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The 20 Bangais of Shikoku


A bangai (番外) is a temple which is outside (外=gai) the regular numbers (番, ban). Technically, any temple not assigned a number is a bangai; a better word for these designated ones seems to be bekkaku (別格), a word which can mean "extra-ordinary" (in its original sense--outside of the usual order of things).

The Shikoku Pilgrimage, which has 88 designated temples, also has 20 bekkaku. After researching this page in Japanese, I found an excellent English resource (which was right in front of me the whole time) on Dave Turkington's excellent Shikoku Henro Trail site. He divides them between the four prefectures:
The top page for all of his temple listings is here.





The "Route": There is no route, as such; the bangais are simply added to the existing route. The map above is very approximate; the one below is better, and from it (but not from personal experience) I would say this:
  • Visit bangai 1 after Temple 4
  • Visit bangai 2 after Temple 12
  • Visit bangai 3 after Temple 19
  • Visit bangai 4 after Temple 23
  • Visit bangai 5 after Temple 36
  • Visit bangai 6 after Temple 40
  • Visit bangais 7 & 8 after Temple 43
  • Visit bangai 9 and the two unnumbered sites after Temple 47
  • Visit bangais 10 & 11 after Temple 59
  • Visit bangai 12 after Temple 64
  • Visit bangais 13 & 14 after Temple 65
  • Visit bangais 15 & 16 after Temple 66
  • Visit bangais 17 & 18 after Temple 76
  • Visit bangai 19 after Temple 82
  • Visit bangai 20 after Temple 88



Kobo Daishi (may have) slept here: #8, the bangai under the bridge

The List: Anyway, here's my list.  Click the linked names to see my post about each temple; the "map" link shows the temple's location on Google Maps.
  1. Taisan-ji / Ooyama-dera (大山寺); Kamiita, Tokushima (map)
  2. Dōgaku-ji (童学寺); Ishii, Tokushima (map)
  3. Jigen-ji (月頂山); Kamikatsu, Tokushima (map)
  4. Yasaka-dera (八坂寺); Kaiyō, Tokushima (map); visited Sunday, October 21st, 2001 (after visiting Temple #21)
  5. Daizen-ji (大善寺); Susaki, Kōchi (map)
  6. Ryūkō-in (福寿寺); Uwajima, Ehime (map)
  7. Shusseki-ji (出石寺); Ōzu, Ehime (map)
  8. Eitoku-ji (永徳寺); Ōzu, Ehime (map); visited Monday, October 29th, 2001 (after visiting Temple #43)
  9. Monju-in (文珠院); Matsuyama, Ehime (map); visited Wednesday, October 31st, 2001, between visiting temples #47 and 48 (see the two below, also)
  10. Kōryū-ji (興隆寺); Saijō, Ehime (map)
  11. Shiyōzen-ji (正善寺); Saijō, Ehime (map)
  12. Enmei-ji (延命寺); Shikokuchūō, Ehime (map)
  13. Senryū-ji (仙龍寺); Shikokuchūō, Ehime (map)
  14. Jōfuku-ji (常福寺); Shikokuchūō, Ehime (map)
  15. Washikura-ji (箸蔵寺); Miyoshi, Tokushima (map)
  16. Hagiwara-ji (萩原寺); Kannonji, Kagawa (map)
  17. Kanno-ji (神野寺); Manno, Kagawa (map)
  18. Kaigan-ji (海岸寺); Tadotsu, Kagawa  (map); visited Friday, November 9th, 2001 (before setting out to Temple #76)
  19. Kōzai-ji (香西寺); Takamatsu, Kagawa (map)
  20. Ootaki-ji (大瀧寺); Mima, Tokushima (map)
In addition, I visited two other significant sites, true "bangai" in that they're not on the bekkaku list. I visited both on Wednesday, October 31, 2001, between visiting Temples #47 and 48. These are:
  • Shikoku Bangai: Fudahajime Daishi-do (札始大師堂); Matsuyama, Ehime (map)
  • Shikoku Bangai: Hachitsuka Gunshu Kofun (八ッ塚群集古墳, The "Eight Hills Group of Burial Mounds"); Matsuyama, Ehime (map) (look north of placemark)



Resources: I "translated" (really, just transliterated) this information from a page on Japanese Wikipedia. Also see above for information on Dave Turkington'ssite.



Google Map:

Controls:
  • Use + /- or mouse wheel to zoom in and out.
  • Click to close the hand to move around.
  • (The two functions above are accomplished with two fingers on mobile devices.)
  • Click the square-with-arrow on the left to open or close the index of sites. (Works better if you zoom in first.)
  • Click the three-dot thingy to share the map with others.
  • Click the "four corners" in the upper right to go to the full map.
Note: Temples are in orange; bangais are in purple.



Last updated Mar. 18, 2019

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