The 1918 Shikoku Pilgrimage of Takamure Itsue
Last updated: 3 October 2026
The 1918 Shikoku Pilgrimage of Takamure Itsue is the English translation of the newspaper diary a 24-year-old Japanese poet wrote while walking the 88-temple pilgrimage around the island of Shikoku. She set out alone and spent about five months on the road. Susan Tennant's translation came out in 2010, and on 3 October 2026 Amazon UK had the 326-page paperback in stock at £12.57.
Buy the 1918 Shikoku Pilgrimage on Amazon UK, £12.57
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What the 1918 Shikoku Pilgrimage is about
In 1918 Takamure Itsue walked the Shikoku pilgrimage, a circuit of 88 Buddhist temples around the smallest of Japan's four main islands. The route covers about 1,400km, and she took around five months to complete it.
She started out on her own. Early in the journey a 73-year-old man joined her and travelled with her as a companion and protector. Along the way she wrote 105 articles for a newspaper, and they made her well known in Japan while she was still walking.
The book collects those articles alongside her own tanka, the short five-line poems of Japanese tradition. It reads as a record of the people she met and of her own thoughts on the road, rather than as a route guide.
Who Takamure Itsue was
Takamure went on to become known in Japan as a poet, historian, feminist and anarchist. The pilgrimage diary is her early work, written before any of that, and its original Japanese title is Musume Junreiki, roughly "a young woman's pilgrimage diary".
The translation
Susan Tennant translated the diary into English, and Bowen Publishing in Canada brought it out in 2010. Her footnotes explain the history, customs and places Takamure mentions. She also adds more than 20 pages of background on Takamure's life and a map of the route.
The academic journal Studies in Travel Writing reviewed the translation in 2011, and the review's record is on Taylor & Francis Online.
Key facts
- Author: Takamure Itsue
- Translator: Susan Tennant
- Original title: Musume Junreiki
- This edition: paperback, 13 March 2010
- Length: 326 pages, 15.2 x 22.9cm, a little larger than a standard paperback
- ISBN: 9781450540759
- Price: £12.57 on Amazon UK on 3 October 2026
Who the 1918 Shikoku Pilgrimage suits
- Anyone planning to walk the Shikoku pilgrimage: it shows what walking the route was like in 1918, through the eyes of someone doing it.
- Readers of travel writing: it is a first-person account of a long walk by a young woman travelling without family.
- People interested in Japan: pair it with The Japanese Garden by Sophie Walker, which covers 800 years of Japanese garden design.
The limits
This is a diary, not a guidebook. It has no practical advice on the modern route, accommodation or costs, so anyone planning the walk will need a current guide as well. The footnotes are thorough, which helps with the history but means plenty of flicking to the bottom of the page.
Where to buy it in the UK
Amazon UK had the paperback in stock at £12.57 on 3 October 2026.
The 1918 Shikoku Pilgrimage on Amazon UK
FAQs
What is the 1918 Shikoku Pilgrimage of Takamure Itsue?
It is the English translation of the diary Takamure Itsue wrote in 1918 while walking the 88-temple pilgrimage around Shikoku, published as newspaper articles at the time.
How old was Takamure Itsue on the pilgrimage?
She was 24.
Who translated it into English?
Susan Tennant, in 2010.
How long is the Shikoku pilgrimage?
About 1,400km, taking in 88 temples. Takamure walked it over around five months.
How much does the book cost in the UK?
Amazon UK had the paperback at £12.57 on 3 October 2026.
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