(lit.

Vulture Peak The Vulture Peak (Pali: गिज्झकूट, Sanskrit: गृद्धकूट), also known as the Holy Eagle Peak or Gridhakūta (or Gādhrakūta), was the Buddha's favorite retreat in Rajagaha (now Rajgir, or Rajagrih). It was the scen ...

Temple) is a Kōya-san

Shingon Shingon monks at Mount Koya is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra. Kn ...

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called church (building), churches), Hindui ...

Naruto ''Naruto'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. ...

Tokushima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 728,633 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,146 km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the nort ...

, Japan. Temple 1 of the

Shikoku 88 temple pilgrimage The or is a multi-site pilgrimage of 88 temples associated with the Buddhist monk Kūkai (''Kōbō Daishi'') on the island of Shikoku, Japan. A popular and distinctive feature of the island's cultural landscape, and with a long history ...

, the main image is of

Shaka Nyorai Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

. Said to have been founded by Gyōki during the Tempyō era, its buildings are more recent replacements after damage by fires. Located close to the crossing point for pilgrims from the

Kansai region The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metr ...

Yūben Shinnen was a Japanese monthly magazine which focused on public speaking. It was in circulation in Tokyo between 1910 and 1941 and gained popularity among different sectors of the Japanese society. History and profile ''Yūben'' was launched by Seiji N ...

identified the temple as No.1 in his ''Shikoku henro michishirube'' of 1687 and subsequent guidebooks followed suit. It is customary to return to Ryōzen-ji as an ''orei mairi'' or thanksgiving visit upon completing the pilgrimage, although this may be a relatively recent development.

References

Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Japan Buddhist temples in Tokushima Prefecture Kōyasan Shingon temples Jingū-ji Naruto, Tokushima Temples of Gautama Buddha {{Japan-religious-struct-stub

See also

References