Nezu Oji

The origins of Nezu Oji are not clear. There are no known references to it in ancient texts. A "Neji-Oji" is written about in Kinan Godoki in the Genroku era(1688-1704). It is said that this name came about because in olden days, followers had to stay up the whole night here to guard noble travelers from dangers,and it might have been mistaken for an oji shrine by people afterwards.However,this area is rather steep, so there is some doubt as to whether there were shelters for staying over night, and the area is only 15 minutes walk from Takijiri Oji Shrine where travelers probably stayed the night and made a fresh start in the morning.It is a fact that the Kumano Kodo was dangerous at times and bandits often preyed on well-to-do travelers.