Japanese Buddhist Pilgrimage Sites in Taiwan

The popularity of the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage (西国三十三所) in Japan led to the establishment of similar pilgrimage sites in Taiwan during the colonial period. A variety of methods were pursued in various areas, typically by carving images of the many manifestations of Guanyin (觀音), known in Japanese as Kannon, into stone monuments that were then situated in temples along a pilgrimage route. The idea was to provide a way for local believers to follow the pilgrimage without having to actually travel to Japan, which would have been prohibitively expensive or otherwise impossible for most people in the colony. Taipei Shikoku Pilgrimage (台北四國八十八所靈場) and Taipei Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage (台北西國三十三所靈場) are two such circuits.