Keishōin (1627-1705), mother of the fifth shogun Tsunayoshi, rose from greengrocer's daughter in Kyoto to the rare position of shogunal mother. On the advice of her revered teacher Ryōken Sōjō, she petitioned Tsunayoshi to found Gokoku-ji in 1681 (Tenwa 1). The principal image of seated Nyoirin Kannon was Keishōin's own personal devotional image, carved from the exceedingly rare material of natural amber. In the Genroku era she donated 10,000 ryō from the Sanbō-in monzeki to develop the complex, and her devout patronage sustained Gokoku-ji's flourishing under Tsunayoshi's regime.