Kofukuji Temple: Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara

JAPAN, Nara; Kamakura period

The main figure was sculpted in the early Kamakura period (1185–1333). It was once the main statue of the temple’s dining hall, and is now kept at the National Treasure Museum. When it was disassembled for repairs in 1907, it was discovered that numerous objects were stored inside, including a wooden five-element stupa, a white bronze mirror, a statuette of Avalokitesvara, prints of the Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara and of the Heavenly King Vaisravana, as well as other printed Buddha images, sutras, statuettes and signatory records of donors. In addition there were handwritten sutras dated from the years 1217 to 1229, and an inscription at the bottom of the Vaisravana print dated 1223. The main statue was listed as a National Treasure in 1967.
The statue was made from several blocks of cypress wood, jointed together and then gilded. The Bodhisattva is crowned with a semicircle of ten heads, behind which is a decorated nimbus that intersects with the aureole largely hidden by the arms encircling the body. The expressive inlaid eyes and severe facial appearance of the main head suggest it is the work of Kei school masters. Other than the pair of hands joined in anjali (reverence) mudra, and the lower pair holding an alms bowl, the remaining hands hold symbolic Dharma implements. The torso is largely bare but for stoles, while the skirt below gathers between the legs and its folds fall in pronounced waves from below the thighs to the bare feet below.