Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range

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Exploring the Spiritual Heart of Japan: Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range

The Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004, offers a unique glimpse into the rich cultural tapestry of Japan. This site, nestled within the verdant forests of the Kii Mountains along the Pacific coast, comprises three sacred sites - Yoshino and Omine, Kumano Sanzan, and Koyasan - interconnected by ancient pilgrimage routes that once led to the ancient capitals of Nara and Kyoto.

UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site

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.

UNESCO Justification of the World Heritage Site

Criterion (ii): The monuments and sites that form the cultural landscape of the Kii Mountains are a unique fusion between Shintoism and Buddhism that illustrates the interchange and development of religious cultures in East Asia.

Criterion (iii): The Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in the Kii Mountains, and their associated rituals, bear exceptional testimony to the development of Japan’s religious culture over more than a thousand years.

Criterion (iv): The Kii Mountains have become the setting for the creation of unique forms of shrine and temple buildings which have had a profound influence on the building of temples and shrines elsewhere in Japan.

Criterion (vi): Together, the sites and the forest landscape of the Kii Mountains reflect a persistent and extraordinarily well-documented tradition of sacred mountains over the past 1200 years.

Encyclopedia Record: Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range

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