National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties
of National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan

This statue of the Eleven-Headed Bodhisattva Kannon (J. Jūichimen Kannon; Skt. Ekādaśamukha-avalokiteśvara) used to be enshrined in the Main Hall of Shin-Yakushiji Temple in Nara as an attendant bodhisattva for the hall’s principal image of worship, a statue of the buddha Yakushi (Skt. Bhaiṣajyaguru). The figure’s additional heads are shown in two levels above the main head. A flower vase is held in the left hand extended forward at the elbow. The right hand is lowered gently at the figure’s side with the thumb and middle finger touching. A sense of serene, fluid movement is created by the line formed by this arm combined with the bodhisattva’s hip twisted slightly to the left as it stands atop a lotus pedestal. The figure emanates a soft elegance in its lower body’s elongated proportions, small facial features, sloping shoulders, and supple, rounded physique. A statue with a similar body is seen in Tōdaiji Temple’s Nigatsudō Hall, suggesting this was an established style used in Nara during the late Heian period (794–1185). The rendering of the wraparound skirt, with the hem raised to form an M shape exposing the ankles, is seen in statues from the early Heian period and was likely intentionally revived in this work.

The halo and mandorla are rendered as wooden panels with painted vine scrolls rather than openwork decoration. Many such halos were made in this style in Nara.

The lotus pedestal retains some of its original parts.