The 78th temple of the Shikoku Eighty-eight Pilgrimage and the only Ji-sect temple on the circuit, enshrining Amida Nyorai. Hilltop in Utazu with sweeping views of the Seto Inland Sea and Sanuki Fuji. Founded by Gyoki, it is where Ippen Shonin performed odori-nenbutsu in the Kamakura period — linking the traditions of both Kobo Daishi and Ippen.

Goshoji Temple is traditionally said to have been founded in 724 CE by the Buddhist monk Gyoki. Originally known as Dojoji, it was later visited by Kobo Daishi Kukai, who is credited with establishing it as a sacred site on the Shikoku pilgrimage circuit and giving it its current name. Around 1288, …