Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range World Heritage Site

Official name

Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range | UNESCO

Country

Japan | Map

Continent

Asia

Location

Mie, Nara and Wakayama Prefectures
33.8369° Lat, 135.7763° Lon | Map

Code

1142

Time Zone

Asia/Tokyo (JST, +0900)

Current Time

Category

Cultural

Description

Inscribed 2004. Set in the dense forests of the Kii Mountains overlooking the Pacific Ocean, three sacred sites – Yoshino and Omine, Kumano Sanzan, Koyasan – linked by pilgrimage routes to the ancient capital cities of Nara and Kyoto, reflect the fusion of Shinto, rooted in the ancient tradition of nature worship in Japan, and Buddhism, which was introduced from China and the Korean Peninsula. The sites (506.4 ha) and their surrounding forest landscape reflect a persistent and extraordinarily well-documented tradition of sacred mountains over 1,200 years. The area, with its abundance of streams, rivers and waterfalls, is still part of the living culture of Japan and is much visited for ritual purposes and hiking, with up to 15 million visitors annually. Each of the three sites contains shrines, some of which were founded as early as the 9th century.