Saigokuji Temple Sasaguri

 

Sasaguri is a small town in a narrow valley in the mountains NE of the major urban area of Hakata/Fukuoka City in northern Kyushu.

It is home to a delightful miniature version of the Shikoku Ohenro pilgrimage that while only 50 kilometers in length, takes a good 4 or sometimes 5 days to walk as there is so much up and downing in the mountains.

With 88 temples crammed together in such a small area, it is perhaps surprising that you pass by numerous other temples that are not part of the pilgrimage.

Saigokuji is one such temple, and like many on the pilgrimage, is small and uninhabited, but also with quite a few small structures containing many statues.

I can find no information about it except that it is a Tendai temple. There were a couple of Fudo statues, but Kannon seems to be the primary focus.

It is located just upstream of the reservoir behind Narufuchi Dam and just a few minutes walk from the Goto Falls Bato Kannon Temple. We visited at the end of a long first day walking the pilgrimage that had included seeing  literally thousands of statues.....