 Location
: Crosses the Uemachi Plateau
The Kumano Road is the path worshippers follow to reach Kumano Hongu Shrine
in Wakayama; from the Heian period through to the Kamakura period, the
road was so full of people that the scene was often described as "ants
going to worship at Kumano." People traveled down the Yodo River
from Kyoto, alit at Hakkenya (modern-day Tenmabashi Kyo-machi, Chuo-ku),
and crossed the Uemachi Plateau. On their way to the three shrines of
Kumano, they would pass by Kumano Kyujukyu Oji (present day Tsumori Oji
in Sumiyoshi-ku), places at which travelers could offer prayers while
still on the road. In Sumiyoshi-ku, there are several places in which
the atmosphere of the old Kumano Road remains intact, such as to the west
of Mandaiike Pond and to the east of Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine and Sumiegaoka
Middle School, as well as the west side of Oriono Primary School; monuments
to the old road also remain. |
Kumano
Road
Osaka
City