A Walk Around Shodoshima Day 7 Part II
The North Coast
Sunday, February 7th 2016

After leaving the castle stone museum I carry on along the coast road under blue skies. After a couple of kilometers I stop in at temple number 79, Yakushi-an, small and fairly nondescript. Now I'm at the northern most section of the island and the road heads east.

Coming into Obe, the small car ferry from Hinase is arriving. For such a small island, Shodoshima has a large number of different ferries connecting to it. On the hillside looking over Obe is number 80, Kannonji, a fairly substantial temple. Visible first above the outer walls is a large silver statue, a Chigo Daishi, a statue of Kobo Daishi as a child.

Surprisingly the main hall of the temple is brand new, all gleaming fresh wood. I saw a photo of the temple a few years ago and it was a fairly ugly concrete structure then. The wide open space in front of the main hall is a raked gravel and rock garden of the kind normally associated with Zen, but this is a Shingon temple.
The head priest tells me to leave my backpack and come inside the main hall where he shows me to a seat in front of the altar. Inside is light and airy and colorful, quite unlike most temples. The ceiling is covered in small paintings. The priest heads to the taiko drum and begins beating it while chanting.

He is doing the Hannya Shinkyo, known in English as the Heart Sutra. I feel quite honored to personally have the blessing. Afterwards he takes me into a...