Shoboji Temple
Main Image Seated Wooden Nyoirin Kannon Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
Impression TagsMysteryNobilityStillness
DescriptionThe seated wooden Nyoirin Kannon enshrined as the principal image of Shoboji Temple’s Hatto Hall is a secret Buddhist image designated as a Tangible Cultural Property of Iwate Prefecture. It is thought to date from the late Kamakura period, around the late 13th to early 14th century. The six-armed half-lotus figure has crystal eyes and an intellectual Song-style expression characteristic of accomplished Kamakura-period sculpture. It is thought to have been made in the capital and later brought to Shoboji, the first Soto Zen temple established in the Tohoku region. Normally the principal image is kept within its shrine and visitors worship a maedachi substitute image, but the secret original is unveiled each year on October 16 in conjunction with the Kumano Daigongen Grand Festival prayer service.
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