Ōsu Kannon
building in Naka-ku, Aichi Prefecture, Japan
Ōsu Kannon (大須観音) is a Buddhist temple of the Shingon sect located in Ōsu, in central Nagoya, Japan. It belongs to the Owari Thirty-three Kannon. Its address is 愛知県名古屋市中区大須2-21-47 (Aichi Ken, Nagoya-shi, Naka-ku Osu, 2-21-47).
History
The official name is Kitanosan Shinpuku-ji Hōshō-in, but is popularly known as Ōsu Kannon.
The temple was originally built in about the year 1333 in Ōsu-gō, Nagaoka village, in Owari Province, which is currently known as the city of Hashima in Gifu Prefecture. Construction was sponsored by the Emperor Go-Daigo, who appointed Shōnin Nōshin as the first head priest. Nōshin had a dream of Avalokitesvara, the Buddha of Compassion, known as Kannon in Japanese. Hence, the name Ōsu (from Ōsu-gō) Kannon. In the 3rd year of Genko (1333), a monk named Noshin founded the Shinpukuji Temple and its sub-temple Hojoin, which marked the beginning of this temple. They moved the Kannon statue from Shitennoji Temple in Settsu Province (modern-day Osaka) and enshrined it as the principal deity.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Ōsu Kannon” as building in Naka-ku, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as building in Naka-ku, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3594052. VIAF identifies the subject as 251749913. Authority coordinates are 35.160, 136.900. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1333.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Ōsu Kannon”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Ōsu Kannon primary sources, Ōsu Kannon archive and Kannon research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Ōsu Kannon”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Ōsu Kannon” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.