Ossettai

Today we had a short day of around 10 miles, waking from Cape Ashizuri north along the west coast. We visited The Seven Wonders of Ashizuri which are a number of rocks that are associated with the legend of Kukai (such as Yurugi Ishi [Swaying Rock] ‘With the movement of the rock, you can understand the good and evil in people's hearts’, Kōbo Daishi no Tsumebori no Ishi [Kōbo Daishi’s Fingernail Marked Rock] ‘Kōbo Daishi carved characters into the rock with his fingernails’, and Kame Yobi Ba [Tortoise Calling Place], ‘the place where Kōbo Daishi called on tortoises to help him cross over to an offshore reef’). We also visited Hakusan Sea Cave, a beautiful granite arch where we watched the tide for a while.

The inn in which we were staying gave us some onigiri (rice balls) in beautiful cloth bags, which the owner’s mother had sewed. This is an ossettai, or gift given to pilgrims by people on Shikoku.