Charming Wakayama
Known for the Kumano Kodo trail, Wakayama is where nature is revered.
Known for the Kumano Kodo trail, Wakayama is where nature is revered.
Over 2,500 years ago in the misty history of
ancient Japan, the Emperor Jimmu sought the perfect place to rule over his country. He and his family encountered many hardships and defeats along the way until the intervention of a three-legged crow called Yatagarasu. This crow had been sent by heaven as a guide for the Emperor and it led him from a region called Kumano and to the promised land of Yamato. Kumano was, and still is, a land of small rugged mountains steeped in a deep spirituality with a profound connection to nature. Here the mountains, streams, waterfalls and even the rocks are objects of worship. This is a land where nature is still placed on the highest pedestal and the care shown to it is without parallel anywhere in the world.
Located in present-day Wakayama Prefecture, Kumano is the name given to the southern part of the Kii Peninsula. Wakayama is located just south of Osaka and the Kansai International Airport is only 20 minutes away, a very convenient gateway to this land of the gods. Crossing the mountains just south of the airport is a transformative experience. Gone is modern and crowded Japan. Gone is the hectic and frenzied pace of life in the big cities. Gone are the lines of modern apartment buildings. This is a Japan from a bygone era, a classical and mystical place where it is hard to draw the line between this realm and the spiritual world.
When you enter Kumano, you are in the
home of Yatagarasu and, just like his three legs, this is a place where things come in triplicate. It is religion that makes this place famous and it is fitting there are three religions here, each perfectly at peace with the other in harmonious balance. Shinto, the national religion of Japan, is most prominent and the bright orange shrines are never out of sight. Buddhism comes next, and it is a unique local form of the teachings of the Buddha that predominates here. Underlying it all is a local, more nature-focused belief where even the ground we walk on is to be respected. The term used by local priests here can best be translated as syncretism and it is a very apt description.
Most visitors come to this region for the Kumano Kodo, which is a series of ancient pilgrimage trails that cover the southern part of Wakayama Prefecture. These are old routes and hiking them you can still feel the presence of those who came before you over the past thousand years. Naturally there are three main pilgrimage routes and they all radiate out from deep in the mountains. The Kohechi and Iseji routes are the most rugged and least travelled, both offering strenuous trails through thick forests blanketed with ferns and moss. However, it is the Kiji route that attracts pilgrims, hikers and other visitors from around the world.
It is very difficult to find any trash anywhere and the locals go to extraordinary lengths to avoid generating garbage. Single-use plastic items are rare and you will never find a plastic bag floating in these sacred rivers.
The Kiji route was registered by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 2004. Known as Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range, it is indeed a fitting description. These sacred sites are centred on three major shrines and they are the foci of the entire region. These shrines are the religious soul of Japan and they encapsulate thousands of years of culture and history. But these shrines are not relics of a bygone era; they are still active and vibrant places where anybody who wishes can cross the bridge into the spiritual realm. Pilgrims hike the trails, monks ring the bells and Shinto priests show people Yatagarasu, who is now a rock within the Kumano Nachi Taisha shrine. Spirituality is the living, beating heart of the Kumano and it is the natural gods that provide the greatest show.
Within 20 minutes of leaving ultra-modern Kansai airport, signs begin to appear for animal crossings on the side of the road. At first they are very common: deer and raccoons. The further you get into the wild regions of Wakayama, the more bizarre they get, the best being that for monkey crossing. The natural world is worshipped here and it shows. Old women boil eggs in onsen (hot springs) while bathers go about their business nearby in the crystal clear water. All the while monkeys can be seen grooming each other on the roofs of nearby homes while huge birds of prey circle high overhead. The whole scene is that of idyllic coexistence.
If there could be one natural spirit that seems to shine more than any other, it would be water. Wakayama is a place where water ties everything together both physically and spiritually. Water is also the most important element in the everyday life of the people. It is the rivers that nourish their spiritual needs up in shrines of the Kumano Kodo. It is the ocean that provides for their physical needs in the form of food. It the beaches and shore that gives them entertainment and provides the jobs they need to get by in the modern world. It is said that Wakayama is a land of water.
The source of the water is up in the Kii Mountains in the center of Wakayama. It starts as rain from the wet air currents that blow in from the Pacific Ocean. It waters the rich forests and then filters into the earth, only to re-emerge from springs that bubble forth in great profusion. The springs form into streams and then rivers, the water clean and pure. Some of this water comes forth steaming hot and smelling of sulphur from the various onsen, where it blends into the rivers and creates fog in the early morning chill. This world where hot and cold mix and the air changes from clear to fog is where the gods dwell. This intoxicating assault on the senses is where Yatagarasu led the first Emperor and it is along these rivers and waterfalls that the primary shrines and temples lie. The pilgrimage routes often follow the water and these rivers have dominated religious life here for centuries. Sometimes this domination is destructive. Raging typhoons regularly hit this area and deluge the mountains with rain. This leads to massive floods, which have over the years destroyed the original temples and shaped the Kumano Kodo we see today. No single element, not even man, has had such a profound impact on the religious landscape of Wakayama.
This religious commitment to the environment is astounding to see as there is one thing missing: trash. It is very difficult to find any trash anywhere and the locals go to extraordinary lengths to avoid generating garbage. Single-use plastic items are rare and you will never find a plastic bag floating in these sacred rivers. This is not just around the temples; it is everywhere. You would be very hard pressed to find any wrappers left by hikers even in the most remote parts of the forest. River beds are often littered with garbage, but not here and even after a major recent flood there is not a bottle or diaper to be found. The water itself is thought to have healing powers and it is clean enough to drink should you want to find out. It is amazing what people can do when they worship the water they drink.
The Japanese relationship with the ocean is incredibly deep, complex, and not without controversy.
The main pilgrimage shrine is along the rivers up in the Hongu area, but the second is down on the coast. Fittingly, this pilgrimage route is done on the water, even the earliest emperors who made this journey took a raft downstream to the next shrine. In the summer this can be done as an exciting whitewater rafting trip, but you take a wooden raft and you do it standing up! The water pilgrimage to the shrine also takes you back to the physical world where more mundane concerns predominate. The Kumano Hayatama Taisha shrine is the last outpost of the mystical realm in the small fishing port of Shingu. Here, amongst the quiet streets, is where the holy water of the Kumano meets the salt water of the Pacific Ocean.
The Japanese relationship with the ocean is incredibly deep, complex, and not without controversy. Nowhere can this better be seen than in the small coastal fishing ports along the southern coast of Wakayama. Katsuura is one of these towns and it is located not far south of Shingu. The port is the scene of the biggest fresh tuna auction in Japan. This is not the famous auction in Tokyo where the tuna has been frozen; here it is freshly caught and brought directly ashore for sale. In the early morning darkness the entire town is eerily quiet and only a few people move about, but along the pier there is noise, light and action. Here you find the tuna boats unloading their night’s catch directly into the market. Before the sun comes up, the action begins and buyers swoop in to get the prized fish. Hundreds of tuna line up in the early morning light, looking like silver torpedoes laid out on the cement floor. The spectacle is almost unbelievable to see and it is almost impossible not to wonder how many fish can possibly be left in the sea.
This is such a complex subject in Japan, where fish is the primary source of protein in the diet. One out of every 10 fish eaten in the world is consumed in Japan, which only has 1.6 percent of the world’s population. The Japanese are utterly dependent on the ocean for food and it is present in every meal. Many of these fish come through the small town of Katsuura and they provide nourishment to the people of the Wakayama area and much of the rest of Japan. In a sense, the waters of Wakayama provide both the spiritual and physical sustenance to the entire country. In Katsuura the fish are not worshiped as deities, but there is a deep respect for them. The fish are almost entirely consumed: Just like with garbage, there is very little waste. The water in the port is perfectly clean; you could easily swim across the bay. It would be a challenge to find another commercial fishing port anywhere where you can find water this clean. There is no trash floating on the surface, no oil slicks, no sewage leaking out and even the floor of the auction is clean enough to eat off of. It is hard to reconcile this respect for the water and the massive harvest of fish going on, but that in a sense is true for all of Japan.
The spiritual connection to the water in Katsuura can be found if you follow the river that winds through town back up into the mountains. Minutes away from the tuna auction you find yourself back in the land of the gods at the foot of the tallest waterfall in Japan. This is Kumano Nachi Taisha shrine and the waterfall forms the centrepiece.Actually several shrines, and several religions, this complex is the most famous in Wakayama and it ranks as one of the most important shrines in Japan. It is here, within sight of the towering waterfall, where Yatagarasu decided to spend eternity in the form of a rock. It is fitting that his final location is also the most awesome display of water you will find anywhere in Japan. The three-legged crow is here and this marks the end of the pilgrimage, but there is one more aspect of water in Wakayama that must be considered.
Water also is for rest and relaxation in Wakayama. Along the rugged western coastline you will find an ocean paradise. Rocky shores tower over clear water that reflects a dazzling variety of shades of blue. The water here is warmer than expected, the result of the Kuroshio Current bringing warm water from the Philippines and Micronesia north to Japan. These waters boast the northernmost tropical reefs in the world and
they are a diver’s delight. Dive shops line the road along the coast and every day divers head out to see everything from colourful reef fish to hammerhead sharks. For those not interested in diving, the water provides one more treasure.
White sand beaches – these three words conjure images of paradise to many vacation seekers around the world and the town of Shirahama has some of the prettiest you will ever find. This is a beach lover’s dream come true with perfect sand, crystal clear water and plenty of luxurious hotels and excellent restaurants. Once again, though, it is what you won’t find that really stands out. There is no trash on the beach. None. Nor can you find it at any of the other stretch of shore, even in the most remote locations. In a world where the Pacific Garbage Patch is old news, this is almost unfathomable. To find a pristine stretch of coastline that runs for over 100 kilometres without any trash is just unreal. This is not because the trash isn’t there – plenty of it washes ashore from other countries – but the Japanese quickly pick it up and correctly dispose of it, all the while making sure not to generate more themselves. The respect for the water here along the beaches is not spiritual, but it does show a deep connection and sense of respect that is evident in everyday life.
Wakayama is the land of water and the land of the gods. It has powerful historical, spiritual and cultural significance to the Japanese and any foreigner who visits will be forever changed. From the isolated section of the Kumano Kodo high in the mountains, to perfect white sand beaches with towering international hotels, to a tuna auction in a sleepy fishing port, Wakayama is a place that delivers one blow to your senses after another. There is a religious respect for nature here and it shows us what we can accomplish when we treat our environment as a religious object and not a source of material gain. It is a wonderful place to visit and it will change your outlook on life, religion and the future of our planet.
Andrew was hosted by Wakayama Tourism Federation on this trip. For more information on planning a trip there, visit https://en.visitwakayama.jp/.