Sairin-ji

Unlike most pilgrimage temples, you descend steps to reach Sairinji after crossing a bridge over a stream. This rare layout makes it one of the few temples on the 88-temple circuit where you walk downward rather than climb up to enter.

A haiku by famous poet Masaoka Shiki is carved on a stone at the temple gate, mentioning teiregi, a water plant that grows in the clear streams here. This plant is now designated a Natural Treasure by Matsuyama City.

The temple grounds feature Kokotake, or 'filial piety bamboo,' where parent and child bamboo stalks grow intertwined. This natural formation has become a symbol of family happiness for pilgrims visiting the 48th sacred site.

The temple is tied to a Kobo Daishi legend in which he found water here, linking Sairin-ji to a revered figure in Shingon Buddhism.