Zenraku-ji Temple

Zenraku-ji, formally Dodozan Tomyoin, Temple 30 of the Shikoku 88-temple pilgrimage, lies in Ichinomiya in Kochi. Right beside it stands Tosa Shrine, the ichinomiya of Tosa Province, and the two neighboring precincts still convey the time when gods and buddhas were worshipped together. It is a temple of the Buzan branch of Shingon Buddhism, and its principal image is Amida Nyorai.

According to temple tradition, Kukai founded it between 806 and 810 as the temple attached to Tosa Shrine. After it burned in the Onin War, it was revived under the protection of Yamauchi Tadayoshi, the second lord of the Tosa domain. The name changed over time: it is recorded as Kannin-in in 1653 and Chofuku-ji in 1658, and was renamed Zenraku-ji in 1721.

In the anti-Buddhist movement of the early Meiji era, the temple attached to the shrine was abolished, and its treasures, including the Amida statue and the Daishi statue, were moved to Kokubun-ji. The principal image was later taken to Anraku-ji in Horagashima, which briefly became Temple 30, and in the early Showa period local people revived Zenraku-ji on the site of the old temple, bringing its treasures back. The question of which temple held Temple 30 was settled in 1994: Zenraku-ji became Temple 30, and Anraku-ji became its inner sanctuary. Anraku-ji enshrines the original principal image, a seated Amida Nyorai that is a national Important Cultural Property, and one priest serves both temples.

The main hall, built in 1982, enshrines Amida Nyorai. Across from it is the Koyasu Jizo, believed to answer prayers for children. The Daishi Hall dates from the Taisho era, and its statue of Kobo Daishi, which escaped the Meiji abolition, is known as the Yakuyoke Daishi, the Daishi who wards off misfortune. There are also a Jizo hall and stone statues of Kannon and Fudo Myoo, and detached grounds with Shiraiwa Fudo and a Yakushi hall. A large sutra-reading ceremony is held on February 1 and a Fudo fire ritual at Shiraiwa on November 28.

To get here, walk about 1.5 km from Tosa-Ichinomiya Station on the JR Dosan Line, or about 200 m from the Ichinomiya Higashimon bus stop of Tosaden Kotsu. By car, it is about 2 km from Kochi IC on the Kochi Expressway, with free parking for about 20 cars. There is no lodging. The grounds are not large, and a visit can be short, but walking over to neighboring Tosa Shrine as well makes the history of the union of Shinto and Buddhism easier to feel.

On the pilgrimage, the previous temple, Temple 29 Kokubun-ji, is in Nankoku, and the next, Temple 31 Chikurin-ji, is on Mt. Godai in Kochi. You travel between them by car or other transport, but Zenraku-ji makes a good base for exploring the history of Ichinomiya together with Tosa Shrine.