During my final weekend in Shikoku, one of the places I visited was Kotohira-gū (金刀比羅宮), a huge Shinto shrine that sits halfway up Mount Zōzu and is said to have been founded during the 1st century.
![Kotohira Town](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/image-782.jpeg)
Arriving mid-day at Kotohira Station, one stop away from Zentsū-ji (善通寺 – 75), the sun was beating down hard and the prospect of a long climb up the mountain wasn’t terribly inviting.
![Kotohira-gū approach](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/image-783.jpeg)
![Kotohira-gū stairs](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/image-784.jpeg)
The shrine stands at the end of a long path, with 785 steps to the main shrine and a total of 1368 steps to the inner shrine. It’s extremely popular and is visited by pilgrims from across Japan.
![Kotohira-gū](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/image-785.jpeg)
![Kotohira-gū stairs](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/image-788.jpeg)
The approach begins amongst a touristy shopping street lined with souvenir shops and Sanuki Udon restaurants where I stopped for a quick lunch before commencing up the seemingly endless stairs. Under the shade of the trees, the walk was actually very pleasant.
![Kotohira-gū Main Hall](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/image-795.jpeg)
![Kotohira Town from Kotohira-gū](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/image-789.jpeg)
Next to the main hall is a viewpoint overlooking Kotohira Town (琴平町), and the Ema Hall which displays pictures of ships whose crews sought the protection of the shrine.
![Ship Propellor at Kotohira-gū](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/image-796.jpeg)
The principal deity of the shrine is Ō-mono-nushi-no-mikoto, a spirit associated with safe seafaring. A huge golden propeller stands on a plinth as a reminder of this.
![image](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/image-790.jpeg)
![image](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/image-791.jpeg)
It’s an additional 583 steps along a forested path to the inner shrine (okusha). The path is paved the whole way and not terribly steep so isn’t too arduous.
![Kotohira-gū Inner Shrine](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/image-792.jpeg)
![View from Kotohira-gū Inner Shrine](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/image-793.jpeg)
Since not many people go the whole way up, the inner shrine was much quieter and a good place to pause for reflection. It felt good surveying all the mountains that I had previously summited.
![Kotohira High Lantern (高燈籠)](https://randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/image-797.jpeg)
On the way back to the station, I passed an unusual ancient wooden lighthouse (高燈籠 lit. high lantern) built on top of a tall stone foundation in 1865. It was used as an indicator for ships sailing in the Seto Inland Sea, both as a warning and a direction indicator for those wanting to pray towards the shrine.
If you’re on the Shikoku Pilgrimage and have a half-day to spare in Kagawa then it’s worth a visit and makes a nice change from the usual Buddhist temples.
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