Shikoku Pilgrimage, Temples 36, 37

Beauty everywhere

There were many moments during my pilgrimage where I was thinking that it could not become more beautiful – that this moment was the pivotal point, unsurpassable– and yet, beauty appeared over and over in many different facets. The beauty around Shōryūji, temple 36, the temple of the blue dragon, started with a spectacular sunrise observed from my window.

Sunrise from my hotel, Kokumin-shukusha-Tosa.

The owner of the hotel I stayed in was a lover of European art.  Not only did he build a hotel in the style of houses in Santorini, a Greek Island, he also owned two pets, which hopped around freely in the hotel lobby. One was a weasel and the other one a rabbit.  He told me that both were connected with famous art pieces.  (Leonardo da Vinci ‘s “Woman with the Weasel” and Albrecht Dürer’s famous “Rabbit”)

The owner of hotel Santorini on the terrace.

In early morning, I visited Shōryūji at the foot of the cliff.  The three – story pagoda lit by the morning sun started to glow like the sun itself. To the left, you see a statue of Kannon.

In this photo ,you see Jizō Bosatsu in the foreground and a statue of Fudō Myōō further up on the hill. A waterfall for spiritual training can be seen to the right. Ascetics used this waterfall for spiritual training, to clean themselves from impurity.

Jizō Bosatsu

Moss covered path near the main temple halls

Pilgrims at Shōryūji

After leaving the hotel, the view to the Pacific Ocean was stunning. Seeing these rocks in the calm ocean, I could imagine that scenes like that inspired the Zen rock gardens.

In the distance, you can see snow capped mountains.

Less beautiful but practical were all the vending machines along the pilgrimage way.  One could not only buy cold drinks but also hot ones– especially many different kinds of coffee drinks.  I liked a bottle with a brown liquid in it called houjicha, which was roasted tea without sugar.  Most of the drinks were too sweet for me.

As much as I could, I tried not to walk through the famous, long tunnels typical for the Shikoku pilgrimage. Cars and trucks passed very close and the noise was almost unbearable. Sometimes, there was no way around.

All along the henro-no-michi, the community provided rest stations for the ohenros.

I sometimes saw old houses with straw patched roofs – I loved them!

A bench that is beautiful but of no use anymore

Before arriving at Iwamotoji (temple 37), where I stayed overnight, I was invited for tea and daifuku – mochi (rice cake with bean paste inside) as osettai by a very kind Japanese man.

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