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A journey along Japan’s oldest pilgrimage route

posted by  banzaitokyo | 8 years, 7 months ago

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Religion may play an ambiguous role in Japanese life but the arduous pilgrimage remains popular with walkers, cyclists and coachloads.

Today, the pilgrimage’s 850 miles no longer threaten walkers’ lives, though some trucks do as they thunder past the ramen-thin sidewalks. Yet the journey is still an act of rupture, a voyage into an “other” world. The symbolism of death remains potent. Those who embark on the journey are severing ties — at least temporarily — with their homes and everyday lives. “To die is to lose everything,” one temple priest told me. “The pilgrimage is like virtually dying. You lose everything you have. It’s a form of ascetic training. You leave all your physical and mental baggage behind.”

the originat article

0 | #12428 by  Tanuki | 8 years, 7 months ago

This is trail is now popular among those who have just retired from their jobs.

There is a shorter but equally interesting trail between yoshino and kumano of western Japan. I have hiked the first few kilometers of this trail, and found it very picturesque.


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