Walking the Path of Shugendo - Omine Okugakemichi from Yoshino to Gobanseki

The Omine Okugakemichi. A trail of about 170 kilometers that connects the ridgeline of the Omine mountain range, stretching from Nara to Wakayama. It is a Shugendo path for mountain asceticism opened by En no Gyoja, a figure familiar to hikers in the Kansai region.

That said, for hikers outside the Kansai area, the name En no Gyoja might not ring a bell.

If I mention Yamabushi, perhaps you can picture them? They wear round pom-poms around their necks, carry conch shells in their hands, and have small, black, hat-like things on their heads. They really look like they would be training in deep mountain cliffs or under waterfalls.

The person who opened the mountain training that these Yamabushi practice, in other words, Shugendo, is En no Gyoja. Yes, he is a truly amazing person! (My vocabulary has failed me). His base (perhaps?) is the Omine and Katsuragi mountain ranges, but in Kansai, you can see traces of En no Gyoja on mountains almost everywhere, and it's common to think, 'Wait? He came here too!?'

The Omine Okugakemichi was opened by such a great figure as En no Gyoja. Walking the entire route usually requires about 6 nights, and there is only one commercial hut along the way. There are few water sources. It is deep in the mountains, and you cannot easily escape... and so on; it is not a path you can walk casually at all. After all, it is a place of ascetic training.

Therefore, this time, I walked one section from Yoshino to Gobanseki over two days and one night. While I live my days covered in worldly desires, I felt it might be presumptuous to walk the path of Shugendo, but perhaps that is exactly why I felt an irresistible urge to walk it.

A Friday in late June. Since it was a weekday and the weather was taking a turn for the worse, there was no one at Yoshino Station in the morning. The souvenir shops in front of the station were, naturally, closed.

'It's only 8 o'clock, after all...'. Of course, it's not that I want souvenirs. (If I bought souvenirs now, my backpack would just get heavier.)

'Persimmon leaf sushi... I wonder if there's a shop open...'

Since persimmon leaf sushi is a preserved food, it is excellent as an action food to carry in your backpack under the scorching sun. And above all, the appearance of being wrapped in leaves really enhances the travel mood. It has a charm that draws a line between it and convenience store rice balls. (Ah, for the sake of the honor of convenience store rice balls, I will write that when I go to nearby mountains, convenience store rice balls are the best action food.)

Yoshino is famous for its 'Senbonzakura' (thousand cherry trees), where pale pink flowers bloom all over the mountain during the cherry blossom season. Because many tourists visit, the road is paved up to the area around Kinpu Shrine, which is called Oku-Senbon. Souvenir shops for tourists, teahouses, and shops dealing in white robes and small items for Shugendo practitioners line the street. And there are many persimmon leaf sushi shops there too. However, the doors of every shop were firmly closed.

'I might not be able to get persimmon leaf sushi after all...'

While suffering from that sense of despair, I walked deeper and deeper into Yoshino. Then...

Huh? Oh, oh, it's open!

I finally found an open shop and was able to get the long-awaited persimmon leaf sushi. Thank goodness, with this, I feel like I have the energy to keep walking.

Having safely obtained my preserved food, I felt relieved and started walking again. I was finally a little less than halfway to Oku-Senbon. I saw the roof of a temple so large I had to look up at it in front of me. I was drawn to it and offered a prayer. It is Kinpusen-ji, the head temple of Shugendo. The faded wood makes you feel the passage of time. This profound weight cannot be created without the passage of time. And when I think that a long and steep path continues from here to Kumano Hongu Taisha in Wakayama, my heart races. I wonder how many people have walked that path over the last 1,000 years or more.

Two hours had passed since I started walking. I finally reached the area around Kami-Senbon. Is it just one more push to the end of the paved road, Oku-Senbon...? By the time you get this far, the shops gradually become fewer, and steep slopes appear. For the first time this season, the long-unused tent camping gear feels heavy. It's tough. It's strange that my backpack weighs 17 kilograms even though it's only for two days and one night. No, but I can't reduce the alcohol and water, so it can't be helped... and so on, a brain meeting is held. In the end, no conclusion is ever reached.

Since there was an open space, I took off my backpack and tried eating the persimmon leaf sushi. I was told it would be best to eat it tonight or tomorrow morning, but the gentle acidity soaked into my tired body. Ah, it's delicious. I'm so glad I was able to buy the persimmon leaf sushi. If I hadn't, I might have turned back here. Seriously.

About four hours after starting from Yoshino Station, I finally arrived at Oku-senbon, where Kinpu Shrine is located. A rather tough-looking slope continued before my eyes, and there was a torii gate at its entrance. It had 'Training Gate' written on it. I see. It seems like the training starts here! It's as if it's saying, 'Walk with a prepared heart!' (Wait, wasn't it already tough enough to be considered training until now?)

And so, I passed through the gate of training and proceeded deeper into the mountains.

Oops, this was supposed to end in one chapter, but it ended up being unexpectedly long, so I'll continue it next time ((*ΦωΦ)੭ꠥ⁾⁾ I want to be able to write more compactly... ＿|￣|○