Kawasaki Daishi
Buddhist temple in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Kawasaki Daishi (川崎大師) is the popular name of Heiken-ji (平間寺, Heiken-ji), a Buddhist temple in Kawasaki, Japan. Founded in 1128, it is the headquarters of the Chizan sect of Shingon Buddhism. Kawasaki Daishi is a popular temple for hatsumōde (the first visit to a place of worship in the new year). In 2006, 2.72 million people engaged in hatsumōde here, the third largest figure in Japan and the largest in Kanagawa Prefecture. In 2016, the temple made preparations to receive 3 million visitors over the same period. Keihin Electric Express Railway, the oldest railroad company in the Kantō region of Japan, commenced service in January 1899 to carry passengers to Kawasaki Daishi from Tokyo.
Heiken-ji is known formally as Kongōzan Kinjōin Heiken-ji (金剛山金乗院平間寺).
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Kawasaki Daishi” is buddhist temple in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Kawasaki, Daishi and Buddhist, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “buddhist temple in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
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 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1504465. VIAF identifies the subject as 251468491. The Library of Congress control number is nr91027813. Authority coordinates are 35.534, 139.729. 4 of 8 selected statements include explicit references; 4 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1128, 2006, 2016 and 1899.
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 “Kawasaki Daishi”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Kawasaki Daishi primary sources, Kawasaki Daishi archive and Kawasaki 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 “Kawasaki Daishi”?
- 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 “Kawasaki Daishi” 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.