Shikoku Pilgrimage Temple 28 Dainichi-ji

Dainichi-ji is now a Shingon temple. It was founded in the 8th Century by Gyoki who also carved the honzon of Dainichi Nyorai, the Great Sun Buddha.

Kukai visited near here in the early 9th Century and according to the legend he carved a statue of Yakushi Nyorai out of a camphor tree using just his fingernails. It was housed at that spot in the Okunoin, inner sanctuary, of the temple.

Primarily because of this statue the temple is believed to be efficacious for the treatment of illnesses related to the head and upper body. The Okunoin was destroyed in a storm and the Yakushi statue moved to the main temple.

The Yakushi statue is a registered national Treasure. The temple is located in Konan City in Kochi Prefecture.

Konomine-ji Temple 27 Shikoku Pilgrimage

Konomineji, temple 27 on the Shikoku Pilgrimage is known as both nansho and a sekisho. a "nansho" is a temple that is considered difficult to reach, usually, as in the case of Konomineji,, because it is high on a mountain. Sekisho were barriers on highways that checked your papers. In terms of the pilgrimage they are 4 temples considered spiritual barriers that you will not get past without the correct spiritual attitude.

The Nio in the gate were particularly striking, as was a large statue of Fudo Myoo.

Nowadays the pilgrimage is considered Buddhist, but prior to the Meiji Period such a distinction was not made, with some of the pilgrimage sites being shrines and not temples. Konomineji was founded as both shrine and temple, with the shrine being above the temple. The shrine doesnt get as many visitors.

The temple burnt down in the early Meiji Period, and it was forbidden at that time to build a new temple so the locals found an unused temple in another part of the country and had it dismantled and reassembled here.

According to the legend the shrine and temple were founded by Gyoki in the eighth Century. The main deity is an 11-faced Kannon. It is now a Shingon temple. Konomine Shrine is, in my opinion, worth the extra  climb to visit as it is the okunoin of the temple.

Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage Temple 26 Kongocho-ji

Kongoch-ji is the third of a cluster of pilgrimage temples near the tip of Cape Muroto where Kukai practiced austerities as a young man.

The Nio are particularly impressive and seem to have been carved out of a single piece of wood.

The temple was founded by Kukai. The main deity is Yakushi Nyorai. It belonbgs to Shingon.

In the temple grounds is a small museum of whaling artifacts and the temple also owns many objects reputed to belong to Kukai, though these are not usually accessible to visitors.

There are great views down towards the cape.

There are numerous secondary shrines within the grounds including a nice one to Benzaiten-Suijin, and a collection of statues of Doji, quite unusual.

The shukubo, lodgings, at the temple has the reputation of being the best on the whole pilgrimage.

Fudo Myo of Shikoku part 5

Thye next segment of photos of Fudo Myo encountered when I walked the pilgrimage around Shikoku. This first one is at temple 36, Shoryuji

This one is at Daizenji, bangai temple number 5 located in Susaki, Kochi.

This small one is located at temple 37, Iwamotoji, in Kubokawa, also in Kochi.

The final 2 photos are at temple 38, Kongofukuji, located at Cape Ashizuri, in Kochi.

Shikoku 88 Pilgrimage Temple 25 Shinshoji

Shinshoji, temple number 25, is only a few kilometers north of number 24, Hotsumisakiji on the tip of Cape Muroto.

According to the legend it was founded by Kukai in 807 who is also credited with carving the honzon, Jizo.

The ships wheel is a motif that appears around the temple and the many small jizo statues are holding a ships wheel. According to the legend the local lord was saved from shipwreck by Jizo who took the helm.

The temple was destroyed in the early years of Meiji but rebuilt in the 1890's. It belongs to the Shingon sect.

The concrete main hall was built in 1950, and from it there are great views down on the harbour.

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Fudo Myo of Shikoku part 4

These first 2 photos are of a rather fine statue at the mountain temple of  Konomineji, number 27 on the Shikoku 88.

It is obviously a modern statue and I have no information who did it.

This one at Zenrakuji, temple number 30, is also quite graphic and bold, though it appears his fangs are both pointing down

These final 2 are at Shoryuji, temple 36. All three temples are in Kochi Prefecture.

Kitsune of Shikoku 2

The second installment of photos of fox statues taken on the Shikoku Pilgrimage.
This first one is at the Yosakoi Inari Shrine in Kochi City.

Fox (kitsune) statues will be found at Inari shrines where they serve as guardians. Inari is therefore often erroneously called the Fox God. Actually I was surprised at how few Inari shrines I found on Shikoku compared to some other areas of Japan. This one was at a small shrine in Ehime, not far from temple 40.

This one is at a sub-shrine in the grounds of Taga Shrine, a fertility shrine, in Uwajima, Ehime.

Ryukoji, the 41st temple, was originally part of an Inari Shrine, but the two were separated in 1868.

Wearing a tail-warmer, Taisanji, temple 52 near Matsuyama.

Ryoma Sakamoto Memorial Museum

Ryoma Sakamoto was one of the most famous and popular figures from the time leading up to the Meiji Restoration. He was from Tosa, now known as Kochi, and his memorial museum is located in Katsurahama to the south of Kochi City.

The museum is built on the hilltop overlooking the beach and ocean and projects out quite dramatically.

The museum was opened in 1991 on November 15th, the anniversary of both his birth and death, and the architects were Workstation, the company name of two architects, Hiroshi Takahashi and Akiko Takahashi, and it was their first project together.

The museum is open from 9 to 5 all year round and entrance is 400 yen for adults.

Take a bus bound for Katsurahama from Kochi

More Flowers of Shikoku

Continuing with some more photos of flowers I noticed while walking around Shikoku on the 88 temple pilgrimage. This one was in the mountains of Tokushima the day after the typhoon had passed in early September.

These were growing in late September in the bank between rice paddies just across from bangai temple 4, Saba Daishi, where I spent the night in the free accomodation.

These were growing in early October down in Kochi after rounding Cape Muroto

These were a few days later a little south of Kochi City. I am afraid I am not very knowledgeable about what any of these flowers are..... maybe a reader can enlighten us?

Of course one place you will always find flowers are beneath buddhist statues and gravestones. These were at temple 32 Zenjibuji. Many times they will not be real flowers, but these were. I remember being very impressed with the flowers on diplay in Mitakedera in Hiroshima and marvelling at how dedicated the staff must be to have so many fresh flowers on offer and when I looked closely realizing that they were plastic.