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Nathan West
RELS178: Religious Road Trips: Pilgrimage
9/14/2017

Shikoku Pilgrims: The Walking Dead

The Shikoku Pilgrimage, referred to as Shikoku hachijhakkasho (eighty-eight sacred

places of Shikoku) (Reader 9) by the Japanese, consists of a series of 88 temples scattered

around the edges of Japans smallest main island, Shikoku. The island is located south of the

largest island, Honshu, which contains Japans capital city, Tokyo, as well as 80% of the

population. Shikoku is usually warm and rainy year-long, making it a great place for pilgrims to

congregate. The Shikoku pilgrimage is one of the most prominent pilgrimage in Japan, even

among the very spiritual and pilgrimage culture ingrained in the Japanese people. Unlike other

pilgrimages in other parts of the world, pilgrims are not required to complete the journey in a

specific way or order, even though most pilgrims start at Ryzenji, the first canonical temple

and then proceed in a clockwise direction around the perimeter of the island. The figure that

the pilgrimage is centered around was a Buddhist monk by the name of Kkai, who, after his

death, became known as Kb Daishi. The monk had a big hand in restoring the 88 temples

along the path and acted as a traveling hero, who helped those who needed help and harmed

those who would do harm. There are a number of legends surrounding Kb Daishi that detail

his deeds both before and after his death. The pilgrims who walk the pilgrimage feel that as

they walk, Kb Daishi walks alongside them.

While at times, it seems that this pilgrimage is focused on one person, it is still tied to a

religion. Buddhism is indeed still a major religion with 6% of the world following its tenents.
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Unlike other major religions like Christianity, Judaism or Islam, Buddhism is more of a set of

basic rules than any specific belief in a god or gods. It has a selection of four absolute and noble

Truths discovered by the Buddha, who unlike western prophets such as Jesus or Mohammed, is

regarded as simply an enlightened human, reaching these truths through meditation and

thought. A basic form of the four truths are as follows; life inevitably leads to suffering states

(sickness, old age, death), suffering states are caused by other states (desire, thirst, longing),

this self-perpetuating series of states can be stopped by removing your desires, and suffering

can be removed by following the middle way and Buddhas eightfold path of self-control and

doing what is right. (Rue 283) Because of the more open nature of the religion, the Shikoku

Pilgrimage is much more appealing to those not of the Buddhist religion. Those seeking spiritual

enlightenment, a vacation away from the stresses of home, or to see the nature and culture of

the Shikoku island are all equally welcome on the pilgrimage.

The temples are ordered one to eighty-eight not because of any real difference between

the sacredness of the sites, as each is equally important to the pilgrims, but as a simple

convenience for the pilgrims in the 1800s. At the time, the main way the pilgrims entered the

loop of the pilgrimage, was through the port of Naruto, which is right next to the temple of

Ryzenji making it the logical start point. Nowadays, with the proliferation of airports and other

such transportation, pilgrims are able to start anywhere they wish providing they have the

money to do so. This also brings a split between the schools of thought regarding the

pilgrimage and what is truly sacred, the journey or the destination. Those who believe that they

can show more reverence and achieve more serenity by spending their time at the temples will

chose to charter buses and trains instead of walking. On the opposite side of the argument,
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those who believe that the journey is just as important as the temples will walk from temple to

temple. Despite this being a far smaller group of people, they often believe that the journey is

purer when they are following the footsteps of Kb Daishi instead of driving over them. This is

not a clear-cut situation however, as there are those too injured, elderly or simply unfit to walk

but still want to do what they see as a more spiritual experience, but cannot. In the DVD,

Between Two Worlds: A Japanese Pilgrimage, not everyone agrees on what the best way to

pray is. A man who lost his wife, chose to try to walk the pilgrimage on car and by foot. When

he went by car, he still felt unrest, but when he walked, he felt his mind settle. Another man

states that You cannot get rid of your worldly desires in a day or two, it may be hard, but I

want them to try to visit the temples from first to last, all at once (8:45 - 9:13 Between two

Worlds) However, this division also throws class into the mix as many poorer people will not

have the money to take a month off work to complete a full pilgrimage by walking. They may

have enough time on weekends to visit a few temples but anything else will disrupt their

livelihoods.

Modernization has radically changed the tradition of the Shikoku Pilgrimage, but the

outfit has not changed over the years, remaining the same as it was centuries ago. The

traditional attire is composed of a white coat and loose pants, a conical straw hat and a wooden

walking stick. This attire has a ceremonial meaning for each article of clothing and each part

helps Japanese citizens identify the pilgrims as to help them on their journey. The overall

symbolic meaning of the attire is to evoke the feeling that the pilgrims are dead and are still

wandering much like the man the pilgrimage is centered around. The pilgrims follow in the

footsteps of Kb Daishi, the monk who ascended from his physical form and continued to walk
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the pilgrimage trail in death. The clothing reflects this with each part taking something from

Kb Daishis character. The walking stick represents him walking beside you and as a symbolic

grave stone for the pilgrim, signifying that they will be dead to the world for the duration of

the pilgrimage, the shirt traditionally bears a representation of Kb Daishi, and the hat is just

to keep the sun out of your eyes. The primary color of the outfit, white, is the color of purity

and death in Japanese color, further feeding into the symbol of death throughout the

pilgrimage. It should also be said that pilgrims attire is a popular burial dress in Japan,

portraying death as yet another pilgrimage and calling to mind one who ascended past death

and became divine. This tradition feeds into itself again as it also portrays a pilgrimage as

transcending to a liminal state where you are neither alive nor dead, but still determined to do

some good for others and your own soul. Each persons reason is their own but most gravitate

to a spiritual reason, to clear their mind or give thanks to good fortune.

In all, the Shikoku pilgrimage is a long-reaching culturally rich tradition that draws

dozens of thousands of people per year. It is part of a unique vibrant culture that will continue

for years to come.

Word Count: 1,209

Bibliography

Reader, Ian. Making Pilgrimages: Meaning and Practice in Shikoku. Univ. of Hawaii Press, 2006.

Rue, Loyal D. Religion Is Not about God: How Spiritual Traditions Nurture Our Biological Nature and
What to Expect When They Fail. Lightning Source UK, 2015.

Hershfield, Joanne, and Susan Lloyd. Between Two Worlds: A Japanese Pilgrimage. 2005,
m.wncln.wncln.org/search~S3?/YShikoku&searchscope=3&SORT=DZ/YShikoku&searchscope=3
&SORT=DZ&extended=0&SUBKEY=Shikoku/1%2C9%2C9%2CB/frameset&FF=YShikoku&searchsc
ope=3&SORT=DZ&9%2C9%2C.

88 Temple Pilgrimage. 88 Temple Pilgrimage - Wikitravel, wikitravel.org/en/88_Temple_Pilgrimage.

Number of Buddhists Worldwide. Buddhist Studies: Number of Buddhist World-Wide,