its natural environment over a long
period of time. There are “mountains” which have been
worshiped as the object of prayer, as well as “forests”, “riceterraces”, “vineyards”, “gardens”, and “parks” on the World
Heritage List. Mountains and trees can be considered “CulturalLandscapes” when they assume special value as “sacred
mountains” or “sacred trees”.
The World Heritage site, “Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes
in the Kii Mountain Range” is not simply a group of shrines,
temples, and roads, but is nothing less than “sacred sites of

Seasonal Colors in Kumano[Spring] Yunobori-shinji

Shinto ritual of Kumano Hongu Taisha.
A portable shrine, children, etc., parade along
the road, which is full of bright spring flowers
on both sides.

[Summer]
Fire Festival of Nachi

This fire festival has torches flaming andglowing ablaze as sparks flutter in the airaround the deity seated at the great waterfall.

[Autumn] Monumental Gingko treesof Fukusada

With the coming of autumn, the large ginkgo
trees start to glow in gold. They greet thevisitors to Kumano annually.

The Kii Mountain Range refers by and large to the Kii Peninsula projecting into
the Pacific Ocean. The mountain chain ranging from 1,000m to 2,000m
running east-west as well as south-north is a mountainous zone where deep
woods and forests are nurtured by abundant precipitation of more than 3,000
millimeters a year.
Since old times of lore, the Kii Mountain Ranges have always been thought ofas a special region inhabited by the gods. For Buddhism’s esoteric school of
Shingon, imported from China, the Kii Mountain Ranges were also a place topractice mountain asceticism. Moreover, along with the rising of the influenceof Buddhism, the spreading of notions peculiar to Japan such as the “fusion of
Shinto and Buddhism” and of the Buddhist concept of the “eventual demise of
Buddhism and a time of no enlightenment leading to chaos in the world” leadto the thought of the Kii Mountain Range as a “pure land.” It became the area
for ascetic practices such as Shugendo’s mountain asceticism, through which
the practioner could acquire supernatural strength. As a result, the threesacred mountainous regions in the Kii Mountain Ranges of Yoshino/Omine,
Kumano Sanzan, and Koyasan, and the pilgrimage routes leading to themsuch as Omine Okugakemichi, Kumano Sankeimichi, Koya Sankeimichicame to life. The people from the capital, and also from around the country
began visiting, and these sites came to exert a big influence upon the developments and exchanges of Japanese culture and religion.
The “Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range” spreading over the three prefectures of Wakayama, Mie, and Nara with its “sacred
mountain sites” and “pilgrimage routes” would not have been possible but for
the nature of the Kii Mountain Ranges. Its surrounding mountains, forests,
rivers, waterfalls, Onsens, and rural areas - in short, its “Cultural Landscape,”
plays an essential role. It is an asset of the kind of which the world has noother example of.

mountain worship and routes of mountain practices of religious
ascetic Buddhism”, which would not exist if it were not for thenature of the Kii Mountain Range.
In order to safeguard the “Cultural Landscape” of these sacredsites and pilgrimage routes, it is not enough to preserve only
the shrines and temples that are designated as Cultural
Properties; it is also necessary to maintain the surrounding
nature in a good condition of preservation and to conserve the“Cultural Landscape”, which has been inherited and nurtured
from generation to generation, as part of our proud heritage tobe presented to the world.

Seasonal Colors in Koya

[Winter]
Oto Matsuri (Fire Festival)

Men clad in white garments secured withstraw ropes carrying brightly burning torches
rush past the crowd all at once.

[Spring] The weeping cherry trees of
Shojoshin-in Temple
The brilliant hues of the 300-year-old weeping
cherry trees announce that spring has arrived
in Koya.

[Summer]
Candle Festival

The path is illuminated by approximately 100
thousand candles inviting us into a fantastic
world.

[Autumn]
Autumn colors of Jabaramichi

The soft autumn breeze rustles the tinted
leaves of Koya.

[Winter]Snow on Miedo Hall

Pure air and silence hover about as snow
floats down softly on the Miedo Hall.

This sacred site consists of three shrines (Kumano Hongu Taisha, Kumano
Hayatama Taisha, and Kumano Nachi Taisha), and two temples (Nachisan
Seiganto-ji and Fudarakusan-ji). Originally, each of the three Shinto shrines had
its own distinctive form of nature worship, but each embraced the main deities ofthe other two and enshrined all three deities, designating them as Japaneseincarnations of Buddha. With the growth of the Shinto-Buddhism fusion, thebelieves of these shrines became prevalent.
Nachisan Seiganto-ji is known as the first temple of 33 temples in the Saigoku
Pilgrimage, and Fudarakusan-ji is a temple known as having sent priests off onboats who sought the Buddhist Pure Land, Fudaraku, in the southern seas.

Kumano熊野Fudarakusan-ji

補陀洛山寺
Fudarakusan-ji is a temple known for its
priests setting sail to the southern sea
searching for the Buddhist Pure Land –Fudaraku Jodo.

Kumano Sankeimichi
熊野参詣道

Kumano Nachi Taisha

熊野那智大社
Kumano Nachi Taisha originates from theancient nature worship of the large waterfall
as its deity called Nachi no Otaki.
Besides the twelve deities of Kumano which itenshrines, the shrine is dedicated to thedeified Nachi no Otaki, called Hiro Gongen.

Nachisan Seiganto-ji

那智山青岸渡寺
Before the Shintoism and Buddhism
Separation Decree, this temple had been
known as Nyoirindo and established itself as
an integral part of Kumano Nachi Taisha. It isalso known as the first destination for the
Saigoku Pilgrimage.

Nakahechi
中辺路

Dotted along the Nakahechi route are “oji” shrines or their remains.
These were dedicated to child deities, offspring of the deities ofKumano. Between Kumano Hongu Taisha and Kumano Hayatama
Taisha, the journey was made by boat on the Kumanogawa River.

Hyakken gura

There are four routes leading to Kumano Sanzan. Following the west coast of the Kii
Peninsula was the route most frequented for the visits to Kumano. From Tanabe, one
could choose the Nakahechi Route, which was a mountainous route, the Ohechi
Route, which goes south along the coast, or the Kohechi Route, which unites
Koyasan to Kumano. Another option was the Iseji Route on the east coast of the Kii
Peninsula.
The visits to Kumano Sanzan Shrines started during the 10th century and becamevery popular until the 14th century. Because a multitude of pilgrims walked in longlines, it was described as “a pilgrimage of ants to Kumano.” In recent years, it has
become the route of the Saigoku Pilgrimage (pilgrimage to the west of the country)
which includes the visits to Kumano Sanzan.
There are only two examples of the road for pilgrimage being registered as World Heritage, one being the
Kumano Sankeimichi, Koya Sankeimichi, Omine Okugakemichi (with a length of about 347.7 km), and thesecond being the Santiago de Compostela Pilgrim Route (with a length of about 800km).

Ohechi大辺路

The road along which you canenjoy scenery of beach and ocean.
This route was used for bothpilgrimage and sightseeing fromthe 16th century.

Examples of the few hot springs and rivers which areregistered as pilgrimage routes on the World Heritage List

Iseji

伊勢路

This route was used chiefly by the people from the east of
the country. The pilgrims used it increasingly from the 17th
century because of the rising popularity of the Ise Jingu andSaigoku Pilgrimages.

Omine Okugakemichi
大峯奥駈道

Kumano Hongu Taisha

熊野本宮大社
Since the time of its foundation, Kumano Hongu
Taisha was situated on the Kumanogawa
River's sandbank known as Oyunohara.
However, after the river flooded in 1889, thesurviving shrine buildings including the threemain structures were relocated to the present
location and reconstructed.

Nachi no Otaki

那智大滝With a width of 13m at its mouth and a vertical drop of 133m along the rugged
face of its cliffs, Nachi no Otaki is the highest and most famous waterfall inJapan. Upstream of Otaki, there are a number of waterfalls called Nachi Fortyeight Waterfalls where practitioners of Shugendo (mountain asceticism) gather.

Kumano Hayatama Taisha

熊野速玉大社
Kumano Hayatama Taisha is situated near
the mouth of the Kumanogawa River. A
natural monument, the deified podocarpus
Nagi tree, spreads its majestic trunk andboughs in the shrine precinct.

Oyunohara

大斎原
Up to 1889, Kumano Hongu Taisha was
located on a sandbank at the confluence ofthe Kumano River and its tributaries of the
Otonashi River and the Iwata River. Shrinesand pagoda buildings used to stand there.

The route reserved for the
ascetic
practitionersof
Shugendo connects Yoshino to
Kumano.
From Yoshino to Kumano, theroute weaves through a
succession of mountain ridges
nearing 2000m with training
grounds at every turn of theroute.

Kamikura-jinja

神倉神社
Kamikura-jinja is an auxiliary shrine standingon the detached grounds of Kumano
Hayatama Taisha. The shrine’s sacredmonolith is referred to as “Gotobikiiwa,”
which means toad in the local dialect.

Koya Sankeimichi Choishimichi

Yunomine Onsen (Hot spring) Kumanogawa River
湯の峰温泉

Kohechi

小辺路
This route is the steepest among the
Kumano Sankeimichi, and there are threemountain passes at altitudes of more than
1000m.

The hot spring house already existed here at
the beginning of the 12th century. The spring
was at the core of the faith that no disease wasincurable for the deities of Kumano, and is also
known as an important site in the legend of
Oguri Hogan.

熊野川

From the 10th century up to the 17th
century, the faithful coming from Kumano
Hongu Taisha visited Kumano Hayatama
Taisha by boat. The Kumanogawa Riveris registered in the World Heritage list as
a waterway pilgrimage route.

The route to Koyasan, which is referred to as Koya Nanakuchi (seven gates to
Koyasan), extends from various directions—from the north, south, east, andwest. Choishimichi was registered as World Heritage in 2004. Mitanizaka,
Kyo-osakamichi Fudozaka, Kurokomichi, and Nyoninmichi were additionallyregistered in 2016.
Choishimichi, established by Kukai, is marked by stone guide posts calledchoishi, which were set at every cho (ancient measure of about 109m) and at
every ri (ancient measure of about 4km). Mitanizaka, records of which date backto the Heian period, connects Niusakadono-jinja and Niutsuhime-jinja.
Kyo-osakamichi Fudozaka was traveled by countless pilgrims from the Kyoto andOsaka areas in the early modern era. Kurokomichi runs from the southern bankof Kinokawa River, between Manisan and Yoryusan, to the gate of Senju-in.
Nyoninmichi wound through the mountain ridges surrounding Danjo Garan(temple complex) to connect the Nyonin-do (women’s temples). The histories andcultures of these routes convey to the present the faithful devotion to Koyasan.

Koya
Sankeimichi
高野参詣道World Heritage
Based on “the treaty concerning the preservation of theworld’s cultural and natural heritage”, or “the World
Heritage Treaty” adopted in 1972 at the general
meeting of the UNESCO, it sets forth the duty to protect
and conserve “on an international basis” assets suchas “ruins”, “structures” and “nature” which are irreplaceable to Mankind as a whole.
To be registered as World Heritage, several conditions
must be fulfilled: the assets must first be protected bynational law on unconditional terms; the nature of theassets must appear as unique and characteristic to the
UNESCO “World Heritage committee”; its “remarkable
and universal value” must be submitted to comparison
with criteria selected internationally.
Another necessary condition is that the assets must be
subjected to a fully efficient preservation management
program in an amount commensurate with their value.
At the present date of March 2017, there are 1052 sites
listed in the world, 20 of which in Japan. As the numberof assets registered continues to grow, and as it is afounding principle that similarly redundant assets
cannot be listed, the actual list represents thehistorical, cultural and natural heritage of each country
in the world.

Koya高野The Koya sacred sites are made up of Kongobu-ji which
Kobo Daishi (Kukai) founded in 816 to serve as a dojo
(exercise hall) to learn the teachings of the Shingon
asceticism, Jison-in, built at its foot, Niutsuhime-jinja,
halfway between Kongobu-ji and Jison-in which continues tobear a close connection with Kongobu-ji, and Niukanshofu-jinja which enshrines the tutelary god of Kanshofuso.
With its history of 1,200 years of mountain worship at the
secluded mountain top religious complex, Koyasan
constitutes a Cultural Landscape pertaining to the worship oftemples and natural environment which have been merged
into one single entity.

The great pagoda at the
Danjo Garan was built toserve as a dojo (exercise
hall) for Shingon esoteric
Buddhism. The principal
idols consist of Dainichi
Nyorai (the Great Buddha)in the Womb realm and of
the four Buddhas of the
Diamond Realm, with 16
great Bodhisattvas depicted
on 16 pillars.

Name of the cultural asset
Kumano Hongu Taisha

KumanoSanzanKumano Hayatama Taisha
Kumano Nachi Taisha
Nachisan Seiganto-ji
Nachi no Otaki
Nachi Primeval Forest

金剛峯寺
The peculiar disposition of the sacredprecinct represents the doctrine of the
Shingon esoteric school. Together with
Okuno-in, they are called “the Two Dais” andconstitute a prominent sacred area in
Koyasan.

Koyasan高野山

Niutsuhime-jinja

丹生官省符神社
When Kobo Daishi (Kukai) establishedadministrative structures at the foot of Mt.
Koya, he enshrined in Niukanshofu Jinja two
deities of Niutsuhime and Koyamiko as theirtutelary gods.

Prefecture of Residence Year of inscription
Nara Prefecture
Hyogo Prefecture
Kagoshima Prefecture
Aomori Pref . / Akita Pref.
Kyoto Pref. / Shiga Pref,
Gifu Pref. / Toyama Pref.
Hiroshima Prefecture
Hiroshima Prefecture
Nara Prefecture
Tochigi Prefecture
Okinawa Prefecture
Wakayama Pref. / Mie Pref. /Nara Pref.
Hokkaido
Shimane Prefecture
Iwate Prefecture

1993
1993
1993
1993
1994
1995
1996
1996
1998
1999
2000
2004

Tokyo Prefecture
Shizuoka Pref. / Yamanashi Pref
Gunma Prefecture
Iwate Pref. / Shizuoka Pref. /Yamaguchi Pref. / Fukuoka Pref. /Kumamoto Pref. / Saga Pref. /Nagasaki Pref. / Kagoshima Pref.
Tokyo Prefecture

2011
2013
2014
2015

*Yakushima, Shirakami-Sanchi, Shiretoko and Ogasawara Islands are natural
heritage, the others are cultural heritage.

Japan’sWorld
Heritage

Okuno-in
奥院

This is the sacred place where Kobo Daishi (Kukai) has entered into atranscendental meditative state. This place comprises an invaluable
cultural landscape amidst the ancient 500-year-old cedars and among
the estimated 300 thousand tombstones built for the faithful who wish to
be near the great Kobo Daishi.

Pilgrimage
Routes
参詣道

Date ofdesignation

2005
2007
2011

2016

18

14
20

17

19

site
site/culturallandscapesite/culturallandscape

1891

site
culturallandscapeculturallandscapeDescription

Prefecture of
Residence

One of the three shrines constituting Kumano Sanzan.

Wakayama Pref.

(prehistory)

One of the three shrines constituting Kumano Sanzan,originating from stone worship.

Wakayama Pref.

(prehistory)

One of the three shrines constituting Kumano Sanzan originating from waterfall
worship.

Wakayama Pref.

Temple dedicated to Kannon, who legend tells made its appearance at the waterfall.

Wakayama Pref.

(prehistory)

Largest waterfall in Japan which has been worshipped since ancient times.

Wakayama Pref.

(prehistory)

Primeval forest which has been protected as sacred area.

Wakayama Pref.

Site of the temple which served as the base for priests who set sail in search of the
Buddhist Pure Land, Fudarakusan.

Wakayama Pref.

Remains of the shrine dedicated to the guardian deity of Kongobu-ji,Buddhistbuildings,and the pilgrimage route.
Temple compound of Kongobu-ji, which was built as the place for ascetic practices on
a mountain for the Shingon sect of esoteric Buddhism.

Wakayama Pref.

Temple built at the administrative office of Kongobu-ji at the mountain foot.

Wakayama Pref.

Shrine dedicated to the guardian deity of the administrative office of Kongobu-ji at themountain foot.

Wakayama Pref.

early
5th century

Niutsuhime-jinja

site(prehistory)

Kongobu-ji
Jison-insite/culturallandscape
site
site

816
early
9th century
early
9th century

Wakayama Pref.

site/culturallandscape(prehistory)

Sacred site in association with nature worship and the Shugen sect.

Nara Pref.

Yoshino Mikumari-jinja

site(prehistory)

Site of the shrine dedicated to the land deity of Yoshinoyama.

Nara Pref.

Kimpu-jinja

site(prehistory)

Site of the shrine dedicated to the land deity of Yoshinoyama

Nara Pref.

Kimpusen-ji

site

12th century

Site of the central temple for the Shugen sect and its support facilities.

Nara Pref.

site

12th century

Site of the temple buildings affiliated to Kimpusen-ji.

Nara Pref.

site

early
8th century

Place for ascetic practices around the mountaintop temple, where legend tells theprinciple deity of the Shugen sect, made its appearance.

Nara Pref.

Yoshinoyama

Yoshino andOmine

Type of thecultural asset

site

Yoshimizu-jinja

early 10th
Route used by many people who visit Kumano Sanzan for pilgrimages.
Wakayama Pref. /Miesite/culturallandscape century at latest (overall distance: 212.2km)
Pref./Nara Pref.
Major pilgrimage route connecting Kyoto and Kumano Sanzan and connecting threesite/cultural
Wakayama Pref./Nakahechi landscape (prehistory) sacred sites of Kumano Sanzan. (overall distance: 100.2km)
Mie Pref .
Pilgrimage route passing on the west coast of the Kii Peninsula.
site/cultural
Wakayama
Pref.
8thcentury
Ohechi(overall distance: 14.1km)
landscapesite/cultural 1573 at latest Pilgrimage route connecting Koyasan and Kumano Sanzan. (overall distance: 43.7km) Wakayama Pref./Kohechi landscape
Nara Pref .
Pilgrimage route passing on the east coast of the Kii Peninsula,which connects Iselate 10thsite/cultural
Wakayama Pref./Isejilandscape century at latest Shrine(Ise-jingu) and Kumano Sanzan. (overall distance: 54.2km)
Mie Pref .
Route used by many people who visit Koyasan for pilgrimages.
earlysite/cultural
Wakayama
Pref.
Koya Sankeimichi(overall distance: 48.6km)
9th century
landscapePilgrimage
route
as
the
stage
of
ascetic
practices,whichconnects
Yoshino
and
Omine
early
Wakayama
Pref./
site/cultural
Omine Okugakemichi
to Kumano Sanzan. (overall distance: 86.9km)
8th century
landscapeNara Pref.

Kumano Sankeimichi

Niukanshofu-jinja“The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding
Contribution to the Modern Movement”

Fudarakusan-ji

Ominesan-ji

慈尊院This temple built on the south bank of the
Kinokawa River holds the national treasureof a seated figure of Mirokubutsu enshrined
in its main hall (Amida Hall).

20 The main building of the National Museum of Western Art

early
5th century

Niukanshofu-jinja

丹生都比売神社
Though this shrine was known as thetutelary god of Koyasan, its old temple
buildings were destroyed according to adecree in 1868 in order to separate Shinto
and Buddhism into its present state.

吉野・大峯

Jison-in

Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area
Himeji-jo
Yakushima
Shirakami-Sanchi
Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto
Historic Gassho-style Villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama
Itsukushima Shinto-Shrine
Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome)Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara
Shrines and Temples of Nikko
Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu
Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes
in the Kii Mountain Range
Shiretoko
Iwami-Ginzan Silver Mine Sites and its cultural landscapeHiraizumi – Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites
Representing the Buddhist Pure Land
Ogasawara Islands
Fujisan, sacred place and source of artistic inspiration
Tomioka Silk Mill and Related Sites
Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel,
Shipbuilding and Coal Mining“Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range” List of registered cultural assets

熊野三山

Kongobu-ji (at Danjo garan)

Object