Arako Kannon Temple

This temple is equipped with pieces of architecture you would expect for renowned temples.

Old temple

During Setsubun, a temple rotates its role once every five years, and visiting a temple closest to the lucky direction is said to bring good fortune. The lucky direction Kannon for 2026 is Kasadera Kannon. While it has nothing to do with Arako, it does have a connection to Maeda Toshiie, so why not go for it? 🚶‍♀️‍➡️ The "Owari Four Kannon" refers to the four temples that worship Kannon 🗽 as their principal deity: Arako Kannonji, Ryusenji, Jimokuji Kannon, and Kasadera Kannon. (A common question is, "Is Osu Kannon different?" 🥺) Osu Kannon is a cosplay mecca and was established relatively recently, so it's often left out of the four Kannon, but Osu 🏮 is definitely the most lively.) Tokugawa Ieyasu was born in Owari Province. Nagoya Castle 🏯 was built as the center of this, and the temples facing the direction of the demon's gate from Nagoya Castle were designated as the "Owari Four Kannon" to protect the castle 🙏 (Nagoya Castle didn't exist in the middle of the Sengoku period; it was only built in the Edo period, and it was destroyed in an air raid during World War II 🔥. The castle that was rebuilt after the war has an elevator 🛗, but now it's probably impossible to even enter the building! 😿)

This is one of the four Kannon temples of Owari (Arako, Jimokuji, Kasadera, and Ryusenji), and it's this year's Eho Kannon (lucky direction Kannon). I managed to visit before the year ended. There's a Shinmei Shrine next door and a Benzaiten shrine behind it. Incidentally, next year's Eho Kannon will be Kasadera Kannon. The large Nio statues by Enku at the temple gate were covered in glass, so unfortunately I could only see their feet. It's understandable since they are old and valuable. Viewing of the other Enku Buddha statues was only possible on the second Saturday of each month, so I couldn't do that.