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Temple 86, Shido-ji

The Temple of the Fulfilled Wish

Temple 86, Shido-ji

Shido-ji, The Temple of the Fulfilled Wish, is temple No. 86 on the Shikoku pilgrimage or Henro. It stands on the shore of Shido Bay on the Inland Sea. 

What to see

The temple has a large and imposing Niō Gate, beyond which is a sprawling compound. If you take the second passageway on the left, there’s a washbasin and belfry in front of the five-storey pagoda. Although the pagoda looks ancient, it was completed in 1975.

Beyond the pagoda is the main hall and to the right the Daishi Hall. With Daishi Hall behind you, the Sanzonbutsu is on your left. These are metal seated statues of Amida, Yakushi and Kannon. These memorialise three retainers who were forced to commit seppuku by feudal lord Matsudaira Yorishige.

Proceeding on, you come to the Enma Hall, where the eleven-faced hell king Enma is enshrined. Turn right, pass the pink ossuary on the left, enter the space between the treasure house and the study hall on the left, and you will see the Muzen Garden surrounded by hedges on the right. It was designed by the landscape architect Mirei Shigemori (1896–1975). This dry landscape garden can be viewed from inside the temple office. In front of you is a renowned water garden which is now dry. It was created by Hosokawa Katsumoto, governor of Shikoku in the Muromachi period. Follow the hedge to the right and you will see the well of Otsuji which features in a famous Kabuki play. 

History

The origins of the temple are cloaked in legend. Gyōki is said to have added buildings to an existing temple, and Kūkai is said to have repaired them.

In the Muromachi period (1336-1573), the temple prospered as a result of donations from the Shikoku governor Hosokawa, and by the late Muromachi period, the temple had many monks’ quarters and branch temples in the grounds and neighbouring areas. The temple was later devastated by warfare, but from the Azuchi-Momoyama period to the early Edo period, it received support from Ikoma Chikamasa, daimyō of Sanuki, and comprised numerous monasteries. It was again rebuilt by the Takamatsu lord Matsudaira Yorishige.

Information

Name in Japanese: 志度寺

Pronunciation: shido-ji

Address: 1102 Shido, Sanuki-shi, Kagawa-ken 769-2101

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