The Thousand-Armed Bodhisattva Kannon

The center of this picture is filled with a large depiction of the thousand-armed Kannon, or Sahasrabhuja in Sanskrit. Standing beneath are the Brahman sage Basusen, or Vasu, and the Goddess of Merit Kudokuten, or Srimahadevi. The thousand-armed Kannon is a Buddhist deity furnished with a thousand arms to save all sentient beings. Each hand holds an object that symbolizes the power of Buddha, with the hands beautifully arranged in a circular fashion to match the shape of the mandorla. The deity's robes and pedestal both feature patterns created using a technique called kirikane, which involves cutting gold leaf into thin hair-like strips and pasting them onto a surface.

The flower petals on the pedestal use a particularly unique type of foil composed of silver leaf overlaid with gold leaf. This radiance contains subtly shifting colors and a refined sense of depth. The Kannon's plump face exudes compassion and the painting is imbued with the magnificent elegance of Heian-period religious devotion.

— Museum description: Tokyo National Museum (CC BY 4.0), via ColBase / Japan Search.