Who Kukai was
Kukai is traditionally dated to 774-835. He was born on Shikoku, in the region of the present Kagawa Prefecture according to tradition, and became one of the most influential figures in Japanese Buddhism. He is the founder of the Shingon school, a form of esoteric Buddhism, which he brought to Japan after studying in Tang-dynasty China. He is also known by the honorific Kobo Daishi, a title conferred some decades after his death, according to the usual account.
In the early ninth century he travelled to China as part of an official mission, remained there for roughly two years and returned to Japan around 806 with texts, ritual tools and artworks. He is associated with the founding of a monastic centre on Mount Koya, with Tō-ji in Kyoto, and with scholarly writings that are still studied. The sources agree on these broad outlines, though details of his biography are filtered through later devotional writing.
What is and is not known about Shikoku
Here caution matters. Shikoku was his homeland, and the stories say he practised austerities in its mountains and by its coast as a young man. Traditional accounts connect him with places at the island’s edge, such as caves near the sea, where he is said to have meditated. These accounts are part of the sacred tradition; whether each can be documented is a different question, and scholars generally treat them as devotional history rather than verified biography.
What the record does not clearly support is the idea that Kukai personally laid out a circuit of 88 temples. The most common historical view is that the route developed gradually, long after his lifetime, from the practices of ascetics and wandering religious figures who visited places associated with him and with other holy sites on the island. The fixed circuit of 88 appears to have taken shape over centuries, and it became widely popular among ordinary travellers later, in the Edo period (1603-1868). Because this reconstruction is still discussed by specialists, it is safest to say that the circuit is traditionally attributed to Kukai rather than that he founded it.
Kobo Daishi in devotion
After his death, devotion to Kukai grew into a distinct tradition. Many Shingon followers believe that he did not die but entered a state of deep meditation on Mount Koya, where he remains, awaiting the future Buddha Maitreya. This belief is central to the way he is honoured and helps explain why a visit to Mount Koya, discussed in the article on Mount Koya, is often a part of the pilgrim’s journey.
The idea that Kobo Daishi walks with pilgrims is expressed in the phrase dogyo ninin, often translated as “two travelling together”. Pilgrims describe the staff as standing in for him, and some temples hold a hall dedicated to him, usually called a Daishi-do. That sense of companionship shapes many customs of the road, including the treatment of the staff and the respect with which locals greet pilgrims.
Legends about the circuit
Many stories surround the route, and they are best read as legends. One well-known tale concerns a wealthy man called Emon Saburo, who is said to have refused alms to a wandering monk, understood to be Kukai, and later suffered losses in his family. In grief and repentance, he is said to have set off to find the monk, walking the island repeatedly, and he is sometimes described as the first pilgrim. Versions differ in details, and there is no way to confirm it historically.
Other stories attach to individual temples: springs said to have been opened by Kukai’s staff, trees planted by him, or images carved by his hand. Such tales are often told locally and with affection. They show how the tradition has absorbed local stories over time, and they are part of what makes the circuit a living culture rather than a fixed monument.
Why the distinction matters
It is possible to hold two things at once. As history, the evidence suggests that the pilgrimage grew organically over a long period, and that its association with Kukai was reinforced as devotion to him spread across Japan. As faith, many pilgrims experience the route as a journey beside the teacher whose spirit is thought to remain with them. This site does not take a position on which view is correct; it tries to describe both accurately.
Readers who want to understand how the school he founded is practised can look at the article on Shingon Buddhism. Those wanting practical background on the circuit as a whole will find it in the overview of the Shikoku pilgrimage. Anyone planning a visit should remember that the route runs through places of active worship, where the tradition’s legends are held sincerely by many of the people nearby.