num_pages: 195
description: Kannon, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, is probably Japan's most popular Buddhist deity. Images of Kannon - who hears the cries for help of all beings in distress - are the main focus of worship in many Japanese temples. This volume presents an exceptional selection of the most beautiful sculptures and paintings from the seventh to the fourteenth century, some of which have never been seen before outside Japan or which are rarely accessible even to the Japanese public. Kannon Bosatsu, the embodiment of divine compassion, takes on many different forms in order to provide assistance. Thus he may sometimes appear with eleven heads, at other times with a thousand arms, or in a pose of pure contemplation. Throughout history, the great spiritual power of this deity has continued to inspire remarkable artistic creations, from finely modelled bronzes to life-sized wooden sculptures or elaborate paintings on silk. Hiroshi Sugimoto's photographs of the thousand-armed Kannon sculptures in the Sanjusangen Hall, Kyoto, complement these traditional works of art.
language: English
title: Kannon--Divine Compassion: Early Buddhist Art from Japan
titlecomplete: Kannon--Divine Compassion: Early Buddhist Art from Japan (Reitberg Museum, Zurich)
publisher: Paul Holberton Pub