{"id":16193,"date":"2025-03-01T13:18:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-01T12:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/caminodesantiagofrances.com\/en\/?p=16193"},"modified":"2025-08-20T20:07:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T18:07:12","slug":"commemorative-marker-melide-camino-de-santiago-shikoku-henro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/caminodesantiagofrances.com\/en\/commemorative-marker-melide-camino-de-santiago-shikoku-henro\/","title":{"rendered":"Commemorative Marker in Melide Links the Camino de Santiago with Japan&#8217;s Shikoku Henro"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Melide and Japan United by the Camino: Unveiling of the Commemorative Marker for the Shikoku Henro Route<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Galician town of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/caminodesantiagofrances.com\/en\/a-coruna-province\/melide\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"12597\">Melide<\/a><\/strong>, a strategic point where the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/caminodesantiagofrances.com\/en\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"86\">Camino de Santiago Franc\u00e9s<\/a><\/strong> and the <strong>Camino Primitivo<\/strong> meet, held a historic event on 1 March 2025 that strengthens the cultural ties between Galicia and Japan. The installation of a <strong>commemorative marker for the Shikoku Henro route<\/strong>, one of the oldest and most emblematic pilgrimages in Japan, formalises the twinning of both routes and establishes Melide as a place of international encounter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">The Shikoku Henro Route: A Thousand-Year-Old Japanese Tradition<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <strong>Shikoku Henro<\/strong> is a circular route of <strong>1,200 kilometres<\/strong> founded in the 9th century, passing through <strong>88 Buddhist temples<\/strong> on the island of Shikoku. Considered one of Asia&#8217;s most important spiritual pilgrimages, it shares with the <strong>Camino de Santiago<\/strong> values of effort, faith, perseverance and hospitality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The twinning between the two routes, formalised some years ago, aims to strengthen cultural and spiritual cooperation between East and West, encouraging the exchange of pilgrims and spreading the universal values linked to the pilgrimage experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Unveiling Ceremony in Melide<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The event was attended by prominent figures, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Hirofumi Matsuoka<\/strong>, president of the Japanese body responsible for the Shikoku Henro, who travelled specially to unveil the marker.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Jos\u00e9 Manuel P\u00e9rez<\/strong>, mayor of Melide, who highlighted the town&#8217;s importance as a meeting point for Jacobean routes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Olga Iglesias<\/strong>, mayoress of Triacastela and president of the <strong>Mancomunidade de Concellos do Camino Franc\u00e9s<\/strong>, who stressed the importance of strengthening the international ties of the Jacobean route.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With this unveiling, Melide joins <strong>Triacastela<\/strong> and <strong>Sarria<\/strong>, towns that had already installed their own commemorative markers for the twinning with Shikoku.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Melide, a Crossroads of Routes and a Jacobean Symbol<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The town of Melide holds a privileged place in Jacobean geography:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It is the <strong>meeting point of the Camino Franc\u00e9s and the Camino Primitivo<\/strong>, making it an essential stop for thousands of pilgrims heading towards Santiago de Compostela.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Its <strong>historical and artistic heritage<\/strong> includes the Romanesque church of <strong>Santa Mar\u00eda de Melide<\/strong> and the <strong>Cruceiro de San Roque<\/strong> (Wayside Cross of Saint Roch), considered one of the oldest in Galicia.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The town is also famous for its <strong>traditional cuisine<\/strong>, with pulpo \u00e1 feira (Galician-style octopus) as the undisputed star of the pilgrim experience.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The installation of the Japanese marker reinforces this identity, adding an international dimension that establishes Melide as a leading cultural destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">A Cultural Bridge Between Galicia and Japan<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The placement of this commemorative marker is not merely a symbolic gesture, but a far-reaching initiative:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Mutual recognition<\/strong>: both routes stand as globally recognised models of spiritual and cultural pilgrimage.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>International tourism promotion<\/strong>: the twinning boosts Galicia&#8217;s profile in Japan and vice versa, attracting foreign pilgrims.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>A bond between communities<\/strong>: the Galician towns of the <strong><strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/caminodesantiagofrances.com\/en\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"86\">Camino de Santiago Franc\u00e9s<\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong> and the Camino Primitivo are twinned with Japanese temples and cities, strengthening cultural cooperation.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">The Future of the Twinning Between the Camino and the Shikoku Henro<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The unveiling in Melide is part of a broader effort to raise the profile of the <strong>twinning between the Camino de Santiago and the Shikoku Henro<\/strong>. Next steps include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Extending the installation of markers to more Galician towns along the Camino.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Developing <strong>joint cultural and academic exchange programmes<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Building international promotion routes that strengthen the flow of Japanese pilgrims towards Galicia.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Melide as an International Landmark on the Camino<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With the installation of the commemorative <strong>Shikoku Henro<\/strong> marker, Melide reaffirms its position as a <strong>gateway between cultures<\/strong>. At this meeting point of Jacobean routes, Galicia and Japan join hands to build a shared legacy of spirituality, hospitality and cultural cooperation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <strong>Camino de Santiago<\/strong> and the <strong>Shikoku Henro<\/strong> move forward together as universal symbols of pilgrimage, and Melide has become a place where that union takes on tangible form.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Melide and Japan United by the Camino: Unveiling of the Commemorative Marker for the Shikoku Henro Route The Galician town of Melide, a strategic point where the Camino de Santiago Franc\u00e9s and the Camino Primitivo meet, held a historic event on 1 March 2025 that strengthens the cultural ties between Galicia and Japan. The installation [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16194,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[687],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/caminodesantiagofrances.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/caminodesantiagofrances.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/caminodesantiagofrances.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caminodesantiagofrances.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caminodesantiagofrances.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/caminodesantiagofrances.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16193\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caminodesantiagofrances.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/caminodesantiagofrances.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caminodesantiagofrances.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caminodesantiagofrances.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}