A Kumano shrine (熊野神社 Kumano Jinja) is a type of Shinto shrine which enshrines the three Kumano mountains: Hongū, Shingū, and Nachi (Kumano Gongen (熊野権現)).[1]
There are more than 3000 Kumano shrines in Japan, and each has received its kami from another Kumano shrine through a process of propagation called bunrei (分霊) or kanjō (勧請).
The Kumano Kodō (熊野古道) is a series of ancient pilgrimage routes that crisscross the Kii Hantō, the largest Peninsula of Japan.
These sacred trails were and are still used for the pilgrimage to the sacred site "Kumano Sanzan" (熊野三山）, or the Three Grand Shrines of Kumano: Kumano Hongū Taisha (熊野本宮大社), Kumano Nachi Taisha (熊野那智大社) and Kumano Hayatama Taisha
(熊野速玉大社).
The Kumano Kodō pilgrimage routes that lead to Kumano can be
geographically categorized into three sub-routes: "Kiji", "Kohechi" and
"Iseji".
The Kumano Kodō and Kumano Sanzan, along with Koyasan and
Yoshino and Omine, were registered as UNESCO World Heritage on July 7, 2004 as the "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range".[1]
Kami (神) is the Japanese word for the divinity; the supreme being.[1][need quotation to verify] It is also for the spirits, natural forces, and essence in the Shinto faith. It is often said that there are ya-o-yorozu no kami (八百万の神, countless kami) in Japan.
Kanjō (勧請) in Shinto terminology indicates a propagation process through which a kami, previously divided through a process called bunrei, is invited to another location and there reenshrined.[1]
The three Kumano Sanzan shrines are the Sōhonsha ("head shrines") of all Kumano shrines and lie between 20 to 40 km from each other.[2] They are connected to each other by the pilgrimage route known as "Kumano Sankeimichi" (熊野参詣道).[2]
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