Temple: Monjuin – another bangai – I had found somewhere to stay for the night and was unpacking but then noticed this was close so made a quick trip. It is where a famous pilgrim, Emon Saburo, set off. He refused to give Kukai alms and all eight of his sons died as a result. Lovely story. He then did the route 20 times clockwise and once in result. As he was dying Kukai absolved him and he was reborn as a child clutching a stone with his name on it. The child grew up to be wealthy and restored Ishiteji, a large temple a bit of the way down the road from here.

Dedication: I met Juan in Wellington. He’s a great laugh and we’ve stayed in lots of contact by text since I left. He’s always there with good advice (or lots of advice anyway) and I hope I’ll see him again soon.

Picture: This picture is out of sync but I didn’t take any pictures between the last temple and this one. It’s the view down from Shussekiji, the bangai temple on the mountain.