Shikoku 88 Temple 10 Kirihataji

Approaching Kirihata-ji, temple number 10 on the Shikoku Pilgrimage, the pagoda can be seen protruding from the forest on the hillside. The pagoda was built originally at Sumiyoshi Shrine in Osaka by the second Tokugawa Shogun,  Hidetada, in the early 17th Century but was dismantled and reassembled here in the early years of the Meiji period during the seperation of the buddhas and kami.

After climbing a narrow lane lined with establishments serving pilgrims the temple is then reached up 380 steps.

It belongs to the Shingon sect and the main deity is Senju Kannon, the Thousand-Armed Kannon

The name Kirihata means "Cut Cloth" and refers to the legend that has a young woman giving Kukai some cloth to make new robes. There are many versions of the legend, and the most detailed has the young woman being of noble birth. Kukai ordained the woman as a nun and so another name of the temple is Tokudozan, the Mountain of ordination.

From the main hall it is another climb to reach the squat, 2-storey pagoda, and from there one can see south across the Yoshino River to where the next temple is, about 10k away on foot.