Kawasaki Daishi, Buddhist temple in Kawasaki, Japan
Kawasaki Daishi is a Buddhist temple in Daishi-machi, Kawasaki, Japan, with several buildings arranged around a central main hall. The grounds include ornate gates, an octagonal five-story tower, and numerous smaller shrines along the wide pathways between structures.
A priest founded the temple in 1128 after retrieving a statue of the monk Kōbō Daishi from the sea. Later centuries brought building renovations and a closer connection with three major pilgrimage routes in the Kanto region.
The site honors Kōbō Daishi, the monk who brought Shingon Buddhism to Japan, and carries the formal name Heikenji. Worshippers join the daily goma ceremony, where wooden sticks inscribed with personal prayers are burned in a sacred fire ritual.
The nearest station is Kawasaki Daishi, from which the grounds can be reached within a short walk. Mornings are quieter, while weekends draw many families and worshippers to the site.
A collection of more than 7200 volumes of the Qianlong Tripitaka rests in a library on the grounds. This Buddhist canon was printed with woodblocks in China during the 18th century and is the last such work of its kind.
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