#52 （37th Temple） Iwamoto-ji
岩本寺

The thirty-seventh temple is Iwamoto-ji (岩本寺), unusual on the route for enshrining five principal images at once.

It lies a very long 80.7 km from the thirty-eighth temple — a distance that genuinely wears you down.

This is the entrance to Iwamoto-ji. Its gate is tucked into a small, tight space, modest compared with the grander mountain temples.

The town-side setting gives it an everyday, approachable feel.

This is the main hall, where the temple’s five honzon are enshrined together — Fudō Myōō, Shō Kannon, Amida Nyorai, Yakushi Nyorai and Jizō Bosatsu.

Such a gathering of principal images is found nowhere else on the pilgrimage, and the famous painted ceiling above made the hall a wonder to stand in.

This is the Daishi-dō. It was evening, with the sun sinking and no one else about, and I prayed for the safety of my family, for peace in the world, and for a good night’s rest ahead.

At the close of a long day’s walk, that last small wish is heartfelt indeed.

Here too is a carved “footprint of the Buddha.” In ancient times, such footprints were worshipped in place of Buddha images.

It is a moving link back to the very earliest forms of Buddhist devotion.

In the middle of the grounds stands a hall where other Buddha images are carefully enshrined and kept.

The care lavished on them speaks to the long devotion this temple has gathered.

NFT – Crypto Ohenro #52 Goshuin of Iwamoto-ji（岩本寺） –

This is the goshuin of the thirty-seventh temple, Iwamoto-ji, a memento of its five Buddhas and painted ceiling.

Thirty-six temples still remained on my journey, and one of the route’s longest legs lay just ahead.

The distance to the next temple was about 58.5 km — a daunting distance toward Cape Ashizuri.