The 73rd temple of the Shikoku Pilgrimage of Eighty-Eight Sacred Places, a sacred site in Zentsuji City enshrining Shakyamuni Buddha as its principal image. According to legend preserved at the inner sanctuary on Mount Gahashi, when the seven-year-old Kukai threw himself from the cliff of Gahashi, declaring he would end his life if he could not follow the Buddhist path, Shakyamuni Buddha and a hea…

Shussyakaji Temple is traditionally said to have been founded in 822 CE by the Buddhist monk Kukai (Kobo Daishi). The temple's name derives from a legendary episode in which Kukai, as a young child of seven, climbed to the cliff of Mt. Gahajishi and threw himself off, declaring he would give his lif…