Kumadani-ji Temple

Kumadani-ji, formally Fumyozan Shinkoin, is Temple 8 of the Shikoku 88-temple pilgrimage and a Koyasan Shingon temple set on level ground in Tonari-cho, Awa. The first thing to greet visitors is the two-story main gate, built in 1687. It is considered among the largest on the Shikoku route and is designated a cultural property of Tokushima Prefecture. Passing under it, watched over by the guardian Nio figures, you feel the air of the grounds tighten. Farther in stands the middle gate, the Niten-mon, built in 1649 and guarded by Jikokuten and Tamonten.

According to temple tradition, Kukai founded it in 815. While he trained in the Akagatani valley here, the deity Kumano Hiryu Gongen appeared and told him to make it a foundation for saving all beings, giving him a golden Kannon about 5.5 cm tall. Kukai is said to have placed it inside a life-size Thousand-Armed Kannon carved from a sacred tree, which became the principal image. In the Edo period the temple flourished under the protection of the Hachisuka family, lords of Awa. A fire in 1927 destroyed the main hall and the image, and the present hall was completed in 1971. The principal image is shown on the 18th of each month and on the first three days of the new year.

Among the buildings, the pagoda, built in the Edo period, and the Daishi Hall, built in 1707, are designated prefectural cultural properties. The Daishi Hall houses a wooden seated statue of Kobo Daishi said to date from 1431. The main hall is reached by a flight of 33 steps, a count thought to ward off misfortune for women, and the Daishi Hall by 42 steps, the count for men. You can also see a bell tower of the hakamagoshi style, the Benten pond dedicated to Benzaiten, the site of the Kumano Hiryu Gongen shrine and a place for floating wooden sutra tablets for Jizo.

The seasons add to the charm. In early March the Hachisuka cherry trees bloom from the entrance to the pond, and in early April Yoshino and weeping cherries peak. Hydrangeas color the grounds in early summer. On the 18th of each month the principal image is lit so that it glows golden. In winter the sutra office is warmed by a wood stove, a thoughtful touch unique to this temple.

To get here, take a taxi from Kamojima Station on the JR Tokushima Line (about 15 minutes). By car, it is about 2 km from Tonari IC on the Tokushima Expressway, on Tokushima Prefectural Route 139. Parking for about 20 cars and for buses is available with a donation. There is no lodging. A quick tour of the grounds does not take long, but leave time to look at the steps and each hall at leisure.

On the pilgrimage, the walk from Temple 7, Juraku-ji, is said to take about an hour and ten minutes, and to Temple 9, Horin-ji, about 40 minutes. The temple is also Temple 27 of the Awa Saigoku 33 Kannon route, followed by Kirihata-ji as Temple 28. The gate, middle gate, pagoda and Daishi Hall are all designated prefectural cultural properties, so the grounds also reward anyone who enjoys looking at temple architecture.