He is Zenzai Doji, a boy who set out to find the way and visited fifty-three teachers on the road. Behind him the maple burned red. He stood in the middle of it, head lowered, hands together.

Captured on Dec 1, 2025 | Chikurin-ji, Kochi

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I had almost finished when I noticed the low afternoon light, so I walked back. It fell across the five coloured cloths, the wooden ema and the gold sign. You can see the pattern woven into the cloth.

Captured on Dec 1, 2025 | Chikurin-ji, Kochi

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The chain hanging from these eaves is a kusari-doi, a drainpipe carrying rainwater from the roof to the ground. They say it was made to be looked at from the start: the falling water is the point.

Captured on Dec 1, 2025 | Chikurin-ji, Kochi

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They say many deer once lived on this mountain, until a sickness took them one by one. This stone deer was left so people today could still see them. It seems happy enough, looking up at the maples.

Captured on Dec 1, 2025 | Chikurin-ji, Kochi

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The beams inside this gate are covered with paper slips, each one carrying a name. People who could not stay overnight to pray left one instead, as if they themselves were still standing there.

Captured on Dec 1, 2025 | Niomon Gate, Chikurin-ji

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