Kudara Kannon
- Gallery: Room 92
- Maker: Niiro Chunosuke
- Culture: Showa Era
- Made in: Tokyo-to
- Date: 1931-1932
- Object type: figure, reproduction
- Materials: wood; gesso; bronze
- Museum number: 1932,0309.1
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you stands the "Kudara Kannon," a reproduction of a remarkable 7th-century sculpture. This serene figure of the bodhisattva Kannon is carved from a single block of camphor wood using a technique called ichiboku-zukuri, and the back is hollowed to prevent cracking. Kannon holds a water vessel and wears a metal crown, with painted gesso and bronze ornaments adding subtle detail. A translucent mandorla hovers behind the figure.
Sculptor Niiro Chunosuke created this replica in the early 1930s after a commission from the British Museum. At the time, obtaining a large enough camphor tree required assistance from a former Japanese daimyo family. The original "Kudara Kannon" still rests in the Horyu-ji temple in Nara and is known for its gentle expression and graceful form. This reproduction captures the spirit and craftsmanship of a centuries-old tradition.
See it in person
Kudara Kannon is on display in Room 92 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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