2nd Temple of the Shikoku Pilgrimage: Gokurakuji Temple

About a kilometer on from Ryozenji, the pilgrim comes to the second of the 88 temples on Shikoku’s pilgrimage route. This is Gokurakuji, the Temple of the Pure Land. The temple has an old connection with a local sect focusing on mountains as places of power and worship, similar to the slightly better known Shugendo faith. As at Ryozenji, Kobo Daishi is thought to have carved Gokurakuji’s statue of Amida, the Buddha of the Western Pure Land. A local legend claims that a light that occasionally streamed forth from the statue was so bright that it scared fish away from the coastal waters. To preserve their livelihoods, fisherman erected an artificial hill between the temple and the sea. The hill is still there, and another name for Gokurakuji is Sun Light Mountain.

More Info.:
Ryozenji

Matt Mangham

12 Dannoue, Oasacho-Hinoki, Naruto City, Tokushima

Ryozenji Temple===(10 min. walk)===Gokurakuji Temple JR Awakawabata station===(20 min. walk)===Gokurakuji Temple

Open Hours:
7:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Holidays:
None