A Hidden Gem Near Tokyo: Kawasaki Daishi Statue & Octagonal Pagoda

About the Picture

When visiting Kawasaki Daishi (Heiken-ji Temple), you will find many beautiful sculptures, monuments and temple details around the grounds. Here, I’m sharing two of them in one picture – the “Prayer and Peace” statue and part of the octagonal five-storied pagoda, a rare view in Japan.

But before we look closely at what is in the picture, let’s first look at why Kawasaki Daishi is special — and why this hidden gem near Tokyo may be worth adding to your Japan itinerary.

Kawasaki Daishi is not just a neighborhood temple in Kawasaki. It is a major Buddhist site formally known as Kongosan Kinjoin Heikenji, commonly called Kawasaki Daishi, and it belongs to the Chisan School of Shingon Buddhism. It’s especially well known for yakuyoke, meaning prayers for warding off evil or misfortune.

It is a historically rooted temple with longstanding religious significance, reaching back to 1128, when the temple began to take shape under priest Sonken and Kanenori Hirama – that gives it nearly nine centuries of religious continuity!

During New Year hatsumode – the first shrine or temple people visit of the year, it’s said that Kawasaki Daishi receives around 3 million visitors during the first three days of the New Year, making it one of Japan’s best-known New Year worship destinations.

To summarize the temple in one sentence, I would say: Kawasaki Daishi is special not because it is flashy, but because it combines deep religious meaning, easy access from Tokyo, and has several visually memorable structures in one compact complex.

If you want to check more temple details, history or visitor information, the official Kawasaki Daishi website is a useful place to start.

What You See in This Kawasaki Daishi Picture

Let’s look more closely at the statue and pagoda shown in this picture.

The statue is known as “the Statue of Prayer and Peace” (Inori to Heiwa no Zō) and was created by Katsuzō Entsuba at Kawasaki Daishi in 1984.

This statue was never meant to be just another decorative element in the temple grounds. It was created to honour Kōbō Daishi during the 1,150th memorial anniversary of his death, together with an important ceremonial event at Kawasaki Daishi that takes place once every ten years.

Because Kawasaki Daishi is a major Shingon Buddhist site known for prayer, protection, and spiritual devotion, the monument turns those ideas into visible form.

In the centre, the main figure stands in gasshō, with hands pressed together in prayer. It represents prayer in the most direct and simple way.

Around it are Hiten, celestial beings from Buddhist art. They bring movement, music and energy to the monument, so the meaning feels wider than private prayer alone. The central figure suggests inward prayer, while the figures around it can be read as peace spreading outward.

There are also smaller details that add meaning. The doves are a familiar symbol of peace, while the deer likely refer to the Deer Park where the Buddha gave his first sermon. That gives the sculpture a deeper Buddhist layer, linking peace not only with emotion, but also with teaching and wisdom.

Time for the beautiful pagoda, another reason I like this corner of Kawasaki Daishi so much.

For many first-time visitors to Tokyo, Sensō-ji in Asakusa is the temple they almost always see first. And of course, it is beautiful – one of the most famous temple sights in the city. But it is also packed with visitors almost every day. Kawasaki Daishi feels different. It is still important and impressive, but often gives you more space to slow down, look around, and notice details like this statue and pagoda together.

What makes the pagoda here stand out even more is its shape. Unlike the more classic pagoda at Sensō-ji, the one at Kawasaki Daishi is octagonal, which is unusual in Japan, where most pagodas have four sides. That makes it feel a bit less expected, and for me, more interesting to come across in person.

Octagonal pagodas are rare enough in Japan to feel special when you see one. The famous ancient wooden example is at Anraku-ji in Nagano, but Kawasaki Daishi gives you a much easier chance to see an unusual octagonal pagoda close to Tokyo.

In this picture, you can see only part of the pagoda, but it is a five-storied structure with deeper Buddhist meaning. Kawasaki Daishi explains that the five levels represent earth, water, fire, wind and sky. For me, that makes this corner of the temple even more interesting: the Prayer and Peace statue brings the emotional meaning, while the octagonal pagoda adds rare architecture and Buddhist symbolism behind it.

Kawasaki Daishi is also easy to visit as a short trip from Tokyo. You can reach it by taking the Keikyu Line to Keikyu Kawasaki Station, changing to the Keikyu Daishi Line, and walking from Kawasaki-Daishi Station to the temple. That makes it a good choice if you want a cultural stop near Tokyo without planning a full-day trip.

Feel free to download and use this picture in your blog post – it could be a perfect fit for articles about hidden gems near Tokyo, Japanese temples, Kanagawa day trips, and quieter places in Japan that deserve more attention.

With Kawasaki Daishi’s Prayer and Peace statue and rare octagonal pagoda in one frame, this picture captures one of the most memorable corners of the temple. I’m really glad I visited it, and I honestly feel that anyone who loves Japanese temples should consider visiting Kawasaki Daishi too.