Kurume: Child-Granting Avalokitesvara

JAPAN, Fukuoka, Kurume; Showa period

This statue, called Guze Jibo Daikannon (Great Avalokitesvara the Compassionate Mother and Savior), is a female form of Avalokitesvara granting a child. It was consecrated in 1983.
The urna between the eyebrows is 30 cm in diameter, gold-plated and encrusted with 18 three-carat diamonds. The ornamental necklace consists of a 10 cm diameter crystal surrounded by 56 jadeites. The Bodhisattva stands on a lotus-leaf pedestal, gazing benevolently downwards past the baby in her arms. The headdress contains a seated Buddha and a shawl drapes over it to hang down to the gown.
There is an entrance at the back of the statue with a spiral staircase leading to the observation deck located near the shoulder. Inside, there are paintings and images of crowds and animals worshipping the Buddha, of filial piety and of Amitabha’s Western Pure Land. There are also shrines for Vairocana, Sakyamuni, and the Medicine Buddha as well as memorial halls dedicated to ancestors. At the base of the statue there is Bright Light Pavilion and a museum of precious gems and stones.