Toyogahashi Bangai 8 on the Shikoku Ohenro

 

Eitokuji is a small temple between temples 43 and 44. immediately adjacent to a bridge, Toyogahashi.

It is the eighth bangai site on the pilgrimage. I have never read a convincing explanation why there are 88 temples on the pilgrimage. 88 is not a significant number in Buddhism. However, when you add twenty extra temples, known as bangai, you end up with 108 which is a significant number in Buddhism.

Some of the bangai temples entail a diversion from the main route, and most pilgrims don't visit them. However, some, like Toyogahashi, are directly on the main route, and so most pilgrims stop.

Underneath the bidge is a big altar, with the focus being a statues of Kobo Daishi asleep. The statue was wrapped in a new, thick, duvet when I was there.

According to the legend, Kobo Daishi could not find lodgings for the night and so had to spend the night under the bridge. From this legend come the tradition that pilgrims do not hit the floor when crossing bridges as Kobo Daishi may be sleeping underneath.

The temple has a small tsuyado, so that is where I spent the night.

Izumo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage Temple 9 Mine-ji

I have been to Mineji before and found it to be really interesting. Details about the temple and its history can be found in this post, and a post about the Nio and Fudo Myoo can be found here. One thing that was new this time was that the roof of the Niomon was covered in solar panels.

Though I already had plenty of photos it was a different day with different lighting conditions and I had a different camera, so I wandered around taking more photos.

Its only 180 meters above sea level, but still has nice views down to the valley and town below.

I hadn't noticed the garden before......  I went to the little office to chat with the priests, a father and son, and learnt that there was something else new.... a small tsuyado, a room offered for free for pilgrims to stay in. The son had walked the Shikoku pilgrimage and had obviously stayed in the many tsuyados there. This is the only one I know about on the Izumo 33 pilgrimage. They offered me the use of it for the night, and though there were still several more hours of daylight and my plan had been to sleep out a bit further upriver, I accepted.

The next morning as I was leaving the son came up and gave me some onigiri and fruit to have for breakfast. I like Mine-ji :)