The daikon, or white radish, is one of the most popular vegetables used in traditional Japanese cuisine and can be found at any given grocery store or supermarket. It’s quite unusual, however, for a Buddhist temple to sell daikon radishes—unless it’s the Honryū-in Temple in Asakusa, commonly known as Matsuchiyama Shōden. The temple was originally established in 595 CE and is dedicated to Kangiten, an elusive double deity of lust, wealth, and success. This god is generally depicted as a pair of elephant-headed deities, male and female, in a perpetual embrace….
