Mittera Temple, Osaka

The Mittera Temple is a Buddhist temple dedicated to the Bodhisattva Kannon. It was built by a local Buddhist Monk called Gyoki.

The Mittera Temple was commissioned by the Emperor Shomu and constructed by Gyoki in the year 744. Gyoki was said to have been born in the Mittera or Namba area of Osaka. The original Kannon statue was carved by him using wood from an ancient camphor tree that grew nearby. It is located on a busy avenue of the city called the Midosuji Avenue. The first Osaka Prefectural Assembly was held in the main hall of the temple in 1879.

The Mittera temple is one of the few temples that escaped being destroyed by the 1945 World War II bombardments. The present temple is not the original one built by Gyoki but a structure that was constructed in 1808. It now enshrines a statue of Kannon with eleven heads carved from a camphor tree that grew on the temple grounds. The tree was cut down for the expansion of Midosuji Avenue. The main hall is completely covered with gilded lacquer and has pillars, doors and panels painted with floral patterns. The living quarters of the monks called the Kuri faces the Midosuji Avenue. It is a modern structure made of ferroconcrete with an exterior that preserves the traditional appearance of a Kuri.