日本語
Since 2008, Kagawa Prefecture has held the Shikoku 88 Temple Experience for Foreign Residents and Visitors twice a year, in spring and fall. I have been involved with this program ever since the inaugural event and I am fervently hoping that the pilgrimage circuit will one day become registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
During the ninth Pilgrimage Experience, in addition to the temples of the Zentsuji and Tadotsu areas, we also visited local historical sites and festivals. Additionally, we spent the night at Zentsuji Temple, and on the morning of the second day, we recited sutras with the temple’s monks. More than ever before, this Pilgrimage Experience was full of fun events and experiences.
Early on the morning of May 19, 2012, pilgrims from 8 different countries gathered at the Kaikosha (former Japanese Army Officer’s Club) in Zentsuji. From there we set out by bus for Mt. Osayama, from which we had a beautiful view of the town below. At the peak of the mountain is Japan’s oldest Kofun tomb, the Noda-in. While examining it, we reflected on the powerful, ancient clan leaders buried inside.
Spider’s silken web
Enshrined in the sepulcher-
Ancient kofun tomb
We went down from the mountain to Zentsuji, where we readied our byakue (white vests), wagesa (sashes), sugegasa (sedge hats), and kongozue (walking staffs) - the essential accessories for walking the pilgrimage path. We entered and observed the temple sanctuary, where we marveled at the wondrous architecture of the five storied pagoda (Japan’s third tallest), and we learned about the history of the temple. We then set off on the pilgrimage path.
The path in this area wound through expansive fields, and as we continued west, it gradually inclined to become a steep hill. They say that one’s kongozue is the embodiment of Kukai, and when you walk the pilgrimage path you actually walk together with Kukai himself. I was thinking about this, when I noticed the pilgrims up ahead seemed to all be stepping gingerly around something in the group’s path. When I finally approached the spot, I discovered what was causing the commotion.
Pilgrims step around
A woolly caterpillar
Boldly moving on
During this particular Pilgrimage Experience, we were given the chance not only to visit the area’s temples, but also to engage with the local culture, as well. On the way between Zentsuji and Shusshakaji, we stopped off at the Zentsuji Flower Festival. People were gathered from near and far to enjoy this grand celebration of flowers. I found the path leading from the garden entrance to the hill just to the south was particularly beautiful as the gradual slope was covered with beautiful, colorful flowers. As I stood on the slope, I took a pleasant moment to myself to look out over the plain expanding below and to enjoy the quiet.
Brilliant on the hill-
Cherry sage blossoms before
A summer backdrop
Thirty minutes later, we set out again, and we climbed up to Shusshakaji Temple. Inside the temple sanctuary, we ate our bento lunch boxes and then we learned the following Kukai legend connected to the temple:
When Kukai was seven years old, he was praying on top of the cliff just to the south of the temple. He invoked the Buddha saying, “I seek the true road of the Buddha that I may help save many people. If you will grant me this wish, then appear and save me. If my wish is not to be granted, then I give my life to you.” Thus, he flung himself from the cliff. However, the Buddha and his angels immediately appeared and saved Kukai from falling to his death.
We discovered that this story is the origin of the temple and cliff names. Shusshakaji means “temple where the Buddha appeared,” and Sutemigatake means “cliff from which he flung himself.”
Up and back toward
Sutemigatake Cliff’s
Summer scenery
After Shusshakaji, we were off to Mandaraji and then Koyamaji. We returned to Zentsuji by the early evening. We enjoyed soaking in the temple’s hot spring bath, and then we feasted on shojin-ryori, delicious vegetarian cuisine held to be the staple of Japan’s Buddhist monks. By 9 p.m. it was time for bed. We then woke up the next morning at 5 a.m. sharp and we headed to the temple’s Miedo Hall (the main hall), where the head priest of the temple gave a religious sermon. After the sermon was completed, all of the assembled monks began to chant marvelous sutras, a practice called o-tsutome. The reverberations of their sonorous voices not only echoed throughout the ornately decorated hall, but they also touched something deep inside all of us.
A summer morning
And the chanting of sutras
Echo in the heart
We grabbed our sedge hats and walking staffs and departed from Zentsuji. At the next temple, Konzoji, the image that stuck in my mind was that of pilgrims spinning the wooden beads of an enormous juzu prayer bead strand hanging from the temple ceiling. We were all a little tired from the previous day’s long walk and the early start to the morning, so we sought some shade for a brief rest.
Pilgrims in summer
Gather in the cool shade of
A great camphor tree
Our final temple of the experience was Doryuji in Tadotsu. From there we walked the last couple of hundred meters toward JR Tadotsu Station, and we put away our vests, hats, and staffs, thus ending our adventure. However, the memories from these two days of wonderful experiences remain vividly: six temples, kofun tombs, townscapes, mountains, and flowers. To me, the most beautiful memory I will take from the trek is that of our procession of pilgrims meandering through the glowing, golden fields of wheat. It was truly a valuable experience walking together with Kukai and experiencing the early summer season.
A procession of
sedge hats weaving through the fields-
Golden ears of wheat
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