Avalokitesvara

Generally taking on a gentle female form, Avalokitesvara is understood to protect living beings with loving compassion, but she can also take on a stern faced, fiery and angry appearance such as we find in Hayagrîva (Batô Kannon), the Horse Faced Avalokitesvara, who gives guidance and protection in the animal world. Avalokitesvara can also devote her energies to acts of salvation in the guise of many different faces, such as is found in the Eleven Faced Avalokitesvara; or perform acts of compassion with many hands, such as is done by the Thousand Armed Avalokitesvara.
 The Avalokitesvara Who Ensnares Unerringly stands for a fishing net and rope, and the net is dragged through the world to extend the hand of salvation to people without leaving anyone out. The Mother Goddess Avalokitesvara refers to the Buddha's Mother, and is a deity who nurtures people like a mother.

Avalokitesvara (Kannon) is also called Kanzeon Bodhisattva, and this name indicates that this Bodhisattva can hear the voices and concerns of the world, and, in order to provide immediate relief, can change into many different forms to save people freely at will according to their time and place. That is why Avalokitesvara is called Kanjizai Bodhisattva, the Bodhisattva That Sees and Acts Freely at Will, and is spoken of in the Avalokitesvara Sutra as having thirty-three different forms. This is the origin of the Avalokiteßvara (Kannon) pilgrimage covering thirty-three sites.

http://www.shingon.org/deities/jusanbutsu/kannon.html