第59番札所 伊予国分寺 (Iyo Kokubun-ji)

Iyo Kokubun-ji, temple number 59 on the Shikoku Pilgrimage circuit, sits atop a small hill known as Kongōzan — meaning 'Tortoise Hill' — within the city of Imabari on Shikoku island. Its origins trace back to a 741 imperial edict by Emperor Shōmu, who ordered a state-funded provincial temple built in each of Japan's regions as a form of national spiritual protection. The temple belongs to the Saidaiji branch of Shingon Buddhism and carries the sub-temple name Saishō-in. Pilgrims walking the full 88-temple Shikoku route — a journey associated with the monk Kūkai, known posthumously as Kōbō Daishi — find this stop quieter and more contemplative than the circuit's major landmark temples, making it a particularly unhurried place to receive the traditional temple stamp (nōkyō).