4 Day Ohenro Tour

Ohenro:Day 1
Your journey will begin in the Ehime Prefecture. Stretching
westward along the Seto Inland Sea and eventually terminating to
the blue green waters of the southwest, this sunny prefecture iswell regarded for the richness of its land and for the wellpreserved towns that dot the country side.
In the morning you will visit the towns of Ozu and Uchiko. In Ozu,
you will visit the manor house of the former lord of the town in
addition the castle. The manor’s mossy verdant garden attracts
the breeze from the river below, an the well preserved interiortransports the viewer back in time.

The towering castle too is well preserved, and the community
itself has taken great lengths to maintain the classic atmosphereof this town.
Before arriving in Uchiko, you will also visit Eitokuji. This temple
marks the spot where Kūkai, founder of Shingon Buddhism inJapan, was forced to spend a hellishly cold night underneath abridge. This gave rise to the belief that pilgrims should raise their
walking sticks when crossing bridges so as not to wake him.
In Uchiko you will be able to explore the white walls and classic
townhomes that still stand. Uchiko was once an incredibly
wealthy and well known town due to the production and exportof wax and candles. Here you will actually be able to see the oldproduction facility that once belonged to a wealthy merchantfamily.
You will spend the night in this microcosm of the past in arenovated town home, an excellent chance to experience the past
first hand.

Ohenro:Day 2
After breakfast you will leave the white walls ofUchiko and begin your pilgrimage in earnest.

First you will visit Daihoji and Iwayaji. Of particularnote is Iwayaji: surrounded by dense cedar forestthat are perpetually shady and cool, the temple
itself is seemingly carved out of the mountain side.
Dramatic stone walls, caves, and mossy statues
enhance the mysterious atmosphere of this temple.
The last temple of this day is Ishiteji. Located in theheart of Matsuyama City and possessing animportant position in the pilgrimage narrative.
According to legend Emon Saburo was thewealthiest man on Shikoku. One day, he chasedaway a monk begging at his home and broke hisbegging bowl. This monk turned out to be Kūkai.
After this, Emon experienced a variety of
misfortunes that change depending on the legend
but they all agree that he began walking thepilgrimage path in search of Kūkai to ask forforgiveness.
Before dying, the two men finally met and Emon
was forgiven and asked to be reborn in Matsuyama
City in a wealthy family so he could contribute toBuddhism. Kūkai gave him a stone with theinscription “Emon Saburo is reborn” and put it inhis hand. According to the story, a child was born inthe city clutching the stone and eventually thetemple was founded. Indeed the name Ishiteji itself
means something like “hand with stone temple.”
After exploring the temple grounds of thisfascinating temple, you will have time to explore
and enjoy the streets of Matsuyama City.

Ohenro:Day 3
In the morning you will cross the border into
Kagawa and visit Konpira Shrine.
The path to the shrine is lined with shops
selling everything from pilgrimage gear toudon flavored ice cream and creates a festive
atmosphere at anytime of day. The shrine
itself is the main shrine of all other Konpira
shrines in Japan and in the past was animportant place of pilgrimage as well.
After visiting this shrine you will then visit
three hillside temples that loom over therustic countryside before ending the day in
Zentsuji.
Zentsuji is the town where Kūkai is said tohave been born and is home to an impressive
temple complex as well.
It is in this temple that you will have theopportunity to spend the night in traditional
style and have the option to attend a
Buddhist ceremony.

Ohenro:Day 4
The final day of this journey will involve
participation in one of the hallmark rituals ofShingon Buddhism, the Goma fire ritual.
After breakfast, you will visit both Motoyamajiand Iyadaniji.
Motyamaji is well known as having a uniquemain deity, the fierce Bato Kannon (Horse HeadKannon in English). This fierce deity wears acrown with a horse head on it, has threescowling heads, and carries a wide variety ofweapons and objects. It is under the watchfuleye of this deity that you will take part in theGoma ritual.
In this ritual, the priest will create a roaring
flame on an altar that grows higher and higher
as he continues his prayers and chants. Theintensity of this ritual creates an atmosphere
thick with spiritual tension and mystery.
After is the mountain side temple of Iyadaniji.
Here you can view statues carved into themountain itself in addition to the sweeping
views of the countryside the slopes of thetemple provides.

Finally, in Takamatsu City you will have theoption to visit Takamatsu Castle, one of the few“water” castles in Japan or simply relax in thisquirky Showa Era city.