Rokujūrokubu

The rokujūrokubu (六十六部, “sixty-six copies”), or simply rokubu, were pilgrims who copied the Lotus Sutra and deposited one copy at a holy place in each of Japan’s 66 provinces (see old provinces).

In the early 16th century, several of them wrote their names on the walls of the Sanuki Kokubun-ji (temple 80) and Jōdo-ji (temple 49). In the Edo period, many of these wandering pilgrims also passed through Shikoku. Beside the paths you can still see stones marking the deposit of a sutra (廻国供養塔).