Hotsumisaki-ji & Cape Muroto Lighthouse
最御崎寺・室戸岬灯台
The 24th temple on the Shikoku Pilgrimage, set on the Cape Muroto plateau beside the white Cape Muroto Lighthouse, which houses one of Japan's largest lenses.
Hotsumisaki-ji, nicknamed “East Temple,” is the 24th of the 88 temples of Shikoku and the first temple in Kochi Prefecture. Legend says Kūkai founded it in 807. The temple enshrines the principal image, Kokūzō Bosatsu (Akasagarbha), and has a multi-treasure pagoda (tahōtō) and a “bell stone” that rings with a metallic sound when struck with a stone. Pilgrims arrive in large numbers in autumn. The Cape Muroto Lighthouse beside the temple was built in 1899 and uses a first-order lens 2.6 meters in diameter, one of Japan's largest, casting its light about 49 kilometers. Its white tower faces the Pacific, making it a signature sight of Muroto, and it is occasionally open for interior visits. From Cape Muroto, it is about a 20-minute uphill walk along the old pilgrimage path, or you can drive via the Muroto Skyline Road.
Opening hours
Temple approx. 07:00-17:00 (sutra offering hours)
Nearby sights
- Mikurodo Cave
- Silest Muroto Deep Sea Water Spa
- Muroto Dolphin Center
- Muroto Skyline
- Shinsho-ji (Temple 25)
- Muroto UNESCO Global Geopark Center
- Kongocho-ji (Temple 26)
- Gyodo Cape & Kuroji Coast