Sekkei-ji, Buddhist temple in Kōchi, Japan
Sekkei-ji is a Buddhist temple in Kōchi, on the island of Shikoku, with a main hall that holds several Buddha statues and religious objects from different periods. The grounds include a set of traditional wooden buildings arranged around a central courtyard.
The temple was founded in the 8th century and became the family temple of the Chosokabe clan in 1599, a powerful ruling family of the region. Its name comes from the posthumous Buddhist title given to Chosokabe Motochika, the most prominent leader of that family.
The temple sits at station 33 of the Shikoku Pilgrimage, and pilgrims in white robes regularly stop here to copy sutras by hand as a form of meditation. This practice is still very much alive and gives the place a devotional energy that visitors can feel during any ordinary visit.
The temple sits on the outskirts of Kōchi and is easiest to reach by car or taxi. A morning visit tends to be the most rewarding, as pilgrims are more likely to be present earlier in the day.
During the Meiji era, in 1870, the temple was temporarily abandoned and some of its sacred objects were moved to a nearby shrine to keep them safe. That shrine, called Hada Shrine, was created specifically to protect a statue of Chosokabe Motochika that would otherwise have been lost.
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