Sekkeiji can be translated as, “Snowy Cliff Temple”. This temple is famous for the famous monk, Chousokabe. His ashes, as well as some of his son’s ashes, are buried here. This temple is also known as a Zen Buddhism temple, and is one of three Zen temples on the Shikoku Buddhist pilgrimage.
Legend has it that this place was home to a long-suffering ghost who woke up the monk, Geppou, by saying “Even the water is weary of living.” Geppou spoke to the apparition who was attempting to recall a poem from which these lines come. Once the poem was completed, the ghost disappeared having now been relieved of trying to recall the missing lines. Kind of like trying to remember all the lyrics to R.E.M.’s “End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine). That can be a heavy thing to carry around in the afterlife!
