17 Idoji

Ido-ji is the 17th temple on the Shikoku Henro, Japan's celebrated 88-temple pilgrimage circuit, and belongs to the Shingon school of Buddhism. The temple carries the mountain name Go Rurizan and the sub-temple designation Shimpukuin. The pilgrimage traces the footsteps of the monk Kūkai, who introduced esoteric Shingon Buddhism to Japan in the early 9th century and is said to have meditated across Shikoku — pilgrims still walk the full 1,200-kilometre circuit dressed in traditional white. At Ido-ji, visitors and devoted pilgrims alike perform the customary rituals: lighting incense, chanting sutras, and receiving an ink stamp in their pilgrimage booklet.