Wooden statue of a standing Jūichimen Kannon (the Eleven-headed Bodhisattva of Compassion)

　Wooden statue of a standing Jūichimen Kannon (the Eleven-headed Bodhisattva of     Compassion)​​

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Prefecturally Designated Important Cultural Property (designated 1979)
Made: Late Heian period (12th century)
Location: Yokeiji temple, Kitashima, Oku
Dimensions: Height: 172.4cm
 
Thought to have been made in the late Heian period (12th C.), this statue depicting Kannon in her eleven-faced form stands to the left of the main statue of Yakushi, the Buddha of Healing, in Yokeiji temple’s Yakushidō, which was built specifically to house it. Its right arm is relaxed at its side, palm flat and facing outwards, while the left arm is crooked and holds a jar in its hand.
The simplicity of the statue’s carved details gives the figure a particular character that suggests a potentially strong influence by the syncretic Shinto-Buddhist idea of ‘Honji Suijaku’ – the idea that Shinto kami were manifestations of Buddhist deities. The fact that this statue has been hewn from a single block of wood also supports the theory of a Honji Suijaku influence.​

Cultural properties in Setouchi city​