Rokuharamitsuji Temple: Eleven-Headed Avalokitesvara

JAPAN, Kyoto; Heian period

This reputedly miracle-working statue was at one time the main focus of Rokuharamitsuji Temple, but during the Heian period (794–1185) the statue was stored in a niche and from then onwards only displayed once every 12 years. The statue was listed as a National Treasure in 1999.
Avalokitesvara’s other heads are arranged about the crown, with the head of a tutelary Buddha rising above them. The left hand is raised in the lotus mudra and the right hand hangs down forming the same mudra. A stole winds down the arms and loops across the skirt, adding to the rippling motion depicted there. The proportion of the head is made slightly bigger for viewing purposes but the composition is well balanced as a whole. The style of the sculpture is an important surviving example of traditional methods of carving used in Kyoto during the mid-10th century.