【Japan tourism】Shikoku 88 temple pilgrimage trip [No.24] Murotozan Myoujyouin Hotumisakiji

2023年3月11日2023年12月3日

It is also said that Kobo Daishi got the name of “Kukai" in this place. Hotsumisaki-ji Temple is the first Fudasho after entering the country of Tosa and stands at the tip of Cape Muroto. It is a place where many legends related to Kobo Daishi have been handed down.

Hotumisakiji

Principal image	Kokuzo Bodhisattva
Honzon mantra	Noubou akyasya kyarabaya on arikiya maribori sowaka
Denomination	Shingon Buddhism Buzan sect

Place

Temple lodging：be(100 people)

Phone：0887-23-0024

Goshuin(red seal)

History

In 792 (Enryaku 11), when Kobo Daishi was 19 years old, he practiced in Miroku-do, near the temple, wearing wisteria robes to protect himself from the wind and rain. Kobo Daishi is said to have attained enlightenment by mastering Kokuzo Gumonjiho through training here.

There are two caves, the one on the right is Shinmeikutsu, where he is said to have attained enlightenment, and the one on the left is Mirokudo, where he went to bed.

In 807 (Daido 2), Kobo Daishi, who returned from Tang Dynasty, visited Cape Muroto at the imperial request of Emperor Saga, built a temple, carved a statue of Kokuzo Bosatsu, and made it the principal image of worship. It has received strong patronage from successive emperors, the Ashikaga shogunate, and the Yamauchi family, the lord of the Tosa domain.

During the period of the Northern and Southern Courts, when Ankokuji was established for each country, it became Tosa’s Ankokuji and prospered. At that time, it was considered a Shingon esoteric Buddhism dojo, and women were not allowed to enter, so female pilgrims worshiped from the tip of Cape Muroto. The ban was lifted in 1872 (Meiji 5).

The 26th Fudasho, Kongocho-ji Temple, at Gyodozaki is sometimes called Nishidera , and the most Hotsumisaki-ji Temple is Higashidera. At the Nokyo office, the red stamp is written as Higashidera Temple.

There are many famous treasures such as the stone Nyoirinkannonhanka, which is said to have been brought back from Tang Dynasty by Kobo Daishi or made in the late Heian period.

Highlight

【Mikurado cave】At the tip of Cape Muroto, which protrudes into the Pacific Ocean, under the cliffs carved by rough waves, there is a cave formed by wave erosion. When you look outside from inside the Mikurodo cave, you can see the sea and the sky as one. Kobo Daishi stayed here and practiced.

Currently, National Route 55 runs right next to it, so you can easily go there.