Abiko Kannon Temple

Abiko Kannon-ji is a temple in Sumiyoshi Ward, Osaka City, regarded as Japan’s oldest temple dedicated to Kannon (Avalokiteshvara). Its official name is Abikosan Daisho Kannon-ji. Known as the head temple of the Kannon sect, it enshrines as its principal image a small Kannon statue (about 5.5 cm tall) said to have been gifted by King Seongmyeong of Baekje to the clan of Yosami no Abiko, who lived in this area. It is said that local people first built a hall to worship the statue in 546, and the place name “Abiko” is also believed to derive from Yosami no Abiko. Later, in 607, Prince Shotoku is said to have received a revelation from Kannon and established the temple to enshrine the image. During the Edo period, the precincts contained 36 sub-temples and prospered greatly, but many treasures were lost in a fire in 1881. The temple was rebuilt and restored in 1890. The grounds include the Main Hall where the Kannon image is housed, a camphor tree measuring 19.5 m tall with a 4.8 m trunk circumference, and a Goma Hall where fire rituals are performed in January and February.