06 Anrakuji

Anrakuji, located in Kamiita in Tokushima Prefecture, is the sixth temple on the Shikoku Pilgrimage — a roughly 1,200-kilometre circuit linking 88 temples of Shingon Buddhism across Shikoku island. The route traces the footsteps of the monk Kūkai, known posthumously as Kōbō Daishi, who founded Shingon Buddhism in Japan in the early 9th century. Pilgrims, called henro, traditionally walk the circuit dressed in white robes symbolising spiritual readiness for death and rebirth, many carrying a wooden staff representing Kūkai's presence. Affiliated with the Kōyasan branch of Shingon, the temple includes the Rurikōin sub-temple and offers a calm compound of incense smoke, stone lanterns, and a steady flow of passing pilgrims — a living practice rather than a museum piece.