My Shikoku Henro Tales Part 8 - Anraku-ji, temple 6

For people who want to experience the Shikoku 88 Temple pilgrimage but do not have the time to finish all 88 (people like us), there are clusters of temples in the bigger cities of Shikoku that will allow one to have a taste of just what it is like to be a henro (if only for a short while).  

Tokushima City is an ideal base for such kinds of pilgrims (again, people like us) because a good number of temples can be easily reached by taking the train or bus and walking the rest of the way.

Here I am, in my henro gear, ready to go walking again.  Yesterday, we train-ed, bus-ed and
walked to Temples 1 to 5,  logging 12 kilometres in the process.
Today, we would visit temples 6 and 7 which are within easy walking distance from each other.  

To get to the sixth temple Anraku-ji, the lady at the tourist information office suggested that we
take a  bus bound for Kajiyahara and get off at Higashihara, the  stop nearest to the temple.
The bus terminal was directly in front of our hotel so it was very convenient.  

For the most part of the one hour ride, we were the only passengers.  These are municipal buses and thus are owned and managed by the city.  I wonder if they make money considering that outside of rush hour,  hardly anyone takes the bus.

Because he recognised my henro attire, the bus driver knew just where to drop us off.
He stopped right at the intersection and pointed us towards a country lane leading to Anraku-ji.
It was just 800 meters to the temple.  Before we headed out, we checked the return bus schedules, there was a bus heading back to Tokushima at 3:15 which gave us three hours to see two temples. 

Tokushima's mountains make a nice backdrop for endless fields of green rice paddies, some though seem to have been abandoned such as this one where overgrown weeds have  covered a small
tractor.  We would see this scene in different parts of Shikoku.  Perhaps there are no more farmers in the family who can tend to the fields.  

Jay wished that he could haul all the abandoned-but-still-good tractors back home.

After 10  minutes of walking, we arrived at the turn-off  to Anraku-ji, properly marked and signposted.  This is the parking lot of the temple -- it was empty when we arrived.

I am always on the lookout for statues of Kobo Daishi and we found one in the parking lot. 

I think that this is another statue of Kobo Daishi.   He is holding his staff and his sugegasa and he
is in a sitting position -- quite different as he is always depicted as an ordinary henro, on his feet
and seemingly ready to walk with you.

Here is another type of stone marker along the henro michi (pilgrim route) where a finger points
you in the right direction.  It was unnecessary in this case as it was placed almost by the temple entrance. 

Anraku-ji has a very Chinese looking gate. This is a Niomon gate as there are two fierce looking Nio on each side.  Nio are the protectors of Buddha and they can usually be seen guarding the temple gates.   I wish I had a better photo but you can somehow make out the Nio on the right. 

The first thing that we saw when we  walked through the gate was this  picture perfect
Benten Pond.  There is a small shrine from where the goddess Benzaiten looks out on this pretty scene day in and day out.  As Benzaiten is a water goddess, associated with  music, literature
and the arts,  this Benten Pond is the perfect setting for her. 

After being taken in by the soothing beauty of Benten Pond,  we were further captivated by

Anraku-ji's two story red wooden pagoda.   Anraku-ji is very well maintained as seen from
the neat and beautifully landscaped grounds. 

The straight path from the gate leads to the Hondo or main hall.  Kobo Daishi is said to have founded
Anraku-ji.  It is also said that he carved the original statue of the temple's main deity,  Yakushi Nyorai.
That statue was almost completely destroyed in a fire and whatever remnants were saved were placed inside the newer statue that is now placed on the altar.
This Hondo  dates back just to the 1960s replacing older buildings destroyed by fire and other natural disasters.

Another statue of Kobo Daishi stands in front of the Daishido, the hall that is dedicated to him.

There is a Daishido in each of the 88 temples along the pilgrimage.  

The nokyocho office is located right beside the Hondo.  The smiling lady carefully inscribed 

our nokyocho all the while commenting on how hot it was.   She sent us off with a cheery wave and 

said that the next temple was less than 2 kilometres away "demo, atsui desu yo!"  ("but, it is really hot!")

Temple 6, Anraku-ji is just under 20 kilometres from Temple 1, Ryozenji.  Most walking henro

stop at this temple because of its shukubo or temple lodging.  The shukubo, shown above, is quite spacious and can house 40 henro. 

Shukubo offer basic rooms, a hot bath and meals.  Guests can also participate in the daily temple ceremonies. It's a good way to experience temple life and definitely more interesting than staying 

in a hotel. 

P.S.

This is Anraku-ji's temple seal and my photo of the temple's Niomon gate.