LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Kannon: Western Japan
built 635 days ago
The Avalokitesvara Sutra mentions 33 specific forms of the Kannon. But it is unclear why the number 33 was used. One theory relates to the Buddhist realm called Mt. Shumisen (or Mt. Sumeru, originally from Hindu mythology). In this heavenly palace of the Buddha and all followers, there are 33 deities who guard and protect the realm. They are commanded by Taishakuten, who governs the other 32 gods who live in Zenkenjo (Palace of Correct Views) in the Buddhist heaven (Trayastrimsha) on the peak of Mt. Sumeru; click here for more. In Japan, there are 100 temples nationwide that are sacred to Kannon, and making the circuit to each in proper order is said to save the believer from Hell and to open the gates to everlasting life.
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This religious image portrays the Great Being of Compassion, the bodhisattva Kannon. Standing on a plinth representing a lotus flower, and holding in his left hand a stem of the same flower, the Buddhist symbol of purity, the effigy corresponds to the early iconography of this great bodhisattva, especially revered in Japan in the latter half of the Fujiwara period.The precision of the iconography suggests that this sculpture was designed as one element of a set of three, centred around Amida, the Transcendent Buddha of the West, together with a matching representation of another great bodhisattva, Seishi, the incarnation of wisdom. From a stylistic point of view, this work is comparable to the finest sculptures commissioned by the Fujiwara regents. Influenced by the Jocho school, with its undeniable physical presence and sensuous contours it epitomizes the almost classical balance found in creations of the period. It displays particular affinities with the sculptures on the Konjikido altar at the Chuson-ji, dated from 1124, notably in regard to the slight sway of the hips and the softened expression of the visual features; it can apparently be dated to the early 12th century.
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The Shido Temple Chronicle describes how a diver exchanged her life for the Ball, by the grace of the Kannon worshipped at Shidoji. It ... adds that the recovered ball was placed between the eyebrows of the Buddha image at Kofukuji in Nara. The crystal ball, which represents clairvoyance even in the Western world, was thus placed in the "third eye" of imagination or transcendental wisdom in Indian tradition.
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In the Tsugaru region, as in many other regions in Japan, there is a popular pilgrimage through thirty-three major Kannon sites. The members of Akakura Mountain Shrine undertake this pilgrimage every June.
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