Ryozenji and Gokurakuji temples
I began my walk on the Shikoku Pilgrimage (Ohenro san) at the official starting point, the Ryozenji Temple. Like all serious pilgrims (henro) I acquired the necessary garb, being a hat, walking stick and a jacket. I also bought a pilgrim’s book to be stamped at every temple I visited.
Ryozenji Temple is the first temple along the Shikoku Pilgrimage, a journey to 88 temples on Shikoku that are associated with Kobo Daishi, the founder of Shingon Buddhism.
The weather was steaming hot. I seemed to be the only pilgrim visiting Ryozenji Temple. Fortunately, I bumped into a Japanese lady, Etsuko, who works for a non-profit organisation which is promoting the Shikoku Pilgrimage. As her English was about the same level as my Japanese, we communicated by Google Translate which was actually quite effective.
Etsuko gave me lots of information about the Shikoku Pilgrimage and her organisation’s activities. She was visiting a few temples in the morning prior to attending a conference. She insisted that the weather was too hot and that I should accompany her in her car to Gokurakuji, the second temple of the Shikoku Pilgrimage.
As you will see in my photos, the two temples are very beautiful.
Here are some notes on the Ryōzenji temple. According to legend, it was founded by Gyoki by order of Emperor Shomu (reigned 724-749). Kobo Daishi visited this temple in 815 during a pilgrimage starting from the northeastern part of Shikoku and going clockwise around the island.
Ryōzenji was once one of the three largest Buddhist temples in Awa (the former name of Tokushima) and was a majestic temple complex. However, the temple was destroyed by fire during the Tensho period (1573-1592) when Chosokabe Motochika attacked the temple. The temple was restored by Hachisuka Mitsutaka, the lord of Awa (Tokushima), but in a fire in 1891, all the buildings except the hondo and the pagoda were lost again. The temple has now been restored.
Gokurakuji is the second temple of the Shikoku Pilgrimage in Shikoku, Japan. It stands out with its bright red wooden gates at the entrance. Once past the gates, you will see a beautiful garden with a well-maintained koi pond. There are 44 stone steps in this garden that leads worshipers to the main hall. Next to the main hall on the far right is a statue of the Buddhist monk Kukai, whom the Shikoku Pilgrimage is based on. The statue is also called “Ansan Daishi”.
Gokurakuji is home to quite a few culturally and historically significant properties. One of them is the seated wooden statue of Amida Nyorai (a celestial buddha), made during the Heinan period of Japan. In the 9th century, the Buddhist monk Kukai had a vision of Amida Nyorai at the temple, and thus made it the principal image (honzon) of Gokurakuji. He then carved the buddha into a statue. An artificial mountain was also built in front of the main hall to block incoming light that was interfering with fishing activities. Unfortunately, the statue was burnt down along with the main hall by the fire of Chosokabe Motochika during the Tensho era (1573-92). The main hall and the statue were later rebuilt in the second year of Manji (1659).