70 Motoyama-ji

Motoyama-ji is the 70th station of the Shikoku Henro, Japan's renowned 1,200-kilometre pilgrimage circuit linking 88 temples across Shikoku island. The temple belongs to the Kōyasan branch of Shingon Buddhism and is traditionally said to have been founded in 807 CE, during the early Heian period when the monk Kūkai (Kōbō Daishi) established the pilgrimage route. Several of its treasures hold National Treasure status under Japanese law, giving the site cultural significance beyond its role in the pilgrimage circuit. Set in quiet mountain woodland in Kagawa Prefecture, the wooden temple complex opens daily from 07:00 to 17:00. Visiting pilgrims in white robes collecting ink stamps in their pilgrim notebooks ('nōkyōchō') remain a defining part of everyday life here.