Bodhisattva (bosatsu)
Kanzeon Bosatsu (of the Twenty-Five Bodhisattvas)
観世音菩薩（二十五菩薩）
Kanzeon Bosatsu as one of the Nijūgo Bosatsu (Twenty-Five Bodhisattvas). Shōhōin's explanation describes a form holding a lotus-pedestal vessel as characteristic.
This is one example of the composition and iconography shown by Shōhōin (Tobi Fudō). It is not made the same as other images of the same name or as the customs of all schools.
English pages are the site’s own translations of its Japanese pages. The sources cited are in Japanese. 日本語で読む
The name and role of Kanzeon Bosatsu (of the Twenty-Five Bodhisattvas)
Kanzeon Bosatsu as one of the Nijūgo Bosatsu (Twenty-Five Bodhisattvas). Shōhōin's explanation describes a form holding a lotus-pedestal vessel as characteristic.
Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院
Protecting those who wish to be reborn in Gokuraku
The Nijūgo Bosatsu are bodhisattvas who protect people who wish to be reborn in the Pure Land of Amida Buddha. A Jōdo Shū dictionary explains the protection of practitioners taught in the Jū Ōjō Amidabutsu Kokukyō as the basis of this faith. Rather than assigning separate benefits such as money or study to each one, they can first be understood through their saving work as a group.
Source: 浄土宗
Raigō paintings and the bodhisattvas of nerikuyō
As Pure Land faith spread, the Nijūgo Bosatsu came to be depicted in raigō paintings, in which they come with Amida Nyorai to welcome the dying, and also in nerikuyō processions. This is explained as a development from the understanding that bodhisattvas who protect practitioners in daily life would also protect them at the time of death. Objects such as musical instruments and lotus pedestals differ from source to source, and the individual forms shown here are based mainly on Shōhōin's materials introducing the Butsuzō Zui.
Source: 浄土宗・飛不動尊 正宝院
Related kami and buddhas
Sources (in Japanese)
- 飛不動尊 正宝院「仏様の世界：観世音菩薩（二十五菩薩）」（2026-10-15 確認）
- 浄土宗「新纂浄土宗大辞典：二十五菩薩」（2026-10-15 確認）
- 飛不動尊 正宝院「仏様の世界：二十五菩薩」（2026-10-14 確認）