Baekje Kannon

The Ancient Buddhist Sculpture That Fascinated Tessō Mori

Among the many Buddhist sculptures of Japan, few are as mysterious as Baekje Kannon.

Preserved at Hōryū-ji Temple in Nara, this National Treasure is one of the most celebrated masterpieces of Japan's earliest Buddhist art.

Standing more than two meters tall, its appearance is unlike most Buddhist sculptures people know today.

The body is remarkably slender.

The limbs are elongated.

The expression is calm, distant, and difficult to define.

Even after more than thirteen centuries, the sculpture continues to fascinate viewers.

Its beauty is undeniable, yet it seems to contain something beyond beauty.

Something mysterious.

Something that refuses to be fully explained.

Baekje Kannon, Hōryū-ji Temple, Nara, Japan (National Treasure) 

A Sculpture Born from Cultural Exchange

Baekje Kannon was created during the seventh century, when Buddhism was still relatively new to Japan.

At that time, Japan was actively learning from China and the kingdoms of the Korean Peninsula.

The name "Baekje Kannon" reflects this history.

Although scholars continue to debate the sculpture's exact origins, the name reminds us that Japanese culture was not created in isolation.

Baekje Kannon is more than a beautiful statue.

It is a reminder of a remarkable age when ideas, beliefs, and artistic traditions traveled across East Asia and helped shape the foundations of Japanese culture.

Why Is It a National Treasure?

Many later Buddhist sculptures display greater realism and technical sophistication.

Yet Baekje Kannon remains one of Japan's most important National Treasures.

Its value lies in its uniqueness.

The sculpture preserves the spirit of Japan's earliest Buddhist age.

For this reason, Baekje Kannon is not only an artwork but also a historical witness to the beginnings of Japanese Buddhist culture.

Woodcarver Tessō Mori (1946–2024) 

A Memory of My Father

Why was my father drawn to Baekje Kannon?

The truth is that I do not know.

Only he could have fully answered that question.

I once visited an exhibition with him where Baekje Kannon was displayed.

My father was not a man who spoke at length about works of art.

He rarely stood before a sculpture and explained what made it great.

Instead, he would simply stop, look quietly, and occasionally speak a few words.

That was his way.

Yet I still remember one remark he made while standing before Baekje Kannon.

“Ii naa.”

“It's wonderful.”

That was all.

No explanation.

No theory.

No analysis.

Just those two words.

At the time, I thought little of it.

Today, I often think about that moment.

Perhaps something happened within him as he stood before the sculpture.

Perhaps he encountered a beauty that spoke directly to him.

Perhaps he sensed something he could not easily express.

I will never know.

But whenever I see Baekje Kannon, I remember that moment.

The Solitude of an Artist

My father rarely spoke about what he felt when looking at great works of art.

Sometimes I wonder if he believed that such feelings could never truly be shared through words.

Art is deeply personal.

Why does one sculpture move us?

Why does one image remain in our memory for decades?

Why are we drawn to something we cannot fully explain?

Even when we understand those feelings ourselves, it can be difficult to communicate them to others.

Perhaps my father understood this.

Perhaps that is why he spoke so little.

Perhaps that brief remark—“It's wonderful”—contained everything he wished to say.

Looking back now, I sometimes think there may have been a certain loneliness in being an artist.

Not loneliness in the ordinary sense, but the awareness that the world one sees internally can never be completely shared.

If that was true, it may also explain why he continued to carve.

Some things cannot be explained.

So they must be given form.

They must be made visible.

Perhaps this Baekje Kannon was born from that impulse.

Why Ancient Buddhist Sculpture?

My father never rejected the beauty of the refined Buddhist sculptures created in Japan's later centuries.

He admired great works wherever he encountered them.

He understood their beauty, technical mastery, and artistic achievement.

I feel the same way.

Many later Buddhist sculptures are undeniably beautiful.

Yet I often find myself more deeply drawn to the older sculptures created during the earliest centuries of Japanese Buddhism.

There is something in them that goes beyond beauty—something mysterious and difficult to define.

I suspect my father felt something similar.

If asked why he returned to these subjects again and again, he might simply have answered:

“Because they're more interesting.”

Not entertaining.

Not amusing.

Interesting in the artistic sense.

Difficult to fully understand.

Rich with unanswered questions.

Ancient Buddhist sculptures possess exactly that quality.

They never reveal all of their secrets.

Baekje Kannon by Tessō Mori 

Tessō Mori's Baekje Kannon

The sculpture presented here was hand-carved by Tessō Mori approximately ten years ago.

Only two examples of this Baekje Kannon standing figure are known to have been created by the artist.

One has already entered a private collection.

This surviving example remains as a rare testament to his lifelong fascination with Japan's earliest Buddhist art.

Rather than creating a strict reproduction, Mori sought to capture the spirit of the original masterpiece.

Its elegance.

Its mystery.

Its quiet presence.

The result is not merely a copy of a famous sculpture, but a dialogue across centuries between one modern woodcarver and one of Japan's greatest ancient masterpieces.

A Living Connection to the Past

More than thirteen centuries after its creation, Baekje Kannon continues to inspire artists, scholars, collectors, and pilgrims.

Its beauty remains subtle.

Its meaning remains open.

Its mystery endures.

For Tessō Mori, ancient Buddhist sculpture was never simply a relic of the past.

It was a living source of artistic inspiration.

This work stands as a reminder of that fascination—and of the timeless power of one of the most extraordinary sculptures in Japanese history.

As his son, I cannot fully know what my father saw in Baekje Kannon.

Yet whenever I stand before this sculpture, I remember him quietly saying:

“Ii naa.”

More than any explanation, those simple words may reveal how deeply this ancient masterpiece touched him.

About the Author

Tetsuo Mori

Related Artwork

Baekje Kannon
An Original Standing Bodhisattva by Tessō Mori

Hand-carved approximately ten years ago.

One of only two known examples created by the artist.

A rare work inspired by one of Japan's most celebrated National Treasures and by the enduring mystery of Japan's earliest Buddhist art.

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