The 26th temple on the Shikoku Pilgrimage of Eighty-Eight Temples, also called "Nishi-dera" (West Temple) after the Vajradhatu teachings that Kobo Daishi received at Kongochoji Temple in Chang'an, Tang China. It stands on a hill above Cape Muroto and enshrines Yakushi Nyorai as its principal image. Together with the 24th temple, Higashidera (Hotsumisakiji), it forms the core of the pilgrimage circ…

Kongochoji Temple is traditionally said to have been founded in 815 CE by the monk Kukai (Kobo Daishi). It is believed that Kukai established the temple to transmit the Vajradhatu (Diamond Realm) teachings of Esoteric Buddhism that he had studied at Qinglong Temple in Chang'an, Tang-dynasty China. T…