Osu Kannon

The Osu Kannon (Ōsu Kannon) temple is a popular temple of the Shingo sect (one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan) located in Osu in central Nagoya. Originally built in 1333 in Osu-go, Nagoka Village in the Owari province, known today as the city of Hashima in Gifu prefecture, it was only in 1612 that the Osu Kannon temple was moved to its present location. This was due to the repeated heavy flooding that the city of Hashima suffered from in the past.

The temple is known for its wooden statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy carved by Kobo Daishi himself. He was the founder of Shingo Buddhism in Japan and is now resting in the Okunoin Temple in Wakayama. Osu Kannon is also the home of about 15,000 classic Japanese and Chinese texts, including several national treasures such as the oldest hand-written copy of the famous Koijiki, which describes the ancient mythological history of Japan starting from the 8th century.