Ryōzenji — first temple of the Shikoku pilgrimage

photo by 663highland · CC BY 2.5

photo by そらみみ (Soramimi) · CC BY-SA 4.0

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

Anyone starting the pilgrimage of the 88 temples of Shikoku sets off from here: in the adjoining shop you buy the white staff and the stamp book, and in the forecourt, all year round, you pass pilgrims in white robes with the straw hat marked ‘同行二人’. Legend has it that Kūkai, having landed at Naruto, prayed for 21 days before carving with his own hands the statue of Shaka Nyorai, about 1.2 metres tall, now venerated in the main hall.

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.

ℹ️ Free entry, visiting hours 7:00–17:00 every day. Free car park (100 cars, 10–20 buses). 800 metres from JR Itadō Station; bus stop ‘Ryōzenji-mae’; 5 minutes by car from the Itano IC interchange. No pilgrim lodging (no 宿坊).

🚉 Bando · 13 min walk

Sources: awanavi.jp · jalan.net

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