Fukukensaku Kannon (Amoghapasa)
Amoghapasa is a Kannon (a Buddhist goddess of mercy) who uses a kensaku (a lasso or a stiff rope so that the noose stays open when it is thrown) and rescues sentient beings suffering and brings the benefit of being healthy and being loved by everyone.
The model image is a national treasure enshrined in Nara Prefecture. Visitors will be overwhelmed with its scale with a size exceeding 3.6 m and jeweled crown decorated with over twenty thousand jewels coupled with the delicate halo of openwork carving. The bead is between the hands pressed together in prayer in front of the chest. This is because the then Emperor at the time of the completion of the image lost a prince (his child) and said, “It seems as if I lost a bead in my hands.”
