Virtual Hiki Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #10 Shosen-ji Temple

 

     It is unknown when Shosen-ji Temple was founded.

     The seated Avalokiteshvara statue is the main deity of the Kannon-do Hall of Shosen-ji Temple.  According to the document found in its holy box, the statue of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses, is made of cypress marquetry, with the jewel eyes. Its body is colored with gold paint, and its clothing is powdered with ground sea shells.  Both the sleeves and the hem of the robe hang down symmetrically under the pedestal.  Its hair is beautifully tied, and it has a sharp and firm face.  The statue is presumed to have been made in the Northern and Southern Courts Period (1336-1392).  The statue is 48.5 centimeters tall.  According to the repair inscription in 1759, it had followers not only in Nakayama Village but also in the surrounding villages and even in Kawagoe.

     If the temple was founded at the same time as the statue, its foundation was in the Northern and Southern Courts Period.

     The seated Kannon is the principal image of the Kannon Hall of the temple, and is currently called Gyoran Kannon, but according to the restoration plaque in its holy box, it is the Kannon Bodhisattva.

     Tosa Hidenobu (?-?) published Butsuzo-zui (Illustrated Compendium of Buddhist Images) in 1783.  In the compendium, he listed 33 popular subjects of Buddhism Avalokiteshvara drawings and paintings: #1 Holding-Willow-Spray Avalokitesvar, #2 Naga Avalokitesvar, #3 Holding-Buddhism-Scripture Avalokitesvar, #4 Halo Avalokitesvar, #5 Sitting-on-Cloud Avalokitesvar, #6 Pandara Vasini Avalokitesvar, #7 Sitting-on-Lotus-leaf Avalokitesvar, #8 Looking-at-Cascade Avalokitesvar, #9 Listening-to-Stream Avalokitesvar, #10 Holding-Fish-Cage Avalokitesvar, #11 Virtuous-Lord Avalokitesvar, #12 Looking-at-Reflected-Moon Avalokitesvar, #13 Sitting-on-Leaf Avalokitesvar, #14 Blue-Head Avalokitesvar, #15 Great-Commander Avalokitesvar, #16 Life-Prolonging Avalokitesvar, #17 Relief-from-Ruination Avalokitesvar, #18 In-Cave-with-Venom Avalokitesvar, #19 Wave-Reduction Avalokitesvar, #20 Anavatapta Avalokitesvar, #21 One-Knee-Drawn-Up Avalokitesvar, #22 Leaf-Robe Avalokitesvar, #23 Holding-Lapis-Lazuli-Censer Avalokitesvar, #24 Tara Avalokitesvar, #25 Sit-in-in-Clam Avalokitesvar, #26 Twenty-Four-Hour Avalokitesvar, #27 Universal-Benevolence Avalokitesvar, #28 Celestial Beauty Avalokitesvar, #29 Putting-Palms-together Avalokitesvar, #30 Controlling-Thunderbolt Avalokitesvar, #31 Peaceful-Vajrapani Avalokitesvar, #32 Holding-Lotus-Flower Avalokitesvar, and #33 Sprinkling-Purified-Water Avalokitesvar.  Some subjects came directly from Lotus Supra Chapter XXV, some were based on folklore in China, and others were created in Japan.  He put stronger emphasis on the number 33, and might have considered the 33 subjects to be artistically more meaningful manifestations of Avalokitesvara, at least in Japan.

     Avalokitesvara will never care about human classification.

Address: 1209 Nakayama, Kawajima, Hiki District, Saitama 350-0165