Kudoyama is the place where I learned all about Sanada, the samurai. I am glad to have stay in the next town, Koyaguchi for my visit to Mount Koya, therefore I came across to know about Kudoyama! 



Kudoyama (九度山) is a historic site with Sanada Yukimura spots and World Heritage Site. Sanada Yukimura stayed here with his father Masayuki after the battle of Sekigahara, and there are many Yukimura Spots in the town.





And why is Kudoyama of particular interest? This is the town where Sanada Yukimura, the most famous member of the Sanada clan and his father, Masayuki were exiled. It is also where the well-attended Sanada Matsuri takes place.



In order to honors Masayuki and Yukimura Sanada, during the first week of May, Kudoyama will hold and annual two-day festival. The highlight of the festival is the assembly of approximately 200 costumed participants and musicians parading through town and reenacting the battles that made the Sanadas famous. In true Matsuri style. there are taiko performances, food stalls and souvenirs stands set up in the festival area.

In the pass, Mon (紋), also monshō (紋章), mondokoro (紋所), and kamon (家紋), are Japanese emblems used to decorate and identify an individual or family. Each family will have their own design to represent themselves. 





This is the temple name Sanada-an, it was built on the house of Sanada Yukimura and his father. They stayed in this place after the battle of Sekigahara, and waited for the revenge to Tokugawa Ieyasu.



If you would like to know more about Sanada, it will worth a little time to pay a visit to Kudoyama Sanada Museum too.



Kudoyama is the gateway to Mount Koya, famous for the Pilgrimage Trails. The original main approach to Koyasan is along the Koyasan Choishi Michi trail, which begins at Kudoyama Station on the Nankai Koya Line. The trail is marked by stone signposts (choishi) which stand every few hundred meters along the path so that pilgrims can find their way. The markers are numbered (in kanji) in descending order with number one at Koyasan and are formed to represent the five Buddhist elements: earth, water, fire, air and void.

The entire Choishi Michi trail is about 23.5 kilometers long and takes around seven hours to hike. The trip may be shortened by two hours and four hours respectively by starting from the alternate trailheads at Kami-Kosawa or Kii-Hosokawa Stations. The hiking trail ends at the Daimon Gate, a two story tall, crimson gate that marks the traditional entrance to Koyasan, but the markers continue on to the Garan.