Kii mountains
The Kii Mountains ( Japanese 紀 伊 山地 , Kii-sanchi ) are located on the Kii Peninsula , one of the largest peninsulas on Honshū , the main island of Japan . The region belongs to the prefectures of Wakayama , Nara and Mie .
The tradition of the area as "Holy Mountains" can be traced back 1,200 years.
The mountains consist of rugged mountains from 1,000 to 2,000 m high and are characterized by a high amount of precipitation of 3,000 mm / year. It therefore has many water courses, rivers and waterfalls.
In 2004 UNESCO recognized three places in the densely forested mountain region as World Heritage Sites :
- Yoshino and Ōmine , mountain regions in the north of the peninsula
- Kumano-sanzan on the southern tip of the peninsula, consisting of:
- Mount Kōya-san , the sacred mountains in the west of the peninsula
These Shinto and Buddhist shrines are connected to the ancient capitals of Japan , Nara and Kyoto , by ancient pilgrimage routes .
In addition to the sanctuaries mentioned and its natural beauty, the mountains also offer a whole range of individual natural monuments (source: UNESCO):
- large cherry groves dating back to the 10th century in Yoshinoyama and around the Kimpusen-ji shrine
- According to legend, a Podocarpus nagi from 1159 on the Kumano Hayatama-Taisha
- the Nachi jungle, considered a sanctuary, as part of the Kumano conservation area
- up to 500 years old trees around a cemetery at Kōya-san
- Silver fir stocks on the Ōmine Okugakemichi pilgrimage route, protected since the 15th century, as well as old stocks of Siebold's magnolia ( Magnolia Sieboldii ) nearby
- old cedars, probably up to 3,000 years old, on a shrine on the Tamakisan mountain peak
- Black pines planted in the 17th century as wind protection on the coastal pilgrimage route
The area is visited by 15 million visitors annually.
See also
Web links
Heritage: Buddhist Shrines of Hōryū-ji (1993) | Himeji-jō (1993) | Historical Kyōto (Kyōto, Uji and Ōtsu) (1994) | Historical Villages of Shirakawa-gō and Gokayama (1995) | Peace Memorial in Hiroshima (1996) | Itsukushima Shinto Shrine (1996) | Monuments and gardens of the imperial city of Nara ( Gangō-ji , Heijō-kyō , Kasuga-Taisha , Kasugayama primeval forest, Kōfuku-ji , Tōdai-ji , Tōshōdai-ji , Yakushi-ji ) (1998) | Shrines and Temples of Nikkō ( Futarasan Shrine , Rinnō-ji , Tōshōgū ) (1999) | Gusuku and other sites of the Ryūkyū Kingdom (2000) | Sacred places and pilgrimage routes in the Kii Mountains (2004) | Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and Cultural Landscape (2007) | Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites of Hiraizumi (2011) | Fuji-san (2013) | Places of silk spinning in Tomioka (2014) | Sites of the industrial revolution in the Meiji period (2015) | The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier : National Museum of Western Art (2016) | Okinoshima Sacred Island and Associated Sites in Munakata Region (2017) | Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region (2018) | Kofun group by Mozu-Foruichi (2019)
Natural Heritage: Yakushima Cedar Forest (1993) | Beech forest by Shirakami (1993) | Shiretoko (2005) | Ogasawara Islands (2011)
Coordinates: 34 ° 18 ' N , 135 ° 57' E