A is a type of

Shinto shrine A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...

which enshrines the three Kumano mountains: Hongū, Shingū, and Nachi [].Encyclopedia of Shinto
Kumano Shinkō
accessed on October 6, 2008 There are more than 3,000 Kumano shrines in Japan, and each has received its

kami are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...

from another Kumano shrine through a process of propagation called or . The point of origin of the Kumano cult is the Kumano Sanzan shrine complex in

Wakayama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Wakayama Prefecture has a population of 944,320 () and has a geographic area of . Wakayama Prefecture borders Osaka Prefecture to the north, and Mie Prefecture and Nara Prefecture ...

, which comprises (

Shingū, Wakayama 270px, Shingū city hall 270px, Shingū city aerial photograph 270px, Shingū Castle ruins is a city located in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 27,491 in 14649 households and a population density of 110 p ...

Kumano Hongū Taisha is a Shinto shrine located in Tanabe, Wakayama, deep in the rugged mountains of the Kii Peninsula of Japan. It is included as part of the Kumano Sanzan in the World Heritage Site "

( acred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range". ...

Kumano Sanzan

They are connected to each other by the pilgrimage route known as . The great Kumano Sanzan complex also includes two Buddhist temples,

Seiganto-ji , Temple of Crossing the Blue Shore, is a Tendai Buddhist temple in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. In 2004, it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with other locations, under the name "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mounta ...

and

Fudarakusan-ji is Tendai temple of the Higashimuro district, Wakayama prefecture, Japan. The name of temple comes from mount Potalaka. It is said to have been founded by Ragyō Shōnin, a monk from India. In 2004, it was designated as part of a UNESCO World ...

. The religious significance of the Kumano region goes back to prehistoric times and therefore predates all modern religions in Japan.Kumano Sanzan
/ref> The area is still considered a place of physical healing. Each shrine initially had its own separate form of nature worship, but in the 10th century, under the influence of Buddhism, the three came to be worshiped together as the three deities of Kumano. Because at the time Japanese ''kami'' were believed to be emanations of

buddhas In Buddhism, Buddha (; Pali, Sanskrit: 𑀩𑀼𑀤𑁆𑀥, बुद्ध), "awakened one", is a title for those who are awake, and have attained nirvana and Buddhahood through their own efforts and insight, without a teacher to point out ...

(''

honji suijaku The term in Japanese religious terminology refers to a theory widely accepted until the Meiji period according to which Indian Buddhist deities choose to appear in Japan as native ''kami'' to more easily convert and save the Japanese.Breen and Te ...

'' theory), the three came to be associated with Buddhas. Kuniyasutamahime became associated with ''Sahasrabhūja''

Avalokiteśvara In Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara (Sanskrit: अवलोकितेश्वर, IPA: ) is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. He has 108 avatars, one notable avatar being Padmapāṇi (lotus bearer). He is variably depicted, ...

(''Senju Kannon'', " Thousand-Armed Avalokiteśvara"),

Bhaisajyaguru Bhaiṣajyaguru ( sa, भैषज्यगुरु, zh, t= , ja, 薬師仏, ko, 약사불, bo, སངས་རྒྱས་སྨན་བླ), or ''Bhaishajyaguru'', formally Bhaiṣajya-guru-vaiḍūrya-prabhā-rāja ("Medicine Master ...

(''Yakushi Nyōrai'') and

Amitābha Amitābha ( sa, अमिताभ, IPA: ), also known as Amitāyus, is the primary Buddha of Pure Land Buddhism. In Vajrayana Buddhism, he is known for his longevity, discernment, pure perception, purification of aggregates, and deep awarene ...

(''Amida Nyōrai''). The site became, therefore, a unique example of

shinbutsu-shūgō ''Shinbutsu-shūgō'' (, "syncretism of kami and buddhas"), also called Shinbutsu shū (, "god buddha school") Shinbutsu-konkō (, "jumbling up" or "contamination of kami and buddhas"), is the syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism that was Japan's o ...

, the fusion between Buddhism and Japanese

indigenous religion Indigenous religions is a category used in the study of religion to demarcate the religious belief systems of communities described as being "indigenous". This category is often juxtaposed against others such as the "world religions" and "new re ...

. Thereafter the Kumano Sanzan site attracted many worshipers and became a popular pilgrimage destination. In the 11th century pilgrims were mostly members of the

imperial family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term pap ...

or aristocrats, but four centuries later they were mostly commoners. The visit was referred to as the because they could be seen winding through the valleys like so many ants.

Notes

References

* D. Max Moerman, ''Localizing Paradise: Kumano Pilgrimage and the Religious Landscape of Premodern Japan''. Harvard University Press, 2004. * Moerman, David (1997)
The ideology of landscape and the theater of state: Insei pilgrimage to Kumano (1090–1220)
Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 24 (3-4), 347-374

External links

*Japanese Wikipedia article " :ja:熊野神社" accessed on June 12, 2008
Tanabe City Kumano Tourism Bureau
{{Authority control Shinto shrines in Japan Kumano faith

Kumano Sanzan

See also

Notes

References

External links