tokkosho 独鈷杵

A pestle with a single sharp blade at each end, found as an attribute *jimotsu 持物 of Buddhist guardian figures, and a symbolic item in Esoteric Buddhism *mikkyō hōgu 密教法具. Similar pestles have three, five or nine prongs at each end, and are collectively known as *kongōsho 金剛杵. They represent the indestructible nature of Buddhist law, and the power to defeat evil. A good example of a figure holding a tokkosho is the *Shukongōshin 執金剛神 (mid-8th century) in Tōdaiji Sangatsudō 東大寺三月堂 (also known as *Hokkedō 法華堂), Nara.