In the spring of 2011 I travelled to Shikoku, the smallest of Japan’s four main islands, to complete the 88 Temple Pilgrimage, and I recorded all of my experiences on this blog.
The pilgrimage, said to have been founded by Buddhist monk Koubou Daishi (774-835) is a 1,200km circular route, encompassing 88 Buddhist temples. Pilgrims 'henro' can be recognised by wearing a traditional white vest 'hakui' and a sedge hat 'sugegasa', and by carrying a staff 'kongouzue'. They visit the 88 temples in turn, receiving an official temple stamp in a blank book 'noukyouchou' as proof that they have visited each temple.
Each year at least 100,000 people take part in this pilgrimage; by car, motorbike, bus tour or even helicopter, but only a small amount of people – including me – choose the traditional method. I had originally intended to walk the entire route in about 50 days, but I took the occasional bus and train journey, and completed the pilgrimage in 40 days, including 4 rest days.
As well as the 88 temples, I had also planned to modify my route to include a number of police boxes 'kouban'. Working as a Neighbourhood Policing Team officer myself, I was interested in experiencing the kouban, which serve as small neighbourhood police stations within the community. However, this was not as easy as I had hoped and became less of a focus on my pilgrimage.
For more detailed information about the 88 Temple Pilgrimage, I can recommend this site:
ロンドンに住み、ロンドンで働く、３８歳の警察官です。２０１１年の春に日本列島を構成する四島の中で最も面積の小さい四国へ行き、八十八箇所の寺を巡礼します。このブログは、私の体験を記録です。
四国遍路は、弘法大師（774-835年）ゆかりの巡礼として知られ、88箇所の寺を歩き通すと１２００キロメートル程になります。この巡礼者（遍路）は、伝統として白衣・菅笠・金剛杖を持って回る。八十八箇所の寺を順番に巡り、各寺で訪れた証として納経帳に朱印をもらいます。
毎年、少なくとも十万人の人々が巡礼を行っています。車やバイク、バスツアーやヘリコプターなど色々な方法がありますが、（私も含めて）ほんの少数の人が、伝統的な方法として約５０日をかけて全行程を歩いて巡ります。
八十八箇所の寺を巡るのと同時に、私は現地の交番も訪れようと思っています。私は、（ロンドンで）地元密着型の警察官として働いているので、似たような機能を持つ日本の交番にはとても興味があります。お寺の納経帳と一緒に、もう一つノートを持って行き、交番にいる警察官に何か書いてもらおうと思っています。
四国巡礼に関する情報は、このこのサイトが役に立ちました。
