大須観音のお守り An Omamori from Osu Kannon Temple

The main entrance of Osu Kannon in Nagoya City

Osu Kannon, is Nagoya’s most important temple, and a lovely place to spend the day wandering around. The temple’s present buildings date from the 20th century, as the originals were destroyed in World War II. Although the locals of Nagoya call this temple complex Osu Kannon, it's official name is Kitanosan Shinpakuji Hoshoin-osu Kannon — quite a mouthful. 

Osu Kannon was founded in 1333 in a neighboring village. After flooding problems in its original location, Osu Kannon’s original hall was moved to Nagoya by shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1612, and the temple would go on to be a storehouse for important court chronicles.  Today Osu Kannon houses the Kojiki, one of Japan's oldest historical and mythological texts. Dedicated to the bodhisattva of mercy, Kannon, Osu Kannon has attracted many worshippers and visitors for hundreds of years and the twenty-first century is no exception. 

When I first visited Osu Kannon, a friend suddenly stopped a monk to ask him where we should go to have lunch. After I got over my shock, I realized that the monk was giving us directions to a small restaurant. "The food's spicy, but good," said the monk. He paused. "There's no meat though." 

As I would learn during my study abroad experience at Nanzan University, Nagoya locals love spicy food. And they love spicy chicken. On every other street you can find cramped food stalls and restaurants selling kishimen, or fat noodles, earthy and warm red miso dishes, and spiced chicken. 

Visitors mingle amongst stalls and Buddhist saints at the monthly antique fair. 

A shopping arcade surrounds Osu Kannon where you can buy anything from vintage kimono to shish kebabs. I even discovered a few shrines, temples, and a church. But the Osu Kannon complex is a site onto itself. On the 18th and 28th of every month, the temple hosts an antique fair. I took the subway early in the morning once a month to buy Meiji era post cards and shift through antique instruments. 

No matter the season, pigeons are always flying around Osu Kannon looking for tourists to buy feed.

Osu Kannon's mascot is the pigeon, so  I purchased a pigeon omamori. The birds flock around the temple, hiding up in the old gates and bronze bells. Visitors can buy feed or bring their own. The pigeons will swoop down in less than a second at a whiff of food. Other visitors clambered to buy omamori and fortunes. 

A unique omamori from Osu Kannon featuring their unofficial mascot.