三十三間堂内陣

About this photo

This photo shows the naijin of Sanjusangendo, the inner sanctuary of the hall where the Buddhist images are enshrined. It appears in Kyoto Meisho (Famous Sights of Kyoto), published in 1907 (Meiji 40). It shows row upon row of statues of Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion, lined up inside the hall.

At the center of the hall sits the principal image (chuson), a seated Thousand-Armed Kannon 3.55 meters tall. It was completed by the sculptor Tankei, leading his workshop, when the hall was rebuilt in the Kamakura period. On either side stand 1,000 life-size standing Thousand-Armed Kannon statues, arranged on ten tiers. Of these, 124 date from the Heian period, when the hall was first built, and the rest were made over 16 years in the Kamakura period. About 500 still bear their makers' names, showing that many groups of sculptors took part, including the Kei school known for Unkei and Kaikei.

After about 50 years of restoration, all 1,000 Kannon statues were designated National Treasures in 2018 (Heisei 30). In the same year, statues that had been kept at museums returned to the hall, and today all 1,001 figures, including the principal image, are together.

Glossary