Sensō-ji temple is an ancient Buddhist temple located in
Asakusa, Tokyo. It is Tokyo's oldest temple, and one of its most significant. Adjacent
to the temple is a Shinto shrine, the Asakusa Shrine. The Sensoji Kannon temple is dedicated to
Guanyin, the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy, and is the most widely visited
spiritual site in the world (over 30 million visitors annually).
The origin of Kannon is, like Buddhism itself, in India, with the deity Avalokiteshvara, and in India, Tibet, and South East Asia, Avalokiteshvara is represented as male.
When Buddhism spread into China, it was probably mixed with local Taoist goddesses and took the name Guanyin, from which the Japanese word kannon is derived, and from the middle ages on, is often, though not always, represented as female in China, Korea, and Japan.
Statues of Kannon have been made in Japan since the very early days after the introduction of Buddhism during the Asuka Period, and many are now registered as National Treasures.
The adjacent Shinto shrine, the Asakusa Shrine
this one image above is from Matcha-JP
Sensoji temple house the SHO Kannon Bosatsu. It is a slender figure either distinctly female, or somewhat androgynous, known popularly as Kannon-sama, in English often called a goddess of compassion and mercy.
Kannon is not a Buddha, but a Bodhisattva, a being who is able to achieve Nirvana but delays doing so through compassion for suffering beings, but many in Japan do not make that distinction.
Kannon is extremely popular in Japan, mostly because of her efficacy at answering prayers and the many miracles attributed to her, and many temples are named after her many temples having a Kannon Hall enshrining her along with whatever main deities are enshrined there.
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