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Juuichimen Kannon@\ˆκ–ΚŠΟ‰Ή
KEY WORD :@art history / iconography
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Sk: Ekadasamukha. Eleven-headed Kannon; a form of *Kannon ŠΟ‰Ή with eleven miniature faces around the top of his head. One of the Six Kannon *Roku Kannon ˜ZŠΟ‰Ή and responsible for the human realm. In painting and sculpture, Juuichimen Kannon may be shown seated or standing, but standing images are more common, especially in sculpture. The deity usually is shown with two arms, although sometimes with four. When two armed, he usually carries a water jar with a lotus in his left hand which makes a mudra of the absence of fear *semui-in Ž{–³ˆΨˆσ, and with his right hand makes the mudra of the granting of wishes *yogan-in —^Šθˆσ. The number of faces is usually eleven, though this number may or may not include the main face of the image (thus making the total number eleven or twelve). A form with nine faces, Kumen Kannon ‹γ–ΚŠΟ‰Ή also exists (example *danzou ’h‘œ in Houryuuji –@—²Ž›, 8c). The placement of the heads varies. Bodhisattva heads bosatsumen •μŽF–Κ are situated in either one or two tiers with the head of a Buddha butsumen •§–Κ at the top. The faces of the bodhisattvas usually include three benign faces jihimen Žœ”ί–Κ, three angry faces shinnumen αΡ“{–Κ, three plain faces with fangs kugejoushutsumen ‹η‰εγo–Κ; also known as gejoushutsumen ‰εγo–Κ and, at the back, a laughing face daishoumen ‘εΞ–Κ; also known as bouaku daishoumen –\ˆ«‘εΞ–Κ, daibakushoumen ‘ε”šΞ–Κ. A small standing image of *Amida ˆ’–ν‘Ι, referred to as a *kebutsu ‰»•§, may be added in front of his crown as well.
There are different theories to account for the meaning of Juuichimen's multiple heads. On a folk level, there is a story that his head split into many because of his worry over sentient beings. On a higher level, he removes the eleven impediments of sentient beings. The positioning of the heads clearly indicates, that the elevated head of the Buddha rises above the others and iconography evokes the ten stages of the bodhisattva path, with the Buddha as the final result. The encapsulation of these processes into one image shows the presence of all within the bodhisattva, and suggests the fully enlightened bodhisattva as the ideal.
The origin of the iconography is unclear, but in India, multi-headed, multi-armed figures were used by the 7c to express the complex religious truths and practices of Buddhism. Although few examples are extant in India, a sculpted 7-8c image of Juuichimen Kannon with four arms in the cave #41 at Kanheri is well-known. In China, Juuichimen Kannon was commonly portrayed from the early Tang dynasty, and the extant examples are found in paintings in Dunhuang (Jp: Tonkou “ΦΰŠ caves #321 and #334) as well as in bronze and stone sculptures. In Japan, belief in the power of Juuichimen Kannon is recorded from the mid-7c, and the deity was propitiated especially for aid in convalescence from illnesses. Sculptural and painted images were common in the Nara period and became extremely popular in the Heian period. There are numerous extant examples, many of fine quality, such as a painted image on the walls (burnt down in 1949) of the *Kondou ‹ΰ“° in Houryuuji –@—²Ž› (rebuilt 693), Nara. Devotion centered upon the practice of group confessions before an image of the deity, the most famous of which was the shuni-e C“ρ‰ο ceremony of the *Nigatsudou “ρŒŽ“° in Toudaiji “Œ‘εŽ›, Nara (commonly known as omizutori ‚¨…Žζ‚θ), which began in 752 and continues to the present day. In Esoteric Buddhism ‚ikkyou –§‹³, Juuichimen Kannon appears in the *Taizoukai mandara ‘Ω‘ ŠE™ΦδΆ—…. In Shinto art *Shintou bijutsu _“Ή”όp, Juuichimen Kannon is a common choice as the *honjibutsu –{’n•§ (Buddhist counterpart) of female Shinto deities *kami _ and is one of the two most common choices as honjibutsu of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu Oomikami “VΖ‘ε_ (the other being *Dainichi ‘ε“ϊ). Juuichimen Kannon may be painted; 1) alone, as in the large Kamakura period painting held by Shidoji Žu“xŽ› in Kagawa prefecture; 2) in his paradise *Fudaraku •β‘Ι—Œ (on a rock in the ocean) often accompained by Zenzai Douji ‘Pΰ“ΆŽq; or 3) in a setting like that of the large panel painting in Kaijuusenji ŠCZŽRŽ›, Kyoto, in which the deity descends from his paradise across the sea to welcome the deceased raigou —ˆŒ}, accompanied by the 25 bodhisattvas *nijuugo bosatsu “ρ\Œά•μŽF. In addition, the fame of distinct sculptural images of Juuichimen Kannon also lead their being the subject of paintings. One such example is the principal image of Hasedera ’·’JŽ› in Nara, which as a special feature holds a pewter staff *shakujou Žΰρ in its right hand and a lotus in a vase in its left. This very large image stands on a smooth, flat stone uncovered in a landslide, (instead of the lotus pedestal *rengeza ˜@‰Ψΐ, on which the deity first appeared). The story of the making of the image appears in the illustrated history of the temple *shaji engi-e ŽΠŽ›‰‹NŠG.
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