Takakurayama Mano-ji Temple
Main Image Masked Thousand-Armed Kannon (Wooden Standing Thousand-Armed Kannon) Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
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DescriptionMano-ji’s principal image, known as the Masked Thousand-Armed Kannon, is a wooden standing Thousand-Armed Kannon accompanied by a wooden gyodo mask and is designated a Tangible Cultural Property of Chiba Prefecture. Temple tradition says that Gyoki carved the image from a single piece of wood in the Nara period. According to the temple, its spiritual power was considered so strong that it would punish even those guilty of minor wrongdoing, causing people to fear approaching it; a ritual mask was therefore placed on the image to restrain that power. This makes it an unusual masked Kannon with few parallels in Japan. The image is normally hidden behind the closed doors of its cabinet, but every November 23 the doors are opened and visitors can see the masked Thousand-Armed Kannon. Special viewing from within the inner sanctuary is also offered that day.
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