Kudoyama – The World Heritage Town and Sanada Yukimura’s Confinement

So what does the family crest mean? It is the amount of money the Japanese believe needs to be paid for crossing the Sanzu River (三途の川) safely to reach the afterlife. The soldiers of the Sanada Clan always carried six mon coins when they were on the battlefield. This symbolized they were ready to die for the glory.

In the small town, spotting the historical sites related to the Sanadas is easy. Just follow the flags with the six mon coins!

It is still unclear where the family was actually based during their confinement in Kudoyama. Still, most people support the hypothesis that the residence where the family spent 14 miserable years used to stand on the temple’s ground. This is why Zenmyōshō-in is also known as Sanada-an (真田庵).

For more information about Sanada-an’s attractions and myths, refer to our Zenmyōshō-in article!

Sanada-an, where the Sanadas spent the majority of their late-life in, the temple is where the samurai parade of the Kishū Kudoyama Sanada Festival ends each year.

The 2-day annual festival usually takes place on the 4th and the 5th of May. It is one of the biggest events in Kudoyama. The main event venue is Roadside Station Kaki no Sato Kudoyama (道の駅 柿の郷くどやま), where various performances are taken place on the stage. You will also find many of the local shops having a temporary stalls set up there.

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Soba was and still is the main food in the now Nagano Prefecture. Having to suddenly relocate to Kudoyama, what the Sanadas brought with them is the techniques of how Nagano-style soba noodles are made.

The soba restaurant – Yukimura-an, established in 2010, uses soba powder from Nagano and makes noodles the Nagano way. Most of the dishes on their menu are named after one of the family members of the Sanada Clan. Making you feel like you are closer to this legendary family when you order!

Of course, the restaurant is decorated with Sanada’s six mon coins with the base color of red. The thing that will absolutely catch your attention is the replica of Yukimura’s red armor! If you want to sit closer to it, arrive at the restaurant early, or you have to bet on your luck (^_-)-☆.

For photos of their dishes, please check out the official website HERE.

• The restaurant is open from 11 am to 6 pm daily except Mondays.
• If Monday is a public holiday, the restaurant will close on the next business day.

Kudoyama Sanada Museum is a facility completed in 2016 after the Japanese drama Sanadamaru was on air. If you understand Japanese, it is the perfect place to learn more about the life of Sanada Masayuki, Yukimura, and Yukimura’s son, Daisuke.

For those who don’t understand Japanese, you should still be able to enjoy the videos playing in the museum. Images and other illustrations at each section of the facility will also give you a rough idea of their life stories.

Replicas of armors and weapons used at the time can be found throughout the museum. Some of them can even be held in your arm!

Also, if you love ninjas, a small part of the museum is dedicated to the Sanada Residence in Nagano. Unaware by many, the house is like a ninja house full of tricks. Not only children but even adults can also enjoy the room built to imitate the Sanada Residence (=ﾟωﾟ)ﾉ.

For a visual idea of each section of the museum, refer to HERE and scroll down to click on the video camera.

• The admission fee is
  • 500 yen for adults
    • 300 yen if no special exhibition is on
  • 250 yen for elementary and junior school students
    • 150 yen if no special exhibition is on
• The museum is a 10-minute walk from Kudoyama Station (九度山駅).
• There is no car park at the museum. Please utilize the car parks near it.

The roadside station in Kudoyama differs from many of its peers in a few ways.

Firstly, great news for those like us who don’t like to drive but want to visit a roadside station filled with local specialties. The Roadside Station Kaki no Sato Kudoyama is only a 15-minute walk away from Kudoyama Station!

Then, Roadside Station Kaki no Sato Kudoyama has an upgraded version of the tourist information center.

Instead of a small counter, the World Heritage Center (世界遺産情報センター) is more like a museum type of facility filled with information relating to the world heritage sites in Kudoyama Town, Kōyasan, and Chōishi-michi.

With an English explanation under Japanese, it is also the place you want to visit for more information about the Sanada Clan for non-Japanese speakers.

• The souvenir corner is open from 9 am to 6 pm.
• The World Heritage Center is open from 9 am to 5:30 pm.
• The bakery is open daily from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm.
• Apart from the bakery, the facilities inside the roadside station are closed from the 1st to the 3rd of January.

Important: During lunchtime on weekends and public holidays, the roadside station can be extremely crowded.

Originally, to get to Kōyasan, pilgrims needed to hike through the long approach called Kōyasan Chōishi-michi (高野山町石道), starting from the foot of the mountain. The starting point of that pilgrimage route is the Jison-in Temple. In fact, a stray dog used to lead the way for those who embark the pilgrimage.

For more information about the temple, refer to our Jison-in article!

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Climbing up the seemingly long staircases at the south of Jison-in, you will get to Niukanshobu Shrine at the top of the high ground.

The shrine has a deep connection with Jison-in Temple, and Kōyasan was also registered as a World Heritage Site as a part of the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range.

When Kōbō Daishi founded Jison-in temple, he also founded this shrine as a place for prayers to various gods and as an administration office of Kōyasan. Together with Jison-in, the two sites were known as Man’nensan Jison-in (萬年山慈尊院). Initially, the shrine was named Jison-in Niukōya Myōjin-sha (慈尊院丹生高野明神社). After a few changes to the name, it is now called Niukanshobu Shrine.

The Kanshobu in the shrine’s name means a private land with the privilege of not being controlled by the government and not needing to pay taxes. Back then, the gods of the shrine were the guardian of the areas in Kōya who enjoyed such privileges.

If you enjoy hiking, instead of taking the ropeway up to and down from Kōyasan, trek through the 20 km pilgrimage route starting from Jison-in all the way to Danjō Garan, the heat of the sacred mountain.

The trail is marked every 109 meters by a stone pillar on the side of the road like the one in the photo.

For a map of the entire route, please refer to the official website HERE.

Around a 1-hour hike up a steep slope from Jison-in, a little bit off the Kōyasan Chōishi-michi, there is an observatory that will give you a panorama view of the plain where the Kinokawa River (紀の川) flows. Not only you can see Kudoyama Town, Hashimoto City (橋本市), Katsuragi Town (かつらぎ町), and even Kōyasan (高野山) in the scenery!

Important:
☛ If you are heading out for nighttime scenery, please bring a torch, as no street lights are on the route.
☛ The road leading to the observatory is extremely difficult to drive. Also, there is no car park at the observatory. Therefore, hiking is the best way to access it.

The shrine also has a deep connection with Kōyasan’s founding, Kariba Myōjin (狩場明神), formally known as Takanomiko no Ookami (高野御子大神), who pointed the way to Koyasan for Kōbō Daishi. Kariba Myōjin is one of the gods enshrined here. As you would have expected, Niutsuhime Shrine was also registered as a world heritage site.

For more information about this gorgeous shrine, please refer to our article on Niutsuhime Shrine!

In 819, when Kōbō Daishi obtained Kōyasan from the gods Niu Myōjin (丹生明神) and Kariba Myōjin (狩場明神), he put these two torii gates there to mark the precinct of god. So beyond the gates, logging was forbidden.

Back then, the gates were made of wood. In 1649, they were reconstructed with granite by the 243rd head of Kongōbuji (金剛峯寺).

From JR Kaseda Station (笠田駅), take Katsuragi Town’s Community Bus’s Amano Line (天野コース) and get off at Niutsuhime Jinja-mae (丹生都比売神社前). From the bus stop, it is a 30-minute walk.

Kudoyama is like the prelude to the center of Japan’s Shingon Buddhism.

To find out more divine places to visit during your time at the sacred mountain, please read our article on Kōyasan. You will also find information on restaurants to enjoy the vegetarian Shōjin Ryōri, as well as temples you can stay overnight!