The Shikoku Pilgrimage is a world-renowned spiritual and physical journey around the Japanese island of the same name. It is one of the world’s few circular pilgrimages and dates at least to the time of renowned monk, poet and philosopher Kobo Daishi (774-825). At 1,200 kilometers in length, the trail includes 88 temples and beautiful countryside such as idyllic bamboo groves, deserted beaches and ordinary Japanese neighborhoods.

 
The pilgrimage is undertaken for many reasons – for a time of reflection away from everyday life, as a spiritual journey or as a healing period after a traumatic life experience. For this book, John Lander, author and photographer, has visited and recorded every temple in evocative images, as well as providing fascinating details about the origin of the trail and what the pilgrimage means to the tens of thousands who undertake it every year.