Tosa was also one of the four provinces of Shikoku. His current name is Kochi.
It is the largest of the 4 prefectures of Shikoku. It runs from Cape Muroto-misaki to Ashizuri-misaki with the Pacific along the coast.
It was the most inaccessible and remote province of Shikoku, and even today it is the most challenging for pilgrims. In Tosa, the challenging path and the great distances between its 16 temples make it make up more than a third of the temple pilgrimage. There are more than 84 km from the last temple in Tokushima and the first in Tosa or Kochi as they are called today.
In this province, in the city of Kochi, a modern dance style called Yosakoi inspired by Awa-odori was also born in 1954.
In Kochi, we can admire the imposing Kochi Castle, also called Kochi-jô. Kochi Castle is one of a dozen castles that have remained intact from their original construction in the first decade of the 17th century. It was partially destroyed by fire in 1727, but was rebuilt between 1748 and 1753, since then it has stood the test of time.
Sanuki was one of the four prefectures of Shikoku. It is now called Kagawa. Kagawa is the smallest prefecture in Shikoku and also in all of Japan.
Awa was also one of the four provinces of Shikoku. Its current name is Tokushima.
The starting point of 1200 years of pilgrimage, Awa is home to 23 of Shikoku's 88 temples.
Iyo was also one of the four provinces of Shikoku. Its current name is Ehime.
Ehime occupies the western part of Shikoku and has its largest city, Matsuyama. It also has the most pilgrimage temples: 27 to be exact.
The spectacular Iya Valley is a special place. Being one of Japan's hidden valleys, its gorges and dense forests have been a refuge for many centuries for those who want to escape persecution, such as those of the Shaman in the 9th century, or lost wars such as the Heike clan.