A monk from Mount Koya in Wakayama Prefecture has been making pilgrimages to China for 30 years, following in the footsteps of Kukai, the Japanese monk who founded the Shingon sect of Buddhism in the early ninth century.
"Kukai and Mikkyo (esoteric Buddhism) have revived in China," 71-year-old Jien Shizuka said in an interview.
"China is a great nation, but Kukai is also great," Shizuka said. "We feel anew his greatness."