When I lived in Shingu City, where I attended elementary and middle school, I took kendo lessons at a dojo located at Kumano Hayatama Taisha Grand Shrine, which is one of Kumano Sanzan, and I attended elementary school near Kamikura-jinja Shrine, which enjoys a close association with the yatagarasu raven, the symbol of Kumano. When I climbed the steep stone stairs of Mt. Kamikurayama and arrived at the enormous rock enshrined there, even as an elementary school student I felt the mysterious power of the place wash over me. I joined the Biology Club at Naga High School and attended a camp at a Koyasan Shukubo lodgings. We went bird-watching near Koyasan early in the morning on moss-covered ground deep in the woods underneath tall Koya cedar trees that blocked the light. The complete silence and moist air led us toward a mysterious world. When we listened carefully, we heard the cries of wild birds, but I also remember a mysterious feeling that we were hearing the murmurs of the gods in the forest. Koyasan and the Kumano Kodo combine with the mysteriousness of their natural surroundings to create a supernatural sensation. Oddly, every time I visit I find myself looking back on how I've lived, and I experience a forward-looking power. I hope that the legacy created by the place’s history and natural beauty will be carefully preserved and that as many people as possible will be able to experience this mysterious place.