{Shikoku Hachijūhachikasho Meguri}

--TEMPLE TRIVIA--

Top 5 Temples in Elevation
According to Taisen Miyata in his book The Henro Pilgrimage Guide to The 88 Temples of Shikoku Island Japan, the temples on the highest mountains are:

  1. Unpenji (Temple 66) - 911m/3,060ft
  2. Shōsanji (Temple 12 - 800m/2,640ft
  3. Yokomineji (Temple 60) - 700m/2,340ft
  4. Tairyūji (Temple 21) - 610m/2,000ft
  5. Kakurinji (Temple 20) - 550m/1,800ft

If you stop at Mt. Kōya in Wakayama Prefecture before or after you go to Shikoku, the Okunoin (Kōbō Dashi's mausoleum) is located at 900m/2,953ft.
Temple Sectarian Affiliations
All 88 temples are associated with Kōbō Daishi simply by having a Daishidō as one of the two main buildings in the temple complex. However, not all temples belong to the Shingon Buddhist sect. According to Hiroshi Tanaka in his Pilgrim Places: A Study of the Eighty-Eight Sacred Precints of the Shikoku Pilgrimage, Japan, official temple affiliation breaks down like this:

Tanaka points out, though, that according to legend Temple 11 was founded as a Shingon temple by Kōbō Daishi but changed affiliation to Rinzai Zen during the Edo Period. Likewise, Temples 33 and 87 changed from the Shingon sect to Rinzai Zen and Tendai respectively sometime during the 17th century. In addition, he points out that since the Ji sect and the Sōtō Zen sects didn't come into existence until the Kamakura Period, both Temples 78 and 15 must have belonged to a different sect when they were founded.
Honzon
Each temple enshrines a deity in its Hondō, and that statue is called the honzon. While Temple 37 enshrines five deities, all of the other temples only enshrine one. According to the Shikoku Japan 88 Route Guide and another, Japanese language, guidebook, these are:
Honzon Frequency Temple
Kanzeon Bosatsu (30)
  • Jūichimen Kanzeon Bosatsu
  • Senju Kanzeon Bosatsu
  • Shō Kanzeon Bosatsu
  • Batō Kanzeon Bosatsu
 
13
11
5
1
  
13, 27, 32, 41, 44, 48, 52, 62, 65, 79, 80, 84, 86
8, 10, 16, 29, 38, 43, 58, 66, 71, 81, 82
37, 69, 83, 85, 87
70
Yakushi Nyorai 24 6, 11, 15, 17, 18, 22, 23, 26,
33, 34, 35, 37, 39, 40, 46, 50,
51, 59, 67, 74, 75, 76, 77, 88
Amida Nyorai 10 2, 7, 30, 37, 47, 53, 57, 64, 68, 78
Dainichi Nyorai 6 4, 28, 42, 60, 61, 72
Jizō Bosatsu (6)
  • Jizō Bosatsu
  • Shōgun Jizō Bosatsu
  • Enmei Jizō Bosatsu
  • Kajitori Enmei Jizō Bosatsu
 
3
1
1
1
  
20, 37, 56
5
19
25
Shaka Nyorai 5 1, 3, 9, 49, 73
Fudō Myōō 4 36, 37, 45, 54
Kokūzō Bosatsu 3 12, 21, 24
Miroku Bosatsu 1 14
Monju Bosatsu 1 31
Daitsū-chishō Nyorai 1 55
Bishamon Ten 1 63
Nyorai = Buddha; Bosatsu = Bodhisattva;
Myōō = Wisdoom King; Ten = Protector or Guardian Deity

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