Kannon Bosatsu

Who Kannon Bosatsu is

Kannon Bosatsu is the bodhisattva of compassion, who sees the suffering of beings and comes to their aid. The name is often shortened to Kannon.

The basic form, Sho-Kannon, has one face and two arms with a small Buddha in the crown. The standing figure in the east hall of Yakushiji in Nara is a leading example, and Cultural Heritage Online records a replica whose description notes that the bronze original is thought to date from the same time as the Yakushi Nyorai triad in the temple's main hall, with Tang Chinese influence in its detailing.

From that form descend many variants, with eleven faces, a thousand arms, or a wish-granting jewel, each named by its attributes. Records register them under names that state the form, such as a standing eleven-headed Kannon in wood.

The bodhisattva also attends Amida, paired with Seishi to make the Amida triad.

Reading the record

Sculpture records carry names built from material, posture and identity. A standing eleven-headed Kannon in wood tells you all three at once.

Replica records deserve attention. The Yakushiji replica was carved in wood in 1893 by Yamada Kisai and belongs to the Tokyo National Museum, and its entry describes the original as well, which makes such records a way into works that are harder to see.

A hall whose principal image is Kannon is recorded separately as a building. Image and hall are counted in different units of Insū, figures for the one and structures for the other.