Konomine-ji Temple

On the Tosa pilgrim road there is a slope called Mattate, meaning 'straight up.' It is the steep mountain path that climbs from the foot of the mountain to the middle of Mt. Konomine, and at its top stands Konomine-ji, Temple 27 of the Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage. Its mountain name is Chikurinzan and its subtemple name Jizo-in. It belongs to the Shingon Buzan school and its main image is Eleven-Faced Kannon. The temple gate and grounds lie at about 450 meters above sea level in Yasuda, in eastern Kochi Prefecture.

What made the temple's name known among pilgrims is the harshness of the approach. In the Edo period it was called the 'Barrier of Tosa' and the 'pilgrim-tumbler,' and some pilgrims are said to have worshiped from afar at a temple at the foot of the mountain and had their books stamped there. Even after reaching the Nio gate at the top of the climb, about 160 more stone steps remain. The Nio gate was completed in 1930, and its roof was re-laid and the Nio statues restored in 2007.

According to temple tradition, the priest Gyoki carved an Eleven-Faced Kannon as the main image in 730, and around 809 Kukai built the halls and named the temple Kannon-do. Fire during the Genna era (1615 to 1624) destroyed many of its buildings, and when Shinto and Buddhism were separated in the early Meiji era it was briefly abolished, with its main image and pilgrimage status entrusted to Kongochoji. It was revived in 1887, and in 1912 it took over the temple rank of Jizo-in in Ibaraki Prefecture, later coming to be called Konomine-ji. Another story says that in the last years of the Edo period, the mother of Iwasaki Yataro prayed here every day for 21 days for her son's success.

Among the sights in the grounds are the Japanese gardens laid out along both sides of the stone steps. Azaleas, satsuki and autumn maples, with the flowers and trees of each season, ease the fatigue of the climb. The main image in the main hall is a hidden Buddha, and the Daishi Hall, completed in 1992, enshrines a six-shaku wooden seated statue of Kobo Daishi. There are also the Sho-Kannon Hall (sutra hall), the Jizo Hall and a bell tower. The spring water behind the bell tower, called Konomine no Mizu, is said to be effective against illness and was chosen as one of the 40 Famous Waters of Tosa in 1990.

Just above the temple is Konomine Shrine, which enshrines Oyamatsumi no Mikoto, and near the 483-meter point there is a rock with a fine view where Kukai is said to have sat. The annual events are the New Year Kannon goma ceremony on January 18 and the great festival Kannon goma ceremony on August 9.

The temple is about 3.9 km from Karahama Station on the Tosa Kuroshio Railway Gomen-Nahari Line, and on foot the slopes are steep. By car it is about 4.4 km from the Higashitani-iriguchi junction on Route 55, with parking for 30 cars (paid). There is no lodging at the temple.