The Proliferation, Commercialization, and Secularization of the Seven Gods of Good Fortune Pilgrimages in Modern Japan

3B - Routes

Osaka’s Thirteen Buddha Pilgrimage is a route through the greater Osaka area to Buddhist temples. Thirteen Buddha pilgrimage routes have experienced growth in participation over the past few years. This new popularity has increased the number of thirteen Buddha pilgrimages routes. This proliferation in routes are a phenomenon, which deserves attention because pilgrimage participation is often used not only as an illustration of a specific religious practice but also a significant variable in the continuing discourse about Japan’s secularization (Reader 2012). This study investigates more specifically Osaka’s thirteen Buddha pilgrimage sites and how each has become a location for multiple pilgrimage routes of various types as well as single-site pilgrimage miniaturizations. This proliferation of pilgrimage routes illustrates the complicated modern landscape of Japanese pilgrimage where interest in pilgrimage may be out paced by keen competition among increasing pilgrimage route possibilities.