Jizoji Temple

Temple No. 5 of the Shikoku Pilgrimage

Jizoji Temple (地蔵寺, Jizōji) is a temple of the Omuro branch of Shingon Buddhism in Rakan, Itano Town, Itano District, Tokushima Prefecture, said to have been founded by Kukai in 821; four of its Edo-period halls and its Five Hundred Arhats Hall, rebuilt in 1922, became Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on 26 January 2011. Its full name is Mujinzan Shogon-in Jizoji, and it is the fifth of the eighty-eight temples on the Shikoku pilgrimage.

Temple tradition holds that Kukai (Kobo Daishi), acting on a request from Emperor Saga, carved a tiny Shogun Jizo, the bodhisattva Jizo in armor, about 5.5 centimeters tall, and enshrined it as the principal image. A later priest, Jokan, is said to have carved a larger Enmei Jizo from sacred wood and sealed the small figure inside it. Three successive emperors, then warriors from Minamoto no Yoritomo and Yoshitsune down to the Hachisuka lords of Awa, gave the temple their patronage, and at its height it is said to have had around 300 branch temples across Awa, Sanuki and Iyo, with 26 subtemples.

All of that was lost, the story goes, when Chosokabe Motochika's armies burned the temple in the Tensho era (1573 to 1592). What stands today was rebuilt piece by piece by later abbots and their supporters, and the five registered buildings trace that rebuilding from the early eighteenth century to the Taisho era.

Five Registered Buildings and Their Dates

All five were registered on the same day, with consecutive numbers 36-0089 through 36-0093.

• Main Hall (36-0089): Shotoku era, 1711 to 1716. Registered as a "model of form and design."
• Fudo Hall (36-0090): late Edo period, 1751 to 1830. Built against the north side of the Main Hall.
• Daishi Hall (36-0091): Shotoku era, remodeled in the late Edo period, 1830 to 1868.
• Sutra Repository (36-0092): 1810. A fireproof storehouse holding an eight-sided revolving sutra case.
• Five Hundred Arhats Hall (36-0093): rebuilt in 1922. Registered as a "model of form and design."

The Main Hall and the Five Hundred Arhats Hall were registered as models of form and design; the Fudo Hall, Daishi Hall and Sutra Repository for their contribution to the historic landscape. The official description calls the Main Hall a good early-modern example of a Shikoku pilgrimage temple main hall, and the Arhats Hall a large temple building that drew the devotion of ordinary people.

In sequence, the Main Hall and Daishi Hall went up in the Shotoku era, the Fudo Hall followed in the late Edo period, and the Sutra Repository was added in 1810. The Arhats Hall is said to date back to 1775, but it was damaged by fire in 1915, and the present building is the 1922 reconstruction.

Finding Your Way Around the Grounds

Pass through the Nio Gate and a great ginkgo, said to be more than 800 years old, rises in front of you. The Main Hall stands in the southwest of the grounds facing east, on your left as you enter. The Daishi Hall faces it from the east, and pilgrims move back and forth between the two.

The Fudo Hall is built against the north side of the Main Hall, and the Sutra Repository stands farther north, facing south. The main compound is arranged around the Main Hall, with the other buildings set out to its east and north.

The Five Hundred Arhats Hall is the temple's inner sanctuary, on higher ground north of the main compound. Take the path on the left of the Main Hall and climb the stone steps, about a 5-minute walk. It is a large U-shaped complex, a Shaka hall flanked by a Daishi hall and a Miroku hall, linked by corridors, and it is the one part of Jizoji that charges admission.

Visiting Jizoji Temple

Entry to the main grounds is free, and the stamp office is open from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Five Hundred Arhats Hall charges 300 yen, the figure given by the Shikoku 88 Temples Pilgrimage Association; some older guides list 200 yen, so it is worth checking on the day.

By public transport, take a taxi west from Itano Station on the JR Kotoku Line, about 10 to 15 minutes. Tokushima Bus services on the Kajiyabara route stop at Rakan, the closest stop. Drivers can leave the Tokushima Expressway at Aizumi Interchange and follow the prefectural roads toward Itano. Parking is free, with room for about 50 cars and for tour buses.

Photography in the grounds is generally accepted, but this is an active pilgrimage temple with worshippers arriving all day. Ask at the stamp office before photographing inside a hall or any enshrined image. How much of each interior can be seen differs from building to building.