Kurotori Kannon
Main Image Juichimen Kannon Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
Impression TagsMysteryWarmthPeacefulness
DescriptionKurotori Kannon is the 19th temple of the Mogami Thirty-Three Kannon Pilgrimage and enshrines an Eleven-Headed Kannon traditionally attributed to Ennin. Its walls and ceiling are covered with mukasari ema, votive paintings of wedding scenes offered chiefly for children and unmarried people who died young, in the hope that they might marry in the afterlife. This distinctive form of posthumous memorial devotion survives in parts of northeastern Japan. Views toward Mount Gassan, Mount Hayama, and Higashine contrast the open mountain landscape with the intimate grief and affection preserved inside the hall.
