Japan 2019

Sunday10thNovember

Before reaching Tanabe, a 2-hour drive from here, we pass by the large white sand beach of Shirahama, the town where we are spending two nights. This spa and seaside resort is crowded with people in summer. In November, the beach facing the Pacific Ocean (and more precisely the Philippine Sea) is practically deserted, and only the feet of a few onlookers enjoy the cool ocean water.

As for me, my feet won't have time to enjoy it because after a day of driving my back decided, without warning, to go on strike immediately! Wanting to pick up a pebble in the sand, I was literally brought to the ground by one of my intervertebral discs which, undoubtedly angry at too much mistreatment in the rental Toyota  , inflicted an immediate and painful paralysis of my lower back...   It took me long minutes to regain a vertical (and dignified...) position during which I expressed serious doubts about the rest of the trip... But fortunately, it was nothing, although sending me regular alerts, my back held up until the end!!!  

My big scare over, we happily arrive by car at our first stop at the small Takijiriojimiyatogo shrine, on the Kumano Kodo paths that lead to Tanabe. Kumano Kodo is the name of these ancient roads that many pilgrims have traveled to reach great shrines, including Hongu Taisha, the closest in the region.

We will not take this path, still a bit far from Tanabe for our day's program. We will reach the town directly by car.

Before leaving, we pass by a stall selling a type of plum, "ume" in Japanese, fruits, as its name does not indicate, of the Japanese apricot tree (Prunus Mume), very popular with Japanese people.

Here we are now in Tanabe, facing a "torii". These kinds of "gateways", usually made of wood, indicate the entrance to a sacred place, often Shinto. Here, we are at the Hongu Taisha shrine, one of the three essential sites of the "Kumano Kodo".

Shinto shrine often rhymes with marriage! Indeed, traditional Shinto weddings must take place in a sacred place of said confession. The two future spouses are therefore here ready to enter the shrine, in traditional attire. White "shiromuku" for the lady, and the "montsuki" kimono for the gentleman.

The tsuno-kakushi, the large white hood, hides the headdress. But we will have other opportunities to talk in more detail about traditional Shinto marriage!  

A path lined with cedars leads to the grand staircase that goes up to the temple.

The usual chōzubachi fountain for purification with hishaku ladles.

The other essential feature of Shinto temples, the small paper strips on which "divinatory" texts are inscribed. These omikuji are drawn by lot by the faithful in the hope of obtaining a positive omen related to their question. If the drawn answer is a bad omen, the paper is tied up to ward off bad luck...

Next to the omikuji, ema plaques are hung with texts of thanks or prayers chosen by the faithful.

Access to the temple is through a gate and its enormous braided rice straw rope, the shimenawa.
"The exclusively manual braiding of shimenawa is carried out by Japanese artisans or by members of a temple. This braiding is very often helical (double helix) but can be triple (like a braid). No qualification is required for its design other than having been washed and purified by water following the Shinto rite (especially if one wishes to obtain an effective shimenawa). Some braids require several tens of people, especially those of jinja which can sometimes reach several hundred kilograms." © Wikipedia

Here we are on the other side of the gate, in the sacred enclosure of the Shinto shrine. The faithful come to ring the suzu bell to awaken the attention of the present deities and address their prayers to them.

The shrine was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2004.

The Kumano Kodo path continues beyond the shrine but still within the village of Tanabe. We then access the countryside, starting with a bamboo grove with imposing stalks leading the bamboo leaves high into the sky...  

A Kumano Kodo sign adorned with another sign, "beware of dog poop"! At least, that's what I understood with Google Translate...  

From left to right, an orange tree, a Persian lilac (Melia Azedarach) and a sacred bamboo (Nandina domestica).

We are now treading the stone-paved path that crosses the cedar forest and leads to the top of the small mountain and its viewpoint over the valley...

The cedars generously give way to ferns, Dryopteris wallichiana.  

What do we find in the Japanese forests bordering the Kumano Kodo paths? Cedars... from Japan, of course! Cryptomeria japonica in Latin.  

All the Kumano Kodo paths were also classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2004. Only one other example had this same privilege 6 years earlier: the Camino de Santiago.

The path passes by a viewpoint over the valley and the superb green mountains. In the distance, a small structure can be distinguished, as if balanced, the great Torii of Ōyunohara.

The Torii, built in the year 2000, is the largest in the world. It was placed on the site of the old Ōyunohara shrine, destroyed by floods in 1889.

We continue the path that descends towards Tanabe and the famous Torii.

Here we are in front of the great Torii, gateway to the remains of the ancient Ōyunohara shrine.

The torii is 34 meters high.

At the foot of the torii, a chōzubachi fountain with its hishaku ladles.

The great shrine that disappeared in 1889 has given way to a large green space where a simple small altar allows the faithful to come and bow.

We take the car again to reach Yunomine, located 10 minutes from Kumano. This small picturesque village benefits from the hot underground waters to supply several onsen and other curiosities...

The entrance to one of the onsen.

Facing the onsen, another use for the hot waters... Yes, it's not just humans that can be plunged into the simmering water... There are also vegetables and eggs!

After the Kumano paths, here is the river of the same name.

A short break in front of the river, an opportunity for the Japanese to take a nap. The car becomes a bedroom, so it's logical to leave your shoes outside!  

Last stop of the day at the estuary where the Kumano River flows into the Philippine Sea, west of the Kii Peninsula. We are at the Hayatama Taisha shrine, one of the three main shrines of "Kumano Sanzan" called "Sōhonsha".

This Shinto shrine is dedicated to the God of nature, Hayatama no Okami, guarded among other things, by this small dragon and the enormous shimenawa rope under which one must pass to enter the enclosure.

Ema plaques longer than usual.

Night falls gently, causing the orange lanterns to light up, as do all the temples of the shrine.

It is said that millennial trees are hiding here. Would one be behind this torii? Mystery...  

As we leave the shrine, we also leave the Kumano paths. Tomorrow, we return north beyond Osaka to get closer to Hiroshima.