Iyadani-ji

Iyadani-ji asks more of pilgrims than most temples on the Shikoku 88 and gives more in return. Its 540 stone steps climb a northern Mitoyo mountain through cypress and cedar, demanding a different quality of attention. Regarded across Shikoku as a reizan—one of three places where souls of the dead come to dwell—the mountain is a literal threshold in folk Buddhist tradition.

Villagers have brought memorial slips for generations, especially during Bon, while Shingon contemplation reads the upper Cave of the Waterhole as a mandalic entrance to Mt. Meru, the Buddhist cosmic axis. More than 1,500 Amida figures cover the upper rock walls; tradition attributes their Namu Amida Butsu inscription to the 13th-century saint Ippen, though the carving tradition is older.

In the Shishi-no-Iwaya, or Lion Cave, Kūkai is said to have studied between roughly ages nine and twelve, reading at night by its window from the sutra repository donated by Empress Kōmyō. This makes Iyadani-ji one of the route's most directly Kūkai-biographical temples. Its honzon is Senju Kannon, the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteśvara, whose many arms extend compassion in every direction—fitting for a place holding both the dead and the living memory of a saint's youth.

Iyadani-ji's thinness is dense and layered. The reizan tradition is the most particular quality. Folk Buddhism across Shikoku treats this mountain as a place where ancestral souls gather — a literal threshold rather than a metaphor — and the temple has functioned for centuries as a site of memorial practice. Pilgrims and locals alike bring slips for the dead, particularly during the Obon period in summer; the mountain's atmosphere is shaped by that continuing kuyō (memorial offering) practice.

The 540 stone steps, climbing through old forest, do their own contemplative work — by the time most visitors reach the upper precinct the body has emptied of the day's small concerns. At the top the mountain itself becomes the structure. Halls are built directly onto volcanic-ash bedrock; rock walls dense with carved Amidas surround the inner precinct. The Shishi-no-Iwaya, the Lion Cave, holds the tradition of Kūkai's boyhood study and is treated with corresponding reverence.

The Cave of the Waterhole is held in some Shingon interpretations as a mandalic entrance to Mt. Meru, the cosmic mountain at the centre of the Buddhist universe — turning the climb itself into a vertical mandala practice. For most pilgrims, the cumulative effect is one of the most emotionally affecting visits on the entire pilgrimage. Many describe the temple as more atmospheric than they expected, and many leave a memorial slip for someone who has died.

Traditionally founded approximately 1,300 years ago in the early 8th century by the priest Gyōki on the order of Emperor Shōmu, with Empress Kōmyō donating a copy of the Avatamsaka Sutra to a sutra repository on the mountain. From its earliest period, the site combined imperial Nara Buddhism, sacred-mountain practice, and what would become the local reizan tradition.

Tradition holds that Kūkai studied as a boy in the Shishi-no-Iwaya cave between roughly the ages of nine and twelve, and as an adult founded the temple's mature form on a spiritual revelation around 807. The rock-carving tradition, particularly the inscriptions of Namu Amida Butsu attributed to the 13th-century saint Ippen, layered Pure Land devotion onto the older Shingon and sacred-mountain practice. The temple now holds these layers together as one of the densest religious sites on the Shikoku 88.

Pilgrims approach Iyadani-ji from the Mitoyo plain after a roughly 12-kilometre walk from Motoyama-ji at Temple 70 — much of it gentle, until the final ascent. A parking area and a lower temple gate sit at the foot of the mountain. From there the work begins.

The 540 stone steps climb through cypress and cedar in a long series of pauses; older henro and pilgrims with mobility limitations should know that wheelchair and step-free access to the upper precinct is not feasible. The climb is part of the practice. Bodies tire honestly. By the time the upper grounds open, the day's surface noise has fallen away. The first impression at the top is of the rock itself. Halls and shrines are built directly onto volcanic-ash bedrock.

The walls of the inner precinct are dense with carved Amida Buddhas — over 1,500 figures across the stone, many bearing the inscription Namu Amida Butsu. Some are sharply legible, others worn nearly smooth by weather. Pilgrims walk slowly here. At the Hondō: candle from one's own flame, three sticks of incense, osamefuda, coin, Heart Sutra. The honzon inside is Senju Kannon. At the Daishi-dō, the rite continues with the Kōbō Daishi mantra.

Behind the Daishi-dō, the cave deepens into the mountain — the Shishi-no-Iwaya tradition, the place where the young Kūkai is said to have studied. Many pilgrims spend extra silence here. Many also add a memorial slip for a person they have lost — the reizan character of the temple makes this gesture particularly fitting. After the halls, the Cave of the Waterhole on the upper grounds is read in Shingon as an entrance to Mt. Meru.

Pilgrims who attend to the climb as part of the practice sometimes describe the descent afterwards as feeling lighter — as if something has been left on the mountain.

Park or arrive at the lower temple gate. Climb the 540 stone steps slowly, allowing the body to settle into the rhythm of the ascent. At the upper precinct, bow at the gate. Wash hands at the chōzuya. Approach the Hondō: light a candle from your own flame, three sticks of incense, osamefuda, small coin, Heart Sutra. Move to the Daishi-dō and repeat with the Kōbō Daishi mantra.

Behind the Daishi-dō, the Shishi-no-Iwaya cave is open to respectful approach; pause there in silence. If carrying a memorial intention for someone who has died, this is an appropriate temple at which to leave a slip — the reizan tradition supports the practice. Visit the rock-carved Amidas slowly. Receive your stamp at the nōkyō office before 17:00.

Tradition places the founding of Iyadani-ji approximately 1,300 years ago, in the early 8th century, by the priest Gyōki on the order of Emperor Shōmu (reigned 724–749). Empress Kōmyō is said to have donated a copy of the Avatamsaka Sutra to a sutra repository established on the mountain.

A century later, in the boyhood of Kūkai, tradition holds that the future Kōbō Daishi (then known by his childhood name) studied in the Shishi-no-Iwaya — the Lion Cave — between roughly the ages of nine and twelve, drawing on the sutra repository for late-night reading by the cave window light. As an adult, Kūkai founded the temple's mature form on a spiritual revelation around 807.

The rock-carving tradition that has so shaped the upper precinct — over 1,500 carved Amidas — is partly attributed to the 13th-century saint Ippen, though the carving tradition itself is older.

Shingon Buddhism. The temple has held this lineage continuously, with Pure Land devotional layering through the rock-carving tradition and a folk-Buddhist reizan dimension that links it to the broader Shikoku tradition of sacred mountains and ancestral souls.

Senju Kannon devotion; ancestral memorial practice (kuyō) appropriate to the reizan tradition; sutra recitation in the rock-carved areas; Daishi devotion in the cave behind the Daishi Hall.

Daily liturgy; pilgrim reception; nōkyō stamp office; ancestral memorial services arranged by the temple, particularly during the Bon period in summer.

Climb the 540 steps slowly — the climb is part of the practice and shifts the body into a different attentive state. At the Hondō and Daishi-dō, perform the standard henro rite. Stand or sit a while at the Lion Cave behind the Daishi-dō; this is among the most directly Kūkai-biographical sites on the route.

If you carry a memorial intention for someone who has died, an osamefuda slip with their name is appropriate here — the reizan tradition supports the practice. Walk the rock-carved Amidas slowly enough to notice individual figures.

Iyadani-ji can be read through the layered lenses of mountain-Buddhism, Pure Land devotion, Shingon esotericism, and folk reizan tradition — and these readings are not separate, they have grown into one another at this site over more than a thousand years.

Films, episodes, and recorded talks for visitors who want more context before or after a visit. Speculative and alternative-history entries are labelled as perspectives, not as sources for established claims.

Continue through the atlas by country, tradition, physical form, or a focused search that combines this place’s strongest context.

Explore other sacred places in the region. Proximity does not establish access or travel time; check each place’s guidance.

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Sources consulted for this page. Source categories describe the publication, not a guarantee that every claim is verified. Traditional accounts and outside interpretations may differ.

1. 01Iyadaniji – Mitoyo, Kagawa Prefecture, Shikoku — Henro.orgguidePilgrim authoritative reference.
2. 02Iyadaniji Temple — Mitoyo Tourism and Exchange AuthorityofficialLocal official tourism source.
3. 03The 71st Temple Iyadaniji Temple — Rekinabi SanukiofficialKagawa cultural authority.
4. 04Kengozan Seijuin Iyadaniji — Shikoku 88 Temple PilgrimageofficialOfficial Shikoku 88 site.
5. 05Customs and Etiquette of the Shikoku Pilgrimage — Henro.orgguidePilgrim etiquette baseline.
6. 06Temple 71, Iyadani-ji — Shikoku ToursguidePilgrim travel guide.