Regional sacred-site guide
Sacred sites in Tokushima Prefecture
Explore 24 sacred places in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan, with a regional map and links to detailed site guides.
Explore Tokushima Prefecture, Japan by facet
Showing 1-24 of 24 sites in this regional guide
Anraku-ji
Kamiita, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan
Anraku-ji is Temple 6 of the Shikoku 88, in Kamiita, Tokushima. Yakushi Nyorai, the Buddha of Healing, presides here, and Anraku-ji is the only fudasho with its own onsen....
Awa Kokubun-ji
Tokushima, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan
Awa Kokubun-ji is the official kokubunji—provincial Buddhist temple—of Awa Province, founded by imperial edict of Emperor Shōmu in 741 to pray for the welfare of the...
Byōdō-ji
Anan, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan
Byōdō-ji, Temple 22 of the Shikoku 88, takes its name from Kūkai's vow that all illness be healed equally....
Dainichi-ji
Tokushima, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan
Dainichi-ji stands directly across the road from Awa Ichinomiya Shrine, the highest-ranked Shintō shrine of Awa Province....
Dainichi-ji
Itano, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan
Dainichi-ji is Temple 4 of the Shikoku 88, in Itano, Tokushima. It enshrines Dainichi Nyorai, the cosmic Buddha at the center of Shingon esotericism....
Fujii-dera
Yoshinogawa, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan
Fujii-dera sits at the foot of a steep mountain ridge in Yoshinogawa, the threshold temple before the most demanding stretch of the Shikoku 88....
Gokuraku-ji
Naruto, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan
Gokuraku-ji is Temple 2 of the Shikoku 88, sitting 1.4 km southwest of Temple 1 in Naruto....
Hōrin-ji
Awa, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan
Hōrin-ji is the only temple among the Shikoku 88 whose principal image is a Parinirvana Shaka Nyorai—Shakyamuni at the threshold of nirvana, lying on his side....
Ido-ji
Tokushima, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan
Ido-ji, Temple 17 of the Shikoku 88, is named for a well Kūkai is said to have dug in a single night to bring clean water to a suffering village....
Jizō-ji
Itano, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan
Jizō-ji is Temple 5 of the Shikoku 88, in Itano, Tokushima. Within the principal Enmei Jizō image is a smaller Shōgun Jizō said to be carved by Kūkai....
Jōraku-ji
Tokushima, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan
Jōraku-ji is the only temple of the Shikoku 88 dedicated to Miroku Bosatsu, the future Buddha....
Jūraku-ji
Awa, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan
Jūraku-ji is Temple 7 of the Shikoku 88, in Awa, Tokushima. The 'Temple of Ten Joys' offers two specialized intercessions: an eye-healing Jizō beside the Hondō and a row...
Kakurin-ji
Katsuura, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan
Kakurin-ji, Temple 20 of the Shikoku 88, sits high on Mount Washinō in Katsuura....
Kannon-ji
Tokushima, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan
Kannon-ji sits in a quiet residential street in Tokushima City, where the bell tower gate marks an unexpected threshold from ordinary domestic life into a small sacred...
Kirihata-ji
Awa, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan
Kirihata-ji rises 155 metres above the Yoshino plain on the slope of Mt. Kirihata....
Konsen-ji
Itano, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan
Konsen-ji is Temple 3 of the Shikoku 88, in Itano, Tokushima. Pilgrims peer into a well dug by Kūkai whose water is said to look gold; a clear reflection is read as a sign...
Kumadani-ji
Awa, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan
Kumadani-ji is Temple 8 of the Shikoku 88, in Awa, Tokushima. The 1687 Niōmon is one of the largest gates on the entire 88-temple route, designated a Tokushima Cultural...
Onzan-ji
Komatsushima, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan
Onzan-ji, Temple 18 of the Shikoku 88, is the 'Temple of Gratitude.' It stands at the place where Kūkai's mother, Tamayori Gozen, became one of the first women admitted to...
Ryōzen-ji
Naruto, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan
Ryōzen-ji is Temple 1 of the Shikoku 88-temple pilgrimage in Naruto, Tokushima. Pilgrims begin their 1,200-kilometer circuit here, buying white robes, conical hats, and...
Shōsan-ji
Kamiyama, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan
Shōsan-ji stands at 706 metres on Mt. Shōsan-ji in Kamiyama, the second-highest temple of the Shikoku 88 and the first nansho or 'difficult place' on the route....
Tairyū-ji
Anan, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan
Tairyū-ji, Temple 21 of the Shikoku 88, is one of the few sites Kūkai names in his own writings as the place of his decisive ascetic practice....
Tatsue-ji
Komatsushima, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan
Tatsue-ji is the Sōsekisho, the chief barrier temple of the Shikoku 88. Folk belief holds that pilgrims of unresolved sin or insincere intent cannot pass beyond this gate....
Unpen-ji
Miyoshi, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan
Unpen-ji sits at 927 metres on the ridge between Tokushima and Kagawa, the highest temple of the Shikoku 88 and the gateway to the Nirvana stage of the pilgrimage....
Yakuō-ji
Minami, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan
Yakuō-ji, Temple 23 of the Shikoku 88, is the canonical yakuyoke-no-tera — the misfortune-warding temple — of the pilgrimage....
Key questions
Tokushima Prefecture sacred-site questions
How many sacred sites are listed in Tokushima Prefecture?
This regional guide currently includes 24 sacred sites in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan.
Which traditions are represented in Tokushima Prefecture?
The most represented traditions in the current guide include Buddhism.
Can I view Tokushima Prefecture sacred sites on a map?
Yes. Switch to map view to compare the listed places, then open a site page for coordinates and visiting context.