Koyasan and Kumano are world-class places. They’re so familiar that I didn’t adequately understand their value until I became involved in international work. I think they are remarkable in three ways: for their strong sense of spirituality, for their fine-grained workmanship, and for their status as the terminus of the Silk Road. For example, Nachi Waterfall does not compare favorably to Niagara Falls in terms of the power of its spectacle. However, having cut through the unique natural beauty of Kii’s mountainous landscape enveloped in humid air from the southern seas carried to Japan by the Kuroshio Current, it exudes a strong sense of spirituality and has a bracing effect on those who stand before it.
French visitors love Koyasan. Its strong sense of spirituality and fine-grained workmanship, along with its refined palette of color, resonate with French culture. A Korean friend described the moving experience of seeing a depiction ofa yatagarasu raven, a mythical species that one no longer sees portrayed in South Korea, at Kumano Hongu Shrine. May Koyasan and Kumano become more widely known in the world, along with the optimism and warmth of the people who live there.