Hanta-ji, Buddhist temple and pilgrimage site in Matsuyama, Japan.
Hanta-ji is a Buddhist temple and pilgrimage station on the wooded slopes of Awajigaoka Hill in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, Japan. The grounds hold several buildings arranged across the hillside, including a main hall, a bell tower, and a gate.
The temple was founded between 749 and 756 by the Buddhist monk Gyoki, originally under the name Komyo-ji. Over the following centuries it became part of the Shikoku pilgrimage route and gradually took the name Hanta-ji.
This temple is the 50th station on the Shikoku 88-temple pilgrimage route, drawing pilgrims in white robes throughout the year. Visitors can watch them pray at the main hall and collect a stamp in their pilgrim booklets, a ritual that has continued for centuries.
The temple sits on a hillside, so comfortable shoes are a good idea for the walk through the grounds. There is parking available near the main gate, and the site is freely accessible to visitors.
The ceiling of the bell tower is painted with scenes from the Twenty-four Filial Exemplars, a set of stories from ancient China about dutiful children. This theme is rarely found in Japanese temples and is easy to miss if you do not look up while standing inside.
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