Gōshō-ji, Buddhist temple in Utazu, Japan
Gōshō-ji is a Buddhist temple in the town of Utazu, on the island of Shikoku in Japan. The grounds include a wooden main hall housing an Amitabha Buddha statue, along with separate buildings that contain a collection of Kannon statues.
The temple was founded in 725 by the Buddhist monk Gyoki. Centuries later, during the Edo period, it was restored under the patronage of the local lord Matsudaira Yorihide.
Gōshō-ji is the 78th temple on the Shikoku Pilgrimage, a route that connects 88 sacred sites across the island. Pilgrims in white robes are a common sight here, and the sound of chanting and bells often fills the grounds.
The temple is open daily and can be reached on foot from central Utazu. Morning tends to be the quietest time to visit, before pilgrimage groups arrive later in the day.
From parts of the temple grounds, visitors can see the Seto Ohashi Bridge, which links Shikoku to the island of Honshu. When it opened in 1988, it was the longest two-tiered bridge in the world.
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