Arm of Kannon, originally titled Birth (バース, Bāsu) in Japan, is a manga by Masakazu Yamaguchi (山口 譲司, Yamaguchi Masakazu).
"Tentacle of Thousand-Beasts Kannon") is a holy relic of the buddhist goddess Kannon (Kanzeon bosatsu); after the archeologist Tozo Mikami discovered it, he disappeared for three years.
When he returns, his son, Mao, starts noticing something strange about him, and soon discovers that a secret military organization, Garama, is trying to unveil the secrets of the artifact to use it as a weapon.
The first is Mao's sister Mayo, the swordsman from Isurugi, and a monk called Kakujo.
These three try to find Mao to help him overcome the Arm's infection and release him.