85 Yakuri-ji

Yakuri-ji is a Shingon Buddhist temple on Mount Yakuri in Kagawa Prefecture and serves as the 85th station of the Shikoku Pilgrimage, a circuit of 88 sacred sites spanning the entire island. Founded in 829 during Japan's Heian period, the temple is traditionally associated with the monk Kukai (Kobo Daishi), the founder of Shingon Buddhism, whose spiritual presence is said to accompany pilgrims along the full 1,200-kilometer route. White-robed pilgrims known as henro still pass through today, marking the visit with incense, prayer, and the stamping of their pilgrim book. The complex sits amid dense mountain forest, creating an atmosphere of meditative quiet that distinguishes it from urban temple sites.