TITLE: Kuroko Guchi Nyonindo Site
Although the precise location of the Kuroko Guchi Nyonindo Hall is no longer known, the hall once stood along this portion of the Nyonin Michi (Women’s Pilgrimage Route). While many parts of the Nyonin Michi have been preserved as unpaved hiking trails, this stretch of the route now follows paved roads through a portion of Koyasan that developed after the sacred valley opened to female visitors during the Meiji period (1868–1912). Originally, travelers on the pilgrimage route could stop at one of the eight nyonindo halls (women’s halls) to rest or spend the night. Despite the name, the halls were used by both men and women travelers, religious and secular alike.
Heading northeast from this location, the Women’s Pilgrimage Route follows a circuitous path over the sacred peaks of Mt. Tenjiku, Mt. Yoryu, and Mt. Mani, also called the Koyasan Sanzan, which are said to keep watch over Kobo Daishi’s eternal meditation at Okunoin. The route was placed across these mountains both for religious purposes and to avoid passing through the holy cemetery of Okunoin. The Fudozaka Guchi Nyonindo Hall and the peak of sacred Mt. Benten (Bentendake) lie in the opposite direction, just a short walk to the west along the trail.
