#58 （31st Temple） Chikurin-ji
竹林寺

The thirty-first temple is Chikurin-ji (竹林寺), set on the hill of Godaisan and the only temple on the pilgrimage to enshrine Monju Bosatsu, the bodhisattva of wisdom.

It stands about 5.7 km from the thirty-second temple, looking out over the city of Kōchi.

The entrance to Chikurin-ji is a magnificent gate that appears suddenly out of the forest as you climb the stone steps.

Emerging from the green into its shadow feels like crossing into a older, quieter world.

This is the main hall, where Monju Bosatsu is enshrined — the only such image on the whole route, honoured here for wisdom and learning. Unlike other temples, its roof has a smooth, elegant line that is wonderful to see.

I offered incense and recited the sutra before this rare Buddha of intellect.

Next I recited the Heart Sutra at the Daishi-dō, praying for the safety of my family, for peace in the world, and for an end to poverty and conflict.

It is a wish that grows only more heartfelt the longer one walks.

In the precincts stands a truly wonderful five-storey pagoda — the only one in the whole prefecture — and you cannot help but stop and gaze up at it.

Its tiered roofs against the trees make one of the finest sights on this stretch of the route.

Near the temple is the famous Hirome Market, a lively spot where I stopped for lunch.

It is the kind of bustling, friendly place that gives a real taste of everyday Kōchi.

Being close to the sea, the seafood and sushi here are wonderfully fresh and cheap.

A pilgrimage is hungry work, and a good local meal is no small reward.

At midday I ate the region’s famous katsuo no tataki — lightly seared bonito — which was every bit as good as its reputation.

Tasting a place’s signature dish is part of how a journey lodges itself in the memory.

Nearby, too, stands Kōchi Castle, a genuine traditional Japanese castle with its keep still intact.

To see temple, market and castle within a short walk is part of what makes this stretch so memorable.

From that castle, I imagined, the old lords must once have looked down over the whole town spread below.

Standing where they stood, you feel the long history layered into this corner of Tosa.

NFT – Crypto Ohenro #58 Goshuin of Chikurin-ji（竹林寺） –

This is the goshuin of the thirty-first temple, Chikurin-ji, a memento of the only Monju temple on the route.

Thirty temples still remained on my journey — a third of the way done, the hill of Godaisan now behind me.

The distance to the next temple was about 6.6 km, an easy descent toward the bay.