Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range
Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range
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.
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0
Sites sacrés et chemins de pèlerinage dans les monts Kii
Nichés au cœur de forêts denses, dans les monts Kii qui surplombent l’océan Pacifique, trois sites sacrés, Yoshino et Omine, Kumano Sanzan et Koyasan, reliés par des chemins de pèlerinage aux anciennes capitales de Nara et Kyoto, reflètent la fusion entre le shinto, enraciné dans l’antique tradition japonaise du culte de la nature, et le bouddhisme venu depuis la Chine et la péninsule coréenne s’implanter au Japon. Les sites (506,4 ha) et la forêt qui les entoure reflètent une tradition pérenne et extraordinairement bien documentée de sanctification des montagnes, vivante depuis 1 200 ans. L’endroit, qui abonde en torrents, rivières et chutes d’eau, fait toujours partie de la culture vivante du Japon et accueille jusqu’à 15 millions de visiteurs par an, pèlerins ou randonneurs. Chacun des trois sites renferme des sanctuaires, dont certains remontent au IXe siècle.
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0
المواقع المقدّسة وطرق الحج في جبال كيئي
تقع المواقع المقدَّسة الثلاثة "يوشينو وأوميني" و"كومانو سانزان" و"كيواسان" في الغابات الكثيفة في جبال كيئي المُطِّلة على المحيط الهادئ والتي تربطها ببعضها مسالكُ للحجّاج وتصلها بالعاصمتَيْن القديمتَيْن نارا وكيوتو. وتعكس هذه المواقع التداخل بين الشنتو، الدّيانة المتأصّلة في التّقليد الياباني القديم والتي تتمحور حول عبادة الطبيعة من جهة، والبوذيّة الآتية من الصين وشبه الجزيرة الكورية لتفرض نفسها في اليابان، من جهة أخرى. وتعكس هذه المواقع، بالإضافة إلى الغابة التي تُحيط بها، تقليدًا خالدًا. كما أنّها تتميّز بشكلٍ مُدهشٍ، بقدسيّة الجبال التي عمرها 1200 سنة. ولا يزال يشكّل هذا المكان حيث تكثر الفيضانات والأنهر والشلالات، جزءًا من الثّقافة الحيّة لليابان ويستقطب حوالى 15 مليون زائرٍ سنويًا بين حجّاج وسوّاح. كل موقع من هذه المواقع الثلاثة يضمّ معابدَ يعود بعضها إلى القرن التاسع.
source: UNESCO/ERI
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0
纪伊山地的圣地与参拜道
大峰、熊野三山以及高野山三座圣地坐落在纪伊山地茂密的森林中，俯瞰太平洋，它们通过多条参拜古道连接奈良和京都两个古都，反映出根植于日本自然崇拜古老传统的神道教与自中国和朝鲜半岛引入日本的佛教的相互融合。该遗址（面积为506.4公顷）及其周围的森林景观是1200多年来持续保留完好的圣山传统的写照。这个地区连同其丰富的小溪、河流和瀑布仍然是日本现存文化的一部分，每年吸引多达1500万游客来参拜和游览。三个遗址内都有神殿，有些神殿甚至修建于9世纪。
source: UNESCO/ERI
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0
Священные места и дороги паломников в горах Кии
Три священных места – Йошино-Омайн, Кумано-Санзан, и Койясан – расположены посреди густых лесов в горах Кии, протягивающихся на юге острова Хонсю. Они связаны между собой паломническими дорогами, ведущими в сторону древних столиц – Нара и Киото. Территория имеет площадь около 500 га и включает прекрасный окружающий горно-лесной ландшафт с изобилием рек, ручьев и водопадов. Ежегодно сюда приезжает почти 15 млн. туристов, главной целью которых является совершение разных ритуалов, а также пешие прогулки. В каждом из трех священных мест есть усыпальницы, причем некоторые из них датируются еще IX в.
source: UNESCO/ERI
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0
Sitios sagrados y rutas de peregrinación de los Montes Kii
Los tres sitios sagrados de Yoshino-Omine, Kumano Sanzan y Koyasan están escondidos en medio de los frondosos bosques de los montes Kii que dominan el Océano Pacífico. Unidos por rutas de peregrinación a las antiguas capitales de Nara y Kyoto, son una muestra excepcional de la fusión entre la religión sintoísta –emanada de la antigua tradición japonesa del culto a la naturaleza– y el budismo venido al Japón desde China y la Península de Corea. Los tres sitios (506,4 hectáreas) y el bosque circundante son exponentes de una tradición ancestral de sacralización de las montañas, que se mantiene viva desde hace 1.200 años y está sólidamente atestiguada por una abundante documentación. Surcada por abundantes arroyos, ríos y cascadas, esta región sigue estando muy arraigada en las vivencias culturales de los japoneses, como lo demuestra el hecho de que la visiten anualmente 15 millones de personas por motivos religiosos, o para practicar el excursionismo. Cada uno de los tres sitios posee varios santuarios, algunos de los cuales fueron erigidos en el siglo IX.
source: UNESCO/ERI
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0
紀伊山地の霊場と参詣道
太平洋を望む紀伊山地にある、自然崇拝を起源とする熊野三山、修験道拠点の吉野・大峯、空海が開いた高野山3霊場と、それぞれを結ぶ熊野古道や大峯奥駈道、高野山町石道の参詣道が登録された。登録された一帯（506.4ha）には、現在まで変わらずに脈々と受け継がれている聖山の伝統を反映した文化的景観のほか、山や森、川など豊かな自然も多く残っている。その独特な景観が認められ、日本で初めて文化的景観として世界遺産リストに登録された。現在も日本文化の一端を担っており、年間1500万人もの人びとが参拝や登山を目的に訪れている。source: NFUAJ
Heilige plaatsen en pelgrimsroutes in het Kii-gebergte
In de dichtbeboste wouden van het Kii-gebergte bevinden zich drie heilige plaatsen: Yoshino en Omine, Kumano Sanzan en Koyasan. Ze zijn met elkaar verbonden door pelgrimsroutes naar de oude hoofdsteden Nara en Kyoto. De drie plaatsen weerspiegelen de fusie van het shintoïsme – geworteld in de oude traditie van het aanbidden van de natuur in Japan – en het boeddhisme, ingevoerd vanuit China en Korea. Het gebied is nog steeds een deel van de levende cultuur van Japan en wordt veel bezocht voor rituele doeleinden en wandelingen. Jaarlijks trekken deze plaatsen tot wel 15 miljoen bezoekers.
Source: unesco.nl
Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range (Japan)
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Outstanding Universal Value
Brief synthesis
Set in the dense forests of the Kii Mountains on a peninsula in the southernmost part of mainland Japan, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, three sacred sites – Yoshino and Omine, Kumano Sanzan, and Koyasan – are linked by pilgrimage routes to the ancient capital cities of Nara and Kyoto. Together these sites, the connecting pilgrimage routes, and surrounding forests form a cultural landscape that reflect the fusion of Shintoism, rooted in the ancient tradition of nature worship in Japan, and Buddhism, which was introduced from China and the Korean Peninsula. The sacred sites are connected by 307 km of pilgrimage routes which cover a total area of 506.4 ha. With the surrounding forest landscape, they reflect a persistent and extraordinarily well-documented tradition of sacred mountains maintained over 1,200 years.
Criterion (ii) :The monuments and sites that form the cultural landscape of the Kii Mountains are a unique fusion between Shintoism and Buddhism that illustrates the interchange and development of religious cultures in East Asia.
Criterion (iii) :The Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in the Kii Mountains, and their associated rituals, bear exceptional testimony to the development of Japan’s religious culture over more than a thousand years.
Criterion (iv) : The Kii Mountains have become the setting for the creation of unique forms of shrine and temple buildings which have had a profound influence on the building of temples and shrines elsewhere in Japan.
Criterion (vi) : Together, the sites and the forest landscape of the Kii Mountains reflect a persistent and extraordinarily well-documented tradition of sacred mountains over the past 1,200 years.
Integrity
The property consists of three sacred sites including precincts and buildings of temples and shrines in the heavily forested Kii Mountains, and a complex pattern of tracks and paths that link the sites together. These component parts are essential for demonstrating the religious framework of Shintoism (rooted in the ancient tradition of nature worship in Japan), Buddhism (introduced to Japan from China and the Korean Peninsula), and Shugen-dô (the Shugen sect) which was influenced by the former two faiths. The three sacred sites with their surroundings demonstrate high degree of integrity. Also the pilgrimage routes, as part of the extensive cultural landscape, at present retain a significant degree of integrity.
Each component part has an adequate buffer zone to ensure the entire property’s wholeness and intactness.
Authenticity
Due to a long tradition of reconstructing and renewing timber structures, the authenticity of each wooden building is well preserved from the view of form/design, materials/substance, traditions/techniques, and location/setting.
At the three sacred sites, various religious rituals and practices mainly related to Shintoism, Buddhism, and Shugen-dô have been continually carried out. Such activities are still underway even now, and thus a high level of spiritual authenticity is maintained. These sacred sites and the forest landscape around them retain an extremely high degree of authenticity, in terms of not only tangible elements but also intangible elements represented by religious activities.
The sacred sites and pilgrimage routes have attracted worshippers since the 11th or 12th centuries and have thus retained a high degree of authenticity of function.
Protection and management requirements
This extensive property is the responsibility of a number of different jurisdictions and is protected by several layers of legislation that permit integrated application of related measures. Basic principles and methodology for comprehensive preservation and management of the tangible cultural assets of each component parts are outlined in the 2003 Comprehensive Preservation and Management Plan.
The buildings that constitute component parts of the property as monuments have been designated as National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties under the Japanese Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties. The temple and shrine areas, the pilgrimage routes, and the forest landscape around them have been designated as Historic Sites, Places of Scenic Beauty, and Natural Monuments under the same law. Thus, these component parts are rigorously preserved and activities such as alterations are strictly limited because they require the permission of the national government.
The property includes areas designated as a National Park and Prefectural Natural Park under the National Parks Law, and thus the natural environment is well preserved because development such as construction of new buildings or tree-felling cannot be carried out without the prior permission of the national or prefectural government.
All of the buildings and the grounds of the temples and shrines are well preserved through preservation and maintenance activities carried out by the relevant religious organizations. Yoshinoyama is preserved and maintained in collaboration with individual owners and local governments, in line with the management plan produced by the local Board of Education. The same applies to pilgrim routes which are preserved and maintained by private owners, local governments, and the national government. The national government can provide financial and technical support for restoration and repair projects on the basis of individual management plans.
Each component part has a clear and adequate buffer zone designated under the National Park Law, the Forest Act, local government regulations, or the like.
The Coordinating Academic Committee, with representatives from the Academic Committees of all three prefectures, works to facilitate proper communication and information sharing among relevant local governments. The Committee has approved a Comprehensive Preservation and Management Plan which is supported by the coordination of three supplementary Prefectural Plans. The status of preservation and management of the property is reported periodically in order to ensure it is fully implemented.
Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range (UNESCO/NHK)
2006