Also read Basūsen. Basu, the Immortal, sennin 仙人. An Indian sage, whose Sanskrit name, Vasu, may…

Sk: Hayagriva. Also called Batō Myōō 馬頭明王. The Horse-headed *Kannon 観音 in an angry, …

Also written 瓣財天. Sk: Sarasvati. A Buddhist goddess of music, learning, eloquence, wealth, longevity, and protection from…

A variety of mandala *mandara 曼荼羅 of a relatively small scale and…

A deity also called *Tamonten 多聞天 when portrayed as a member of the *…

Sk: bodhi druma. The name of the tree under which the historical Buddha *Shaka 釈迦…

Sk: Brahma. A major Hindu deity thought to be responsible for creating the world. Along with *…

1　Abbreviation of bodai satta 菩提薩た, a transliteration of the Sanskrit bodhisattva (Pari bodhisatta…

Lit. Buddha's foot(print) stone; also written 仏足跡 (footprints of the Buddha). A stone allegedly bearing the impression of…

Also Butchōson 仏頂尊. Sk: Usnisa. Lit. Buddha-Crown. A class of Esoteric Buddhist deities generally believed to be…

Lit. illustrated biographies of the Buddha. Artistic representations, usually painted or in low-relief sculpture, of the…

Also Butsugenson 仏眼尊 (Venerable Buddha-Eye). Lit. Buddha-Eye, or Mother of the Buddha. Sk: Buddhalocanal Locana. An Esoteric…

A variety of *besson mandara 別尊曼荼羅 (a mandala concerning a single deity…

Also Byakushozon 白処尊 and Byakue Kanjizaimo 白衣観自在母. (Sk: Panduravasini); White-robed *…

A round metal or wooden plate with a separately made or repousse (hammered from the rear) image of a Shinto deity *…

The subject of a number of paintings in the possession of Danzan Jinja 談山神社 on Tōnomine 多武峯 in Nara. Kamatari is a deity…

A Shinto deity. Although the word deity may imply a singular definite presence, kami have no fixed number, form or…

Also read Kankiten. Also Shōten/Shōden 聖天. Abbreviation of Daishō kangiten 大聖歓喜天. The elephant-headed…

A transformation scene of the Pure Land *jōdo hensō 浄土変相 based on the…

Also Kanzeon 観世音, Kanjizai 観自在. The bodhisattva *bosatsu 菩薩 who personifies…

Also called Kōya Myōjin 高野明神. An old hunter represented with a white dog or dogs or as a courtly figure in formal…

The Japanese name of the Indian deity (Sk: Hariti), a protector of children who was the wife of Panchika. Her name was…

Sk. kalavinka. Originally a sparrow-like bird that lived in the snowy mountains ofthe Himalaya range, reputed to possess a…

Devotional paintings of the deities and landscape of Kasuga Taisha 春日大社 which was founded in Nara in the 8th century as the…

A form of mandala *mandara 曼荼羅 in which the deities are…

Transliteration of the Sanskrit gandharva, translatedas jikikō 食香 (scent-eater), jinkō 尋香 (scent…

Disciples or followers of Buddha. Often refers to groups of devotees who accompany an important Buddhist deity, for example…

Also read Kisshōten. Also called Kichijōtennyo 吉祥天女 or Kudokuten 功徳天 (Sk: Sri Laksmi, Mahasri,…

Also read Kisshōten mandara. A variety of dedicated mandala *besson…

Lit. painting of Sakyamuni emerging from the golden coffin. A genre of painting depicting one of the scenes from the life of…

Also sometimes abbreviated to tenjin engi 天神縁起 (History of Kitano Tenjin). A combination biography and…

Lit. Great Master Kōbō. The posthumous name of *Kūkai 空海 (774-835), the founder…

Originally a Hindi term ghra-pati meaning a householder, trader, or farmer. In China the term came to be applied…

Also read Koshima mandara. A pair of Mandala of the Two Realms *Ryōkai…

Sometimes read Kokuzō. Space/Sky Repository (Sk: Akasagarbha, Khagarbha); also called Kokūyō 虚空孕 and in Japan often…

Lit. Korean dog. A pair of lion-like guardian figures placed at each side of a shrine or temple entrance; believed to ward…

Sk: Virupaksa. A guardian deity, believed to protect the west of Buddha's realm. Usually found as part of a group of Four…

Lit. the youth Kongara. One of two chief attendants of *Fudō Myōō 不動明王 (the…

Also *Niō 仁王, *…

Lit. Eighty-one Deity Mandala of the Adamantine Realm. A variety of *Kongōkai…

Lit. mandala of the Adamantine Realm (Sk: Vajradhatu mandala). A mandala *mandara…

Also written 金剛薬叉明王. Kongōyasha corresponds to Sanskrit vajrayaksa, which is also the name of one of the sixteen…

Also synonymous with Kubira 宮毘羅. A god and leader of the *Yasha 夜又, the…

Also called kubon ōjōraigō 九品往生来迎. The nine possible levels of birth into *…

The standard form of the *Kongōkai mandara 金剛界曼荼羅 widely used in Japan…

Lit. peacock king of those who hold knowledge. A female deity of Indian origin (Sk: Mahamayuri). The subject of the …

Early Heian period Buddhist priest (774-835), patriarch of the Shingon 真言 sect of Esoteric Buddhism mikkyō 密教…

Devotional paintings of the three shrines of Kumano, Kumano Sanzan 熊野三山, which are called Hongū 本宮 (Kumano Nimasu Jinja…

Also known as Kurika 矩里迦, a transliteration of Sanskrit Kulika, the name of a dragon-king *…

A painting illustrating the tradition of the Abidatsumakusharon  阿毘達磨倶舎論 (Sk: Abhidharmakos'a), a renowned…

An abbreviation of Kūya Shōnin 空也上人 or Saint Kūya (903-72), the monk responsible for the spread of Pure…