Pat's Blog

Some time years ago, I visited Negoro Temple near the top of Go Shiki Dai (the five colored hill) near Takamatsu. First impressions are always lasting and more than the temple, I can’t forget the huff-and-puff effort of the bicycle climb from Takamatsu itself. By the time I arrived even my bike was exhausted.




Negoroji (the suffix ji means temple) is temple number 82 on the 88-temple circuit of the Shingon Buddhist sect (the esoteric school) that the white robed pilgrims circumambulate the island of Shikoku as a part of their practice that is expected to be completed once in a believer’s lifetime. Believer or not, it’s well worth a visit especially in the fall as the place has some incredibly beautiful maple trees in the grounds. The temple grounds are in a miniature valley that visitors descend and then ascend at the other sides.


But the real attraction for me to this place is the history, the thousands of candles, deities, miniature Kannon samas placed in row after row by devotees (the goddess of mercy and in my book, the very same Mary of the Christian church) and its place in urban legends as it has a big reputation for ghosts! Wooooo Woooo … Apart from the statue in the lower grounds of the ‘Ushi Oni’ which legend has it was/is a bipedal critter with big tusks, and membrane wings (yikes … ) big fangs too … It’s a scary looking statute for sure and legend has it was slain by an archer who donated the horns along with a picture he painted of himself and still kept by the temple.




but it’s the green public telephone box outside the temple grounds that frighten me. Many people had told me stories about making calls from this phone box at night and ghosts appearing outside and looking in. Deceased relatives answering on the other end etc. I had to try this myself, worked up the courage and did one night.


To keep this within the editor’s word-limit guidelines, I’ll cut it short as upon arrival by car late on a winter’s night, (I was far to scared to go on my bicycle of course) I left the engine running, went in and made a call … and it was then I had one sudden, cold, lucid thought. A distant and deep voice was none other than Abraham Lincoln who answered and I can tell you I was shaken up! All right, I made that up, he didn’t answer at all but it was one hell of a creepy experience and yes, I went cold but although I didn’t see a spirit with icy blue eyes radiating hate and torment, but there definitely was some weird presence for sure, as I was told there would be.



Try this for yourself if you dare.