Daimon-zaka: Where Pilgrims Once Walked in Lines Like Ants

Daimon-zaka

(Higashimuro District, Wakayama)

【Kodo（古道）】is a Japanese word meaning an “ancient trail.” It refers to paths that people have used for centuries. Kodo often follows the natural contours of the land, making the path uneven, winding, and sometimes steep. The surface may be packed earth hardened by countless footsteps, uneven stone paving often covered in moss, or worn stone steps smoothed by generations of travelers.

As times changed, however, new paved roads were built throughout the mountains. Straighter and easier routes gradually replaced many of the old trails, and some kodo eventually fell into disuse.

The Kumano Kodo is one of these ancient trails that has survived in the deeply forested mountains of southern Wakayama Prefecture. Crossing the remote mountains of the Kii Peninsula, it has been known for centuries as a pilgrimage route.

Countless pilgrims, including emperors, once made their way along these rugged mountain paths to Kumano, home to the three grand shrines: “Kumano Hongu Taisha”, “Kumano Nachi Taisha”, and “Kumano Hayatama Taisha”.

So many people traveled to Kumano that the pilgrimage was famously described as “the Kumano pilgrimage of ants,” comparing the long lines of pilgrims to ants moving along a trail.

For these pilgrims, the difficult journey was more than simply a way of getting to the shrines. Walking the rugged mountain paths was itself considered an act of purification. By enduring the journey, pilgrims sought to wash away their sins and impurities and to be spiritually reborn. Kumano came to be revered as a “land of rebirth,” a place where people could leave their past behind and begin anew.

The Kumano Kodo is not a single trail but a network of six major routes, including paths that follow the coastline and others that cross deep into the mountains. The routes range from about 60 to 170 kilometers in length.

If you would like to experience the atmosphere of the ancient pilgrimage routes without undertaking such a long journey, Daimon-zaka (or the Daimon Slope) is an excellent place to start.

Daimon-zaka is about 500 meters long, with an elevation gain of approximately 100 meters. The trail leads uphill toward “Kumano Nachi Taisha”, passing through a beautiful forest of towering trees, including ancient cedar trees more than 800 years old. Along the way, you can walk on a moss-covered stone path and climb 267 stone steps.

The entrance to Daimon-zaka begins as a paved local road branching off from the main road. As you walk up a gentle slope, the paved road gradually gives way to stone-paved path, and the forest begins to close around you.

The stones beneath your feet have been worn by countless footsteps over many centuries. Above you, tall trees rise high enough to block much of the sunlight, while moss grows thickly on their trunks.

As you climb deeper into the forest, you may find yourself thinking less and focusing more on each step in front of you. Your breathing becomes heavier, your mind grows quiet, and your mind gradually begin to relax. Perhaps this experience is part of what people in the past meant by “rebirth.”

After passing through the dense forest of Daimon-zaka, you continue climbing a further set of stone steps until you reach “Kumano Nachi Taisha”.

Take a moment to turn around and look back. From here, you can see the deep mountains stretching into the distance―the same mountains that pilgrims in the past must have crossed on foot from faraway places to reach Kumano.

But the journey does not end at the shrine. The path continues toward Nachi Falls, one of the most spectacular natural sights in Kumano.

The Kumano Kodo and the sacred sites along it form part of the UNESCO World Heritage site “Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range.” What makes the Kumano Kodo particularly special is that it is a World Heritage site you can experience with your own feet.

Please visit the Kumano Kodo website.