The woman who starts Sanzo and the others on their journey to the West. Although Kanzeon Bosatsu (also known as Kanon) is the Compassionate Buddha, she is something of a puzzle in Saiyuki. With her duplicitous smile and mocking demeanor, we're unsure if this female Buddha is truly a friend or foe. As a sainted person, she spends most of her time playing a type of Chinese checkers and revealing cryptic clues about the destiny of the four travellers. Her role seems to be more like that of the Fates than a saint or goddess, though, as she observes events without taking direct part in them. When she appears to the four travellers in order to revive Sanzo they treat her with an odd mixture of awe and disrespect, as if she were a strange, bossy older woman they can't quite figure out. However, Kanon is a calculating, self-possessed woman who is confident events will turn out as they should.

 
Like Goku, Nataku was alive 500 years ago but looks much younger than he truly is. At this point in the story he is a complete mystery, though, since he merely sits on a throne in Heaven, comotose and silent. Kanon's special treatment of him leads us to believe he will play a very important role in the events to come. A much more lively version of Nataku as he was 500 years ago appears in Saiyuki Gaiden.