84 Yashima-ji

Yashima-ji is the 84th temple on the Shikoku Pilgrimage, an approximately 1,200-kilometer circuit linking 88 sacred sites of the Shingon school of Buddhism across Shikoku island. The temple complex sits atop the flat basalt mesa of the Yashima peninsula on the eastern edge of Takamatsu, one of Japan's most distinctive tabletop landforms. The plateau carries deep historical resonance: in 1185, the Taira and Minamoto clans fought the pivotal naval Battle of Yashima here during the Genpei War, and memorial stones still mark the site today. Designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan, the temple draws white-robed henro pilgrims completing the circuit as well as day visitors who come for sweeping views across the Seto Inland Sea from the plateau's edge.