Temple sauna and temple camping in the clear Shimanto River! Shikoku Pilgrimage “Shukubo Iwamotoji Temple” underwent an amazing transformation! A town-wide challenge in a depopulated area
日本最後の清流・高知県の四万十（しまんと）川。その流域一帯は、重要文化的景観に選定され、四季折々の風景が人々を魅了する。そんな四万十川が流れる四万十町で、天平の時代から1300年の歴史の流れと共にそこにあり続けた四国八十八ヶ所霊場第37番札所岩本寺（真言宗智山派）とその宿坊が、コロナ禍の2021年、アッと驚く劇的な変身を遂げた。
The Shimanto River in Kochi Prefecture is the last clear stream in Japan. The entire basin of the Shimanto River has been selected as an Important Cultural Landscape, and its seasonal scenery attracts people. In Shimanto Town, through which the Shimanto River flows, Iwamoto-ji Temple (Chizan School of Shingon Buddhism), the 37th sacred site of 88 temples on Shikoku Island, and its lodgings, which have existed for 1,300 years since the Tenpyo period, underwent a dramatic and surprising transformation in 2021 after the Corona disaster.
四万十川での水中禅をはじめ、寺サウナ（お寺でサウナ）や寺キャン（お寺でキャンプ）などのほかにも、四国遍路に限らず四万十町も満喫できるさまざまなプログラムが用意された。
In addition to underwater Zen meditation in the Shimanto River, temple sauna (sauna at a temple), temple camping (camping at a temple), and other activities, the temple has prepared a variety of programs that allow visitors to enjoy not only the Shikoku pilgrimage but also the town of Shimanto.
こうした取り組みは、岩本寺単独の取り組みではなく、過疎地・四万十町の町ぐるみの挑戦でもある。
These efforts are not the sole efforts of Iwamoto-dera Temple, but are also a town-wide challenge for Shimanto Town, a depopulated area.
高知県南西部の四万十町は、JR土讃線と土佐くろしお鉄道が合流する窪川駅のある地域を中心に約1万6,000人が暮らす、四万十川沿いの町。窪川駅から徒歩10分ほどのところにある岩本寺は天平年間創建と伝わる四国八十八ヶ所霊場で、前後の札所との距離がかなりあるため、併設の宿坊は多くの遍路旅人に重宝されてきた。
Shimanto Town in southwestern Kochi Prefecture is a town along the Shimanto River with approximately 16,000 people living mainly in the area where Kubokawa Station is located, where the JR Dosan Line and Tosa-Kuroshio Railway converge. Iwamoto-ji Temple, a 10-minute walk from Kubokawa Station, is a sacred site for the 88 temples of Shikoku, said to have been built in the Tenpyo period (710-794), and because of the considerable distance between the temple and the other temples, the adjoining shukubo (lodging house) has been a favorite destination for many pilgrims.
その宿坊が令和2年（2020）、観光庁観光振興事業補助金を活用した「！SHIMANTO（あっとしまんと）」プロジェクトで、大きく変貌を遂げている。
In 2020, these shukubo are undergoing a major transformation through the “!
写真左は東京都出身で四万十町に移住し、しまんと街おこし応援団メンバーとなった石坂俊之さん。後述する「しまんと古書街道」の発案者でもある。左から2番目が、四万十町のキーマンとなっている岩本寺の窪博正住職。住職の右側は山門前の和菓子店松鶴堂の三代目松岡幹幸さんご夫妻。さまざまなキャリアのメンバーが、窪住職の挑戦を支えている The photo on the left is Toshiyuki Ishizaka, a Tokyo native who moved to Shimanto and became a member of the Shimanto Machiokosho Ouen-dan (Shimanto Town Development Support Group). He is also the originator of the “Shimanto Old Book Road” mentioned below. Second from the left is Hiromasa Kubo, chief priest of Iwamotoji Temple, a key figure in Shimanto. To the right of the priest are Mr. and Mrs. Mikiyuki Matsuoka, the third generation owner of Matsutsurudo, a Japanese confectionery store in front of the temple gate. Members of various careers are supporting the challenge of Chief Priest Kubo.
