Hechi

Hechi (辺地, also written 辺路) means “the edge, the margins.” In the 11th and 12th centuries, “doing the hechi of Shikoku” (四国の辺地) meant following the island’s shores on foot as an ascetic practice. A tale from the early 12th century defines it this way: “the edges of Shikoku are the circuit of the shores of Iyo, Sanuki, Awa and Tosa.”

The seashore had a religious meaning: the land of the dead, and later the Pure Land of the Buddha, were thought to lie beyond the horizon. The capes of Muroto (temple 24) and Ashizuri (temple 38) were places of ascetic practice.

The word 辺路 later came to be read henro and written 遍路 (“going around everywhere”): today’s henro. The spelling 遍路 only became standard from the Meiji era.