Thousand-armed Kannon

Thousand-armed Kannon (千手観音, Senju Kannon, Sanskrit: सहस्रभुज, Sahasrabhuja) is a bodhisattva worshipped in Buddhism.^[2][3] She is one of the six forms of Guanyin.^[2][4][5] She is one of the most widely worshipped forms of Guanyin.^[3]

Her seed syllable (bījamantra) is hrīḥ (ह्रीः).^[1]

She has Twenty-Eight Attendants (二十八部衆, Nijūhachi Bushū) that help her.^[6]

She is part of a group of gods called the Kumano Gongen. There is a 12 god version, and a three god version with Amitabha, the Medicine Buddha and Thousand-armed Kannon.^[7] She is identified as Izanami-no-Mikoto in this context.^{[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]}

She holds many things with her many arms in art.^[16]

In Tibeban Buddhism, she is male.^[17]

• Vietnam, Butthap pagoda
• Shanghai, Longhua Temple
• Temple in Zhejiang, China
• Jiuhuashan, Anhui Province, China
• Giant Statue in Huanshan, Hunan Province, China
• A statue in Myōhō-in Temple in Kyoto
• A silk painting from the late Heian period, owned by the Tokyo National Museum.
• Statue in Thailand
• Statue in Shenzhen
• Korean statue
• Tibetan painting from 2021

• Guanyin

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} "Thousand Armed Avalokitesvara with Seed Syllable hrih". Buddha on the Wall. 2009-06-15. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} "JAANUS / Senju Kannon 千手観音". www.aisf.or.jp. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} "Virtual Vinodh". www.virtualvinodh.com. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
4. ↑ Faure (2015), p. 287.
5. ↑ Fowler (2016), pp. 28–32.
6. ↑ "Nijuhachibushu - 28 Legions of 1000-Armed Kannon, plus Raijin & Fujin, Japanese Buddhism Photo Dictionary". www.onmarkproductions.com. Retrieved 2025-06-02.
7. ↑ "Gongen: Avatars of Japan's Mountain Sects, Shugendo, Shinto Traditions, & Syncretic Merging with Buddhist Deities". www.onmarkproductions.com. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
8. ↑ "東北の伊勢｜熊野大社". 東北の伊勢｜熊野大社 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-06-02.
9. ↑ "Shinto Shrines: A Guide to the Sacred Sites of Japan's Ancient Religion". UH Press. 2020-06-24. Retrieved 2025-06-02.
10. ↑ "Discover the unique spiritual culture of Kumano with exclusive insight from a chief priest at Kumano Hongu Taisha". The KANSAI Guide - The Origin of Japan, KANSAI. 2022-07-04. Retrieved 2025-06-02.
11. ↑ "Wakayama: A World Heritage Site and Journey of Deep Mystique at the Kumano Kodo". The KANSAI Guide - The Origin of Japan, KANSAI. 2025-02-10. Retrieved 2025-06-02.
12. ↑ "Shintosim Dictionary - Japanese Shrine Types & Classification". www.onmarkproductions.com. Retrieved 2025-06-02.
13. ↑ https://www.shinguu.jp/_en/files/pdf/KumanoSanzan_en.pdf
14. ↑ "Gongen: Avatars of Japan's Mountain Sects, Shugendo, Shinto Traditions, & Syncretic Merging with Buddhist Deities". www.onmarkproductions.com. Retrieved 2025-06-02.
15. ↑ "JAANUS / Kumano mandara 熊野曼荼羅". www.aisf.or.jp. Retrieved 2025-06-02.
16. ↑ "Sahasrabhuja Lokeshvara – One Thousand Armed Lokeshvara: One of the forms of Avalokiteshvara". www.shakyastatues.com. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
17. ↑ "Avalokiteshvara (Bodhisattva & Buddhist Deity) - Sahasrabhujalokeshvara (11 faces, 1000 Hands) (Himalayan Art)". www.himalayanart.org. Retrieved 2025-05-29.

• Fowler, Sherry D. (2016). Accounts and Images of Six Kannon in Japan. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-5622-9.
• Faure, Bernard (2015). The Fluid Pantheon: Gods of Medieval Japan, Volume 1. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-5702-8.