Ehime

  • Temple 65, Sankaku-ji

    Sankaku-ji is temple No. 65 on the Shikoku pilgrimage or Henro. It’s the last temple in Ehime, known as the place of Enlightenment. What to see The temple is located at an elevation of 450 m near the top of a mountain at the eastern end of the Ishizuchi mountain range. Below the mountain is…

  • Temple 64, Maegami-ji

    Maegami-ji, The Temple in Front of God, is temple No. 64 on the Shikoku pilgrimage, or Henro. It’s located in the foothills of Mt. Ishizuchi, the highest mountain in western Japan, which dominates the scenery of Saijō. What to see The temple itself is invisible from its entrance. All you can see is a gate…

  • Temple 63, Kichijō-ji

    Kichijō-ji is Temple No. 63 on the Shikoku pilgrimage, or Henro. It stands between busy Route 11 and the JR Yosan railway line, with a number of tall trees growing in its precincts, which give it a luxuriously leafy atmosphere. What to see Legend has it that when Kukai visited, he found a cypress that…

  • Temple 62, Hōju-ji

    Hōju-ji is temple No. 62 on the Shikoku pilgrimage, or Henro. Its name means the Temple of Wealth and Happiness which is ironic because Hōju-ji is a poor, run-down little temple in a decaying part of Saijō, sandwiched between the JR Yosan railway line and busy Route 11. What to see The Main Hall of…

  • Temple 61, Kōon-ji

    Kōon-ji is temple No. 61 on the Shikoku pilgrimage, or Henro. It stands close to the foothills of Mt. Ishizuchi in Saijō. Kōon-ji is one of five pilgrimage temples located relatively close together in Saijō. What to see From the approach, Kōon-ji looks like a conventional temple. There’s a pleasantly green area with a stand…

  • Temple 60, Yokomine-ji

    Yokomine-ji, The Temple on the Side of the Ridge, is temple No. 60 on the Shikoku pilgrimage, or Henro. It stands in the foothills of Mt. Ishizuchi in Saijō. In the Edo period, travel was regulated by gated checkpoints called ‘sekisho’. On the pilgrimage, there are ‘sekishodera’ in each of the provinces, and these temples…

  • Temple 59, Iyo Kokubun-ji

    Iyo Kokubun-ji is temple No. 59 on the Shikoku pilgrimage, or Henro. It stands on a raised platform among fields and houses on the outskirts of Imabari. What to see Between the car park and the temple is a small shop selling towels and other textiles. These are printed with maps of the pilgrimage route…

  • Temple 58, Senyū-ji

    Senyū-ji, The Temple of Playing in the Mountains, is temple No. 58 on the Shikoku pilgrimage and one of the more impressively located pilgrimage temples. It stands on the side of Mt. Sakure, 312 m above sea level, which means that pilgrims who walk to it have quite a climb. The modern guardian statues in…