Database: Kumano Kodo
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From the 12th century onward, pilgrimages to Kumano grew in frequency among the aristocracy. Shugendo monks, who maintained the area for the purpose of aesthetic practice, prepared the paths and rituals for the pilgrims to follow. Simply walking these paths was considered a significant act of faith. Typically, pilgrims would travel by boat on the Yodo River to the Watanabe harbor at the estuary where they would disembark to complete their journey to Kumano by foot. Most routes have since been replaced with modern roads or removed altogether as the land was developed, but the path that stretches inland from Tanabe (southern Wakayama department) to Kumano has been preserved in its original form and is the main path of the pilgrimage routes known collectively as the Kumano Kodo.
Shrines dedicated to Oji, the deity considered to be the son of Kumano-gongen, were built at various point along the pilgrimage route and rituals were organized by the attendant monks, offering prayers for the safety of the pilgrims. The Kumano Kodo also includes a path from eastern Japan to Kumano through Ise; however, since this route was not intended for the aristocracy, no additional Oji Shrines were built along its length.