Ryōzenji — first temple of the Shikoku pilgrimage (霊山寺) 霊山寺

Here Kūkai prayed for 21 days and carved the 1.2 m Buddha that opens Shikoku's 88 temples.

Founded by the monk Gyōki, it was later linked by Kūkai (Kōbō Daishi) to the birth of the Shikoku pilgrimage, which begins here with the first of the 88 temples. The original complex was damaged over the centuries and rebuilt after a fire in 1891; the present main hall dates from 1964.

Tokushima