Joruri-ji, The Temple of the Pure Lapis Lazuli, is temple No. 46 on the Shikoku pilgrimage. It stands among fields on a gentle slope in the south of Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture. The temple building is largely hidden from view by the tall trees that surround it. These ancient junipers are thought to be about 1,000 years old.

Things to see
The road in front of the temple is the old Tosa Kaidō, once the main road to Kōchi. A large stone carved with the name of the temple flanks some steep stone steps up to the precincts. Legend has it that Emon Saburō came from this area, and a stone monument at the bottom of the steps is engraved with a haiku written by Masaoka Shiki.

How long the spring day is!
Remembering Emon Saburō
At Jōruri-ji.

The grounds are a beautiful, well-tended garden and the temple building is largely hidden from view by the tall trees that surround it. Cherry blossoms, lotus flowers, peonies, hydrangeas, acanthus and other flowers bloom in due season.

The belfry is on the right and the temple office on the left with a Buddha’s hand stone. Further ahead, on the left are a washbasin and a Buddha’s foot stone on the left. The huge tree to the right is a one thousand-year-old Ibuki tree, said to have been blessed by Kūkai. At the foot of the tree is a carving of Kūkai seated in a rice husk which is said to confer bountiful harvests.

Directly ahead is the main hall. Binzuru sits on the veranda to the left. The Daishi Hall is to the right. To the left of the main hall is a pond and shrine sacred to Benten and a wisteria bower. To the left of that are two large ponds full of lotuses, which present a scene of lush greenery in summer, and brown devastation in winter. Behind the main hall is a peony garden.

It’s a short and scenic walk from Jōruri-ji to Yasaka-ji.

History
According to temple legend, Jōruri-ji was founded in 708 by Gyōki, who carved the principal image of Yakushi Nyorai. Later, in 807 Kūkai is said to have reconstructed the main temple.

At the end of the Muromachi period (1336-1573), the Ashikaga Shōgunate warlord Hiraoka Michiyori, who took refuge here, had the temple rebuilt. The temple was destroyed by a forest fire in 1715, and was restored in 1785 during the mid-Edo period.