Rest as the Foundation of a Walking Faith
The Shikoku Pilgrimage is known as a “walking prayer,” yet at its heart lies a social system built around one simple question: Where does a pilgrim rest? For walking to become an act of faith, there must be places that make rest possible.
As the pilgrimage spread among common people during the Edo period, networks of lodgings began to form—temple halls that allowed overnight stays, roadside inns, and private homes opened by villagers known as zenkon-yado (charity lodgings). As guidebooks and way markers improved and information about inns was updated, the pilgrimage evolved from a solitary ascetic practice into a popular, organized journey.
From Edo to Meiji
Old guidebooks often describe lodgings as zenkon-yado, but in practice, guests contributed a small fee called tōmyōsen to cover food and lamp oil. These were not entirely free shelters born of charity, but cooperative spaces sustained through shared costs.
Temple lodgings were supported by local religious groups and followers, while villagers sometimes lent out a room in their homes. As pilgrim numbers grew, guidebooks were revised to include reviews, prices, and routes. Thus, the act of “staying the night” became integrated into society as part of religious life itself.
Forms of Lodging
The tsuyadō—overnight halls attached to temples—were managed by monks, caretakers, or local associations. They offered futons, hearths, and sometimes all-night sutra recitations.
Along the highways stood kichin-yado, simple inns that rented bedding and cooking space to weary travelers. In rural villages, people began opening one room of their homes to pilgrims, creating the zenkon-yado system. It was not charity but a practice of “living together.”
Hosts offered kindness; travelers returned gratitude. Together, they linked local faith with daily life. Even today, a few regions preserve this tradition—houses and rest shelters that continue to welcome walking pilgrims with quiet hospitality.
The Power of the Kō: Linking Lodging and Hospitality
The pilgrimage was sustained not only by individual generosity but also by organized religious associations known as kō or kōchū. These groups pooled money and food to serve tea or udon at temple gates and sometimes stayed for days to help care for pilgrims.
Their presence created a sense of safety—“there is food, there is shelter”—which encouraged more people to join the journey. In this way, hospitality and lodging overlapped, blending religious devotion with social support.
Modernization and the Diversification of Lodgings
With the modernization of Japan in the Meiji era, railways and ports changed travel routes, and inns began spreading beyond the old highways. Temple lodgings adapted for group visits, while private inns and guesthouses flourished in towns and villages.
After World War II, the rise of automobiles brought hotels, business inns, and guesthouses into the mix, allowing walking and driving pilgrims to coexist. Pilgrim lodgings were no longer extensions of temples—they had become part of regional accommodation culture.
This diversification gave the pilgrimage new meaning, bridging religion and tourism in contemporary life.
Zenkon-yado Today and New Networks
Today, traditional zenkon-yado face challenges of hygiene, safety, and aging hosts. Many have closed as their keepers retire. Yet new movements are emerging—young people and international pilgrims are reviving the spirit of shared hospitality.
For example, our Ohenro House project continues the zenkon-yado philosophy in modern form: a network of community-based lodgings sustained through donation and exchange. Researchers and architects are also re-evaluating the social and spatial value of these spaces, recognizing them as living heritage.
From Rest Stop to Public Space
Between lodgings, rest shelters also sustain the culture of pilgrimage. In earlier times, teahouses and roadside chapels served that role; today, volunteer-built henro-goya huts and government rest areas carry on the tradition.
A bench, a pot of hot water, and a notebook for messages—these small huts become spaces where travelers share information and peace of mind. Such public resting spots are the modern successors of Edo-period hospitality societies and zenkon-yado, continuing their spirit in a new form.
The Etiquette of Using a Lodge
Sustaining a culture of lodging also depends on the manners of those who stay. Making reservations in advance, arriving on time, keeping quiet at night, following fire and laundry rules, and helping with cleaning—all build trust.
At charity lodgings or free shelters, expressing thanks or leaving a nōsatsu name slip remains an important gesture. A pilgrim is both “one who is hosted” and “one who will host another someday.” This cycle of gratitude quietly supports the Shikoku Pilgrimage culture.
A Culture of Shelter That Keeps the Pilgrimage Alive
The history of pilgrim lodgings is a story of cooperation among temples, local communities, and travelers—building a culture of rest that made walking faith possible. From Edo-period inns and lamp-money, to temple halls, roadside hostels, zenkon-yado, hospitality societies, and today’s temple lodgings and guesthouses—all overlap like layers of time, sustaining the living prayer of the pilgrimage.
To ask “where shall I rest?” is not simply to seek a bed. It is to engage with a thousand-year tradition of shared faith in motion—a culture that continues, step by step, through every place that welcomes a pilgrim.
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