Kannon Bosatsu

Japonista Dictionary › Bodhisattvas

Kannon (観音), the bodhisattva who perceives the sounds of the world, is compassion given form. No figure in Japanese Buddhism is more widely loved. Kannon answers prayers for safe childbirth and safe voyages, for healing and for rescue, and takes whatever shape a suffering being needs. Japanese art follows the Chinese tradition in which Kannon became increasingly feminine, though the bodhisattva is beyond gender.

Identifying Kannon

The decisive clue is the tiny figure of Amida set in the front of the crown, kebutsu, a sign that Kannon is Amida's emissary. Kannon usually holds a lotus or a slender water flask, suibyō, containing the nectar of compassion. In Amida triads Kannon holds a small lotus pedestal to receive the soul of the dying. Where the crown figure is a stupa instead, the bodhisattva is likely Miroku.

Many forms

The Lotus Sutra teaches that Kannon appears in thirty-three bodies to save beings, and esoteric Buddhism added multi-headed and multi-armed forms. The basic two-armed form is called Shō Kannon. The Six Kannon guard the six realms of rebirth: Shō, Senju, Jūichimen, Nyoirin, Batō and Juntei, with Fukūkenjaku in some lists. All are described in The Forms of Kannon.

Kannon in Japanese art

• Kudara Kannon, Hōryūji. A tall, slender wooden figure of the seventh century, with a water flask held lightly between the fingers.
• Sanjūsangendō, Kyoto. One thousand and one standing Senju Kannon in a single long hall, mostly of the thirteenth century.
• White-robed Kannon. Zen monks painted Byakue Kannon seated on a rock by water in monochrome ink, a theme loved in the tea room.
• Maria Kannon. During the ban on Christianity, hidden Christians venerated white porcelain Kannon holding a child as images of the Virgin.
• Hibo Kannon. The Meiji painter Kanō Hōgai's Kannon pouring the water of life on an infant became an icon of modern Japanese painting.

Collecting notes

• Kannon appears in every material: gilt wood, bronze, porcelain, ivory, stone and painting. Choose by quality of carving and completeness of crown and attribute.
• Check whether the crown buddha survives. It is small, fixed separately and easily lost.
• Chinese Guanyin figures, often seated in royal ease, are a distinct tradition; see Chinese Buddhist Art.

In the collection

Browse Kannon figures and thousand-armed Kannon. Our collector concierge can search Japan for a particular form.

See also

• Saikoku Thirty-three Kannon Pilgrimage
• Bandō Thirty-three Kannon Pilgrimage
• Chichibu Thirty-four Kannon Pilgrimage
• The Lotus Sutra