ZENTSUJI, Kagawa -- Zentsuji in Kagawa Prefecture is home to five of the 88 temples along the famous pilgrimage course in Shikoku. The city government is now setting up rest spots and signposts on a trial basis to support pilgrims visiting the sacred sites on foot.
The city government expects an increase in the number of pilgrims from Japan and overseas ahead of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020 and the 1,250th anniversary of the birth of Buddhist monk Kukai, the originator of the pilgrimage route, in 2023.
"It's just a little gesture of hospitality. We'd like visitors to feel happy on their way back home," said an official of the municipal government.
The five temples in the city are numbered from 72nd to 76th on the route, spaced at intervals of several kilometers. Among them is Zentsuji temple, the 75th temple, which is known as the birthplace of Kukai. The other temples were built on sites traditionally believed to have connections with Kukai, such as a place where he used to relax.
The city receives visits by many pilgrims, called ohenro-san.
As the municipal government building is undergoing reconstruction, some of its departments temporarily moved to a building near JR Zentsuji Station in the Kamiyoshida area of the city in April. Pilgrims began using the parking lot in front of the temporary office as a place to pause for a rest. The warmer it became, the more pilgrims came to the parking lot, which is shady most of the day because the office faces north.
The temporary office is located between Zentsuji and Konzoji temples, both part of the pilgrimage routes. On May 11, the city government placed benches and chairs in the lot and set up a sign calling the place a rest area for pilgrims. They can pick up sightseeing brochures there and find information about sites of interest in the city, such as shops serving udon, a specialty of the prefecture.
One pleased user said, "It's really a great help that we can put down our heavy baggage and rest on a hot day."
Last autumn, the city government already set up signposts showing the way to the temples. Based on information from local residents about pilgrims getting lost, officials make a signpost by putting an arrow on a card toward the direction to the nearest temple on the route. They then laminate the card and put it up at the place cited in the information. So far they have set up five such signs, on the support post for a traffic mirror at a curve in the road, on a utility pole and other places.
Since non-Japanese pilgrims are increasing as well, the city government plans to discuss setting up more signs in foreign languages and opening up rest areas and restrooms while negotiating with local residents' groups and community centers.
"Now we are not spending any money on the issue and coping with it through good ideas by our officials. If they prove popular with the pilgrims, then we'd like to prepare a budget for it and start support in an official way," said Zentsuji Mayor Masanori Hiraoka.
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