The Shikoku Pilgrimage   The Shikoku pilgrimage circuit, called "henro" in Japanese, links 88 temples said to have been founded around the year 815 by the famous Buddhist monk Kobo Daishi (Kukai) to protect pilgrims and others from misfortune. Pilgrims usually visit the temples in their numbered order, making a clockwise circle around the island of Shikoku. Temples 1st (Ryozenji) through 23rd (Yakuoji) and temple 66th (Unpenji) are in Tokushima Prefecture. Nowadays many people who are not devout Buddhists take the pilgrimage as a journey of self-discovery or of healing. Traditionally the pilgrimage is made on foot, taking a month or more, but in modern times many people travel by car, taxi or bus over part or all of the circuit, as their leisure time allows.