A quest to ancient Yamato (Tenri, Nara)
Japan’s oldest public road, the Yamanobe-no-michi”, winds its way through the idyllic green foothills that line the eastern edge of the Nara Basin. All along the route are found solemn shrines, old temples, burial mounds and places and legends recounted in history books and the Manyo Verses that take the visitor into an ancient world of romance.
| By train | By car |
|---|---|
| From Osaka Take the Limited Express Service from Kintetsu Namba Station to Saidaiji Station … Approx. 29 min. Take the Express Service to Tenri Station … Approx. 16 min. Take the Yamatoji Rapid Service from JR Osaka Station to Nara Station … Approx. 42 min. Take the Local Service to Tenri Station … Approx. 31 min). |
From Osaka Approx. 30 min from the Matsubara IC of the Nishimeihan Expressway |
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- 1.JR/Kintets Tenri Station
- 2.Isonokami-jingu Shrine
- The cedars of this shrine are so impressive that the 7th century writer Hitomaro Kakinomoto analogized in the Manyo Verses the inspiration of reverence he drew from them to an old man's rediscovery of love.
- 3.Uchiyamaeikyu-ji Temple Site
- Reportedly built between 1113 - 1118 by the Emperor Toba, this sanctuary was large with over 50 abbeys and over 20 halls of worship.
- 4.Yatogi-jinja Shrine
- This shrine sits on Mt. Taiko just beyond the eastern edge of rural houses in Otogicho, Tenri.
- 5.Takenouchi Village
- This village is special because of the moat built around it as a defense against intruders.
- 6.Fusumada Tumulus and Yamato Tumuli
- The highland east of Yamato-jinja Shrine is home to one of the few groupings of keyhole-shaped tumuli in Nara, called the Oyamato Tumuli. The largest burial mound in the group, with an overall length of 230 m, is the Fusumadoryo south of Kayo Village.
- 7.Nembutsu Temple
- 8.Chogaku-ji Temple
- This temple is said to have been built by the Monk Kobo, the founder of the Shingon Sect of Buddhism in Japan.
- 9.Tenri Trail Center
- Located near to the Yamanobe Trail and Chogaku-ji Temple, the Tenri Trail Center introduces historical sites along the Yamanobe Trail such as the Kurozuka Tumulus.
- 10.JR Yanagimoto Station
