Kanshinji Temple

Kanshin-ji Temple is a Shingon Buddhist temple (Koyasan Shingon sect) located in Kawachinagano City, Osaka Prefecture. It is also counted as the 25th temple of the Kansai Hana-no-Tera Pilgrimage, as well as a temple of the Shin-Saigoku Kaku-ban Pilgrimage and the 13th temple of the Butto Koji (Ancient Pagoda Temples) Pilgrimage. The principal image is Nyoirin Kannon (Cintamanicakra Avalokitesvara), one of Japan’s Three Great Nyoirin Kannon statues, and is regarded as a masterpiece of Heian-period esoteric Buddhist art. It is opened to the public only for two days each year, on April 17 and 18. The temple is an ancient site said to have been founded in 701 by En no Gyoja, and later rebuilt in 815 by Kobo Daishi (Kukai) as a training hall for Shingon Buddhism. During the Muromachi period, new architectural styles emerged, including Wayō (Japanese style), Zenshūyō (Zen style) introduced from China, and Daibutsuyō (Great Buddha style). A new hybrid style known as Setchūyō (eclectic style) was established by combining these styles. The temple’s Kondo (main hall) is built mainly in the Wayō style, but incorporates Zenshūyō construction techniques, and is therefore known as a representative example of Setchūyō architecture. In the Nanboku-chō period, when the local warrior Kusunoki Masashige supported the Southern Court, the area around Kanshin-ji served as an important base for the Southern forces, and Emperor Go-Murakami, successor to Emperor Go-Daigo, stayed at the temple for a time.