The Shikoku Pilgrimage
The Shikoku Pilgrimage

Author: John Lander

Publisher:

Published: 2021-09-29

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 9786164510517

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- Evocative photographs of one of the world's most famous pilgimages - All 88 temples illustrated and discussed - Includes accounts by former pilgrims The Shikoku Pilgrimage on the island of the same name is one of the few circular pilgrimages in the world. At 1,200 kilometers in length, the trail includes 88 temples and passes through diverse countryside such as idyllic bamboo groves, deserted beaches and ordinary Japanese neighborhoods. There is a long tradition of pilgrimage in Japan, dating back at least to the time of the renowned monk, poet and philosopher Kobo Daishi (774-825) who is particularly associated with this trail. John Lander, long-time resident of Japan, author and photographer, has visited and recorded every temple in evocative images, as well as providing fascinating details about the origin of the trail and what the pilgrimage means to the thousands who undertake it every year. The pilgrimage is undertaken for many reasons - to have a time of reflection away from everyday life, as a spiritual journey or as a healing period after a traumatic life experience. Along the way, pilgrims will encounter ordinary Japanese people and learn to understand the custom of o-settai, or charitable giving.

Making Pilgrimages
Making Pilgrimages

Author: Ian Reader

Publisher: University of Hawaii Press

Published: 2005-01-01

Total Pages: 378

ISBN-13: 9780824828769

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This study involves a fourteen-hundred-kilometer-long pilgrimage around Japan's fourth largest island, Shikoku. In traveling the circuit of the eighty-eight Buddhist temples that make up the route, pilgrims make their journey together with Kobo Daishi (774-835), the holy miracle-working figure who is at the heart of the pilgrimage. Once seen as a marginal practice, recent media portrayal of the pilgrimage as a symbol of Japanese cultural heritage has greatly increased the number of participants, both Japanese and foreign. In this absorbing look at the nature of the pilgrimage, Ian Reader examines contemporary practices and beliefs in the context of historical development, taking into account theoretical considerations of pilgrimage as a mode of activity and revealing how pilgrimages such as Shikoku may change in nature over the centuries. This rich ethnographic work covers a wide range of pilgrimage activity and behavior, drawing on accounts of pilgrims traveling by traditional means on foot as well as those taking advantage of the new package bus tours, and exploring the pilgrimage's role in the everyday lives of participants and the people of Shikoku alike. that have shaped it in the past and in the present, including history and legend; the island's landscape and residents; the narratives and actions of the pilgrims and the priests who run the temples; regional authorities; and commercial tour operators and bus companies.

Shikoku Pilgrimage, Japan
Shikoku Pilgrimage, Japan

Author: Roman Reynolds

Publisher:

Published: 2019-12-04

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 9781671524903

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Shikoku Pilgrimage, Japan. Travel Guide. This is a Buddhist pilgrimage around the circumference of the Japanese island of Shikoku. Of the several hundred thousand people who do it each year, only a few thousand walk; the vast majority travel in organized bus tours. If you only walk to the main 88 temples, the trail is about 1,100 km ( 670 mi.). If you also walk to the 20 bangai temples (of secondary importance, but still visited by some), the distance increases to about 1,400 km ( 860 mi.). Visiting all 108 temples takes about 50-55 days. Visiting only the main 88 temples takes about 40-45 days. How long it takes for each henro (pilgrim) depends on their fitness level and their seeming need to hurry. There are several legends related to the beginnings of the pilgrimage on Shikoku Island. The most popular legend, of course, is that Kūkai walked to all of the sacred places on the island, founded many of the temples, and established the pilgrimage itself. While we don't know everything about his early life, we do know enough about what he did, where he lived, and where he traveled, that it is fairly easy to refute this and say that it can't be true. Documents do show that Kūkai did travel to several of the mountains where temples are currently located. He did not, however walk around the island or perform the first pilgrimage. As will be described below, those first pilgrims were the hijiri, or wandering ascetics, that came from Mt. Kōya to visit the religious centers on the island.

The 88 Temples of Shikoku
The 88 Temples of Shikoku

Author: Oliver Dunskus

Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand

Published: 2024-03-25

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 3758388074

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This guidebook has been written for travelers and pilgrims who intend to visit some of the the 88 temples of Shikoku, or maybe even plan to walk the entire pilgrimage. In addition to the history of the temples, it covers in detail the routes between the temples and provides additional information on how to organize the pilgrimage and adds cultural and historic background. In addition to this guidebook, there are also supplements available for easier planning of the pilgrimage on foot, by bicycle or by public transportation.

Neon Pilgrim
Neon Pilgrim

Author: Lisa Dempster

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2017-08-01

Total Pages: 247

ISBN-13: 1925183882

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During a culture-shocked exchange year in Japan, fifteen-year-old Lisa Dempster’s imagination is ignited by the story of the henro michi, an arduous 1200 kilometre Buddhist pilgrimage through the mountains of Japan. Perfectly suiting the romantic view of herself as a dusty, travel-worn explorer (well, one day), she promises to return to Japan and walk the henro michi, one way or another, as soon as humanely possible. Fast-forward thirteen years, and Lisa’s life is vastly different to what she pictured it would be. Severely depressed, socially withdrawn, overweight, on the dole and living with her mum, she is 28 and miserable. And then, completely by chance, the henro michi comes back into her life, through a book at her local library. It’s a sign. She decides then and there to go back to Japan almost immediately: to walk the henro michi, and walk herself back to health. Brushing aside the barriers that other people might find daunting – the 1200km of mountainous terrain, the sweltering Japanese summer, the fact she has no money and has never done a multi-day hike before – Lisa is determined to walk the pilgrimage, or die trying.

A Sense of Direction
A Sense of Direction

Author: Gideon Lewis-Kraus

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2013-05-07

Total Pages: 386

ISBN-13: 1594631492

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In medieval times, a pilgrimage gave the average Joe his only break from the daily grind. For Gideon Lewis-Kraus, it promises a different kind of escape. Determined to avoid the fear and self-sacrifice that kept his father, a gay rabbi, closeted until midlife, he has moved to anything-goes Berlin. But the surfeit of freedom there has begun to paralyze him, and when a friend extends a drunken invitation to join him on an ancient pilgrimage route across Spain, Lewis-Kraus packs his bag, grateful for the chance to wake each morning with a sense of direction. Irreverent, moving, hilarious, and thought-provoking, A Sense of Direction is Lewis-Kraus’s dazzling riff on the perpetual war between discipline and desire, and its attendant casualties. Across three pilgrimages and many hundreds of miles, he completes an idiosyncratic odyssey to the heart of a family mystery and a human dilemma: How do we come to terms with what has been and what is—and find a way forward, with purpose?

Pilgrimage
Pilgrimage

Author: Peter Stanford

Publisher: Thames & Hudson

Published: 2021-04-13

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 0500776423

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A thought-provoking reflection on the practice and history of pilgrimage, and a compelling exploration of its relevance today. Pilgrimage, a global ritual embraced by nearly all faiths, is one of civilization’s most enduring traditions. In this compelling book, author and journalist Peter Stanford reflects on the reasons people have walked along the same sacred paths through the ages. Through this history, Stanford explores how the experiences of the first pilgrims to Jerusalem, Mecca, and Santiago de Compostela compare to the millions of people who embark on life-changing physical and spiritual journeys today. Pilgrimage traverses sacred landscapes around the world, from the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City to the monolithic rock-cut churches of Lalibela, Ethiopia and the riverbanks of the Kumbh Mela in India. Stanford explores the historical and spiritual significance of these places of healing and reflection and discusses their roles as crossroads., Although pilgrimage is usually viewed as an individual’s escape from the everyday to refocus the mind and soul, institutional and national struggles for power have always had an impact on the way pilgrims experience their own personal journey. Guiding readers through the global history of pilgrimage, this thought- provoking book educates a new generation that may seek solace, clarity, and wonder by following in the footsteps of travelers from the past.