World Heritage status sought for pilgrimage

Aik TC SG

Hiromasa Takeda / Yomiuri Shimbun November 26, 2016 The Japan News

MATSUYAMA — Local governments in the Shikoku region are working to have a local pilgrimage route featuring 88 Buddhist temples designated as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site.

The pilgrimage connects these sacred places throughout the region, with each temple having a number, but there are many unknown aspects of its origin and history.

Among the pilgrims dressed in white at Ishiteji temple in Matsuyama in late September was Shinsuke Tosa from Okayama, who was making the journey to pray for his mother, who is suffering from an intractable disease. The 34-year-old was visiting the No. 51 site of the pilgrimage on the 27th day of his trek, which he began around the second anniversary of his grandfather’s death two years ago.

“My legs ache and I feel lonely, but I’ve been encouraged by meeting other people,” a satisfied-looking Tosa said. “[This pilgrimage] has given me a chance to self-reflect.”

Sadamu Okamoto of Matsuyama was visiting the temple with his wife and daughter as part of the family’s three-day drive covering 17 of the sacred sites. “We’re also enjoying trying local udon eateries,” the 67-year-old said.

Next step is preservation

The four prefectures of Shikoku and 58 municipalities with pilgrimage temples submitted a petition in August to the Cultural Affairs Agency to seek candidacy for World Cultural Heritage status. The document described the holy journey as “our nation’s typical form of pilgrimage.”

The local governments consider the 88 temples and the 1,400-kilometer route connecting the sacred sites as the basis of the envisioned World Cultural Heritage site. The governments will face the issue of how to establish a scheme to preserve these temples and the route as cultural assets.

The pilgrimage is “characterized by its casual nature, and anyone can start it from anywhere and at any time,” said Masato Mori, an associate professor of cultural geography at Mie University and the author of “Shikoku Henro” (Shikoku pilgrimage), published by Chuokoron-Shinsha Inc.

Pilgrims in the region can start their journey from any of the 88 temples, in contrast to the pilgrimage to Ise Jingu in Mie Prefecture, in which the grand shrine is regarded as the absolute sacred site. Moreover, the 88 temples belong to different schools of Buddhism.

The casual nature of the Shikoku pilgrimage was also pointed out by Shuji Matsuki, secretary general at a citizen group in Matsuyama that aims to help the 88 sacred sites and the route obtain World Cultural Heritage status.

“We hope to promote the ritual as something that represents a culture of coexistence because it welcomes anyone from any religion,” said Matsuki, 67.

However, it is unclear how the extensive Shikoku pilgrimage got started and developed over the course of centuries. The ritual is said to have been launched in 815 by priest Kukai, but Mori said this is “not a clear historical fact.”

According to the associate professor, the theory that attributed the foundation of the holy trek to the monk was not clearly established until a monk made reference to it in a document during the Meiji era (1868-1912). The monk belonged to the Shingon school, the teaching established by Kukai.

“Was it also possible for Kukai to establish these as sacred sites in Shikoku just before he founded Koyasan [in 816]?” Mori said. Koyasan is a mountainous sacred site in what is now Wakayama Prefecture and the headquarters of Shingon Buddhism.

The number of the temples deemed sacred in the pilgrimage also changed. For example, Daigoji Monjo, the collection of documents from the Kamakura period (1192-1333) at Daigoji temple in Kyoto, recorded the number of temples as 33, but a guidebook in the Edo period (1603-1867) said, “Eighty-eight sacred sites are visited for worship today.”

Nevertheless, there are apparently no documents clearly explaining how the number of temples changed.

Changes through eras

The Shikoku pilgrimage became popular among the public during the Edo period and later drew many pilgrims from the coastlines of the Seto Inland Sea and other parts of the nation.

The pilgrimage acquired a more leisurely nature in the modern period as bus and steam vessel services were developed. The holy trek also came under the spotlight as a form of hiking when the nation leaned toward militarism during the latter half of the 1930s, because the government promoted the exercise as a means to help the public develop physical and mental health.

In the post-World War II period, more and more people visited the 88 temples on bus tours or in their own cars. The pilgrimage became a major tourist attraction for Shikoku when the Seto Ohashi bridge opened in 1988. Since the latter half of the 1990s, the ritual has been considered a sightseeing resource essential to vitalizing local communities.

“Since those days, more and more media outlets have been promoting [the Shikoku pilgrimage] by focusing on its ties with Kukai,” Mori said. “In addition, an increasing number of young people try the holy trek on foot to seek a challenge or embark on a journey of self-discovery.”

There are many different stories surrounding the Shikoku pilgrimage, including some traditional ones. It is important to scrutinize the historical background to have related properties registered as World Cultural Heritage sites.