March 11th, a beautiful, sunny day. We left Kyoto at 10:30 a.m. and arrived in Shingu, it was already 5:30 p.m.　 Kumano is really far away.

We arrived in Shingu for the first time in eight months.

There is an excellent kaiseki restaurant called “Kamikura” in Ebisu, Tokyo, run by Chef Terachi, who hails from Kumano-Nachi-Katsuura. We have known him for a long time, dating back to when we lived in Tokyo. He reached out to people in his hometown of Kumano and put together a support team for the Kumano Sanzan Dedication Ceremony. Tonight, we’ll be dining with people we’ve never met before, whom he introduced to us.

We were taken to a restaurant called TEN in Shingu City, which specializes in teppanyaki and wine.

Waiting for us there were Mr. Nakayama, a city council member who runs a large local flower shop in Shingu, and the head of the Otori Festival.

At the popular restaurant run by Mr. Fukuda—a friend of Mr. Teraji’s—and his brother, they served wild boar hot pot. It was fantastic!

Everything, from the sashimi to the à la carte dishes, was absolutely delicious, and the wine and sake just kept flowing. The place filled up in no time.

They listened attentively as we explained the purpose and background of this joint painting project for the three shrines.

And we asked them to encourage local residents to participate and to help convey the wonders of Kumano to the next generation of children through these paintings even after June 7th, and they agreed to cooperate.

When the Nishijin-ori textiles featuring the Kumano Sanzan were unveiled, all the restaurant guests stood up and gathered around.

Shiozawa explained the Kumano Offering Painting Project to guests at other tables as well, sparking their interest.

It was a delightful evening, thanks to the warm welcome we received from the people of Kumano-Shingu City.

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to Mr. Fukuda and the kind people of Shingu City.