Statuette of Virgin Mary Disguised as Goddess Kannon

After Europeans were barred from Japan in the 1560s, those Japanese who had converted to Christianity were persecuted. Many became “hidden Christians,” practicing their faith in secret. Small statues, such as this one, were used as covert devotional aides. Outwardly they resemble the Buddhist divinity of compassion, Kannon (known in China as Guanyin), but they were venerated as the Virgin Mary and often incorporated hidden or disguised crucifixes.