(from "LEGEND IN JAPAN: Art from the Boone Collection of the Field Museum of Natural History," entry #5, by Elizabeth Lillehoj, © 1991, with amendations by Elizabeth Lillehoj and modifications by Field Museum staff )
"The Bodhisattva of Mercy is known in Japan as Kannon (Sanskrit: Avalokitesvara; Chinese: Kuan Yin). Bodhisattvas are conduits of compassion in Buddhist teaching, individuals who put off full enlightenment in order to help others. In China and Japan, the most revered of the bodhisattvas for centuries has been Kannon. The name Kannon, also read Kanzeon in Japanese, means "He or she who hears the sound or prayers (of the world)." Kannon is thought to rid people of their sorrows and help in bringing children . . .
"In the last line of his inscription, Chokunyu comments that he painted the hanging scroll in 1833. In that year, Chokunyu was only 20 years old. Chokunyu was skilled at painting even as a boy, when he was living in the province of Bungo (present-day Oita Prefecture) in Kyushu. He was born into the Sannomiya family, which operated a flower-arranging school. At age ten, however, Chokunyu was adopted by the famous literati artist, Tanomura Chikuden (1777-1835), who served the same military lord as the Sannomiya family. Chikuden soon began to teach Chokunyu about Chinese philosophy and painting. In 1834, Chikuden sent his adopted son to study Neo-Confucianism in Osaka. Later, in 1868, Chokunyu moved to Kyoto, where he was an active participant in the art community, establishing the Kyoto Art Academy and the Japanese Association of Nanga Artists.
"Early works by Chokunyu reveal his indebtedness to the style of Chikuden. In the painting of Kannon, for example, Chokunyu used fine lines and dry ink, much as Chikuden employed in his figure studies. Chokunyu's Kannon is a delicate creature with thin wrists and tiny hands, like those of a woman. The expression on Kannon's face is sad and weary, but the bodhisattva looks out at us with mercy, as though willing to listen to our pleas for help. Ribbon-like scarves trail out around Kannon's shoulders suggesting that the bodhisattva is descending from the heavens, coming to our aid.
"Chokunyu used similar brushwork to inscribe lines of a Buddhist sutra at the top of the painting. At the end of the inscription, Chokunyu added a signature, reading 'Respectfully Painted by Ta Shoko while Burning Incense,' and two seals. The upper seal reads 'Shoko,' meaning small tiger. Shoko was an artistic name given to the painter by Chikuden in 1831. Chokunyu used the name Shoko early in his career."