Temple Spots in Kochi Area

Area

Kochi
- Japan
- Hokkaido / Tohoku
  
  Hokkaido
  
  Aomori
  
  Iwate
  
  Miyagi
  
  Akita
  
  Yamagata
  
  Fukushima
- Kanto
  
  Ibaraki
  
  Tochigi
  
  Gunma
  
  Saitama
  
  Chiba
  
  Tokyo
  
  Kanagawa
- Koshinetsu / Hokuriku
  
  Niigata
  
  Toyama
  
  Ishikawa
  
  Fukui
  
  Yamanashi
  
  Nagano
- Tokai
  
  Gifu
  
  Shizuoka
  
  Aichi
  
  Mie
- Kinki
  
  Shiga
  
  Kyoto
  
  Osaka
  
  Hyogo
  
  Nara
  
  Wakayama
- Chugoku
  
  Tottori
  
  Shimane
  
  Okayama
  
  Hiroshima
  
  Yamaguchi
- Shikoku
  
  Tokushima
  
  Kagawa
  
  Ehime
  
  Kochi
- Kyushu / Okinawa
  
  Fukuoka
  
  Saga
  
  Nagasaki
  
  Kumamoto
  
  Oita
  
  Miyazaki
  
  Kagoshima
  
  Okinawa

Category

Travel / Tourism

History / Culture / Tour

Temple

Chikurin-ji Temple

4.5

204 Reviews

Travel / Tourism

Kouchi Pref. Kouchishi Godaisan 3577

The Chikurin-ji Temple is a Shingon Buddhist temple of the Chizan school, located on Godai-san (Mt. Godai) in Kochi City. The temple’s full formal name is Godai-san Konjiki-in Chikurin-ji. The temple was founded by the monk Gyoki in 724; it was designated by Kobo Daishi (Kukai) as one of the temples included in the Shikoku 88-temple Pilgrimage, and subsequently became known as one of the most renowned ancient temples in the Tosa region. The main object of veneration in the temple is a statue of Monju Bosatsu (the bodhisattva Manjushri), who is associated with insight and wisdom, so students often come to the temple to pray for success in their exams. Besides the main hall, the Daishi-do hall, the five-storied pagoda, and the garden (which is reputed to have been created by the master garden planner Muso Kokushi) are all worth seeing. The temple houses a considerable number of designated Important Cultural Properties.

This experience was hard to put into words. We were in Japan from America for two weeks of business and managed to squeak in some sight-seeing. About half that time was in Kochi, which was...
Kongofuku-ji Temple

4.0

117 Reviews

Travel / Tourism

Kouchi Pref. Tosashimizushi Ashizurimisaki 214-1

Kongofuku-ji Temple is a Buzan school Shingon Buddhist temple located in Tosa-Shimizu City near the southernmost point in Shikoku. The temple’s formal name is Sada-zan Fudaraku-in; it is the 38th temple visited on the Shikoku 88-temple Pilgrimage. It is situated halfway up a hill, looking out over Cape Ashizuri. According to legend, the temple was founded in 822 when the monk Kukai carved a statue of Senju Kannon (Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy, with One Thousand Arms) here on the orders of the Saga Emperor. In the Heian period, the Kongofuku-ji Temple was visited by large numbers of Kannon worshippers; visitors to the temple during this period included emissaries from the consort of the Go-Fukakusa Emperor, and the poet Izumi Shikibu.

The famous temple 38 on the Shikoku pilgrimage route, revered place of contemplation and blessing. I particularly enjoyed the wild rock garden and the smaller shrines and images of the Buddha sound...
Dokkozan Shoryuji Temple

4.0

35 Reviews

Travel / Tourism

Kouchi Pref. Tosashi Usachou Ryu 601

Located 20 minutes by car from Tosa Interchange, this temple is 38th of the 88 sacred places on the Shikoku Pilgrimage. It is said that when Kobo Daishi studied in China, he prayed to the gods to find suitable locations for sacred places by throwing three ritual implements (a gokosho pestle, a sankosho pestle and a dokkosho pestle); the dokkosho pestle landed here and the temple was founded. The principal object of worship is Namikiri Fudomyo which guards against accidents at sea. It was accessed by boat across Uranouchi Bay until 1973 when the bridge opened. That is why the main hall has many votives of boats. A must-see is the seated statue of Aizenmyoo, a Nationally Important Cultural Property, enshrined in the main hall.

第３６番札所青龍寺この旅の最終日はこちらのお寺から。本堂までは１７０段ほどの石段、雨で滑りやすくなっていましたが逆に雰囲気はよくありがたい感じです。明徳義塾のそばにあり横綱朝青龍関は在校中こちらで鍛錬していたそうでしこ名の由来にもなったそうです。山すそにひっそりとある本堂の静寂も良かったです。
Io-zan Kiyotakiji Temple

3.5

33 Reviews

Travel / Tourism

Kouchi Pref. Tosashi Takaokachou Tei 568-1

The Io-zan Kiyotakiji Temple is the 35th temple of the Shikoku 88-temple Pilgrimage. According to tradition, the temple was originally founded in 723 as the Keisanmitsu-in Takumokuji Temple by the bodhisattva Gyoki, who carved a statue of the Yakushi Nyorai Buddha (Medicine Buddha) to serve as the main object of veneration in the temple. At a later date, Kobo Daishi visited the site, and prayed to Akai Gongen and Ryuo Gongen for a good harvest on a rock near the main hall of the temple. On the day when his prayer was answered, Kobo Daishi touched the altar in front of him with his staff, and clear spring-water gushed out, creating a pool with a mirror-like surface, from which the Kiyotakiji Temple takes its name.

大きな薬師如来像と、景色が素晴らしいお寺です。到着まで車での道のりは険しいです。狭くて急でした。対向車が来ませんようにー、と願いながらの上り下りでした。すれ違いの場所がたまにあるので、そこで譲り合いをすれば大丈夫だと思います。運転される方はとにかくお気をつけていってらっしゃい。
Sekkeiji Temple

3.5

35 Reviews

Travel / Tourism

Kouchi Pref. Kouchishi Nagahama 857-3

This temple belongs to the Rinzai sect of Myoshinji Temple and is located in Nagahama in Kochi City, Kochi Prefecture, and it is the 33rd temple of the Shikoku 88-temple Pilgrimage. It was built in 815 by Kukai as Kofukuji Temple of the Shingon sect, and Chosokabe Motochika, a Sengoku daimyo of Tosa, changed its affiliation to the Rinzai sect. Afterward, it became the family temple of the Chosokabe family and was renamed Sekkeiji Temple. Enshrined at the temple are the principal image of Bhaisajyaguru with flanking samurai, sculpted by Unkei in the Kamakura period, as well as the triad Vaisravana sculpted by Tankei, which have been designated National Important Cultural Properties.

桂浜から高知市内中心部へ車で移動途中に立ち寄りました。前に数台分の駐車場がありました。八十八箇所の第三十三札所です。解説を読むと鎌倉時代まで遡る古いお寺で明治になり一度廃仏毀釈で廃寺になったものを再度復興と歴史の流れにあるお寺のようです。隣に神社がありますが、元々の神仏混淆の名残りでしょうか。
Hachiyo-zan Zenjibu-ji Temple

4.5

28 Reviews

Travel / Tourism

Kouchi Pref. Nankokushi Tochi 3084

The Hachiyo-zan Zenjibu-ji Temple is the 32nd temple of the Shikoku 88-temple Pilgrimage. According to tradition, the Temple was founded by the bodhisattva Gyoki in the 8th century on the orders of Emperor Shomu, to pray for the safety of ships crossing the sea to and from Tosa. Later on, Kobo Daishi visited the site, and carved a statue of the bodhisattva Kannon with eleven faces to serve as the main object of veneration for the Temple. During the era when this region was administered as part of the Tosa domain, successive lords of the domain maintained a close relationship with the Zenjibu-ji Temple, coming here to pray for a safe journey whenever they had to travel by sea when returning to Edo to fulfill their responsibilities under the alternate attendance system (which required the lords of each domain to spend half of their time in Edo). The Temple is familiarly known as “Minen-ji” or “Mine-ji” by locals, because of its location on Mt. Mine.

八葉山求聞持院禅師峰寺（はちようざんぐもんじいん...
Shakki-zan Enkoji Temple

4.0

28 Reviews

Travel / Tourism

Kouchi Pref. Sukumoshi Hiratachou Nakayama 390

This temple belongs to the Chisan sect of Shingon Buddhism and is located in Hirata Town in Sukumo City, Kochi Prefecture, and it is the 39th temple of the Shikoku 88-temple Pilgrimage. The honorific “Shakki-zan” mountain name affixed to the temple name originated in the year 911, when legends say a red turtle carried a copper temple bell here from the Dragon Palace. The bell is inscribed with the date 911 as well, and it is a National Important Cultural Property. The temple was constructed long ago. It is said that Gyoki sculpted the principal image of Bhaisajyaguru in 724, as well as built 12 residences for the Buddhist priests. On the temple grounds, there’s a stone statue of a large red turtle as well as a fountain associated with Kukai known as the “eyewash well” and said to cure eye ailments.

第３９番札所延光寺、愛媛県から高知県に入ってすぐの寺院です。竜宮城伝説が伝わり、眼病にご利益があるという古刹、境内も広くはないものの見ごたえがあってよかったです。国道からは少し細い道で５分ちょっと、アクセスも悪くなかったです。
Chikurinzan Konomineji Temple

4.0

26 Reviews

Travel / Tourism

Kouchi Pref. Akigunyasudachou Tounohama 2594

This temple on the side of Mt. Kounomine is located in Tounohama, Yasuda Town, Aki County. It is the 27th of 88 temples on the Shikoku Pilgrimage. Originally built during the time of Empress Jingu as a Shinto temple, Buddhist images were later enshrined there together with Shinto deities by the Buddhist priest Gyoki. It was later established as a Buddhist temple by the monk Kobo Daishi. An anecdote exists about the mother of Iwasaki Yataro, the founder of the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, who visited the temple 21 days in a row to wish for her son’s success.

第２７番札所神峯寺国道から山道へ、うねうねしながら進んだ先にひっそりと山肌に境内はあります。駐車場から山道を歩いて山門までは５分ほど、本堂はさらに階段を上り進みます。本堂は霧に包まれていて景色は楽しめませんでしたが雰囲気は素晴らしい。人もまばらでゆっくりとお参りすることができました。
Hokai-zan Dainichi-ji Temple

4.0

29 Reviews

Travel / Tourism

Kouchi Pref. Kounanshi Noichichoubodaiji 476

The Hokai-zan Dainichi-ji Temple is the 28th temple of the Shikoku 88-temple Pilgrimage. It was founded in the 8th century when the bodhisattva Gyoki carved a statue of the Dainichi-Nyorai Buddha to serve as the main object of veneration for the Temple. The Temple was later abandoned; according to tradition, it was reestablished when Kobo Daishi visited the site and carved a statue of the Bhaisajyaguru (Medicine Buddha) out of a large Camphor tree with his fingernails. The Temple’s statue of the Konzaikai Dainichi Nyorai Buddha in a seated posture, which is said to have been carved by the bodhisattva Gyoki, has been designated as a National Important Cultural Property. The Hon-do (main hall), the renovation of which was completed in 1997, is made entirely of wood, fitted together without requiring the use of a single nail.

自分が宿泊していたホテルから近く、町中にあるお寺ですが雰囲気はよく、気持ちよく参拝できました。無料の駐車場もあります。
Manisan Kokubunji Temple

4.0

28 Reviews

Travel / Tourism

Kouchi Pref. Nankokushi Kokubu 546

This is a Shingon school Chisan-ha temple in Kokubu in Nankoku City, Kochi Prefecture and is 29th temple of the 88 sacred places on the Shikoku Pilgrimage. The entire grounds are designated as a national historic site. It is one of the 68 kokubunji temples that Emperor Shomu built across the country and was established with the thousand-armed kannon that Gyoki made himself in 741 as the principal object of worship. It was later restored by Kobo Daishi as a Shingon school temple. The main hall with its Tenpyo period-style exterior and its interior with features of the Muromachi period, the temple bell and the wooden statue of the Bhaisajyaguru are Nationally Important Cultural Properties. The garden with its beautiful hair moss is also a must-see.

まわりは田んぼでのんびりした場所にある立派なお寺です。朝9時からお寺カフェでの抹茶や写経もできるようですが、自分が朝早く着いてしまい時間の都合上今回は体験していません。とてもいい雰囲気のお寺でしたので次回はこれらを体験しに再訪したいです。
Kongochoji Temple

4.0

29 Reviews

Travel / Tourism

Kouchi Pref. Murotoshi Moto Otsu 523

This temple is 26th of the 88 sacred places on the Shikoku Pilgrimage. It is said that Kobo Daishi made the Bhaisajyaguru at the behest of Emperor Heizei and the temple was established with this at the principal object of worship. It was originally a temple that did not allow women therefore they had to worship at the women’s temple that had been built around four kilometers away. It has several Buddhist statues including the wooden seated statue of Amitabha stored in the repository and which have been designated as Nationally Important Cultural Properties. There is a large red pot called the Ichiryu Manbai Pot and it is said Kobo Daishi saved the people from starvation by cooking rice in the pot and multiplying it by 10,000.

第２６番札所金剛頂寺思ったほど高台にはありませんが少し登ります。うっそうとした原生林に囲まれている先には広い境内。夕方に差し掛かりそうな時間で人影はまばらだったのでゆっくりとお参りしながら見て回ることができました。
Dodo-zan Zenraku-ji Temple

3.5

22 Reviews

Travel / Tourism

Kouchi Pref. Kouchishi Ikkushinane 2-23-11

The Dodo-zan Zenraku-ji Temple is the 30th temple of the Shikoku 88-temple Pilgrimage. During the period when the boundaries between Shintoism and Buddhism were relatively fluid, Kobo Daishi established the Zenraku-ji Temple as a Betto-ji (Buddhist temple associated with a Shinto shrine) of the Takagamo Daimyojin Shrine (the most prestigious Shinto shrine in the Tosa region). The Temple received protection from the Tosa domain, and flourished for many years. However, the Temple was closed down during the anti-Buddhist movement of the Meiji period; it was reestablished in 1929. The statue of Kobo Daishi in the Temple is known as Yakuyoke Daishi. The statue of Jizo (the Protector of Children) in the Koyasu Jizo Hall within the Temple precincts is also said to have been modeled on Kobo Daishi.

第３０番札所善楽寺こちらに到着したときは雨も風も少し落ち着いていました。土佐神社と隣接しており駐車場は一緒、あまり台数は停める事できませんので余裕をもっての訪問がおすすめです。境内はあまり広くないので参拝もしやすいです。
Murotozan Myojoin Hotsumisakiji Temple

4.5

4 Reviews

Travel / Tourism

Kouchi Pref. Murotoshi Murotomisakichou 4058-1

This temple is located in Muroto-Anan Kaigan Quasi-National Park in Murotomisaki-cho, Muroto City. The 24th of the 88 temples on the Shikoku Pilgrimage, it was the first sacred site? in Kochi Prefecture. The temple is sometimes called Higash-dera (east temple) because of its juxtaposition with Kongochoji, also known as Nishi-dera (west temple), which is located on the western side of Murotomisaki Cape and is the 26th temple on the pilgrimage. The temple enshrines a number of Buddhist images that are nationally-designated Important Cultural Properties including the stone statue of Nyoirin Kannon sitting in half lotus position, the wooden seated statue of Yakushi Nyorai, and the wooden standing statue of the bodhisattvas Candraprabha.

ここの多宝塔は朱色ではなくピンク色になっています。建立当時は鮮やかな朱色であったものが、潮風などの影響を長年受けて変色したのかなと思いました。
Iwamotoji Temple

4.5

4 Reviews

Travel / Tourism

Kouchi Pref. Takaokagunshimantochou Shigekushimachi 3-13

This temple belongs to the Chisan sect of Shingon Buddhism and is located in Shimanto Town in Takaoka County, Kochi Prefecture, and it is the 37th temple of the Shikoku 88-temple Pilgrimage. It is said that the Buddhist priest Gyoki founded it between 729 and 749, and it is known for its “seven wonders” that are associated with Kukai. There are principal images of five deities: Acala, Kannon, Amitabha, Bhaisajyaguru, and Ksitigarbha. The temple grounds contain the oldest hall with an enshrined statue of Kobo Daishi, as well as 575 ceiling paintings that adorn the main hall, constructed in 1978.

先日、夜明けのものがたりに乗車して高知県・窪川にいってきました。宿泊は、窪川駅からも徒歩でいける四国88箇所巡礼地・岩本寺（いわもとじ）へ！ 2度目の宿泊ですが、新しいオプションが追加されており...
Motoo-zan Tanema-ji Temple

3.0

1 Reviews

Travel / Tourism

Kouchi Pref. Kouchishi Harunochouakiyama 72-73

The Motoo-zan Tanema-ji Temple is the 34th temple of the Shikoku 88-temple Pilgrimage. According to tradition, around the 6th century a sculptor of Buddhist statues who was traveling by ship from Paekche (in Korea) was caught in a storm, and had to put into harbor near what is now the site of the Tanema-ji Temple. While there, he carved a statue of the Bhaisajyaguru (Medicine Buddha), as an offering to ensure a safe journey. Subsequently, Kobo Daishi visited the site and built a temple there, with the statue of the Bhaisajyaguru as the main object of veneration. The Tanema-ji Temple became famous as a temple at which to pray for a smooth childbirth. Pregnant women would visit here and present ladles to the monks; the monks would then remove the lower part of the ladle, offer a prayer, and return it to the woman, in a custom known as “Soko-nuke Hishaku.”

こちらのサイトを見て初めて存在をしりました。安産のお祈りだそうです。柄杓の底を抜いて二夜三日の安産祈祷をしたものを、お札を添えて妊婦に授けるのだそうです。
Daizenji Temple

3.5

11 Reviews

Travel / Tourism

Kouchi Pref. Susaki-shi Nishimachi 1-2-1

This ancient temple is the 5th temple of the Shikoku Bekkaku 20 temples Pilgrimage and the 14th temple of the Shikoku 33 Kannon Temples Pilgrimage. The temple has long been the subjection of devotion by many people as the Futatsuishi Daishi and the Bokefuji (senility prevention) Kannon. The temple grounds offer a sweeping view of the Susaki City and of the Pacific Ocean.

こちらで売られているお塩を確か350円位？名古屋の友人に教えてもらい購入して料理に使うと体調が良くなりました。境内の景色も太平洋が観れて綺麗です！
Buraku-ji Temple Yakushido

4.5

6 Reviews

Travel / Tourism

Kochi Nagaoka-gun Otoyo Cho Terauchi 314

高知の山奥に四国の法隆寺と云われる国宝の寺があるとは、畏れ多いことです。724年創立とあり、歴史を感じるしっかりとした建物で、京都などとは違い無料で見学できるのは非常に有難い。ただ、国道から狭い山道を幾分不安を感じながら登る覚悟は必要です。
Seigenji Temple

4.0

5 Reviews

Travel / Tourism

Kochi Takaoka-gun Sakawacho Ko 1460

This was the family temple of a senior Yamauchi clan official, and the garden is considered one of the top three feudal era Tosa gardens. Located on a hill in the Kamimachi district near Aoyama Bunko, it is also a prefectural Place of Scenic Beauty. A Rinzai Buddhist temple of the Myoshinji school, its garden has a pond and “borrowed scenery,” giving it a Zen feel. It also has beautiful cherry blossoms in the spring and colorful foliage in the fall.

少人数で、ふらっと訪れるのがオススメです。運が良ければご住職のお話が聴けるかもしれません。牧野公園の山野草を愛でたあとに静かに眺めると至福の時が訪れます。
Konrinji Temple

3.5

4 Reviews

Travel / Tourism

Kochi Aki-gun Umajimura Umaji 4281

A Shingon Buddhist temple of the Koyasan lineage located in the mountains of eastern Kochi Prefecture. The exact date of construction is unknown, but it dates back as far as the late Heian period and has long been a center of local faith. Legend says the priest Kobo Daishi (Kukai) built it in a single night. It's the only nationally designated Important Cultural Property in eastern Kochi Prefecture. The 5.5-meter beams of the inner and outer hall and the 7.3-meter cross beams of the temple hall are made in a style typical of the middle and late Muromachi periods. Simply yet skillfully built with high-quality materials like cypress and cedar, the construction method of using wide boards rather than rafters is unusual. The temple is highly valued as an example of the region's architectural culture come to fruition.

平安時代前期に空海が建立したと伝承されている寺院です。当然(無理な話ですが)一夜建立とも云われている薬師堂は重文指定されていました。この堂宇の素晴らしさは色彩で飾ってなくて、木の有する本来の美しさが今に伝わっている点です。構造も垂木を使用せずに軒板だけで軒を支えていると云う全国的にも稀有な構造をしています。使用木材は当然、魚梁瀬の良質な森林から切り出されたものです。境内自由。
Shinshoji Temple

Travel / Tourism

Kouchi Pref. Murotoshi Murotsu 2652 - a

A temple sitting on the crest of a small mount overlooking Murotsu Port, it is the 25th temple of the Shikoku 88-temple Pilgrimage, and is normally called “Tsuji.” It is said to have originated when Kobo Daishi venerated the mountain as sacred ground because its shape resembled cintamani stones held by jizo Bodhisattva, and then carved a jizo Bodhisattva as the main object of worship. The bell tower gate—along the steep stone steps to the main hall—is reminiscent of the crimson Ryugujo of legend, and known as “Buddha’s Lighthouse.” At the main hall at the top of the stone steps, you get a great view of the sea around Muroto.

Kochi

Kochi City Kami / Konan Aki / Muroto Around Niyodo River Susaki / Kure / Yusuhara Shimanto River / Ashizuri

Travel / Tourism History / Culture / Tour Temple

Kochi Areas

The largest of Shikoku’s prefectures, Kochi is endowed with some of the island’s most exceptional sand beaches lining the Pacific Ocean, which narrows into the Shimanto-gawa, a huge river that stretches 196 kilometers into the prefecture, passing verdant mountains and hosting countless riverside activities. Whether you’re a pilgrim or not, Kochi’s 16 Buddhist temples that make up one leg of the Shikoku Pilgrimage are worth a visit, particularly Chikurin-ji for its five-tier pagoda.