Kōri Kannon

The name and role of Kōri Kannon

This is a Kannon listed as one of the Thirty-Three Kannon. Popularly called Hamaguri Kannon (Clam Kannon), it is introduced together with an origin tale about a clam.

Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院

Tracing the form and the traditions

It is handed down that a clam someone was about to eat would not open, and when incense was burned and a prayer offered, it became Kannon. On the original page this story is recorded as a tradition.

Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院

Kannon's compassion, saving by changing form

The images of the Thirty-Three Kannon derive from the thirty-three manifestation bodies, in which Kannon changes form to suit each person and saves them. However, the thirty-three names in this list, such as Yōryū Kannon and Suigetsu Kannon, are not identified one by one with the thirty-three manifestation bodies named in the sutra. Various beliefs and pictorial traditions of India, China and Japan overlap in them.

Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院・浅草寺

Iconographic materials that hand down the thirty-three forms

Shōhōin introduces this group based on the Butsuzō Zui, published in the Edo period. The names express things such as objects held, places of dwelling, gestures and workings of salvation. Some have individual origin stories, while others center on form or name, so each figure does not necessarily have its own separate tale or particular prayer.

Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院

Compassion that listens to suffering and leads to peace

Sensō-ji explains Kannon as a buddha who receives people's voices, removes suffering and gives ease. Turning one's heart toward salvation from hardship is an entry point to understanding faith in Kannon. This is an explanation of the compassion shared by all forms of Kannon, not a list that sets a particular benefit for each of the thirty-three images.

Source: 浅草寺

Related kami and buddhas

• Sanjūsan Kannon (the Thirty-Three Kannon)三十三観音