Junrei

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With junrei ( Jap 巡礼 ) or Junpai ( 巡拝 ) are in Japan pilgrimages of Japanese religion called. There are different words for pilgrimages in Japan, Junrei colloquially only refers to those that consist of round trips.

It is believed that the Junrei tradition arose in the Nara period , but did not become popular until the Heian period . Kumano in southern Wakayama Prefecture became a major center of Shugendō sect, besides also enjoyed Hase-dera , Shitennō-ji , Kinpusen-ji and the Mount Kōya great popularity as places of pilgrimage. During the Edo period , the number of pilgrims rose rapidly, and most of the pilgrimage routes used today date from this time.

These pilgrimages can consist of visiting a number of specific Shinto shrines , Buddhist temples or other holy places that are visited in a specific order.

The most famous pilgrimages are these round trips and lead on the one hand via the Shikoku pilgrimage route with its 88 temples on the island of Shikoku and on the other hand to the 33 sanctuaries of Kannon in the western provinces ( Saigoku pilgrimage route ). Well-known individual pilgrimage sites are also u. a. the Ise-jingū and several sacred mountains such as the Fujisan .

The pilgrimages are often organized by coach companies and then only last a few weeks. Many pilgrims on Shikoku still prefer the traditional two or three month long walk. Usually the pilgrims document their visits to the shrines with a stamp called Shuin , annotated in a collector's book or on their white pilgrim's robe.

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