Unpenji Temple 66 Shikoku Ohenro Pilgrimage

 

I spent the night at a minshuku at the base of Mount Unpenji. Overnight, there had been a heavy snowfall. 

I set off at first light, before the sun, as I had about 650 meters to climb to reach the temple. The trail was virgin. Not a single footstep had been made in the 6 to 12 inches of powdery snow.

After about an hour of climbing I was overtaken by a couple of younger guys who had been eating breakfast when I left the minshuku. Not only younger, but they were only carrying small day packs, so I watched them hurtle up the mountain and sat and had a cigarette break.

Unpenji Temple, the 66th of the pilgrimage is the highest of the temples at about 900 meters altitude.

Thye Niomon is very new, but not the Nio, although I can't find a date for them.

The temples origins begin with Kobo Daishi who climbed the mountain as a you man. He came back later and established the temple.

On his third visit he carved the honzen statue.

It became a well-supported temple with many branch temples on the mountain and became known as the Koya of Shikoku.

However, in the 11th century a fire completely destroyed the temple.

The temple was restored later and the new honzon, a seated 1000-armed Kannon, and a Bishamonten statue were carved.

The great warlord Motochika Chosokabe visited the temple and spoke with the priest about his plan to rule over all of Shikoku. I am guessing that therefore, Unpenji was one of the few temples in Shikoku he didn't destroy.

Most of the buildings seem to be fairly new.

I wish I had had more time to explore, as there are some fine statues inside.

The temple became much more accessible in 1989 when the Unpenji Ropeway was built.

There is actually quite a lot to see at the temple and it has extensive grounds. It is well known for Autumn colours, but for me at least, the most impressive feature was the 500 life-size statues of the Rakan, or Arhats. I gave them their own post here.

Shrine to Gosha Daigongen, the protective kami of the temple.

The previous temple I stopped at was the Bangai Temple Tsubaki-do, down below. Temple 65, Sankakuji was the previous main temple, and the previous post was on the awesome Rakan statues here at Unpenji

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The 500 Rakan at Unpenji Temple

 

A combination of snow and the low, golden sunlight made these pics of Rakan a little special.

Unpenji Temple straddles the border of Tokushima and Kagawa Prefectures on Shikoku.

Sitting atop Mount Unpenji, it is temple 66 of the famous 88 temple pilgrimage of Shikoku.

At 900 meters altitude, it is the highest of all the 88 temples.

The rakan statues are life-size, and spread over quite a wide area. I do not know for sure if they have the full 500.

I wish I had spent more time exploring and photographing them, but I was bushed from the climb.

The previous temple on the pilgrimage was the 14th Bangai temple Tsubaki-do, down at the base of the mountain.

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Iconic Pumpkins

The tiny island of Naoshima in the Seto Inland Sea between Okayama and Kagawa is known internationally as an "Art Island" thanks to the Benesse Corporation who have built numerous museums, hotel/museums, and various other art projects and public art on the island.

One sculpture in particular is now so well known that it is the icon for the island itself, Yellow Pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama,  a fibreglass sculpture sitting on the end of a small  quay on the islands south shore since 1994 is now seen in almost all the advertising for the island and miniature copies of it are for sake everywhere.

Born in Nagano in 1929, and now 83 years old Yayoi Kusama is now recognized as one of Japans most important twentieth century artists and has influenced such famous artists as Andy warhol and Claus Oldenburg.

Quite probably it is the most-photographed artwork on the island.

In 2006 Red Pumpkin was installed in the main harbor of the island where ferries from the mainland and Shikoku arrive.

Its much larger than Yellow Pumpkin and like a piece of playground equipment one can climb inside the sculpture. Colored lights in the floor intereact with the polka dot patterns of sunlight streaming in through openings in the sculpture.

Kotohira

The draincover for the town of Kotohira in Kagawa on Shikoku, depicts pilgrims ascending the steps of Konpira-san.

Known also as Kotohira-gu, or simply Konpira Shrine, it was a major pilgrimage site with millions coming from all over Japan.

In total there are 1,368 steps to reach the highest shrine, but the vast majority nowadays only climb to the main shrine at 785 steps.

Most of the way up is lined with souvenir shops and eating establishments.

From the main shrine there are expansive views and I imagine the views from the top must be more impressive.