Shukubo

A shukubo (宿坊) is a temple lodging in Japan that allows visitors to stay overnight within a Buddhist temple.^[1] Originally, these facilities were designed to accommodate only monks and worshippers, but nowadays, in response to declining numbers of monk visitors, most facilities accept general tourists.^[2] Some temples, such as the ones in Mount Kōya, have open-air baths with onsen.^[3] Shukubo are now considered semi-secularized and in many towns are the only accommodations available.^[3]

Lodging in Hagurosan

A lodging house of Yakuoji, the 23rd sacred site of The 88 sacred sites of Shikoku.

History

Originally, shukubo were used by bhikku and confraternities,^{[2][failed verification]} and later by lay practitioners of Shugendō and mountain worship, and played major roles in the development of the latter two.^[4] At the foot of Mount Haguro there were once 336 shukubo all linked to Shugendō.^[5]

Networks of shukubo began^[when?] to develop in Ise, Shima, Toba, and Futami-ura in a decades long construction boom.^[6]

In the Edo period, visits to temples and shrines became popular, including visits to Ise, Kotohira-gū, and Zenkō-ji. Lodging houses were built at major temples and shrines in each area to accommodate ordinary pilgrims and tourists, forming a kind of tourism business, with specific areas connected to specific lodging houses.^[3]

In modern times, some shukubo have been converted into traditional inns and ryokan for tourists who want to experience the atmosphere of a temple.^{[7][failed verification]} Many modern-day operators of shukobo are descendants of families that ran shukubo when they were a purely religious matter. Originally, they only operated for one kosha but opening to the general public has substantially increased amounts of people staying at shukubo.^[2]

Gallery

• 
  Sakuramotobō
• 
  Shōjin ryōri at Hagurosan Saikan
• 
  Hagurosan Saikan Room
• 
  Inside the Hagurosan Saikan lodging house (corridor and rooms)

See also

• Shikoku Pilgrimage
• Mount Kōya
• Three Mountains of Dewa
• Mount Mitake (Tokyo)