1951, Goddess Kannon JAPAN 10¥

1951, Goddess Kannon JAPAN 10¥

Text:  JAPAN 10¥

Condition: Ø = used/cancelled

Title:   Goddess Kannon

Face value:     10

Stamp Currency:       Yen

Country/area:                     Japan

Year:   1951

Set:     1951

Stamp number in set:           1

Basic colour:           Brown

Exact colour:           Brown red

Usage:                           Definitives

Type:               Stamp

Theme:           Gods

Stamp subject:           Gods

Michel number:         549

Yvert number:                        495

Scott number:                        

Stanley Gibbons number:    516

Printing office:            

Perforation:    13 x 13½

Watermark:    

Paper:            

Printing:             

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• ORIGIN = India. Kannon personifies compassion and is one of the most widely worshiped divinities in Asia and Japan in both ancient and modern times. Kannon's origins are unclear, but most scholars agree that Kannon worship began in India around the 1st or 2nd century AD and then spread to Southeast Asia, China, Korea, and most other Asian nations. Veneration of Kannon in Japan began in the late 6th century, soon after Buddhism reached Japan by way of Korea and China. In Japan, Kannon's paradise is known as Fudarakusen. It is commonly said to be located at the southern tip of India (which supports theories of Kannon's Indian origin). Many Kannon statues from Japan's Asuka Era (538 to 710) are still extant. Originally male in form, Kannon is now often portrayed as female in China, Japan, and other East Asian countries. Each of these nations dressed Kannon in different forms to suit their own temperaments and spiritual concepts.
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• TRANSLATION. Avalokitêśvara is a Sanskrit term, masculine in gender, that translates as Lord Who Regards All (avalokita = observe, iśvara = unimpeded). Īśvara, another name for Śiva, Mahêśvara, or Īśvaradeva(the king of the deva), is a likely component of the name Avalokitêśvara. The Sino-Japanese term Kannon 観音 (Chinese = Guānyīn) literally means watchful listening, and is often translated as "one who sees / hears all." This is indeed the task of the compassionate Kannon — to witness and listen to the prayers and cries of those in difficulty in the earthly realm, and to help them achieve salvation. Another Japanese name for Kannon is Kanzeon 観世音, the one who constantly surveys (kan 観) the world (ze 世) listening for the sounds (on 音) of suffering. It was later shortened to Kannon. 
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• SCRIPTURAL BASIS. Kannon is a Bodhisattva (Jp. = Bosatsu), one who achieves enlightenment but postpones Buddhahood until all can be saved. Kannon is mentioned in numerous Mahayana sutra (religious texts), especially the Lotus Sutra 法華経 (Hokekyō), which was translated into Chinese by Kumārajīva (Jp. = Kumarajū 鳩摩羅什, 350 - 410), who rendered Kannon's name as "One Who Observes the Sounds of the World." Kannon also appears in the Kegonkyō 華厳経 (Skt. = Avatamsaka Sutra) and Hannya Shingyō 般若心経 (Skt. = Prajnaparamita Sutra; Engish = Heart Sutra), as well as in scriptures of the pure land school like the Muryōju-kyō 無量寿経, and in tantric (esoteric) texts such as Jūichimen Kanzeon Shinju-kyō and Senju Sengen Darani-kyō.