86 Shido-ji

Shido-ji is the 86th temple on the Shikoku Pilgrimage, an approximately 1,200-kilometre Buddhist circuit around Shikoku island dedicated to the monk Kūkai, also known as Kōbō Daishi. The temple belongs to the Shingon school, an esoteric Buddhist tradition that Kūkai brought to Japan from Tang-dynasty China in the early 9th century. As the second-to-last stop on the route, Shido-ji carries particular weight for pilgrims: the end of the long journey is within reach. Today the temple grounds receive both white-robed walkers (Ohenro-san) completing the circuit on foot and bus groups, making it a living meeting point of centuries-old devotion and contemporary pilgrimage culture.