Reigandō, Cave meditation site in Nishi-ku, Japan.

Reigandō is a cave with natural rock formations located within the grounds of Unganzenji Temple, set among mountain slopes covered in dense vegetation. Access is gained by climbing stone steps that run alongside numerous Buddhist statues.

The cave is the honzon site of Unganzenji, a Sōtō Zen temple said to have been founded by the Yuan-dynasty monk Tōryō Eiyo, who came from Ningbo during the Nanboku-chō period. The stone four-faced horse-headed Kannon statue was already in the cave before the temple was built, and the Noh play Higaki tells of the Heian poet Higaki making daily pilgrimages to it. From 1643 Miyamoto Musashi stayed in the cave for many of his last months, meditating and writing the Book of Five Rings.

The path to the entrance is lined with five hundred stone Buddha disciples carved over decades by hand. These statues stand closely together and create a special feeling during the climb.

A bus from Kumamoto brings visitors close to the site, from where a walk on foot begins. Sturdy shoes are recommended as the climb involves stairs and uneven ground.

The cave sits within the grounds of Unganzenji, a Sōtō Zen temple also known as Iwato Kannon after the four-faced stone horse-headed Kannon statue kept inside the cave. The statue is said to have been placed there before the temple was founded, and the Noh play Higaki tells of the Heian poet Higaki making daily pilgrimages to it.