TOKYO, ,JAPAN, May 22, 2017 (by Pallavi Aiyar, The Hindu ): Amidst the quintessentially Japanese plum blossom trees and antique shops, it is jolting therefore, to stumble upon Matsuchiyama Shoden, a Ganesha temple located on slightly elevated ground by the river. But given the Hindu roots of so many deities in the Japanese Buddhist pantheon, it is not entirely surprising. Early Buddhism was deeply intertwined with Hinduism. Consequently, many Japanese schools of Buddhism, especially those influenced by tantric thought, adopted Brahmanic and Hindu devas or Gods. The Hindu God Shiva (Daijizaiten), for example, was associated with Avalokitesvara or Kannon, while Brahma (Bonten) was linked to Manjusri. Hindu deities were most commonly incorporated as guardians. Some, such as Indra (Taishakuten) and Varuna (Raijin) are ubiquitous at temple entrances. Other common devas include Yama (Enmaten), Garuda (Karura), and Lakshmi (Kichijoten). Saraswati (Benzaiten) is particularly popular and has hundreds of temples dedicated to Her across the country.
However, the journey over mountains and oceans from India via China to the Japanese archipelago transformed these deities both in their physical representations and metaphysical meanings. Consequently, for the average Japanese, the Hindu underpinnings of the deities they so often genuflect before at temples have become more or less invisible. Neither the names nor the appearance of the deities betray their origins to the uninitiated. In the case of Ganesha this invisibility is literal, since statues of the elephant-headed deity are almost never displayed public. He is considered so powerful that beholding him can be dangerous and his icons are secreted away, sometimes not even seen by the priests themselves. The juushoku or head priest of Matsuchiyama Shoden, Hirata Shinjyun, confesses to never having looked at the temple’s statue of Ganesha. In fact, the last time it was seen by human eyes was following World War II, when it was extracted from its underground wartime hiding place, and placed in an inner sanctum that has remained shut since. The priest says the secrecy surrounding the deity adds to the belief in the efficacy of its power.