29 Kokubun-ji

Tosa Kokubun-ji in Nankoku is the 29th temple on the Shikoku Pilgrimage, a roughly 1,200-kilometer circuit of 88 Buddhist temples associated with the monk Kūkai, known posthumously as Kōbō Daishi. The temple belongs to the Chisan branch of Shingon Buddhism and carries the mountain name Manizan. As a Kokubun-ji — an ancient provincial state temple — its origins trace back to the Nara period, when Emperor Shōmu ordered a network of such temples established across Japan's provinces in the 8th century. Pilgrims, called henro, traditionally arrive in white robes and wooden staff, performing prayers, incense offerings, and stamping their pilgrim books at the main and Daishi halls.