My trek from the Zentsu-ji train station found me approaching the main thoroughfare to the Temple from a side street. You can imagine my surprise and delight when I turned the corner and saw a five element stupa (gorinto) perched above a canopy in the main street. Previously I had principally seen them as grave-markers in cemeteries. For example numerous gorinto can be found in Koyasan where Kobo Daishi has been laid to rest.

Pilgrim’s staffs with the five elements (earth, water, fire, wind and void) written in Sanscrit around the top of the staff. The dragon water spouts in the background are also strongly related to the elements. I have written more about the pilgrim’s staff in my post ‘Returning to the elements‘.

The five storied pagoda has been  destroyed by fire twice. The current version was completed in 1902. The five stories represent the five elements, as do the five colours in the banners. These are explained later in the post.

Statue of Kobo Daishi, with accompanying gorinto, at Kanchi-in. This sub-Temple is located in-between the eastern and western sections of Zentsu-ji. Kobo Daishi is reported to have built the Sub-temple (not pictured here) in 807. A mini-pigrimage can be found at Kanch-in where soil from the 88 Temples on the Shikoku Pilgrimage have been transplanted beneath 88 statues.

Incense burner, pilgrims and five coloured banner – Main Temple, Western Temple grounds, Zentsu-ji.

The gorinto in the foreground of this image were like a fence around the remnants of a sacred tree. The statue in front of the main Temple shows Kobo Daishi as a young man, holding a gorinto in his hands. The five coloured banner also represents the elements, amongst other things.

The building with the large gorinto looks like it was constructed relatively recently. From what I can work out, the structure contains images of Kobo Daishi. Text on an image of the building refers to ‘two accompanying eternity’. I hesitate to say this, as I have much to learn about Shingon Buddhism, the phrase however may be related to the idea to Kobo Daishi accompanies each person on their pilgrimage around Shikoku. And beyond it seems.

When I ventured into the carpark on the western side of Zentsu-ji Temple I found this large map of two walks for pilgrims up and around the nearby mountain. I did both.

Every 50 metres or so on the trail to the top of the mountain there were signs saying either ‘Beware of fire’ (this one) or Wildfire prevention. The distance to the top of the summit was also recorded. Fire prevention is a major concern in Japan, as touched on in my post ‘Beware of fire’. I was a little surprised though at the frequency of the signs.

Three stone statues were found at the top of the mountain, although they didn’t look like the images on the big map (I was expecting wooden structures, akin to shrines). To the left is Fudo Myoo, to the right a sacred rock, and in the middle a multi-armed deity I am still confirming the identity of (Kongoyasha Myoo perhaps?). The pink cosmos were flowering everywhere I travelled in October, creating beautiful patches of delicate colour. They certainly brightened up what was a grey day on Shikoku.

The walk around the base of the mountain had groups of statues at close intervals and three maps of different sections of the Shikoku pilgrimage. The deity represented here is Fudo Myoo, sometimes called a fire god. With so many different numbered statues I thought that I was walking the Shikoku mini-pilgrimage route. Especially with the maps. As mentioned earlier, it turns out that the mini-pilgrimage was in the Temple grounds. If anyone can tell me what this larger circuit represents I’d appreciate it. I can provide a closer image of the map with the Japanese explanation if that helps!

This is the poster that was posted above some small coloured metal amulets/charms at Zentsu-ji Templee. From the colours, imagery and kanji I had a strong feeling that the charm was related to the five elements. Google Translate wasn’t able to assist, so I turned to Lesley Kehoe who is an expert in speaking and reading Japanese. Her translation, reproduced below in italics, was a watershed moment. To see the five elements referred to explicitly in this way, and to be associated with five colours and five shapes, was wonderful.

The poster that started it all, at Daihoon-ji in Kyoto. Lesley Kehoe translated the poster for me, in doing so having to grapple with specific terms in Buddhism that are not in general use.  The complex translation includes references to meeting Buddha, meditation, baptism and pilgrimages – including on Shikoku. It also included the word ‘Sohonzan’, which means General Head Temple. When I combined Sohonzan and Shikoku in a Google search, Zentsu-ji Temple came up.  The rest is history. (On reflection the temple I visited in Shikoku is not explicitly mentioned on the poster. Lots of stuff was happening when I read Lesley’s translation! From what I can gather now it is advertising the Kyoto Jusan Butsu 13 Temple pilgrimage, with each of the temples having a different main deity. This makes the fact that I ended up in the place that I was meant to be even more remarkable).