Merciful Mother Kannon

At the top of the picture Kannon stands on clouds, letting a thin stream of water fall from a vase in her right hand. Below it, an infant wrapped in a transparent sphere of light floats, looking up at Kannon. In her left hand she holds a willow branch, taking the form of Yoryu Kannon (Kannon holding a willow branch). At the bottom of the picture a sheer rocky mountain can be seen.

Gold paint (made by dissolving gold powder in glue) and gold sunago are used across the picture, and colors are layered thinly many times. Kannon's robes and ornaments are drawn precisely in fine lines, and the beauty of those lines is a highlight. The image of Kannon pouring spiritual water on an infant is thought to be Hogai's own invention, not seen before.

Kano Hogai was born into a family of the Kano school in Nagato Province (today's Yamaguchi Prefecture). He met Fenollosa and Okakura Tenshin and sought a new Japanese painting. He was appointed an instructor at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, but died on November 5, 1888, four days after finishing this work, and did not see the school open.

Because he died just as it was finished, this work has no signature. The title Hibo Kannon (Merciful Mother Kannon) was also added later. It is held by the Tokyo University of the Arts and was designated an Important Cultural Property in 1955.