Shikoku is no stranger to the pilgrims who flock to its 88 temples associated with the Buddhist priest Kukai (774-835), a Shikoku native and founder of the Shingon sect of Buddhism who also goes by the name Kobo Daishi or Odaishi-san.
While the Shikoku pilgrimage offers a good mix of tourism and religion, one group of young pilgrims currently walking the 1,200-kilometer route are hoping it will bring them something extra.
The pilgrims are all hikikomori, socially withdrawn, often homebound, people, many of whom shun contact with anyone except their families for long periods.
"This is the hardest trip I've ever done, both mentally and physically," said a 26-year-old man from Kyoto as he arrived at roughly the halfway point in Nakamura, Kochi Prefecture, recently.
"I've often felt like giving up. In fact I felt like that only this morning. But I've also been encouraged by the people around me."
He is one of 13 people taking part in Slow Walk Shikoku 88 organized by New Start, a nonprofit organization in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture.
The participants, aged 19-38, are accompanied by seven staff members of about the same age, four of whom are members of the NPO.
The other three were chosen from among 40 applicants and given professional training.
One of them, himself a former recluse, walked the entire route last year to see if it was appropriate.
New Start was launched 10 years ago to help hikikomori and school truants return to some sort of normalcy.
The walk is the idea of New Start founder Noki Futagami, who, as a Shikoku native, is familiar with the island's pilgrimage.
The walker from Kyoto said he had been housebound for at least four years. He studied in the United States but turned down a promising job offer in Japan.
"I had no self-confidence," he said, adding that he occasionally suffers from an inferiority complex.
Masataka Kondo, of the Japan Youth Development Association, puts the number of hikikomori sufferers at between 600,000 and 1.6 million.
Its causes vary, but today's affluent society is said to be partly responsible. Much time and energy are required for these people and their families to get their lives back on track.
"In some cases it goes on for 20 years," Kondo said. "Everybody is at risk of hikikomori. But if we offer them the chance to go out, and they accept it, it is a big step on the way to recovery."
The pilgrims' trip began at Ryozenji temple in Naruto, Tokushima Prefecture, on Sept. 6. They are expected to reach their 88th and last destination, Okubodera temple in Kagawa Prefecture, in about 60 days.
The Kyoto man said his grandmother had mentioned the walk to his mother after seeing it advertised in a newspaper.
He made it along to an orientation session and, after an interview, was selected from among more than 50 applicants.
"I thought it was my fate to go on the trip, even though I knew nothing about the pilgrimage," he said.
Another man, 25, from Fukuoka, who has had contact with only his relatives for the past five years, was also persuaded to come by his parents.
"I don't know why, but I thought I might be able to do it," he said. "I was relieved when I heard the staff would give me a ride if I didn't feel well."
The pilgrims cover 10-30 kilometers a day, with breaks, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is a drastic change from their usual routine.
Indeed, several have quit and returned home, only to come back and give it another go.
Tomoko Arai, a New Start member, understands their ordeal. "They all want to walk the entire route, but being with other people all the time is hard, even for people who don't have their problem," Arai said.
"We've advised them to at least be together when we reach the 88th temple."
Kumi Hashizume, who leads the group, said it paid to be prepared for the unexpected.
"Some of them got homesick, and couldn't sleep at night or talk freely," she said. "Some of them tried to run off or complained about the lack of privacy. But now I feel they've started thinking about what they're going to do when they get home."
Kobo Daishi himself was said to be a kind of hikikomori.
At the age of 18, he quit an elite Buddhist school, disappointing his parents and teachers, and lived in seclusion in Shikoku or the Kinki region.
History books do not record his life until he went to China on a government scholarship when he was 31. However, it is said that he spent the intervening years practicing asceticism on Mt. Tairyu and then in a cave on Cape Muroto in Shikoku.
The pilgrims are staying true to one of Kobo Daishi's main teachings--persevering in the face of hardship, according to Takeki Miyazaki, publisher of a walking map of Shikoku for pilgrims.
"That perseverance can only be obtained by walking," he said.
The walkers are encouraged by osettai, or traditional offerings made by local people en route. The practice, which sustains pilgrims mentally and financially, began 400 years ago when the pilgrimage became popular.
"I've been really encouraged by the osettai and people's kindness in general," the Fukuoka man said.
The generosity stems from the belief that the pilgrims are a modern-day incarnation of Kobo Daishi himself.
In April, the NPO elicited osettai in local newspapers and was overwhelmed by the response.
In Nakamura, Kochi Prefecture, for example, the group was served a lunch prepared by local women before spending the night at local houses.
In Uchiumimura, Ehime Prefecture, they were invited to stay at a local public hall, where they were given tangerines.
Some of the hosts had good reason to get involved. "I wanted to do the walk with my nephew, who has suffered since losing his job," one said. "I couldn't persuade him to take part, so I feel as if these people are doing it on our behalf."
Another said he hoped his son, a truant, had learned something from his house guests.
"Hosting them was worthwhile for me," he says. "We talked a lot with them over the dinner, and one of them gave us some advice about our son's problem. I would like to see how they all are in four or five years' time."
One of the walkers has been posting comments and photographs on New Start's Web site. Some of them spoke of the many friends they had made, some of whom gave them refreshments, and even massage and acupuncture.
"Meeting people is very important for the participants," Hashizume said. "And many of the hosts were happy to help.
"Everybody can walk. We get up early, walk, sweat, enjoy nature, meet people and build up an appetite. It's the small things like that that count."
The Kyoto man says, "I thought long and hard before coming on this trip. Here, I can talk about how I feel and find out who I really am. I am determined to see it through until the end."
In a brochure advertising the pilgrimage, Futagami writes: "Walking among the rich nature of Shikoku will revive their bodies, and the osettai will revive their spirits. The pilgrimage is a kind of hospital that offers the best kind of counseling."
The NPO will organize a second pilgrimage next spring. Non-Japanese and the elderly also are encouraged to take part. Call (047) 307-3676.
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Gifts, hospitality spur pilgrims on
Osettai is usually offered by chance, according to Hiroshi Kushima, who runs Kikusui Henro-kan, the most comprehensive Web site for walking Shikoku pilgrims.
"Local people recognize pilgrims from their white robes, and just offer them whatever they have."
Toyoichi Okada, an illustrator, said of his walk: "I was a total stranger to the local people but they were friendly and gave me drinks, and even money."
Okada, a Kobe resident, began going on pilgrimages on his days off after he was forced to close his studio after the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake.
According to Kushima, osettai range from candy to cooking and serving meals or putting pilgrims up for the night.
Ian Reader, head of the department of religious studies at Lancaster University in England, completed the Shikoku pilgrimage as part of his fieldwork.
"The osettai is probably the most marked case of people giving alms to pilgrims," he said.
"The reverse is often true in other places, such as India, where it is common for pilgrims to give alms to beggars at the temples, rather than being given alms."
Kushima, however, warned that some pilgrims tip off fellow walkers about particularly lucrative areas via cellular phone.
"They are confusing osettai with free food samples or tissue paper," he said. "That's why I don't provide that information on my Web site."
Okada was so impressed by his trip that he has made computer-graphic images of temples and other scenes he encountered in Shikoku. The works will go on display at the Kobe YMCA on Oct. 26, and some of the proceeds will go to charity.