Lord Ganesha is worshipped in this unique form in Japan

In the wooden Japanese Buddhist temples, situated in the Asakusa area of Tokyo, Japan, resides a deity that connects the two nations of India and Japan culturally. These temples are among the oldest in Japan, dating back thousands of years, and are great tourist attractions. Indian tourists are especially drawn to the 8th-century Matsuchiyama Shoden temple, dedicated to the Japanese deity Kangiten, or the Japanese version of Lord Ganesha.And this is not the only Ganesha temple—there are reports that claim that all around Japan, there are 250 such temples.
Lord Ganesha is known by different names in Japan, such as ‘Kangiten,’ ‘Shoten,’ ‘Ganabachi’ (Ganapathy), or ‘Binayakaten.’ The earliest history of his worship starts in the 8th-9th centuries CE. The worship of Kangiten is part of the tantric form of Buddhism that emerged in Odisha. This practice first reached China and then moved to Japan. Shingon Buddhism in Japan was founded by Kukai, a Japanese scholar. Kukai was in China when he came across this form of Buddhism. It was here that he met Pranja, a Gandharan Buddhist scholar and former student of Nalanda University. Pranja brought several important Buddhist texts to China.
After gaining knowledge about Hindu deities and different branches of Buddhism, Kukai returned a decade later and introduced several Hindu deities and a tantric form of Buddhism to Japan. Initially, Kangiten was a minor deity in Shingon Buddhism, but by the Heian Period, he had become an independent god. Several references to Kangiten can be found in the ‘Besson Guides’. Another text, known as ‘Sho Kangiten Shikiho’ or ‘Ritual of Sho Kangiten’, details the rituals involved in the deity’s worship.
In Japanese idols, Kangiten have muscular arms and legs, armor, tusks, and weapons. The idols are often shown embracing a female elephant. According to reports, the embrace is erotic, and hence they are kept in a wooden box, with people praying to the box. They are only taken out on special occasions. Kangiten was initially a malevolent god who had to be prayed to in order to avoid obstacles in any task, but over time, he became the Japanese god of joy and bliss.
The most famous temple of Kangiten lies on the eastern side of Mount Ikoma in southern Japan. Legend says that the Hozanji temple was built in the 17th century by a monk named Tankai. The Japanese monk was on a spiritual quest for ‘Siddhis’ or supernatural powers, but he always fell short, as Kangiten kept interrupting his search. To please Kangiten, Tankai promised to build a temple for the elephant-headed god, and in return, he asked the deity to stop interfering in his quest. After the temple was built, people started praying to Kangiten for good fortune and prosperity. Traditionally, rice beer and radishes are offered to the deity while visiting the temple.