Carpe Diem #1620 Kumano Kodo ... day one trip ... Takijiri-oji to Tsugizakura-oji

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

The Kumano Kodo, or "ancient road", is a pilgrimage route straight through the Kii Peninsula and was once a pilgrame route only meant for the household of the Emperor, but today it's a very popular hiking route and today I have the first day of one of the hiking routes. It's a short route and it brings us from Takijiri-oji to Tsugizakura-oji.

Here is the short description of this one-day hike along the Kumano Kodo: This one-day hike begins at the Takijiri-oji shrine beside the Tonda River and follows a mountain trail passing through Takahara and Chikatsuyu village to Tsugizakura-oji. The route has some steep inclines and downhill slopes on uneven surfaces. There are paved sections in the village of Takahara and from Chikatsuyu village to Tsugizakura-oji.

Takijiri-oji (Tanaba)

The Takijiri-oji is one of the most ancient Shinto Shrines that you can see as you walk the Kumano Kodo. And the above image shows you the ruins of this Shinto Shrine. Ofcourse this shrine is as sacred as all the other shrines along the Kumano Kodo.

broken past
nature's deities still dwelling
a silent prayer

© Chèvrefeuille

And now it is up to you to create your haiku, tanka or other form of Japanese poetry inspired on this ancient shrine.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until February 12th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our next episode later on. For now ... have fun!