18 Iwato Kannon

Legend tells that a boat capsized while carrying a statue of Kannon from overseas, but the statue climbed aboard a floating piece of timber and made its way to a rock cave inhabited by poisonous snakes. Since ancient times, rock cave temples were built in India, with the Ajanta Caves being among the more well-known ones.

The notion of practicing seated meditation in a rock cave is believed to trace to Japan, with the evil spirit of the poisonous snakes being extinguished by Kannon’s power.

This work was crafted by Rakuzan Takahashi out of Obiro stone from his native Uonuma, Niigata Prefecture, using advanced stone carving techniques, such as creating a “halo of light” through openwork filigree.

The style is contemporary and elegant, and the founder of the Doukutsu Kannon facility, Tokuzo Yamada, who was a dry-goods merchant, was deeply involved in its design. At the Doukutsu Kannon facility, the inside of a mine has been redesigned by human hands with a huge number of lava formations, unique rocks, and megaliths, creating a true rock cave. Rock caves are said to represent the universe and the inner world or womb, and are regarded as gods of life.