04 Dainichiji

Dainichi-ji is the fourth temple on the Shikoku Pilgrimage, an 88-temple circuit that traces the legendary footsteps of the 9th-century monk Kūkai, founder of Shingon Buddhism in Japan. The temple sits on a forested hillside at the northern edge of Itano in Tokushima Prefecture, belonging to the Tōji branch of Shingon — an esoteric school known for its elaborate rituals and mandala cosmology. Pilgrims completing the full circuit on foot walk roughly 1,200 kilometers in total, and Dainichi-ji marks one of the earliest stations. Visitors encounter a compact, contemplative temple ground where white-robed henro pilgrims light incense and chant sutras — a living tradition largely unchanged for over a millennium.