Saikoku Thirty-three Kannon Pilgrimage

Japonista Dictionary › Pilgrimages

The Saikoku pilgrimage (西国三十三所) links thirty-three temples of Kannon across the Kansai region, through Wakayama, Osaka, Nara, Kyoto, Shiga, Hyōgo and Gifu. Regarded as the oldest pilgrimage in Japan, it covers about a thousand kilometres and includes some of the country's most famous temples.

The legend

Tradition tells that in the early eighth century the monk Tokudō, having died and met Enma, king of the dead, was sent back to life to spread the merits of the thirty-three places of Kannon. The route was forgotten and later revived by the retired Emperor Kazan in the tenth century, who is honoured along the way.

Temples along the way

• Hasedera, Nara. The great standing Jūichimen Kannon with a staff.
• Kamidaigo, Daigoji, Kyoto. The mountain-top hall of Juntei Kannon.
• Ishiyamadera, Shiga. A seated Nyoirin on rock above Lake Biwa, where Murasaki Shikibu is said to have begun The Tale of Genji.
• Kiyomizudera, Kyoto. The hidden Senju Kannon on its famous wooden stage.
• Engyōji, Hyōgo. A mountain temple on Mount Shosha.

The pilgrim's record

At each temple, a calligrapher writes the temple's name and the Kannon honoured there and stamps red seals into the pilgrim's book or onto a hanging scroll. A completed Saikoku scroll, with thirty-three stamps arranged around a central image of Kannon, is both a devotional treasure and a work of calligraphy.

Collecting notes

• Edo and Meiji stamp scrolls and books are collected as documents of individual journeys. Look for clear, complete stamps and the original mounting.
• Small Kannon figures and prints sold at the temples form a large and charming field.

In the collection

Browse Kannon figures and hanging scrolls. Our collector concierge can search Japan for Saikoku material.

See also

• Bandō Thirty-three Kannon Pilgrimage
• Chichibu Thirty-four Kannon Pilgrimage
• Goshuin, omamori and ema