Both hands of this statue are held rather high up in front of his chest, an iconographic feature of Jizō Bosatsu (Skt. Kṣitigarbha) in the raigō form—the form he assumes when descending from paradise to meet those passing into the next world. Hands raised to this position is a feature seen as well in several statues by the master Buddhist sculptor Kaikei (?–before 1227). Additional characteristics of this statue that evoke works of Kaikei are the sage expression to its long and narrow eyes and the folds of its robes subtly suggesting movement in how they reveal the forms of his ankles.  
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The lotus pedestal was mounted on the cirrus cloud which means the statue of Jizō was represented as an attendant escorting to the Paradise. It was said that the left hand might have held a sacred jewel and the right hand might have grasped a staff (shakujō). The intellectual appearance was reflected by the carving style of Buddhist sculptor Kaikei, this statue was thought to be produced by one of the close sculptors.
 
Shigeki Iwata 
Masterworks from the Nara Buddhist Sculpture Hall at the Nara National Museum. Nara National Museum, 2010, p.140, no.136.