It is said that this depicts the Kannon who suddenly appeared in the ship, when the Kentoshi Ship (ship for a Japanese envoy to Tang Dynasty China) on which Kobo Daishi boarded met with a storm.
弘法大師の乗船した遣唐使船が嵐に見舞われたとき，船中に湧き現れた観音を描いたものと伝えられる。