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

　　A Nyoirin Kannon (Skt. Cintāmaṇicakra) is a sacred image that is said to remove suffering and fulfill the wishes of all sentient beings in six realms by the power of a sacred jewel (nyoi hoju) and a dharma wheel (horin). Although images of two-armed Nyoirin Kannon have been seen from early on, the image in this drawing is the most common image of Nyoirin Kannon with six arms and a gold body, which appears in the Procedures on the Ceremony for Cintāmaṇicakra (観自在如意輪菩薩瑜伽法要). The palm of the first right hand is opened and touches the cheek. This posture follows the iconography from the Lotus Hall of the Mandala of the Womb World.
　　This painting represents the Nyoirin Kannon sitting on a delicately beautiful lotus pedestal decorated with cut gold leaves (kirikane) patterns while drawing the right knee up to the chest and the whole body is covered by a perfectly moon ring (gachirin). The first left hand, which is said to be placed on a sacred mountain, is placed in this painting on a large rock that is painted using gold paint (kindei) shading technique (kumadori). The body is drawn by a vermillion line and painted in gold. The clothes and clothing accessories are gorgeously colored and delicate gold leaves patterns such as rising clouds (tatewaku), cross stripes (koshi) and swastikas (manji tsunagi) are applied to create the ultimate magnificence. In addition, the moon ring is uniquely painted in vermillion and is wash shaded by kindei and a special effect is created by covering the entire Kannon in kindei.
　　For the southern heavenly land, Mt. Potalaka, in the background, wrinkles softly drawn by an ink shading (sumi guma) are painted avoiding ink outlines (hori nuri) in blue and green pigments and kindei is applied in spots. Pine and cherry blossoms trees are drawn to express familiar scenery. Such landscape expressions are derived from China, and it is interesting when the connection between such expressions and ink monochrome works (suiboku ga) expressions that were being established in Japan and the development of the next generation of landscape painting (sansui ga) are considered.