Our group's quest was to describe in detail four photos and some devotional materials collected during our professor’s research trip to Chichibu, Japan. Our project focused specifically on Temple #1, Shimabu-ji, This temple is also known as the temple of 40,000 volumes. The number refers to the Mahayana canon of scriptures that are known to have miraculous spiritual powers. The name of this temple stems from a legend that describes a medieval Buddhist monk who memorized all these sutras at the temple. He is also considered to be a legendary founder of the Chichibu pilgrimage. This temple is one of the thirty-four Kannon sites along the Chichibu pilgrimage route.????

      Kannon is a Buddhist bodhisattva who possesses many different iconographic forms. This popular and beloved bodhisattva is portrayed differently in various media as either a male or female deity. Kannon is best known as a being of compassion and mercy. Shimabu-ji is a temple that, like the others on this route, has the bodhisattva as the main image of worship.  People worship by throwing a coin in the offering box, ringing the gong hung at the front of the temple, and then silently praying or chanting a sutra or the temple poem-prayer (junrei uta). Praying for happiness, safety and well being for your family and peace for the souls of loved ones who have passed away is commonly done at the temple.

       This temple, because it is the first numbered temple of the circuit sells may pilgrimage related items on site at its store. Collecting all of these items is impossible. The limited number of objects gathered at the Shimabu-ji temple site are representative of Chichibu pilgrimage material and visual culture. We found these items enigmas--that is, for those unfamiliar with Chichibu pilgrimage, they were puzzles that needed to be deciphered.

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